While we're in a holding pattern regarding making the album, and in an attempt to appear cool when actually attempting to appear cool is extremely uncool, Wes and I sat down and talked about albums we've heard about or listened to or read about or made up etc. and transcribed some of the conversation.
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Wyatt Furtherton: I wasn't really digging this until I listened to it from outside my house
Wes Delaney: Really?
WF: Yeah. I mean, it wasn't hitting me very hard. Not like You Forgot It In People
WD: I guess that makes sense. It is, for the most part, different than You Forgot It. It's been so long thinking back to when I first got that one. Schoolkids was still in the original building I think, when I bought You Forgot it.
WF: And now it's in half of Buddha's Belly [a headshop store beside Schoolkids Records]
WD: Eew.
WF: I guess I was just kind of let down that it didn't have that same naive, fuck-it, let's-just-do-this!, kind-of vibe as You Forgot It.
WD: Yeah I can see that.
WF: But it's coming around to me. I'm liking the last half especially.
Justin Beiber - My World 2.0
WF: You're kidding.
WD: I don't have exact numbers but it's been on the top 10 best selling albums for a while now. And we've both heard it.
WF: And Guine [Guinevere, Wes' girlfriend] forced it upon Forrest one night too, didn't she?
WD: Yeah, that was--we were drunk.
WF: It's better than it should be I guess you could say. It's certainly more challenging than the first My World, but that's not saying much.
WD: I'll stand by it.
WF: You would. Heck, you almost have to.
WD: No, I know, but it's fun. It's kind of generic, but it's fun. "Baby" is just a flat-out great pop song.
WF: Ok.
WD: What?
WF: No I agree. The thing that's most interesting about this to me--and maybe this is more of the Beiber phenomenon than the music itself to some extent--but I like how this is clearly just a derivative of Timberlake, and Timberlake was clearly a derivitive of Usher and Usher is clearly a derivative of Michael Jackson. And with each dilution, very much like in chemistry, each new product is less concentrated, or "pure." It's really depressing when you consider that when this derivation of soul and pop music, first created and popularized by black musicians, is now played through the body of a white kid, it sells more records. There is a level of soul-crushing feeling in just one note of "P.Y.T." that Beiber will never in his life approach and that's depressing because it's like we're rewarding the wrong thing.
WD: Okay, this sucks. You're an ass.
Bone Thugs and Harmony - UNI-5: The World's Enemy
WD: I haven't heard any of this, have you? What's the single?
WF: Let me see. "Rebirth" "Meet Me in the Sky" [plays "Meet Me in the Sky"]
WD: Uhhp. This is all you. Slow jam.
WF: Yeah this is pretty okay. I guess they're all back together huh?
WD: I think that's what I read.
WF: "See Me Shine" is pretty good.
WD: The production bothers me. It's too clean in parts. I don't know.
WF: No, it's definitely kind of slick. This sounds like their "We're back and totally hip with the times!" record.
WD: What the hell does that mean?
WF: It's kind of like Liz Phair's fourth album I guess. The one with "Why Can't I?" on it. It was like, "Let's try to beat the kids at their own game," as far as production goes.
WD: Seriously?
WF: What?
WD: You're making this--nevermind.
DOM - Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP
WF: At the risk of sounding like more of a pompous hipster prick-fuck, I really want this album. Every song I've heard is great.
WD: I know. Did you read that interview?
WF: Yeah, what a prick. What's with these new hipster-as-fuck bands? Wavves? Every quote I read sounds like they're trying to make apathy the new irony and then taking it to this ridiculous fuck-you-because-what-the-fuck-do-I-care level.
WD: You mean the chillwave scene that he alludes to?
WF: I guess. These kids appear to be awful human beings.
WD: This DOM guy says, "People who aren't missing anything just make pretty terrible art." I get that. It kind of explains Vampire Weekend right? But at the same time, that's a really broad kind of naive accusation. It's something a freshman art-school drop-out would say. Plus, that sentence is grammatically fucked.
WF: But these songs--these songs are so good. And it's just an EP so I bet it plays really well front to back. No filler ambiance. Just solid hook after hook buried underneath a bunch of thin shitty fuzz
Sleigh Bells - Treats
WD: More hipster filth
WF: I know! I really really can't wait for this album.
WD: I just hope the guitars stay cranked up. I could see them not using guitar on maybe half the songs.
WF: Right
WD: I just don't want it to be an entirely electronic album with guitar here and there. Shitty guitar, girl vocals, beat machine that's all I want.
WF: I'm willing to make a lot of grand statements about this band/album whatever, but I won't.
WD: Yeah right.
WF: It's true. I think this album could be really good. I want it to knock me down it's so good. But I'm afraid it won't.
WD: A lot could go wrong you're right. It's kind of hard to imagine them taking this compelling but stupidly simple combination of instruments and making an entire album.
WF: I know.
Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises
WF: Three awesome things about this: it's a new Kozelek album; they/he are probably going to tour!; it's probably going to be more drastically different from his other work.
WD: Yes. All of the above.
WF: You've heard the song they released ["Australian Winter"] right? I'll play it.
WD: Yeah. He's really taking the spanish guitar all the way.
WF: I know. Tthat's what I think the majority of this album is going to be or influenced by. You could hear it on April but I think this time it might be more pronounced. Which is why I think this album could be more different than the last three were.
WD: Right, but it's still Kozelek. So--
WF: So it's going to be awesome, but in a different way maybe. I love that "Australian wintturrrrr." And the middle "break down" section. Is that him?
WD: Of course. Duh. I can't wait for the tour. You never get drunk quite the same way as when you get drunk at a Kozelek show.
WF: We need to pre-order it to get that EP.
WD: I know.
WF: If there's such a thing as a casual Kozelek fan, I bet this album might rub them wrong. That's my prediction.
WD: You mean the ones who are forced to go with their boyfriend/girlfriend to his concerts.
WF: I guess. I just think this album will be less immediately gratifying than say Ghosts of The Great Highway. Again, that's if it's at all possible for Kozelek work to be "immediately gratifying."
WD: Quick: let's guess what the album cover will be
WF: I think it will be something like the raindrop background on the Caldo Verde site. But, if I had to guess otherwise I would say: a picture of a wooden sailboat half-finished propped up in a yard. And it's raining. All in greyscale.
WD: I'm going to say rain clouds during a storm with the tops of trees poking up from the very bottom using a dark dark blue pallatte.
WF: You just described an awesome doom metal album cover.
WD: Yeah. Kozelek is metal as fuck.
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
WD: I got this. You could care less, right?
WF: Is it like Saturday Night Wrist?
WD: Ummmmmmmmmmmm, I don't really know yet. I'm going to say no. Not really.
WF: Yeah, I'm not really--I don't know.
WD: I would say it's heavier than Saturday Night Wrist. The production is more colorful. I haven't really listened to it enough yet either.
WF: Didn't that come out this week?
WD: Yeah, and I've been playing Rock Record more than anything. So--well, I'll say this: I'm not excited to listen to it again. I will, I'm definately going to. But I don't think I'm missing anything.
WF: That sucks.
WD: Ehh. I don't know. We'll see.
The Cure - Disintegration Deluxe Edition
WF: YES!
WD: Yes
WF: Finally, I'll have a hard copy. The wait will pay off.
WD: You don't have the CD?
WF: No, I burned it off of iTunes.
WD: Oh. Well this should be pretty good though I don't really need the stuff on disc two. I can't see myself wanting to hear the fifth take of Bob Smith on "Lullaby" where he sings "ciders" instead of "spiders." Or something.
WF: Is there a good Cure biography? I really want to absorb some more Cure. I think it would be good for me.
