Saturday, January 19, 2008

bits and pieces

Oh dear, two days away from the internet, and what happens? I accumulate a wealth of things to write about! Let's get started...


One
Last night I went to see Caribou play at the Gallery of Modern Art. I hadn't heard his stuff before - all I knew was the story of how he had to change his name because Handsome Dick Manitoba of the Dictators threatened to sue him. How punk rock! Anyway, I was extremely impressed with the way he merged perfect 60s Californian pop with almost metronomic, Krautrock elements. In many ways, it reminded me of early Stereolab - you know, "We're Not Adult Orientated" style - but my friend Victoria also described them as similar to the Go Team. Their twin drummers would have made Mark E. Smith proud, too. Oh yes, and the visuals were really great - part Windows Media Player, part Commodore 64, but just a perfect kaleidoscope of colours to match the swirling, dreamy psych-pop.

Two
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart EP is better than I ever expected. Oh, that fuzz takes me back to the best of Slumberland - Black Tambourine, Henry's Dress, etc. I am going to fall in love with these songs very, very quickly.

Three
The new Magnetic Fields record is also quite impressive, but I think it will take repeated listens to truly know whether I love it or not. Claudia Gonson's vocals are as lovely as ever, but, to be quite honest, I was expecting more feedback. That's not to say there's not a lot on there - it's just that when there's feedback, I love a lot of it. I'm also considering making a new cover for it, because I really can't bear to look at that atrocity for too long.

Four
I am going to miss out on the Jens Lekman show on Monday night. It's just too far away on a school night. However, I am excited about an international pop frenzy next Friday night, featuring The Zebras (ex-Brisbane, now in Melbourne), Greg Brady (Brisbane luminary through and through), and Ladybird (from France, how exotic!).Hooray for pop shows in Brisbane again!

No comments: