Now That’s What 411 Calls Music Volume 3: The One That's An Anti-Best Of Best Of
Posted by Morgan Marx on 03.06.2006
My desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups…err…songs.
Truth be told, I'm not really into the whole "mix tape" or essentials scene. Sure, like any good music fiend, I love High Fidelity. And I've agonized over the placement of songs on CD's I've burned for my girlfriend. But, personally, I don't really listen to too many mix compilations. I was never one to make "Best Of" CD's, I prefer to listen to complete albums. Blame that on my appreciation of Nine Inch Nails and Queens Of The Stone Age, bands who still make "albums" as opposed to "singles." But with the advent of the digital music movement, and the ubiquitous of the iPod, even a guy like me can be corrupted. So, for my "Now That's What 411 Calls Music" entry, here's a selection of songs that can stand-alone on a mix list. Some are album tracks, some are from specialty releases, and a few are live tracks I've accrued over the last few years. While there isn't a "message" in the order, there is a certain flow that I might comment on periodically. So, here we go.
Tracklist
1) Interpol – "Specialist" - Interpol EP (2004)
Opening with the solitary bass notes of Carlos D, this Interpol B side is something of a wonderful mess. At 6:39, it's one of the band's longest tracks, narrowly edging out "Stella Was A Diver." As the song progresses, certain sections are repeated, but there isn't a true hook. Paul Banks starts out as his laconic best, before his voices rises desperately, crying out, "I love the way you put me in the big house." By the time Interpol breaks it down with a cooing "Ooh Ooh" section, you will have shimmied, bounced, and embarrassed yourself by singing along on the crowded train before class.
2) Bjork (w/Thom Yorke) – "I've Seen It All" – Selmasongs EP (2000)
Bjork both starred in and supplied the soundtrack for Lars Von Trier's Dancer In The Dark, the musicians first (and possibly last) foray into acting. This duet with the Radiohead frontman contains some of the best imagery in a Bjork song. The two swap lyrics in a question/answer format about the myriad beauties life contains. Yorke states, "You've never been to Niagara Falls." Bjork: "I have seen water, it's water, that's all." The duo's voices harmonize perfectly, and the downcast theme suits Yorke's persona as a perennial pessimist the same.
3) Feist – "Mushaboom" – Let it Die (2004)
After the previous downer, ex-Broken Social Scene-er Feist provides a bit of relief. "Mushaboom" is one of those songs that you hear once and you immediately have to listen to it again. Pleasing to the ear, and catchy as hell, you'll find yourself humming the melody absentmindedly throughout the day. The simple, plucky guitar bits match the slice-of-life lyrics to a T. Feist's voice breaks wonderfully as she delivers lines like, "We'll collect the moments one by one, I guess that's how the futures done." Mushaboom indeed.
4) The Arcade Fire (w/David Bowie) – "Wake Up" – Live At Fashion Rocks, New York (2005)
According to certain New York obsessed blogs, a band hasn't really made it until either David Bowie, David Byrne, or some combination of the two appears onstage with you. Well, The Arcade Fire has hit for the David cycle. This epic-in-nature song off of Funeral sounds even better with the addition of Bowie's vocals. With Win Butler accentuating every lyric, the song starts off plodding, before exploding into choral "Oh's" and a crescendo of instruments and audience alike.
5) The Dresden Dolls – "Bank Of Boston Beauty Queen (Live)" – A Is For Accident (2005)
I'm going to work a Dolls reference into everything I write until the band blows up like they should. With a jaunty piano riff and amazing lyrics, this live song captures the essence of the Dresden Dolls. Singer Amanda Palmer deals with her own (im)maturity and bemoans her inability to find true love among the skate rats of her hometown. Lines like "Still expecting the cops to come and pick me up/For all the sins I committed in the back of a banged up pickup truck" just roll off the tongue. One of my favorite songs to sing along with in the shower. Cough.
6) Deftones (w/Maynard James Keenan) – "Passenger" – White Pony (2000)
A metal band with the lyrical sensibility of The Cure. Could there be a better combination? This track features added vocals by my favorite male vocalist, the Reverend MJK. Reading like a dark and frightening version of The Smith's classic, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out," the duel between Keenan and Chino Moreno elevates the song to unbelievable heights. I love unique voices, and this song has two of the best.
7) A Perfect Circle – "The Hollow ‘Constantly Consuming' Mix" – rEMIXED (2004)
I know, you're thinking more Maynard (and he is coming later). But this APC song is actually arranged and sung by former bassist Paz Lenchantin. APC's first album, Mer De Noms, fully embraced its feminine side, in no small part to the South American enchantress. It was nice to see the multi-talented artist take center stage on this track, well after she had left the band. The acoustic guitar parts, the piano runs, and Lenchantin's haunting vocals breathe a different sort of life into the song about emptiness and longing.
8) Desert Sessions – "There Will Never Be a Better Time" – 9 And 10 (2003)
Josh Homme likes to gather a bunch of his friends, hide out in the Palm Deserts, and record the events. This song features vocalist PJ Harvey at her absolute best. Supposedly done in one take, Harvey peels the paint off of walls with her astounding howl. A simple, almost Spanish, guitar supports PJ as she runs a serrated edge over and over her voice for our pleasure. Your heart will pound.
9) Morrissey – "I'm Not Sorry" - Live At Dublin Castle (2004)
As our favorite musicians age, we'd have them fade away, rather than wilt in our full view. Thankfully, Morrissey just keeps getting better as a solo artist. This live version of a song off You Are The Quarry almost serves as a "State Of The Moz" address, in which the crooner makes sure we know he hasn't regretted a thing. But the wistful way he delivers the line, "The woman of my dreams, she never came along/The woman of my dreams, well, there never was one" reveals the depth of his soul. And oh, how to tease us, with the still ambiguous notion of his sexuality.
10) The Chemical Brothers (w/Noel Gallagher) – "Let Forever Be" – Singles 93-03 (2003)
We need another pick me up, after than string of miserable music. This track is by far the best thing to have emerged from the "Techno craze" of the 90's. It's combination of electronica and rock appealed to fans of both genres, and almost proved right the scribes who predicted Rave culture would dominate the late 90's. Gallagher's vocal abilities are used perfectly, and the song is a nice treat for Oasis fans. Plus, the video was cool.
11) Okkervil River – "For Real" – Black Sheep Boy (2005)
The only song on this list that I don't know much about. I hadn't heard of Okkervil River until this track popped up on a bunch of "Best Of 2005" lists. Just a stunning song, and hopefully one that won't surpass the rest of the band's output. Frantic, needy guitar crashes propel lyrics that teeter on the edge of breakdown. It just about stops me in my tracks every time it pops up unexpectedly on the iPod.
12) Joanna Newsom – "Sadie" – The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
This song sounds like Willa Cather's My Antonia, if Cather had been a harp playing beauty instead of an author in 1918. Verse after verse of amazing imagery and wordplay just piles onto the listener, adding up to a song that feels much bigger than its six minutes would suggest. Just read lyrics like, "Down where I darn with the milk-eyed mender/you and I and the love so tender/stretched on a hoop where I stitched this adage/Bless our house and its heart so savage," aloud. Just beautiful. You'll completely forget to blanch at Newsom's "weird" vocals.
Hold up before skipping to the next track. I promise this song is worth it. If you can forget that Mrs. Spears is a completely insane, douche bag (douchebag?) marrying, MILF-wannabe joke for a second, you might remember that Pop music can be dumb and slutty and transcendent at the same time. The DFA (wonder producers Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy) craft a hip, punky beat that underscores Spears' heavily treated vocals. The song is like one of those Zero 7 or Massive Attack tracks where a hired gun adds vocals to an amazing beat. Try not to be sucked in by the clattering, clanging cowbell. Just try. You can't help but dance along.
14) Slayer – "Raining Blood" – Reign In Blood (1986)
I'm not just including this to prove I still have a penis. One of the great things about the iPod (and the shuffle function in particular) is the accidental moments the device can create. A midday double feature of Nirvana? Why not. Back to back songs by Liz Phair and The Rolling Stones? How apropos. And while Britney Spears and Slayer don't necessarily sound alike, there's some sort of beauty that emerges from the dissonance when two unlikely tracks are played in succession. And has a singular song ever succeeded at encapsulated an entire genre like "Raining Blood"? Ridiculous lyrics, head crushing guitar riffs, and more technical virtuosity than you can shake a stick at.
15) Sufjan Stevens – "Casimir Pulaski Day (Live) - At The Bluebird Theatre, Denver (2005)
I like the loud/soft dynamic that comes from buttressing Death Metal with gentle acoustic rock. The album version of this track is sparse, and heartbreaking, and not something you want to find yourself listening to on repeat for hours at a time. The song reads like a goodbye letter to a friend dying of cancer, and it somehow plays out sadder than that implies. The live version manages to sound a little more vibrant. Friends support Sufjan on vocals throughout the choruses, and the sudden inclusion of a trumpet seems to remind me that life isn't all hushed vocals and death.
16) Tool – "No Quarter" – Salival (2000)
I don't talk too much about my own musical tastes in my album reviews (as any good reviewer shouldn't). But yes, My Name Is Morgan, And I'm An Obnoxious TOOL Fan. I think Danny Carey is the "Best Drummer Alive." I think the video for Parabol/Parabola definitely has a story line that completely makes sense. No matter how many times he tells me to fuck off, I'm going to worship Maynard from afar. This song is a great closer for a mixtape, with its beauty sprawling over 11 staggering minutes. I honestly believe it's better than the Led Zep original. It contains one of Maynard's great screams at the tail end of, "And I'm locked in a place where no one goes!" All that's missing is a tabla break or two…
Outro
So that's that. There isn't one singular theme tying this mix together, but there are repeating characteristics. You can tell I'm a big fan of lyrics, with artists like Stevens, Amanda Palmer, and Newsom crafting short stories into songs. Vocals are also all important. I love distinctive, amazing voices. A certain loud/soft dynamic seems to alternate from song to song. Then there's also a running theme of sexuality through out the songs, both in the lyrics and from the male/female artist divide.
Thanks so much for reading, if you managed to slog through. I fully recommend all of these songs, and almost all of the artists. Feel free to drop me an email if you agree with any of my selections, if you discover any of these songs after reading, or you think I should be barred from these features. Have a good one.
