canned heat, or how i built a city under vesuvius...

"spaces conceal their contents by means of meanings, by means of an absence of meanings or by means of an overload of meanings... spaces sometime lie just as things lie, even though they are not themselves things." -henri lefebvre



before i left for paris i promised a friend -sean- i would post some tracks by the acorn; obviously, as with everything in my life, this meant a lengthy delay. anyway, this dove-tailed nicely into also posting some red red meat/califone who are perhaps one of my favourite bands of all time. yes, all time, i made one of those statements, but i cannot emphasize how much i enjoy every aspect of their music. it is for this reason that i really enjoyed the acorns glory hope mountain which borrows heavily from the 'califone sound' (i don't mean this as a slight, the acorn put their own twist on things and do it wonderfully well [further, more artist should take the task of building on the sound of bands like califone instead of producing generic electro-dance or flat washed out pedal fuzz, but i digress]). anyway, this got me thinking of other bands that i hear new spaces in their songs each time i put on my headphones, though there are a lot (the circulatory system, or caribou come to mind first and foremost) i think this is an incredibly difficult task to do simply. apostle of hustle is another artist, like califone and the acorn, who does this really well... i kind of feel that each of these artist move their melody across a complex and fluid topography of sound, seeking out spaces to be left vacant, and overlooked alley ways to be filled with a festival... music where each minute rings for sixty seconds...



the acorn:

1. burrows (acorn/ohbijou 12")
2. plates & saucers
3. bell (snailhouse cover)
4. flood pt. 1
5. crooked legs
6. oh napoleon
7. brokered hearts (heron act version)
   
8. dents (heron act version)
   
9. good enough (cyndi lauper cover)
10. darcy
11. feral chile

download link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/MnFpQk0zT2JWRC9IRGc9PQ


apostle of hustle:

1. folkloric feel
2. energy of death
3. kings and queens
4. animal fat
5. wedding song
6. my sword hand's anger
7. national anthem of nowhere
8. cheap like sebastien
9. justine, beckoning
   
10. perfect fit
11. xerses

download link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/MnFpQk0zT2JrYUFLSkE9PQ


red red meat:

1. gauze
2. carpet of horses
3. bunny gets paid
4. chain chain chain (4-track demo)

"medicated dull, your attention
dry winter miles, diamonds and glass
cheaters hands, you never take care you never take care, stars are out
spilling from afraid of flying
trembling planes, diamonds and glass

mink eyed, marble eyed
in the gauze, in the weeds
by the drain, red on pale
there's a nail by the vent
sweet for your heel, in the gauze marble eyed, waiting there
kiss your mouth to shut you up

crossed and lowered
cheaters fine, wings on fire
the stars are out
whisper stung in the wires
all you steal, you never take care

mink eyed, marble eyed
in the gauze, in the weeds
by the drain, red on pale
there's a nail by the vent
sweet for your heel, in the gauze marble eyed, waiting there
kiss your mouth to shut you up "
-red red meat, 'gauze'


califone:

1. don't let me die nervous
2. sawtooth sang a cheater's song
3. mittens
4. vampiring again
5. michigan girls
6. bottles and bones (shades and sympathy)
7. fisherman's wife
8. porno starlet vs. rodeo clown
9. tayzee nub
10. slow right hand
11. pink & sour
12. spider's house
13. the eye you lost in the crusades
14. the orchids (psychic tv cover)
15. silvermine picture
16. st. martha let if fold

download link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/MnFpQk0rK3htNEpMWEE9PQ

"nervous john rescues all the whores
bleeding nose and all
taste of metal, when you're hit straight on
frozen dimes and throwing flashes
clouds of angels
liquored pink and underage

steal your sweet decline, this is the longest goodbye

loose breaks on a one eyed continental
engine willing
interior stained
china rattles wish
cold pacific shallows
spells and fits resurrected
calls you in, calls you in

steal your sweet decline, this is the longest goodbye
aching to get your pocket picked
bottles and bones, shade and sympathy
kick the glass out of your path
calls you in, calls you in, calls you in

traps for your fingers, fire for your mouth
stones for your passage, brass for your jaded
underneath the baking clouds and hardening starless skies

lick your collarbone clean
cold pacific shallows
spells and fits resurrected
calls you in, calls you in

steal your sweet decline, this is the longest goodbye
aching to get your pocket picked
bottles and bones, shade and sympathy
kick the glass out of your path
calls you in, calls you in, calls you in "
-califone, 'bottles and bones (shades and sympathy)'




in the listless coffee shop
with the conversations
wounded with ennui
the sound bloomed
and i was a hedgefox
populated in solitude
listening to the static
stacked upon itself
it adorned me
a badge, a ticket, a loading dock,
and a protest
here i loitered
perhaps for 73 days
in a world of secret affinities
without invitation
watching every illusions and illumination
moored to the profane


"this is the magic and metaphysics of shit" -henri lefebvre

all images from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianton/