the oh so quiet show

Not too long ago, I decided to visit Elastic Heart because…I hadn’t been there in ages. (If you like pretty websites, you should check it out.) On the left side of the page under “My Band” was a new Marianas release, “Summering EP”. And by “new” I mean that it was released on June 22, 2005.

…I’m slow.

Anyway, you can download all four songs from the EP on Elastic Heart. So. Do it. I was going to recommend one song, but I like all of them and there’s only four, so there’s no reason not to.

…Okay, I’ll describe their music first if that’s what you want. Post-rock electronic ambient dreamy acoustic dinkly warm organic, mixed until just combined (like making muffins; you don’t want too much gluten formation) and then…pop in the oven and get delicious muffins. I mean, music. Get some tasty, delicious music. I could compare Marianas to other bands, but I’ll be annoying and just present them on their own terms (refer to the confusing string of words in the beginning of the paragraph).

You can buy the EP on their website for $6 if you live in the US. I immediately fell in love with the forest cover (photo by Debbie Carlos), but it sold out. Apparently I am not the only one who loves creepy looking forest scenes. I want to wrap my room in that forest and play this music until I go insane.

Also check out Marianas’ first album, Onward + Upward (while I like their website despite the flash interface, I’m still annoyed by the non-linky-ness of websites that are entirely in flash, which many music sites fall into). I think I got it shortly after it came out, but I haven’t listened to it that often in the past…three years. I’ll listen to it now.

Bradley’s almanac put up “mp3s from Monday’s EITS show”:http://www.bradleysalmanac.com/2005/12/mp3s-explosions-in-sky-live-in-nyc.htm! They’re great quality and very happiness inducing, all without the “ear-blistering” quality (I wore earplugs during the show…yup). Download, NOW. [via “chromewaves”:http://www.chromewaves.net/?itemid=2057]

(It’s weird to find photos that you can spot yourself in, and creepy when “you’re taking a photo at the same time”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsearles/73889602/!)

More reviews [via “brooklyn vegan”:http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2005/12/explosions_in_t_1.html]:

“Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con”:http://anti-fanboy.blogspot.com/2005/12/splosions.html
“Ear Farm”:http://earfarm.blogspot.com/2005/12/explosions-in-sky-wilderness-bowery.html
“Friends Forever”:http://urbanatime.blogspot.com/2005/12/explosions-in-sky-no-its-not-terrorist.html

I didn’t mention the opener Wilderness in my other post, but I’m one of the people who didn’t “get” them. I _could_ leave it at that, but…I have no idea how anyone could’ve concentrated on the performance with the lead singer not really singing as much as yelling while looking like he was doing tai chi. But that’s just my opinion, and I am rather picky. Actually, it was also the opinion of my friends. We even started coming up with reasons as to why the rest of the band was keeping the singer. I suppose we’re just odd people.

I’ve never seen “Explosions in the Sky”:http://www.explosionsinthesky.com/ before, so I thought I may as well. Besides that I…um, like their music. I don’t usually go to concerts on a whim, but the nice thing about their music is that it kind of all sounds the same. I don’t mean that in a bad sense–certainly the same can be said about many artists–but if you like just one EITS song, you’ll like them all performed live and won’t feel out of place for not recognizing what they’re playing. You might feel uncomfortable standing being a guy who’s 6 feet tall (and when I say you, I mean my 5 foot self), but you’ll forget about the weird feeling in your neck from craning it at an odd angle because EITS is really intense. Really really intense.

Or, better described by “Crackers United”:http://crackersunited.com/blog/?p=327, “EITS are a band that can evoke so much passion and freedom, joy and happiness and pain and suffering all within the span of an eight and a half minute song, without saying a word.”

Yeah, it’s something like that. I mean. I don’t know about the pain and suffering, as I feel mainly something kind of joyful, but I can see the pain and suffering bit. Passion and freedom are there. Sweating, too. Violently bashing a tambourine into the stage floor, yes. They put so much into it, I couldn’t imagine getting an encore, for their sake (of not dying from over exhaustion). Great show, nothing crazy, besides intense fans standing front and center thrashing about and the tall guy in front of me seemingly recording the show on his mobile. For some reason I don’t feel compelled to actually buy more of their albums (I just have “Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever”, my favorite song being “Yasmin The Light”) but if you can see them live, you must. Go. Do it.

And download this live Peel Sessions song, “The Only Moment We’re Alone”:http://explosionsinthesky.free.fr/eits04/explosions%20in%20the%20sky%20-%2001%20-%20only%20moment%20we%20were%20alone.mp3. [via “chromewaves”:http://www.chromewaves.net/?itemid=2046]

Reverberating in my head right now are the dinkly, atmospheric (yeah, I said “atmospheric”, but don’t ask me what that means exactly) sounds from Furniture’s debut album, Twilight Chases the Sun. There’s no skipping songs on this 10-track album, although, of course, I do like some more than others. Here’s one I really like and isn’t 6+ minutes long:

Furniture - Why Is Adam King? [removed]

The album is about 50/50 between purely instrumental songs and ones with vocals, some melding right into the next, some not so much but…ah, nevermind, I can’t describe stuff. Here’s a quote from Think:

bq. …they bring the organic into the electronic, a touch of wabi-sabi to sanitised industrial perfection. Human intimacy is found within it all, a series of ‘this-was-once-our-song’ Hallmark moments, bringing comfort to the loneliness of gazing into a starry, starry night. This is hipster music for lovelorn Trekkies.

I’ll just replace “Trekkies” with “dorks” to make that more applicable to me.

Since I can’t come up with a well-written description of their music, I’ll just list the “sound’s like” bands I thought of: Sigur Ros, Mogwai, GYBE, The Album Leaf, My Bloody Valentine, a bit of Múm, and I’ll probably add Efterklang once I listen to more of their music (just bought some albums online, woo). There are other ones, I’m sure. So roll all those artists together in a big juicy music meatball, and…wait, that’s not a great comparison. Um. Just put all those bands together in a bowl (and add an egg; can’t forget the egg) and make a big fluffy Furniture cake. And then eat it. And smile.

Although their website lists the album’s availability only in Asia (the band is from Malaysia), you can contact them and order a copy. It’s only $12 with the shipping and handling if you’re in the US. SO GET IT!!!

Yaaay Sigur Ros is great, but I think you knew that. Every time I see Sigur Ros, they’re pretty much the same, which isn’t bad since “the same” means “really great”. Since they’re consistent (like the deliciousness of chocolate), I’ll just talk about the weird non-consistent things.

1) Dude who started snoring near the end of the show. Uh. Okay, I can kind of imagine Sigur Ros putting you to sleep, but good god…don’t actually go to sleep! AND SNORE!!!

2) Fan who was singing: you’re kidding me, right? Someone was attempting to sing along to the songs in the beginning of the show, a mind boggling feat if you know what Sigur Ros sounds like. Their music doesn’t really command sing-a-longs. I think the person stopped after someone else got pissed off at him/her.

Otherwise, it was all good. They played some new songs but overall there was stuff from all the albums, which made me happy. I can’t remember what they played but they started off with “Glosoli” and ended with “Popplagid”…or something like that. I can’t keep track of setlists I can’t spell. :p

I loved the opener, (and Sigur Ros’s string players) Amina. Kinda like less electronic-y Mum-esque music: playful but not immature. Happiness inducing, not saccharine. (One of the members spoke to the audience to say thanks and my friend said her voice was like the most innocent sounding voice ever. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I felt like it was kind of endearing and funny at the same time.) I’ve never seen anyone play glasses of water before or a saw so that was neat. They ended their set of rather subdued songs with this insanely cutesy Casio VL1-esque centered tune. I wish I had recorded it.

Oh god, no sleep…no more concerts. No CMJ stuff this year.

…which disturbs me because it’s 8 minutes long and, what do you know, it’s past 4:30 AM…

I Am Ying (link works now!) by Furniture, a beautiful GYBE-type song, the kind that makes you feel…happy. Actually, it’s not really happiness, but it’s not sadness either. If you really like GYBE type stuff, maybe you understand. Another song you can listen to is Please, kinda My Bloody Valentine-ish, dinkly and pretty. Yup.

Furniture is a band from Malaysia (they also have a blog). I’m not familiar with music from that area, although I doubt many people from around here would be. Actually, I’m not familiar with any Asian music, as most of the Asian music I’ve heard is J-pop (not my thing), Chinese pop songs (like American pop songs, but in Chinese), or Korean rap (…oh my god…no, NO). Sad. Help.

Not really related, but kinda: for music from the Philppines (and other good stuff), check out Kristine and Luis are Listening.

The new album leaked, so if you really want it, you’ll be able to find it. If I link it, that won’t give you much choice (cos you’ll have to click it, yes’m).

It’s really pretty. Happy.

Dammit, I wanted to wait until it came out! But…it’s much nicer actually knowing the songs before going to a concert. I enjoy them more, at least.

Totally unrelated, but I wanted to shove it in: Sound Mushroom from Japan! Huh? Uh.

I’d write about more things in one topic but then the title would become…the post.

I decided to update my “currently playing” thing on the right and realized that I don’t listen to a crapload of stuff. I just got Coldplay’s new album in exchange for some website work (pay me in CDs, yes!) and even though I’m not a huge fan, I…can’t…help it…must listen to Coldplay…for the love of god, WHY?! Seriously.

I’ve been listening to the new Royksopp album lately in preparation for the Irving Plaza show this Wednesday but sadly, I can’t say I like it a whole lot. At least, not compared to “Melody A.M.”, which I really like. I think it’s due to the lack of Erlend action; no Erlend = not as enjoyable. Or maybe it’s because the people they got to sing on the new album irritate me a bit (I can be over-judgemental with people singing voices). I’m not saying The Understanding is bad–I’m just not liking it as much as I’d hope to. It’s selling well in Norway, but that’s not surprising.

I found a way to get around the stupid “should I go to Sigur Ros” internal debate; get a pair of tickets and write it off as a birthday present! Do I deserve a birthday present? Not really. Birthday’s aren’t a big deal in my family (on a semi-related note, today is my brother’s 23rd birthday; and what do you know, he’s still at home looking for a job). I think Sigur Ros is a good birthday present though, so as long as I can get tickets (which go onsale July 22nd), I’ll go to the 9/12 show.

On a totally unrelated note, A-Ha is playing at Irving Plaza on 9/12. I didn’t grow up listening to A-Ha. Should I have?

Okay, back to Sigur Ros. Their coolness factor has risen due to the presence of their flickr account. [via Brooklyn Vegan] If you like taking photos, flickr is awesome and definitely worth paying for. DO IT.

Central Village looks at real ticket prices: oh crap. I’m not paying $50 to see BRMC. $50 for TWO tickets…alright, that makes much more sense! I have to go back to elementary school so I can learn how to read. Apparently, I am lacking this ability. Uhoh.

Damn, this is getting too long. Can someone inform me about Irving Plaza’s bag policy? I’ve only been there twice but during the first time they didn’t make me check in my bag, while during the second they pretty much forced me to. Hm. Also, if anyone has recommendations on where to eat around there (yeah, I should know these things and if I have to I’ll figure out something) let me know.

I still haven’t decided whether I want to see Sigur Ros or not. …actually, that’s not true; of course I want to see them, I just don’t know if I actually will make the effort to. The opposing forces in this decision are 1) price and 2) lack of concert-going companion. By the time I make up my mind, the concert will be sold out, and then I won’t have to make up my mind. WEE.

The new Sigur Ros album is called Takk, to be released September 12th (UK, at least). The album’s second track “Glósóli” will be available to download on August 15th. Look at the flyer thing!

I feel quite cheap after deciding not to see Sigur Ros upon finding out that the tickets were $50, plus whatever other fees get tacked onto that (I checked out the pre-sale night when nothing was sold out yet). Since that’s from the pre-sale, I’m guessing Ticketmastercrapheadsatanthing (unofficial title) will be worse. So. I’ll probably will skip out on Sigur Ros this time. All day I actually thought about whether the tickets were really expensive and I guess they’re not, but if I had to think about it all day then that must mean I’m not dying to go.

…but they are very good, so if you can go, go.

Actually, I found $55 in an old Christmas card while cleaning out my drawers. Hm.

Random memory: I think I saw a guy eating nachos the last time I saw Sigur Ros. It may have been during the intermission, but still. Nachos? I was in the last row at that concert, but it was kind of a mixed blessing since I got to sit high on the chair and lean against the wall.

On an unrelated note, Do Make Say Think is playing at the Bowery Ballroom tomorrow. $13! I’d like to go, but I’m not.

Just so I/you don’t forget (not that I would): Sigur Ros 2005 tour dates, in particular, 9/12 and 9/13 at the Beacon Theater. Figuring that the tickets don’t cost a crapload, I’ll probably go, although I wish it were at a general admissions place. I have nothing against the Beacon Theater but like any seated venue, I NEVER EVER EVER GET GOOD SEATS. Not that that’s very crucial to seeing Sigur Ros live, but it doesn’t hurt.