Twin Shadow – At My Heels

A sort of repeat post, I know but it just feels right as I've been in a blissful haze off the vinyl to this album for the past week or so.

I'm in the belly of a canyon
I can't come up with any reason
Why a ghost is following me, why a ghost is following me.
I've got some feed for the longing
I've got the pillow for the bad dreams
The apparition dancing with me, stepping down all over my feet.
There is no key to my gate…but you can still come around
Lean your ladder against my window
And I'll come down, I'll come down.

~ Guitar a la The Cars ~

Sometimes I don't know what I'm seeing
Who's keeping track of all that's breathing?
There's a world that's waiting for me, there's a world that's waiting for me.
I'm in the belly of a canyon
I can't come up with any reason
Why a ghost is following me, why a ghost is following me.
There is no key to my gate…but you can still come around
Lean your ladder against my window
And I'll come down, I'll come down.

There is no key to my gate…but you can still come around
Lean your ladder against my window
And I'll come down, I'll come down. (-Bryan)

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

During John Coltrane’s high years, he reveled as an unmatched musician that was on a whole different playing field. Even when he matched up with artists of similar ilk, like even Miles Davis, he outshined because his skill was something extraordinary. Ears unlike many others, skills that matched his impeccable ears and this silvery, smooth delivery, he was the best of the best. So during the early 60s Coltrane was just catching steam when he teamed with vocalist Johnny Hartman for what many consider a true jazz classic in balladry.

Make no qualms about it, Coltrane’s list of albums is deep and this is just one of a sample collection that further showcases his ear for melody. On this album he would take a backseat almost to Hartman’s singing as the two recorded the entire album in one day. Legend has it that Hartman went to one of Coltrane’s shows where he stayed until he finished and the two performed together and felt the fire. Agreeing to make an album together, they supposedly had their set list picked before they heard Nat King Cole singing “Lush Life” on the radio. Suddenly, the duo felt compelled to record their own definitive version of it. Here you can definitely tell that Coltrane allowed Hartman to take over, his voice sounds clear and very mellow, subdued almost by Coltrane’s serene style. You can hear his soft sax as it creeps into the song at about the two minute mark, always staying right underneath. Personally, yes to me, the sax is the star but you gotta love the way Coltrane allowed another star to reach high as well. The song’s lyrics were written by Billy Strayhorn who once said, “all music is beautiful,” agree or not, this is definitely just that, beautiful.

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And then there is “My One and Only Love,” where Coltrane takes the lead from the beginning with a melodically linear line. His saxophone renders half breaths where he dips notes, he takes the melody and adds the 7^th just to make it that much brighter and the piano is nothing more than decoration to Coltrane’s undeniably sweet saxophone skills. Just six songs short, this piece closes the first side of the record with a distant calling of love and although reminiscent, it sounds happy to have loved. Now, I’m not getting romantic or anything but this has to be the kind of music one would love to play at their wedding. The bright and sprinkling drums signal Hartman’s singing as he calls out with his singing heart. It’s timeless and the utter presentation of romanticism at its best. Even if they only paired up once and all we got was these six songs, it was obviously well worth it. – Bryan

The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

The hazards of love. Sort of like a modern day Wagner opera in the form of a full-length album – some would simply call it a concept album. The Hazards of Love was the album that followed the heavily loved by maaaaannnymany people, The Crane Wife, and it’s almost a near opposite of its predecessor. It’s a lot to take in, 17 songs long and an all-encompassing album, it’s very much invested in a strong story line that is almost symphonic in its presentation. Recurring melodies, themes, modes that parallel the mood, it was highly ambitious and for many it didn’t stick. I’d say it’s very great, just not as great as the two before it but gee, I can come back with more details another time, for now we can check out the four different hazards of love that they featured here.

The first part, The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone, is basically the introduction to the story and precursor to what your ears will be mostly presented with. The very first song is this massive instrumental and then this song appears with the singer’s moodily beautiful voice and the dripping guitar line. It sounds like a blend of Fleet Foxes and it’s just an adorning song, a light affair before the meaty substance hits.

The second part is a smooth, bossa nova almost, tender lullaby that starts off solemn, picks up some steam, rolls over and back to smooth again. This is Wager Again, where the guitar sparkles and the ultimate feel of the song is what pulls me in. It's compelling and sweet, the guitar sounds easy but its challenging and his lyrics of "take my hand and cradle it in yours" are unabashed. In between this second and the first were just two songs but they were far more intense, and here is just a small cry to the initial melody and storyline again. The hazards of love live here in a burning heart and the story is just picking up.

This part three, called Revenge!, really does a lot to the entirety of the song before it, it sort of lulls you in and then you get the same refrain from before at the very start of the revenge. Those same crashing drums and keyboards, and the melody from before about the waves coming in, suddenly, there’s a children’s choir singing the hazards of love. By this point you're fifteen songs in, very much indebted to the investment and there’s a children’s choir backed by at first a harpsichord-like keyboard, the second part that shrills with some strings and way more atmosphere, and a third part that thumps and rattles. The kids sing about death, love, poison, beating, religion, every other thing you wish your kids didn’t talk about. But there’s about ten songs that are before this hazard and so a lot has happened, including death and love and poison and well you know the rest. And Hell what do I know about kids, they just sound really awesome here.

The fourth part, The Drowned, is this utter slice of heaven. A sort of blissful country shuffle that sounds eerily familiar – like if I know a song from somewhere else about it – but it mostly rolls up and down the nearly six minutes it departs and it is just sublime. It’s really good because it maintains some of the refrain with the hazards of love calling out at the end, but it's this stone cold beast of a song where the country twang, the bass and then the strings all culminate for a very blissful release. The whole album plays out like a very dramatic, theatrical opera – and not so much like a cohesive album always – but it only gets better with each listen and it begs to be heard from front to end. And so it’s fitting to end with this song: it closes out the dramatics with a beautiful exposure of sounds. – Bryan

Willie Hutch "The Mack"

So the other night I was on my daily run around 10 pm, and needless to say it was pretty damn dark between lamp posts. Out of the darkness I see a silhouette of what looks like a small dog. As I quickly approach from behind, the dog turns around and lunges at me and I realize it's a decent size pit bull! My heart skips about 3 beats until I realize this dog is in no way malicious, and is actually glad to see me. She jumps all over me, licking me, rubbing her head aggressively on my side. I look for a tag, but nothing. She obviously had been on the streets for a while by the malnourished look of her rib cage being very visible. Long story short, this dog followed me 4 miles home. And as it sank in that I would be fostering this sweet dog, I kept thinking of the Willie Hutch song, "I Choose You". The idea that you don't choose your dog, that in fact they choose you just seemed resonate in my head. Which brings me to the that song and the wonderful soundtrack it appears on. "The Mack", a blaxploitation flick released in 1973 tells the tale of a former drug dealer turned pimp in Oakland, California. With more social commentary on the black condition than other "blaxploitation" films of that era, the plot plays out as more of a Greek tragedy than simply the sex and violence audience were used to seeing from these kinds of movies. Oddly enough the soundtracks of these films always seemed to have plenty more social commentary and consciousnesses than the films they accompanied. Artists like Isaac Hayes' preeminent "Shaft" soundtrack and Curtis Mayfield's critically acclaimed score for "Superfly", both which have greatly outlived the actual films they were written for.

"I Choose You", a sweet soulful almost ballad like tune has Hutch crooning over a woman whom he has finally found that he considers dropping everything for. Not exactly the same sentiment of the song, here's a clip from "The Mack" where someone gets chosen. Again, not exactly what Hutch was singing about, but entertaining non the less! Oh yeah, Richard Pryor is up in this flick too! Since I haven't posted in a while, lets keep it going! UGK, along with a host of other hip hop artists have sampled Hutch's "I Choose You", however UGK's rendition featuring Outkast is in my opinion the best out there. In their version Andre 3000's verse starts off the track as he professes his love for a woman he has chosen for his wife. After Andre, the bass drops and Pimp C, Bun B and Big Boi each throw their own take on marriage and monogamy, which are slightly contrasting to those if Mr. 3000! Another great track that was also sampled from Willie Hutch's soundtrack is "Brothers Gonna Work it Out". A soulful disco vibed out tune speaking to the complicated relationship of the main character Goldie, and his black nationalist brother who doesn't approve of his brothers lifestyle of pimping and drug dealing in the black community. Oddly enough I heard the sampled version The Chemical Brothers made many years ago. Oddly enough the sample not only uses the song but an audio clip from the film. It took a good 5 years to finally figure out where the audio for the sample came from. Anyways, check it out. And finally The Chemical Brothers version, which though interesting, doesn't stray too far from the og version.