Holopaw - Quit +/or Fight review

Holopaw - Quit +/or Fight (2005, Sub Pop Records)


In 2003, I was at a Modest Mouse show and a complete stranger tapped me on the shoulder and pointed up into the reserved part of the balcony. “See that guy?!” he said as he pointed to who I presume was John Orth, “That’s the other guy from Ugly Casanova!” It didn’t mean a lot to me then, because I hadn’t listened to Ugly Casanova much, and I had yet to hear Orth’s other band Holopaw at all. I later picked up the 2003 self-titled Holopaw album and I enjoyed it. Nothing about the album really stands out. I’ve heard it several time and while I remember the general sound, I can’t remember any songs or song titles from it.

Now I’m listening to Quit +/or Fight, the band’s new album, and I’m not blown away by this either, but I do find it a little more interesting. I was reading the press release where they discuss how the of traditional sounds, the simple folksy acoustic guitars, are laid on the background of electronic elements, the synths and keyboards giving the songs more sonic weight. These two sounds are blended together so seamlessly that I would not have even thought to have addressed it if it hadn’t been pointed out to me.

Holopaw’s music just isn’t the kind that stands out. I don’t feel the need to discuss certain songs, because I feel like it would be almost at random which song I decided to address. I like listening to these songs, but I find them fairly indistinguishable, even after listening to the album several times.

It’s a funny thing. I think I would be a little bored at a Holopaw concert, but I like putting the music on when I’m working on something. It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement to say “Yeah, I liked it, it’s okay… I can’t remember it, but it sounds pretty good.” There are plenty of people out there who only want to pay for music they think they are going to love. Me, I can listen to a band, shrug my shoulders, and still dish out money knowing it’ll be a pleasant addition to my collection.

Death Cab For Cutie - Plans Review

Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (2005, Atlantic Records)


Transatlanticism, Death Cab For Cutie's 2003 masterpiece concerning distances both real and imagined gave a generation of O.C.-watching indie kids a band to crown as their kings. My CTC pal, Patrick, introduced me to Death Cab years ago, well before The O.C. catapulted them into the public eye. While I'm happy for the band's success (they earned every ounce of it with years of touring and hard work) it's still a little sad that they belong to everyone now and not just to me.

Their major label debut, Plans, is a continued exploration of the sound they perfected on Transatlanticism. This time out, Gibbard has chosen the subject of death as the album's central theme. Plans is about falling in love with the right person and realizing that you're going to have to watch them die one day. "Love is watching someone die." Gibbard sings that line on one of the album's last tracks and it sums up Plans in a nutshell. It also shows considerable maturity on Gibbard's part, who clearly recognizes the difference between fleeting infatuation and true love.

Plans is a wonderful album and should bring Death Cab For Cutie to the attention of even more listeners.

Sigh...

The Best Albums of 2005 (January - August)

Here are my picks for the best albums released so far this year. So if you've got some extra cash in your wallet and you're craving some new music, one of the following should hit the spot.

Ryan Adams - Cold Roses (2005, Lost Highway)
American Princes - Little Spaces (2005, Yep Roc)
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll (2005, Fierce Panda)
Brendan Benson - The Alternative to Love (2005, V2)
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005, Dim Mak/Vice)
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005, Saddle Creek)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - S/T (2005, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah)
The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005, Kill Rock Stars)
The Kingsbury Manx - The Fast Rise and Fall of the South (2005, Yep Roc)
The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners (2005, Candle Records)
Mazarin - We're Already There (2005, I & Ear Records)
Bill Ricchini - Tonight I Burn Brightly (2005, Transdreamer)
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005, Merge)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005, Asthmatic Kitty)
M. Ward - Transistor Radio (2005, Merge Records)

Happy Birthday, Elliott...

It's August 6th, and Elliott Smith would have turned 36 today.

It's been almost two years since he passed away, and we here at Cut the Chord still feel that loss deep in our hearts. There isn't another musician out there who meant as much to us as Elliott did. We would have done anything to help him if we could have.

We hope that he would have been proud of his life and the effect he had on all of us, and our best goes out to his family and friends. We all miss him. XO.

Is it bad to buy 24 CDs in one week?

Is there a certain point at which buying CDs becomes an addiction? I own about a 1000 CDs at this point, and it seems like an insurmountable task even trying to get familiar with all of the albums that I own. There’s got to be a hundred CDs in my collection that I haven’t even listened to once. And yet, I keep seeking out new music. I keep trying to complete the collection of certain bands’ albums even though I’m still content just to listen to the great first album or two.

I spent the last weekend up in New York City and, of course, spent much of that time hopping from CD store to CD store, snapping up a handful of CDs from each store. I came home with fifteen CDs. Then, just a few days later after having eaten dinner downtown, I once again visited my regular indie CD shop Relative Theory Records and, after a marathon session at one of their CD stations, I walked out of there with nine more CDs.

I talked to Boone later that night. “Is it bad to buy 24 CDs in under a week?”

“Not at all,” he responded, always the enabler.

“…Are you sure?”

“Sure, I mean, you hadn’t bought any CDs recently, right?”

Well… mmm… I probably spent about 70 dollars at Relative Theory about two weeks ago. Oh, and there was that 80 dollars worth of CDs I ordered from Parasol about a month ago. All in all, there aren’t a lot of draughts in my CD purchasing schedule.

Part of my excuse is that I’m a sucker for deals. In total, I spent $254.98 on the 24 CDs I bought. That averages out to about $10.62 per CD. Now there’s a figure that would leave major record labels scratching their heads. “CDs that cost $10.62? How would we ever make a profit? …wait wait, how many did you say he bought?!”

The truth is, I'll buy virtually anything for ten dollars. The cheaper the CDs I want are, the more I will buy. Send me into a record store where all the CDs are price at twelve dollars, I might spend a hundred dollars… send me into a store with the same exact inventory but all priced at eight dollars, I’m probably going to walk out with about two or three hundred dollars worth of CDs instead. The indie labels are figuring this out. The majors are still filing lawsuits instead.

Back to my excessive purchasing, there’s also my obsession to stay current and knowledgeable about what’s out there, and the constant desire not only for new songs, but new sounds, new types of music… searching for that one perfect band, that unique singer, new sorts of melodies. I look for new music the way that a food connoisseur might seek out new meals and recipes. I know the food I like, and I could eat the things I know I like all the time (which, when it comes to food, I do). But when it comes to music, I’m always looking for more.

I don’t know, I could let this turn into a discussion of the very reason why I listen to indie music altogether, but that’s getting away from the main point. How much is too much? I guess I don’t know for sure, but those pangs of guilt that come from seeing a long row of new CDs sitting on the desk in front of me are telling me that maybe I should, ahem, pace myself a little more wisely.

It's not buyer’s remorse. I definitely want everything I bought. I’m a careful enough buyer to know that I’ll enjoy the CDs I buy. But maybe, just maybe, I should spend a little more time seeking out the new music already in my CD collection before adding more into the fold.

However, if you are curious what 24 CDs a man purchases for $10.62 a piece in a week's time, here they are…

Animal Collective – Sung Tongs
The Arcade Fire – The Arcade Fire EP
Architecture in Helsinki – In Case We Die
Biirdie - Morning Kills the Dark
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
The Cloud Room – The Cloud Room
The Concretes – Lay Your Battle Axe Down
Dios – Dios
Doves – Some Cities
Earlimart – The Avenues EP
Enon – Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence
David Fridlund – Amaterasu
Grandaddy - Sumday
Ed Harcourt – Strangers
Jens Lekman – You Are the Light EP
Ted Leo + the Pharmicists – Shake the Sheets
Marbles – Expo
Mazarin – We’re Already There
The Most Serere Republic – Underwater Cinematographer
The One AM Radio – On the Shore of the Wide World
The Orange Peels – Square
Pernice Brothers – Discover a Lovelier You
Tuscadero – The Pink Album
22-20s – 22-20s

Somebody stop me before I buy more!