Some interesting music-related items from the past week:
-As I wrote in my article yesterday, there has been a lot of virtual ink spilled eulogizing LCD Soundsystem. I'll reiterate that I was never a huge fan or anything, but because I love just about anything comprehensive, I found this Pitchfork song-by-song retrospective pretty fascinating.
-Speaking of things I'm not specifically all that into but am taken by the general idea, here's a video that explores how lyrics from the new REM album Collapse Into Now describe NHL teams as the season winds down. Though I can't speak for how apt the comparisons are, I always appreciate crazy connections involving pop culture.
-Finally, I got a kick out of this 8-bit remake of Dark Side of the Moon. Check it out at the All Songs Considered blog.
A few tunes we dug:
-There's a young six member band out of Tampa called Sleepy Vikings and they will release their debut album next month on May 10. I think the name of the band actually describes their sound pretty well, at least based on the track below called "Calm." There is a dreamlike quality to it but also some aggression in the feedback and drums. I like the male-female vocals too. I look forward to hearing the rest of They Will Find You Here. Here is the band's website. Respect to the Vikings.
Sleepy Vikings – Calm by fanaticpro
-Keeping with the theme of dreams, here's a self-recorded track from a multi-instrumentalist that makes music as Two Suns. It also has a somnambulant quality, both in its title – "Chasing Life, Catching Dreams" – and its sound. I like how there are all sorts of things going on in its soundscape, ranging from 80s grooves to classical strings. Similar to a dream, it's a jumble of the familiar with its own logic apparent as you experience it, even if it's hard to define once it's over. Available at bandcamp.
-If you listen closely to the lyrics of "The Shortest Man on Earth," by Sweet Lights you might get the sense the song is about the act's formation. I have no idea if that's the real intent or not, but either way, main light Shai Halperin must be a clever and likely self-deprecating dude. I like the song's allusions and reflexivity, for instance lines like "They like the verses, but the chorus they could take it or leave it," or the song's title. Even if it's not autobiographical, it's a very diggable tune. You can hear more from Sweet Lights at bandcamp.
Sweet Lights – The Shortest Man on Earth