[transmission from... Tyler Sonnichsen]
I know I have not exactly been writing at Asimov-prolific levels of late, but sometimes life comes at you fast. And for these
last two months, life has been coming at me fast. The Laughing Lizard just picked us (the collective of DC comics) up for
another show, which I've been in the early stages of getting together (and will have more information about soon, so hold
your horses, Harry*). I've also come to realize that most of my writing when I try to be "funny" late at night just winds
up being nonsensical and dumb. (That describes a lot of my writing in a normal setting as well, but I usually have a method
to my madness, Magnus^). I believe that my best, most impassioned writing flows through topics like music. There are already
plenty of comics, most of whom I pale in comparison to, who write informative blogs about the comedy scene proper. Speaking
of which, big ups to
Tyler R for his exclusive installment for TDC Productions last week. It may have been about his rank B.O. but it was still full of
love.
Anyway, the point I'm getting to is that I was preparing to write a diatribe about my three favorite songwriters, but that's
going to have to wait for another time in the near future. For now, there are two artists worth mention and recommendation
for all of your asses, no matter how much you like music or not. Because, like the subject line says, if you get exposure
to either Sondre Lerche or The Spinto Band and are not moved in one way or the other, I've got a soul to sell you that you
could definitely use. It belongs to
Jay Hastings, and you can have it for $100. Anyway...
Sondre Lerche
Every now and again, this man's music comes back into my life, and I can't do anything but succumb to that sweet sweet Norweigitude
of his. He was a goddamn teenager when he recorded
Faces Down in 2001, and when I first heard it my sophomore year
of college, I fell in love with the thing. My girlfriend at the time enjoyed it, too, but she could have been jealous of all
the attention I was giving this album. Everything on that album just ached of Burt Bacharach channeled through a bizarre cauldron
of ESL and indie/bossa-nova styling. "On and Off Again," "Suffused with Love," and "Modern Nature" all encapsulate everything
I've ever liked about "light" music.
On the heels of his second album
Two-Way Monologue (that title would be retarded if it weren't coming from him...and
it still is kind of stupid, but I won't hold it against him), I got to see him in person at FNAC on Gran Via in Madrid on
his promotional tour. I got the chance to chat with him for a bit afterward, and discovered a couple of pleasant surprises:
(1) He speaks english damn near fluently, unlike some music critics lead you to believe, save for a few definite articles
that he drops (I don't know how idiomatic Norwegian is...), and (2) he's unbelievably cool. Most musicians who are internationally
known by the time they're twenty usually end up being complete dicks, but he avoided that. I think he's only one year older
than I am, even.
Now, Sondre's got a brand new quartet-based album coming out on Tuesday,
Duper Sessions and I'm pumped like iron in
Ahnuld's presence circa 1970. According to preliminary internet reviews and reliable sources like
this penishead, it's pretty amazing. We shouldn't expect anything less.
The Spinto Band
I was one of the fortunates who discovered the Spintos back in the day through a couple of Syracuse friends when one-time
member Albert Birney brought the group through to the lovable Westcott Street shithole Planet 505. I really enjoyed the demos
that my friend Matt Finley played for me, and I always meant to see them play, but never got the opportunity until they happened
upon the Knitting Factory in NYC one night in December of 2004. I was blown the fuck away. I had always assumed that their
shows were a good time, but never had any inkling of suspicion that they could rival They Might Be Giants or Sick of It All
(and on a good day, Los Straitjackets, even) as the best live band I've ever seen. Their songs were all catchy as hell and
I made it my mission to see them again. Soon thereafter, Bar/None released the band's debut
Nice and Nicely Done and
various people got their hands on it, including the kind people at
Pitchfork. My roommate
Tom even got the album to review for a
local music site, and I feel like he hit the nail on the head: "they may try to synthesize too many influences at once, but they come off
so genuine that it's impossible not to be won over to their charms." Now, only time will tell how long before they hit big.
Next Monday, March 27th, they'll be hitting up the 9:30 Club opening for The Arctic Monkeys. Make sure not to miss it if you're
in the DC area. If Albert shows up and they perform their "Where My Dogs At?" rap like they did last winter, you may as well
just commit Seppuku afterward because you'll never witness anything more awesome. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration,
but it's still well worth checking out for the hooks and the indie and the song "Brown Boxes" where they totally rock the
Kazoos.
* - Replace the name with your own and pretend I was addressing you directly.
^ - Same as the asterisk. I just felt like using a different symbol.
Sorry if I annoyed anyone with the excessive number of links in this post. From now on, I'll use these entries to be completely
insular and self-serving.
