The weekend so far in music

I’m not feeling like writing anything particularly coherent tonight. On a bit of a Touch and Go Records kick right now. I’m midway through the Don Caballero catalog, and I’ll probably finally get around to listening to my vinyl copy of Shellac’s At Action Park after that. Don Cab is one of those bands that you listen to and either get inspired or totally discouraged by. The pessimistic side of me sees it this way: they are immensely more talented than you will ever be, and their records exist only to prove the kind of crazy shit they can accomplish with guitars, a bass and drums that you would never even dream of. The optimist in me views this ridiculous display of talent in timing, rhythm and precision as a reason to go pick up my guitar and immediately start practicing, with the hope that someday I will be able to match Ian Williams tap for tap. My inner realist then reminds me that I’ve witnessed Ian Williams single-handedly produce music which should have required at least three different people during a Battles show. Manipulating two keyboards, a guitar and a complex looping system simultaneously is likely not something I will ever master. At this point I do my very best to shut down the raging argument between optimism, pessimism and realism and go back to appreciating the fact that Don Caballero was a damn good band. They were not only one of the best and most astoundingly talented math rock bands, but also gave us one of the coolest album covers ever. Additionally, they were really good at song titles: ‘Delivering the Groceries at 138 Beats Per Minute,’ ‘You Drink a Lot of Coffee For a Teenager,’ ‘Details on How to Get ICEMAN on Your License Plate,’ ‘Stupid Puma,’ ‘Let’s Face It Pal, You Didn’t Need That Eye Surgery,’ etc.

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Meanwhile, Radiohead continue to fill me with indescribable rage by playing awesome shows in Florida, Georgia and Texas while still not announcing any East Coast tour dates. Tonight’s show in Houston saw the tour debut of ‘There Are My Twisted Words,’ one of my favorite recent Radiohead tracks. New song ‘Identikit’ appears to be a staple during these shows, which is good, because it’s wonderful. Thom and Ed have some lovely interweaving vocal melodies. It should be a phenomenal track in its finished studio form.

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I need to give the new Magnetic Fields album another listen, but I’m honestly kind of dreading it. Love at the Bottom of the Sea does deliver on the promise of a return to a synth-based sound, but regrettably does not bring the superior songwriting of earlier Magnetic Fields albums with it. I fear that Merritt may finally have gotten too silly for me. Regardless, though, I’m still looking forward to the band’s appearance at the Berklee Performance Center next month. I’ve been promised a three hour show at which the audience is admonished for clapping, and that is precisely what I will expect.