American Utopia

when you get laid off during a global pandemic sometimes you don't really know what day it is...

I know it's Tuesday, but in times like these does it really matter? not to me.

If you know me... really know me... you know that I tend to take responsibility for my problems. I think of it as a silver lining to depression and anxiety. I may have a very low self-opinion, but it makes it easy to blame myself when things go wrong. However, we're in a special circumstance right now. Things outside ourselves are really fucked up. I can see that I did what I could to do right by my family and my employer (maybe not myself... but that's a different story for a different platform). these are the thoughts and feelings that lead to me deciding what to spin thisAM while applying for jobs online.

David Byrne - American Utopia

Some of you may be familiar with the Broadway show of the same name... this is the album that would later become that show.

I love David Byrne. I used to want to be him when I grow up. Now I'm not sure what I want to be. That's a hard thing to deal with at almost 42 years old. I also love Brian Eno. the liner notes of American Utopia say that it's "Based on original tracks by Brian Eno", and Eno performs on part of the record too. The collaborations between those two have resulted in some of my favorite music.

Like many people, when I saw the title of this album I assumed it was sarcasm or satire. Mr. Byrne must have assumed that would be the case because he explains his intention on the back cover of the sleeve. I highly suggest you go read it for yourself, but I'll quote one line here.

"We look around and we ask ourselves - well, does it have to be like this?"

So yeah... things are fucked up. Things have been fucked up. Things will be fucked up. But this album is about what I'm striving for... questioning hopefully. To David Byrne, the utopia is about seeing the issues, acknowledging them, and working toward a better reality.

Musically this album is what I've come to expect from Bryne/Eno. The arrangements are at times very dense, but somehow always have room to breathe. Byrne's vocal performance is full of the quirks that have been his trademark my entire life. He can be contemplative, combative, self-deprecating, hopeful, joyful, silly... you get the idea. He does a lot with his voice, but it's always unmistakably and undeniably David Byrne.

The record opens with a lovely piano and calm vocal part, which slowly starts to swell with swirling synth and background vox. Suddenly a pulsing rhythmic synth part breaks the mood as a mechanical vocal deadpans the song title line "I Dance Like This." The back and forth between these two seemingly disconnected parts continues throughout the opening track and sets the listener up for the twists and turns of the rest of the album.

The instrumentation on this record is all over the place - in a very good way. Drum machines, sitars, synths, guitars, live drums, various percussion, strings... I don't even know what else. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. It makes the album somewhat hard to describe here. I guess that's why I've spent so much time on how I'm feeling and what the album means rather than how it sounds. Again, I think that's a good thing. Music is wonderful for helping me feel my feelings. Sometimes it's the only thing that brings things close enough to the surface for me to deal with them.

I don't really have anything else to say about this. Go check out those videos of the show. Go listen to the album. Think about the world around you. Think about how it can improve, and how you can help it do so. Try to keep your head up, and I'll try to do the same.

Until next time. Do cool shit. Listen to more records. Take care of yourselves and each other.
-squirrel

The Valentine LP - Whestus

When I put this record on thisAM I had no intention of posting about it... but here I am on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee listening to a record so I thought I'd just drop you a line.

I wasn't into Wheatus back in 2000 when "Teenage Dirtbag" was a thing. My life kept me pretty busy in those days and I guess I just missed it. Anyway, around 6 or 7 years ago I came across them somewhere online. I think it was Twitter. I was (and still am) on a quest to listen to just about anything and form my opinions based solely on the music rather than any pop culture significance or what my small strange social circle thinks... and something about Wheatus, and specifically the music they were making at the time.

The sort of DIY aesthetic (from the hand written mailer it came in, to the lack of a bar code on the jacket, to the production of the music) takes me to a time and place where bands make music for the love of making music. It's not about slick marketing and pushing units. It's about the music. It's the reason we all started doing this in the first place. For that I love this record.

Speaking of the music... the songs themselves are really good. They're personal, complex, and witty. Not just lyrically... the music itself shares those qualities. Instrumentation ranges from quiet acoustic guitars and vocals that sound like they were recorded in an empty room with the singer in one corner and the Mic in another to dirty, fuzzy, blown out walls of noise... vocal performance ranges from soft harmonies to what I can only describe as squeals. There are key changes, time changes, and overall tonal changes in a few of the songs. It's a lot of fun for a nerd like me to ride this ride.

Well... I didn't start writing until side 2, so we've reached the end of the record. That's my time for the day. Hope you're doing well and enjoyed this unexpected interruption.

Until next time... do cool shit. Listen to more records.

Cheers!
-squirrel