The Best New Thing You Haven't Heard Of This Week: Seth Colter Walls and Maura Johnston On The New...

The Best New Thing You Haven’t Heard Of This Week: Seth Colter Walls and Maura Johnston On The New Newness, Strange Jazz, And The Semi-Return Of Hole

by Seth Colter Walls

Seth Colter Walls: Maura, has it been a good first third of 2010, music-wise? What were the highlights? And what depressed the shit out of you?
Maura Johnston: 2010 has actually been a great year for music. So far! And there’s more to come!!
Seth: Really? Because I’ve felt slightly… underwhelmed. (Though I’m glad you are confirming that the rest of calendar year 2010 is still to come.)
Maura: Well, I know the whole existence of the future has been a cause for worry recently. But I am optimistic!

Seth: Make me excited about all the stuff that came out recently. I probably missed a lot of great things? That Tracey Thorn record is a killer, I’ll admit.
Maura: Yes and that’s actually a future record! It comes out in May. As does the LCD Soundsystem.
Seth: LCD = also good. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What’s been top-notch great that’s also legal to own already? For me, the list is sort of small:
Seth: Joanna Newsom was superb. Ditto Badu.
Maura: I have to dive into the Newsom. But I am with you on the Badu!
Seth: The new Ted Leo album, The Brutalist Bricks, really impressed me. Tighter than recent efforts, but with just as many hooks spilling out everywhere.

Maura: He’s so great, and underappreciated.
Seth: Like everyone knows he’s “good,” but he gets NO BUZZ.
Maura: You saw that Village Voice interview with him, right? He talks about the economics of being in his situation really honestly. And he’s still going — yesterday on Twitter he gave a little lesson in what way of buying music benefited musicians the most.
Seth: Maybe he should make a video about an army of cigarette-sunglasses who massacre an ocean full of naked ladies! I bet that would make his music better, or at least more appreciated.
Maura: Well the thing is, artists who have been around a while just aren’t appreciated. The craving is for The New — or the Not Around For Long Enough For People To Remember — at all times.
Seth: So let’s talk about the NEW NEWNESS (tm’ing that phrase in music criticism, btw).
Maura: Hurry!
Seth: The NEW paradigm to talk about NEW things all the NEWtime. Newly!
Seth: For example: I sort of can’t believe that anyone thought this Fang Island band was Best New Anything, aside from Best New Thing I Hadn’t Heard of This Week.
Maura: “I Hadn’t Heard of This Week.” That’s part of the problem, right? The pressure is on to take the pulse of the more dynamic indicators. Which is why every blog these days has one of those annoying Tweetmeme badges that shows real-time how many people are Tweeting about each post.
Seth: Oh yeah. (And please Tweet this post, kind readers, while we whine about this.)
Maura: And so like your more mainstream outlets are talking less about what’s good and more about “what’s happening” in music, as anyone who’s covered Biebermania can tell you.
Seth: Aha. I have not covered this.
Maura: That was not what you would call a review-borne phenomenon. Although I do enjoy some of his songs quite a bit.
Seth: Right, because the mass of interest was formulated by 12-year-olds, who don’t need reviews!
Maura: But who act in enough of a mass to be noticeable.
Seth: Here’s my enduring frustration about “act[ing] in enough of a mass to be noticeable.” Let’s think about things to drink. I enjoy a nice shot or two of whiskey every now and again.
Maura: I do as well!
Seth: Though I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me that the most popular drink, by volume, was Similac. But you know what? I DON’T FUCKING CARE. I don’t need or want to read a story about this “hip new drink that all the twelve month olds are really buzzing up on their baby blogs, because their bodies can’t handle anything else anyway!”
Maura: Oh totally.
Seth: I would just like my adult drink.
Maura: But the problem is one of economics. As in, the economics of content not working, and higher-ups on the editorial and business sides collectively freaking out. In theory, covering the super-popular, pageview-heavy stuff is supposed to float the items that aren’t as much of a click-frenzy.
Seth: Yeah, call me when it’s more than a theory on a whiteboard in a meeting, cuz people are ruthless about bouncing from websites.
Maura: I mean I have been in a fairly morose “the system is broken” mood for, oh, the past 18 months or so.
Seth: Can you tell me what magazine this is? “State Of Rock: 40 reasons to get excited about music, starring: The Black Eyed Peas.”
Maura: Oh, Rolling Stone.
Seth: At first I thought it was the cover of Why Don’t You Commit Suicide? Weekly, but upon closer inspection, you’re correct.
Maura: Which is hilarious given the one-two punch of Rolling Stone’s slavish devotion to “doing it live” and the Peas’ abysmal performance on Idol last week.
Seth: I hesitate to embed, but it really was a spectacle of awful …

Maura: The Peas kind of fascinate me.
Seth: I guess my feelings are, Wow: you have patterned your band’s music after the sound my ATM makes upon any transaction, and your stage aesthetic after the Power Rangers. Also I’m rather weary of profiles of artists that talk about what great marketers and businesspeople they are.
Maura: Totally understood.
Seth: Like when Usher’s new album came out. It’s like, okay, did he write any good R&B; songs? Because I’m not buying his Habits of Seven Highly Annoying People.
Seth: I have a theory about this.
Seth: So in olden times, when wages rose generally, there was a middle class, etc., rock/pop/dance icons were allowed to be “popular” and therefore “great” simply on account of doing good work — or having a good look, or whatever. It wasn’t super-important for them to be annoying cross-platform marketing temples because nobody particularly needed to behave that way in life to be comfortable (broadly speaking). But in an age in which everybody is on 15 social-networking sites, the pop stars have to do it too. Or else they lose the cachet of somehow seeming to model the appropriate kind of “winning” behavior that most people expect from people “at the top.”
Maura: There’s that. But there’s also the idea that at this point, people making money from the old-school, big-conglomerate music business? Are kinda newsworthy, in that fewer people are doing that every day. Think of it as a beaten-down-dog-can-still-bite-man kinda thing.
Seth: Oh, that’s a smart point.

NEXT: Digital Seven-Inches And The Lost Concept Of “Fun.” Plus, It’s Time to Talk About Courtney Love Again.

Maura: But in less depressing news, I love the new album by hollAnd, the project of this guy Trevor Kampmann.
Seth: Unaware! What’s it like?
Maura: Really groove-heavy electronic indie that is insanely catchy and owes a large debt to Mark Robinson’s later work.
Seth: Oh, I can get behind that.
Maura: hollAnd has been putting out albums since 1997, and they keep getting better. The hollAnd site has the whole album streaming. If you want a starting point that isn’t the first track, I like “Sauvignon Blank” quite a bit. But the whole album is awesome.
Maura: I also really dig this, by a band called the Hanoi Janes:

Seth: Woah.
Maura: Yeah!
Seth: I’m not sure about this … oh, OK, that little guitar figure in the chorus. I’m in. Fuzzed-out noodling that ain’t trying too hard can be a real charmer.
Maura: It’s from… a digital 7-inch! It’s just so much fun, which is what has been missing from so much music for me. Fun. I mean, I am probably a little too old for fun?
Seth: Not true! Someone who has to watch as much Idol as you do is entitled to fun, no matter her age.
Maura: Well, my creaky bones and I thank you.
Seth: So I’m going to put you on the spot: The new “Hole” record. I suspect you’ve had time enough to reach a judgment.
Maura: Oh my.
Seth: Spill it.
Maura: Ugh… I hate to say this.
Seth: [telegraphing the kill] But, make your case, because I disagree.
Maura: It’s just not that good? Too flabby in some places, too wan in others. I admit that I am probably an overly demanding fan!
Seth: Do you just dislike the band and the production? Because I think those are sound arguments to make against Nobody’s Daughter.
Maura: And the songs. There are glimpses of songs there. I mean, maybe with a better band the songs would be more fully realized?
Seth: OK, well I’m going to try and pin you (oooh!) on which songs you think have promise, and then we’re going to talk about the leaked demo from last year.
Maura: “Dirty Girls” is probably the best song. “Pacific Coast Highway” is OK, although there’s something off-putting about Courtney’s vocals and the way her enunciation is recorded.

Seth: Can you talk about what you find bad about the vocals? Lots of folk have hated on the vocals/their production and I don’t quite see it. I GET that it’s different than before.
Maura: I mean, I appreciate the weathered quality of her voice!
Seth: But — and this taps into my bigger complaint about the way Courtney is talked about… When Dylan just goes “WHELP, I guess I’m gonna start croaking from here on out” he gets MAD PROPS for “owning” his sputtering instrument. But HEAVEN FORFEND that a woman go through changes as she ages! It bothers me that this is the automatic response?
Maura: As well it should!!
Seth: I LIKE that Courtney isn’t trying to scrub up her ravaged voice?
Maura: Well. There’s a difference between not trying to scrub and mixing it into the band. Like, the thing about this record is that Courtney is the only notable thing about it.
Seth: Agreed that Courtney is the only thing to come to this record for. And I guess it’s wrapped up with why I don’t follow her on Twitter — that’s not the Courtney I want, and this pretty much is. (And I like the raspy Dylan, the frontal-admission of busted pipes when that’s what you’ve got, and so I like her voice on this one!)
Maura: I appreciate it! I just don’t like the way it all is recorded.
Seth: Did you like last year’s leaked version? The performances on it are more … distinctive, suggesting a … personality. But it’s obvious that Courtney decided she needed to bring both a) the brand back; and b) thus, TEH RAWK. But, “Pacific Coast Highway” is a v. solid song, I think.
Maura: It’s very Fleetwood Mac.
Seth: “Honey” I also like. And “Dirty Girls,” as you said. “Skinny Little Bitch” wins me over, barely. The new video is totally great, as well!

Maura: “Samantha” would be awesome if it were a minute shorter.
Seth: Oh, see I really disagree there — the last minute MAKES it for me. It’s one of those Courtney vocal moments, different now, but still with that power.
Maura: Hmm.
Seth: Well so we disagree here.
Maura: We do.
Seth: You’re taking the tough-love approach.
Maura: I am.
Seth: And I’m like, ‘Aww, welcome back!’
Maura: I just want everyone to perform up to their potential!
Seth: I want people to live up to their potential, as well! But before Nobody’s Daughter, it wasn’t clear that Love had much potential left in the tank, and so I’m choosing to celebrate. Becuz I think you and I can at least agree that she does have potential left in the tank.
Maura: Oh definitely. I just hope she doesn’t waste it on defenses of Perez Hilton, like she did at SXSW, because ugh.
Seth: Word. So moving on!
Maura: My ‘2010 awesomeness’ playlist has the new single by Janelle Monae, “Tightrope,” in it.
Seth: YES.
Maura: I am VERY VERY EXCITED about her forthcoming record.

Seth: “Tightrope” is very god.
Seth: Good.
Seth: But I’m going to start saying “it’s very god” about things, I think.
Maura: It’s an adjective that could really take off!

NEXT: How Widely Should Critics Be Listening? Plus, A Good Thing From The (Near) Future.

Maura: I wanted to ask you about a topic that came up during a long, involved thread about music writing on I Love Music.
Seth: The one about how people said all critics should try to listen to classical music in order to crit other stuff?
Maura: The very one. I would like to hear your thoughts on that. The “Where do I start?” conundrum would probably be topic No. 1.
Seth: To the extent that I agree, I think the answer is, somewhat secretly: START ANYWHERE. Total knowledge /= possible, after all. So just broaden in some direction. That’s all.
Seth: Also, it’s just not the case that someone like Robert Christgau has been hampered by not talking about canons or ostinati or whatever. While it wouldn’t hurt if everybody got a little bit of ear training, it’s a mistake to think of it in prescriptive terms for pop crit (defined broadly).
Seth: THOUGH one thing that would be cool, is if a leeetle bit more awareness — even historical, as opposed to “theory” stuff — about the classical tradition could be absorbed by indie land, if only to be aware of certain things that certain bands do! Dirty Projectors did not invent the hocket! (The practice of ricocheting notes of a melody between different voices/instruments.)
Maura: Right.
Seth: And that experimental opera that The Knife released earlier this year has a connection to some of the outré stuff by Robert Ashley and some other types. That music — particularly for writers based in NY — is around and able to be heard and experienced all the time.
Maura: Very true, and I admit I have been very lazy about doing so. This is something I want to change.
Seth: Part of it is the same old information overload — Imagine if Brooklyn Vegan also had to keep track of what’s up at Zankel Hall, and Carnegie proper, and etc. etc.
Maura: Think of the comments!
Seth: But not everyone needs to be listening to something and saying, “Oh, that A Minor thing is moving from the tonic to the dominant over a meter that changes every four notes, blah blah.” That’s what Kyle Gann and other hardcore peeps are for — and they do that shit real good. (Also: Kyle Gann’s book about the John Cage piece “4’33,” No Such Thing As Silence? WANT TO HAVE NOW PLS.)
Maura: I think that this speaks to a problem that has cropped up as the online repository of knowledge has expanded: The need to, shall we say, throw one’s arms around the world. There’s so much context out there and knowledge that it’s hard to find a foothold. On the flip side, you have other people who deal with overload by deciding to Know What They Know.
Seth: Right. That’s a safe feeling I guess, but I suppose I’d be bored after a while.
Maura: I would DEFINITELY be bored.
Seth: But so: something I’m looking forward to — well, something I already have, but am looking forward to other people potentially listening to and talking about. — is the new Jason Moran Piano Trio record on Blue Note. This is the jazz pianist who covered Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” after all. And made it legitimately his own. Not a stunt.

Maura: Oh!! Tell me more about him.
Seth: He’s sort of what I imagine Jaki Byard (famous sideman for Mingus and some other cats) might be like today. He crosses a broad range of styles: He’ll reference old boogie-woogie stuff, reference James P. Johnson. He knows his Monk. Speaking of whom, Moran’s take of “Crepuscule with Nellie” on the new one is so so killing… with these great drum fills that kind of work like breakbeats. Maura, it’s sooo good!
Maura: I bet!
Seth: There are no big “look at me covering hip-hop” numbers on this new one. But his voice really is aware of everything that’s out there, and that’s exciting. He also plays a piece by Conlon Nancarrow, who was a gonzo 20th cent composer who wrote crazily contrapuntal studies for player pianos — player pianos doing crazy things in crazy rhythms. Here’s one.

Maura: Whoa.
Seth: And Moran, instead of doing one of the bluesy or boogie-woogie numbers, takes on “Player Piano Study No. 6,” which has this lovely melody that’s suspended across a constantly shifting meter. And… CALLBACK… it’s an A minor thing that moves from the tonic to the dominant. (With thanks to Kyle Gann!)
Maura: Haha.
Seth: But you don’t need to know that to enjoy it when it comes out! Folks: Jason Moran, Ten, from Blue Note, on June 22!

NEXT: Have You Heard of This Band Called The National? Plus, The Sleeper Album Of Super-Indie May Is…

Seth: Do we also wanna say Tracey Thorn’s upcoming record — Love and its Opposite — is the sleeper release of next month? Everyone will be talking National Pornographers Social Steady, but this is the one to not sleep on?
Maura: YES. it is AMAZING. She has a deep, world-weary alto that communicates aching like few other singers can. The songs on Love that she wrote (there are two covers) are full of these novelistic details that can flesh out characters within the space of maybe five words.

Seth: I’ll tell you what I was thinking on first listen: usually things that are this “arranged” in the chamber-pop indie tradition feel a lot more fussy. This has some feeling of open-space-y-ness to it.
Maura: Yes!
Seth: And then when a song takes a surprising turn toward the end, you don’t have this feeling of… oh, here’s some more filigree! It’s like the weather changing in a really pleasant but not-too-intense way.
Maura: Totally!
Seth: You knew who I thought of, also? Not on the level of “their sound worlds are similar” but more on “they are working with craft and form in really smart ways”? Shannon Wright.
Maura: Ooh. I see this parallel!

Maura: On Thorn’s record, all of the arrangements on the songs are barebones. Nothing more than what’s necessary, so all the emotions can breathe. Which is good, because there is a lot of sadness on the record.
Seth: Yeah, though it’s like mid-period Bergman sadness, the sadness you need to feel to exorcise the pain and have a shot at happiness again.
Maura: Right. Hence it ending with this really hopeful song “Swimming.”
Seth: So on that hopeful note, what are you looking forward to most — besides Janelle Monae (which everyone will love) and LCD Soundsystem? (which everyone will love)? (In both cases justly, I expect.)
Maura: Mmm. Big Boi! And Robyn.
Seth: Is Big Boi actually coming out? Like, do we have pre-Cuban Linx II-level confirmation?
Maura: July 6! I guess that means there is still time for it to be pushed back, BUT I BELIEVE.
Seth: So yeah, everybody who hasn’t heard of Big Boi… you’re probably not reading us.
Seth: The Robyn record I’m going to wait and get an advance of, but “Dancing On My Own” was grand as fuck.
Maura: It’s gorgeous, right? Those are my favorite songs of hers, the ones where she is singing about being sad. Not because I want to see her be sad! But she communicates that sort of ambivalence one feels when one is rejected very well.

Seth: About The National, though. There’s this way, if you’re a guy and not totally tone-deaf, that you can very easily make fun of the National brand.
Maura: Oh?
Seth: You just go into your baritone voice, and then pick up something, anything. Like the warning label on a hairdryer. And just sort of sing sentence fragments from that in a lullaby way.
Seth: “Do not use while sleeping or unconscious.”
Seth: And then repeat it twenty times, but steadily building each time.
Maura: Hahaha.
Seth: Imagining a sort of crescendo of shimmering little guitar figures. And then a drum starts beating to let you know that the MEANING is coming.
Maura: Aahahhahaha!

Seth: As with any band or act that has real strengths, there’s also something prototypical about them that’s able to be mocked. It’s the same thing that allows them to be distinct in our insanely over-stuffed culture conveyor belt, or something. And with the National it’s this sense of — well, anything can sound dolorous if you treat it that way. “It’s a terrible love, and I’m walking with spiders?” What are you actually telling me about human experiences here?
Maura: Right.
Seth: So when The National bandwagon started rolling, I recoiled a bit from what I took to be too much of a formula approach. But then long story short, I listened in a more forgiving way with this one, went to their live show at Bell House, and came away rather convinced that they’re onto something. (Critical insight of the year, right there.)
Maura: Ha. (At your parenthetical.)
Seth: Heh.
Seth: So basically, one more white person on board. And uh, let’s see, a couple days ago I thought I had a good joke for the chat that I was gonna try and drop in all casual like, but now I can’t remember it.
Maura: That’s OK. We covered a lot of ground! And we had some good jokes! A good fun!
Maura: Er. *Run*!
Seth: Whew.