Quarter one is over, and so is Halloween. Just in case you were wondering, I forgot to get a Halloween costume, so I went as a mummy. Be ready for a spooky Music Dump Friday, because I may have missed the deadline to get this in by Halloween, but I’m still in the spirit.
If you’re mourning quarter one, you might need the help of “Sweet Harmony” by The Beloved, because this band needs so much more hype. English electronica turned indie-pop whatever makes a fitting soundtrack for this sunny start to November.
I also listened to Fleet Foxes a lot this week, but I cannot talk about that as I’ve already discussed them on For The Record. So, let’s talk about “Norwegian Wood” by the Beatles! The track inspired one of my favorite books of all time, of the same title by Haruki Murakami, and they have become synonymous in my mind. I know this is a music column, not a book column, but they just fit. The track’s sitar by George Harrison is the highlight, and the vocals are done by none other than John Lennon. These are also my favorite Beatles—I really, really hate Paul McCartney’s voice. I also think it’s because I just don’t like the guy, since there’s something about Sir Paul McCartney that rubs me the wrong way. But this track is super cool, because it’s one of those tracks that tells a story; supposedly, it’s about an affair, and then the protagonist sets the woman’s house on fire… that is not how the book goes, just so you know. No spoilers, though.
Dean Blunt and Elias Rønnenfelt (the lead singer of popular post-punk band Iceage) team up for the gentle hypnagogic pop track “Smile Please.” The track is released by World Music Group, the label Blunt formed that’s signed NINA, Blue Iverson, and Bar Italia—that’s how you know it’s good! It’s melancholy and surreal; honestly, I don’t know what to say about it. I find myself feeling this way a lot when I listen to Dean Blunt—it always feels like there’s something much more than I could possibly comprehend somehow weaved into the track.
“I guessed I wasn’t made for these times, and then I realize that’s how the times made me,” is the first lyric that’s really stuck out to me in a long time from a song. Sure, I definitely listen to lyrics, but this one by slacker-rock band Kleenex Band Wonder from “Tendency Right Foot Forward” hit me hard. The whole album “Ponyoak” this track is off of is so insane—back to back bangers, straight through. The hooks are fuzzy, the music hurts in just the right way… I don’t get how this band is not talked about more. Definitely to check out if you like Pavement, early Beck, or Guided by Voices.
