In Yr. Head.....Liam Finn

The first thing you need to know about Liam Finn is that his manager sounds like Murray, the manager on Flight of the Conchords.  I heard the man on his cell phone before Liam played at SoundFix (a record store and bar in Brooklyn) on 2/26/2008 and I had to double take to make sure that indeed, it wasn't Murray.  It very well could have been what with Liam being from New Zealand and all. But atlas, no.

That being said, let me also say that Liam Finn is a hell of a performer.  His records are of the later period of Elliott Smith school of gloriously messy Beatles influences singer-songwriter rock and roll.  But what separates Finn from the thousands of other people doing the same things (well, besides the fact that he's far better at it, at the age of 24, than everybody else) is that live, he performs all the instrumentation from the album.  Guitar, vocals, bass, drums, theramin, everything.  That, my friends, is the miracle of loop petals.  

It's both fascinating and engaging to watch Finn construct a song live and not only that, but the songs work even in their skeletal state as he sculpts their structure (sorry...i wanted to see how many "s"'s i could fit into that line). His performance is never a staid and or dull but rather raw and and energetic.  By the time Liam gets to the crescendos of his song, he has created a glorious cacophony, a dense skronky wall of organic loops that play off each other in with interaction you rarely even see in a four piece band; by the time Liam throws down his guitar and runs to his drum set, it's all over and you're in love.  Your ears are in love, your eyes are in love, and your musical soul is in love.  High (and admittedly pretentious) praise, yes, but the guy puts on quite the show.  

It all wouldn't work, of course, if Finn couldn't write a decent song.  Despite being just 24, as I mentioned before, Liam is on the verge of breaking into (if he hasn't already) that elite group of songwriters populated by people like Elliott Smith and Jeff Mangum, people who you sit down and write a song that just stops you in your tracks, songs that would make you cry if you weren't so into it that you forget to.  Or are too busy banging your head.

In short, Liam Finn is amazing and his debut album, I'll Be Lightning, is already guaranteed a spot on my top 10 list for 2008.

Here are two songs, Second Chance and Lead Ballon

Here are links to three videos I shot of the show (sadly I missed the night's standout performance, Lead Ballon.  Also note that this being a show in a small bar, there were no drums.  Check out other videos on youtube to see his show in all it's glory)

Second Chance

Better To Be

Energy Spent

Top 5 Rejected Names For This Blog...

5) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Blog

4) In the Blog Over The Sea

3) There Will Be Blog

2) I Wanna Be Your Blog

1) Pitchfork Media

Oscars '08

My crystal ball says:

Picture: There Will Be Blood

Director: Coen Brothers

Actor: Daniel Day Lewis

Actress: Ellen Page

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchette

Screenplay: Juno

I have spoken.

A Introduction Of Sorts To This Blog

Me: A 22 year old male student from somewhere in New York.  I'm a marketing major and I hope to get a job within or relating to the music industry in the upcoming months.  My friends are all getting tired of having to listen to me wax poetically about Ra Ra Riot and why In Rainbows was brilliant, from a business standpoint (and from a musical standpoint as well, but who's keeping track.  Not I.  Actually I am.  It was the best album of 2007) so I'm starting this as an outlet for my thoughts regarding music and the music industry.

You: 18 years old from small city in Japan.

If you get that reference, then, well, hats off to you.  

This Blog: I will try to post many features like the one below, where I will document a new or unknown band that I feel like deserves attention and acclaim with music and original photos and video. I will also post a lot of lists (cause lists are fun) as well as random musings about what ever is on my mind (though I'll try to keep it music related).

So I hope this works, feel free to comment, send me hate mail, whatever.

In Yr. Head....Beat the Devil

You should know Beat the Devil.  Odds are you don't.  But you should. 

Trying to describe the band is a rather futile endeavor.  The first time I heard them was when they opened for Vampire Weekend; I had never heard of them before.  Their first song was arranged thusly: tiny girl with a huge voice, banging on a giant metal shovel with a pair of pliers, a basher of a drummer, and a guy in the back of the audience wacking on a giant drum with a skull on it.  But it worked; it wasn't gimmicky. For the rest of the set the girl moved to harmonium and and and the guy in the back of the audience moved on stage and played bass.  That's it, that's the band.  Harmonium, bass, drums, vocals. 

I had two initial reactions: (1) what the HELL is going on here and (2) WHY have I not heard of these people before???  The few mentions I have found online have described their sound as a jazzy folk blues.  Well, if you throw classical in there, you'll have almost all modern music covered.  I've heard that lead singer Shilpa Ray sounds like Billie Holiday.  I can see that.  I personally thought Janis Joplin.  Either way, the girl has some serious pipes.  At times there is a weirdness to their music, a sense of off-kilter, that is often associated with Tom Waits.  In one song (Shine In Exile), there is a certain sensibility that I associate more with bands such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Trying to describe BEAT THE DEVIL is made even more difficult because their live sound is so different from their recorded sound.  Live they were angry, loud, in your face, cathartic, bluesy, demanding, defiant, proud, and drunk.  Recorded they are much more restrained.  The drums don’t pound, the bass doesn’t scream, and Shilpa doesn’t wail like she does live.  But yet, their recorded output works just as well (possibly better) than their live show.  It’s much more restrained but no less intense.  

There is one thing that I feel is certain, irregardless of what adjectives you decide to use to describe Beat the Devil's sound.  They are one of the best band in Brooklyn right now.  Certainly one of the more original.  Their lyrics are fantastic.  They evoke moods and feelings I've never seen or felt in songs before.  

They have a new album coming out soon called Idiots Guide.  It should be amazing.  Like, Best New Music amazing.  

Here are two songs:

Shine In Exile

Plea Bargain

Here is a video of the song "Plea Bargain" from their @Seaport show on 2/22/2008