The Morning After

I am doing that #MarchPhotoADay thing on my twitter.  Good times.  Every day there is a theme and you take a picture about it.  Fun!

I have a couple songs for you today… two very different styles.

Lets get started talking about one of my favourite chill beat mongers, Four Tet. The UK producer and DJ teamed up with Burial for a song called “Nova.” The song will likely show up on Four Tet’s Text Records.

Burial + Four Tet – “Nova”

Download MP3 (low quality) >> Burial and Four Tet

This song kind of reminds of the grey days leading up to spring.  Spring is coming to Victoria, but ain’t here yet!  (heck there was a light dusting of snow the other day).

You got that signature Four Tet beat and the ghostly samples and glitches of Burial.  Basically everything about both performers I like, in one song.  I remember when Four Tet toured to Vancouver… and I think played at The Biltmore?  Oh man, it will forever be a shame that I didn’t rally to hit the show.  In my defense… he played on a February 24th… Madelyn’s birthday.  Just couldn’t do it.

I change gears for a record I read about the other day on Pitchfork.

The writer didn’t jive on the record, but in explaining their distaste they kinda sold me on the disc.  The group is called Mr. Dream and their EP is Fatherland.

The critique is that band sounded a bit like a second-rate 80s vintage Homestead Records band.  Sounds like my kind of band.

I started poking around the other day on Homestead because they are an important record label based out of New York for alternative music in the 80s.  They feature prominently in the lore of the time in outsider music.  Gerald Cosloy ran the label during a lot of important years and was instrumental in the early days of Dinosaur Jr.  Awesome.

It was Dinosaur Jr that inspired me to try and learn guitar… and to hear a band that borrows heavily from that era but is modern sounds exceptionally intriguing to me.

Poking around more, and Colsoy’s story intersects again… as he is a part-owner of today’s influential indie record label, Matador Records.  And then it just all makes sense.  matador is home (or was home) to a lot of bands that I love.  Namely Interpol (currently) and Spoon (formally).  But click the link and you’ll see a pretty select roster of bands.

Very cool.

Back to Mr. Dream, the band out of Brooklyn NYC… are a couple Pitchfork writers (which is funny, because Pitchfork ripped them)… which goes to show, judging music is easier than making it (or at least a very different skill set).

I like Mr. Dream… but mostly because I like the style and era they are trying to replicate.  And if I ever get half decent at guitar, might try for something similar (but with a Four Tet beat? haha)

Mr. Dream – “Fatherland”

Download MP3 >> Mr Dream – Fatherland

OK… Mr. Dream only has like a 1,000 something followers… so I need to get my band fired up fast so I can can offer SOMETHING and tour with them playing 80’s alt rock!

That’s all I got… I am off on a little holiday tomorrow and Friday… Coral is taking me to a Canucks game. We’ll eat street food, drink beers, maybe hit the Red Wagon… I might go for a soak in the hot tub at my sister’s place, and generally act like a tourist with 48 hours to cause trouble  Vancouver friends… if you’re downtown Thursday night…look for Hurricane Coral, I’ll be holding onto a lamp post or sturdy hipster near that!

See you at Veneto on Friday night.

Go with yourself.

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