I don't know what this says about me, but lately I have realized this weird quirk. I tend to listen to and talk about crap - a lot more about crap than about than stuff that is great. Like when I hear a lousy band I'll talk about it for weeks, same with a lousy movie.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I listen to something over and over again just to be annoyed. Though not nearly as much as I used to. I think I just like to be annoyed to have something to complain about.
What that says about me I don't know, but I guess someone would say something about it being a sickness, and that they should lock me up in a little cell and bit me with small truncheons, until they are ready to remove part of my brain. Then I will no longer hate the crap that's on the radio(like James Blunt).
Me, I just think it has to do with genuinely enjoying being annoyed, that and I have to listen to that crap over and over again every time I leave the house. I mean Jesus, why is there so much forced exposure to bad music. Like in stores, coming out of the speakers on the street, everywhere.
Yet when you have something brilliant like a new Angels of Light, I will barely listen to it. We are Him I have barely even listened to, and shit this might be the best album since How I loved You, which might be one of my favourite all time albums. Michael Gira again proves himself to possibly be the greatest contemporary songwriter .
The depths of emotion he can convey in a song and strength of his lyrics are always compelling. I think the perfect example, would be, yes this is a story so just bear with me, when I saw Angels of light live about 3 years ago maybe. Akron/family opened. Now I know some of you love that band, but I think they write dreadful music and are total crap. And their live show was no better. It was this uneven, I don't know, Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute or something. And I almost didn't make it through their set.
Then Angels of Light came out and much to my dismay, Akron/family were the accompaniment for Mr. Gira and I was more disappointed than I have ever been in my life. Well okay not that bad, but pretty bad. 2 songs in though and the power of the music had totally changed my opinion, just the power of his performance totally dominated the other musicians and forced them into his world. And again it was a totally heartwrenching experience. You felt every pain he felt.
We Are Him I find really focuses that emotion, and pulls away form the acoustic, countryish direction he has been going. And although good I find he situated himself a bit better in the, I don't even know what to call it, at times folk, at times I don't even know, psychedelic maybe. Some orchestral moments. Some noises and washes of droning squeals. And some just extreme sort of gloomy rocking.
And all this with that powerful air of melancholy. Think of every band that tries to make strange trippy folk music, with an emotional dissonance to the lyrical vibe, and you can be guaranteed this does it better. But then again I don't know if you can really put it in a category with anything but itself.
