Album Review 1: Broken Bells

 The Album: Broken Bells

The Artist: Broken Bells

The A.Q. Rating: 8 out of 10

When I first caught wind that former Shins frontman James Mercer was in the studio working on a collaboration project, I admit I was more then a little worried.

In today's pop music world, collaborations typically bring to mind the countless hip hop and r&b tracks that have enough "feat. artist y, feat. artist x, feat artist z and the artist c band" to force my Ipod screen to scroll through artist information longer than the actual song takes to play. These guest artists typically do very little to constitute a collaboration - perhaps a vocalize here, an exclamation there, or maybe even taking two solo verses - but nothing that shows a collaborative effort to make something new out of two aspects.

Even alleged collaborations in other genres are guilty of this - take perhaps one of them most infamous cross-genre collaborations of all time, Run-DMC and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". Granted, the song cross-pollinated audiences that wanted nothing to do with each other, and provided not only a great tune but also some needed critical change, but was it really that groundbreaking for the artists involved? No offence to Run-DMC, but rapping the lyrics to an already known rock hit with the addition of some scratching doesn't exactly constitute their best work. Nor does having a black hip hop group rap your lyrics to your own accompaniment speak well for the strengths or understanding of the collaborative genre on Aerosmith's part.

I feared that Mercer was simply selling himself short, dooming to become a "featured" artist.

Then I heard about the collaborating artist: Brian Burton. A.k.a., DJ Danger Mouse, of Grey Album fame.

I purchased a copy of Broken Bells the next morning.

On the surface, Broken Bells is much like watching World Cup football for the first time. Sure, you can see why people like it - and it's entertaining, but it isn't until you see the slow-mo replays of Ronaldo's quick, graceful, and purposeful foot changes and dribbling or the detailed physicality for possession that one can truly understand the fanaticism that surrounds the sport. At first listen, Broken Bells sounds wonderful - a short, 30 minute album of groovable pop with some cool effects. Good enough to play once in awhile, just as a break from the usual suspects on your playlists, but nothing groundbreaking.

But then you'll listen to it a second time. Then you'll realizing your grooving to a melancholy song about a stripper. Then you'll listen a little closer a third time. Perhaps a fourth. And then the identity of the album begins to leak out.

The biggest strength of the album is that it utilizes the strengths of both parties, Mercer and Burton, to an extent that not only highlights their strengths but combines them in a way that covers their defects. There are no superfluous effects used by Burton, with every added harmony, beat, and synth executing a specific purpose. The lyrics, although introspective (and certainly with a touch of advice to Mercer's former band mates), play upon enough universal themes (life choices, postmodern guilt, letting go, etc.) to empower the empathy of the listener.

Obviously, the album has some experimental qualities to it; do not expect to hear The Shins, nor expect to hear the Gorillaz. Burton and Mercer's experimentation with Broken Bells is out-of-box, but not out-of -mind. Perhaps the most blatant and radical experiment is the sudden discovery of Mercer's quite wonderful falsetto (think Jamiroquai, or more fittingly, Damon Albarn of the Gorillaz) in the fourth track of the album, "The Ghost Inside", and the hellish composition of the waltz in the album's fifth and weaker track, "Sailing to Nowhere".

Besides the positive consequences of the successful collaboration between the two indie stars, the album has a few glaring strengths from Burton's production. The album uses no samples, and combined with the lyrical themes presented as well as the unfortunate fact that there are several times when the lyrics are unintelligable, implies the old romantic ideal of "music for music's sake", or music itself over the ideals it can represent. Even upon the intial listening, Burton's sequencing of the tracks is also perfect, and truly cements the confidence of the album.

As far as familiarity, there are elements, but only elements, of both artist's former projects, most notably that of Burton's work with Gnarls Barkley on the grammy winning St. Elsewhere, and Mercer's work with the Shins on tracks like "Vaporize". There are hints to other artists, but nothing that would rationalize a specific allusion. Some of these elements include the Beach Boy's Pet Sounds can clearly be heard (especially with the opening track and single, "The High Road"), and there are elements of everything from Prince ("The Ghost Inside"), Beatles ("Vaporize"), and B-52s ("Mongrel's Heart").

Suffice it to say, the album shows what a true collaboration is, and characterizes both artists in a fashion that is both just and productive, while providing a new element for the listener. While I do not think this album is the best effort to define each artist, it certaintly was a daring, fun, and successful side project. So give it more than a listen, and in the words of Broken Bells themselves, "Don't run, don't rush/ just float" ("October").

Strengths:

- Great sequencing

- Nearly all tracks are independently strong

- Lyrics are well written and balanced

- No superfluous production

-Production is purposeful and impactful

- Experimentation is daring without becoming insulting or evasive

-Shows a true balance of the artists' strengths to produce something unique

Weaknesses:

- Replacement of original pre-release track with ballad "Citizen" questionable

- Album is short - roughly 30 minutes

- Lyrics are sometimes too difficult to hear in a way that interrupts the affect of the song

Recommended Tracks:

Track 1, "The High Road"

Track 3, "The Ghost Inside"

Track 6, "Trap Doors"

Track 9, "October"

For Fans of: The Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, The Shins, Danger Mouse, Jamiroquai, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds 


    

UPCOMING FREE SHOW!

A week from tonight, July 8, 2010, the Franco-American Club of Waterbury, CT, will play host to an unprecedented FREE show with a huge bill of local bands.

The "Save the Scene Show", presented by Adam Lopez, will feature 10 of CT's local bests, including friends of the A.Q. To Write a Riot!

Also billed to perform on the main stage are Jacobi Wichita, Surrender the Dancefloor, Wess Meets West, Forget Tomorrow, We Attack at Dawn, and Forget Paris.

The show is also planning an acoustic stage for 3 of the 10 acts, Consonance, The Premiere, and former Shut Up and Deal members Pat & Tom.

Doors open at 5:30 and the show starts at 6, hope to see you there!

MattintheBelfry

Unplugged 1: LOST and Chopin

The following is an original essay I am currently editing and adding to for future publication. I began writing this piece as a research project for a composition class I was taking under Dr. Christian Carey at Westminster. 

WARNING: This article contains integral plot points, explanation, and spoilers for LOST seasons 1-6. Please do not read if you do not wish to be spoiled. 

“The Rest is Just Progress”:

An exploration into the thematic ideals of Lost through Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in c-sharp minor, Op. 66

            Originally a mini-series  under the working title of “The Circle”, ABC’s Lost has developed into one of the most complex and popular dramas in the past decade. The show is infamous for its innumerable plots and subplots, extensive cast of characters, mythological and scientific subtexts, relevant social themes, and innovative narrating devices.

            From the very first episode, viewers were introduced to the theme of antagonism through the recurring  symbol of black and white. As main character John Locke explains, “There are two players, two sides; one white, and one black” (Abrams). From the pieces of Locke’s backgammon games, to the black and white doomsday clock in the hatch and the stones balanced and passed between Lost mythological figures Jacob and his adversary, the unnamed “man in black”, white and black play a prominent role in reminding the viewers of both the show’s plot-driven antagonisms (Jacob vs. Man in Black, for example) and the thematic antagonism (including fate vs. free will and faith vs. science).

It is no surprise then, to see the piano, with its alternating black and white keys,  as a recurringsymbol. Throughout the six seasons of Lost, the viewer sees several characters play the piano during scenes of introspection. Before the thrilling season four finale, masterful manipulator Benjamin Linus is shown playing Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# minor. Hero Jack Shephard and musician Charlie Pace are seen playing the piano multiple times in all of the shows various timelines. However, out of the various piano pieces used throughout the show, there are none that are more appropriate nor used as often as Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp Minor. Chopin’s piece goes beyond the simple metaphor of the black and white keys of the piano. Throughout the first and last sections of the piece, Chopin juxtaposes the rhythmic contrast of triplets and sixteenth notes in each hand. This rhythmic antagonism is a direct reflection of the previously mentioned antagonisms in the show.

The piece made its first appearance in season five’s “The Variable”, as the young Daniel Faraday is seen practicing it in a flashback.  In this scene, the young Faraday cannot play the piece well at all, as he can not master the antagonistic rhythms or keep consistent with the metronome, which he attempts to follow despite the improvisational flexibility the piece implies. As we see throughout this season, Faraday has the same technical issues with the island.  Faraday acts as the source of scientific explanation on Lost, including the explanations of the shows notorious narrative techniques, which include sudden shifts in time and even continuous narration of simultaneous alternate timelines. In the fifth season, Faraday, who to this point has had indirect experience with time travel on the island, only has a partial explanation for the issue of time travel, claiming that, “Time--it's like a street, all right? We can move forward on that street, we can move in reverse, but we cannot ever create a new street. If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time. Whatever happened, happened” (Cuse). Faraday uses this theory to hypothesize that if the characters unleash the electromagnetic properties of the island, the entire timeline of the show will cease to exist in space-time, and therefore be reset to the beginning. However, much like his initial interpretation of the Chopin, Faraday has the right themes and notes, but the wrong technical application, and when the characters do attempt to blow up the island, they actual create two parallel timelines.

The parallel “alternate” timeline is once again introduced to us with the Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66, as we see Jack Shephard’s son David (who only exists in this reality) perform the piece. It is essential to note that in this episode, the directors ensure to have the audience listen and watch as David plays the middle section of the piece. The Chopin is divided into three main ideas. The first section is in c-sharp minor, while the second section, is in the enharmonic parallel major key, D-flat major. The sudden shift in tonality through parallel keys correlates with the sudden shift of narrative and reality in the sixth and final season of Lost.  The tonal organization of the Chopin also has other similarities with the qualities of the alternate timeline.

The D-flat major section, besides its more optimistic sounding key, also has a much more easily recognized melody line from the previous c-sharp minor section. Although there is still the presence of the rhythmic antagonism from the previous section, it is much more subtle than before and is completely overruled by the melody. In the alternate reality of the show, all of our characters have everything they seemed to strive for in their flashbacks presented to the viewer throughout the previous seasons. Jack is still a skilled surgeon and caring father, John Locke comes to grips with his wheelchair-bound state and is ready to be happily married, and Hurley is a successful and influential owner of a fast food restaurant chain. However, when the characters begin to have flashes of their memory from the events of the other timeline, their seemingly perfect existence in this reality is questioned and begins to grow trite. The melody in the Chopin exemplifies this decomposition, as the melody is gradually overtaken by the rhythmic  antagonism of the initial section (and in some edited scores returns to the initial c-sharp minor section). The melody has also, fittingly enough, been adapted by Henry Carroll in his pop song “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”. The lyrics, written by Joseph McCarthy, read, “I'm always chasing rainbows / Watching clouds drifting by / My dreams are just like all my schemes / Ending in the sky” (McCarthy).  Even through the indirect means of Carroll’s adaptation of Chopin’s melody, we can see the common notion of the superficial existence that appears in the parallel timeline in Lost.

It is once again, Daniel Faraday who awakens the characters to the existence of the original timeline. Like several of the other characters at this point in the show’s history, Faraday is dead in the original timeline, but alive in this alternate reality. In this reality, Faraday is fulfilled – his mother does not force him to become a physicist, and he is instead, a musician. We watch as Faraday plays a flawless performance of the Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66, much improved from the original event. Faraday is one of the first characters to remember events from the original timeline, and his knowledge is represented in his performance. Now, Faraday understands the parallels and structure of the two timelines as well as the good vs. evil antagonism within himself, and therefore, is able to perform the corresponding sections of the Chopin without the technical problems exhibited before. This mastery allows Faraday to truly play the piece as an impromptu, as he flexes the tempo (or bends time, to fit more within the Lost context) within the contextual guidelines. To play along with one of the major antagonistic themes of Lost, Faraday exhibits the ability to use free will within a destined context.

The Chopin concludes with the return of the antagonistic rhythms. However, the rhythms gradually dissipate until the last chord of the piece, a C-sharp major chord. This concluding gesture to the tonic chord of the D-flat major section in the surrounding context of “A” section material may suggest the creation and execution of a distinct ending which is culminated from both sections. In relation to Lost, this foreshadows the end of the series, the end to which Lost mythological figure Jacob will happen when he stated simply, “It only ends once – the rest is just progress” (Cuse).

In the series finale, we once again see Faraday perform in the alternate reality. However, Faraday has now ditched the Chopin for his newfound experiment, a “classical-rock fusion” with fellow deceased character Charlie Pace’s band, Driveshaft. The sudden alteration in the only piece we have ever witnessed Faraday play, from his youth in the original timeline to his virtuosic rendition in the initial unveiling of the alternate reality, and even indirectly through the scribbled instructions in Faraday’s handwriting on David Shephard’s sheet music, is striking and purposeful. It is only in the last scenes of the series finale when the audience is finally told the nature of the alternate reality; that this reality is one fashioned by the characters themselves after each of them have died, until each of them has remembered their previous lives and deaths and can move on together. This fabricated reality not only explains the characters mirrored fortunes form their previous lives (including Faraday’s musicianship), but also connects back to the middle section of the Chopin and the implied levels of understanding, conscientization, and fabricated idealism presented in the narration of this alternate timeline.  The series concludes in a similar fashion to the Chopin, on its own C-sharp major chord, the creation of something new (whatever the characters may “move on to) through the culmination of its two parts.

Works Cited

Abrams, J.J. (Writer/Director), & Lindelof, D. (2004). Pilot: Part 2 [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost.  ABC Broadcasting.

Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director). (2009). The Incident [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost.  ABC Broadcasting.

Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director). (2010). Lighthouse. [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost.  ABC Broadcasting.

Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director). (2010). Happily Ever After [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost.  ABC Broadcasting.

Horowitz, A. (Writer), Kitsis, E. (Writer) & Lieber, J. (Director). (2004). The Variable [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost.  ABC Broadcasting.

Jonson, G.C.A. (1905). A handbook of Chopin’s work. New York, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.

McCarthy, J. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.

thepolonaise (user name). Yundi Li – Chopin “Fantasie” Impromptu, Op. 66. Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvm2ZsRv3C8

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Local Yokels 1 : April Smith and the Great Picture Show

The "Local Yokels" updates highlight artists and groups originating from the New Jersey and Connecticut areas. The posts alternate between these two settings.

The Artist: April Smith and the Great Picture Show

Originally Hails From: Tom's River, NJ

Ah, if only Fiona Apple lived as a traveling act in the vaudeville circuit of the early 20th century.

Upon my initial listening of April Smith and the Great Picture Show's second CD, Songs for a Sinking Ship, the above was the only thought I had. Perhaps if Apple peaked a couple decades before her birth, we could have some of the wonderfully catchy, yet substantial music provided by the Tom's River native and her backing band.

The group's menagerie of instruments, from accordion and ukulele to a suitcase, used on tracks like the relentlessly catchy "Colors" as a bass drum, supports Smith's beautiful and satisfying vocals with the eclectic, jazz-induced ragtime of a 1930's carnival. The Brooklyn based instrumentalists that compose the Great Picture Show compliment not only the tongue in cheek lyrical wit of each track, but also Smith's wildly fluid vocal range, in a fashion that suggests a natural synchronicity between the efforts and intent of both parties. The product, or rather, performance produced is mighty memorable. Think the lovechild of the Decemberists and Zooey Deschanel's She and Him, if that lovechild happened to have Tom Waits as her nanny, singing her his bittersweet narratives of low-lives and the blues.

However, the defining characteristic of the group that sets it apart from the flood of popularized, similar female contemporaries (Regina Spektor, Jaymay, Lenka, Birdie Busch, etc.) is clearly Smith herself. Smith's vocals cover a decent range almost seamlessly, and what's more, is Smith has the ability to control and adapt her voice in any register to sudden dramatic alterations. One moment, she is light and innocent, legato and sotto voce, and without warning, she is full voice, in a high register, belting out a punishing, yet beautifully managed and healthily produced ornamented refrain. Smith's vocal acrobats, while not quite Handel-esque melismas, sound effortless and are, quite honestly, show stoppers in and of themselves. Her ability to control and contort her voice has massive impacts on he drama of each track. My favorite tracks from Sinking Ship are the many in which Smith shows her true personality through her gift, dramatically switching from coy and flirtatious to sassy and cocky in a manner of one lyrical line. It is these moments, such as in the record's concluding track, "Stop Wondering", in which Smith, backed by waltzing piano and orchestral swells, sings, "Do you ever wonder if I'm dreaming of you?/ Well I'm not/ So you can stop/ wondering", or in "Drop Dead Gorgeous" "You're so pretty when your mouth is closed/ but with a mouth like that baby/ who needs politics and prose?", where it is easy for the listener to impose their own portrait of Smith onto the music - the sweet girl next door who had some bite, and who you would love to be rejected by, or the funky tomboy at the schoolyard, or the quirky drama geek. However, this would be an injustice to the true porthole Smith and her band provides us with - that into who Smith actually is, the authentic artist, who would put on shows for her family dressed as Freddy Mercury or Tom Waits.

Recently, the group has had some major national breakthroughs, "Terrible Things", another cheeky track from the second album, has been used in promotions for both Californication and the upcoming sixth season of Weeds. The group has received great reviews from Rolling Stones and several other major periodicals, and will be performing at Lollapalooza.

Go ahead and give a listen to this group. Both of their albums (2005's loveletterbomb and 2010's Songs for a Sinking Ship) are excellent. For the first time listener, I would recommend the following tracks as a first taste:

"Movie Loves a Screen" (Track 1 on Sinking Ships)

"Drop Dead Gorgeous" (Track 3 on Sinking Ships)

"Wow and a Flutter" (Track 10 on Sinking Ships)

"Stop Wondering" (Track 11 on Sinking Ships)

"Colors" (Track 4 on Live from the Penthouse, or Track 6 on Sinking Ships)

"The One That Got Away" (Track 5 on loveletterbombs)


For Fans of: Pink Martini, She and Him, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Lenka, Birdie Busch, Duke Special 


Go ahead. I dare you to not dance to "Colors", or at least crack one smile duuring one of these tracks.

Keep supporting your local artists!

MattintheBelfry
Live from the Penthouse

Welcome, and Open the Floodgates!

Hello, and welcome to the Aural Quarrel. The A.Q. hopes to serve as a gateway of musical experience - through this blog, the reader can find new music, become more informed on specific albums and artists, ponder the socio-political and cultural issues that are reciprocally related with music, and more.


I'm MattintheBelfry, the blog's founder and currently, its sole provider.
I am a current senior at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, currently working on both my BM in music and MAT degrees. I study music education under the likes of Dr. Frank Abrahams, Dr. Patrick Schmidt, and Dr. Sharon Morrow, and voice under Dr. Marvin Keenze and Dr. Akiko Hosaki. I've performed in Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Center. I've toured with some of the world's most renown choirs, including the Westminster Concert Handbell Choir. I play sax. I am trying to learn guitar, and can play a few songs, but bar chords escape me. I am an Eagle Scout, and I absolutely love teaching, and have invested the past several years of my life into the continuous reflective transformation of the philosophy, psychology, and practice of the art.

But the important thing is this:

NONE OF THAT MATTERS

None of these lovely resume points should convince you to allow me to tell you what to listen to, or if what you are or are not listening to is valuable, justifiable, or, gulp, "good". The A.Q. is not here to present authoritative standards to qualify and comply your musical tastes to, nor to oppress the undeniable value a relationship with any music can have.

Rather, the A.Q.'s raison d'etre is to act as a lifeline in the sea of never ending artists, albums, genres, and humanity that both is music and results from it. The sole true qualifications I have are nearly all out of my control. Due to my age, my setting at a music school, my job status, and of course, the fact that I do not travel anywhere without my Ipod and have dropped more money at local record shops than I have on rent the past two years, I have and continue to listen to a much wider volume and variety of music than the average American. And with a wider volume and breadth of experience, I may be able to offer insights that will help the reader in their purchases, discoveries, and indirectly, how they listen to their own music. It's simple mathematics.

The A.Q. will be updated regularly, although perhaps less so during the academic year. I hope to organize the blog as such:

Weekly Posts:

Album Reviews

Unplugged
(in these postings, I will present original articles, or offer discussions on the socio-political, economical, and cultural sides of music)

Monthly Posts:

Local Yokels
(due to my collegiate migratory path, these posting will highlight artists hailing from both New Jersey and CT)

The A.Q. will also have random, shorter postings about particular songs I may be listening to, poll questions, book reviews, links, etc.


Here's to a new beginning!

MattintheBelfry