wandering vagabond

It has been a long time since I have graced this blog with a post. Lots has happened since then. I traveled to Africa. I worked with refugees. I saw the ugly face of corruption and injustice in everyday life. I adventured. I freed my mind.

I began this blog with a vague intention of making it into something with a focus. For a while it seemed to be an entertainment blog of sorts, collecting relevant posts or published interviews and reviews from my time as an entertainment writer for The Daily Texan. This however limited my expression to one realm, which, for someone who is overwhelmingly fascinated with such a broad range of subjects as well as finding beauty in the everyday world around me, was a paralysis, a locked-in syndrome of sorts.

After spreading myself across a slew of new social sites, all designed for strangely specific purposes, and even contemplating starting multiple blogs to serve all my interests and pursuits, I found myself lost in an increasingly fragmented internet world, extending and categorizing my existence but losing a sense of identity along the way. Innovation has created a postmodern nightmare; progress has led to a regression in human wisdom.

Thus I return home to my kind old blog, abandoning the overambitious intent of creating an interest-specific blog in favor of the original purpose: expressing the beautiful profundity I happen to find in life and all its pursuits.

This post catches me at a conflicting crossroads in my life. Strong passions for various subjects will lead me on varying pathways in life, but they leave me currently agonizing over which to choose and wondering if I even have to choose. But that makes the journey all the more interesting.

Where the Wild Things Are

Somehow, I had no childhood and managed to grow up without ever reading (or recalling) Where the Wild Things Are.

Luckily, somewhere out there, Spike Jonze did have a childhood and has now apparently recreated the beloved classic in all its nostalgic glory. The trailer captures in all its simplicity the innocence, fear, imagination, unconditional hope, love, and above all, pure magic of childhood. Driven by a beautiful recording of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," it reaffirms the power of music, film, and stories to constantly inspire.



If the film's as beautiful as the trailer, Spike may have just given me a childhood.

Post-SXSW

It's been a couple days since SXSW concluded, and there's a warm feeling in my heart that people all over the world now are looking back fondly on their experiences, missing the Austin streets overcrowded with bands, music fans, journalists, hipsters, photographers - people of all human threads from all human lands united in a shared enthusiasm for music.

A few visual highlights from SXSW:

Arms

Parenthetical Girls

KVRXplosion

Ninjasonik

look at dem hipsterz...

Motel Motel

Harlem Shakes

Pete & the Pirates

The Spinto Band

Hymns

Harlem Shakes (again)

Their show gives new meaning to orgasmic:

Austin during SXSW is a sight to behold - a sea of plaid and Ray-Ban glasses overflowing with a remarkable enthusiasm for music felt in every corner of the city. Over a thousand bands from all over the world, all thrilled to be there and even more thrilled to see the same shows we're thrilled to see. The interaction you can have with artists is unmatched - it's a unique experience being able to wait in lines, enjoy shows, and rave about music with the bands you respect - and seeing the mutual respect between artists is inspiring. There's something truly special felt in this overarching, free-flowing love for music, and it's an atmosphere recreated nowhere else.

It almost makes me reconsider my original plan to spend next spring abroad. Almost.

Arms, SXSW 2009

Along with playing the countless shows scheduled this week for Harlem Shakes, guitarist Todd Goldstein has a side project he'll be showcasing to Austin this year. Arms, Goldstein's solo venture, puts aside the soaring melodies of the Shakes to embrace a more lo-fi sound - and the results are stunning.

Kids Aflame, the debut album released last summer, is filled with both quiet moments of dreamy, sublime melodies and loud peaks of energetic rock. Todd spoke to me a couple weeks ago from a van full of Harlem Shakes en route to D.C. to continue their tour that eventually brought them to Austin.



How did this solo project come about?

I was doing Arms actually before I started playing with Harlem Shakes. I moved to New York in 2004, and I had kind of been creatively strained – I hadn’t written songs in over a year. So as soon as I came to New York I started calling it Arms. It’s mostly been home-recorded things and all of it kind of got compiled into the record I put together this summer.

What influenced the writing of this album?

It’s really the music I listened to. There’s always the personal element that finds its way into the album. But the music that got me writing again was something that was really close to me, that pulled me up out of a lot of the personal tough times. Music that kind of sounds like that to me is Low, shoegazer, Neil Young, people who sound really lonely. I started having all these ideas, these stories with these kind of angry people, so a fantasy element found its way in. Very little, if any of the stories on the record are anything that actually happened to me. It started becoming fiction at the end, which I kind of liked.

What defining moments influenced your musical career?

Definitely moving to New York. And playing in Harlem Shakes. I think both of those were really big things. Finding the nerve to start writing again and discovering that there was this other thing inside of me that I hadn’t really been accessing. It started to just turn into something by the time I started playing guitar with Harlem Shakes, and from there it was a whole other thing, being part of a unit. I started writing more for myself as I was writing with them.

How’s the writing process for a solo project compared to that in a band?

When I’m working by myself I kind of map out everything, start to finish. I really want it to be every bit my own imaginary world. I have all these ideas and I like trying to get them all myself. That would be the self-centered characteristic of it. In terms of the band, it’s a totally different thing. We’re this really democratic unit where we all hunker down around these very loose structures that our singer brings in. And we as a group knead it and pull it and push it around and throw things at it until it becomes a product of five people. Both processes are fantastically frustrating and fantastically rewarding.

I think it’s interesting that artists seem to have different identities when they’re in different musical projects. Would you say that’s the case? What part of yourself do you associate with all the projects you’re involved in?

That’s a really good question. A friend of mine actually just pointed that out to me and told me that I was a different person performing with one band than with the other. I definitely have thought it myself, but to have it pointed out verified that. With Arms, I really like performing solo – I like to talk to the audience, give them a little show, be a lot more self-deprecating and low-key. And then with Harlem Shakes, I just really like to rock out and jump around and put on a show of a different character.

What are you listening to these days?

We just listened to the new Grizzly Bear record for like the 15th time as a band. Which is just like the best thing ever, we love it. It kind of makes us like jealous and happy and angry.

Are you guys going to see them at SXSW?

I mean if we can get in, it just seems like it’d be impossible. But if we can, then god yes. Um, what else do I like? I just downloaded the new Prodigy album, which is pretty fantastic. I really like dance music and techno and it’s kind of surprisingly really fucking great. (laughing) I listened to that at 9 AM this morning. (the rest of the Shakes start yelling suggestions now) And, Donald Byrd, this trumpet player, he’s got this album called The New Perspective that we like to listen to. It’s a pretty amazing album. I annoyed everybody with They Might Be Giants earlier today. That’s one of my favorite bands of all time, but nobody else shares that with me in the band. They’re booing right now.

What are you looking forward to at SXSW aside from playing your shows?

Well, I have my day job – I’m a copy writer for a record label called Ghostly International, which is an electronic music label and they have a couple of showcases with some really great artists I want to see. We’re also playing with a bunch of great bands – I’ve never seen Chairlift, I’ve never seen Titus Andronicus, I’m really excited to see them. I don’t know; we’ve just never been to SXSW. We were supposed to go for several years in a row now, and then like literally last minute, some crazy shit happened and we couldn’t go. And finally, we actually are going and playing, so the whole thing’s exciting. Every person in a band I’ve talked to says it’s like summer camp for rock bands. I just want to walk into the streets and see people from bands that I know and don’t know and point to people and be like, Hey you’re here too! Holy shit!

Arms will be kicking off the I Guess I'm Floating Day Party today at 2:00 at Scholz Garden. Catch Todd also in the many shows Harlem Shakes are playing throughout the week.

Nonclassical, SXSW 2009

This year, SXSW will be showcasing a new movement emerging in London led by club-night label Nonclassical. Started in 2003 by composer/DJ Gabriel Prokofiev (yes, grandson of Sergei), Nonclassical breaks out of the constraints of a traditional classical setting, uniting strings with turntables in clubs and sparking a redefinition of musical forms.

Artists such as Thom Yorke, Hot Chip, Simon Tong (The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Gorillaz, The Verve), and John Maclean (The Beta Band, The Aliens) have all remixed pieces for the label.

Gabriel Prokofiev, who will host and DJ the Nonclassical showcase, has experimented with various genres, producing dance, electro, and hip-hop music while also composing orchestral pieces and remixes of his own work. I caught up with Prokofiev last week while he was resting up for SXSW at home in London to explore the genre-blending nature of Nonclassical’s music.

Gabriel Prokofiev photographed by Charlie Hopkinson

What led you to found Nonclassical?

It started because I was really keen to find a way as a composer of getting new music I was writing out to people my own age group and to a younger audience. I wanted to set up a platform where posh classical music could be out in the real world rather than just stuck in the more traditional classical scene.

How did your musical projects evolve over time?

When I was at school I was into pop music and I got hooked on the excitement of writing a melody. From then onwards I was always in bands and playing gigs. Besides that I was doing piano and studying music at school so I was doing classical music as well. Later when I finished a degree, I felt increasingly frustrated with the classical scene – it just felt really detached from the real world. But the thing with classical music is that you’ve got a bit more freedom. Strangely a lot of pop music, though seen as rebellious music, is actually very conservative. So many songs stick to the same formula, whereas with classical music, you're encouraged to go off and create your own approach, be more adventurous. That appealed to me, but at the same time when I did classical music I missed the communication you get with a wider, younger audience.

There are tons of artists working today who have no formal musical training but who create immensely complex music. Do you think your training gives you a different perspective on modern music?

I’ve never had a composition teacher that I really clicked with – I personally like to follow my feelings rather than be too technical about what I write. It can be helpful sometimes – I think maybe if you don’t have training it’s easier to fall into clichés or things that have already been done. It’s just a useful tool, but it’s not essential. What’s really important is originality of ideas. Sometimes it can be an advantage when you haven’t had training – you don’t feel you ought to do anything in particular and you come up with a newer approach. That’s how much of the most pioneering music of our century has come about.

Your music breaks out of the constraints of traditional music and shows highly intertextual threads – what do you think this has to say about the evolution of music?

I think for music to evolve it has to respond to the world it’s in and not be cut off from society. I think classical music in particular has evolved in a kind of academic way, where they’ve analyzed music and then shaped it in an intellectual manner. Whereas if you take movements like jazz or rock ‘n roll or dance music, they just slowly evolve from people influencing each other and you get something that is natural. I think it’s important for classical music to try to evolve in the same way. So I’m interested in experiencing all the other music that’s around and modern life and try to kind of let that seep into the music I’m making.

Who are your greatest influences?

All the usual suspects really, I imagine. Obviously I’ve got this well-known grandfather, and he was a big influence on me. I love Russian music – Stravinsky and more recently Schnittke. I like John Cage a lot as well. I like funk music – when I was a kid I bought all the Parliament-Funkadelic albums. Hip-hop music too, especially earlier hip-hop when it was less aggressive and less concerned with money and weapons.

What are you looking forward to at SXSW?

I think the atmosphere is incredible. I’ve been once before, I think 3 years ago. You can just go from venue to venue and experience such a range of different music, and the standards are so high, so that’s very inspiring. It makes you really aware of how many creative musicians there are out there. I haven’t even properly looked at the program yet, but I feel like you don’t really need to. You just know that you’ll stumble across things, probably things you’ve never heard of. And I think that’s the exciting thing. Similarly, I hope people will stumble into the Nonclassical night and be pleasantly surprised.

Nonclassical brings its beats and strings stateside with a showcase on March 21 at The Tap Room, hosted and DJed by Gabriel Prokofiev and featuring the Elysian Quartet, John Matthias & Nick Ryan, and many others.

10 Questions with The Spinto Band, SXSW 2009

I first saw The Spinto Band perform three years ago with little knowledge of who they were and was instantly charmed by their infectious indie pop. Their live shows glow with ebullient melodies and multi-instrumental harmonies that simply radiate happiness. With six band members, a variety of instruments (including kazoos), and gleeful head-bopping rivaled only by the early Beatles, you'd have to be a real downer or a real music snob not to enjoy yourself at their show.

I spoke to The Spinto Band last week while they were finishing up their tour in Europe before heading down to Austin for SXSW.



How would you describe your music for those who've never heard it?

Pop Deco.

How is 'Moonwink' different from 'Nice and Nicely Done'? What shaped the writing of the new album?

‘Moonwink’ is a bit denser than 'Nice and Nicely Done'. It's tricky pop music with a high replay-value. I think the writing stemmed from the fact that we have six members in the band and attempting to create intricate arrangements that took advantage of that fact.

How is the European tour? How are crowds there different from those stateside?

The European crowds have been very generous. German crowds, especially. When we perform, they shake like people at a high-school dance on a film set in the 1950s.

Your music and shows are just about the happiest I've ever experienced. Is this just your style or are you guys just the happiest people in music?

We've been playing around with the music program, Microsoft Songsmith, and it only has two sliders to affect the feel of the music. They are "happy" and "jazzy". On a purely superficial level, I think our music would be on the higher end of both of those knobs. I think on a personal level, we're all realists with a pinch of optimism.

I saw you guys play a few years ago with Art Brut and We are Scientists. How was that tour and do you guys have any favorite bands that you've played with?

We were talking about that tour the other day and how great it was...Honestly. If we gave awards for touring, that may win the best tour for bro-hanging.

Greatest influences outside of music?

Iron Chef Morimoto, Stanley Kubrick, 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, El Chupacabra, Josef Albers, Theodore Roosevelt.

Favorite activities to do on tour?

Challenge people of different cities and nationalities to bowling competitions. Also we like to sample the local cuisine, mainly local sodas, beer, and potato chips.

Most rock 'n roll moment you've ever experienced?

Four out of six of us puking within hours of each other. Not to mention our tour manager, who also puked.

What are you most excited about for SXSW?

Free stuff.

Are you guys still making films? Ever considered coming to SXSW showcasing both film and music?

We still make videos often for our YouTube channel, but we can't imagine being at SXSW any longer than a weekend. Our bodies couldn't handle it.

Will we ever hear any kazoo harmonies from you again?

Some fans just restocked our kazoo collection with hand-decorated kazoos, so that's a maybe!

The Spinto Band play official SXSW showcases at SESAC Day Stage Café Austin Convention Center and Room 710 on Saturday, March 21 as well as free parties at Home Slice Pizza and Red House Pizzeria. Check spintoband.com for shows.

Harlem Shakes, SXSW 2009

I have not been very attuned to the music scene recently, but Brooklyn's Harlem Shakes are one band I've been rather obsessed with for a few years now. It could be just because I happened to come across them or that they're just really fucking good (most likely a combination of both).

Their debut album, Technicolor Health, drops on the 24th and reveals a cohesive, evolved sound distinct from their EP, Burning Birthdays, as well as earlier recordings. Forget the Strokes comparisons from 2005. The new music is rich with their signature vocal harmonies (everyone in the band sings) while radiating a new hope that distinguishes it from past music.

They have been gaining overwhelming positive press for a while now, and they're finally playing SXSW this year (after a mishap with SXSW '07 when their scheduled show with Yoko Ono was cancelled). I spoke to lead singer Lexy Benaim this week, while Harlem Shakes were on tour in wintry Ohio (not to mention sick - yes every member was sick) and longing for the warm sunshine of Texas.

L-R: Todd, Kendrick, Jose, Lexy, & Brent. Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg.

How would you describe the Harlem Shakes’ sound?

I’d say our music sounds like the musical embodiment of prosperity in the 90s.

How’s life on tour been for you guys?

It’s been really good. I think we kind of set out having to take it to a new level. I think we achieved the vision we were going for, which is a looser sound, not exactly like on the album so there are some surprises. We generally try to keep it free and loose, surprise each other by banging on things or playing things the others don’t know we’re gonna do - just keeping everybody energetic, and I think the crowd likes that too. If you do something you clearly don’t know you’re gonna do beforehand and surprise yourself, they’re gonna be surprised and excited too.

What have been your favorite cities to play? Does each city have a distinctly different feel, or do they all kind of become the same after a long time on tour?

A couple cities stand out. Different cities have different things going for them. I like playing Montreal. I don’t mean to kiss up, but I like playing Austin. Chicago’s always been great. Anywhere that’s a little strange in some way is always fun to play.

What’s the main difference between playing in your hometown of New York as opposed to say Austin?

Oh you just know about a hundred people in the crowd. That’s always a little weird. We can definitely sell out bigger venues in New York than anywhere else and that’s good. But it’s a little weird recognizing the faces in the crowd, you always feel a little inhibited.

What are you looking forward to most about SXSW?

The banana pudding at Stubb’s Barbeque. And also we’re playing a show on Saturday at Red-Eyed Fly with Chairlift, Titus Andronicus, and the comedian Eugene Mirman, so we’re really excited about that.

How is your new album different from your past music?

I just think it’s a lot more ambitious. We worked a lot harder on it and took it more seriously. It was a more intense, involved experience. The EP we made was after we’d been together for like 2 months. So this record is us in a much more evolved stage.

Your new music and lyrics feel a lot more optimistic to me than your past music. Would that be a fair assessment?

I think that’s true. There is a kind of willful optimism. I really think you’re right.

What life experiences or changes inspired that?

Oh my god, so many. I feel like in the last two years we just lived so much. So much shit happened, good and bad. It’s almost like too much to process, and the only acceptable response for us was this kind of willful optimism in the face of this sea of experience.

I've noticed you revise and release different versions of many songs. You've recorded many different versions of “A Night” and you seem to have updated it and released it as “Sunlight.”

It has the same chorus. It’s a pretty radically different song. But I am a reviser. My main background in studies are in literature and fiction, and revision is a very basic aspect of the form, and I take the same approach to music.

Do you ever feel like you've reached exactly what you want with a song and that it's finished, or is it never done and always open to change?

Sometimes it’s done, but it’s almost always an arbitrary thing when it’s done. Nothing ever matches the Platonic ideal in your head, but sometimes it comes really close. After a certain amount of time, you learn to accept it as its own thing, separate from you. Just a thing in the world.

Who are your greatest musical influences?

I’ll try to say ones that aren’t so obvious. Really like a lot of early 90s music. Blur, Beta Band, Grandaddy.

What are your greatest influences outside of music?

All sorts of books and writers. Those can be as strong as the music for me in some ways. The Polish writer, Wisława Szymborska, I like her a lot. Lately I’ve been reading only short stories by Leonard Michaels. Seamus Heaney, the poet. Who else? Yeah, those are some favorites. Another poet called Alex Nemser, who I went to college with.

If you could form a supergroup with any other artists, dead or alive, who would you recruit?

David Berman for lead vocals. Actually backup vocals for David Berman. I would have Carlos Santana on lead guitar. Biggie Smalls on the rhymes. Who else would be in this magical band? Elvin Jones on the drums. Bill Evans on piano. And John from Deerhoof on guitar. And Satomi from Deerhoof on bass. Yeah I think we might be a little eclectic.

What are you favorite songs to play on tour?

Right now I’m having a lot of fun playing “Technicolor Health.” I’m also having a lot of fun playing this old song we reworked, “Old Flames.” And I like playing “Wild World” by Cat Stevens in the dressing room.

Do you guys ever do covers?

Not really, but we’re gonna start.

Do you have any in mind, who you want to cover?

I want to cover “Wild World” by Cat Stevens. Oh, Cat Stevens would have been in my all-star band, but we have too many singers already. Too many egos.

Harlem Shakes play an official SXSW showcase Thursday, March 19th at Red 7 along with numerous free shows and parties throughout the week. Check them out!

Reflecting on Szerencsétlen

I was at Virgin Records in New York last spring when I was struck by a song playing unlike anything I'd ever heard. It turned out to be "Szerencsétlen" by electronic artist Venetian Snares. It opens like a contemporary classical composition, with sharp, fragmented strings and pizzicato, before erupting into an electronic frenzy. Imagine an army of computers crashing into an orchestra. It is remarkable how he unites discordant pieces (not to mention genres) into such harmonious music.

Here's a brilliant fan-made video for the song:

Can't really go wrong with Venetian Snares and the best cartoon series ever.