Wednesday, February 15, 2012

just a great day for listening to music

Today was just a standard work day, I had to be at work early for a meeting that is always canceled when I get there, and today was no exception. But I got to my desk and got to work, and turned on WFMU and heard this thing that I think is fantastic: “Jet Ear Party”, by Jonathan Kane’s February. I’d heard of him before; he’s not the guy from Journey but was once the drummer for the Swans, who I don’t know much about. He identifies himself as a blues musician; most people will hear more Can/Neu/motorik sound, but sure enough, he really does channel it through the blues, so, with the help of a super-sympathetic band, he makes something that drones, rocks, and swings in a really satisfying way. The song really justifies it’s length by not doing the same thing for the whole ten minutes (yes, it’s about ten minutes) but the parts really belong together…it wouldn’t be as good if it were shorter. The minimalist cover of “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin” is worth a listen too (it’s almost a joke; like, “how little effort can we expend to cover Sly and The Family Stone?”), as is “Gripped.” (see below)

There are lot of criticisms you could mention, such as “why so repetitive?” (“it’s really not”, would be my answer, “it just gets different slowly”) or “why is the drummer the leader” (that’s the genius: no front man means all the guitars get an equal shot at your ears, and you actually pay attention to the drummer for once) or “is he even that good a drummer? he doesn’t do anything fancy”, to which I would answer, “you’ve never had to deal with a drummer, have you?”, to the biggie, “Is this just a band jamming in E with no ability to get past E?”, to which I say “that would be a great place to start.” And you might compare them to a band like Battles, who might sound the same if you described them in words, but really don’t sound the same at all. It’s possible to like both, but something about the organic shifting beat of this music interests me more than the precision of a more mathematical band does. That’s purely personal preference, and I’ll admit to oversimplifying.
Anyway, this was something I hadn’t heard before today, and it caught me by surprise, but I’m posting here in case you might like it too.

http://www.myspace.com/jonathankane

I also heard some John Lee Hooker (with new ears, after all this), The Coasters “Shopping For Clothes” (never gets old), and the very excellent “Quittin’ Time” by Patrick Lewis.