Louvin My Dog

I'm proud to say that last April at a Grimey's parking lot sale, this incredible man remarked that Soapy seemed like a real good dog. He was only kind of right, but I'll treasure that semi-conversation forever.

The Afterthoughts

Maybe that should be our name b/c we're not on the flyer, but I swear that Thom, Adam, and I are djing this NYE party. We'll be on between bands and, hopefully, will end the night with some dancefloor favorites. You should come out and support the cause. Both the Lincoln Bedroom and Ryan Harrison kill it live, and with the former pledging to play a cover-laden set, you're a fool to go to some crowded joint playing bad T-Pain songs. As for us, we pledge to only play good T-Pain songs, and Clint Black, and Sparks, and Pookey Blow, and Alphabeat, and Erasure, and Nate Dogg. Only those 7 artists. Come get down to that.

Christmas! The Mix

Enjoy the following mix during this holiday season. First, a few brief thoughts:

- Thanks to Thom for getting me hip to the Aislers Set song. Never has a song been more a Christmas carol without even knowing it.

- I think the Low 7-song Christmas album is essential holiday listening. "Just Like Christmas" is actually not that representative of the album, which dwells in pedal tones, reverb, and slow tempos. It doesn't sound cheery, but I vouch for its excellence.

- "Hard Candy Christmas:" It's ridiculous to bandy about such titles, but I think it deserves high praise, so I'll give it my highest: BEST. XMAS. SONG. EVER.

- "Joseph, Who Understood" was released by the NPs last December as an iTunes exclusive (at least, I think it was an iTunes exclusive). I remember going on a late night run through Centennial Park during last year's finals and just - no joke - weeping when this song came on my headphones (full disclosure: I was a little stressed at the time). It may be theologically daring or borderline blasphemous, but it's got an honesty that's refreshing and a typically catchy Carl Newman melody to match. #2 with a bullet!

Download Christmas! The Mix

1) Just Like Christmas - Low
2) Anorak Christmas - Sally Shapiro
3) Christmas on Riverside Drive - August Darnell
4) Hit the Snow - Aislers Set
5) Merry Christmas, Baby - The Beach Boys
6) Jesus Christ - Big Star
7) Sherburne - Alabama Sacred Harp Singers
8) Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton
9) He Was Born in a Manger - Rev. J.M. Gates
10) Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
11) Santa Claus is a Black Man - AKIM & the Teddy Vann Production Company
12) To Heck with Ole Santa Claus - Loretta Lynn
13) Christmas Is - Run DMC
14) Presents - Yo Yo Yo Kids
15) Be Your Santa Claus - Keith Sweat
16) Joseph, Who Understood - The New Pornographers
17) Calling on Mary - Aimee Mann

Carol of the Bells

Read founding member Thom McMahon's recently published interview with Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells.

Memories in Music: Christmas 2007

During my last year in Nashville, I had the incredible opportunity to sing with Vanderbilt's Blair Collegium, an acapella chorus of 20 voices focused on pre-16th century and 20th century music. My short time with the group provided a number of profound experiences, the most memorable of which was learning and performing "Friede Auf Erden" by Arnold Schoenberg. Although we performed the piece twice, our first performance - last December at Westminster Presbyterian on West End - will likely remain the single most exciting musical venture of my life.

To put it mildly, I was lucky to be in Collegium Vocale considering my relative lack of choir experience and vocal training, not to mention my mediocre voice and range. However, due to a good sight-reading audition and the director's belief that I could sing the second tenor parts of that semester's material, I was accepted into the group and began rehearsing immediately. Prior to Collegium, all of my choir performance experience followed a predictable formula: learn the song in rehearsal and take the stage with a confidence that those routine rehearsals would result in nothing less (and, perhaps, nothing more) than a competent rendition of the piece. Rarely did a performance contain an ounce of spontaneity, and afraid of being branded a dork, I sometimes kept an ironic distance between myself and earnest performance in the form of irritating smirks and destracting inside jokes. "Friede" didn't follow the usual rules or allow for personal detachment. Every performance of the song was a crap shoot, each voice relying on every other voice to sing their part correctly lest the entire piece derail into (unintentional) atonal oblivion. Simultaneously, our director - quite rightly - equally emphasized phrasing and dynamics that mirrored "Friede's" violent but hopeful text. Like Schoenberg's score, this textual interpretation could not be expressed by rote memorization, but only by the concerted effort and full concentration of each choir member.

I remember taking the stage at that December concert excited by the gamble of performing such a difficult piece. I was equally excited to know that every single member of the choir was totally dialed in, sincerely committed to an evocative and honest rendering of the piece. When we had finished singing, far before I began critiquing that particular performance, I felt a profound sense of satisfaction knowing that, at the very least, we had succeeded in mustering and maintaining an intensity, focus, and vulnerability necessary to do the work justice.

Download "Friede Auf Erden"

Reuniting the Beatles

If you have an hour to kill sometime, check out this recent episode of 7 Second Delay on WFMU. Ken and Andy round up four guys sharing the names of the Fab Four for a once-in-a-lifetime telephonic reunion. In an effort to identify with these tragically famous individuals, Andy reveals something never before known to his listeners: he was originally named Warren Beatty. Included are discussions of La Leche League, vaginal childbirth, and an inexhaustive list of all people at least once termed "the 5th Beatle."

Keep It Like a Secret

Anyone familiar with Benjamin Curtis, formerly of Secret Machines, now of School of Seven Bells? Something he said in a recent interview sounds to me like an endorsement of the Westside Record Club. Take a look:

Interviewer: What is your ideal situation for listening to music?
Benjamin Curtis: Definitely not headphones. I really like to hear music in a room. I don’t really like when it’s too separated, with the subwoofers and the systems that are too ornate. I just like something really simple. A couple of speakers in a quiet room. Not blasting, but just loud enough so you kind of feel absorbed by it. Not so loud that if you want to lean over to your friend and say, “This song sucks,” or, “I can’t believe they did that — this is amazing,” you can still do that. My best memories of listening to music have been like that.

So the community element is a big part of it?
It’s different doing that, especially if the people you’re listening with are on the same wavelength with you at that moment — it feels like a special moment. It’s these moments with friends where you’re like, “Remember the first time we ever heard this? Wasn’t that great? Wasn’t that the perfect record to put on?”

Over and out,

T