A Thought - The Postal Service: "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"

Today, I rediscovered the magic that is 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight', from the Postal Service's first and only album, Give Up. Of course, I was too young to discover the Postal Service when their album came out; I only heard and heard of them last year. They've never let me down since, with their play-count increasing every few weeks on my Ipod. What can I say, their catalogue may be short, but as the saying goes, its pretty sweet, too.
I wouldn't say that 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight' is my favourite song by them - there are so many others (all from the one album) including 'Nothing Better', 'Clark Gable', 'The Dream of Evan and Chan', as well as, of course, 'Such Great Heights'. The list goes on.
However, this song is the one I listened to today that got me thinking, thinking about how absolutely spectacular a new Postal Service album should/hopefully would be. They've written some truly unforgettable melodies and always have a suited guitar or synth hook handy. There's a bittersweet element to their songs, especially this one, in that the music is actually quite uplifting (you know, the way Hillsong do it), but the lyrics, usually with a sense of ambiguity, tell stories with not quite as delightful endings. So, if you ever want to be lifted by the power and might of Jesus Christ, or keen for a bit of raw emotion, listen to this song and either ignore the melody or the lyrics. Your choice.
Now that I've started it, I might as well expand on the whole (unnecessary) Jesus comparison. If there's one event in the Bible that a comparison to the band could be drawn, it's the Passion Story - a largely heartbreaking event for many, though one from which a tinge of hope can be drawn for believers. 'Nothing Better' is quite like this - Ben loses Jenny, wants her back, not that she still thinks they could possibly last; this, of course, upsets him further, but hey, Ben's still got fifty or so more years of life left, hasn't he? There's always next time.
'Such Great Heights', on the contrary, is all about full, functioning love. It's been covered many times, including by Ben Folds and Iron and Wine, the version of which appeared in the film the Garden State, a film which, now, always seems to appear in the sentence as the Shins.

I could go on for a great deal longer about the band, but now that I've got a bit of a ramble out of my system, I think I'll stop here and listen to 'Recycled Air', which, like 'The District', I've just again uncovered the magic of.

Today's Track - Wilco feat. Feist: "You & I"

Wilco have had a rather turbulent time during the space of their twelve or so years of their existence. Record company troubles, conflicts between band members, court cases - it's all been a bit more than a jam in the living room. Yet, they've carried through it all, and just released an album of some of their most direct pieces yet. The album has recieved some pretty nice reviews and has been described by innumerable adjectives; though one thing almost all the reviews I've read of it haven't failed to mention is the sheer directness of their latest outing. Rolling Stone called it "a triumph of determined simplicity by a band that has been running from the obvious for most of this decade," while Pitchfork described the songs as "comfortable."
Yet, comfort is never a bad thing, if 'You & I' is any indication. The song is among my favourite love-story duets of the past few years (of which there hasn't been too many), such as the Decemberist's 'Yankee Bayonet' with Laura Veirs, or The Postal Service's 'Nothing Better' with Jenny Lewis. This is the story of two struggling lovers, told sweetly yet sadly.
Oh, how I am now lovestruck for Feist once again.
A few electric guitar appregios and stabs of organ work terrifically, I find, behind the acoustic guitar, adding a slight level of intricacy to a song that sure isn't as intricate as Wilco can be and have been.

It's lovely.

Today's (other) Track - Franz Ferdinand: "Turn It On"

Three combed-over guys in matching suits, swinging from side to side to the beat of their guitar strums is how I like to picture a performance of 'Turn It On', by the always charming Franz Ferdinand. The song seems to have a bit of a timeless quality to it - what time exactly, I don't know. 60s perhaps? That would explain the matching suits, anyway.
It's the highlight, I find, of Franz Ferdinand's most recent album, the electrified and electrical 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'. Smooth is the first adjective that pops into my mind when trying to describe the track; the guitar riff is a bit of stylised classic Franz Ferdinand, but Alex Kapranos's vocal delivery is less Scot-rocker than Chuck Bass's voice mail. The song represents, as the themed-ordered chronology of the album states, the early stages of a big night out, and a sexy big night out it must be.

Slick and stylish, this is a Franz Ferdinand that can do no wrong, especially with Today's Track, 'Turn It On'.

Today's Track - God Help the Girl: "God Help the Girl'

The story of God Help the Girl is, by now, pretty familiar to most who may have visited a music-related website and know how to read. Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian writes movie, recruits singers, records soundtrack. Yes, yes, we know it all. But is it actually any good?

I say yes. The album contains a few riffs and melodies recycled from the B&S catalogue, but it really does nail the whole 60s girl group pop/soul thing. Plus, it's a musical. Wow. I'm listening to the soundtrack of my favourite musical (which hasn't even begun filming, though!). What a thought.The whole idea of the project was enough to excite me, let alone the terrific execution - it actually works. It works. It works!
Today's track is the one off the album that first caught my attention, and its style and form truly represents the most part of the album - there's now way this girl's looking for a boyfriend, and she;s letting me know in style, with a strong girl group vibe - one lead, a few backing - present throughout, as well as plucked and bowed strings flowing behind the piano chords, which places nicely next to the groovy baseline. Not to mention the truly terrific vocal performance by the girl whose name I should know by now, and who is, in my mind, skipping down Main Street throwing out flowers from her picnic basket while protesting against having to wait for her boyfriend's phone calls. She's reinventing fun. This song also seems to reinvent a great deal, with this project's old-time influences ever-so clear, but still manages to make it sound so 2009 - the year of the musical!

Today's Track - YATCH: "Psychic City"

When I first heard this song, Muscles sprung into my head. In particular, the Muscles song 'Ice Cream' seemed to call out at me whenever I played it. Now, though I don't actively recognise this comparison anymore while listening to this track, I can see how the parallel with the Australian dance act could fairly be drawn: both this song and 'Ice Cream' have a novelty-type quality, or maybe that's what it just seems - I really can't think of anything funny about either song, but I certainly detect a sense of fun and implausibility in the lyrics of both. But what I think truly connects the songs isn't what they're about exactly - whether the content be funny, fun, or otherwise - but what they are. So, what is 'Psychic City'? Well, it's a song that will (should) be played. A lot, on end; at parties, barbecues, discos (do they exist?), wherever there are people. Hey, this song unites people. They shout the chorus together, they dance like robots in time with the bass line together. Well, the irony is that this - what makes the song so great - hasn't happened to me; I don't even know another soul who would recognise the song. But watch this space (and I really want to use the new feature where you can put a line through text, and then add '*Update*' below).