Channeling Nico in Baltimore

Lately I can’t stop listening to the new Beach House album, Devotion (from Baltimore-based Carpark Records). Far more sophisticated than their self-titled first LP, it deserves every point of that 8.5 rating Pitchfork fawningly gave it last week. It’s unusual that I will I side with a more polished album over the basement-tapes sound (I’m a Slanted and Enchanted girl; not a Brighten the Corners one), but when it comes to melancholia as channeled by an organ and a ghostly vocalist, the crisper sound and less obtuse songwriting is a pleasure to hear. Devotion is like listening to a whimsical circus slowed down to a funeral march while drinking hot cocoa.

Video for Heart of Chambers 

And I can’t stop thinking of Nico when I listen to Beach House. It’s easy to call lead singer Victoria Legrand a cross between Nico and Hope Sandoval (of Mazzy Star).  Beach House’s almost moribund vocal stylings, cavernous atmospherics, medieval undertones, and simplistic, stark percussion are indebted to the Nico and her producer John Cale (the other Velvet Underground genius).

Born Christa Päffgen, Nico was raised amid the hell of WWII Germany and her haunting singing/speaking voice echoes those horrors. Statuesque and icily beautiful, as a young adult she recorded with Serge Gainbourg and Jimmy Page, had a child with French cinema superstar Alain Delon, modeled all over Europe and had a bit part in La Dolce Vita. And that was all before she became the Warhol Super Star/Velvet Underground singer she is perhaps most famous for. Reed didn’t let her sing much on the Velvet Underground and Nico, but the tracks she does appear on are some of the most haunting and beautiful (“All Tomorrow’s Parties,” “I’ll Be Your Mirror”) of all the many revolutionary songs VU put out.

 

Nico in the 60’s 

Nico was the quintessential muse of the 60’s pre-psych happenings. Although Reed ousted her from the Velvet Underground, by 1969 she accrued enough songs from various lovers (including Dylan, Sterling Morrison, Jackson Brown and even Reed) that she could record a full LP, Chelsea Girls.  

 As much as we all love Chelsea Girls (me, Wes Anderson, Aurevoir Simone and most every sad visual arts undergrad included), very little of it is indicative of the Nico’s own musical choices, except, perhaps “It was a Pleasure Then.” But like her contemporary Marianne Faithful, once she broke free from the hot girl singer schtick, she became someone and something utterly original in music.

 

Nico and John Cale performing in the 70’s

Post-Warhol, post Dylan, Nico ditched pop and took up medivial and classical music on her second album The Marble Index. She also adopted a decidedly unattractive look—poker straight brown hair, heavy black eyeliner, baggy black clothes. By the mid-decade she had put out two more brutally stark albums with Cale, albums she primarily directed: Desertshore (1970) and The End (1974). She doesn’t sing as much as chant on them, while minimal percussion and harmonium (which became her signature instrument) replace conventional melody.

 

She also worked as an actress again, but this time with the extraordinary director Philippe Garell, who was her partner for the entire decade as well. She reinvented herself once again when she left Garell and came to NYC, where she was embraced by the CBGB’s scene in the early 80’s. Sadly, she also became more and more addicted to heroin. She died from a head injury in 1988.

Everyone from Joy Division to Bjork (not to mention the entire freak folk movement) are a little indebted to Nico and Cale, including Beach House. So here’s to Nico.

It was a Pleasure Then–Nico

Wedding Bell–Beach House

Quarantined–Atlas Sound

Shouting Out Loud—the Raincoats

Lions—Tones on Tail

 La Mer—Francoise Hardy

Evening of Light–Nico 

The Soul of Patrick Lee—John Cale and Terry Reilly (from the amazing album Church of Anthrax)

Silent Street/Silent Dub—Maximum Joy

Espers—Meadow

The Falconer–Nico 

History–The Verve 

Bela Lagosi’s Dead—Nouvelle Vague

All Tomorrow’s Parties-Velvet Underground 

Sugar Hiccup—Cocteau Twins

Master of None-Beach House 

Siouxsie and the Banshees—Swimming Horses                

In Defense of D.I.Y. Venues

 

Cheap eats at a show at The Yard, Summer 2007

Now I’m down with a good show at the Bowery Ballroom, or, even better, at the smaller, much more cozy (and closer to the F-train) little sister venue Mercury Lounge (although now that you can’t smoke cigarettes in the basement with the band it’s not quite as fun). I can even get exited about a show at the oddly official sounding Music Hall of Williamsburg once in awhile (the acoustics are excellent and it is in Brooklyn, even if it resembles Bowery measure-for-measure). I also will venture to Studio B if the act/dj set is strong (or if I’m feeling particularly Euro-trashy). But by far my favorite dance parties and/or live shows are not thrown by Bowery Ballroom Presents or Clear Channel, but by D.I.Y party collectives at venues that often also serve as people’s homes, art studios, community centers, galleries, and warehouses.Or they are outdoor parties/shows like at the Yard off the Gowanus canal, a collective that features a good lineup of events during summer/fall seasons.

Why? It’s not just because of my roots (being a Philly kid and used to the R-5 productions shows at the First Unitarian, where it’s always cheap and always BYOB, I have a natural prediliction for performance space outside the corporate sphere) but because I absolutely hate being regimented by asshole bouncer-types when I go to see live music.

Other reasons D.I.Y shows are better?

1. You can see a band before they become the next Vampire Weekend. Or if they are like my friends O’death who still play D.I.Y. shows in NYC when not on tour to augment their bigger shows and to support smaller acts they really like who might not be able to tour with them.

2. Booze is super cheap or BYOB. The folks at The Yard makes amazing sangria.

3. Food is often served and usually there are vegan options.

3. Tickets rarely sell out, which means no exorbitant Ticketmaster fees or threat of being left of the cold when a show sells out by the time you get there.

The downfall? Finding the venue can be a bitch and sometimes the areas you need to go through to get there are super shady. It can be hard to find transportation home late at night (I’ve definitely been left freezing on a corner in Long Island City while waiting for a car service). Oh there is also one small issue: because of the semi-legality of some of the spaces (no liquor license, noise violations, violation of Cabaret act, etc), the NYPD sometimes show up and the party is over. Like in college, but it’s a bit more serious than an R.A. bust. 

Last night that scenario went down at new venue/party house Market Hotel in Bushwick. A Todd P event (perhaps the preeminent D.I.Y. booker in NYC–check out his site for good shows), this sounded like it had the makings to be a rad night. I found out today via Finger on the Pulse email list that it was shut down before the second band even went on. Tickets were handed out. Read more on Brooklyn Vegan (Also, note there is an often-stupid and occasionally intelligent comment stream debating the D.I.Y versus non D.I.Y.).

However, this should not deter people with some gusto and a passion for fringe music from heading out to these spaces. If we are afraid, the Clear Channels win and we’re left to see crappy wanna-be Mates of State type bands for all eternity.

So, that said, here’s a short list of D.I.Y venues/booking collectives to check out:

Dead Herring House: I just went here a few weeks ago and save for the drunk girl who told my friend Sarah she loved her and the vomit on the floor on the way out, it was a great space. Really! I’m not being sarcastic!*Also. note on the up-and-up band Meneguer is playing Saturday night

Brooklyn By Hand

Market Hotel: Hopefully they will still have shows. I’m planning on going to see Big A/Little a (Aa) there on Saturday if they can still make this happen.        

Silent Barn: It’s mad far away (Ridgewood, Queens). However, it was where the infamous Bradford Cox getting on-stage blowjob debacle occurred during a Deerhunter show last year. Also, the NY Times showcased this place in the Style section (with a big ole pic of Dan Deacon on the front page); it’s debatable as to whether that’s a good or bad thing….                                                                                 

DeathByAudio                                                                                                                  

Bikes in the Kitchen who host parties at Third Ward, a space with clothing swap events, art studios and classes, occasional wild parties and a vertigo-inducing fire escape which sometimes functions as the primary staircase. Just beware of boys with Electroclash haircuts when you go there.

Goodbye Blue Monday

White Room They don’t have shows here that often, but the ones they do have are usually really good. They were the first place to host New Young Pony club about two years ago, before most in the US even knew about them. Space has great sound and is just big enough to have a true dance party but not too big as to feel cavernous.                                                       

Glasslands: Guests are encouraged to draw on the walls, the drinks served are really strong, and it has a cozy upstairs area to chill out in with balcony so you can still see the show. Perhaps my favorite D.I.Y.venue. This was also in the NYTimes article.       

Brooklyn Art Collective: They have events every few months with gallery shows and often host one of my favorite Brooklyn bands, Rocket Surgery. 

Also, I’ve added two new links to my blogroll: Nubloom from my buddy Steve (who I rarely actually see but when I do it’s usually at one of the above venues) and Fish.cloud, featuring my friend Dan’s wonderful illustrations.  

  

 

Arthur Russell and the first downloadable mix!

So, I’ve finally figured out how to put music online for all S.N.O.B fans to access. I realized that if Bradford Cox (of Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, and blogging fame) can find time to be sober enough to post mixes (which are quite good, check them out), fuck if I can’t do it too.

Speaking of frail, avant boy/men, so recently I discovered Arthur Russell, whose experimental dance music is a beautiful blend of ambient sounds, disco beats, cello, and “golly gee the world is big isn’t it?” lyricism. Russell died in the early 90’s of AIDS in relative obscurity outside the artsy music circles in New York. Only recently has his music been opened to a wider audience with the reissue of some of his albums. Rolling Stone wrote in 2004, “If Nick Drake had lived long enough to make records with New Order, they might have sounded something like this” of the LP World of Echo and it’s not a bad analogy. However, I think it’s a bit more like if Daniel Johnston made records with Autechre, but it’s similar point being made about what a frontrunner he was in terms of hybrid music. Russell’s story is as fascinating (he played cello for Ginsberg’s poetry readings, was an early East Village pioneer in the 1970’s and collaborated with Philip Glass and David Bryne to name a few) as his music is original.

 

Arthur Russell is, as my friend Josh put it, “dance music you can’t dance to.” This brought me back to IBM (Intelligent Dance Music), a form of “electronica” which hit its height in the mid-90s, but is constantly being revised and revisited by artists such as Boards of Canada, Architecture in Helsinki, and The Field. The pioneers of the 90’s boom, like Autechre, Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) and Squarepusher, are still quite active as well. Here is a sampling of my homage to IDM and to Russell, a mix full of intellectually important bleeps, bings! and scratches. But with some faux world music from Williasmburg and a little neo-Italo Disco (hello Simian Mobile Disco!) thrown in there. Uh, and Daft Punk and Radiohead too. 

2.20.08

Arthur Russell–Calling All Kids: This song is like if the producers of PBS’s Square One took drugs and hung out with Steve Reich (see below). Which, if you think about the early 80’s, is really not that improbable of a scenario.

Estro–Driven 

I Want I Want—Digitalism 

Every Day—AFX: Richard D. James channeling Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby.

Wait for the Summer—Yeasayer: I tried describing Yeasayer the other night and I ended up saying something along the lines of “It’s like when Eno and Byrne collaborated, but uh, less Eno and more lesbian.” That’s totally not the right way to describe them (that actually sounds kind of like Thievery Corporation, come to think of it), but I love this sorta World sound, as made by post-TV-on-the-Radio (yes I am told that is a genre now) Brooklynites.  

Sleep Deprivation—Simian Mobile Disco 

Neuschenee 78–Neu! : I am also a fan of Germans channeling world music in the 1970s.

Over the Ice—The Field  

Up the Ladder—Radiohead: Best track, in my opinion, off the second cd of the In-Rainbows package. “I’m a puhhh-ppet/you can almost see the string.” Oh Thom! You and your masochism!

Montreal—Autechre 

Musique—Daft Punk: I have a lot of fond memories from high school of driving around in my first boyfriend’s car listening to Daft Punk’s Alive during the spring of the first year of the 21st century. He drove a Volvo station wagon.  He also wore one of those backpacks that cross across your chest and fasten with velcro (does anyone remember those?). And once he wore man-capris (manpris?). I always thought he was a little gay for liking his Volvo and Daft Punk so much, not to mention wearing that backpack and those manpris, but I accredited it all to the fact that he is French. However, in my dating life post high school, I’ve been involved a lot of guys who looooove Daft Punk. Dudes who don’t wear man-pris. So, I guess I was wrong. I have come to realize it’s perfectly normal for straight guys to like Daft Punk, French or non-French. It still perplexes me a bit, but uh, Daft Punk is still awesome! Those backpacks, though, well, not so much. Ditto the man-pris.

My red hot car– Sqaurepusher

End of the World—The Shocking Pinks: Newish dream-pop, distributed in the US from our friends at DFA.

Blue Jeans 2.0—Ladytron: I also like when 21st Century Germans channel the Bangles as well.

Electric Counterpoint/Slow–Steve Reich                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Enjoy! And please let me know if you have any problems.