A few of my favorite things right this minute…
+ A new (yes, new interview with Prolapse. A lively and informative read.
+ Sparks in Stone Lanes.
I stumbled across former Wire editor Mark Sinker’s blog the other day. I’m in the midst of reading this essay about the personal politics of punk and how they relate to one’s own shifting boundaries. Lots of interesting tangents vis à vis Jaime Hernandez’ Love and Rockets characters Maggie & Hopey. While defining Punk seems like an impossible task, I appreciate Mark’s deeply personal rather than po-facedly rock-crit take on the issue: “Punk’s freedoms are absolute, if only in this sense: No-one else’s rules apply to you.” He poignantly sums up Maggie & Hopey’s ever-shifting, immensely complex relationship thusly: it “exalts their battle to discover new ways of being adult without betraying their adolescent choices.”
+ I’ve written about delightful New York City-based group La Laque here before. Although they’ve released a split EP with PAS/CAL, they have yet to offer up their oft-promised first solo release. Their MySpace page assures us that it’s imminent; here’s a re-recorded version of “Le Weekend” from that upcoming EP. It’s a delicious re-working of what had been a slightly mournful song (thanks to violin and a downbeat arrangement). Now it’s bright and punchy, with buoyant Farfisa and tribal drums, while retaining a necessary hint of darkness reminiscent of No Wavers Rosa Yemen (is it that slightly desperate tone in singer Devery’s voice?). Not sure how I feel about the surfy guitar solo at the song’s close, but it’s growing on me.
+ The new Electrelane single, “To The East”, is fast becoming one of my favorite songs of theirs. The video —a delicately washed-out, near-sepia-toned affair with filigrees of color animated over the top— is both celebration and elegy. In that way it reminds me stylistically of AC Marias’ haunting “One of Our Girls (Has Gone Missing)” —all flickers of love and loss. Someone’s dancing out of your life forever…
Verity Susman’s solo side project, Vera November, has a MySpace page . She’s recorded a cover of Arthur Russell’s “Our Last Night Together”, and it’ll finally be out this summer on Rough Trade as part of a Russell tribute album. The songs sound incredibly lush, especially “Give Me A Sign.” You can see snippets of Verity performing the song as part of this trailer for the upcoming Arthur Russell documentary.
+ Today’s music purchases:
Experimental Dental School, 2 1/2 Creatures [Cochon, 2006]
Broadcast, The Future Crayon [WARP, 2006]
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La Laque on MySpace | For more information on Prolapse please visit Graham’s most excellent Prolapse page. | Electrelane | More info on the Arthur Russell movie.
La Laque, “Le Weekend” (re-recorded version from their upcoming EP
IMAGE BY JORDAN CRANE