The “Duet of the Year” — perhaps even “Song of the Year” — goes to “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)”, a conversational-style ballad from the Decemberists’ latest album, The Crane Wife, released today.

Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy plays the role of a dead Confederate soldier buried far from home; guest vocalist Laura Viers, his doting pregnant wife. Meloy, infamous for his reputation of being well-read, doesn’t disappoint:

Heart-carved tree trunk, Yankee bayonet
A sweetheart left behind
Far from the hills of the sea-swelled Carolinas
That’s where my true love lies

Look for me when the sun-bright swallow
Sings upon the birch bough high
But you are in the ground with the wolves and the weevils
All a’chew upon your bones so dry

The voices of Meloy and Veirs fit together in a way that contrasts more than it blends, but the overall effect is appealing. The sound is reminiscent of The Pernice Brothers’ “Subject Drop”, a duet between Joe Pernice and Blake Hazard.

Paste Magazine‘s article “100 Best Living Songwriters” (June/July 2006) places Tom Petty in the top thirty, citing his “…unerring songwriting instincts.” Yet, in the August 2006 issue, the magazine takes him to task for his shallow songwriting in a review of his latest album, Highway Companion. Music critic Geoffrey Himes even named his full-page review “The Writing is the Hardest Part.” Ouch. Himes intimates that Petty’s lyrical weakness is not a new phenomenon, but has been with him since his early hits. Granted, Petty’s inclusion on the “Best Living Songwriters” list may be the result of over thirty years of consistent material, not for one recent album. However, the very songs cited in June/July as being classics (“American Girl,” “Refugee” and “The Waiting”) are more or less looked down upon in August as lyrically “shallow” and memorable only for their classic rock sound.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine has a fresh article on Sufjan Stevens which basically condemns him for being the teacher’s pet, his music for being too perfect and pretentious, and his subject research as being too “school-report”. Dare I say I sense a bit of jealously in Erlewine’s heart?

The orchestrations and compositions on SMiLE are purposeful — on Illinois, they’re clever-clever and showy, as the ornamentation of the production is there for its own sake, never there to illuminate or enhance Sufjan’s musical or lyrical motifs. Because, apart from the conceit of writing songs about a particular state, there isn’t much connection to the sound or feel of the state in question. Stevens never taps into the musical history of a state — never touching Chicago blues or jazz, or Michigan soul or rock. He simply uses the concept of songs about a state as a vehicle to deliver his baroque folk-pop …

So, Stevens – instead of creating his own sound – must now ape the style of his forebears? Does Erlewine honestly think Stevens would stand out in the indie world by basically being a cover artist? I can see it now: Stevens in the studio, about to record California. “Now, track one will be my Beach Boys song, my tribute to Weezer and The Offspring will be track two, and now I’ll go write my Glen Campbell knockoff.”

Oh, and contrary to the article, Stevens did touch Chicago blues/jazz: see track 21, “Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King Of Swing, To Name A Few.”

The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bodies” – from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – has got to be one of the more underappreciated songs by the band. The song opens to a tolerable amount of art-noise but quickly gathers speed as Iha’s guitar riffs break through.

Chamberlain’s drumming is top notch as usual, but it’s Billy Corgan’s vocal workout that really defines the song. He alternates from his trademark whine on the verses to a controlled roar on the two choruses (which take part on independent melodies): “But no bodies ever knew” … “Love is suicide”. The latter appears on a strategically placed break, in which Corgan sings over a bed of double or triple tracked (and out of phase) voices droning the words deny, decide, destroy, disobey, disguise. I sense not rage in his words, but acceptance or resolution. Then again, the uncharacteristic guitar chord on the fadeout adds a pinch of discontent.

They could have brought the vocal levels up just a tad and made this a single. Easily.

I saw David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion fame) last night at the Black Cat in DC. His solitary voice was accompanied by only his acoustic guitar, and his playing was competent, save for the handful of requests that he granted on the spur of the moment. He managed to play all five songs from his recent EP, Fewer Moving Parts, albeit spread out over the course of his 70 minute set.

He puzzlingly described the new song “Fewer Broken Pieces” as his saddest song ever. I had been listening to it for for a few days, but didn’t regard it as especially sad. Sometimes, you need someone to sing it to you live for it to set in properly. The lyrics are personal and describe the breakup of Pedro the Lion. Bazan appears to be writing from the deepest part of his heart on this one — there’s no pretense. From that perspective, it is the saddest song he’s written. His stories of infidelity, murder, suicide, and depression are sad in their own ways, but only to the extent that the listener draw parallels between the songs and his own memories. “Fewer Broken Pieces” doesn’t ask much of the listener, but it demands much from Bazan.

Opening first for Bazan was Anousheh Khalili, a young woman who has recently gained some notoriety as the voice on a couple of Deep Dish tracks, “Flashdance” and “Say Hello”. Khalili’s voice begged comparison with Neko Case at first, but it had a sly swagger not unlike that of Fiona Apple.

Following Khalili was Andy Zipf. He, like Bazan, had no band and accompanied himself on an acoustic guitar. His voice sounded at times like Cinjun Tate of Remy Zero, and at other times like Greg Gilbert of the Delays. Toward the end of his set, he did an offbeat cover of “Goodbye, Yellowbrick Road”. I could tell he was struggling a bit with the chord changes; I never really realized what a complex song it was.

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” —Nathaniel Hawthorne

My parents actually had a framed poster of this quote hanging in their bathroom for the longest time. It depicted a couple of cartoon children chasing butterflies in a 1970s-ish field of flowers. Why is this relevant today? Because I had one of those moments just recently. You see, it all started when I heard a particular Yo La Tengo song in passing on KEXP-FM. It must have struck a chord with me, because I remembered it and tried to find it. It was growing on me, but I had yet to hear it a second time! I wracked my brain, trying to Google the song by its lyrics. No luck. I thought about going into Yo La Tengo chat rooms and saying, I’m looking for this song, but I don’t know what it’s called and I don’t know the lyrics… I eventually decided against this.

Just the other day, I had my Winamp on shuffle, and all of a sudden, I heard it emanating from my speakers again! Turns out it’s called “Today is the Day” from Summer Sun. Sublime. Slow and deliberate. Earthy. Ethereal. Hazy. Hypnotic. I must have downloaded it off one of my podcasts or something, because I have no recollection of finding it. Totally insane.

I recently subscribed to Paste Magazine after having received three complimentary issues. I was hooked. Paste doesn’t patronize or appeal to the lowest common denominator. Women are not portrayed as merely objects. Artists are judged according to merit and talent — not good looks or connections. All bi-monthly issues come with either a free CD, DVD, or both. And these aren’t your average “sampler” discs. The CDs are packed with over twenty full songs, and the DVDs have over two hours of full music videos, short films, previews, et cetera. At $3.75 an issue, it’s a steal. And Paste manages to do all of this without selling out or being pretentious.

When I subscribed, I noticed that there was a gap in my issues — for some reason I hadn’t received Issue 20. I contacted Paste and asked them as much; they said I had probably subscribed a bit too late to receive Issue 20. Nevertheless, they sent me my missing issue, no questions asked. I was very impressed with their service, to say the least. As readership in Paste increases, I’m hoping that the magazine dubbed the “anti-Rolling Stone” will not succumb to pressures to evolve into what it originally set out to distinguish itself from. Please no.

I’m eagerly anticipating the release of Grandaddy‘s new album, Just Like the Fambly Cat. It’s a shame that this will be their last studio album, as I’ve just recently become a fan of theirs. Leader Jason Lytle recently spoke with Paste Magazine:

Unfortunately, money was a big part of [the decision to break up]… The band wasn’t making money and the guys were always broke, and [having been] appointed the ringleader early on, I was exhausted with having to constantly dish out excuses and assurances and false hope. We did this for a long time, often considered on the verge of greatness, and greatness never came, and collectively the will to make that happen disappeared… It’s been a bummer to hear from people how much we meant to them and how they simply don’t want us to stop. It’s sad.

And so it goes. I’ve been listening to “Elevate Myself”, track 11 from the album. It sounds like a slick little single, and I’ve heard that the rest of the album is of similar quality. Like a greatest hits album, but with all new songs. There are drawbacks to this praise, however. Remember that Smash Mouth’s Astro Lounge album was once categorized as such.

I saw Cowboy Mouth at the 9:30 Club last night for the first time in nearly five years. Had it really been that long? Lead singer and drummer Fred LeBlanc had put on some weight since 2001, but was still as enthusiastic as ever. Throughout the show, he was literally dripping sweat from his torso and arms as he banged the drums.

Cowboy Mouth is one of those bands that begs your full attention and participation. “Gimme rhythm! Gimme rhythm!”, Fred would implore. I’ve never clapped so hard in my life. Simply posting an audio sample of their music wouldn’t do them justice. It would be like looking at a 3×4 photo of the Alps, and trying to relate to actually being there. Cowboy Mouth’s music is like that.

Recently, a visitor on my site asked:

do you still have the doctor martens music sampler cd?

Unfortunately, he/she forgot to leave an e-mail address or contact info. Yes, the CD is still available. The original post contains all the info.