Quick Hits, Vol. 230 (Vampire Weekend, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, The National)

I went to the Erwin Center in Austin last night to see the Black Keys play, and I happened to have been there the night before for a Texas basketball game.  It is fascinating to me how arenas can flip their space like that, and go from being a brightly lit basketball arena with a huge, four-sided jumbotron thing imposing its will on the center of the room, over a hardwood court that looks seamless and glossy, and then less than 24 hours later be set up as a dark half-room ready for the lazer show and rock riffage.  I'm sure it's not actually exciting to watch it transform, but the idea of that stuff happening fascinates me.
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride.  Now, I'm well aware that I am supposed to hate this album.  All the cool kids have already written their hit job pieces about how this is grandpa music, or Grateful Dead knockoff crap, or "failed Sting."  I like Drew Magary's take on just about anything, and my musical tastes definitely hew towards his, meaning there is usually a huge riff and some chugging and it makes you want to run through a brick wall.  But he is wrong about this one.  

First off, he is wrong about the opening song having a children's choir - or at least a children's choir in the traditional sense of that term - there are some sort of weird effects tacked onto their voices (backwards?), and someone in there is definitely already a baritone.  But also, that opening track has one of the Haim sisters adding in a fine countrified lyrics over a mellow fingerpicking and pedal steel.  It's nice.

Then, I've already written about how fun I think "Harmony Hall" is.  So this one starts with a classical guitar playing some Rachmaninoff trill, that then slides right into a party-starting piano riff pulled from an early 90's Brit-pop track like "Unbelievable," that then soars its way into an Orbital atmospheric track.  When the pianos kick in it is all euphoria and happiness, just bounding in to give you a huge hug.

It's greatness.  "I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die" is a great sing-along line.  Good stuff.  Vampire Weekend has always done this very interesting thing of using classical music riffs and elements, and then dragging them into a modern shift.  The underlying music and chords used in that tune could very well sound like a classical piece of music, if the words and percussion were removed and it was just played with piano and cello.

I forget where I read that people were saying this sounds like a Grateful Dead redux, but I suspect it must have been in Rolling Stone.  I guess I can hear that in some songs, but the overall vibe is not one of noodling jam band rock - it very much sounds like classic Vampire Weekend to me.  Which is a positive.  "This Life" is good - maybe some latter days Dead in there, like the "Touch of Gray" era.  "Sunflower" is fun (I guess that one does have more of a Dead vibe too).  "Big Blue" is pretty, with a George-Harrison-on-guitar vibe.  I like the groove of "Unbearably White," although until I really listened hard to the lyrics, I was worried it was a song about the style of this band.

I'd say my only beef with the album is the length.  They probably could have cut out a few songs and made a stronger overall experience.  I'd probably cut the Spanish clappy "Sympathy" and the final track about Berlin and New York.  But overall very good!  That was an exceedingly long take, for one of the quick hit posts!

Joni Mitchell - Blue.  Joni Mitchell is one of those artists who I kind of generally know exists, and remember because of that Big Yellow Taxi song, but have never really given any mind to.  Probably the most I've ever thought about her is because of the movie Love Actually, when Professor Snape gave Professor Trelawny a copy of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, which caused Professor Trelawny to cry alot because it meant that Severus was for sure boning the secretary.  So now I think of sadness when I think of Joni Mitchell.

Anyway, Rolling Stone had one of those two page spreads recently that ran down the best and greatest things from Mitchell's career, and so I thought I'd take the time to consider her two best things.  This stuff is truly beautiful.  Something like "Little Green" just showcases her astonishing voice over the most simple of guitar, and it feels important, while also feeling melancholy.  Mitchell goes from a light whisper to a brassy full-throated tone without any apparent effort, and her lyrics are excellent.  There is a new show on Netflix, that I can't decide whether I actually like, where Ben Platt sang "River" in the first or second episode, and it was one of the most beautiful moments in television I can remember.  His voice is also astonishing, and lyrically it's an interesting tune, that comes off as a Christmas carol at first.

And in case you are interested to hear the Ben Platt version, here you go:

MF'er.  That is so good.  I so very much wish I could go back and see Dear Evan Hansen when he was in it.  We loved the musical, and the guy in the main role when we saw it was still excellent, but I can't believe we missed Platt.

Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon.  I won't fully review this one, because they pretty well meld into one another in my mind, but this one is also beautiful.  I feel like I need to save this for some cold, rainy day and then play it for the family and see if I can make everyone cry.  Although, the melancholy breaks for a second for her to fire out "Big Yellow Taxi," one of the best anti-gentrification/sprawl/pollution anthems since Talking Heads "This is the Place."

Also, if you recall, sampled in a cool way by Janet Jackson and Q-Tip a few decades ago.  This album also includes her song "Stardust," which was later covered by Crosby Stills Nash & Young (which is the only version I had ever heard before now).  Finally, "The Circle Game" is a freaking lovely song - reveals just how amazing she can be with lyrics.  I like both of these albums quite a bit - they really are beautiful and touching and worth keeping around.

The National - I Am Easy To Find.  If you've been around here for a while, then you know how much The National vexes me.  On the one hand, multiple people I like really like them.  On the other hand, I've never found an album of theirs that I actually enjoy.  But then when writing them up for ACL 2018, I found a live version of some tunes and I liked that sound much more.  
This album actually sounds kind of good though - the starting track comes out like a glitchy monster - "You Had Your Soul With You" - that kind of stumbles its way into my psyche, and then the sad pause in the middle throws it back to what I am used to hearing from these guys.  Apparently that female singer is someone named Gail Ann Dorsey, who was bassist for Bowie for a while, which is kinda cool.  The title track is also more of what I am used to hearing from them - kinda sad, kinda beautiful, wonderfully melodic tunes to play when you need to be bummed out.  And it also features a lady singer - as most of these songs do (it now dawns on me, after trying this album eight times).  In case you wanted to see a full on short film based upon these songs, guess what?  You're in luck!

Well, that was weird, and then it got a little more poignant and now I'm sad again. Although there were a couple of times while watching it that I felt like I had left Spotify playing while I tried to watch a movie - its a very weird construct, just having random music play as that woman ages.  Neat concept though.  
As for the actual album, I don't hate it, but yet again listening to the whole thing gets boring.  Oh, and its also really long - over an hour of this same experience.  "Where is Her Head" and "You Had Your Soul With You" are my standout tracks.  "Not in Kansas" and "So Far So Fast," back to back tracks on the back half of the album, are where you can really dig into the boredom and same-ness.  Even with all of those lady singers, this seems like more of the exact same I heard last time I heard one of their albums.  A depressing dread seeping into every nook and cranny, with an upbeat tune or two here and there to ramp up the energy before sinking back in.  I genuinely thought this review was going to go a better way, but more listening has solidified the feeling.  No thanks.