Sawin' Blogs Goes Emo

Hey remember me? The rumors are true. I'm writing from Minneapolis now. Home of Westerberg, Husker Du, and Prince. But if I hear one more thing about the Replacements, well, I don't know what. I hear them in every bar, read about them in every newspaper, etc. Hell, the only bar I've been going to so far is where the band used to hang out. But I've meet some cool folks and have been to a few shows. It's weird going to venues that I'd always seen listed in tour schedules. The 400 Bar is cool, it's like Schubas meets the Empty Bottle. I saw Art Brut at 7th Street Entry, which is a small room attached to First Avenue, which I still need to visit. I'll get there soon enough.

People in Minneapolis seem really proud of the music scene and especially the larger bands that have come out of there. Maybe it's just because I'm new here and I'm picking up on it, but there is much more local music pride in Minneapolis than Chicago, which tends just to be Wilco this and Billy Corgan that. Although it seems like most bands you'd want to see go through Minneapolis, I've heard of several different people driving down to Chicago just for shows, so I guess Chicago still has that edge.

Anyway, enough about that. You're here to read about music. Here are five new(ish) songs that I've been spinning through like mad.

1. Ghostface - "Be Easy"
The Fishscale album is killer, but "Be Easy" is my jam right now. Hearing that chorus live would be more than worth the price of admission to a Ghostface show. The drumfill and slight beat right before it comes in just slays me. Never before has one split-second of music said "THE MOTHERFUCKING PARTY HAS ARRIVED" as triumphantly. I was just about to complain about how Ghostface doesn't get enough mainstream love, but I just checked and this album debuted at #4 last week, so go figure.

2. Figurines - "The Wonder"
I really hope this Danish band does well. Not because they're Danish, but Skeleton because this is just a really solid indie pop album. When I read Pitchfork's description of Tapes'n'Tapes (speaking of, everyone I've met knows someone in this band or something), this is the record I expected/wanted to hear. It's also got huge hints of After the Gold Rush-era Neil Young. But not so much in this particular song, which just fucking rocks in the right way to make the indie kids dance.

3. Vetiver - "You May Be Blue"
Vetiver has been lumped in with the whole Devendra Banhart end of the freakfolk movement. And the self-tilted debut justified that, but hopefully this new album-- To Find Me Gone-- will help them get some more exposure. It's more interesting than just strumming and humming around the drum circle. This particular song, and I apologize in advance, is Marc Bolan meets Grateful Dead. Just what the kids ordered.

4. Danielson - "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"
If the cutesy Christian aspects of Sufjan Stevens irk you, I would suggest staying away from Danielson. Because it's a full on famile (not a typo) cult. Very theatrical, very intricate. Danielson has one of those difficult voices, but really, who doesn't have a weird voice these days? This track is on the upcoming Ships album. The Danielson Famile (not a typo) have been around for awhile, but this is their big statement. Absolutely epic and endlessly rewarding if you listen intently and repeatedly.

5. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "Love Connection"
I'm afraid that CFTPA is a gimmick project. It's hard for me to make it through a whole album without it grating on me. It becomes too cute. But, this song, the last one on the new Etiquette, basically renders trite a whole generation of Livejournaling Myspacers. Why the indie boys and girls haven't completely lost their shit over this song yet is beyond me. It describes an awkward sexual encounter more "honestly" than anything I've heard in a long time. I'll leave you with the lyrics:

chapped lips
tongue kissed
insert expletive
fluids of a summer night
with slight duress
forced imperatives
find me quoting pennington
a delicate blend of sweat and menstrual blood
seeping into trampled grass

so take my lip between your teeth
and taste me by devouring
and i'll start watching my weight again
oh oh

woke up at dawn
face down on the lawn
head awash with what had been
rest cheek to cheek
fingers underneath
soft impressions of your teeth
some hours lost and at such a cost
stains and scars i can't explain

so take my lip between your teeth
and taste me by devouring
and i'll start watching my weight again
oh oh oh

some things
are best left unsaid