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Sarah Shannon: I’ll Run Away

sarah shannon

From the album Sarah Shannon (2002)

It’s been more than a decade since the rock band Velocity Girl broke up, putting an end to one of my favorite high school-era ensembles and effectively ending my exposure to the group’s vocalist, Sarah Shannon. Her post-VG work, a band called Starry Eyes, was short-lived and VG’s online fan base wasn’t large or cohesive enough to adequately maintain updates of band members’ whereabouts. From my perspective, Shannon had disappeared from the music scene completely and over time, my teenage indie-rock crush faded.

And while Velocity Girl’s particular mix of noise pop received and still receives a fair amount of play around here, by and large I stopped trying to follow her career, having figured she was just done with music in general. So it came as quite a surprise to me when I learned that she had released a solo album. But it was even more of a surprise to actually hear what it sounded like.

Exemplified most by I’ll Run Away, this song and album is the anti-Velocity Girl. A far cry from the sunny, jangly pop-rock of a decade ago, this song is soulful and somber, bordering on jazz-lounge pianist balladry. Sarah says the song is about being down, out and lonely in the dead of winter in Seattle, and yeah, I believe that. But for some reason the song doesn’t make me feel sad.

That’s just Sarah’s charm at work I guess.

[audio:070603IllRunAway.mp3]

What I love: As always, Sarah’s voice; the song’s steady mid-tempo rhythm.

i'll run away at amazon

Bonobo: Flutter

From the album Dial M for Monkey (2003)

Bonobo, the simian pseudonym of UK producer Simon Green has been a downtempo-lounge favorite for a while around these parts. In addition to his excellent production values, he’s notable for his distinctive infusion (though not pervasively) of eastern (mostly Indian) influences into what could be called “intelligent chill-out music.”

With a danceably faster tempo usual, Flutter is actually a bit of a departure for Bonobo. But as seems to be the case with me, it’s an artist’s digressions that attract the most attention.

If upbeat downtempo isn’t a style of music, I nominate Flutter as its charter document.

[audio:070531Flutter.mp3]

What I Love: Those chimes, that kickin beat and the melancholy trumpet.

flutter at itunes bonobo drm-free mp3

Styrofoam: Front to Back

From the album Nothing’s Lost (2004)

Belgian composer Styrfoam is a consummate bedroom auteur, accomplished in the so-called “indietronic” genre, effectively wielding his laptop to weave a kind of downtempo electronic pop music. His early work is more ambient in nature, peppered with influences of 8-bit game-style accents. As his music has progress, however, he’s become ever more audacious in his compositions, fleshing out his sound with a more “organic” feeling, despite his glitch-centered production methods.

This song, Front to Back, meanders peaceably, like a digital lullaby for a good two and a half minutes before launching into a sing-song overdrive. It’s layered, complex harmonies will get stuck in your head.

[audio:070528FrontToBack.mp3]

What I Love: Marvelous chord changes; those dense vocal harmonies.

dance music at itunes

nothing's lost at amazon

The Mountain Goats: Dance Music

From the album The Sunset Tree (2005)

This song is about escapism. With poignancy and daft lyrical narration, John Darnielle (aka The Mountain Goats) weaves a tale of domestic violence and a troubled life on the skids. The only outlet for the song’s protagonist is the volume knob on his stereo and the “dance music” it amplifies, which he uses to elude the strife in his life.

The beautiful part of this song however, is its clear-as-day construction. With unadorned instrumentation and a simple verse-chorus-verse structure, Dance Music is classic Mountain Goats. What else would you expect from “America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist“?

[audio:070525DanceMusic.mp3]

What I Love: It’s peppy and sad at the same time.

PS- John Darnielle maintains a blog at Last Plane to Jakarta.

dance music at itunes

dance music at amazon

Presidents of the USA rarity: Ça Plane Pour Moi

ça plane pour moi cover

A long time ago, while expanding my cultural horizons and getting to know a distant branch of my family, I spent a good portion of the summer in the nation of France. It had the works: sight-seeing, landmarks, historical places, family gatherings, camping, Eurorail, and of course shopping and souvenirs. An excellent summer well spent. And it was made more excellent by a handful of hard-to-find musical acquisitions I made while perusing various stores and malls.

One such find, I believe I picked up at the Virgin megastore on the Champs-Élysée or maybe FNAC, was a CD single by The Presidents of the United States of America, that quirky alt-rock-punk-pop band who emerged from the collapse of Seattle’s grunge scene. PUSA was near the peak of its success that summer and the band was a favorite of mine for a time.

Thus I was quite intrigued when I discovered this cardboard sleeve CD single while browsing the stacks. In French, the title read Ça Plane Pour Moi and the artist, to my surprise, was The Presidents. The song was certainly not a single release from the band’s debut album, with which I was already familiar. It was a baffling mystery, but as a third year student of the French language, I was quite attracted to this French language song.

Plus, I’ve always had a fascination with CD singles. There’s something about the combination of low price and rare songs that I, as a collector, can’t resist.

So, putting it all together:

  1. Francophilia
  2. Rare music
  3. CD single
  4. A then-favorite band
  5. Being able to forever say “I bought this in France”

You bet it was a no brainer. I snapped it up faster than you can say Tout de Suite.

Ça Plane Pour Moi roughly means “This life for me.” There’s no direct translation of the phrase but it is an expression of detached contentment with one’s existence, possibly with ironic undertones. The particular recording is a cover of the 1977 hit by Plastic Bertrand, though The Presidents perform it in more of a happy-go-lucky surf punk style. The lyrics are chock-full of French slang that don’t make any literal sense, but if you have to delve into it, try this analysis.

[audio:070514CaPlanePourMoi.mp3]

For a long time, this song was a rarity, so rare that the disc doesn’t appear on either AllMusic’s PUSA discography or Discogs.com’s listing. Amazon has it for $20+, but fortunately for you guys, iTunes offers it for just 99¢.

John Powell – The Bourne Identity

Released in 2002, John Powell’s music for The Bourne Identity is a smooth contemporary action score that is an exception to the typical generic compositions that accompany such films. It draws upon the standard spy-thriller ethos and echos the work of David Arnold for the James Bond franchise, particularly with its use of lush strings, blending of electronic percussion and sprinkling of jazz and rock elements.

Which is to say I like it a lot. I just saw the film for the first time a week ago good stuff, but I’ve been enjoying this score for years now.

It features pensive action cues that roar to life when needed, but avoids becoming the bombastic cliches that are prevalent in many modern action movies. At the heart of the score, however, are the somber, contemplative, even forlorn moods of a man searching for himself and his place in the world.

With those ideas juxtaposed, the album works on pretty much every level.

Highlighting the score is Treadstone Assassins, a cue used to accent the resolve of CIA’s experimental squad of hit men. It feels more like a dirty rock groove than an orchestral underscore but it doesn’t deviate from the heart of the album. Powered by a gritty determination, this track thumps out an engaging, focused rhythm that screams “let’s do this.”

Do yourself a favor and grab this album.

Treadstone Assassins:
[audio:070504TreadstoneAssassins.mp3]