The Year In Bitch - 2018

Let's get down to it.

Top Five Albums

1. They Might Be Giants - I Like Fun

After 36 years as a band, John Flansburgh and John Linnell owe their fans NOTHING. Yet, despite this unspoken agreement between them and their followers, they’ve delivered their best album in years. The Else was great, Nanobots was fantastic, but I Like Fun tops them both.

Standouts: Let’s Get This Over With, The Bright Side, Last Wave

2. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch

Reznor and Ross exhibit a new sense of crisis, despair, and continued evolution. Bad Witch finds new depths and redefines what Nine Inch Nails can mean.

Standouts: Ahead of Ourselves, Over and Out

3. Gorillaz - The Now Now

The exact opposite of last year’s guest-choked Humanz, this is the closest thing to pure Gorillaz since their debut almost two decades ago. It also happens to be a perfect summer album and one of their best live shows to date.

Standouts: Humility, Tranz, Idaho, Souk Eye

4. Mother Feather - Constellation Baby

Mother Feather has boldly taken the next step towards their inevitable world domination. Bear witness to the unbridled fury and fervor of Ann Courtney, Lizzie Carena, and their army of Mother Feathers behind them. Also: if you’ve never seen Mother Feather live, then you are missing out on what it means to truly live.

Standouts: Snakebite, Shake Your Magic 8 Ball, Constellation Baby, Supernatural

5. St. Vincent - MassEducation

This acoustic rearrangement of last year’s superb Masseduction shows just how solid Annie Clark’s songs are. Stripped of everything but a piano and her voice, some tracks are even more effective here than in their original state.

Standouts: Slow Disco, Savior, Fear The Future, Hang On Me

Live

The live shows that stand out from this year include Eels at Brooklyn Steel, Mother Feather at Knitting Factory, Thom Yorke at Kings Theatre, Garbage at Kings Theatre, Beck at Madison Square Garden, and four nights of Nine Inch Nails at Radio City Music Hall and Kings Theatre. 

I dug the vibe of Eels, the power of Mother Feather, the nostalgia of Garbage (they performed all of Version 2.0 as well as a bunch of b-sides from that era), and the presentation of Thom Yorke (I cannot imagine what doing drugs would be like at that show). However, it came down to Beck versus Nine Inch Nails.

In the end (after not that much deliberation, let's be honest) it goes to Nine Inch Nails.

While I was utterly blown away by the musicianship and production that went into Beck's debut at MSG, along with my finally comprehending what Colors was all about, not to mention the fucking proximity (we were second or third row), this was just a really great Beck show. He played his hits and ended, as he has almost every time I've seen him live, with "Where It's At". But Nine Inch Nails...? Over the course of four nights, I saw dozens of unique songs, some of which hadn't been played in ten years, some of which hadn't been played in twenty five years, some of which hadn't been played ever, specifically "The Perfect Drug", which is not only my favorite Nine Inch Nails song, but a song I never expected to be played live. Not only that, but it was executed flawlessly. While the production wasn't anywhere near what NIN is capable of, I found myself not giving a shit because I was too busy reeling from hearing music live that, up to that point, had only existed on wax. 

This was the Nine Inch Nails tour that shall override every complaint I ever have about Nine Inch Nails tours from here on out.

Meh

I think this is pretty self explanatory, but hey, sometimes stupid people come here. 

This is just something that left virtually no impression on me, so much so that it stood out. And that "honor" goes to the return of Cake. They released a new song called "Sinking Ship" which is nothing new, lyrically or musically (although I like some of the keys). After this release, they announced they're planning on "releasing more singles leading up to a new album in 2019". My first thought when I saw this business plan: Just get it over with, guys.

I'll definitely listen to new Cake, but I feel like I'm done giving a shit about them.

Biggest Surprise

While the variety of NIN's Cold and Black and Infinite tour was pretty spectacular, I've got to give this to Gorillaz's The Now Now. Normally, fans get a Gorillaz album and then Damon Albarn goes off for five years and does Blur or some other solo/supergroup thing that might or might not result in anything excellent, but just a year after Humanz, Albarn goes ahead and redeems himself with this album. Not only is it not Humanz, it's a return to the days of the Gorillaz playing on a Gorillaz album.

Biggest Disappointment

Except for the tiny handful of great tracks on it, overall I was let down by Thom Yorke's first foray into film scoring. I think this would have been a difficult score for anyone, and the fact that it was his first? Ballsy. Sadly, it didn't do it for me. It felt too unfocused and loose. I'll need to give the film another watch and see if things shake out differently, but in my mind this was going to be huge and it did not break my world.

2018 Favorite Songs

Listen for yourselves, you lazy asshole.

Hopes for 2019

There is no hope for 2019.

A review of They Might Be Giants' "My Murdered Remains"

Much like 2016’s Phone Power, My Murdered Remains collects the remainder of 2018’s Dial-A-Song offerings, and, also like Phone Power, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. While it’s mostly lacking in flow or cohesion, and comes nowhere near the explosive triumph that was 2018's I Like Fun, there’s still a lot of really excellent tracks on MMR. If you view this as more of a mixtape rather than a plotted out, thoughtfully arranged album, it feels better. Among the sixteen album tracks and sixteen bonus tracks (more detritus from both this year and 2015’s Dial-A-Song) you’ve got a small collection of rock solid tracks not only worth checking out, but worth repeat listens.

Standouts include the high-energy, paranoid anthem “I’ve Been Seeing Things”, “Applause Applause Applause” which reveals the secret mantra at the heart of every single performer throughout history, whether they admit it or not, the frantic, tail-chasing “The Neck Rolls Aren’t Working”, “I Haven’t Been Right Yet”, the synthy, uneasy “The Bullies”, “Tractor”, “Tick Tick Tick”, “Last Wave (alt version)”* , and finally, the perfect exemplar of a clever, dynamic, fun song that is pure They Might Be Giants in the album’s opener, “The Communists Have The Music”.

After yet another year of new, original tracks every week from the Johns, Dan, Danny, and Marty, there is nothing to complain about here, and while it may be a bit of a musical jumble, you can’t argue with how apt that title is. My Murdered Remains and its bonus disc (entitled More Murdered Remains) is only available on the band’s official website in digital, CD, and vinyl formats.

* Although this one really only works with a bit of background…which I will not offer here. Enjoy the weirdness, squares.

A review of Thom Yorke at Kings Theatre 11/27/18

I like Thom Yorke’s solo stuff better than his work with Radiohead.*
Leave now if you’d like.

I feel that, while Radiohead might have a deeper, fuller sound at times, Yorke’s solo work (The Eraser, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, and I'm including Atoms For Peace) is a truer representation of the man, unfettered by anything. What we hear is exactly what’s in his head. I’d also like to think that the visuals from his current tour, crafted and performed live by Tarik Barri, is what Yorke sees in his mind’s eye when creating that music. Even if that’s not the case, holy shit was this a mind-bending experience.

When I saw Atoms For Peace back in 2013, I was astonished at how low key their visual set up was. When I see clips from Radiohead shows, I feel the same way, but this recent tour was exactly what I would have expected and what felt the most fitting for this music and the man who composed it.

Standout moments from this exceptional evening included “Interference” as the somber opener, “Black Swan”, “The Clock”, two of the half dozen unreleased tracks, “Impossible Knots”, and “I Am A Very Rude Person”, that latter with a really fantastic, bright guitar line, and especially “Amok” and, most of all, “Default”. While the connection between the music and visuals was perfect on every track, things came to a head on “Default", the penultimate song. Just utterly breathtaking.

Yorke is set to release a new solo album in early 2019. Hopefully with these new tracks on it.

* Although, please don't get me wrong, I think they’ve got some legitimately amazing music in their catalogue.

Live and Cold and Black and Infinite - Four Nights of NIN in NYC

Highlights

I bitch...so...hard...about Nine Inch Nails. I believe I've explained before that the reason I bitch so hard is because I know what Trent Reznor is capable of and, when he doesn't live up to the standards that he himself has set, I get disappointed. It doesn't come from a place of anger, it comes from a place of confusion. "Trent...you did such great things here, why aren't you doing great things here?"
That is why, when I saw NIN back in 2014 back-to-back and they performed the same set on both nights, I bitched. Hard.
Three years and two EPs later, they played Panorama and then a secret show at Webster Hall, again, back-to-back. Although the sets were different from one another, I still recall one of my favorite moments being that, on that second night, they didn't play "The Hand That Feeds". Again: one of my favorite moments of seeing Nine Inch Nails live...was the absence of a song. That is not right.
A year and one more EP* after that, NIN set out on their Cold and Black and Infinite tour. Right before that though, they did a small run of festival shows with a pretty standard set, except for three tracks off the new EP to spice things up.
Based on that festival run, the fact that they were playing for festival crowds and not "real" Nine Inch Nails fans, the fact that it wasn't a named tour, and the "Physical World" pre-sale event, I knew there would be something special about CBI. I did not know what and that's how I liked it.
At the aforementioned pre-sale event, Chris and I bought tickets to both shows at Radio City Music Hall. When the band announced two more back-to-back nights at Brooklyn's Kings Theatre, I decided to go for the second night and easily scored GA tickets. After that second Radio City Music Hall show, we debated and then bought tickets to the third show, thus setting ourselves up for four Nine Inch Nails shows in five days.
As I've already reviewed each night individually (see below), I'll just list some things I'll never forget.

• I saw "The Perfect Drug", my hands-down favorite Nine Inch Nails song, live, twice, played exactly as it should be, with a drummer who can hit every single beat and somehow find a way to instill the track with even more energy.

• I was lucky enough to see "Now I'm Nothing" transition into "Terrible Lie"**

• I heard all of Broken, a formative album for me, played front to back, including the cheeky hidden tracks.

• Additional highlights included: "Mr. Self Destruct", "This Isn't The Place", two thirds of Bad Witch, "Gave Up" (not that unique, but they fucking brought it this time around), "All The Love In The World", TDTWWA, "Burn", "La Mer", "The Becoming", "Burning Bright (Field On Fire)", "Happiness In Slavery", "Find My Way", "I Do Not Want This". "Parasite", "The Background World"

I'm sure the next thing from Reznor will let me down in some way, because that's who I am, but I'm going to keep this experience with me. I walked out of each night completely satisfied and genuinely excited at what was coming next. Did I leave at the start of "Hurt" on those final two nights? Yes. Because a. I've seen it at every Nine Inch Nails show but one, and b. Kings Theatre is fucking MILES from my home and getting a car when there's 5000 people out front as opposed to 20 is a lot harder.*** Aside from that, yeah, these shows were something special. Even if everything is lazy and boring and triple H from here on out, these shows happened and I was there.

Here are reviews from the specific nights of the tour, along with links to photo and video galleries.

Radio City Music Hall [Night 1]
Radio City Music Hall [Night 2]
Kings Theatre [Night 1]
Kings Theatre [Night 2]


* Bad Witch is an EP. Stop. Shut up. It is.

** The only downside being that I can never hear TL again without that intro.

*** Although I did feel like a parent sneaking out of his kid's school play for some really odd reason...

A review of Thom Yorke's "Suspiria" score

I compare Thom Yorke to Trent Reznor all the time. And if you don’t, then I kind of don’t think you’re into either them or their stuff. So, when it was announced that Yorke was scoring his first film, I immediately thought of Reznor’s first outing with The Social Network and how well he and it did. 

Headline: Reznor’s first score is better than Yorke's first score.

Side A

1. A Storm That Took Everything - The hungry, howling dissonance of the void.

2. The Hooks -  Spare, sinister piano, then lush orchestration. All underscoring a wet, brutal crime.

3. Suspirium - Inexplicable sorrow and beauty.

4. Belonging Thrown in a River - Horror movie strings, tension.

5. Has Ended - Psychedelic unease, overtones of totalitarianism.

6. Klemperer Walks - sick regality

7. Open Again - Cultist celebration

Said B

8. Sabbath Invocation - Mass

9. The Inevitable Pull - Deep, unsettling, navigating a dark space filled with monsters. More sparse piano.

10. Olga’s Destruction - Nervous piano bouncing off tiled walls and long shards of glass. Feels like a broken music box.

11. The Conjuring of Anke - Haunted mansion piano, complete with choir of ghosts

12. A Light Green - First overtly electronic moment. Alien, jarringly inirganic.

13. Unmade - Clear, bright, choral. 

14. The Jumps  - Soft, with some disturbance. Warm, touch of Badalamenti. Another warm, round synth feel

Side C

15. Volk - Sharp, stabs of panic. Inorganic disease. When the drums come in things just get more confusing. Some classic 70’s horror movie vibes.

16. The Universe Is Indifferent - Same session as "Has Ended" perhaps. Has some of the same feel.

17. The Balance of Things - Balance is maintained only for a moment before things slide over the edge into the darkness.

18. A Soft Hand Across Your Face - More Badalamenti vibes.

19. Suspirium Finale - a fuller exploration of the original.

Side D

20. A Choir of One - long, uncomfortable drone. Hypnotic but not very interesting.

21. Synthesizer Speaks - Last gasps of talking computer. The end is truly unsettling, like...turn this off, it's freaking me the fuck out.

22. Room of Compartments - rising choir of screams. This is perfect for Suspiria.

23. An Audition - frantic pursuit

24. Voiceless Terror - More mangled, manipulated screams. Horrifying.

25. The Epilogue - based on the sick, dead sound of this, no one made it out.

There's no sense of unification or flow here and everything feels scattered. Whether or not this was intentional and made to fit with the chaotic, nightmare feel of the film...I don't know. Because I haven't seen it yet. Again, comparing it to Reznor's work on TSN*, it's more swirls of sound and color, swaths and patches, with the occasional clear picture included. Personally, I love "Suspirium" and "Suspirium Finale", and side D is a lot of really solid and terrifying sound manipulation, but that's all I took with me. The rest is fine. It's...just fine. It's less traditional than I was expecting from Yorke, which is fucking saying something. It's also a letdown for me. I think Yorke's non-Radiohead stuff is his best work**, and thought this was going to be a triumph from front to back.

There were three things I was certain of when I first saw Yorke was set to score Suspiria. First, that it would be a challenging listen but, overall, rewarding, second, that it would be startlingly unique, and third, that it would stand out among all other scores, let alone the stagnant swamp of all those shitty bland horror scores out there and launch a Reznor-esque side career in film scoring. There’s no way to be sure of that third one until some time goes by, but I was wrong about the first one, and (kinda) right about the second one. There are a few truly brilliant moments, but not enough to make up for the featureless ones. 

Looking forward to whatever Thom Yorke does next.

* Yeah, I know that's not really how things are done, but I am going to continue to do this.

** Save for maybe two dozen absolutely perfect Radiohead creations.

Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 - Nine Inch Nails @ Kings Theatre [Night 2]

Well, I just saw Nine Inch Nails play all of Broken in sequence. If that weren’t enough, they whipped out their cover of How To Destroy Angels’ “Parasite”, “Me, I’m Not” from Year Zero, and “The Background World”, the phenomenal closer from last year’s Add Violence. Somehow, after three unique and surprising sets, Trent motherfucking Reznor keeps things interesting. In four nights, I witnessed Nine Inch Nails play 53 unique songs, including over a dozen I’d never seen performed live, one of which, “The Perfect Drug”, has been my favorite song of theirs since its release over twenty years ago.

Back in 2009, NIN opened for Jane’s Addiction on the NIN|JA tour, then, deciding things were a bit too restricted between shortened set times and the daylight sapping the drama from their performances, they embarked on their Wave Goodbye tour. As far as production and spectacle, this was their most attic set of shows. There were no elaborate lighting rigs or interactive LED panels…not even a scrim on which to project abstract colors and shapes: just the band and an insane rotation of songs. Catching them four times in three months, I saw most of The Slip, a good chunk of The Fragile, and almost all of The Downward Spiral, but the four nights of the Cold and Black and Infinite tour blew those away. The depth of the deep cuts, the breadth of the material covered was literally astonishing at times. The only sure thing every night was “Head Like A Hole” denoting the end of the first set and “Hurt” closing things out*.

The only complaint any true fan of Nine Inch Nails could have about this tour is that they didn’t see enough of it. As I said when Bad Witch came out earlier this year, if Reznor did decide to call it quits after that album and after this tour, I could not be more satisfied with what he’s done and with what I’ve seen.

Photo/video gallery

* Or intimating it was safe to leave if anyone wanted to beat the traffic.

Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 - Nine Inch Nails @ Kings Theatre [Night 1]

There’s something to be said for collecting. I’m not a collector in the sense that I obtain things, keep them in their wrapping, and never touch them again. I don’t go to conventions to trade my unwrapped things for other people’s unwrapped things, but there is a part of me that yearns for completion. In that sense, I enjoy the idea of “collecting” an album's live performance, in other words, hearing all of the songs on an album played live; not all in one night or in order, but over the years. That was one of my reasons for seeing Nine Inch Nails at all four of their New York shows. There’s also the fact that, while Trent Reznor recently said he’s not planning on quitting music any time soon, life’s too fucking short and why would I not see Nine Inch Nails four nights in a five day period?
Plus…I needed to see “The Perfect Drug” again. I was not ready the first time.

Even though this was the first of their two Brooklyn shows, Reznor treated it as the third in a series of four, playing eight songs not heard at the two previous shows, including two tour debuts (“I Do Not Want This”* and “Something I Can Never Have” from 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine). Over the course of this third performance, the band played half of their debut album (if you count the little “The Only Time” interpolation in “Closer”), a Gary Numan cover (“Metal”), and opened with a rare gem, “Now I’m Nothing”, which was composed and performed for their 1993 Lollapalooza stint. This particular show opener, “Now I’m Nothing” into “Terrible Lie”, has only been performed live on two other tours, 2009’s Wave Goodbye and this current tour. It might be the most powerful opening number in their repertoire and I actually consider it a sort of honor to have witnessed it live.

After this, there was to be one, final New York show. I was convinced there was nothing left to shock me, but Trent Reznor has fooled me before.

Photo/video gallery

* The introduction of this into the tour’s rotation along with nine other tracks from the album indicates that another full performance of The Downward Spiral is imminent, perhaps during the band’s six night run at the Palladium in Los Angeles at the end of the year.

A review of John Grant's "Love Is Magic"

John Grant has the market cornered when it comes to snarky catharsis.* He’s also pretty great at obliterating one’s heart with a sledgehammer in one song and then eliciting snorts of laughter in the next. Love Is Magic is dense, consisting of ten tracks clocking in at just under an hour. On one hand, it could be argued that Grant lets things unfold, not rushing, allowing the listener to feel everything he set out for them to feel. On the other hand…does, everysong here have to be as long as it is? I believe that decision will come down to how much each individual listener enjoys synthesizers.

The event begins with “Metamorphosis"; fat, springy synths accompanied by seemingly random lyrics (“14-year old boy rapes 80-year old man/tickets to the Met/sweet corn from a can/baby's in the whitest house playing with his toys/earthquakes forest fires/hot Brazilian boys/67 yogurt flavors which one do you want?/can’t decide on toothpaste/Immanuel Kant) which then dissolve into a dark, uneasy interlude where context is given as Grant sings "as I enjoy distraction/she just slipped away/it didn’t seem to matter/how much she had prayed/they took her in an ambulance/and that is where she died/and still unto this very day/I don’t think I have cried”. Then, it’s back to the almost Oingo Boingo vibe as he continues his list.

Fuck me, that’s just the first five minutes and change of the album.

But it’s not all gloom and doom: ”Preppy Boy” is a cheeky, straightforward romp about offering to fuck a preppy dude who may or may not know he’s gay (come on now, preppy boy/if you’ve got an opening then I am unemployed/I’m so sick and tired of waiting in line/call me up if you’re down and you got the time), “Smug Cunt” is about…a smug cunt, absolutely dripping with Grant’s acidic vitriol, and while it maybe goes on a bit long (this horse is beaten, dead, buried, exhumed, and shat on) it’s enjoyably sharp the whole time. There are also heartwarming/heartwrenching moments like “Is He Strange” and the closer “Touch and Go”. The big winner on Love Is Magic, however, is “Diet Gum”. I’m not even going to address it, just listen and enjoy.
And, of course, everything is delivered in Grant's signature decadent purr…it’s like being wrapped in warm towels…

While maybe not as tight as 2015’s Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, Grant continues to deepen and widen both our smiles and the gashes he’s carved into our hearts.

*...snatharsis...?

A review of St. Vincent's "MassEducation"

There’s no truer test of a song’s quality than to hear it with all its production stripped away. So much music today is its bells and whistles and samples and so on. But it all comes down to the bones. That is what MassEducation is: no harmonies, no insanely talented and effect-buffed guitar playing, no dozens of takes to get that perfect sound, just Annie Clark's voice, Thomas Bartlett’s piano, and Pat Dillett’s subtle yet integral production lending a sense of continuity.

As this new release is a reinterpretation of last year’s stellar Masseduction, I’m just going to break the former down versus the latter.

"Slow Disco" - feels like the impetus for this whole thing and it’s perfect. This is the fifth iteration, also known as “Slow Slow Disco”, as opposed to “Fast Slow Disco” which was released earlier this year. This was a favorite from Masseduction.

"Savior" - Clark brandishes her voice like a glass sword. Absolutely beautiful and naked and fire. Great juxtaposition between the high piano and plucked low notes.

The repetition and layered vocals from the original version of “Masseduction" lose something here and this feels a bit harried at times.

“Sugarboy" - stripped of its frantic, coked-up, clubby chaos, we see those bones and realize there is much more to this than originally indicated. Bartlett’s piano is indispensable in making this work as well as it does. The moment towards the end where Clark makes herself laugh is wonderful.

"Fear The Future" - sounds so triumphant and timeless in this arrangement, again, thanks to Bartlett’s shimmering high notes.

Without those huge, swelling noises in the background and the massive, thudding drums “Smoking Section” feels so much more vulnerable. Originally, when Clark declared “it’s not the end”, there was a sense of certainty, but here, she plays the role of the unreliable narrator.

"Los Ageless” becomes a low key, jazz number that wouldn’t be out of place in a smoky speakeasy from the 20’s. Almost a total reworking. This arrangement is reminiscent of something by Tori Amos, which makes me want a Love This Giant-type collaboration immediately.

“New York” gains added fragility, taking on a more sorrowful tone.

“Young Lover”, one of the only tracks to get a tempo shift, loses a little something, but that’s really one of this album's only shortcomings.

“Happy Birthday, Johnny” loses its gentle bed of slide guitars and gains an absolutely gorgeous piano break. Perhaps one of the only tracks here better than the original.

I was really curious how this would go…but, thanks to that slightly detuned, demented plucked piano, “Pills” works just fine. Somehow the relatively fast vocals work here where they didn’t on “Masseduction”. Another appearance of Bartlett’s sparkling high notes seals the deal.

"Hang On Me" is an excellent closer. It’s even more perfect in this state than in its original presentation.

While Jack Antonoff’s production lent Masseduction a dynamic, immediate quality, the versions presented here feel more ageless and weighty, even those that actually sound lighter than the originals, probably because there’s less to distract from the melodies and lyrics. Not that there was really any doubt, but MassEducation further cements Clark’s songcrafting skills. For those who didn’t like the instrumentation or presentation of her last album, or for those who loved it but would appreciate a deeper, more intimate look at the album, or simply for people who like the work of a strong, female singer/songwriter to accentuate the vibe of the season, MassEducation is meant for you.

Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 - Nine Inch Nails @ Radio City Music Hall [Night 2]

Back in May, when tickets for Nine Inch Nails’ Cold And Black And Infinite tour went on sale only at the box offices of the venues where the handful of shows were being held, there was a poster for sale listing the locations of this so-called “Physical World” pre-sale event. Last month, once the tour had started, there was a different poster available at the shows. When the two posters were laid next to one another, it completed a larger image; it turned out each poster was only half of the full picture. The second night of Nine Inch Nails at Radio City Music Hall was that second half. Between the two shows, only three songs were repeated, all the rest were unique to that evening’s performance. And, like the first night, Trent Reznor did not seem to give the slightest of fucks about the more radio friendly audience members.

While the first night included two thirds of their latest release, Bad Witch, and half of the release before that, as well as some never-before-played* songs such as “All The Love In The World” from With Teeth and “The Perfect Drug” from 1997’s Lost Highway soundtrack, this second evening focused more on The Fragile (the beginning of the show was the first four tracks of that album in sequence), The Downward Spiral (including a blistering rendition of “The Becoming”), and Year Zero. The chaotic ending of “The Great Destroyer” has been retooled to include garbled bits of the current American president's already garbled voice, adding a real chill and sense of impending doom to the performance. As before, there was a handful of unique moments, namely the reappearance of “La Mer” which hasn’t been played in full, in almost a decade, a rare and heartfelt cover of Bowie’s “I Can’t Give Everything Away”, and a transition from “Help Me I Am In Hell” to the explosive and obliterating “Happiness In Slavery”, which hasn’t been played live in almost 25 years.

“This is a weird set, huh?” asked Reznor at one point. “Well, it just felt right”.
No complaints here, Trent. None.

Nine Inch Nails are playing two more nights in New York at Brooklyn's Kings Theater.
I will be there.

Photo/video gallery

* Never before this tour.

Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 - Nine Inch Nails @ Radio City Music Hall [Night 1]

The looks on the faces of every single person who was there expecting a typical Nine Inch Nails show…*

Oh goodness but the delight was just as creamy and sumptuous as a decadent creme brûlée...the puzzlement and consternation as the band drifted into “This Isn’t The Place”, one of the most fragile and gorgeous tracks to come from Nine Inch Nails in recent years, the shocked delight as the first pulsing guitars from “The Perfect Drug”** came skittering off the stage, the stunned silence that fell over the crowd as “Over and Out” began.
Yes, yes, they still played “Wish”. “March of the Pigs”, “The Hand That Feeds”, “Head Like A Hole”, and “Hurt”, but aside from those tracks, the night was replete with surprises for true fans of Nine Inch Nails. Reznor tossed a few scraps to the casual fan then turned his back on them for the rest of the evening, embracing his chosen, those that have been with him from the beginning, those that do not need to hear “Closer” again, those that have always supported his music and will continue to do so, especially after this outpouring of gratitude and love for his fans.

Sadly, a good portion of the energy was offset by the lackluster sound balance. Perhaps the World Famous Radio City Music Hall wasn’t meant for such punishing noise, but whatever the case was, fifteen seconds into the opener (“Mr. Self Destruct”) it was evident that the bass was in the wrong place and that the volume was pegged at a six when they should have been ten times that. Despite the less-than-perfect acoustics, Nine Inch Nails delivered a singular experience, one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.

Photo/video gallery

* Whatever that means.

** THEY FUCKING PLAYED THE PERFECT FUCKING DRUG!!!!!!!

End of the End of the Month Music Bitchfest

I think I'm done writing these monthly music things.

Keep an eye on my social media* if you're really interested in my occasional reviews, and original music as Purple Rectangle (new EP coming soon), and I might still post something here if I feel like it, but otherwise,...yeah, I think I'm done here.

* Primarily Instagram as my Facebook is set to private and Twitter is a sad, angry toilet without a drainage point

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - August 2018

Inspired by both Thom Yorke shows at Kings Theatre selling out in less than a minute, I decided to check out the Eraser remixes, which, though I’d obtained them years ago, I’d never actually given a spin.

Turns out I wasn’t missing that much*.

And, since I wrote the word “remix” and since everyone likes...nay...LOVES lists, I’m going to list some of my favorite remixes by one of my favorite artists and then some of my favorite covers by another!!!
IN NO PARFUCKULARTICKING ORDER!!!

As I peruse this list, I realize that Guero seems to contain my favorite remix fodder. Interestingly enough, it's not really my favorite Beck album, but it seems like it was pretty fertile remix soil.

Beck
E-Pro (Ghost Range) - The toothless, backwoods feel and that breakdown at the end. Sooo filthy...

Que Onda Guero (Nortec Collective remix) - I love the absurdity that these horns bring. Tuba? Yes, please.

New Pollution (Mickey P. remix) - I didn't even know this fucking thing existed until a few months ago, but since then, it's become a fixture. The Dust Brothers and Beck have such a glimmering track record, and this remix perfectly encapsulates the 90's remix feel without feeling too dated. It brings new life and depth to the original, one of Beck's most overplayed tracks.

Sexx Laws (Night Flight to Ojai) - Midnite Vultures is officially** my favorite Beck album. It's filthy and tasteless and mo' funky than your grandfather's feet, as an old, dirty bastard once said. There's a b-side called "Dirty Dirty" that is just impregnating...but this...this cheesy, lyricless, smooth jazz cover of "Sexx Laws" is just indescribably glamorous yet gross in some way; like a really expensive silk shirt stained with sweat and droplets of semen from a well-intentioned yet hurried handjob before a Vegas encore.

Heaven's Hammer (Missing Remix by Air) - Just as with the Dust Brothers, Air pairs so perfectly with Beck. This has never been made more clear than with this remix. I like this miles more than the original and firmly believe that THIS is the "correct" version of "Missing", not what we got on the album. Every element those French dudes add is absolutely perfect, revealing the true heart of this gorgeous and heartrending track.

Gucci Bag In Flames (Hell Yes) [Green, Music and Gold] - While the whole thing is great, making "Hell Yes" less funky, robot rap and more sweaty, funky funk-funk, it's that keyboard breakdown at the end that pushes this into favorite territory.

Strange Invitation - An acoustic, string-driven cover of "Jack-Ass". In the list of Beck contributors and collaborators that bring something special out in his music, David Campbell is among one of the most skilled. The strings here (and on Sea Change and Morning Phase and everything else the man has ever touched) were all arranged and conducted by him and he just gets Beck and what his strings can do for his son's work. Both grounding and elevating at the same time, this is yet another example of a perfect partner for Beck.

Also, I should mention that there was a new remix of "Colors" released this month. The Picard Brothers remix, to be more precise. It did a really great job of draining all color from the song. These brothers must own a mortuary...

Eels
Since their first tour back in the mid to late 90's, there's never been an Eels show without at least two covers. Mark Oliver Everett is just great at finding something worth exploring in other artists' work and using that work to forward his own nefarious musical goals and expand the scope and meaning behind his own concerts. He's also covered four Prince songs in his career and I hope he continues to do so.

When You Were Mine by Prince - Now that he's gone, everyone's covering Prince. But, something about E covering Prince feels more sincere. That theme is going to come up a lot here...

When Doves Cry by Prince - The depth that E finds on his version (played on a KCRW live appearance in September 1994) is just amazing. It's solemn and beautiful. You should track this down if you're a Prince and Eels fan.

Rock Show by Peaches - Peaches. Man, that bitch is crazy. I think I like the original more than the cover because of her raucous, screaming energy, but E's ragged yells add something as well. A big, gigantic cock show indeed.

The Quack by Smoosh - The original is weird and Eels covering it is even weirder.

Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliott - Yes yes, a white guy covering a rap song, ha ha ha. It's funny because he's white. No, cockballs, it's funny because E is giving 110%, because of that "Who's that? BUTCH!" moment, and because it's a fantastic reinterpretation.

King of the Road by Roger Miller - An impromptu duet between E and Steve Jones on his Jonesy's Jukebox show. Their languor is devastating. Their Slack palpable.

Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley - It's just a simple, beautiful piano rendition, but somehow manages to capture all the ups and downs of being in love with someone. This guy...

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning by Rodgers and Hammerstein - While it's a bit tongue in cheek, it's just so goddamn happy. And that horn section seals the deal.

When You Wish Upon A Star by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington - Heart. Breaking.

Pretty Ballerina by The Left Banke - You know...I don't know why I like this so much...I dig the original and pretty much every cover I've ever heard of it, so I suppose that means it's just a great song.

Cake
That new Cake song ("Sinking Ship") that McCrea says "doesn’t sound like them" sure sounds a lot like them, live at least. Lyrically it's about how we're having fun even though things are falling apart around us. Yeah, totally a new chapter for Cake. And, while this is a legit new Cake song, this dogcock says it's only for a 12" single they're putting out, although a new album isn't not in the cards or something stupid.
Ugh.
WHY DO I HATE ME SO MUCH?!

St. Vincent
St. Vincent remixed something by Maroon 5 (which is somehow still a thing) and Cardi B (after hearing one remix with her I think I'm set). It's better than the original, which didn't need to happen. Take what you will from that.

They Might Be Giants
You don't know fear until you've turned up early on a Wednesday morning, expecting to find a fresh, new, piping hot TMBG track in your inbox only to find dust and penis enlargement*** spam. Yeah, the email notification has been a few hours late, but the official Dial-A-Song website is always up to date, right?
Wrong, motherfucker.
So. Wrong.
For twenty-nine weeks in a row we've gotten a new song (or a song from I Like Fun) every Wednesday at 12:00 am until the first Wednesday in August. Out of fucking NOWHERE, TMBG has taken a hiatus for August.
Guys, you can’t deprive a junkie of his junk like that.
The rest of these tracks best be GOLD, gents.

Finally, I'll be reviewing the new LP from Drew McDowall (The Third Helix) and the new EP from Aphex Twin (Collapse) soon. Here's something funny...a few years back, DREW MCDOWALL released an LP called Collapse! WHAT?!
WHAT??!?!?!
FUCKING WHAT???!?!??!?!?!?!?!




* "Skip Divided (Modeselektor remix)" added some more choppiness, "Harrowdown Hill (The Bug remix)" added a darker, harder edge and some cool textures, and "Atoms for Peace (Four Tet remix)" focused on increasing the warmth and brightness.

** CALL THE POLICE!!!

*** I'm just kidding; Gmail is actually pretty fantastic when it comes to filtering out spam.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - July 2018

Beck
I totally get Colors now thanks to Beck's amazing performance at MSG. CANNOT BELIEVE this was his first show there. Fuck you, music industry.* Review of the show heehre.

Nine Inch Nails
NIN streamed their last date in July and they are TIGHT. Reznor's voice sounds great and the new material, mostly all delivered in a fierce, little fist in the middle of the set, sounds fantastic. Hoping for a bit more production on their *sigh* Cold and Black and Infinite tour later this year as well as a few new tracks.
They are still.
Playing.
"The Hand That Feeds".

And, as some time has gone by, I think I am comfortable saying that Bad Witch feels needlessly padded. Specifically the slow, forty plus second fade out at the end of "Ahead of Ourselves" and the rambling feel of "I'm Not From This World". That latter track did not need to be nearly seven minutes long... These things might not have bothered me as much if Reznor hadn't have made such a fussy little stink over the whole EP vs LP thing. You had an EP, decided to add two minutes of dubious content and now you get to call it an LP, congrats. I think "Shit Mirror", "Ahead of Ourselves", "Play the Goddamned Part", and "Over and Out" are excellent, OAO a near-perfect closer, but "God Break Down the Door", while it does work a lot better in context, still feels a bit sparse, and, like I said, INFTW meanders too much. Take all three EPs together and you've got a pretty solid Nine Inch Nails album though, even if the original plan for Bad Witch  was scrapped.

They Might Be Giants
As a whole, I think I'm really digging the Escape Team tracks from DAS. They paint a pretty dark picture. Especially Flans' additions.

Also, Lincoln is being remastered and reissued on TRANSPARENT RED VINYL. I asked Flans about it and here's what he said:

The most basic difference is it is louder by about 5-6 db. (previous Rhino CD remasters were more like 4 db) The rest is more subtle. These are subjective terms but I would say it has fuller, rounder low end, and the most fundamental bass tones start at a lower frequency. The mids are very much the same, but somehow more focused. The high end on the original was uniformly a bit fierce around 5k but also “closed” since things seemed rolled off above those tones rather than continuing  up. (This is not uncommon in 80s recording–creating a phenomenon someone dubbed “brull” which is a combination of bright and dull!) The remaster subtly addresses these issues on both fronts, and while the recordings will always sound bright, the sonic glare that might feel out of control at higher volumes is smartly controlled here.

lol
"brull"

Finally, I reviewed the third album by Alessandro Cortini under his SONOIO moniker. Here.

* This could be my most general "fuck you" ever...

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - June 2018

Nine Inch Nails
Review of Bad Witch here.

They Might Be Giants
One of this month's Dial-A-Song's was the alternate version of "Last Wave". This thing is...just bizarre. More so if you know the album version and hear the alternate version paired with this video.

Eels
Review of their Brooklyn Steel show hERe.

St. Vincent
To celebrate Pride, St. Vincent release "Fast Slow Disco" and later THE GAYEST AND MOST WONDERFUL VIDEO EVER. Seriously, if the song isn't enough to bring you to tears, the video will do it, no problem.

Purple Rectangle
I low key released my second EP, For Today. I think everything I ever release will be low key, whether or not I want it that way. You can check it out on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and literally every other digital platform EVER. My shit's on Tidal, yo!!!!!

Reviewed the new Gorillaz as well: HEReRE.

Seeing Beck live at Madison goddamn Square Garden on 7/19. Also bought pit tickets to a third NIN show in October at Kings Theater because it appears they are doing a more stripped down, variety focused setlist. Might even see them a fourth time if the first few are pure, blended gold.

Next month, I'll be reviewing the final SONOIO album, Fine, which is most likely pronounced "FEE-neh". 

A review of Nine Inch Nails' "Bad Witch"

Sometimes…it’s just fucking exhausting to be a Nine Inch Nails fan. Most bands…they say, hey, we have an album coming out. Then there’s a single or two, maybe a video, then the album. It’s good, you like it, you play it a lot, you attach thoughts and ideas to it, you continue listening to it, you see the band in concert, you post pictures on social media, you feel important, life goes on. Not with Nine Inch Nails. Oooooh no. Starting with the first time Trent fucking Reznor said the words “concept album”, everything has been a goddamn marathon. Anyone ever hear about the whole Year Zero ARG? No? Do you even know what an ARG is?! Well fuck you, because my favorite band is more calculating and deliberate than yours. My favorite band hides new music in European bathroom stalls. My favorite band puts as much time and planning into THE ALTERNATE REALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM AS THE ALBUM ITSELF.

And, while I’m bragging, I’m also lamenting, because I can no longer just…fucking…LISTEN to a new release from Nine Inch Nails. I have to dissect it. I have to search for hidden lyrics in the lyrics tab on various streaming platforms. I have to play it backwards. I HAVE TO RUN THE FUCKING THING THROUGH A SPECTROGRAM TO LOOK FOR HIDDEN PICTURES IN THE WAVEFORMS.

FUCK!

All this to say: the trilogy of albums, which started in 2016 with Not The Actual Events and continued in 2017 with Add Violence has been completed. The mystery has been solved. Our entire world is just a computer simulation. Or not. Whatever. I can’t feel anything anymore.

But how about those saxophones?!

Leaning more towards the dissonant impenetrability of Not The Actual Events than the mellow, nuanced gloom of Add Violence, half of the lyrics on Bad Witch are crooned in the style of Bowie, whereas the rest are buried behind walls of noise. Hand claps have never sounded less celebratory than on the opener, “Shit Mirror”*...“I eat your loathing, hate, and fear / Should probably stay away from here” Reznor warns**. “Ahead of Ourselves” writhes with smirking, barely restrained fury until the chorus when it snaps its chain for just a few bars at a time, nearly doubling in volume. Those moments feel like actual punishment for the mistakes we’ve made. “Obsolete / Insignificant / Antiquated / Irrelevant / Celebration of ignorance / Why try change when you know you can’t?”.
After the punch/kick combo of the first two tracks, “Play The Goddamned Part” and “God Break Down The Door" take the listener on a noirish, Lynch/Bowie influenced midnight journey. When the latter was dropped a few weeks back as the one and only single, it consternated a lot of fans, but it finds its place in the context of the album and fits perfectly.
While the first two thirds of Bad Witch are brutal, more an assault than an album, the last third, consisting of the nightmare soundscape of “I’m Not From This World” and the funky, hypnotic groove of “Over And Out”, provides a welcome shift. The final two minutes of the album serve as a well-deserved respite from everything that came before it.

With or without the context of the trilogy of albums released over the past year and a half, Bad Witch stands as the most unexpected and challenging work Nine Inch Nails has ever created. If Trent Reznor were to retire now, I cannot envision a more perfect endpoint to his career. Or, if he wants to keep making groundbreaking stuff for another 30 years, that’s fine with me too. Whatever. Like I said, I can’t feel anything anymore.

* Yes, yes, believe me, I know, I had the same thought.

** Yes! Seriously! I know how it sounds, but the song more than justifies the title and lyrics! CONTEXT, PEOPLE! IT'S ABOUT CONTEXT!

A review of Eels at Brooklyn Steel, 6/9/18

Eels closed their first set at Brooklyn Steel with the final track from 1998’s autobiographical Electro-Shock Blues, “P.S. You Rock My World”. There’s a lyric from that song which, in my mind, could serve as a thesis for everything Eels’ leader, Mark Oliver Everett has ever done…”maybe it’s time to live”. It’s not as vapidly positive as “it’s time to live” or irritatingly motivational as “go out and live!”; it’s real and shows that there are options. “Yeah, things are shitty and you could end it all or…maybe it’s time to live.” There are no guarantees, but…maybe. That was the vibe throughout: hey, it could be better, but it could be worse…maybe it’s time to live.

As always, Eels served up equal parts well-crafted (if sometimes simplistic) rock and subtle reflection*. From Souljacker’s “Dog Faced Boy” to Shootenanny’s “Dirty Girl”, and Hombre Lobo’s “Prizefighter” to Electro-Shock Blues’ “Climbing Up to the Moon”. The chameleon songs returned in brand new wrapping, including what I keep thinking of as a Tool cover of “Novocain for the Soul". And speaking of covers, as usual the show had a handful. Most notably two Prince covers, “Raspberry Beret" which was fun, and the return of "When You Were Mine”, first played live on Eels’ 2005 tour. Originally, it featured a string quartet, but this time, it was stripped down and sorrowfully bluesy, absolutely beautiful. These days, it seems everyone is covering Prince, but as E has been covering him since the early 90’s, it somehow seems to mean more.

Although the arrangement was tight, the new album (The Deconstruction) wasn’t meant to be recreated with two guitars, a bass and a drum kit, and most of the more intricate tracks from that album were left off the evening’s set list in favor of the more rock-like songs such as “Today Is The Day”, “Bone Dry” and “You Are The Shining Light”. Standouts included “I Like Birds", the arena rock version of “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues", “From Which I Came/A Magic World”, "Fresh Blood", “Daises of the Galaxy", “Flyswatter", "Bone Dry", "P.S. You Rock My World", and the mini-medley show closer of Brian Wilson’s "Love and Mercy", "Blinking Lights (For Me)”, and “Wonderful, Glorious”. 

Eels have just wrapped up their North American leg and are now off to Europe and the UK. If you’re hoping for a string quartet, horn section, or even a piano, you’re out of luck, but you should still see them, you should always see them, because they are Eels.

*Also an original song introducing the world to their latest drummer Little Joe entitled ”Little Joe!”.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - May 2018

Nine Inch Nails
So. Strange.
First and foremost, the morning of the title/artwork/tracklist reveal, I thought I was misreading things all over the place, but no, the new Nine Inch Nails LP* is called Bad Witch and the opening track is indeed called "Shit Mirror", which, as I've stated on various Social Media platforms, I am VERY curious about. I'm expecting an instrumental because I cannot fathom what the lyrical content of a song entitled "Shit Mirror'" might be.
But let's talk about something we've actually heard..."God Break Down The Door" the first single.
On Wednesday the 16th, the official NIN YouTube posted the audio for this and then, promptly removed it. But, as this is the internet, it was captured and circulated. A day later however, it was released officially. After extensive listens, I think I'm ready to call it a Bowie tribute, specifically in the vein of "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)" and "'Tis A Pity She's A Whore". It features saxophone and Reznor straight up crooning, but there's also some Prodigy programming as well... By far, the most unique Nine Inch Nails song I've ever heard. It has me excited, intrigued, and trepidatious for the album, which might be exactly what Reznor wants. Like it or not, GBDTD is something completely unexpected from Reznor and company.
Then there's "Play The Goddamned Part" and "Ahead of Ourselves" both of which were debuted at listening stations at the Physical World Pre-Sale event for NIN's upcoming *sigh* Cold And Black And Infinite tour. The former is an instrumental featuring some crazy aggressive bass and MORE SAXOPHONE!!!! At one point there's a solid wall of sax and it's just amazing, and the latter is fucking brutal, a relentless assault. A lot of the lyrics are distorted but clearly angry. The chorus is jagged and reminds me of "Break" in that it's loud AND THEN IT'S VERY FUCKING LOUD FOR A FEW BARS, then back to loud, THEN FUCKING BACK TO REALLY LOUD.
Bottom line, I loved everything I heard, more so than GBDTD.
Now, back to the *sigh* Cold And Black And Infinite tour. For something with a name like that, one might expect more than 20 plus dates. Also, NIN's two NYC dates are at Radio City Music Hall. Personally, I have been to Radio City maybe half a dozen times; when I was a child to see the Christmas Spectacular, then, much later in life, to see "An Evening With Harry, Carrie, and Garp", which featured J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and John Irving reading some of their work and answering questions, and, most recently, to see "Weird Al" Yankovic. Oh. Also this. How could I possibly forget this...
All that to say I have no idea what to expect from these shows.** But I will thoroughly enjoy yelling "fist fuck" at the top of my voice at this world famous New York City institution, perhaps during the obligatory performance of "Wish" or perhaps into the face of a terrified concessions staff member.
On Saturday the 19th, I stood in line for five hours to get tickets to the two Radio City shows. Which sucked. But, Trent made it worth the wait with date specific posters and shirts, as well as those two new tracks. And! It appears I did NOT get a chest cold from standing in the cold wet for a quarter of a day! Double win!

A moment of reflection of the title of the new album...Bad Witch. 
That title.
So, I've never liked "pretty hate machine" or "with teeth" as Nine Inch Nails album titles. People can say PHM because it's a staple in the industrial scene and that cancels out the weirdness, but I have never worn a piece of clothing with the words "pretty hate machine" on it. Why? Because, out of context, someone might think I am identifying myself as a hate machine who is pretty. And...I just don't need to have that conversation with my mother.
As far as "with teeth"? Well, it kind of sounds like someone announcing in broken English that they have teeth. Maybe in their pocket or something. Like "with child" means you're full of baby, "with teeth" means you're full of teeth. I feel like walking around with clothes that say "with teeth" might lead to being pursued by dentists...
I'm going to need some time to get used to...bad witch. Or maybe I never will.

They Might Be Giants
Since I abused my limitless power and massive, throbbing fanbase**** last month to introduce my first release, I missed out on telling you about what was on offer from DAS. Some good shit, that's what. "Tractor" and "I Haven't Been Right Yet" are towering examples of everything that continues to be right and good about They Might Be Giants.
Then there's the video for "By The Time You Get This" WHICH ACTUALLY HAS THE JOHNS IN IT!!!!
Regrettably, I do have to take points off for "Dee Dee & Dexter" getting hauled out of the vaults. This sub-par little ditty has been clanking around since the early 00's. On the up side, maybe we'll get a high quality version of "Courage, the Cowardly Dog". Love that goddamn song...
Finally...and I mean that...I've been a fan of TMBG for over twenty years. And the thing I wrote highlighting my time as a TMBG fan is here. For you to not read.


Also, hey, there's a fucking new Gorillaz album coming at the end of June. They've released two tracks thus far, and one is light and breezy and summer and hot people in bikinis eating Sno-Cones while the other is a little more nighttime roller disco. That one ("Lake Zurich") is an instrumental. Based on these tiny tastes and the fact that there are only THREE guest artists on offer, I think The Now Now will be the album I wanted Humanz to be.
Also, Murdoc has been replaced by Ace...from The Powerpuff Girls...which is absolutely fucking bizarre. 
THIS IS MY SOAP OPERA.

Purple Rectangle
You guys, my EP hasn't gone triple anything yet. I need...*Googles requirements for "triple-platinum album status"*...three million units sold.
So, you know, tell a friend.

I've got more stuff coming soon. 
For you to not listen to.

Next time I talk at you, there'll be new Nine Inch Nails, new Gorillaz, and a review of EELS at Brooklyn Steel. Poot!!!!

* Oh fuck me there was so much wasted...cloud space?...server space?...nanobytes?...on this subject, but it was finally settled when Reznor Himself visited the Echoing The Sound fan forums to shine some light on things...LINK!!!!

** Other than "The Hand That Feeds" into "Head Like A Hole" into "Hurt"...although...maybe this time they'll switch it up...***

*** Seriously though,,,I really think they will.

**** I believe I have less than 20 views per entry that are not from bots.

Twenty Years of TMBG

Rather than bore you with a detailed account of my time as a They Might Be Giants fan, I choose to bore you with a slightly more concise, bulleted list of the highlights from my time as a They Might Be Giants fan.

• TMBG on Tiny Toons - Why Is Hampton Wearing Glasses? 

What the hell is going on?

It all started, as I imagine it did for most 30-something TMBG fans, in the mid-90s with a little show called Tiny Toons. I recall seeing the music video episode, watching the videos for "Istanbul" and "Particle Man", hearing the name They Might Be Giants and then Buster Bunny asking "who are these guys?", but not truly understanding what I had just experienced. Why was Hampton wearing glasses? What was up with Plucky’s turtleneck and mop of hair? This remained a mystery for, literally, years until one of my best friends solved this enigma and, at the same time, changed my life for the better.

• Will Pomerantz Introduces Me To They Might Be Giants (Intentionally) - Something To Distract Me From Nine Inch Nails

I officially got into They Might Be Giants in early 1998. I misunderstood their initial description and thought that they were a band whose goal it was to make music with all the instruments that have ever existed. I got this idea from one of my best friends, Will, who asked if I wanted to see them in concert in March of 1998. He told me they had a guy who played the accordion and that they had a song with a "singing saw" and that led to me thinking they were kind of a novelty band. He corrected my thinking, but in the back of my mind I think that idea has always lingered.  Anyway, he gave me all the albums they'd put out at that point, six of them, and told me I had a week to familiarize myself with the music before he needed them back in order to brush up himself. I crammed and a lot of stuff blurred together. Some instant favorites were "Don't Let's Start", "Sleeping In The Flowers", and most of Factory Showroom.

We attended our first They Might Be Giants concert on March 26th, 1998, at Embassy. The show, which featured the oversexed beatboxing trio Double Dong as the opener, was fantastic. After the show had ended, a lot of people were still lingering, apparently in order to obtain a copy of the setlist. At the time, I had never heard of this practice and therefore was a bit shocked when Will shoved me as hard as he could in order to snatch the setlist from the hands of the girl in front of us who was just about to get it.

Setlist from my very first TMBG show signed by the band. Deepest apologies to that girl that got crushed.

Outside the club, Flansburgh just hung out, totally at ease, signing autographs and chatting with fans, while Linnell literally sprinted from the club's other entrance to the tour bus which was a few yards from the building. That dynamic has shaped the way I see the Johns and I feel it still kind of stands.

After that evening, once I had decided to sink my teeth in, Will was my guide; when I asked him which album I should purchase first, he warned "anything but Flood, that's their most popular". That was solid advice from a true friend. It would have been easy to pick up their most popular album and, perhaps, eschew their earlier, weirder, less popular stuff, but he steered me right. I believe my first purchase was their latest, Factory Showroom.

Between March and August of that year, I immersed myself utterly in They Might Be Giants*. By the release of their first live album five months later, I knew them well enough to be bummed out they didn't put the version of "Particle Man" on the record which featured Linnell singing "The Sign" before the third verse. Thanks again Will, this is all your fault.

• My Return To New York City and Subsequent Deluge of They Might Be Giants Shows

Since that show, I have seen They Might Be Giants perform over 70 times.
I had a lot of free time in college. Like...a lot. I arranged my schedule so that I’d have classes Monday through Wednesday, but then a four day weekend...every week for entire semesters at a time. I also never really went to bars, so all my disposable income went to music; albums, merch, and seeing TMBG at they seemingly endless parade of shows at the Bowery Ballroom/Irving Plaza in the late 90’s and early 00's. Not only me though; I’d bring friends, potential significant others, passing acquaintances...there was the time my friend was an RA and I convinced her to arrange a free outing to a TMBG concert. I brought upwards of 20 total strangers to a concert of a band I liked simply because I thought they were amazing**. I met my friend Jade at a TMBG show...on the Bowery...in the spring time... After college, I stayed in New York and saw them any chance I could. In case you're wondering, my favorite show was the one they did for their 2003 documentary, which lasted over 4 fucking hours. Sadly, it is the closest thing to a Prince concert I will ever experience.

• Becoming Tall - Oh Man I Hope This Isn't All In My Head...

During my deluge of TMBG concerts...something happened. I sort of became a Person. Specifically, The Tall Guy. At one show, Flans pointed to me and said "we’d like to thank the tall guy standing in front of the very short girl". While I was thrilled to be singled out (actor, hello?), I didn’t think too much of it; these guys had been touring for 15 years, they’ve got their raps and banter down to a science...but then, at a completely different show, while Linnell needed a moment on stage to confer with the horn section, Flansburgh asked the crowd “Don’t you hate when you call someone and their phone rings and rings because they don’t have an answering machine?” I nodded and Flansburgh said, “The tall guy knows what I’m talking about. The tall guy has a lot of friends without answering machines.” At the Mink Car in-store at Tower Records, Flansburgh asked if the audience could hear them. I gave him a thumbs up from the back of the room and he said “the tall guy can hear us, we’re okay.” Then, at their show at the Palace in Gainsburg, Florida, where I happened to be for spring break in 2002, during “Guitar”, Flans knelt down on the lip of the stage and handed me his pick, holding down the opening chords while I strummed the notes on his guitar. I felt...important. This kept me going for a while and some TMBG show regulars began to refer to me as “the tall guy”, for better or worse. It was weird, but gratifying and hopefully not all in my tiny, little actory head.

• Meeting Bill, the Alternate Timeline Me 

The next big thing happened all because of my friend, Megan Boggia. She was working at XM Satellite Radio in the late 00’s. She worked with a guy named Bill and told me I should meet him...
We all got together for lunch one day and I happened to be wearing a TMBG shirt. Bill offhandedly mentioned that he grew up with them in Lincoln.
Hm.

A CORRECTION FROM BILL: "I did not grow up with them in Lincoln. My late best buddy Jimmy Mac did, and we all hung out a bunch before they got famous when I would hitch-hike from the New York suburbs (where I did grow up) to visit. Then they got famous, and I only hung out with them for Famous Reasons, like radio interviews. But we’re still friends."

Skip forward a few months to Megan calling me and asking what I was doing that afternoon. I told her I was working and she told me that I wasn't, that I should call in sick, and that I should visit her at XM. I did so and, lo and behold, there were the Johns being interviewed over ISDN by Bob Edwards. Soon after that, Bill and I got to know one another and discovered that he and I are the same person, just from alternate timelines. He is a massively talented voice actor with a penchant for Slack, cartoons, and the weird. I respect him greatly.

• An Afternoon At Kampo - The Best Day Of My Life Thus Far

Bill and I worked together on a few audio things here and there, built a friendship and then, one day in mid-October of 2007, I get a call from Bill. He tells me to show up at Kampo Studios in downtown New York.
I asked no questions.
Turns out Bill had booked the studio for a live recording and interview with the band and he'd invited me.
Over the next few hours, I met Pat Dillett, saw TMBG assemble their cover of Mark Mothersbaugh's Sims theme, enjoyed a mini concert as one of two audience members (the other being Bill), sat in on one of the best interviews with the band I've ever heard, and, perhaps coolest of all...got coffee with the Johns. Anyone who knows anything about They Might Be Giants knows how ridiculous of an honor that was.
But, most importantly, I just got to be a normal guy chatting and hanging out in a studio with They Might Be Giants. All that weird fan/band member stiffness and stress sluiced away as I was there as a friend of Bill's, not some fanboy who'd bribed his way in, or someone asking endless question about the meaning of this song or whatever. It was singular and perfect.
This was a major shift in my relationship to the band, a maturing moment.

• Interviewing Linnell...Without Pants

Some years later, after I'd been writing for Soundblab (a UK alternative music site), the opportunity arose to interview Linnell for Glean. I took that opportunity and, in my opinion, conducted a pretty solid interview. I asked some general questions and some pretty deep cuts, got some great responses from the man. The bit towards the end about Gloria and how Linnell wished people could still stumble blindly upon the music of TMBG really got me. Nothing is unknown these days. A quick look at your phone and everything confusing or mysterious is laid bare, a known quantity, processed and then forgotten.

• Aftermath

As a result of all these unique experiences with They Might Be Giants, I've achieved a sense of calm...I no longer scrabble for a setlist after a concert or show up four hours early to shows in order to potentially lock eyes with Linnell or paw at Flansburgh's guitar...I merely appreciate what they do along with the fact that they're still choosing to do it all these years later and that they don't have any of the usual bullshit that causes other bands to break up or whatnot.
All these years later and I still can't seem to articulate why I love TMBG so much, just that I continue to do so unabated.

Signed flyer from my first TMBG show

As an afterthought, here are the handful of TMBG videos I've worked on in some capacity over the years. These guys make inspiring music...

"It's Kickin' In"
Featuring the aforementioned Jade. I made this because it's one of my favorite songs from The Spine. I wanted to make something as literal as I could and it paid off.

"Can't Keep Johnny Down"
Why was DV ever a thing? It was the "muddy" quality of this video that potentially cost me first place in They Might Be Giants' "Can't Keep Johnny Down" video contest, although I did take one of the runners up positions.

"Am I Awake?"
Referred to as a "lovable sasquatch" by contest judge the honorable John Hodgman, this entry was named as one of a small handful of finalists.

"Erase"
One of the winners of the "Erase" video contest; I owe all the success to the cast and crew.

* Nine Inch Nails hadn't put out any music since February of '97 and I was legitimately dying.


** Back then, if you hadn’t heard of a band I liked, I’d make you a mix CD, then ask you if you had listened to the mix CD yet, then ask you why you hadn’t listened to the mix CD yet. See, I liked the best bands and I was super cool and smart and I could help you get super cool and smart too by sharing my music with you...did I say “music”? I meant “Truth of the Universe”...

While I have mellowed out since then, allowing people to like and not like whatever they want, reducing my rate of proselytization by about 98.8%, I am always happy to put together a playlist for a potential new conver-...ah...fan.