September 13th, 2007 1:14pm
Present, Past, and Participle
Electric Six “Fabulous People” – Just as the Electric Six promised, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master is an excessive album about the excesses of contemporary American culture. Actually, that description accurately describes all of their records, but crucially, Exterminate makes a point of foregrounding the lyrical themes that come up in all of the work but is usually ignored or misunderstood by audiences and critics whose minds implode when faced with irony and satire in the context of a dance rock band. The lyrics are still riddled with odd non-sequitors and dark humor, but there’s much less in the words to distract the listener from what Dick Valentine is trying to convey, and the relative clarity creates the illusion of a more focused album even if in reality, it’s pretty much business as usual for the band.
If anything, the strength and consistency of the record has more to do with the songwriting — the stylistic range is greater, and the hooks are plentiful, resulting in a sprawling work with no obvious peak, a la “Gay Bar,” “Jimmy Carter,” or “Mr. Woman.” It wasn’t easy to pick only one cut, but “Fabulous People” gets the nod for its suave Robert Palmer-ish grooves and lyrics that express mock incredulity at the possibility of being sexually attracted to people who are not celebrities, and the way Valentine inexplicably suggests that the late Red Skelton, Don Rickles, and race car drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr and Dick Trickle are in on a plot with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and David Beckham to destroy the lives of the “dirty little people.” (Click here to pre-order it from Metropolis Records.)
Maxi Geil! & Playcolt @ Luna Lounge, 9/12/2007
Can’t Get You Hot Enough / You Can’t Kill Us, Man! (We’re Already Dead) / That’s How The Story Goes / Teenage Extreme / Making Love in the Sunshine / Your Best Won’t Be Good Enough / I’m In Love With You / Artist’s Lament
Maxi Geil! & Playcolt “That’s How The Story Goes” – The last time I saw Maxi Geil, the group played to a densely packed, dance-happy audience at Tonic. This was sort of the opposite — the turnout wasn’t so great due to the gig being late on a Wednesday night and announced on rather short notice, and the thinness of the crowd was exacerbated by the rather large size of the club. Nevertheless, the band played as though they were headlining a much bigger space, and they got people dancing either way. “That’s How The Story Goes” was especially great — it’s a bit too big for every room I’ve ever seen them play it in, but its graceful progression from a stately Bowie-esque ballad to its sleek disco section and stadium pop conclusion never fails to impress me. (Click here to buy it via the Maxi Geil site.)
Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from Ze Frank, Jonathan Coulton, and Flight of the Conchords.
No Responses.