I See A Jolly Silhouette Of A Man

Dub Narcotic Sound System w/ Heather Dunn “Fuck Me Up” – I’m not sure what to make of the new Dub Narcotic album Degenerate Introduction. It’s a frustrating record, because while it has scattered moments of funky greatness, it rarely commits to any groove, and ends up being a record of songs that would clear most any good dancefloor. On the songs which do get a nice groove going, like “Blood Flow,” it’s just too anemic and slow to inspire any body movement other than some vague head nodding and half-hearted shoulder dancing. That’s such a shame, because I’d really love to have a powerful funk/dance song with lyrics that go “Cheney is a heartless corpse / Colin Powell is a corporate marionette wet dream.” It’s such a missed opportunity.

So many of these songs could reach greatness if only they lost some of their art-rock restlessness and sounded a bit more enthusiastic, like the best songs from previous Dub Narcotic releases. “Joint Joint” spends so much time meandering before finding a danceable groove that when they abandon it after only a few measures, it’s extremely frustrating. And then there’s the lyrics: “Are we searching for the perfect beat? Hell no! / We don’t need no perfection, just a knocking rhythm section” – it kind of says it all about the record. It’s as though they are willing to rest on their laurels simply because they do have a good rhythm section, and they aren’t interested in putting forth the effort to come up with something that would get a real, non-indie rock dance floor moving. Their new music is the victim of indie’s low expectations for dance music.

“Fuck Me Up” is a bit better than other songs on the record, but it still falls short. It’s part of what’s becoming a tradition on Dub Narcotic albums – adding female guest vocals to one of the best tunes on the record. The problem here is that unlike the charming vocal turn by Miranda July on “Out Of Your Mind,” or Lois Maffeo’s surprisingly soulful singing on the sublime “Ship To Shore,” “Fuck Me Up” is stuck with grating, tuneless vocals by the No No’s Heather Dunn. If only she put some effort into the vocals, or let someone else sing the part, this song could have been much more successful.

It’s not exactly a shocker to me that this album is being championed by the relentlessly borecore music writers of Free Williamsburg – this is exactly the kind of funk/dance music that would impress a group of critics who trash Outkast, The Rapture, and Jay-Z while rhapsodizing over some of the dullest indie rock committed to wax in the last year.

Pledge Drive w/ One Of Each “Christmas Rhapsody” – This is fascinating! It’s a note-for-note replica of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with re-written Christmas-themed lyrics, performed with utter sincerity and considerable skill. This was sent to my by reader and Pledge Drive member Tim Walters, who also co-wrote the new lyrics. The degree to which this recording is both straight-faced and accurate is astounding. Highlight: “Kris Kringle, No!” “Do Not Give Him Coal!” “Give him coal!” “Do not give him coal!” “Give him coal!”

Also: Sasha Frere-Jones has a new mp3 of a previously unreleased song of his which you really ought to go download now from his blog while it is still available. It’s pretty great low-key funk instrumental with some fantastic keyboard bass sounds and percussion breaks, and he says there are some alternate versions with vocals which may be posted if reaction to this track is positive. Please let him know if you like it, because I’d really like to hear the Destiny’s Child mash-up version of this.