Random 10 for Jan. 2, 2008
1. The Flaming Lips, “Free Radicals.” Believe it or not, I’m not screwing with the randomness of the list today — this is what came up when I powered up Podsie this morning. The New Years Eve concert at Cox Center was pretty extraordinary, even for those of us who were at the Zoo in 2006. It might suffer from comparison, but only because I don’t think there was the uniformity of adoration in the audience — a lot of people were there because it was the biggest thing going around Opening Night. Also, the arena was a sweatbox — the heat must have been turned up around 85 in there — which might have been causing people to fall asleep or pass out. But Wayne (shown that night in the above photo by The Oklahoman’s Matt Strasen) was in top form, and when he played ”Taps” using a Ceremonial Bugle — an electronic bugle used at military funerals when musicians are unavailable — to lead into “Waiting For a Superman,” the Flaming Lips achieved a certain magic that no amount of lasers and balloons could match.
2. Led Zeppelin, “All My Love.”
3. Hot Chip, “Down With Prince.”
4. Blonde Redhead, “Misery is a Butterfly.”
5. Liquid Liquid, “Cavern.” This song by an early ’80s New York art-funk band led by vocalist-percussionist Salvatore Principato provided the musical template for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “White Lines.” Fun, baby.
6. Kevin Devine, “Just Stay.”
7. St. Vincent, “We Put a Pearl in the Ground.”
8. Bettye LaVette, “Down to Zero.”
9. The White Stripes, “Effect and Cause.”
10. The Besnard Lakes, “Disaster.” Brian Wilson was honored last month at the Kennedy Center, which brings to mind how some of the most interesting music of last year owes such an unpayable debt to the man. Panda Bear’s Person Pitch and The Besnard Lakes’ The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse came out around the same time in 2007, and while Panda Bear’s aural collage is more out there on the sonic bent, the Besnard Lakes seem to get Wilson’s melodic sensibility better, but harder.
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Comments
Speaking as someone whose daddy duties precluded seeing the Lips’ NYE show, I’m disappointed to hear from people about how exceptional it was. Darn you, sperm!
But, hey, I’ve had the good fortune of seeing the Lips about 20 times over the years, and nothing can beat the night they played motorcycles in the Blue Note.
Or the night they raided Minsky’s, for that matter.
I was also in the upper section (by choice).
I am continually impressed by the art direction of the videos on the half circular screen.
There was noticable grumbling around me prior to Taps. But he was also smoking a cigarette which caused me to continually grumble.
Why hasn’t anyone said how great the Evangelicals were?
I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining the show was. I was fully prepared for the same songs, the same speeches and a blown-out and off-key Wayne, but the set list had some nice treats and the arena setting allowed them to do some theatrics that wouldn’t have worked in the Zoo. The Taps solo leading into “Waiting for Superman” gave me chills, and added a whole new level to the song that is already their finest achievement, IMO.