TN&TG: I have to admit, the first time I heard Akron/Family was on a song you recorded for a collection called Rogue’s Gallery. The song, “One Spring Morning,” was a quiet, heart-breaking, folk-driven song that seemed a departure from the more layered, multi-instrumental sound, which appears on your albums. What was it like working on that project, and have you considered other ventures into this style and these sorts of projects?

Akron/Family – “One Spring Morning”

[See post to listen to audio]

A/F: The Rouge’s Gallery compilation was a very specific situation that we found ourselves in. We were performing with several musicians and asked to pick from a playlist of songs which ones we wanted to record. We actually recorded two songs, “One Spring Morning” being by far the more cohesive and clearly executed of them. The pace of the session was quite quick, without much room for error, and the song was a traditional sea shanty and not anything we had written. It was an amazing experience because we were amongst Bill Frisell and Eyvind Kang (who played the violin on the track) and playing their songs with them. We have actually spent most of our time as a band in and out of collaborative situations with free improv masters to African drum groups, to Megafaun, and Greg Davis to the Dodo’s, to anyone that looks ready to play a wild recorder solo during a show. So in this regard, it felt natural.

As far as playing a traditional ballad, I feel like we have moments like this throughout our records, stripped down, hymn informed, but more recently they have been used as foils to other more rocking moments. I imagine that we will continue to explore the extremes of stripped down, or quiet, just as we have with the opposite as of late.

Akron/Family – “Sun Will Shine”

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Akron/Family – “Ed Is A Portal”

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TN&TG: Speaking of a more stripped-down style, you’ve been touring lately as a three-part band. How has this affected performances of songs off of albums like Set Em Wild, Set Em Free , which utilize a broad range of instruments and sounds to produce a much more layered sound?

A/F: It’s always different. In the case of Set ‘Em Wild, we had this amazing flag [see above] that we carried everywhere with us that a dear friend made for us by hand. It hung behind us every show that we played after Ryan left the band and while we figured out what we wanted to do with ourselves, learned a tremendous amount about each other and recorded our whole record. So it really seemed to have a lot of juju built up…it just made sense. there is a fair amount of gratuitous discussion about some concept or spirit, and usually the cover image just finds it’s way to us and the majority of differing opinion is about layout or insert or fonts or whatever. Goofy inane things that never matter once it’s all released…HA! We are all very excited about a potential for our artwork on the forthcoming record (due in January), we are lucky enough that it seems to expertly match a lot of the abstract imagery associatied with the record for us.

TN&TG: Speaking of visual media, many groups of turned to music videos for additional promotion. Any interest in producing a new music video? If so, what song would you choose to use and what would you envision in such a production?

A/F: Peolple have made videos for us with varying results. I am very interested, but the “promotional” aspect seems a little less interesting, unless it were a goofy home made commercial for an album or something…that sounds FUN!

Akron/Family – “River”

TN&TG: As you continue to tour the US, have you started to develop plans for another album? Are there new directions that you would like to explore/experiment with? New influences that have peaked your interest since the release of Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free?

A/F: We haven’t actually been touring much at all this year. We have been recording and are currently mixing a new record that we will release early next year. As far as influences, we were moved almost beyond words by a performance by the amazing group the Boredoms [check them out here] at ATP NY last September. I don’t know if the music sounds anything like it, but we were all floored in our own way. We also were blessed with the chance to tour japan briefly last year and this was something that really inspired all of us. the natural world and it’s magesty are a constant source of inspiration as well. We live in a great and beautiful and diverse land and all feel very lucky to get to be in the out of doors here and there.

Akron/Family – “The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen”

[See post to listen to audio]

TN&TG: And I guess while I’m on the subject, I should ask what sorts of things you are listening to (and reading) at the moment.

A/F: Hmmm. We all listen to a lot of different things. I have been listening to a lot of dub and Nyabinghi reggae. Also i’ve been totally excited about finding an archive of Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” [have a listen here] which is a radio show that he hosted for a few years on satellite radio. It’s amazing. A must. But I love that kind of stuff. As far as reading, I have been reading the short fictions of Borges [but it here], and (thanks to my sweet girlfriend) I just started a book by Cesar Aira, who is amazing. It’s called the “Literary Conference” [buy it here] and the other two small books that I’ve read of his are amazing as well. “An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter” [buy it here] is certainly one of my favorite books of all time.

Akron/Family – “Lake Song/New Ceremonial Music For Moms”

[See post to listen to audio]

TN&TG: I know, that’s probably a question that you get asked all the time and hate answering, and I’m sure there are plenty of others (believe me, as an Ohioan, I am very curious to find out your connection to the rubber capital of the world and the home of the goodyear blimp), but I’m sure I could find these things out in other places. So in closing, I figure why not give you the power? Any questions you never get asked but would like to answer? Anything else you would just like to let the people know?

A/F: Akron: Lebron. And I really just like that you asked what i’m reading and listening to. That stuff is always interesting to me when I see other folks answer it.

Akron/Family – “Woody Guthrie’s America”

A special thanks again to Miles Seaton and Akron/Family, we definitely appreciate your time and enthusiasm. To the rest of you out there, don’t forget to be at the Pour House on September 9th to catch Akron/Family, and while you’re there, enjoy the rest of the Hopscotch Festival as well.

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Before I get into the ever developing sound of the band, I have to start with the album cover, which features a little cartoon critter riding a surfboard and frantically fleeing the cat-shaped wave that is about to swallow him up. RIght, I get it…I just said the band was maturing and now I’m talking about cartoon kitties. That’s valid, but bear with me. The artwork was designed by Anthony Ausgang and features a hidden picture buried behind the checkerboard design. All you have to do is scratch away the pink and purple squares. Yes, scratch away…like a lottery ticket. The album even includes a coin to do this with! I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty awesome. Maybe not as cool as unzipping the cover of Sticky Fingers, but still, not too shabby. And just in case you don’t want to destroy your copy of the album, here’s what it looks like underneath (spoiler alert!!!).

Alright, so once you open up the cover, what do you get? If you’re expecting the same catchy, dance inspiring, pop-songs of Oracular Spectacular, you might be disappointed…but you shouldn’t be. There are still the occasional pop hooks, but the album is far more serious, delving into long stretches of psychedelia, thumping drums, and screeching guitars. The twelve minute long “Siberian Breaks,” for example, sounds more like something from Pink Floyd than MGMT, but it works. These tracks aren’t so much songs as works of art…it’s as easy to picture them hanging on a wall as it is to hear them playing through a speaker.

MGMT – “I Found A Whistle”

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And the entire album plays like this…at times catchy hooks at times hypnotic detours. The lyrics are darker, more serious, but far more moving. And in the track “Someone’s Missing,” all of these things come together. The soft, droning beginning gives away to a vibrant ending, but through it all, the lyrics haunt and excite:

Someone’s telling the toll to me
I’m cut and I’m weeping like a rubber tree
But i don’t care who’s left behind
Lost revelations that I’ll never find

In the long hall pipes are whispering
Blues prepared for anti-christening

Somewhere there’s an honest soul
To mirror teeth where neon lures troll
And what’s extinct might come alive
A purple smoke in some internal shrine

With a long sigh let the hissing in
Stones deformed by gentle kissing and
All the closed eyes start to glisten
But it feels like someone’s missing
Yeah it feels like someone’s missing

MGMT – “Someone’s Missing”

[See post to listen to audio]

And as though all of this weren’t enough, the band has just released a video for the title track “Congratulations.” I’m not even going to begin to pretend that I understand this, but as with the rest of the album, I am completely transfixed. It’s hard to imagine that a band could develop so much in just a couple of years, but it leaves me wondering what another two years will bring.

MGMT – “Congratulations”

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So I suppose I should start with Duffy. My sister gave me her album a couple of months ago, and I basically haven’t put it down since. I was a little skeptical at first…I mean, top-charting Welsh pop-stars aren’t exactly something I would usually give a second listen to, but what can I say, she is pretty amazing. She has one of those voices that is somehow both retro and modern, and each of her songs is instantly catchy. And the more I listened to her debut album Rockferry, the more I was inspired to break out my old Joss Stone albums…there must be something in the water in the UK, because there are some great pop/jazz/blues singers coming from up there.

Duffy – “Mercy”

[See post to listen to audio]

Joss Stone – “All The King’s Horses”

[See post to listen to audio]

Who knows, maybe I’ve just been reliving the days when all I would listen to was bigband, jazz, and blues, but all of this reminiscing about retro sounds has reminded me of my deep appreciation of Harry Connick, Jr. Yes, I realize that his music would be lucky to make an easy listening station, and yes, I definitely realize that when he tries to move away from his big band roots, he is…well…absolutely terrible (see She, for example). But, you get the man behind a piano and let him stare at you with those Frank Sinatra eyes, well, you tell me you aren’t moved. And we can just forget his rather checkered acting career.

Harry Connick, Jr. – “With Imagination (I’ll Get There)”

[See post to listen to audio]

So on a slightly different note, I’ve been living in Greece for the last couple of months, and let me just say, the TV here is TERRIBLE. Seriously. Our daily regiment consists of Baywatch, The Nanny, and Police Academy. So basically, most of our TV watching revolves around Euro-pop MTV. But the other day, MTV-Greece showed the video for Jack Johnson’s new single “You and Your Heart (To the Sea),” and what can I say, I really liked it. Now, I have to admit here, I was a big Jack Johnson fan way back when. I definitely bought his first two albums, and I have infinite respect for the fact that he started his own record label and has signed the likes of Zee Avi and Donavon Frankenreiter…but who are we kidding, his last couple of albums were pretty darn bad. But this song, I really like…maybe it’s just refreshing to have a break from endless amounts of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, but you have to own up to what you like.

Jack Johnson – “You And Your Heart (To The Sea)”

[See post to listen to audio]

And finally, since we are discussing the the joys of Greek MTV, I can’t help but put up a couple of fantastic videos for fantastic songs. I don’t listen to a whole lot of pop music, but I would be lying to myself and to you if I didn’t admit that these are both pretty awesome. Enjoy.

Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”

Lady GaGa – “Bad Romance”

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Fang Island released their first full-length album (Fang Island) earlier this year, and I suppose I should have known what was coming when the first track quite literally begins with fireworks…yes, fireworks. What follows is 32 minutes of pure exhilaration…drums pound, guitars wail, and people sing…and yes, they sing something, but for the life of me, I don’t know what. I’ve tried to hear the lyrics, to understand the words, but I just can’t do it. The vocals aren’t so much words on a page but rather another instrument screaming away with all the rest…and quite frankly, it works.

Fang Island – “Daisy”

[See post to listen to audio]

I was a little surprised by all of this at first. I mean, it’s not everyday you hear a band that just, well, rocks. Everything about Fang Island is grandiose. To use the term “arena rock” would be an understatement. Then I found out that the group was from Rhode Island, and I thought to myself, “well, maybe they’re compensating for something.” That might just be why a band from the smallest state in the US has somehow produced the largest sound I have heard in ages.

Fang Island – “Treeton”

[See post to listen to audio]

Of course, I realize that I have accused a band of “compensating for something,” but in no way is this meant to be an insult. The entire album is bigger than life. It’s impossible to listen to a single track…it’s as though the whole thing is just one massive rock-a-thon. I might not understand a word they are saying, but I think this is one of the things that is great about the group. The guitars, the drums, the vocals all melt together perfectly. The words don’t seem to matter as much as the sound, yet they are necessary to the sound. So turn up the speakers, and while I can’t say sing along, by all means, start screaming!

Fang Island – “Davey Crockett”

[See post to listen to audio]

Fang Island – “Daisy”

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

(The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of American)

Of course, thousands of songs have been written in protest in the centuries since our country was born, but what make’s such songs legendary is their timelessness. They may have been written forty or fifty years ago, but even now, they are relevant…they bear witness to our faults and call for us to change. And it is that hope of change that keeps us going. Last year on the 4th of July, I posted mostly “protest songs.” This year, I prefer songs that don’t simply point out our faults, but that praise the idea that things can someday change. The only problem is, these songs are a lot harder to find…

Bruce Springsteen: “How Can I Keep From Singing”

[See post to listen to audio]

I’m not entirely sure why it is so difficult to find songs that aim to inspire and not just criticize (and yes, I realize there are plenty of country songs that do this, but blind patriotism is little better than unfettered criticism). With any luck, people will send me more…but Springsteen’s rendition of “How Can I Keep From Singing” is hard to surpass. And yet, without question, Ray Charles has done so. I’m well aware that I posted this same song last year…but what can I say, it’s impossible to hear this and not feel moved and inspired. I may just have to make this a yearly tradition on the 4th…there are definitely worse things:

Ray Charles – “America the Beautiful”

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,

America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.

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Megafaun – “His Robe”

I’ve written about Megafaun before, and frankly, this only reaffirms their awesomeness. A take away sermon…classic! I’m not sure what’s best…”accidentally” coming across a guitar on the sidewalk or impromptu trumpeting from a balcony. Either way, enjoy! And heed their message!

Megafaun – “Volunteers”

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It should come as no surprise to anyone that the first song I would start with is a Dylan song…and not just any Dylan song, but what is arguably my all-time favorite Dylan song, “To Ramona.”

Bob Dylan – “To Ramona”

[See post to listen to audio]

Now there have been any number of disastrous Dylan cover albums…some songs should just not be tampered with, and some artists should not be allowed anywhere near a cover album…These United States, however, are not one of those bands. I’ve had an incredible amount of respect for These United States ever since I heard their first album, Crimes. The fact that they chose to cover “To Ramona” for a recent Dylan cover album, though, has raised them to the level of legendary in my eyes. They have managed to capture Dylan’s emotion and sentiment, but have infused the song with their own brand of toe-tapping sound and optimism. The result is something new and exciting…they have succeeded where so many others have failed.

These United States – “To Ramona”

[See post to listen to audio]

And if you had told me when we started this blog that I would someday be writing about Lady GaGa, I would have told you that you were out of your mind. But let’s all be honest here…you can lie to your friends, your family, and even perfect strangers…but you can’t lie to yourself. You know this song is great. Go ahead and deny it, but we all know that you will go home and lock the door so that you can blast it out of your speakers and sing it at the top of your lungs. So just embrace it.

Lady GaGa – “Bad Romance”

[See post to listen to audio]

And it may come as some surprise that this song has been covered so quickly, but what is more surprising is that it was covered by the indie folk singer Lissie. And as if that weren’t surprising enough, it is actually fantastic! Go ahead, have a listen…and just let me know which you like more, because frankly, I can’t pick.

Lissie – “Bad Romance”

Paul Simon might not have the same pop flare as Lady GaGa (I don’t believe he has EVER worn a bubble suit), but it’s hard to imagine that “Bad Romance” will ever have the staying power of “Graceland.”

Paul Simon – “Graceland”

[See post to listen to audio]

I have to admit though, that I hadn’t listened to “Graceland” in ages…that is, until I bought Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s Advance Base Battery Life. The album has a pretty good number of covers, but none as impressive as their rendition of this song. You can’t really hear a whole lot of the Paul Simon in this cover…the lyrics are the same, but that’s about it. They have completely redefined the track. Paul Simon is lost somewhere behind a veil of digitally rendered sound and monotone vocals, but in the end, isn’t that what we want? Something new, even though it’s old?

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – “Graceland”

[See post to listen to audio]

And last but not least, I had to end with Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”…not simply because I like the song, but because I never would have heard it if M. Ward hadn’t covered it.

Buddy Holly – “Rave On”

[See post to listen to audio]

Not surprisingly, perhaps, M. Ward has managed to make Holly’s rock-and-roll classic into a more mellow folk production. But it’s not his cover that interests me the most…it’s the video he has made for it. Of all the musicians I’ve listened to lately, there are very few who produce videos better than M. Ward. He always manages to capture the spirit of a song and transform it into something visual and tangible. He has succeeded in a way rarely seen…he has recreated a song not only aurally, but visually as well. Have a listen…and a look, and of course, if you can think of other memorable covers, let me know for Volume 2.

M. Ward – “Rave On”

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And there’s really not a whole lot I can say about any of these clips, they more or less speak for themselves. They are baffling, but irresistible…absurd, but impressive. The two seem to exist in a world all their own…it doesn’t matter that thousands of other people are listening, they know we can’t possibly understand. Maybe that’s why Tom Waits ends many of these segments with an assertive, “So There.” He doesn’t need to argue, he doesn’t even need to persuade, and there certainly isn’t any need for questions…he’s right. So there!

Tom Waits and Bob Dylan – “Jewish Curses”

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May all your teeth fall out except one, which should remain for a toothache.

Tom Waits and Bob Dylan – “Birds”

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He’s definitely a guy who gets his money’s worth out of a boombox…let’s hear what Tom has to say.

Tom Waits and Bob Dylan – “Numbers”

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The marmelade was just out of this world.

Tom Waits and Bob Dylan – “RX Sign”

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And Jupiter was thought to be the most powerful of heavenly bodies in curing disease. Thanks Tom.

Tom Waits and Bob Dylan – “Body Parts”

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You know, for centuries, women’s feet have been considered sexual parts in many cultures.

And while I realize this may be in poor taste, I couldn’t possibly put up a post about Tom Waits and Bob Dylan without including this video from Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy…yes, I know it’s a bit offensive, but it’s also clever…so there.

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The video is mostly shot in a nostalgic 1970′s era documentary style, and seems to trace the band’s various exploits while touring. And while it may not be the most thought evoking or moving video ever made, it is effective and certainly echoes the cheeriness and coziness that makes this song so wonderful. It’s easy to get lost in that joy as you watch this video, and almost impossible to watch it only once. And in the end, that’s what matters…the song, the video, the band all seem to lift the spirit. You can’t help but feel happier and sing along, and who can say no to that?

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It’s even harder, perhaps, to imagine that Frank Fairfield is only 24 years old and was discovered playing songs on the streets of Los Angeles and Hollywood. His is the kind of music you expect to hear in the dusty old basement of your grandfather’s barn, or on the front porch of a rickety house on some steamy summer afternoon…certainly not in the midst of the lights, sounds, and commotion of downtown L.A.

Frank Fairfield – “Fair Margaret and Sweet William”

[See post to listen to audio]

Regardless of where he has been or where he might go, though, the songs he plays are imbibed with an emotion and fondness rarely heard today. His rendition of “Fair Margaret and Sweet William” is utterly heartbreaking. It’s as though even the banjo is mourning the loss of Margaret, and with every syllable Fairfield utters, sorrow floods forth. The lyrics aren’t necessary, the sadness is absolute even without them. And this is what sets Frank Fairfield apart. The words may not be his own, but the effect most certainly is:

Lady Margaret died of pure, pure love
Sweet William died of sorrow
They are buried in one burying ground
Both side and side together

Out of her grave grew a red rose
And out of his a briar
They grew in a twining true lover’s knot
The rose and the green briar

Frank Fairfield – “Nine Pound Hammer”

Frank Fairfield – “Tim Brooks”

Frank Fairfield – “Short Life of Trouble”

Frank Fairfield – “Sweet Milky Peaches”

Frank Fairfield – “Poor Ellen Smith”

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