The Drop music blog
License to ill
By Nick Hrkman, Blogger
October 7, 2007 | 4:48 p.m.
So, that’s my excuse for The Drop’s tardiness this week. I’ve missed John Vanderslice, Oakley Hall and potentially Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem shows this week. If you’re grumbling about a late blog post, it is falling on deaf ears.
This entry is coming a few days late and therefore after the release of most of the week’s new and reissued music. That’s not to say that there haven’t been several incredible must-go-out-and-buy items. Without further ado, “All the Wonderful Things I Want but Can’t Afford, Part II.”
First and foremost: Radiohead. If you’ve just recently emerged from a cave and this is the first Web site you’ve stumbled upon, allow me to be the first to reveal to you that Radiohead announced that the digital release of their new album In Rainbows will hit the bloodthirsty Internet on October 10. You can visit their Web site to preorder either the digital download at whatever price you see fit or the deluxe box set for roughly $82.
If you have any love of music at all, drop a buck for the download. If you love Radiohead the way I love Radiohead, take out the mortgage and get the box set. I could rant on and on about how much attention this sort of release has attracted or about how big of a middle finger this is to the corrupt music industry, but I won’t. Take my word for it -- it’s huge.
If your wallet isn’t begging for mercy after the box set or if, for whatever reason, Radiohead isn’t to your liking, worry not. There were several other spectacular releases this week.
My next highest priority this week is Sunset Rubdown's Random Spirit Lover. If you’re familiar with Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes or Swan Lake, then you’ll snuggle right up to Spencer Krug’s latest creation. This album reaches out and holds you tight from the first track through the last. The frantic, many-layered tracks flow gorgeously into one another through some of the greatest transitions I’ve heard. You’ll know what I’m talking about once you hear it, but it really makes fitting the songs into mixes a lot of fun. “For the Pier (and Dead Shimmering)” has become one of my favorite songs of the year.
My last recommendation for the week is Vic Chesnutt's North Star Deserter. If you’re a fan of Chesnutt’s earlier work or any of the Godspeed You! Black Emperor side projects, then you will have no trouble losing yourself in the dark woods of North Star Deserter. The list of collaborators on this release is as impressive as it is long. Chesnutt’s voice floats from swaying drone to expressive wail alongside brooding string orchestrations to highlight the songs’ somber, often biting lyrics. “Glossolalia” has become one of my favorites, and is representative of the slow-building, crescendo style that the Godspeed artists are renowned for. The next track, “Everything I Say,” features of a lone guitar intro, followed by a mélange of electric and acoustic sound-play. It woke me up.
I’m going back to bed to be miserable now. I hope that I was able to help you make an informed decision on your weekly music purchases. If not, tough luck. I’m sick and I don’t really care.
DJ Starman
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