Distortion!

Glyph

Glyph is worse than some and better than others. He believes that life is just one damned thing after another, that only pop music can save us now, and that mercy is the mark of a great man (but he's just all right). Nothing he writes here should be taken as an indication that he knows anything about anything.

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7 Responses

  1. Chris says:

    I enjoyed these, particularly the Yo La Tengo song (but I’m a fan), but I have to say that if I went to a Deerhunter show and saw the 3 guitars up there, I would have to yell “Play some Skynyrd!”Report

    • Glyph in reply to Chris says:

      I would have to yell “Play some Skynyrd!”

      Don’t be that guy.

      I may have mentioned that at one Built to Spill show I saw, when some wag yelled out the inevitable “Freebird!” (as happened at every show ever for a while), they busted out a full-length, totally-faithful, non-ironic, obviously-well-practiced cover of it.

      It was actually really, really good.

      That’s one way to deal with an overused joke.

      When I saw Deerhunter, that girl wasn’t in the band. There were just two guitarists. They’ve had a lot of turnover, that bassist in the video isn’t in the band anymore either (and I liked his style). On the plus side, Cox has gotten a better haircut and ditched the Cosby sweaters.

      RE: YLT – I was a bit tipsy when I saw them the most recent time at Matador 21 – after a particularly epic finale of “Blue Line Swinger”, I was that guy, telling anyone who’d listen “YO LA TENGO IS A GODDAM NATIONAL TREASURE AND WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THEM!”

      Sound’s not great (it was freaking LOUD and it overwhelms the recording, but I guess for a post with this title that’s OK), but you can see it below. You can also see Mitch Mitchell from GbV nearly get his ass kicked – he bum-rushed the stage and a bouncer didn’t know who he was, so he grabbed him and cocked his fist back to clock him, but luckily someone else stepped in:

      Report

      • Chris in reply to Glyph says:

        I’ve never actually been the guy who yells “Play some Skynyrd” (or, back in the day, “Play some Freebird,” but I admit that one time I went to a free Newsboys, Third Day, Jars of Clay show around ’96, snuck in some Jim Beam, got snockered, and yelled for Jars of Clay to play some Freebird, which they ignored entirely. At the time, I thought it was really funny. So I was, at least at one time, that guy.Report

    • greginak in reply to Chris says:

      Deerhunter sounds good. I played that entire album on Spotify before going to the inlaws for dinner. I’m going to listen to them a bit moreReport

      • Glyph in reply to greginak says:

        They’ve been pretty prolific, and consistent quality-wise…never less than good – 5 full-lengths, a couple EPs, and multiple solo records from the guitarist (as Lotus Plaza) and singer (as Atlas Sound). They are one of the few modern rock bands I will reliably buy unheard.

        If you want an entry point, try Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. (a double album, but the first has a couple of their catchiest pop songs and the second is an odds and ends collection that shows a few of their more experimental sides) or the newest one (Monomania), which is kind of a trashy garage record that’s slightly weirder than it first seems. Halcyon Digest is probably their best-reviewed album, and it’s really pretty, but I forget it as soon as it’s over. Cryptograms is really strangely structured, but still worthwhile if you are in the mood.Report

  2. dhex says:

    i am a big fan of a place to bury strangers:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFa4a56j52o

    (video may be nsfw. their best video is definitely nsfw but youtube can help you sort that out)Report

    • Glyph in reply to dhex says:

      A partial list of songs’ ghosts I hear inside that one:

      In A Hole (JAMC)
      The Metro (Berlin)
      The Baby Screams & The Upstairs Room (The Cure)Report