Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. PonPonPon (2011).

I found this video on Laura Bettinson's Tumblr.  Laura is a member of Ulraista, and her Tumblr is an overstuffed closet of the outré.  Although new to me, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's "PonPonPon" has racked up over 54 million views during the past couple of years:


Kyary is not some obscure oddball, she is on a major label in Asia (Warner), and her first full length album, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, debuted at No. 1 in Japan.  The song is great, but the video left me speechless, it's an intense work of art. Kyary's effortless embrace of the outlandish makes Lady Gaga look like your grandma doing the Macarena.  The video is filled with the signs and symbols that remind me of the work of Japanese artists such as Takashi Murakami: the otaku fetishes, kawaiisa pushed to a severe extreme, the stylized artifice, the unsettling childishness, and overall surrealism.  Andre Breton would have immediately bestowed his imprimatur on Kyary. I immediately bought her album, Moshi Moshi Harajuku, which did not disappoint.  My 10 yr. old daughter loves it too!

Taylor, Tegan & Sara (8/20/2013).

So, this is pretty special, n'es-ce pas?

The Doors. Waiting for the Sun. (1968).

I was very moved to hear of Ray Manzarek’s passing in May, and I was inspired to listen again to my favorite Doors album, Waiting for the Sun.  I hadn’t heard it in about 40 years, and time had made the listening fresher.  

Two things struck me this time.  One, Morrison was not a very good singer, unless it was a kind of dramatic performance, as in "Not To Touch the Earth," "The Unknown Soldier," or "Five To One," on all of which he excelled.  He was a master of the whisper-to-a-scream thing, building up tension and releasing it in eruptions.  There are some beautiful songs, written by Robby Krieger, such as "Wintertime Love", and "Yes the River Knows," where Morrison’s performance is monotonous and glum, as if it were simply a guide track that was supposed to be redone but never was.  In the documentary When You’re Strange, Morrison’s father maintains his opinion that his son was not a good singer, but admits that he must have been a charismatic performer.  When I was 12, I thought Morrison was a fantastic singer.  Forty-five years later, I have to agree with the admiral.

The other thing that struck me was the imaginativeness of the arrangements.  The band put so much creative energy into their parts, very few barre or block chords here.  Instead, Ray and Robby wrote parts for themselves that enhance these tunes with vivid color, subtlety, and impressive musicianship. Robby played with a brilliant display of guitaristic styles: some jazzy phrasing, flamenco, fuzzed-out leads, and luscious slide work.  Ray composed incredible material for organ, piano, and lots of harpsichord.  Manzarek’s contributions on this album seem to be the most sophisticated of any that he made to a Doors record.  This time around, I noticed that Ray quotes Monk's "Straight No Chaser" during a pause in "We Could Be So Good Together."  I wonder how many kids identified that reference at the time, I certainly didn't.  It’s a shame that the most interesting music on this record was probably only created for this album, and was unlikely to have been performed live.  Densmore's drumming, as usual, was nothing less than brilliant. 

"Hello I Love You" may sound a little dated now, but "The Unknown Soldier" stands up today as fascinating piece of work, spooky and still powerful.  There was really nothing ever quite like it, by them or anyone else.

My two favorite Doors albums are Strange Days (1967) and Waiting for the Sun.  I consider these to be part of their “gothic paisley” period.  They are eerie, dark, and mysterious, but not untouched by psychedelic flourishes common to those years. After the overly ambitious Soft Parade album (1969), they declared a return to their roots as a blues band with Morrison Hotel (1969).  This always puzzled me, because here’s a band with a jazz drummer, a flamenco guitarist, and two arty film students. I was suspicious of their claim to the lineage of Muddy Waters.  And I found it unsettling that these famous, affluent, rock stars were posing on the album with Skid Row derelicts who wouldn't know Jim Morrison from Jim Henson. The slumming effect was off-putting:

Then LA Woman (1971).  If Jim hadn’t passed they certainly would have continued to record, but the final track, "Riders On the Storm," really sounds like a farewell.  Despite having one of Morrison’s classic clunkers (“his brain is squirming like a toad”), the band’s performance is mesmerizing.  As those last delicate phrases on the Rhodes beautifully fade away, it sounds like a spirit being released from the world.

Twiggy. 1967.

The incomparable Twiggy, filmed in Paris, 1967, accompanied by a Rolling Stones song from way back when they still mattered (to me, anyway). Twiggy’s fresh clarity and brilliance shines even in black and white:

   

It would be decades before another model reached the same iconoclastic level, and that would be Kate:

Taylor Swift. Red (2012).

I don’t usually review music this mainstream but I’ve really been enjoying Red, listening to it over and over.  

Taylor Swift has sounded a lot better since she straightened her hair.  She’s getting a lot of flak for using her ex boyfriends as song material.  Since when was that considered poor taste? Someone forgot to tell Leonard Cohen, Carly Simon, and a billion other singer songwriters over the last 50 years.  Oh, heck, let’s go back to the Middle Ages and let those troubadours know they crossed the line of accepted decorum.

As I listen to Red the fifth or sixth time, I keep going back to the little CD booklet to check, did TS write this one?  And this one too?  By herself?  Damn, she’s good.  In fact the best songs on Red are the ones she wrote all by her lonesome.  If I could make any criticism, the album is a bit too long.  It could have been improved by dropping the collaborations with Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol, and Ed Sheeran.  Those two tracks seem labored and unnecessary.  They stall the pace of the album.  I have no idea why they’re even there.

Going through Red from beginning to end feels very much like a series of memorable scenes from unmade movies.  There is a hint of a story, and some parts are out of sequence, but it adds up to a kind of accumulated experience.  Red is all about how the emotional impressions made during early relationships have a significance and vividness that seem life-transforming. And Taylor makes those  observations with a razored sharpness.  That kind of stuff pales as you get older, but Red brings me back to what it was like when I was her age.  

Taylor, you did good, don’t let the bastards get you down.

Annie. Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts (2013).

I was just thinking the other day, whatever happened to Annie, my favorite Norwegian poplette?  It's been eons since she's released anything new. And suddenly this appeared on Popjustice:

So, Annie’s back with a great new song, but the video has issues, and I don’t mean just her lipstick - mon Dieu!  Incidentally, there’s talk of Little Boots working recently with Annie.  Now that’s a partnership I never anticipated!  Only something completely fab could come out of that collabo. Psyched.

Tegan and Sara. Heartthrob (2013).

Tegan and Sara have been moving past their wordy, strummy, funky folk-rock for some time now.  Sainthood (2009) was an amazing rock record.  Still, did anyone expect this?  With Heartthrob, T&S aimed to make big synthpop radio hits.  They don’t just make their mark, they clobber it.  Each song is full of huge hooks, monster choruses, and catchy tunes.  Every track is a crowd pleasing barn burner.  And they have perfected the art of the pop lyric.  The lyrics are constructed from brief, conversational phrases or sharply described images that make sense the first time around, no need to read the lyric sheet to try and figure out what’s happening.

The same day I heard this album, and fell in love with it, I saw that T&S were playing near my home town the next night.  I felt this was some kind of sign, so I made the 35 min. drive to see them and they did not disappoint, they totally killed it. They love their audience, calling them the “nicest fans.” Those fans threw articles of clothing at Tegan (a scarf, and a bra).  Tegan picked up the bra and said thanks but, “I really have no use for this.”  Sara talked amusingly about breaking a string, saying, “Whenever I break a string I always wonder what Slash would do.  Probably roll around on the floor in his leather pants, no shirt, and a boa constrictor around his neck.”

One of the great things about Heartthrob is that everything holds together beautifully as an album. It’s not just a collection of new songs.  These tunes sound like the pages of a book that were meant to be read in order.  Heartthrob has a consistent sound, big shiny synths, slamming drums, and strong melodies.  Any of the ten tracks would make a terrific single.  T&S are opening for fun. on a big arena tour this summer.  What?  They should totally be headlining.  In the current issue of Billboard (5/4/13), they have the #1 spot on the Dance Club Songs chart, with Closer: