NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #11
Live from the intersection of Beautiful and Unsettling!
Welcome, recent subscribers. You joined up just in time for a weird one!
In today’s overstuffed newsletter:
Breathless intensity, Instagram vibez and a power pop gem!
World Music Pete vs Art Weirdo Pete!
The intersection of beautiful and unsettling!
Sexy hospital selfies!
and…deceased relative trivia!
But first…
Okay, let’s get to the readin’ and listnin’.
GOOD STUFF
New folks: Here’s where I recommend three great songs that have been released within the past few weeks. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but here’s a handy Glossary of Terms.
Pool Kids, “Conscious Uncoupling”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Pool Kids
Nutshell: Second Wave Emo with a hint of Math Rock
Voltage: 8
Thoughts: If your metaphorical ears perked up at “Second Wave Emo”, this could be right up your alley. And if those words mean nothing: Pool Kids specializes in energetic indie rock that pairs emotional vulnerability with technical proficiency. Bands that can “play” often come off bloodless and intellectual, but Pool Kids feels breathless in its intensity. Lyrics aside, “Conscious Uncoupling” evokes (in my mind) that glorious movie cliche where the scrappy garage band suddenly puts it all together and blows everyone away. I’m a sucker for those.
Pairing Suggestion: Battle of the Bands, man
Cuco, “Sweet Dissociation”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Fantasy Getaway
Nutshell: Trippy kitchen-sink pop
Voltage: 4
Thoughts: When it comes to genre fidelity, Gen Z don’t give a fuck. They pull from whatever musical tradition suits their needs without a care in the world. It makes sense; when every musical subculture is a mouse click away, confining oneself to a particular lane must seem laughably old-fashioned. The results of this omnivorous approach are often, to my 20th century ears, a clunky mess. But in the hands of a wunderkind like Cuco, the disparate sounds (Synthpop, 80’s R&B, Latin Folk Music, Disco, Psychedelic Rock) bleed into each other to create a musical style unto itself. What I’m saying is, if you don’t like this album, you’re old. Sorry you had to find out this way.
Pairing Suggestion: Choosing the perfect Instagram filter
The Beths, “Expert in a Dying Field”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Expert in a Dying Field
Nutshell: Concise power pop
Voltage: 6
Thoughts: I struggled with whether to include this song. Not because it isn’t great (it is), but because The Beths are one of my favorite contemporary artists and I plan to ‘go deep’ on them in September, when their 3rd album is released in full. But this tune’s lyrical conceit dovetails perfectly with my personal life (see below), so why fight it? Expert in a Dying Field is an expertly constructed and flawlessly executed power pop gem. This is true of almost every song The Beths have recorded, but we’ll save that for September. Just keeping you abreast of the internal debates that keep this newsletter lurching along!
Pairing Suggestion: Raising a toast to someone no longer in the picture
Opinions are like assholes—I would like to see yours.
FOR FANS OF…[Peter Gabriel]
New folks: Here’s where I bloviate about an older artist I enjoy and recommend a current artist in a similar vein.
An argument could be made that Peter Gabriel is the most under-appreciated icon of the Rock Era. That may be odd to say about a legacy artist, but the (deserved) roses currently being thrown at the feet of Kate Bush have made me wonder if her erstwhile duet partner is due for a similar cultural tongue-bath. I hope so. History winnows all biographies, but Peter Gabriel is so, so much more than the “In Your Eyes” guy.
As is the case with every meaningful artist of the 80’s, I was late to the Peter Gabriel party. I remember being semi-regularly terrified by the music video for “Shock the Monkey”, but I was too busy shielding my eyes and praying for more Duran Duran to ever learn the dude’s name.
Like most suburban normies, “Sledgehammer” was my true entry point. I obsessed over the video’s animation—heck, I still do. But I couldn’t for the life of me understand why some dork who looked like a substitute teacher was so beloved of the drama club sad girls I was by now desperate to impress. It took me reaching the far side of puberty and entering my Poet Years to fully “get” Peter Gabriel. The yearning. The grandiosity. The fretless bass!
Peter Gabriel’s music has been a fixture in my ears ever since. Well, not all of it. With the possible exception of Paul Simon (whose forays into ethnomusicology have always felt a bit gimmicky to me), no one in my lifetime has done more to introduce global sounds to Western ears than Peter Gabriel. But as a matter of personal taste, I will always prefer Art Weirdo Pete to World Music Pete. It’s not cut and dry. My favorite PG album (Security) is loaded with African percussion, but to my mind, it still tilts firmly in the weirdo direction.
If World Music is your Gabriel of choice, today’s recommendation likely won’t hold water. But if, like me, you skew towards the artsy-fartsy side of the catalogue, I suggest checking out Beauty Pill—specifically, their 2015 album Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are.
Beauty Pill is the brainchild of DC songwriter/guitarist/producer Chad Clark. They began as a relatively straightforward Post Rock band, but evolved (and continue to evolve) into something wholly other.
Like, what do you even call that? It’s like someone ran vintage cartoon music through a shredder and then taped the pieces together. It feels precarious, as if the song could collapse at any moment.
Like my favorite Peter Gabriel songs, Beauty Pill tunes tend to land at the intersection of beautiful and unsettling.
When he wants to, Clark can give you a straightforward hook backed by a sturdy groove. But even then, there are inventive production choices to keep your ears engaged fifty listens in.
I offer a variation of this disclaimer just about every week, but I’m not claiming that Beauty Pill sounds like Peter Gabriel. Bu I think they operate from a similar set of artistic impulses—nuance, tone, sophistication and ambition.
To be sure, it ain’t “Solsbury Hill”. But then, neither is most Peter Gabriel.
Soooooo…?
SOME BULLSHIT
New folks: Here are some random, occasionally insightful musings.
There are non-musical reasons Beauty Pill has been on my mind of late. Chad Clarke is currently in the hospital, having recently undergone a heart transplant. It’s the latest in a long series of heart-related medical procedures Clarke has endured since contracting Myocarditis in 2008. He’s very active on Twitter and keeps folks abreast of his progress (and frustrating lack thereof).
Clarke’s ongoing health saga resonates with me because, as some of you know, I had open heart surgery last Spring. My ordeal was comparatively manageable (my replacement part was an aortic stem, rather than the whole shebang), but it’s altered the trajectory of my life and I have the rather impressive chest scar to prove it.
Bum hearts are kind of a ‘thing’ in my family. My younger brother Bobby had a transplant at Age 8 and, after a decade of health peaks and valleys, passed away at 19. A few years later, my older brother John suffered a massive heart attack and passed at 37. And then, five or so years ago, my mother died on the operating table while having valve replacement surgery. My surgery appears to have been a rousing success, so…I win? IN YOUR FACE, ALMOST ENTIRE FAMILY!
I don’t mean to sound flippant. Well, that’s not exactly true—flippancy is a useful tool when you want to relay pertinent information without getting sucked into the muck. But I hope my cavalier nature is not hurtful to any of you who have lost a loved one. We all have our way of dealing with this shit, and my way is to address mortality from the perspective of a wisecracking robot.
Incidentally, the anniversary of Bobby’s passing came and went about ten days ago. It’s been 21 years, so I won’t pretend it was some terribly poignant moment. But of course it made me think about him—goofy things he did, petty ways in which he used to get on my nerves. My older brother too. It’s a benign and expected bi-annual distraction, neither happy nor sad.
NOTE: I feel compelled to assure recent subscribers that New Music for Olds is never this dour. Like, ever. In fact, as a palate cleanser, let’s all enjoy this photo of my younger brother:
Yes, Bobby was an early adopter of the Juggalo lifestyle. And heck, let’s not leave out my older brother. Fair is fair, John!
A Juggalo and a LARPer. This is my kin. Do you know how rare it is for a standup comedian the be the most respectable sibling?
It’s fair to ask, why exploit your brothers’ memories like this? Well, the answer is simple: these photos make me smile and John and Bobby aren’t around to do shit about it. If I was going to be haunted, I feel like they’d have gotten around to it by now.
But also, I feel compelled to do something with these memories. Other than my dad and two childhood friends, I’m not in contact with anyone who knew my brothers or my mom. So all of this familial trivia just sits in my brain, taking up space. The name of John’s lame-o college girlfriend (Victoria)? Bobby’s skill level at the Nintendo game “Duck Hunt” (Negligible)? The number of times my mom crashed her Trans Am before it was officially considered ‘totaled’ (Three)?
Someone take this useless information off my hands, I beg you! We are, all of us who’ve lost loved ones, experts in a dying field.
That’s all, folks! Congrats on making it to the end. Next time I promise something breezy and inane. You’ve earned it!
Heard about this on Go Fact Yourself decided to give a look see. Right off the bat - emo and math rock? Yes please. But i've been a big Chad Clark fan for 20+ years so I'm always glad for Beauty Pill to get exposure. Btw, if you want old music for news check out his old band Smart Went Crazy. Love a good rock band with cello.
I don't have enough music-smarts to share post-worthy opinions on the selections this week (or any week!), but I had to say thanks so much for this week's bullshit and you can consider your memories (very) effectively shared.