NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #34
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Today’s NMFO is so stuffed, it’s gonna blow!
Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Whatever! It’s almost midnight here! No time to waste!
Today’s specials:
Timid ghosts and elderly eight year olds
A band to not get attached to
Getting around to Wye Oak
A double shot of list-making
And, two legendary bands do battle at the World’s Greatest Arena (tm), with my love and admiration hanging in the balance!
Lunch is served!
GOOD STUFF
Your Glossary of Terms, good sir or madam?
Youth Lagoon, “Rabbit”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Heaven is a Junkyard
Nutshell: Bedroom indie
Voltage: 4
Thoughts: There are good voices and there are "interesting” voices. Sounding something like an 8yo imitating his great-grandmother, Trevor Powers (aka Youth Lagoon) possesses the latter. That it’s featured so prominently on Heaven is a Junkyard is noteworthy, given that a 2021 medical reaction temporarily robbed Powers of his ability to speak. I’m unclear exactly how much the ordeal altered his tone (the vocals on earlier albums were usually buried under a mountain of effects), but he’s clearly leaning into it now. “Rabbit” is the sound of an extremely timid ghost whispering directly into your ear.
Pairing Suggestion: Flipping through a photo album by flashlight
feeble little horse, “Steamroller”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Girl With Fish
Nutshell: Fuzzy indie rock
Voltage: 6
Thoughts: By the time you read this, feeble little horse (sic) may no longer exist. This upstart Pittburgh act recently scrapped a national headlining tour at latest possible moment, posting “We have to take a step back and reassess our little world for our continued health.” I’m no PR expert, but that sounds like code for “No fucking way am I sharing a van with these assholes”. I’ve been enjoying the band’s pleasantly apathetic guitar slop, so I hope I’m mistaken.
Pairing Suggestion: Pushing your food around the plate
ADDENDUM: I have no idea what this song is “about”, but I’m fascinated/disgusted by the line “You fuck like you’re eating”. I imagine some slob absentmindedly gnawing away at a turkey hero, mouth open while chewing, mayo dripping onto the front of his filthy undershirt. And then I transfer that image to sex and…well, now you get to imagine it as well.
Wye Oak, “Every Day Like the Last”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Every Day like the Last
Nutshell: Folk pop
Voltage: 3
Thoughts: I’m so pissed that I like this. For years I’ve mostly ignored the existence of Wye Oak. Something about the name—it’s very ignorable. I was content to go on not having an opinion, but a few days ago I absentmindedly clicked play on on Every Day Like the Last, a compilation of recent singles and three new tunes (including this one). And wouldn’t ya know, it clicked immediately. The harmonies, the lap steel, the acoustic plucking—it’s all lovely. So it now appears I have EIGHT ALBUMS of Wye Oak songs with which to familiarize myself. Why, Oak??
Pairing Suggestion: Hiking a familiar trail
Time to render a verdict.
And…? You were saying…?
SOME BULLSHIT
I visit Madison Square Garden a couple times a year to see my beloved New York Knickerbockers. But prior to the past week, the last non sporting event I saw at MSG was…this.
Was this a good show? Kinda! Did I want to administer a wedgie to every other audience member? Admittedly! It certainly wasn’t your standard “arena rock” show, so you could say I was due. Well I’m happy to announce that I recently ended my MSG concert drought not once, but twice! Kambri and I went to see The Cure and then, five days later, Tears for Fears. Give it up for WUSS WEEK 2023!
What’s that you say? You’d like to know my 25 favorite songs by each band? Like, in some type of list format? Right, like I have that kind of time! You expect me to sit here for 2+ hours, painstakingly compiling a Google Doc? You must think I have nothing better—
OI, WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN???
Tell me how good/bad these lists are.
Now for the big question…
“HEY FINNEGAN, WHICH SHOW WAS BETTER?”
Not sure why you’re shouting, but fine. Let’s put these paragons of non-toxic masculinity in a head-to-head battle for my approval! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
THE OVERALL CATALOGUE
Gotta go with The Cure, for sheer breadth—13 albums to 7, not including compilations. You could put together a Cure setlist consisting entirely of B-sides and a sizable portion of the fanbase would be ecstatic. While I’m a completist, I recognize that Tears for Fears is more as a singles band.
ADVANTAGE: The Cure
THE CROWD
The facade of MSG is currently hidden behind a labyrinth of scaffolding, so we were initially a bit confused about how to get in. Luckily, Kambri soon pointed out the stream of low effort middle-age goths headed towards a particular break in the plywood. “Just follow the black,” she proudly declared. You’ll notice that I haven’t yet clarified which band I’m talking about here, but do I need to? After four decades, I’m pleawed to report that “Cure fan” is still a viable lifestyle brand. To be clear, both crowds were replete with normies, but I appreciate that a few of the account reps and adjunct professors broke out the guyliner, if but for one night. The TFF crowd looked much more like me, for which they are docked points.
ADVANTAGE: The Cure
THE LIVE SOUND
Both bands sounded excellent. The mix was perfect and the players were all stone cold pros. The Cure sounded more “album perfect”, but TFF’s arrangements are trickier, so this one’s a push.
ADVANTAGE: The MSG sound engineers
THE VOCALS
A poor or disinterested vocal performance can make or break a concert experience for me. I had vocal cord surgery in 2017, so I understand that physical limitations are what they are, especially when it comes to older singers. All I ask is that you give it the ol’ college try and play your songs in their proper key, even if it means ducking a high note every once in a while. Thankfully, the singing at both shows was surprisingly good. Robert Smith sounded exactly like Robert Smith, which is all you can ask. Curt Smith struggled a bit, but never phoned it in. True kudos go to Roland Orzabal, who sounded “holy shit” great. Like, when you see one of those weirdly ripped old dudes? That’s Roland, but vocally.
ADVANTAGE: Tears for Fears
THE SETLIST
The pacing of TFF’s set was very professional, like it was commissioned from the McKinsey Group. Nice mix of tempos, with fan faves buttressing the lesser known material. The Cure’s set was riskier, given that they they backload their set with a murderer’s row of smash hits. That means the first 2/3 of the evening leaned on album cuts and as-yet-unreleased music. I dig that in theory, but things did drag a bit. I love an atmospheric dirge like “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep” when I’m home, lying in the dark. But in a massive arena, at the tail end of a 42oz Diet Pepsi? Buddy, that’s a pee break.
Advantage: Tears for Fears
THE SET LENGTH
The Cure’s set ran a whopping 2h35m, while TFF clocked in at a tidier 1h40m. Longer seems better in theory, but I’ve found that concerts going longer than 90 minutes are living on borrowed time, no matter the artist. Sure, Springsteen does twice that and people love him for it, but he’s an exception. Oh, and Pearl Jam. Oh, and The Dead. Alright fine, maybe it’s just me. All I know is, people’s ears tend to be bigger than their stomachs (what?) and at some point, real life starts to intrude—thoughts of traffic, mass transit schedules, un-walked dogs and the like. Or maybe I’m just a lapsed Catholic who’s made uncomfortable by abundance. Who’s to say!
ADVANTAGE: Tears for Fears
STAGE BANTER
This was TFF’s first ever show at MSG, and you could tell it meant something to Roland Orzabal. He was a delight, displaying grace, humility and solid comic timing. Robert Smith didn’t say much, other than punctuating each song with a Cockney “‘ANK-YEW!”
ADVANTAGE: Tears for Fears
AND THE WINNER IS…TEARS FOR FEARS!
Both shows were superb, but TFF’s machine-like professionalism provided the better overall time. Call it “fan service” if you like, but fuck it—I’m a fan and I was happily serviced!
Finally, two short clips. I’m not one of those dinguses who holds his iphone aloft for the entire concert, but I enjoy a keepsake as much as the next guy. My strict rules are:
Three clips per show, max
No clip longer than :45
Dear god, I just glanced up it appears I’ve pulled an all nighter. Definitely the right decision by me, health-wise. Way to go, Finnegan. Going to crawl into bed now, just in time for my wife’s alarm to go off. Redeem my terrible choices by sharing this post, won’t you please?
Everything…going…dark…
Wow. What a question. Would a list of the 25 best Wye Oak songs be better? Because I can do that.
But the safer, easier answer must be Civilian.
Are you aware that the drummer is also the keyboardist and that he plays both live at the same time? It seems like such old news at this point, but once in awhile I remember it and am astonished all over again.
Really liked all of these songs, but “Every Day Like the Last” was one of those where I clicked 'love' within the first three notes. I really enjoyed your MSG recaps and scoring - I feel very weird about how much I was rooting for Tears for Fears and was like amped? that they won...