|
Paul
Smith
1.
Smog: A River Ain’t Too Much To Love - Bill
Callaghan has been writing some of the best songs of recent times
that concern the human condition. He adds a delicate touch and
a warmth to his usual brutal truth-telling. 2.
Arthur Russell: World Of Echo - This reissue
sounds like a dream might, with moments of beautiful clarity woven
into patches of abrasive electric cello. Fragments of Russell's
ache of a voice betray his romanticism and lyrical precision. 3.
Pajo: Pajo - A wonderful guitar player cements
his reputation as a softly compelling 4.
Field Music: Field Music - Music this special
doesn't come along very often. Complicated pop songs combine with
strings and personal confusion. Meticulously performed and conceived. 5.
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois - Pick any of the songs
on this record and it will stand alone as an impeccable vignette.
Put them altogether and you get an occasionally overwhelming testament
to one man's unique and humane vision. 6.
Electralane: Axes - Driven guitars and krautrock
rhythms are added to a strangely orchestral quality to produce
an addictive and attractive new direction for rock music. 7.
Brian Eno: Another Day On Earth - His ambient
works collide with his vocal musings on an album that drifts along
in a gorgeous, melancholy, meditative state. 8.
Iron & Wine: Woman King EP - Richly descriptive
words and ghostly harmonies from Sam Beam, owner of the best musical
beard since Garth Hudson. Intimate and absorbing songwriting. 9.
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Matt Sweeney: Superwolf
- Haunting and humorous beastly sketches from a master
wordsmith and a spectral guitarist. Sometimes it roars and sometimes
it rambles. A great journey. 10.
Sun Kil Moon: Tiny Cities - I am grateful for
any opportunity to hear Mark Kozelek's mournful voice, and on
this album of Modest Mouse covers, he transforms the words into
his own. Very pretty guitar-playing, too. This guy is a heartbreaker. What
was the highlight of 2005 for either you personally or for the
band? Personally,
I was blown away by seeing Les Demoiselles D' Avignon by Picasso
in real life at the MoMA in New York City on a blazing hot summer
day. As a band, playing Glastonbury in front of a packed tent
just after our album had come out. It felt like a pivotal moment
for us in our own country. What
was the low point of 2005 for you? Losing
prized possessions and some dignity after a horrifically drunken
night following a triumphant hometown gig. What
are your hopes and plans for 2006? Recording
another album that connects with people around the world, and
then getting out on the road to play the songs in person. If
you could drop a copy of one album in the mailbox of every American
citizen, what album would it be? The
first Wu Tang Clan album. Will
the iPod, and its ability to combine all genres and its emphasis
on individual songs, render the album format irrelevant? No. With
Kate Bush, Gang of Four, Ray Davies, Scott Walker, and others
issuing new releases, what icon needs to return and make another
album? Joni
Mitchell. With
the mainstream success of artists like Modest Mouse, Death Cab
for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, and Franz Ferdinand,
has the meaning of "indie rock" shifted? Has the term
lost all meaning? That
term signifies a lifestyle choice now and has done for a number
of years. Independent music will never lose its potency if its
creators hold true to the term. If
you couldn’t be a musician, what other profession do you
think that you’d enjoy and why? I
would love to paint and draw, and was teaching the subject before
I was in the band. The perfect job us the one where you feel creative
and fulfilled. Do
you feel more or less optimistic (about music, about your personal
life, about the world in general) than you did a year ago? More
optimistic, personally, because our music has connected with people
on some level, going a tiny way to justify my existence! The world
in general seems to fluctuate between chaos and instability, as
always. Arcade
Fire broke through in 2004. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Wolf
Parade broke through in 2005. Who will be the "it-band"
of 2006? Field
Music should be, but won't be purely because they will never pander
to what other people think is cool. If
you had/got to switch careers with another artist or band, who
would it be and why? Prince,
so that I could possess that voice and that talent. Oh, and the
moves. Especially the splits. We
are now over halfway through the '00 decade. What five albums
stand out from the last five years as the best? Life
Without Buildings: Any Other City. This is the best,
believe me. What,
in your opinion, is the most pressing problem that is affecting
the world right now and if you had the power, what would you do
to address that problem? How
can anyone pin it down? Do
you have any other thoughts about the current state of the world
or the state of the music industry? We seem to be surrounded by conflict. Too many barriers. Too many preconceptions.
1/2006 |
