20 input devices and several hundred dollars later

and the best solution for my hands is a 13kb piece of freeware... <--- look at that homepage, it's on geocities!

how did i not think of this before??

but something about having like 10 different ways to move the arrow on the screen really appeals to me. being a keyboard-shortcutting god is also nice.

Review: N. Lannon "Chemical Friends"

I don’t often listen to lyrics, but Nyles Lannon’s latest effort makes me want to hear more. His arrangements are sparse, at times, rich at others. The keyboards interlace various field recordings and acoustic harmonies. But the lyrics always stand out. He’s got that singer-songwriter thing going on. When I saw him at San Francisco’s 12 Galaxies, he had one guy onstage with him. I think. He may have been alone. That's how personal his stuff was.

I recommend as rainy day music “Chemical Friends”. The influences come from abroad, Boards of Canada, and home, Elliot Smith, I’m told. Lannon also plays in San Fran band Film School. I saw them one night at the Cafe Du Nord. It was pretty fun. Their stuff is way overpowering, though, while Nyles' solo stuff just kind of sits there and invites you in.

Review: The Futureheads - S/T (2004)

I was drawn into this one by the Kate Bush cover ("Hounds of Love") that's on the album. You can hear it, and other songs and videos on the Futureheads myspace page.

None of the Futureheads songs have the sort of emotional heft that Kate Bush is capable of mustering at her best. And that's OK, cause what they mostly do, and do well, is super taut post-post-punk (my friend insisted they sounded just like the Jam, and i can't say he's wrong.) Which is to say guitar pop.

I first listened to this with a buddy in the car, and it was a bit of an akward moment when it started up. Neither of us were expecting me to play something so... well, wussy. Sure, the Futureheads are playing some hip stop-start rock songs, and they sound real tight, but they also sound pretty cute. Which is to say adorable.

It caught me a bit off balance, but it's not necessarily bad. A tougher band wouldn't pull off the three and four part harmonies that the Heads bust out all over these tracks, an integral part of their appeal. At times it's a bit sugary (sometimes unbearably so - like the four bars of Beatles reference on "Carnival Kids") but that seems like a fair trade for some really great pop tunes.

The album is front loaded with the poppiest numbers, which may be a turn off to the more rock-inclined (and to be honest, that was initially a hurdle for me.) But on the latter half of the labum, and particularly the last two songs, there's quite a change in tone. Second-to-last is "Hounds of Love," the most emotionally resonant song on the album since the almost a capella "Danger of the Water."

The melody is classic, and the Futureheads recast in their own style, opening with a great vocal intro, before building up into the first full-on chorus. Where Kate Bush's vocals were unbridled, the Heads sound a lot catchier, and that's exactly how it should be.

It seems as though the cover is bound to dominate the latter half of the album, but in the final song, "Man Ray," the band does all the things that they didn't do on the first thirteen songs. There's the dark, nonsensical lyrics, the abrasive riffing, and the angular sensibility. All these elements combine perfectly with the Heads usual boyancy and knack for vocal arrangements to make for the most interesting original on the CD. There's something to be said for saving the best for last.

Review: Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast (2006)

I was walking across the Chicago-Halsted aqueduct yesterday when i was overwhelmed with the smell of vomit. It seems unlikely that it was emanating from the Chicago Tribune distribution center that was just upwind of me, but there it was, the acrid, vile waft of puke. On the other hand, it didn't totally conflict with the music i was listening to: the end of track three ("Tract for Valerie Solanas") of Matmos's most recent release, which has a coda of stomach-flipping farting sounds, run through the deft computers of Matmos.

In fact, it's quite likely that these sounds were produced by genuine spinchters of some kind, as Matmos use many unconventional sound sources that have some kind of thematic connections to the songs on this album, each of which is named for a homosexual historical figure. This runs the gamut from King Ludwig II of Bavaria to (my personal favorite) William Burroughs.

I don't want to say too much about the sound sources, because i think this album is a lot more fun if discovered organically. Especially in light of it's terrific packaging, which includes a portrait and notes, printed on heavy-duty card stock, for each song. In many cases, the sources aren't particularly recognizable, but it seems that the point isn't just that you might recognize the sounds as somehow connected to the subject, but that the use of certain objects was part of the process of inspiration that allowed for the creation of the album. Inspiration, after all, is probably what Matmos are drawing from each of the subjects.

The link between the music and each figure is pretty loose, the Darby Crash song, for example, doesn't sound anything like a punk song. In general, the album seems to hew pretty close to the Matmos sound (though i'm not very familiar with just what that is) house-y beats layered with strange noises and samples cut up to form interesting rhythms.

What i liked most about this album is the way it flows together. I initially listened to it as mp3s which were arranged alphabetically, so i can atest to how well sequenced the album proper is. Each track builds on the next, creating a kind of aural space for you to explore, each change in tone and every new alien sound leading you into the unexpected.

I really dig this album, and my interest in some of the people that Matmos have written for only adds to my enjoyment. Worth checking out, and probably worth buying, given the sweet presentation.