Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

Three reasons I listen to The Kinks:

1) Nobody really ever listens to them, so I feel like the privileged 2nd grader who never gets caught playing hide and seek because he knows the special secret hiding spot.

2) They're more interesting than all the bands featured on "Pitchfork's Best New Music," but still makes me feel the same sense of superior indie-ness that Pitchfork's bands might make me feel.

3) They're good.


Arthur is the best of their albums. After I listen to it, I get the urge to call up everyone I know and tell them about the journey I just undertook. Physicists say that time travel is impossible; Arthur is possibly the closest you can get to a time machine in this universe.

And the album does skillfully weave time not only lyrically (which take us from the Victorian period to post WW2), but also musically. Compare the vaudevillian charm of "She's Got a Hat Like Princess Marina" to the psychedelic outro jam of "Australia" to the folky despair of "Young and Innocent Days." And the time traveling doesn't stop there.

The album's best moments are the many time changes. Consider the superb "Victoria." The band is rollicking along with a basic rock beat, when suddenly the bridge cuts the beat in half and beckons for the brass section. It's as if the Queen's own band suddenly invaded the album's recording sessions. Words cannot describe the epic genius of the half-time bridge.

The time changes don't stop there. "Australia" changes time to make room for a Beach Boys-style chorus. It's not as if the time changes exist simply for the time changes. I'm not impressed that there are time changes. I'm impressed by how they add to the song. The Kinks seem to know all the right places to put them. Just when you thought you've got the song figured out, they surprise you with a pleasant little change...

...which brings me to their masterwork, "Shangri-la." I have not heard a song that has covered as much as sonic territory as this one. Starting with a simple acoustic ballad, the song explodes into a hard-rocking bridge, and pushes back in on itself for the finale. It's a pity this album is not more listened to. Historically, it came out alongside The Who's Tommy. It seems as if the general public can only listen to one rock opera at a time, so Arthur was forgotten.

But I should be grateful it was forgotten because if it wasn't, I wouldn't be the 2nd grader who found the secret special hiding spot.

(And thank god I don't have to listen to Pitchfork's Best New Music to feel indie)

Residencies

Los Angeles venues collect their bands through the benefit of holding residencies, an honor for any band to have. For one day a week for about a month, popular music bars and venues such as The Echo, Spaceland, and Cinespace invite a single band to return again and again, reaping the benefits of playing a residency show. “It was incredible,” states AJ Jackson, the frontman of Echo Park’s Saint Motel. “The idea is that there is a snowball effect. If the band is good, people will keep coming back. If the band is really good, they’ll tell their friends.” Saint Motel just finished playing their residency at Spaceland, the Mecca for indie bands located in Silverlake, California. Each night had a different theme, and each set list held new songs, so nothing was repeated. “By the end of a residency, hopefully you will have pushed yourself as a band and increased your fan base.” Jackson continues.

A lot of importance for playing a residency show relies on the turnout, and amount of audience each week. For many bands it is hard to attract a range in crowd, but most of the time turnout seems to be successful: “different crowds tend to come each night, and the hardcore fans come each night!” says Sarah Negahdari of Silverlake’s The Happy Hollows. “Also, depending on the other bands booked, you get different groups of their fans each night.” The Happy Hollows played a successful residency at The Echo two years ago, and are looking forward to their upcoming Spaceland residency in November.

Besides the obvious marketing advantages, not every aspect of playing a residency is beneficial. “The negatives are that usually the residencies are free. So you don’t make money from the door,” says Negahdari, discussing some of the disadvantages. “Other difficulties include setting up a great line-up and DJ for every night, not to mention having to tweak, change, and add to your own set list.” Adds Jackson, reflecting upon the Spaceland shows.

Its no question that the good outweighs the difficulties when playing residency shows, and that most bands would be willing to expose themselves in a new and exciting way. “Despite all of this, I would do it again in a heartbeat” Jackson says. Residencies are celebrations that both the venue and the band can benefit from, a truly positive experience.

Show Review: We Barbarians

It’s not just another typical Tuesday night at Chapman University. Right in front of the campus radio station, in the basement of the most central dorm building, the Long Beach band We Barbarians are preparing to play an hour-long set in lieu of the usual Tuesday night open mic. As students wander in, the trio starts off their set with a mellow, keyboard-strong track, “White”, revealing hints of The Verve and Radiohead as influences. The crowd slowly grows, and the music swells accordingly. As a live performance, We Barbarians present an entrancing and heavy sound, which bleeds each song into the next. The men are shy, and hardly face the audience as they each have a habit to close their eyes and melt into their instrument.

From here, its hard to tell which song is which. Even with the research I did on their myspace, their music sounds different live. It is a more natural and organic sound that the band produces, and I speculate that they add new elements in the show; whatever happens right at that moment. It is a very natural, calming show that is well performed by the band. Its good to play college shows because the biggest benefit is gathering new fans. Students who don’t even now that there is a show going on become supporters of the band, due to a good experience and enticing music. We Barbarians know this fact, and easily capitalize on their wealth of interested students and intimate audience.