I feel like everywhere I turn today, it's all Wolf Parade.
The Tyee.
Exclaim! (Look at how fat Spencer Looks!)
Okay. Only two articles. But stumbling upon two articles in the span of an hour or two makes it feel like it's everywhere. So I have a few points to make about Wolf Parade.
1) Andrea and I talked about this a few days ago when I posted about classic rock cruises. I was on the fence then, but now I'm certain that in 20 years I hope it is Wolf Parade that decides to put together a cruise for nostalgic losers. I think that they could really fill a week up with all of their side projects and that I could really enjoy that between trips to the buffet.
2) Wolf Parade play the Vogue on Sunday night. I think we have seats a few rows back from the front. That feels really weird to say.
3) Expo 86 hasn't really blasted me in the face with musical happiness. It's solid, but I'm still trying to decide what I really think about it. However, the final two songs Yulia and Cave-O-Sapien really do it for me. Catchy in their simplicity.
4) I am neither a Dan nor a Spencer guy. Honestly, how can you pick? Yulia is Dan, Cave-O-Sapien is Spencer. Modern World is Dan, Father's Son is Spencer. On it goes. How do you choose? I would imagine that Dan has lots of leather and skull paintings in his home while Spencer has lots of drawings and books.
5) I hope that Evan can fill the comments section below with tales of his brother doing stupid things that are subtly related to Wolf Parade and its members.
Oh man. I don't know about that one.
ReplyDelete- Spencer is definitely a bit chunky. His hair doesn't help things. And he made a skateboarding reference that your Mom or Dad could recognize as being out of touch.
- Wolf Parade is a man down. It sounds like it when they play the older music
I may have changed my mind about the cruise.
OK, so let's talk this out. Dave, when you and A told me what you thought about the album, you said that the distance between "Spencer songs" and "Dan songs" was getting wider. Pitchfork's review says the opposite. So which is it?
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of in your camp: I think that as songwriters they're miles apart, mainly because Dan's trying harder than ever to be a new wave Springsteen. But the arrangements and the production on the album even out a lot of the deeper, architectural difference between their songs: every song's got about the same range of dynamics in it. Which is disappointing.
Also, I can't remember that guy's name, but the synth guy: he's so badly missed on the new record. Without him all the new wavey bits stand out too much. He managed to surround them with squall and noise, which submerged them a little bit. But now, on a Dan song, I could swear I'm listening to Ric Ocasek, or the Knack.
Evan. You've blown my mind. Andrea was just showing me pictures of Ric Ocasek and suggesting that Dan could be his long lost son. Now you're comparing their musical styles? I'm a bit freaked out.
ReplyDeleteHadji is the keyboardist. Honestly, I never pieced it together that he was the missing link until the live show, where it became painfully obvious that something was missing from the old songs.
I know that Pitchfork talks about the songs being more cohesive and together. This is crazy talk. I actually think the Dan songs are the same as they ever were. I think Spencer has drifted into a space somewhere between Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade. You would think this would be a good thing but I'm not sure that it is.