In this Discussion
- doctor5cap July 2007
- jorge July 2007
- nerverise9 July 2007
- tune1shade April 2009
The Books
To say that I love the Books would be an understatement.
Back in the day, when my current boyfriend and I were just friends and he would come visit me back when I worked in the public library, he would bring me music. The Clash, Kimya Dawson, Otis Redding, Jonathan Richman, the Moldy Peaches. It was sweet and kind and was something to look forward to on the days I felt caught amid the shelves, books piled high in my arms.
One afternoon, he handed me a CD with "The Books" written across the top. I went home that night and popped it into my CD player (it was my pre-iPod era). I remember playing it backwards. On it, as I would find out later, were the Book's first two albums: "Thought for Food" and "Lemon of Pink." I remember feeling overwhelmed; the clicks and whirs were something I wasn't accustomed to in music. I was used to simple guitar riffs and choruses that I would learn by heart. These songs were devoid of most anything I had previously known as music. I was confused but, as Ken had never failed me before in his music tastes, I continued to listen. A week or so later, I returned to the CD, sitting outside and in the spring air.
Removed from everything else, it all made sense. The songs had layers to them, layers I could get lost in and made the song sound new even if it was my seventh time hearing it. My current favorite song, on "Lemon of Pink" called "Future Wouldn't That Be Nice" starts with handclaps, simple and with no real pattern, just clapping and the sound of a shutter, moving into Nick and Paul's respective instruments: guitar and cello. They fight to emerge above the handclaps. Suddenly, laughter as Paul's cello rises over. Unintelligable voices. French. "Est-ce que quoi?.... Comme tu vois, c'est une histoire." Meaning: As you see, it is a story. Nick begins singing, still with the guitar plucks and the found sound in the back, cascading and undulating in power and influence as the song continues. "The mind has a mind of its own" Nick sings. "The mind has a mind of its own."
The Books use "found sound," sound samples from various sources, usually tapes found in places that are probably more like thrift stores and friends' computers than a CD store. They put these noises together into patterns until it becomes music. These noises were not made to be music at first, it was not the purpose of their creation. Yet, Nick and Paul draw it out of them, fitting them together with other adopted noises until it seems like they were just waiting to be made into a song, waiting for someone to find their potential.
A few live performances:
Smells Like Content
Take Time
and probably my favorite video, accompanied with found video of men tipping their hats: That Right Ain't Shit (You have to wait a bit for them to start playing, but even if you think the reck of this is a crock of bologna, watch this video.)
Comments
I've never really listened to Man Man. Any recommendations about where to start?
seriously, it's really lovely stuff.
seriously, it's really lovely stuff.
Yes. Yes yes yes yes. It all seems so simple when you listen to it too, which I think is the genius behind it. It seems like it was MEANT to be that way, that there was no other purpose for these noises than to be in that song. The clicks and whirs, mechanical and otherwise cold, blend in with the warm sounds of the classic instruments, especially Paul's cello (to watch him play was one of the best concert experiences of my life).
How did you feel about "Lost and Safe?" I know it got some criticism for the movement to actual lyrics. But, I found it just as beautiful as the previous albums. "Smells like Content" is downright clever and the movement from the cascading percussion on "Animated Description of Mr. Maps" to the description (and, I admit, I'm a bit biased because of the shoutout to synesthesia) and undulations through clangs and Nick's singing.
It's impossible for me to write about them without getting over-the-top
Thanks! I'll definitely look into it.
edit: what is his brother saying right at the end of Smells Like Content?
I like the feelings too. To me, listening to it isn't like listening to most any other song. Whereas most songs are clear outlines of, "yes. This is the chorus. Yes. This is the bridge. Yes. These are the lyrics," the music made by the Books expects the listener to add something back. It forces some sort of interaction. It suggests very complex feelings. Like any good piece of art, someone else may listen one song and feel something completely different than another person listening to the same song. It changes according to the listener. There is no dictation about what is what is what. It gives some sort feeling as a starting point, then you choose what it is.
at least, that's how I see it.
it was great to see them live because you could kind of feel that sensation, people listening and thinking and their minds whirring at the concert. There'd be chatter in between songs. But during a song, everyone was quiet, not even an occasional cough. Silence as people just listened.
http://www.thebooksmusic.com/news/
I actually prefer the spoken parts, especially the "Meditation Outtakes" (which was awesome live)