It was just after 10 p.m. last Tuesday night when I got word that The Music Tapes were playing in Hyde Park. Actually, it was the last of three thirty-minute sets in three Chicago homes as part of the band’s Lullaby Tour, and it would begin in less than 30 minutes. There was no way I could make the ten mile bike ride in that time, so instead I comforted myself by listening to The Music Tapes' discography, enjoying a few beers in my warm apartment, and re-sparking an old obsession.
The amorphous Athens, GA-based experimental collective has been making albums since 1999, but my particular obsession began in 2008 when I came across their third album For Clouds and Tornadoes entirely by accident during a Pirate Bay search. The seeder to leecher ratio was pleasing, so I snatched it up, took a listen, and fell in love with its strange and emotional sound - lead man Julian Koster’s endearingly quavering croon, the warbly rhythms of his singing saw, and the vast collection of unusual instruments, such as tape organ, flugelhorn, clarinet, accordion, and euphonium.
I was lucky enough to catch them live a few months later at the AV-aerie in Chicago’s West Loop just before the venue was closed down due to zoning and licensing issues. They performed a long and remarkable set that incorporated sprinklings of each of their four albums. Much of the show was like story time in kindergarten - the audience sat on the floor encircling Koster as he performed holiday songs from The Singing Saw at Christmastime, off-stage and without amplification.
Julian Koster - Jingle Bells
Toward the end of the night, we played a game: everyone in the audience wrote a memory on a piece of paper, folded it, and dropped it in a bucket. We followed Koster outside where he lit them on fire, and one at a time we jumped over the fire while concentrating of our specific memories. What the point was, I don’t know. But it was fun, no one caught on fire, and Koster ended the night with an improvised song based on a memory he pulled out of the flames. When the show finished and the band began packing up, I of course took the opportunity to drunkenly profess my love for Koster and though clearly creeped out, he obliged me with a hug.
Before I came across The Music Tapes, I was already familiar with Koster’s other collaborations, Elephant 6 and Neutral Milk Hotel, who seem to have lately come out of hiding and are inspiring long-time fans to rediscover old favorites. But The Music Tapes take prominence in my collection, specifically For Clouds and Tornadoes, which I find myself returning to again and again, particularly during winter when the warm, cozy melodies offer comfort from the biting Chicago cold.
The Music Tapes - Freeing Song for Reindeer
Top Ten of Twenty Ten: Sara J.'s Picks (Part Two)
5. Isles and Glaciers – Hearts of Lonely People
I loved this album before I ever even heard it. Now, you may be thinking to yourselves, “Sara, you’re dumb. That’s not even possible. You can’t love something and not even know what it is!” LIKE HELL I CAN’T! Sorry, I got excited. Anyways, yes, I can loves something before I know what it is. Why? Well, because this particular album is a collaboration of three of my favorite vocalists, Jonny Craig of Emarosa, Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil, and former Chiodos front man, Craig Owens. Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I may or may not be in love with Craig Owens. Now that I think of it, some people who don’t know me are probably well aware of this fact. I don’t hide it! All that aside, this is by far one of the best collaborations I have ever heard. These three were born to sing together. There was absolutely nothing that could go wrong with this album from the very first note. “Viola Lion” is absolutely one of the sexiest songs I’ve ever heard. I don’t mean sexy as in it has really sexy lyrics or anything, I just can’t think of any other word that I could possibly use to describe it. Basically, all I’m trying to say is that you want to listen to this album. It’s honestly just that good.
Isles And Glaciers - Viola Lion
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Tags: Best of 2010, Egon's Unicat, Envy on the Coast, Isles and Glaciers, Pierce the Veil, Sara Jacobsen, The Dear Hunter
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