A Conversation With:
Jordan C. Weinstock of
american poetry club
There are few bands I can claim to have discovered at the moment of their inception — or, at least, upon their first release. Jordan C. Weinstock’s american poetry club (apc) is one of them, however, and glad to be here, etcetera is a project that enamoured me on first listen. I’ve user Conmaniac to thank for that, as well as for this chance to interview Jordan. The fact that We Are Beautiful, Even When We Are Broken! is apc’s second full-length within the span of a year is no detriment to my interest either. With We Are Beautiful…, apc have crafted a seamless opus, and an immaculate piece of emo music. I sat down with Jordan to speak with him about it. —BlushfulHippocrene
Blush: So, to start: care to explain for our readers, who – or what – is american poetry club?
Jordan: [a]merican poetry club (apc) started out as just me, with a little help here-and-there from a few pals. It was mostly a side project to my old band The Chair Enthusiasts. I was having a tough time as my mom went through chemotherapy, and writing songs was an active coping method of mine, so those first songs were just stabs at helping myself feel better. I felt they didn’t quite fit the Chair Enthusiasts vibe, and I really like coming up with band names [laughs] so I decided to make them into…
Sputnikmusic Staff Rankings: Top 10 Say Anything Songs
Preface:
As one of pop-punk’s most beloved bands, Say Anything rose to fame during the peak of the scene’s early-mid 2000’s success. They weren’t merely the beneficiaries of a booming genre, however; the band helped define what pop-punk meant, and they continue to influence up-and-coming artists spanning multiple genres today. Their work ranges from silly/borderline offensive to earnest and heartfelt, but for the most part Say Anything are just a damned happy band. At their best, they’ve featured intelligent, addictive, irony-filled lyrics with diverse, catchy melodies that leave nary a space for filler. Say Anything were – and some may argue still are – a staple of the pop-punk genre that will always resonate with fans. As a result, our staff felt compelled to rank their top ten songs in a definitive list. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments below – or just jam the spotify playlist and sing along at the top of your lungs. Admit it (!!!), you know you want to.
(10) An Insult to the Dead
from the album In Defense of the Genre
As of this writing I am the last (or among the last) to submit my blurb for our project, despite a weekend of long train rides and a relatively slow Monday. “An Insult to the Dead” is a treatise on one…
The topic of enjoying and supporting artists of questionable moral reputation is one that I often find myself dwelling upon and discussing with others. The variety of takes on the subject are wide and interesting and, unlike a multitude of other topics, a large amount of these positions are thoughtful and sensical. The topic itself is rooted in concepts of personal ethics, the place of art in society, and how much the artist’s views influence their own work, all of which are thought provoking topics on their own. Yet, no one can objectively say how we should feel and which art should strike us as worth our time (heaven knows Sput has tried…). Yet, still, the topic is endlessly interesting to me, as it’s one that encompasses so much of how we, as people, view the world around us.
At what point does an artist’s actions overshadow their art? Are more personal records more susceptible to being tainted? How much does one’s opinion stem from their own personal morals? Such questions are ones I see being flirted with and danced around often, evolving a specific instance into a much broader topic. Yet, in terms of answers, I somewhat draw a blank. Instead, these questions lead me to even more open thoughts, such as “where do we draw the line” (I’ll be the first to admit said line can be blurry for me) and “can we even justify something as subjective to what messages and frequencies resonate…
Sputnikmusic Staff Rankings: The Top 10 National Songs
Preface:
It’s long been the subject of debate around this site: What are the best National songs? Are they even possible to rank? Have they ever even made a bad song? While this list is unlikely to put an end to any longstanding arguments, it does represent the current staff’s carefully curated top 10 tracks for one of modern indie-rock’s most discussed and celebrated artists. So if you are somehow just getting into the National (you’re at least ten years late!), these songs represent an excellent snapshot of the band’s best moments across seven albums and nearly two decades of making music. As for everyone else, feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section below!
(10) The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness
from the album Sleep Well Beast
“The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” could serve as one of the best introductions for newcomers to The National. The song navigates a wide variety of terrain and functions almost too well as an accessible track on an album noted for more experimental leanings overall. There’s even a guitar solo, a rarity for the band, as they let loose and truly surprise listeners more used to their downtrodden side. Matt Berninger releases his frustrations in the soaring chorus alongside female vocals and subtle orchestral arrangements, making for a truly special and cathartic moment…
Allegory and Self was a watershed moment in Psychic TV’s timeline (as much as a band that morphs, dissembles and fledges chronically can cultivate a cogent turning point). It had taken everything that came before them, everything that was happening around them and threw in a few instants of prescience, and unceremoniously flung it forth. Folk, psych, new-wave, art punk, industrial squeals, noise, minimalism, ambient and a dozen of other sub-sub-genres came together in decidedly ungraceful fashion to make something vilely pretty. “Thee Dweller”, better than any other track on the LP stands for it all – difficult and punishing, it stomps on, amid howls, muttered mantras, noisy outbursts and a synthetic backdrop. A good song to open a night of no sleep.
Bristol post-punk antiheroes The Pop Group recorded their dub-punk freakouts to mixed acclaim. I don’t know if they understood at the time that they were making one of the most important albums of its time. Dance music for the infirm, “Thief of Fire” permeates the cranium the way sickness does – against a tide of instinct and protection, to forge something eerier and better.
When Pete Doherty sang about Albion as some dreamy ultra-tolerant place where the subversive felt normal, I doubt many fans knew that he’d pilfered the concept from Ted Milton – poet, marionette despot and rotten saxophonist. Blurt, his art rock outfit, were driven by a rough-edged garage band propping up Milton’s manic recitals and saxophone shrieks.…
Hasaan Ibn Ali (born William Henry Langford Jr.) had played with every bop heavy throughout his life, from young impresarios like Clifford Brown all the way down to Miles Davis at his creative peak. He’d lead his own ensembles, figured as a key aspect in several iconic live sessions, and his layered, intricate and highly pliant playing style has long since been considered to be the main inspiration behind Coltrane’s sheets of sounds recording approach. The sole studio recording the legendary pianist has ever figured on however was a collaborative session with the Max Roach Quintet. The opening piece off the album is a thrilling show of his prowess on the keys, loose and unafraid to go into odd corners and the perfect way to kick off the first installment of this little jukebox.
Swedish new-wavers with a propensity to slide into prolonged dub dirges, Commando M. Pigg merged post-punk, krautrock and deep dark dense bass into the sort of extended thickly-atmospheric dance numbers that immediately start pulsing off in your temples when you take molly in a dimly-lit pub.
Sexily melancholic, this patient slow dance tune by The Raincoats is packed with so many brilliant little touches (trumpet squeaks, throaty ululating, penny whistles, Caribbean percussion). It all comes together into a busy ecosystem that sways you into oblivion. Available on Rough Trade re-issues of Moving, the band’s third full-length.
The powers of capitalism that be forced my hand when Yelderbert’s neon shine burst onto my Facebook feed. I seldom click on advertising campaigns, but I’m pretty happy I did because this Melbourne producer has been working away at some rather unique flavours of experimental pop in a way that’s both invigorating and wonderfully homely. And just as well; while getting lost in Canada recently, I reached out to Yelderbert to breathe some Aussie air and learn about the man behind the button pushing. —ramon.
Ramon: Kicking things off, Yelderbert. Dope name. Give me the what, why, who, when, and how when it comes to your origin story.
Yelderbert: Well, to be honest, it means absolutely nothing, and that’s more or less the point. I don’t want to attempt to be trendy. I’m also aware that, as a white Australian, I’m fairly devoid of rich cultural context, so I wanted something that didn’t mean anything. Yelderbert was just a word I came up with one time and it means nothing. It doesn’t really sound close to anything else; there wasn’t even anything on Google when I searched it. And while it’s pretty clunky, I just thought, “That’s my word, it came organically out of me, and it’s not trying to be anything except itself,” which is fairly analogous to the way I make music.
Very interesting. That brings up a few different pathways, but let’s start from the top. You brought up your own cultural…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 11th, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the artwork (if we remember…) so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Featured Release
Beach House – 7
Genre: Dream Pop / Neo-Psychedelica
Label: Sub Pop
The ethereal, sensual nature felt in many of 7‘s tracks is certifiable Beach House, with the darker, moodier tones complementing Victoria Legrand’s ephemeral vocals as she maneuvers in and out of each channel. The record is also masterful in its juxtaposition: black and white, bright and dim, glamour vs. simplicity. Swells of hazy distortion, pulsating percussion, and captivating Aphex Twin-meets-My Bloody Valentine guitars and synths coalesce for a seamless listen from cinematic start to alluring finish. Beach House are renowned for their consistency, and the additional brushstrokes incorporated into 7 help elevate their dream pop sensibilities to even greater heights.
– Sample List of Releases: May 11th, 2018 –
Abraham – Look, Here Comes the Dark!
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Pelagic
Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
Genre: Psychedelic Pop
Label: Domino
Bad Wolves – Disobey
Genre: Groove Metal / Alternative Metal
Label: Eleven Seven…
Based in Vancouver, B.C., Anchoress are a band who have formulated a unique sound rooted in melodic hardcore and post-hardcore. If I were to describe their distinguishing features, it’d be their reflectiveness and unmatched ability to warm the heart – there’s a perfect combination of fighting spirit and wit going on. Their most recent record, a full-length album called Anchoress is Ruining My Life, was released in 2016 and can be found free on Bandcamp; they also have other albums and singles available on the platform. I talked to Anchoress; singer, Rob Hoover, about a variety of topics, ranging from the band’s ethos to to challenges that they face as a modern-day independent band. —Claire
Claire: Your last album, Anchoress is Ruining My Life, showed a marked stylistic shift: it’s less abrasive, more controlled, than prior releases. For instance, T.E.P.F.K.A.L., released just 5 months before, is noticeably more fiery. How would you describe the process that led to the distinct style of Anchoress is Ruining My Life?
Rob: Yeah, absolutely. It was very intentional on our part that we wanted something a lot more precise when we were working on this record. Our previous record Crime & Compass was written and recorded very quickly to fit into a timetable with a tour we had planned, and as a result it felt kind of hectic and we made some choices for expedience sake that we felt made parts of that album suffer.
May the 4th be with you. As Gandalf said: we hope you live long and prosper or whatever.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 4th, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Featured Release
Frank Turner – Be More Kind
Genre: Folk Punk / Pop Rock
Label: Xtra Mile / Polydor / Interscope
As evidenced by the album art and title, the central theme of Frank Turner’s newest release is one of empathy and compassion in a time of ever-pervasive social and political turmoil. Be More Kind has several tracks that seem tailor-made for radio or your local Target – think more along the lines of “The Way I Tend to Be” from Tape Deck Heart, less anything pre-England Keep My Bones – with the hardest-hitting songs being “1933” and possibly album highlight “Brave Face”. Turner’s pop sensibilities are still strong, though, thanks to his backing band The Sleeping Souls sounding better than ever. In songs like “Little Changes”, “21st Century Survival Blues”, and even “Make America Great Again” (which might otherwise be a throwaway song without the humorous video – see 4:08 for an example), the warmer tones envelop like a blanket, and…
In the spirit of the NFL draft, we’ve asked Boomer to help us out with the news this week.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of April 27th, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Featured Release
Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer
Genre: Art Pop / Contemporary R&B
Label: Bad Boy
Almost five years after the genre-bending The Electric Lady, Ms. Monae continues her marvelous run. In a BBC Radio 1 interview with Annie Mac, Monae disclosed about Prince: “It’s hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me.” Prince’s presence can be heard throughout the record, and sure enough, that delectable synth line in single “Make Me Feel” was allegedly penned by The Purple One, per his DJ, Lenka Paris. Other highlights on the record include “Americans” – arguably the best politically-tinged song since the last American presidential election – along with “I Got the Juice” (featuring Pharrell Williams) and “PYNK” (in collaboration with Grimes).
Did you leave your milk and cookies out for Willie Nelson?
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of April 20th, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Featured Release
A Perfect Circle – Eat the Elephant
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label: BMG
[Review]
“Why does Maynard look like he belongs in year 2000 Mudvayne?” –TheSpirit
Almost 15 years since Thirteenth Step (because nobody really wants to talk about eMOTIVe, right?), Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel, and the rest of the band return with an appreciably moody offering, where themes of accountability, entitlement, and mortality percolate throughout the record. While Maynard acknowledged in a Rolling Stone interview that musicians might “not want to be too topical, because then you date your art”, his observations in contemporary times might continue to be just as applicable in another 15 years.
Apparently the latest trend for Sputnik darlings in their music videos is to stare at the camera at random intervals, although it’s unclear if “The Doomed” took inspiration of Steven Wilson. /s
I must confess that this is not my idea; having recently come across Tom Breihan’s ‘The Number Ones’ column for Stereogum, and in turn, Tom Ewing’s ‘Popular’ column for Freaky Trigger, I felt inspired to approach the format from my own geographical perspective; that is, review every single to reach number 1 on the ARIA Charts/Kent Report, and assign a numerical grade from 1-10. In the interest of brevity (and some pertinence), the column shall begin from July 1974, the date in which the initial Kent Report was first published commercially, and work forwards from there. Dependent upon time constraints and general interest, publishing of these articles will, similar to Ewing and Breihan’s columns, be daily. And now…
Billy Swan – “I Can Help”
27 January 1975 (1 Week).
Parallel to novelty songs are one-hit wonders; not always novel, yet always desperately grasping at the tendrils of good taste, and always indebted to whatever timeframe birthed them. Consider Billy Swan; a country troubadour who nevertheless saw “I Can Help” succeed as his only hit, better yet a hit that only lasted a week at the top of the charts. At no point does it dwell in the margins of camp, though it nevertheless sounds like a mid-‘70s record, all acoustic jangle and line-stepping waltz.
Compositionally, Swan admits that the whole thing came together in less than an hour; the lyrics are plucked at random, as evidence by the barrage of platitudes and odes to…
We’re not superstitious, just a little stitious (hence the delay).
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of April 13, 2018. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Featured Release
The Damned – Evil Spirits
Genre: Goth-tinged Punk
Label: Search and Destroy, Spinefarm UK
While this UK outfit might not always be mentioned in the same breath as The Clash or Sex Pistols, Evil Spirits is The Damned’s 11th LP and first in over a decade. Joining long-time stalwarts Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian is returning bassist Paul Gray, while the band recruited producer Tony Visconti due to their affinity for his work on David Bowie’s Blackstar. Lead single “Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow” and “Procrastination” are two highlights that showcase The Damned in 2018.
– Sample List of Releases: April 13, 2018 –
A Hawk and a Hacksaw – Forest Bathing
Genre: Eastern-tinged Indie Folk
Label: L.M. Dupli-cation
A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned
Genre: Noise Rock
Label: Dead Oceans
Alexis Taylor – Beautiful Thing
Genre: Alternative / Indie
Label: Domino
I must confess that this is not my idea; having recently come across Tom Breihan’s ‘The Number Ones’ column for Stereogum, and in turn, Tom Ewing’s ‘Popular’ column for Freaky Trigger, I felt inspired to approach the format from my own geographical perspective; that is, review every single to reach number 1 on the ARIA Charts/Kent Report, and assign a numerical grade from 1-10. In the interest of brevity (and some pertinence), the column shall begin from July 1974, the date in which the initial Kent Report was first published commercially, and work forwards from there. Dependent upon time constraints and general interest, publishing of these articles will, similar to Ewing and Breihan’s columns, be daily. And now…
Daryl Braithwaite – “You’re My World”
6 January – 20 January 1975 (3 Weeks).
Perhaps one of the most underrated delights of exploring a history of Australian pop music is that I can accord some attention to songwriters that have either had a minimal presence in the US and the UK, or just plainly didn’t make much of an international dent to begin with. Daryl Braithwaite is one of those performers; having fronted Sherbet, he produced some of Australia’s biggest anthems including “Summer Love” and “Howzat,” whilst topping the charts in his own right with “One Summer” and “The Horses.” As an inductee to the ARIA Hall of Fame, he’s a national treasure; to those North of the equator, he’s Daryl Braithwaite.
