arcster.com Blog » Music

New song from Malkmus and the Jicks

arcster — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:13:10 +0000

My initial reaction to “Senator” was somewhat tepid, but it’s growing on me. Tigers is closer to what I expected from a Stephen Malkmus song with Beck at the helm. It even has a steel guitar – first time since … Continue reading →

A modest proposal

arcster — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:46:38 +0000

I’m just going to throw this out there, but is it possible that Stephen Malkmus’ line The drowsy blond carouses on the avenue is the greatest use of vowel sounds since William Butler Yeats’ And live alone in the bee-loud … Continue reading →

New Dylan video

arcster — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:04:29 +0000

Video from Beyond Here Lies Nothin’

Crosseyed and Painful

arcster — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:02:35 +0000

A correction to my quotes page may be in order. I could have sworn Crosseyed and Painless says “Facts are useful in emergencies” But reading the lyric sheet on Remain in Light – and listening to the live version – indicates the correct lyric is “useless”

Maybe it’s one of those deliberate ambiguities like the “count me in/count me out” on Revolution.

Question

arcster — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:54:45 +0000

I can think of British pop/rock songs that mock (or at least mimic) American country music – Roxy Music’s If There Is Something, The Rolling Stones’ Dear Doctor and Loving Cup. But are there American country songs that mock British … Continue reading →

Dylan’s rebirth

arcster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:53:55 +0000

There’s a line on Bye & Bye – “I’m sittin’ on my watch so I can be on time.” Such a line would be unthinkable on Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks. But Hank Williams might have sung such a line.

The singer of Floater (Too Much to Ask) even admonishes school boys and girls to sit near the front “if you want to learn anything.” The same Dylan who has consistently spoken of the unhappiness of his own education and his general hatred of school.

The songwriter of Time Out of Mind, Love & Theft, and Modern Times is very unlike the writer of Bringin’ It All Back Home. Even Oh Mercy scarcely points the direction he was heading. It’s probable he didn’t know.