I can't believe it's still California Month, tremor #55:
The Autumns - "Boy With The Aluminum Stilts"
(Risk Records, 1999)
I wrote this entry a few weeks ago and it vanished on me, so this is a more bare-bones version of it that I'm writing from memory, sorry. The quality of the song itself is readily evident, so I don't need to sit here and explain why I'm posting it. It's really close to the perfect song, and even the way it comes to a sudden end is pretty cool.
I got into The Autumns in 1999 or 2000 via the shoegaze-oriented Blisscent mailing list, and I guess I bought this CD around that time. I found out they played in New Orleans in December of '99 (I think) and literally not a single person showed up. I don't even know if they played, or just left for the next city. I can't believe I missed it. This band had everything needed to become huge: a cool name, an ideal producer (Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins), passionate songs (verging on "emo" territory, in fact), pretension, cool haircuts, tight shirts, proximity to Hollywood, etc. As for pretension, this album is actually titled In The Russet Gold Of This Vain Hour. It came out in 2000, but "Boy With..." was released as a 3-track CD single in '99. (Local store The Mushroom has it for a few bucks, and I plan on going back to snag it any day now. It has a cover of "Garlands" by Cocteau Twins.) The Autumns had a pretty fervent online fanbase, and I assume they still do, though I'm not sure if they are still recording or touring. I had their debut album The Angel Pool and debut EP Suicide At Strell Park, but sold them both long ago. I should probably undo that.
The music video is not superb, and I doubt it was ever shown on MTV:
Went to Winston's Pub last night for the first time and had some interesting happenings in less than an hour; drove Vanessa's new car for the first time while the music of pop phenom Rihanna was blasted. Apparently every man, woman and child in America has a huge crush on her, and I can't say I blame them, but she is one messed-up individual.
Some trees flooded by the Mississippi River in Bridge City, LA; 6/13/08, not long before sundown:
Maybe it looks mundane, but to me those willow leaves at the top center really add the most amount of interest to it. Especially since that species (Salix nigra) is considered a "junk tree" by plant geeks, since it's fast-growing, weak-wooded, and and susceptible to lots of diseases. It's pretty much the predominant tree along the edge of the entire Miss. River, since it can grow on pure rocks and can take lots of flooding. Anyway, I like how the willow leaves look like fingers or claws in this shot, and the pleated look of the water's surface shows that there are lots of tumultuous cross-currents going on underneath, due to all the big boulders there that you can't see. It's just a really queasy and ominous photo overall, at least in my mind. I remember this night well because it was insanely hot and humid, and I ran diagonals on the concrete sidewall of the levee, and when I got home, all the TV stations were doing lengthy tributes to Tim Russert, who had died that day. I wish there were more dudes like him in our political media.
Planets with similar climates: U2 - "The Unforgettable Fire" (1984), Sunny Day Real Estate - "Disappear" (2000), National Skyline - "A Million Circles" (2001), Simple Minds - "Someone Somewhere In Summertime" (1982), The Joy Formidable - "Whirring" (2008).
No comments:
Post a Comment