Music Banter - View Single Post - Badlittlekitten's top 50 indie/alternative tracks of this century so far.

Badlittlekitten · 01-11-2011, 12:56 PM

38
Menomena - Muscle N' Flo
Friend And Foe
2007
Portland's multi instrumentalist trio Menomena used a unique method to record Friend And Foe - with a home made computer program they each recorded individual improvised takes that are looped, copied, pasted, regarded and then disregarded, seemingly at random. Yet some how, it all fits together like a jigsaw and makes a great art rock LP. It's a rare beast, in that there isn't a skippaple track on it, yet I struggle to find a stand-out track. I went with 'Muscle N' Flo', the opening song and a fine example of what the album is all about. It opens with some stumbling drums which instantly crash to a halt as the vocals come in with the memorable line, 'Oh in the morning I stumble my way towards the mirror and my makeup' (sung by a male. Stumble is an apt word here) over a bass rumble. After the drums have come and gone again, a twangy guitar slides into a lovely piano riff which briefly settles things (writing this list has made me realise how many twinkles of piano I adore, and how many are important to a song.) before the vocal harmonies of the chorus come in and guitars itch and scratch all about the place. The Moment is at 1:45 when, as the percussion drops out again, that piano returns with a riff that seems to defy gravity while some organs discreetly moan and drone, all accompanied by the lyric, 'Now here I stand a broken man'. Some of the most bewitching songs peak with the quietest, most intimate of moments, and this is one of them. The line 'There's so much more left to do, when I'm not young but I'm not through', is one of the many examples of what I like about this album; beyond the trickery and experimentalism lies a cutting reminder of them old fashioned human attributes, like hope.

01-11-2011, 12:56 PM	#23 (permalink)
Badlittlekitten And then there was music Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Near Wild Heaven Posts: 287	38 Menomena - Muscle N' Flo Friend And Foe 2007 Portland's multi instrumentalist trio Menomena used a unique method to record Friend And Foe - with a home made computer program they each recorded individual improvised takes that are looped, copied, pasted, regarded and then disregarded, seemingly at random. Yet some how, it all fits together like a jigsaw and makes a great art rock LP. It's a rare beast, in that there isn't a skippaple track on it, yet I struggle to find a stand-out track. I went with 'Muscle N' Flo', the opening song and a fine example of what the album is all about. It opens with some stumbling drums which instantly crash to a halt as the vocals come in with the memorable line, 'Oh in the morning I stumble my way towards the mirror and my makeup' (sung by a male. Stumble is an apt word here) over a bass rumble. After the drums have come and gone again, a twangy guitar slides into a lovely piano riff which briefly settles things (writing this list has made me realise how many twinkles of piano I adore, and how many are important to a song.) before the vocal harmonies of the chorus come in and guitars itch and scratch all about the place. The Moment is at 1:45 when, as the percussion drops out again, that piano returns with a riff that seems to defy gravity while some organs discreetly moan and drone, all accompanied by the lyric, 'Now here I stand a broken man'. Some of the most bewitching songs peak with the quietest, most intimate of moments, and this is one of them. The line 'There's so much more left to do, when I'm not young but I'm not through', is one of the many examples of what I like about this album; beyond the trickery and experimentalism lies a cutting reminder of them old fashioned human attributes, like hope. __________________ 'Said do you feel it? Do you feel it when you TOUCH ME?. THERE'S A FIRE! THERE'S A FIRE!' The Stooges. Dirt. https://soundcloud.com/bad-little-kittens My Top 100 LPs My Top 52 Indie Tracks Of The 21st Century (incomplete) Last edited by Badlittlekitten; 01-11-2011 at 01:20 PM.