our world is gonna change nothing

I was going to make this entry a "currently listening to," but I have to make it a full entry. I bought The Stand-Ins, by Okkervil River, a few days ago, and it's all I've listened to since. This has to be a review. A review is what I will write. When we left Okkervil River at the end of The Stage Names they were setting sail on the John Allyn Smith. The Stage Names was a symmetrical journey through the hardships of an up and coming band touring nonstop, finding fleeting love on the road, forging flimsy acquaintances and forgetting who you are and where you came from. They sang the traditional "this is the worst trip I've ever been on" for the last song, vowing to leave the road because they want the old comforts of home. When we find them at the beginning of The Stand-Ins they are still sailing. "Lost Coastlines" opens the album, a testament to failure and loss of direction. The more they try to leave, the harder it is to go home. All of this comes after rumors of Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff having conflicting artistic vision, Meiburg breaking free from Okkervil River to pursue his side project Shearwater. Much of The Stand-Ins speaks of this parting of ways. "Singer Songwriter" is a tune that gets stuck in my head like an anchored screw, and in it Sheff lets loose. "You've got taste/You've got taste/What a waste that that's all that you have." One could take it as a diatribe if it weren't for the nagging suspicion I have that Sheff is simultaneously chastising himself. Here they are, Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, two strong egos at the forefront of a strong indie band, forging new ground with every song, every verse, both of them well versed and well read intellectuals, and at the core of it all perhaps there's nothing but empty space. "And our world is gonna change nothing." Take a look at the road you've traveled and ask yourself how much of it was a circle. It's this duality that has me writing tonight. I read early previews of The Stand-Ins that called it a sequel to last year's The Stage Names. While last year all the songs were about the road, The Stand-Ins is all about going home and realizing you can't go home again. A part of you still lives on the road, and as long as something inside you lives on the road you belong to the road. "On Tour With Zykos" begins as another possible diatribe towards Meiburg, like Sheff is throwing him out of their house. "Hey thanks John/Go sing songs/Go rock on/Roll your crew on down the road to the next sold out show." It quickly changes from break-up to the day after, going home, smoking a bowl and watching television when you should be doing the most profound work of your life, hanging out at a bar with the MGD flies and missing someone. As the band grows, as the two egos grow too conflicting and eventually separate, all he's left with is loss. The Stand-Ins speaks volumes of crossroads. Okkervil River is a band in transition. The Stand-Ins finds its strength in Will Sheff's uncertainty, and it finds its success in his willingness to strip bare and show the naked truth. I'll be listening to it for a long time and lamenting that I won't be seeing them on tour this fall. By way of a PS, "Calling and Not Calling My Ex" is this year's sleeper Christmas track.

provide the proper documentation

One reason I keep digital cable around is so I can enjoy the brilliance that is Sundance Channel and IFC. Independent movies wear on me after a while, and long ago I came to the conclusion that “independent” does not necessarily mean “good.” The same is true of independent music, but that’s beside the point. The reason I like Sundance and IFC so much is because of their willingness to show documentaries. I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a good documentary. It must be the academic in me resurfacing whenever I see someone’s hard work and research come to life in an interesting and engaging way. I think it began back in high school when I saw part of When We Were Kings, the documentary about Muhammad Ali. Historical fiction only goes so far and focuses on what it wants, all in the name of entertainment. While documentaries suffer from the same malady as any expository work and only focus on what the filmmaker wants, I can generally tell when the artist has taken time to cover as many bases as possible in order to provide a broader perspective on his or her topic. When they edit and assemble their work in a way that captures my interest, a good documentary can trump most motion pictures on any given day. Yesterday started the way that most football Sundays do for me. I turned on Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN and watched about thirty minutes before I realized they had nothing to tell me, and then the channel surfing began. First let me clarify what channel surfing is for me. I surf the digital guide before I start flipping channels. My rounds go through the Military Channel, AMC, and the Encore movie channels, so it is a limited surfing, and if I don’t find something else interesting I will either keep watching what I’m watching, turn it off and play Resident Evil 4, or turn it off and listen to music. Yesterday I found something else in my search. IFC had a documentary, and right now I’m kicking myself because I didn’t write down the name. That’s how good a researcher I am. I don’t even take time to write down the title of something I’m going to write about later. It was called something like Split: A Divided America, although I ran an Amazon search and nothing came up, so I could be wrong. But it’s about American politics and how the idea of discourse is completely alien to modern society because our political beliefs have become so terribly polarized. What ultimately happens in modern times is political discourse turns into a personal argument complete with battle lines and knowing your enemy. The filmmaker/narrator interviewed people from across the political spectrum, and this was what impressed me the most. He talked to people on both sides (even now I’m using his language), Republican and Democrat alike, high ranking officials, pastors, academics, editors and reporters and commentators. Yes there were some who let their personal views show their polarization as they talked, but the vast majority agreed with each other and gave corroborative testimonies. The only thing that pulled me away was my desire to see Brett Favre in a New York Jets uniform playing my Miami Dolphins and Chad Pennington. It was a painful wrench, but I did it. I am a complicated man, but I was thoroughly fascinated and enlightened. There’s just something about a good documentary. I love absorbing information, and it might have something to do with my inability to finish a book that draws me to them. I’m not ashamed to admit it. At least I’m using my Brave New World ADD in constructive ways by seeking out educational material. I know I’ve found a good documentary when I’m thinking about it days afterward. A good movie will change you, but a good documentary will transform you. Some documentaries you should check out: Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Love; The Last Waltz; The Fog of War; Iraq For Sale: the War Profiteers; Bowling For Columbine; Punk: Attitude; Who Killed the Electric Car?; Loose Change (I had to include it; you should watch it once just to see what the talk is about; take it however you want) Recently listening to: Steve Winwood. A lot of Steve Winwood. I love Steve Winwood. “Gimme Some Lovin’” is my new theme song, and the fact that he was 18 at the oldest when he laid down those vocals is…I can’t even think of it. The voice of God. God Almighty.