By Jason Diamond
For a long time, I’ve been interested with figuring out what makes Phil Elverum (above) tick. His earlier work in The Microphones comes close to touching the genius of Neutral Milk Hotel and some of the finer work from the whole Elephant Six collective.
His newest work under his moniker of Mt. Eerie is called Wind’s Poem, and it is said to be influenced by David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and black metal. It’s a textured, doomy affair that almost sounds like it could sit at the same table with the avant-metal of Sunn O))) and Earth.
NPR debuted is streaming the album right now.
.24 in 24.
There is something very, very right about Frank Turner that I have been trying to put my finger on for the last few weeks. It could be the fact that he sounds like he could be Billy Bragg’s son hellbent on being the British Bruce Springsteen – all for the people and whatnot. Or maybe it’s all the covers I’ve seen him do all over Youtube – from Queen to Shellac – he seems to do it all.
He’s got a new album coming out called Poetry of the Deed on Sept. 24th, and in anticipation of the date, and to celebrate the release of the first single, “The Road”, he played 24 shows in 24 hours, and made it into a video.
.Songs for dead soldiers.
Britain buried it’s last surviving World War 1 soldier today, and the day before, Radiohead released a song about Harry Patch.
While I’m not the biggest Radiohead fan, I was moved by “Harry Patch (In Memory of)” – especially the string arrangement by Jonny Greenwood, who in the last few years has won my praise as one damn fine composer.
About the song, Thom Yorke said, “Recently the last remaining UK veteran of the 1st world war Harry Patch died at the age of 111. I had heard a very emotional interview with him a few years ago on the Today program on Radio4. The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me. It became the inspiration for a song that we happened to record a few weeks before his death.”