Brent Laverty
Richmond, VA / Designer, Student, Writer, Activist, Vegan
Animal Collective / Strawberry Jam
Ugh, Strawberry Jam. This album has been the topic of numerous heated discussions amongst my friends and I. Personally, I hated it. Absolutely hated it. Nearly every track. I thought it was unlistenable, repulsive, jarringly obnoxious and a step backward for a band which I have always enjoyed for their deviation.
Why is it on this list, you say?
It sparked some truly interesting discussions about music, I suppose.
Joy Division Discography
I’ve always admired Joy Division but I never dove too deep. I’d played “Transmission” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and various other hand-picked tracks to death in years prior, but never really threw Unknown Pleasures or Closer into my CD player and listened to them in all of their glory, from beginning to end, my attention undivided. I finally did, and I’m enthralled. There aren't words to describe how important this band is to contemporary music. I now find myself looking upon a great many bands which shamelessly rip off the Joy Division approach with utter distain. Do something original, please.
Joy Division biopic, Control
The best movie of 2007. Superbly written, acted and directed. The live performances were near-religious experiences for me. The cast actually performed every song. Their renditions of Leaders of Men, Digital, Transmission, Insight, She's Lost Control, Candidate, Dead Souls, and Disorder were amazingly dead-on. Control is easily the next best thing to actually traveling back in time to catch Joy Division live.
The Clientele @ Satellite Ballroom (Wednesday, May 9)
I adore The Clientele. I had high hopes for some perfect live renditions of my favorite songs, but alas, their gig was rife with technical difficulties. It was oddly amusing to watch their frustration fester as they scurried around the stage tinkering with weathered wires held together by electrical tape while mid-song. They soldiered on. They were charismatic and utterly adorable. Aww.
The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
Epic.
The Fall Discography
Another English band to which I had never devoted enough listening time. Mark E. Smith’s poetic, slurred and often nonsensical delivery is priceless.
Deerhunter / Cryptograms
From the onset I was absorbed into a whirling sonic abyss that refuses to let me go until the last seconds of the album. It’s beautiful, synesthesic and inspiring. I haven't felt like this since I first experienced Loveless.