Too often I find myself listening to whatever’s next – the newest of the new. The hour-glass view of just what’s bubbling this week, a symptom of what Ypsi-area pop outfit Saturday Looks Good To Me penned as “…the ever-present new times condition.”
It’s either whatever’s newest or its some junkfood-ish afternoon snack of some old favorite from five or ten years ago, albums as old shirts I’d thought I’d worn out but re-freshen with some frebreeze. Returning to old jams or shuffling through whatever’s under the buzzlight today or tomorrow means that whatever was bumping yesterday is just an echo.
I had an epiphany and it wasn’t entirely Daft Punk’s fault. It was just the timing of Random Access Memories – fatefully scorching its way into our physical/temporal sphere like a neon-flame-wreathed ion-propulsion Delorean -at this moment, just about the halfway point of the year. Some have said: meh. Others have said: holy fucking shitballs! Suffice it to say, it is their most epic production to date since the Parisian duo started re-imagining modern raves and bringing nuanced artistry back to the domain of disco…
But, if you think about it, we’ve heard this before. When I actually took a minute and stopped aural injections of the brand new or the old cozy‘s, I realized that these last few months have brought a considerable cache of “epic productions,” or at least album’s with thick back-stories, their releases drummed up into events -if merely because they are embossed as next or new chapters, continuing music sagas (starring certain iconic bands) that we’ve grown familiar with, enchanted-by, or completely intoxicated with their mix of kool-aid.
David Bowie came back to life. My Bloody Valentine finally let their shoegaze cat out of the bag. Black Flag (or, at least some of the old crew + Greg Ginn) are getting back into the van, with a new album. Even locals like Saturday Looks Good To Me got back into the groove with their first album in six years: One Kiss Ends It All. Oh, and I almost forgot: ADULT. is back, also, with The Way Things Fall…
ADULT. Perform at the MOVEMENT Electronic Music Festival (Red Bull Music Academy Stage) 5:30 pm – Sunday
Saturday Looks Good To Me plays a release-show party at the Loving Touch (Ferndale) on Friday – with Secret Twins and El Dee
This article appears in May 15-21, 2013.
