Music You Should (And CAN) Listen To, #1
Posted by Erik Rupard on February 3rd, 2008
The first in a series. Eventually, I’d like to upload a few mixtapes (discs, actually, with about 80 minutes of music) with themes like “So You Think You Hate Country Music?” and “Great Songs You’ve Never Heard,” etc. But first:
A great band with a terrible name (after a DNA song), Blonde Redhead has perfected the layered guitar sound I love so much (Italian twin brothers Amadeo and Simone Pace), and added to it something distinctly different: the wispy, dream-like voice of Japanese art student Kazu Makino. It is impossible to describe this voice (which is also multi-tracked and layered), but it floats above the modest heaviness of the backing track. Kazu has seen some sad times (she was trampled by a horse two albums ago, nearly lost her life, did have a bunch of broken bones, wired jaw), and her voice, even in the happy songs, soungs distant and longing.
The song I’ve got for you is “23″ from their latest album of the same name. The groove is in full effect here around the time that you hear the wispy voice singing “He was a friend of mine, son of God.” Of the noisier noises in the world, it probably doesn’t get any more beautiful than this. Enjoy.
By the way: more Blonde Redhead, along with a bunch of other good stuff is at your beck and call (actually, probably just your “beck”) in the little blue box to your left, conveniently labeled “BOX.” Have at it.