So as I was listening to Grizzly Bear's latest effort Veckatimest I was immediately struck by the song "Cheerleader". It only took a few seconds for my ears to perk up. I had heard this before. The lonely drone of the drums followed by the sedated pitter-patter of the bass was something I was very familiar with.
WARNING SIGN!
Take a listen.
The musical similarities between music's past and present on Veckatimest didn't stop there. As I continued to listen I was transported back in time again. This time, back to 1967, back to the last 30 seconds of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life". Grizzly's Bear's intro on "Dory" held the same essence of this Sgt. Pepper song's outro.
Unfortunately I don't have the proper software to easily cut out the first chunk of the song, so only the truly interested with be able to live through the first 5 minutes. However, if you are too impatient to listen to "A Day in the Life" you have bigger issues :)
My third and final example of musical influence comes from the Dirty Projector's "Two Doves" - off of their truly wonderful album Bitte Orca - and it's tie to Nico's "These Days".
They both open with an acoustic guitar that is quickly accompanied by whimsical strings. Enter the sweet yet haunting female vocals and.... VIOLA!
Now don't get me wrong. I don't find fault in either Grizzly Bear or Dirty Projectors. Bitte Orca is one of my favorite albums to come out of 2009 so far and I can't stop listening to "Fine for Now". In cases like this it's nice when the history of music seems to connect.
Just don't try and convince me that Flo Rida's reworking of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a good thing..... because it most definitely is not!
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