Deerhoof Rocks?

There has been a small influx of music lately that I am finding hard to determine if I really like or not. A great example of this is the song by Deerhoof "Matchbook for Maniacs." The first few times I heard this song, I dismissed it as something a bit too disjointed for me and as a song that chose some musical notes that I would not have. I wasn't ready to go so far as to say I disliked it, but I wasn't won over instantly. Now, after hearing it a dozen+ times, I can't get it out of my head. I keep humming little bits of it as they pop in my head, and I don't even really know what the lyrics are that are stuck in there. So do I like this song now? I still am not sure if the song has won me over as a fan, or if I have merely embraced it as part of my current musical experience and thus accepted it for what it is. All I know is that I do kinda like the lady's high pitched, almost exotic, voice.

Some shit I am just not at all sure about: klaxons, and joanna newsom (I used to think I was just missing something with her music, now I think it just doesn't do it for me.)

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there has also been a huge number of catchy, almost poppy, songs that are storming the indie rock scene. Most notably for me:

the ark - absolutely no decorum
pipettes - pull shapes
belle and sebastian - another sunny day
jesse malin - in the modern world
amy winehouse - tears dry on their own
the apples in stereo - can you feel it? & energy
the pernice brothers - somerville
voxtrot - trouble
bright eyes - four winds


Poppy indie music always freaks me out a bit. I always feel a bit guitly about liking it as much as I do, maybe it is just because I feel like in the mid-90's when I was really getting into the indie scene at school is was so anti-pop. Still, there is no denying that the progression of indie rock over the past decade has, in my experience, opened up the door for poppy/catchy music. Personally, I think if you just follow the New Pornographer over their three albums you can see a sort of microcasmic example of this evolution. So I guess now a catchy song is still supercool, as long as it is kept sort of secret.


Same to same,

Captain Patrick Hendry

ps. some other bands to check -peter, bjorn and john, fujiya & miyagi, panda bear...if you are looking for these tracks I find that www.hypem.com is a good little resource for streaming.