Album du jour #5 - Streaky Elipses

!!! – Myth Takes (2007)

Prior Relationship to Album: JP first told me about !!! after seeing them at Coachella in 2004, saying that he loved their live show, and that it was the kind of band that “you would definitely like” (A dubious compliment, usually, but !!! is thought of at the forefront of the dance-rock scene because of its ambitious melding of indie rock, funk, and an energetic performance style). I did like Louden Up Now, but I felt that the album, and even the songs itself, were uneven and trying to force the “live act” feeling. I haven’t even read any reviews of Myth Takes yet (it came out 3 days ago), way to go, album-shuffler thing!

High Point: “Yadnus”!!!! (that was me saying the band’s name with an exclamation mark at either the end or beginning of it. I won’t reveal which). It really represents the new direction this album takes in trying to pluck all of the band’s high flying ideas and ambitions out of the air and really ground them. Even the radical changes like trying out standard rock verse/chorus progressions in “All my Heroes” and “Sweet Life” come out well.

Low Point: #05 “Heart of Hearts.” Here’s what the second half of this song is like:

“Heart of, Heart of, Heart of, Heart of, Heart of, Heart of, Heart-o” SHUT UP!!! It sounds exactly like a B-side from Louden Up Now.

What I Learned/Realized:

- The name isn’t exclamation points, but instead the pipe with dot used to indicate the mouth clicks that are used in aboriginal language (insert Ange’s Bushmen bashing here)…the band was inspired by The Gods Must Be Crazy.
- They did a collaboration with The Magnetic Fields called “Take Ecstasy With Me.”
- Elise doesn’t like it when I forget that it is 11:30 and play dance-rock at super-high volumes. Whoops.

Future Relationship to Album: Unlike Louden Up Now, which I had on frequent-mp3-player-rotation for just a brief spell, I think I’ll be listening to this for a long time whenever I require pick-me-up groovy goodness that I wouldn’t feel embarrassed about around my non-dance-music-liking roommates (assuming that I hadn’t lost my sense of embarrassment years ago, of course).

I’m currently watching the Kings-Spurs game…I normally wouldn’t bother, because I hate the Spurs and the Kings aren’t exactly fun to watch these days with the bright exception of Kevin Martin (Oh Mike Bibby, how far ye have fallen). But the Kings have kept the game nearly tied, and it would be fifty kinds of exciting if they could end the Spurs’ 10 game win streak. Keep letting Bowen and Robert Horry shoot the ball…yes, excellent….