Kiwi Rock

My new fascination is Kiwi Rock. I'm going to be posting some quick thoughts on my new favorites over the course of the next week, so look for comments on the Chills, the Bats, the Verlaines, the Tall Dwarfs, and the Clean to come.

For now, here's a teaser on David Kilgour.

(And, no, I won't link to everything I write.)

Saturday's Secrets

Yesterday I submitted a review for the new album from Saturday Looks Good to Me. On first listen I thought it was a good pop album with lots of hooks, little substance. Once I got into the lyrics, though, I noticed some interesting things going on. Primarily, the use of secret information interested me. "Empty Room" lures you into a conversation -- or it lets you overhear one side of one -- in which you learn that two people who seem to be fighting are actually struggling through a problem together. (Fred Thomas has said that one of these songs is about an unwanted pregnancy, and I suspect this one's it.) The strength of the song lies in the fact that you don't know what the problem is, and your curiosity puts you in the position of voyeur. Their difficulty draws your sympathy, the secret keeps you at a distance, and the whole situations prevents you from looking away. Pretty smart for a little summery tune. Making discoveries like this one is one of the reasons I like to write about pop.

Who I Am

In case you care to know about the person at the other end of this blog:
I currently live in Charlottesville, VA, where I work for an electronic publishing company. I also write for PopMatters and Trouser Press. I frequently collaborate with Todd Goodman at Wrong Note Media. I dabble in making music, but mostly I just listen to far too much of it.

Enough boring stuff.