Retroselective: The Best of September 2009

Red Pens: It is safe to say that the Red Pens had a great month. In addition to blowing away crowds at various venues around the Twin Cities, the noisy/melodic drums and guitar duo re-released their amazing debut Reasons on Grain Belt Records. Oh yeah, and they won something called “Picked to Click“ by a landslide. The band is poised for much bigger things in the coming months. If you haven’t yet heard the fuzzy pop gems on their record or seen their sonic assault of a live show, do yourself a favor and check both off your “musical to do list.” (You do have a “musical to do list,” right?) I have a feeling that the great month that the Red Pens had in September is the first of many for the best new band in Minneapolis (and one of my favorite new bands from anywhere to hit the scene this year). [Josh Keller]

Also: Red Pens “Reasons” Review

Tanya Morgan’s Brooklynati: I may be completely out of touch with modern hip hop these days, but it just doesn’t seem like there is much out there these days that is worth listening to. I mean, if guys like Akon, T.I., Lil Wayne, and T-Pain are the future of hip hop then I guess the genre is going to a place that I don’t want to follow. Most of the hip hop I want to hear these days is more backward thinking than forward, and despite the fact that that may make it regressive, I still think that the palette set in the ’80s and ’90s is one worth expanding on. For that reason I really enjoyed Tanya Morgan’s Brooklynati this past month, a hip hop album that builds on those foundations rather than knocking them down. Smooth flows, jazz samples, a sense of humor—these are all things I think the genre could use a little bit more of. Yeah, so maybe the record is a little “nice.” Hip hop can’t be fun to be taken seriously? Fuck that. [Jon Behm]

89.3 The Current @ the Minnesota State Fair: It’s no secret that 89.3 The Current is quintessentially the crown jewel of local FM music stations. The locally grown satellite always has had their finger on the pulse of the mainstream since their inception, and their attention to the local music scene goes above and beyond the type of community service that most radio stations exhibit. Their status as a public station gives The Current the ability to quickly react and interact with their followers, and personalities such as like Mary Lucia and Mark Wheat effortlessly establish instant connections with their listeners, often making us feel as though we’re in the studio with them right beside our favorite artists. No where was all of this more clearly evident than upon a visit to the station’s booth at the Minnesota State Fair early this month. The DJs allowed us to get close enough to their working space to breathe our greasy breath on their glass, and when they weren’t busy working through their prolific playlists or making faces at the crowd they were busy interviewing some of the most beloved artists from the area. The likes of P.O.S., Lucy Michelle, Brother Ali, and many more graced 89.3’s stage at the corner of Judson and Neslon that week, but 89.3 made sure everyone—both audience and performers alike—felt as though we were just a bunch of regular Minnesotans doing our part for the great summer get-together. [Ryan Buege]

Also: Brother Ali w. Ant @ MN State Fair

Sunny Day Real Estate @ First Avenue: Music has the wonderful ability, amongst many other things, to transport you to specific places and times in your life upon hearing certain songs. For me, the music of Sunny Day Real Estate will always be tightly bound to my college years, with me discovering their debut Diary almost by accident at the end of my sophomore year, merely because it was a) released on Sub Pop, a label I trusted unconditionally and b) had completely cool and curious cover art that immediately got my attention. It didn’t take too many listens before the music found within Diary captivated me, as well as their subsequent releases. And while I did see the band a few times back in their heyday, it was exhilarating to get the chance to once again see the re-united SDRE at First Avenue recently, as their music easily transported me back to the mid-’90s and my wild college days. The band sounded tight as ever, and obviously had practiced quite a bit before this tour, even performing a terrific new song that was written during the rehearsals leading up to the tour. Hearing songs like “Seven,” “In Circles” and especially “Song About An Angel” live again, after all these years, proved to me not only how transcendent and powerful music really is, but also how truly special Sunny Day Real Estate’s songs are. They will last, not because they gave birth to a genre that the band never wanted to be a part of in the first place, but because they have a power and an energy to them that can really take you anywhere. And couple that with frontman Jeremy Enigk’s often inscrutable lyrics, and you have a potent combination that was on full display during their completely captivating performance at First Ave. I only hope that the band gives us more new material other than the one new song performed that night, because it showed that the band not only still has it, but they can continue to be as vital and groundbreaking now as they were in the ’90s. [Erik Thompson]

[photo by dtrip posted with permission via flickr]

Sufjan Stevens @ 400 Bar: Sometimes you are lucky enough to see a performance that is a little bit different or unique from the usual run of the mill shows you see from road-weary touring bands or local groups. Sufjan Stevens’ very sold out show at the 400 Bar felt like one of those nights. Stevens, who has been absent from the music scene for the last few years, picked a few select cities to try out some new songs and play some of his old favorites. I was doubly lucky that he picked Minneapolis and that I was able to score a ticket. The nearly two hour show was excellent and found a great mixture of his new, epic electro-rock songs and stripped down versions of his old classics. I don’t foresee myself seeing him in such an intimate setting again and the show was easily the best I saw in September. [Josh Keller]

Also: Sufjan Stevens @ 400 Bar

Kid Koala presents The Slew: When asked what The Slew sounds like, Montreal-based turntablist Kid Koala explained to Spinner that it’s the “sound [of] Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad [producing] a Black Sabbath record.” That’s pretty close to the truth, but he neglects to mention that the record reflects a myriad of samples ranging from blues to spoken word, warped within a blinding spectacle of group-turntablism. It’s been the soundtrack to my life the past month, warming my ears as I walk the streets of Minneapolis, and I don’t foresee it leaving the iPod any time soon. [Chris DeLine]

Pearl Jam’s Backspacer: At this point in their career, Pearl Jam really don’t have to release any new albums in order to remain musically relevant, as their tours continually draw passionate, full houses every time they perform, anywhere in the world. They have a built in audience that the band has catered to for years (via their Ten Club, which has always provided their fans with the best tickets to shows, bootlegs, and “Christmas singles” of new music every year) who will support them no matter what they decide to do. And when playing to arenas full of people who would probably rather hear old stuff anyway, and dealing with critics who are stuck in 1992 and are convinced the band will never sound like they did during their debut album Ten, I wouldn’t blame the band if they just decided to live off of their past success and not bother to release anything new. But, since breaking away from Sony, the band has continued to release new music, most recently with Backspacer, now the #1 album in the country (the band’s first #1 record since 1996’s No Code). And while the album doesn’t capture the raw energy of the band’s earlier releases (which I think is, quite frankly, impossible) it does capture a band that has learned how to edit themselves a bit more than on past releases (with producer Brendan O’Brien’s assistance, the album is by far the shortest in the PJ catalog) and also a group that still remains energetic and compelling despite not having a lot to rail against since Bush left office. And while having to deal with sell-out cries by fans that are shocked with their retail arrangement with Target to sell their self-released album, those criticisms ring a bit hollow when considering that Sony is a much bigger corporate entity than Target ever will be (no matter how bad the commercial the band shot to promote the album is). Backspacer bursts out of the gate with perhaps the best four or five song run to start an album since Yield, and finds the band sounding tight and compact, tearing through one three minute song after another. Though the second half of the album lags just a bit compared to the ferocity of the first half, the record is a glimpse of a band not overly concerned with capturing the sound of their past in any real way, just a band that’s interested in making a racket during the present while they are still able to, and having a good time while doing it. [Erik Thompson]

Also: Pearl Jam “Backspacer” Review

Rammstein’s new softcore porno: Sure we’ve talked plenty this month about how cruel and misogynistic the world of hip-hop can be to the world’s women, but how’d we miss discussing the lewd exploits of German industrial metal? Rammstein released a new video for “Pussy” this month, and I want to emphasize that I’m using the term music video very loosely. In fact, the promotional piece “Pussy” is closer to the realm of softcore porn than anything else, and from my point of view the whole idea to use this to drive sales for the band’s new album is blatantly disgusting. While it gets people talking (as unfortunately, I am now doing as well), it is not only inappropriate; it is cheap, irresponsible, and reeks of desperation from a band whose place in pop culture is approaching irrelevancy. However, considering the surprisingly high popularity the band still enjoys in their native home country, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number underage boys and girls around the world who’ve clicked “yes, I’m 18″ button already numbers in the tens of thousands. [Ryan Buege]

[Woods by Jon Behm]

It’s been an odd summer, musically. Things really started out with a bang but for the past few months seem to have ground down to a crawl. I have still seen a large number of shows, but most of them have only been mediocre to decent. One exception was Woods at the Turf Club. The low-fi, psychedelic quartet impressed me a great deal (just as they did this year at SXSW). Their folk-rock meets electronic noise sound actually sounds better live than it does on record (am I the only one who thinks this?). The only unfortunate bit was the disappointingly short set (capped due to closing time). [Jon Behm]

Also: Woods @ Turf Club

Dizzee Rascal gets his slide on: Aside from his recently released Tongue N’ Cheek, Dizzee broke free of his last remaining grimey-roots this month through a variety of English media appearances. Stopping by both BBC Radio 1’s studio and Later with Jools Holland, Dizzee put a twist on his electro-happy Armand Van Helden collaboration “Bonkers” by adding a full band behind him. Five years ago I would have never imagined Dizzee Rascal and a slide-guitarist battling on stage, but it definitely works. [Chris DeLine]

Also: Dizzee Rascal “Tongue N’ Cheek” Review

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