"Kill the Moonlight" by Spoon

Prologue

It has been a few weeks now since I began my "New Album Hunt" and with a few album  posts under my belt i've been feeling the need to shake things up a bit. It occurred to me last week that never before in my life have I seen as many record stores in a relatively small vicinity as I have in Chicago. I then thought of the movie High Fidelity which exaults vinyl as a "fetish property." The shop in the film was fashioned after a record store in Chicago, not unlike several that are only short walk from my apartment.

John wants you to buy Vinyl.

However, this post is not about that movie. I only mention it because it helped to inspire my method of album selection this past week. (The reference has absolutely nothing to do with my John Cusack obsession. Not at all.)

Instead of taking a suggestion from a friend I opted to toss the dice and go to one of these many record stores to buy a record I'd never heard of before. I chose Logan Hardware on Fullerton Ave. not only because it is nearby my apartment, but because its back room contains a vintage arcade museum which is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

But Why Vinyl?

Why swap instantaneous access to digital media for something as tedious and bulky as a piece of vinyl? The simplest answer: It sounds better. While digital media has revolutionized access to music, and the ability of independent artists to record and distribute their own music, it has done so with a real sound cost. Debate it all you like, the sound quality of music recorded on vinyl is better and more complete. It's science. The simplest way to explain my own limited understanding of it all, is as follows: Music is at its most basic a series of vibrations. Our ears perceive music in Herz, the unit of measurement that describes the frequency of the sound waves created by music. When we listen to recorded music we are listening to a recreation of those sounds waves. Analog recordings, like vinyl records, recreate those sounds waves in a different manner than digital media. With me so far? The sound waves that come from analog recordings create the same smooth waves you would hear naturally from an instrument. The smoother the waves the more information comes through; information like overtones and tone quality in the music. Digital music compresses and converts the sounds waves to bits. The waves become less smooth, pixelated even as the bits recreate the waves. Think of how high operatic notes sound on a youtube video. The shrillness, is in large part because the media cannot smooth out the waves to effectively capture the overtones.

In this manner, digital media is inferior. However, not all digital media is created equal. The higher the bit rate of the digital media, the smoother the curve.

Science aside, there is something romantic about holding a record in your hands. The large album artwork glistening under the careful plastic casing. The satisfying tactile experience of carefully unwrapping it and sliding the sheath out to reveal a shiny, flawlessly grooved virgin record.

It's a moment that can't be recreated by logging in to Spotify and clicking a button. And so, I entered the world of vinyl and christened my own collection with the purchase of Kill the Moonlight by Spoon.

Take one.
I can't express the excitement wrapped up in hearing this record for the first time. It was like buying a dress before trying it on. Would it fit? Would I like it? I found pleasure in the risk. I'd never heard of Spoon before but I was drawn in by the melancholy outstretched hands on the cover and aggressively emotional title. I examined the track list as if it were a window into the soul of this record. "Something to look forward to," "Don't let it get you down" and "All the pretty girls go to the city" drew my attention and I was ready to commit to this album.


My intuition made me confident this album would resonate with me. Oddly enough, my first listen through was an unfocused blur. I recall the strong drum beat of the first song, followed by a strong line-up of lyrically driven tracks. Tamborine clashes. Strong piano chords. Hand-claps. Synthesizer. Classic Indie Rock. It all left me a bit glazed over. I was vaguely disappointed, but I put the album away and went about my week.  Had my experiment failed me? Was this the unfortunate risk? Did I like this album or not?

I was supposed to be having this amazing vinyl experience. Romantic. Moving. What was wrong? It was like a first kiss that lacks the fire you anticipated and leaves you feeling nervous and unsure of yourself. But I wasn't about to give up on this record. I was not about to give up because experience has taught me, that some music takes time. Music isn't always about instant gratification. My state of mind and ability to receive the music was just as important as what the music had to offer. I wasn't ready for this album. I needed to shake off my uneasiness and start it over. Back to the A side.

Take Two.

The album feels incredibly seamless. One track moves easily to the next stimulating the senses with songs that bring forth new ideas while remaining stylistically unified. There is a sprightly optimism about the record. I didn't feel challenged by the songs, they were honest and straight forward in their confident and consistent cheerfulness. The lyrics are thoughtful and poetic, but maintain an appropriate distance from any raw emotions. This distance allows you to listen, and recall emotions without reliving them. I enjoyed the songs most when I was able to play them underneath me as I worked on other activities. Cleaning my room. Doing the dishes. Spending time with friends. When I would sit down with the tracks and follow along with the lyrics, I was not as fulfilled as I hoped to be.

Favorite tracks

"The Way we Get By"

"Stay Don't Go"

"Paper Tiger"

"All the Pretty girls go to the City"

Concluding thoughts

It took me a really long time to understand why I'd had a false start with this album. Long enough, in fact, that I delayed this post because I wasn't satisfied with any of my conclusions. In the end my best answer is that I was too melancholy and depressed for the cheerful, masked emotions it contained. When i'm in that state, only raw, unguarded emotions will reach me. Leave me alone with my tell it like it is acoustic singer songwriters. When i'm in this state, as I often am, masked feelings concealed in energetic indie rock leave me frustrated. I'm left feeling like I didn't get it. I spent most of my listening knowing that I liked this music, but frustrated because I couldn't feel it. It doesn't matter how good an album is, if you aren't in an emotional state conducive to its style and message, it won't give you what you are craving. As the album cover suggested, I was left seeking something that was just out of reach.

Coming up next week, an album by Katie Herzig.