Music Banter - View Single Post - aux-in's Collection: [The Electronic Continuum]

Aux-In · 05-22-2016, 12:09 PM

Back in post #50, I wrote about a duo named Anderson. I had come across their song "Michael: Running on the Asphalt," which is duplicated in the spoiler below.

Spoiler for Song 1:

Anderson - "Michael: Running on the Asphalt"

Members: Bas van Nienes & Jeroen van der Werken.

This is a slow-moving (but catchy) electro-pop song from a duo based out of The Netherlands. I can draw two possible takes on the social commentary that exists within the lyrics: (a) a critique on modern city life and/or (b) a critique of homogeneous suburban culture, where a stereotype can sometimes exist that there's a facade built up between neighbors, just before they close their doors, of course. I'm going to spend more time on the first one, because I think that's closer to the narrative.

*My interpretation in blue. I added the / to split the ideas between work and ordinary living so I can cover both interpretations (sorry if it's hard to read).

We've come together where the buildings rise (individuals have arrived at work/home)
We're crawling up where the concrete meets the sky (walking up a high-rise building)
We walk in line (walking into the office/home life with a sense of detached readiness)
We've come together in our daily grey (drudgery of work life in a cubicle/boredom of home life in a domicile or complex)
Where all our private boxes look the same (cubicles look identical/homes looks the same)
In every possible way (in every possible way)

Sell our souls when the market's right (has a job that pays but sucks the soul out of them/perhaps this is about Wall Street trading as the album this song is on was released in June 2009/unable to relate this to a home thing)
Shake hands as we're pulling down the blinds (day is done, so feign comradery to wrap up a day's work/say hello to a neighbor, make small talk, then get on with things)
It's almost fine (It's not fine. It's an empty feeling from unsatisfying work/too much modernity can feel cold and distant; removed)

We've been missing out on daylight lately (working too much/spending too much time indoors and missing out on the things that matter in life)
Killing time with late night TV (TV is a poor and plastic substitute to fill an empty void that would otherwise have been filled with people interactions and going outside like they used to do in "olden times")

I didn't touch on every line in the song, but I think that paints a pretty decent picture of what Anderson is trying to get at. The video itself is comprised of old movie clips from the mid-20th century, which is evident in both the analogue video style of the recordings, as well as the clothing styles of the people it features. The aforementioned is mixed with sped-up/time-lapsed traffic scenes which depict the hubbub of modern life. So, by using the old clips and juxtaposing them with those of the modern era, Anderson could be harking back to a supposedly simpler time where everyone knew their neighbors and there was a pie in every window.

I'd be fine with either of the above interpretations, (a) or (b). Hell, perhaps there's a (c) or a (d).

Originally, I thought the title was weird, where it has a person's name, Michael, and then the rest of the track's title. I kept having to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't looking at some sort of typo on this relatively-obscure track. Low and behold, in preparation for this write-up, I was able to find an article that tells me that Anderson's vision for their album It Runs In The Family, on which this song appears, was to have an idea of a family that was spread out all over the world, each of them having their own story. Read more: Anderson Interview. Subsequently, each track on the album has a person's name in it. That's certainly an interesting concept, and I think I'm going to have to check out the rest of the album.

And since I liked the concept of an album with song titles that included the names of family members, that told a story, I wanted to obtain the physical album in order to do a review. But I got a little more than that.

Picture: Signed copy of Anderson's It Runs in the Family

Unbeknownst to me, it came with the signatures of both members of the band: Bas van Nienes & Jeroen van der Werken. Unsure of what I had just received, I looked closer so that I could decipher whether or not the signatures were facsimile. The seller had made no mention of this being an autographed copy, which I picked up for around $3.00 U.S. The signatures didn't appear to be facsimile, but I didn't want to exclaim that I had something that I didn't really have, so I did some digging. And it took some digging. After perusing a bunch of social-media links that served as ones and zeroes to nowhere, I eventually pulled up the contact info of van der Werken, and shot him an e-mail. To which I was informed the following:

They signed a bunch of U.S. jewel-case versions at their record label's office in Los Angeles. I.e., signatures officially confirmed.
Although they haven't toured with this band in a while, they are working on something new, although I was not informed as to what.

SUMMATION

I already wrote about song #1 in the spoiler above, but now I've given the rest of the record a spin. Most of the rest of the album is a mix of subdued, poppy, clear & crisp, rock-like vocals that blend with techno bleeps and bloops, 8-bit sounds, and a little bit of disco"ish" stuff thrown in for good measure. Song #2, "Trevor: On the Dancefloor," carried off the flavor that I just described. Things unfolded quite normally form there, but it took song #7, "Catherine: And the Unexpected Guest," to finally jog my memory as to what rock act I was being reminded of: that would be Ben Folds. Of course! Yes, that's who this band reminds me of, in their own way, save a bit of the silliness of Mr. Folds.

Overall, It Runs in the Family was surprising and fresh, and it follows the pop formula that they were going for. That said, I still struggled to get into the downtempo parts of the album, which appeared more than I prefer.

I'm hard-pressed to find another instance where something like this has happened. Usually sellers today are more savvy as to what to look for when they purchase items, but I can't complain. From a random Pandora find, to a CD that I might not have bought had I not been writing in a music journal on a music site on the Internet, the story of this album's accent into my collection, is the story itself.

05-22-2016, 12:09 PM	#82 (permalink)
Aux-In Wrinkled Magazine Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: In Time Posts: 467	Back in post #50, I wrote about a duo named Anderson. I had come across their song "Michael: Running on the Asphalt," which is duplicated in the spoiler below. Spoiler for Song 1: Anderson - "Michael: Running on the Asphalt" Members: Bas van Nienes & Jeroen van der Werken. This is a slow-moving (but catchy) electro-pop song from a duo based out of The Netherlands. I can draw two possible takes on the social commentary that exists within the lyrics: (a) a critique on modern city life and/or (b) a critique of homogeneous suburban culture, where a stereotype can sometimes exist that there's a facade built up between neighbors, just before they close their doors, of course. I'm going to spend more time on the first one, because I think that's closer to the narrative. My interpretation in blue. I added the / to split the ideas between work and ordinary living so I can cover both interpretations (sorry if it's hard to read). We've come together where the buildings rise (individuals have arrived at work/home) We're crawling up where the concrete meets the sky (walking up a high-rise building) We walk in line (walking into the office/home life with a sense of detached readiness) We've come together in our daily grey (drudgery of work life in a cubicle/boredom of home life in a domicile or complex) Where all our private boxes look the same (cubicles look identical/homes looks the same) In every possible way (in every possible way) Sell our souls when the market's right (has a job that pays but sucks the soul out of them/perhaps this is about Wall Street trading as the album this song is on was released in June 2009/unable to relate this to a home thing) Shake hands as we're pulling down the blinds (day is done, so feign comradery to wrap up a day's work/say hello to a neighbor, make small talk, then get on with things) It's almost fine (It's not fine. It's an empty feeling from unsatisfying work/too much modernity can feel cold and distant; removed) We've been missing out on daylight lately (working too much/spending too much time indoors and missing out on the things that matter in life) Killing time with late night TV (TV is a poor and plastic substitute to fill an empty void that would otherwise have been filled with people interactions and going outside like they used to do in "olden times") I didn't touch on every line in the song, but I think that paints a pretty decent picture of what Anderson is trying to get at. The video itself is comprised of old movie clips from the mid-20th century, which is evident in both the analogue video style of the recordings, as well as the clothing styles of the people it features. The aforementioned is mixed with sped-up/time-lapsed traffic scenes which depict the hubbub of modern life. So, by using the old clips and juxtaposing them with those of the modern era, Anderson could be harking back to a supposedly simpler time where everyone knew their neighbors and there was a pie in every window. I'd be fine with either of the above interpretations, (a) or (b). Hell, perhaps there's a (c) or a (d). Originally, I thought the title was weird, where it has a person's name, Michael, and then the rest of the track's title. I kept having to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't looking at some sort of typo on this relatively-obscure track. Low and behold, in preparation for this write-up, I was able to find an article that tells me that Anderson's vision for their album It Runs In The Family, on which this song appears, was to have an idea of a family that was spread out all over the world, each of them having their own story. Read more: Anderson Interview. Subsequently, each track on the album has a person's name in it. That's certainly an interesting concept, and I think I'm going to have to check out the rest of the album. And since I liked the concept of an album with song titles that included the names of family members, that told a story, I wanted to obtain the physical album in order to do a review. But I got a little more than that. Picture:* Signed copy of Anderson's It Runs in the Family Unbeknownst to me, it came with the signatures of both members of the band: Bas van Nienes & Jeroen van der Werken. Unsure of what I had just received, I looked closer so that I could decipher whether or not the signatures were facsimile. The seller had made no mention of this being an autographed copy, which I picked up for around $3.00 U.S. The signatures didn't appear to be facsimile, but I didn't want to exclaim that I had something that I didn't really have, so I did some digging. And it took some digging. After perusing a bunch of social-media links that served as ones and zeroes to nowhere, I eventually pulled up the contact info of van der Werken, and shot him an e-mail. To which I was informed the following: They signed a bunch of U.S. jewel-case versions at their record label's office in Los Angeles. I.e., signatures officially confirmed. Although they haven't toured with this band in a while, they are working on something new, although I was not informed as to what. SUMMATION I already wrote about song #1 in the spoiler above, but now I've given the rest of the record a spin. Most of the rest of the album is a mix of subdued, poppy, clear & crisp, rock-like vocals that blend with techno bleeps and bloops, 8-bit sounds, and a little bit of disco"ish" stuff thrown in for good measure. Song #2, "Trevor: On the Dancefloor," carried off the flavor that I just described. Things unfolded quite normally form there, but it took song #7, "Catherine: And the Unexpected Guest," to finally jog my memory as to what rock act I was being reminded of: that would be Ben Folds. Of course! Yes, that's who this band reminds me of, in their own way, save a bit of the silliness of Mr. Folds. Overall, It Runs in the Family was surprising and fresh, and it follows the pop formula that they were going for. That said, I still struggled to get into the downtempo parts of the album, which appeared more than I prefer. I'm hard-pressed to find another instance where something like this has happened. Usually sellers today are more savvy as to what to look for when they purchase items, but I can't complain. From a random Pandora find, to a CD that I might not have bought had I not been writing in a music journal on a music site on the Internet, the story of this album's accent into my collection, is the story itself. __________________ Reviews l YouTube Playlist: Another Dimension "All over a bowl of bitter beans."