Satisfying Musical Editions - End Of September Edition

• Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
• Goldfrapp - A & E 7'
• Parachutes - S/T 10' EP
• Novillero - A Little Tradition
  

So this year I turned 26 (thank you, thank you).

Ever since, I’ve caught myself uttering this rather generic phrase way too much: “I can’t believe it’s been X years since Y” - X being any positive number, usually expressed in years and Y typically being some monumental event. Question: does this phrase mark the commencement of getting old? Am I destined to say “I can’t believe it’s been X since Y” with increased frequency and incredulity as the years tick by? If so, damn. This is surely one small step away from calling young folks “sonny” and “little miss” while repeatedly starting sentences with “Back in my day.”

Honestly though, I can’t believe it’s been almost five years since I saw Mates of State in Vancouver. The concert was great: I spotted A.C. Newman taking in the show; one of the opening acts, Da Hawny Troof were absolutely bizarre and did a whole bunch of crazy shit on stage; and the cutest couple in indie rock proved to be charming and engaging performers. Their latest offering, Re-Arrange Us, appeared in my player quite often this past month and is a welcomed departure from Mates previous recording. The saccharine boy/girl ping-pong vocal exchanges are minimized in favour of lush strings, which add depth and texture throughout the ten tracks. These Mates are now Parents of State, so perhaps the increased responsibility that comes with parenting somehow resulted in this fresh, mature sound. I don’t know.

Last month I proclaimed my undying love for Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree and confessed to playing “A & E” over and over again, occasionally hugging the disc like a thirteen-year-old girl smitten by some Joey Lawrence-type teenage heartthrob. I have bad news: my torrid love affair with the track came to a dramatic, heartbreaking, and tear-inducing halt just two days later.

However, I apparently and impulsively purchased a 7’ picture disc on ebay while pie-eyed one night, the result of guzzling one too many Grey Goose dry martinis (tip of the day: fewer olives = a less intense hang over). When the picture disc finally arrived two weeks later, I was stunned. The colours are vibrant, the pressing looks flawless, and the track sounds terrific on my olderish record player. Although, “A & E” didn’t have the same impact on me as it did during our love affair, it was still appreciated and savoured. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you're missing out.

I also picked up another record this month: a black 10’EP by Parachutes, a brand-spanking new Icelandic band (to me at least). This was also a sort of whimsical purchase: Parachutes hypnotized me during their opening thirty minute set for Sigur Rós and forced me to sprint down to the lobby and give them money. As an added bonus, anyone buying the record could email the record label and they’d provide a link to the mp3s, free of charge. Something I took advantage of.

I was so enamored with Parachutes that their track “Your Stories” was chosen from a field of thousands to be the illustrious recipient of My 40 000th Scrobbled Track on last.fm. If you’re unfamiliar with last.fm, it is a plug-in you install in your player that sends your music listening information to their site and catalogs it. For example: I have listened to “Naked As We Came” 143 times ON MY COMPUTER. Yeah...even I’m astounded.

Further analyzing my stats, I see I’ve listened to Novillero’s A Little Tradition an awful lot this month. If you haven’t heard their newest release, I suggest getting it right now. Run, bike, swim to Music Trader and give them your money.

And if you don’t have last.fm, get that too (it's free). I can’t believe it’s been three years since I first installed it.

Infinite Playlist - Parachtues - S/T