ARCHIVE - A-POP, Don't Stop » deerhoof http://blogs.evergreen.edu/popculture Winter 2014 Mon, 07 Apr 2014 18:26:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2 ARCHIVE - Music: More Deerhoof http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/music-more-deerhoof/ http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/music-more-deerhoof/#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2014 21:42:37 +0000 http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/?p=192 Yes I decided to post some more Deerhoof tracks because this band is great and I’d like to show some variety in their sound. I’m still exploring their discography as they have many albums and, thanks to procrastination, it’s taken me years! The band itself is an acquired taste to be sure and I don’t expect everybody to get into Satomi’s vocal style. It took me a while to get into this band at first, and sometimes I still have to be in the mood for it, but once it clicked it really clicked. They are a bit of a weird band, but that’s what makes them great in my opinion. Deerhoof is a band that embodies different approaches to recording depending on the album at hand. Their early stuff was more “lo-fi” and felt like band in a room, playing the shit out these songs. An earlier record called Apple O, which introduced me to the band years ago, displays this rougher side. The song Dummy Discards a Heart is like a punch to the ears, but is one of the classic Deerhoof songs. The video I found of the song has some dude dancing in it, so look pass that. Instead you could watch a couple Japanese kids jam out to this song in a little room. It’s really up to you!

Deerhoof began to expand their sound with 2004′s Milk Man, but really became more studio-centric after 2007′s Friend Opportunity. I already posted The Perfect Me, but another track that demonstrates Deerhoof’s studio playfulness is a song called +81, which sounds so angular you can feel the crunch. Another favorite is The Galaxist, which recalls a drifting sound that reminded me of old 1970s prog bands. In 2011′s Deerhoof vs. Evil, the band took a poppier route, creating an album that was more accessible. They started moving steadily away from the simple guitar/bass/drums/vocals combo to pursue songs and ideas outside their usual make up. A song like Super Duper Rescue Heads is much catchier and immediate than past deerhoof material, but still feels like it’s from the same band. There’s also track on the record in which Satomi sings in spanish which makes it pretty unique and it’s just a great song – Qui Dorm, Nomes Somia. It this kind of cross cultural influence that makes Deerhoof pretty unique compared to their peers. There’s also a playfulness and experimentation that defines Deerhoof and reminds me of groups like Pavement in that they never make the same record twice. Hell, they have two songs named “Flower” and both sound completely different from one another. Compare the “Flower” (2003) from Apple O and the “Flower” (2012) from the most recent record Breakup Song – there are definite differences of course, being a decade gap, and you can see the evolution in the newer track. However, there’s still a common thread that still makes each song sound like Deerhoof – the sporadic drumming,  angular guitar playing, Satomi’s unique vocal style, as well as the odd song structures bring it all under one banner. So I’ll end this post with another track from Deerhoof vs. Evil. It’s called Behold a Marvel in the Darkness and it’s a catchier song, not to mention a favorite of mine.

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ARCHIVE - Music: Deerhoof http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/music-deerhoof/ http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/music-deerhoof/#comments Thu, 06 Feb 2014 20:48:06 +0000 http://blogs.evergreen.edu/kevo/?p=105 c495f9ca
After watching Cibo Matto videos this morning, it sort of inspired me to start exploring the music I listen to and try and apply it to this class. One of my favorite bands I’ve gotten into the past few years is a band called Deerhoof, which features female Japanese vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki along with Jon Dieteritch on guitar and Greg Saunier on drums. They infuse all kinds of genres, like jazz, progressive, and electronic among others, but are thrown under the umbrella that is “indie rock”. They’ve been around for a long time and are fairly prolific, producing 11 albums over the course of last 20 years. Despite being fairly unknown outside music circles, they’ve supported on tours with such influential artists as Radiohead, Beck, The Flaming Lips, and Wilco – definitely mighty company to keep. Deerhoof also has a strong connection with Washington, as they were signed to Olympia based independent label Kill Rock Stars for many years before signing to Polyvinyl for their last two records. Anyways, a sample of Deerhoof from their 2007 album Friend Opportunity -

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

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