Haute Sheep

Bits and Pieces:

Reading through the Pazz & Jop this morning, and it's completely nutrageous that "Say It Right" doesn't show up on the singles list until (get this) slot number one hundred and seventy two?! Could the fact that the song came out in January have anything to do with it? Don't people have a notebook or something where these kinds of things can be written down for future reference? *sighs, shakes his head, it's so hard when nobody affirms your taste!*

Lil Wayne arrested for the second time recent months, this time on felony drug charges. Weed, coke, and E, along with $22,000,000. Also Carter III pushed back another month to March. Wayne is up there with the Phillies and the cast of The Wire in terms of excessive emotional investment on my part. Things are not looking good at the moment.

David Moore made me rofl with his top films of the year list. Holding it down in the #1 slot? "Armoured Bear: The Film." I also thought that his blurb on Ratatouille was extremely clever.

Meat & Potatoes: Hot Chip – Made in the Dark

Peter stayed up late to sing the praises of the new Hot Chip album, Made in the Dark. I think he's totally right to hone in on "We're Looking for a Lot of Love" as one of the record's highlights. Another friend of mine (Jake) cleverly reads "Wrestlers" as "the greatest whiteboy parody of/homage to" R. Kelly, which has some of the piano clank of "I'm a Flirt" as well as the lyric, "We'll tag team, double up (!) / Hit you in the sweet spot." So right.

Jake and I actually saw the group in Paris last July, where they put on a live show that very much reflected the new directions pursued on Made in the Dark. Standing all five in a line like "yay-uh wassup it's time to groove," the group didn't so much seduce the dance as strong-arm it. Even though they were tied to their stationary synthesizing instruments, each member rocked with considerable abandon. Also, the impeccably dressed French teenagers in attendance, who swayed their hips but didn't really move their feet, call the band "Haute Sheep," which as far as I'm concerned is a much better name.

The group's more muscular approach is in full effect on the album's first two tracks, which for all their neatly distorted rock riffs come off as rather clunky. "Out at the Pictures" is almost desperate to start things off quickly, and the sound reminds me of Justice, which is to say that you're always struggling to ignore the fact that all the cool funky synths are maybe a little unattractive sounding. "Shake A Fist" strikes me the same way.

I much prefer "Ready for the Floor," or "Made in the Dark," or "Whistle for Will," all of which play to Alexis Taylor's impressive knack for sinuous, keening melodicism. Remember that sublime, aching tune on "Boy From School"? Aside from the melody, what made that track so great for me was the way the instrumental parts conserved as much energy as they released, like a conduit that keeps juicing itself. Too much of Made in the Dark wants to let that energy out and start a ruckus, but I don't think that Taylor's voice can stand up to that kind of instrumental assault.