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AnonymRegistriert seit: 01.01.1970
Beiträge: 0
A.C. („Carl“) Newman, for all the good-times vibe of his band The New Pornographers, likes his alone time. Last year he disappeared from Vancouver without a word, reappearing four months later in Brooklyn, where he has stayed ever since. He resurfaced with a mystery scar, an extra blush to one cheek, and an armload of songs which tell tales of his last two years.
Challengers continues along the lines of 2005’s Twin Cinema, whose „relative melancholy makes it the band’s best album yet“ [Blender]; indeed, the first track, „My Rights Vs. Yours,“ is almost a cross between that album’s beloved „Use It“ and „The Bleeding Heart Show“. Dialing back the frantic, these are songs with dynamics and epic sweep. While it’s still a „top-down summer power-pop classic“ (or any variation thereof that the band’s enjoyed over the last several years), this is something more personal, more lasting.
Recorded for the first time largely outside John Collins‘ Vancouver JC/DC Studio, Challengers is their most organic-sounding record, reflecting a conscious decision to use less „beepy synth“ and almost entirely „real“ instruments (in addition to those listed above, they recruited an entire string section, plus harp, flute, and more). And Newman is slightly more scrutable this time around; his lyrics still ring with wry perception and political metaphor, but betray some of the magnanimity that comes with new love – „our arms fill with miracles“, he writes in „Go Places,“ his most beautiful love song since „My Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.“
My Rights Versus Yours: „This is a stream of consciousness story-of-my-life type of song. 1st appearance of french horn on a New Ps album, and only 30 seconds into the album! Ends with a nod to Jeff Lynne with the vocoded vocals.“
All The Old Showstoppers: „This one has the string breaks that are a direct nod to Roy Wood’s brilliantly primitive string work with The Move.“
Challengers: „This one has a fairly convoluted subtext. At its surface it’s a love song about finding new love out of nowhere and trying to play it cool, do the right thing. My version of ’24 Hours To Tulsa‘. When I wrote the lyrics I thought of the Camus quote from the liner notes to a Scott Walker album: ‚A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to discover through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.'“
Myriad Harbour: „Dan’s New York song. When I got the demo from him, I thought he purposely wrote a New York song because I had just moved to NY. Probably not, though. In this song, Dan urges me to ‚look up for once and see just how the sun sets in the sky.‘ Two songs later, I sing that ‚there is something unguided in the sky tonight.‘ Coincidence?“
All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth: „I really liked the title. I thought it was very long and pretentious, not befitting a 3-minute rock song. This song is pretty much our take on an early Roxy Music/Sparks pastiche, with a little Shocking Blue thrown in. A sort of throwback to early New Ps.“
Unguided: „My first true epic at over 6:30 in length. This is MY New York song, though no one can tell. It is all about August 2005, everything up in the air, it was very hot, and I was camping out in NY for a week. The big bridge at the end, ‚why wait for the weakened state to lie next to the weaker sex?‘, has nothing to do with the rest of the song, just a good line/universal truth. Kathryn is embarrassed that she had to sing it, yet only she could nail it the way it had to be nailed.“
Failsafe: „This is the first Kathryn lead vocal. I liked the idea of using a tremelo guitar to propel the song, where that becomes the beat as much as the drums.“
Entering White Cecilia: „I believe Dan is singing about entering a girl named Cecilia, who is either white or dressed in white, or both. Like all of Dan’s work, it is overtly sexual.“
Go Places: „This is my version of ‚Maybe I’m Amazed‘ crossed with ‚She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune‘, at least in my head that’s what I hear. I know it’s still oblique, but to me it is a straight up love song. Bonus points to rock critics who can name two versions of ‚She Sang Hymns‘. Without Googling.“
Mutiny, I Promise You: “ I think this has the most Bacharach/Webb/Wilson in it, in terms of structure and time signature, all the added half-bars in the progression. We rocked it up quite a bit, but slowed down and with a few other changes, it could go on a 5th Dimension album. That’s hubris, I know. The organ sound reminds me of the organ on ‚Ambition‘ by Subway Sect, which I think is a good thing.“
Adventures In Solitude: „This is a sad song, but filled with a kind of hope. Basically a double lead shared by Carl and Kathryn. With its strings, harp, banjo, and mandolin, it officially counts as a ‚musical departure‘.“
The Spirit Of Giving: „This is a sad Dan song with less hope and more nonsequiturs. Or maybe it’s a happy song?“
The New Pornographers formed in 1997, almost immediately recorded the classic „Letter From An Occupant,“ and it was on. Their three full-lengths (as well as Newman’s 2004 solo debut The Slow Wonder) received wild critical and public acclaim, and they continue to enjoy bigger (and taller and smarter) audiences.
My Rights Versus Yours (mp3)
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My Rights Versus Yours (mp3)Danke!
Leider kenn‘ ich noch nicht mal das Vorgänger-Album (gleich heul‘ ich). :(
Aber hey! An meinem Geburtstag….wenn das nix is!
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Diesmal also ohne Neko Case? Ansonsten schöne Nachrichten, aber eher grausames Cover.
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Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut!tina toledoDiesmal also ohne Neko Case? Ansonsten schöne Nachrichten, aber eher grausames Cover.
Immerhin hat der Mann einen Porno-Balken unter der Nase. Ja, es sieht so aus, als würde Neko Case nicht mehr mitsingen. Stimmt das?
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If you talk bad about country music, it's like saying bad things about my momma. Them's fightin' words.Wieso sollte Neko Case nicht mehr dabei sein? Auf der Myspace Seite ist sie immer noch als ganz normales Mitglied gelistet.
Es gab da letztens auch ein Bulletin zu Challengers:
Hello friends.
You can be the first to hear the upcoming album Challengers.
Check it out at www.buyearlygetnow.comBUY THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS‘ ‚CHALLENGERS‘ (OUT AUG 21) EARLY AND GET AN INSTANT STREAM NOW – PLUS YOUR CHOICE OF EXTRAS UP TO AND INCLUDING A LIMITED-EDITION 4-CD BOX SET EDITION OF THE ALBUM.
HOW TO BUY EARLY GET NOW
1. choose your store from the map below
2. visit your store (in person or online) and place your order
3. you will get a password that you use to log in at upper right
4. get an instant stream and let the goodies flow in!TWO VERSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM
The New Pornographers STANDARD EDITION of ‚Challengers‘ gets you an instant stream, 3 unreleased MP3s, early access to tickets and more. Or upgrade to the EXECUTIVE EDITION and you also get a ‚Challengers‘ BOX SET with a beautiful slipcase and 3 bonus CDs where you will burn the discs with a live show, more unreleased B-sides, videos, photos and artwork.Challengers: The Standard Edition (list price $14.98)
*Full Album Stream
Listen to all of Challengers months ahead of release*Exclusive B-Sides
Three songs available only to Buy Early Get Now customers*Advance notice and exclusive tickey buy links for upcoming New Pornographers tours
Challengers: Executive Edition (list price $19.98)
*Full Album Stream
Listen to all of Challengers months ahead of release*The Challengers Box-Set
A very limited edition Treasury of New Pornography available only to Executive members. Includes three bonus discs, designed in a deluxe box set package.Disc One: B-Sides, Demos and Alternate Mixes
Disc Two: The New Pornographers „Live From The Future“
Disc Three: Videos, photos and artwork(note: you will download all of this material digitally as part of Buy Early Get Now and burn these discs yourself, so some-assembly is required and some of these recordings haven’t even happened yet.)
*Advance notice and exclusive ticket buy links for upcoming New Pornographers tours
*Basically, You Get It All
Don’t you hate it when bonus tracks are split up over tons of releases? A store exclusive bonus track here, a UK only single there, if you want to hear everything you’d have to buy the record twenty times from twenty different places. Not anymore. With the Executive Edition ALL content associated with Challengers will be available to Executive members.--
AnonymRegistriert seit: 01.01.1970
Beiträge: 0
starker beginn mit dem bereits vorab verfügbaren „my rights versus yours“. erstklassiger übergang auf das subversive, sich von hinten durch die brust ins auge schiebende „all the old showstoppers„, das für seinen titel schon belohnt gehörte und deutlich auf die talente newmans im bereich lyrik hinweist. „challengers“ und „myriad harbour“ bremsen den anberaumten flow in keiner sekunde und erfreuen mit gesicherten brüchen, maßvollem sehnen und einigen gimmicks.
erster höhepunkt resp. aufmerker: „all the things that go to make heaven and earth„, das die hand richtung vergangenheit streckt, dort jedoch nicht versumpft, sondern neue akzente setzt, feurig, aufgedreht, eifernd.
mit „failsafe“ komme ich auch nach zigmaligem genuß nicht ins reine oder besser überein. hier erfährt kathryn calder ihr debut am mikro und weiß sich auszuzeichnen. der track selbst ist ein einziges zögern, „somnambulant“ nennt es der amerikanische rolling stone.
entlastend das folgende „unguided„, das wiederum schwelgt, wie vieles auf dem album gemäßigt angelegt ist, und sich schließlich weniger aufgeräumt ergießt. „entering white cecilia“ dirigiert sich selbst, schwingt munter, bei „go places“ dominiert neko cases stimme und befördert das lied aufs treppchen. ein stilles tun, aber bewegend. mehr noch, wenn die kapelle geschlossen rockt: „mutiny, i promise you„. mit „adventures in solitude„, ein auf die herrlichen stimmen fokussierter schleicher, und „the spirit of giving“, ein endsiebziger gemahnendes, fast- sinfonisches werk, gelingt ein formidabler abschluß der platte. **** gibt es ohne zu zögern.in sternen:
My Rights Versus Yours ****
All The Old Showstoppers ****
Challengers ****1/2
Myriad Harbour ****1/2
All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth ****
Failsafe ***1/2 – ****
Unguided ***1/2
Entering White Cecilia ***1/2 – ****
Go Places ****
Mutiny, I Promise You ***1/2
Adventures In Solitude ****
The Spirit Of Giving ***1/2Erst einmal gehört, gefällt mir aber viel besser als das vorige Album. Später mehr.
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When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest time, and to the latest. Henry David Thoreau, Journals (1857)MistadobalinaErst einmal gehört, gefällt mir aber viel besser als das vorige Album.
Sehe es bisher ebenbürtig, Ausführlicheres auch später.
Edit: Habe mal eine Umfrage eingefügt, hoffe, das ist ok, jimmy?
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Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut!
AnonymRegistriert seit: 01.01.1970
Beiträge: 0
tina toledoEdit: Habe mal eine Umfrage eingefügt, hoffe, das ist ok, jimmy?
Ich werde es verkraften.
Bei den ersten Hördurchgängen packte mich noch wenig („My Rights Versus Yours“ und „Failsafe“ z.B.), das Album wächst aber stetig.
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