Brandon is torn like Natalie Imbruglia. Remember that? I just took you back, son. This is the most Natalie Imbruglia’s been talked about in 10 years. In news relevant to M83, Brandon questions André’s assertion that the album is full of filler, masturbates to Rita Hayworth, breaks up with shuffle – the whore – and calls for a Zola Jesus/M83 magic music smoothie.
M83 – “Kim and Jessie” (from Saturdays=Youth)*
You can download “Midnight City” in MP3 form, and check out tour dates, at ilovem83.com.
From: Brandon Hall
To: Chris Atto, André Salas
So, I’m torn.
Yes, I think hitting shuffle is a fine idea. I don’t think it changes the feel of the album at all. That’s kind of my problem, if I’m going to go about wasting my time having problems.
That said, I don’t think there’s filler. Now, I mentioned in my first post that splitting this album up into two made for easy consumption. André, you said you start to drift after 35 minutes. Exactly! That’s why you only have to do one album at a time! All 72 of these minutes could have fit on a single album, but Gonzalez broke them up for us. What a guy, right? And since each disc is a mirror of the other, there really isn’t any driving need to listen to them both in one sitting. Pick an album, Boy or Girl, A or B, 1 or 2, and go for a walk. Go grocery shopping. Ride the F from Park Slope to Midtown. Masturbate to old Rita Hayworth films with this on in the background. 72 minutes is a lot to take in in a single sitting. 36 minutes, on the other hand – totally doable. (Just like Rita Hayworth.)
I’m interested specifically with what you think is filler? You mentioned “Fountains” and I’ll just go ahead and throw in its counterpart, “Train to Pluton.” These songs do not stand alone well, nor do I think they’re supposed to. We can all agree that this album is exploring the nostalgic subconscious of the dreamworld, yes? As such, both “Train to Pluton” and “Fountains” act as lovely, imaginative interludes between the full-blown synthy/exciting “dreams” on either side of them. “Claudia Lewis” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, reveling in all its 80s funk-bass and keyboard grandeur, but maybe one of the things I love most about it is the ethereal (sorry to overuse that damn word but we’re talking about fucking dreams, here) train ride we take to get there from “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire.”
The thing is, I would enjoy the train ride of “Train to Pluton” anywhere on this album. So if I put it on shuffle, the only thing that would annoy me is if I ran into too many consecutive instrumental interludes, say “Train to Pluton” followed by “Fountain” followed by “Where the Boats Go” followed by “Another Wave From You.” Then I’m all like, “Fuck you, shuffle. You were never good to me. You never think about my needs, you selfish whore. I’m done with you. We’re done. Jerk.”
You know what I’m saying?
All right guys, let’s get down to brass tacks. Talk to me about some of these songs. What are the standouts in your opinion? I hear at least four surefire, blow the lid off this MFer singles. But tell me which pieces aside from “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” you’re most impressed with and why? Also, how does this album stack up in M83’s oeuvre? In its “Premature Evaluation,” Stereogum said this album was a step back from Saturdays and I tend to agree. Chris, I know you love this album, but how do you think it compares? Step forward or step back?
Also, can we please get a full M83/Zola Jesus album? I totally miss M83’s last singer/collaborator, Morgan Kibby, who is one of the reasons Saturdays was so heart wrenching. Unfortunately, she barely makes an appearance on Hurry Up as Gonzalez takes on the brunt of the singing duties, himself. However, Zola Jesus’ part on “Intro” is fucking awesome, as is just about everything she does, and I’d gladly pay massive sums of money for more M83/Zola magic.
La la la, indecipherable lyrics, la la,
Brandon
*[I guess I’m just going to keep putting up Saturdays=Youth videos for lack of Hurry Up, I’m Dreaming content. It’s not like you couldn’t afford to hear these great songs again.]
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is out 10/18 on Mute.
Pre-Order Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming: CD | Vinyl LP | Digital Download | iTunes
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