Tag Archives: house

#809: The Knife – Marble House

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I’ve always admired this one just for how it sounds. ‘Marble House’ by Swedish electronic music duo The Knife arrives in the middle of Silent Shout. After that comes ‘Like a Pen’. The midsection of that album is probably my favourite part of it. While ‘Pen’ is a bit more hectic and bustling, ‘Marble House’ moves along with a relaxing flow, but has a sense of mystery and eeriness provided by its minor key and melody.

Taking a closer look at the lyrics for you people at home, it seems that the they concern a relationship. I mean, I always kind of knew that just by listening, but what kind of relationship it could specifically be is up in the air. Some can say a familial one. Others could say romantic. You’re all right. But the titular house is where this relationship is taking place, and where the song’s narrator physically and emotionally cares for their other half.

Again, another highlight of this track like almost all the other Knife songs is singer Karin Dreijer’s vocals. Such a great tone and delivery to them. She’s accompanied by fellow Swedish singer-songwriter Jay-Jay Johansen who sings on the second verse; he fits in quite perfectly on there. I guess he provides the voice from the perspective of the person who is being cared for. Whatever the deeper meaning and inner machinations may be, this song makes for some good listening. It has a stop-motion animated music video of these woodland creatures living in this wooden house. It’s below, but it doesn’t use the full version of the track which I like to listen to more. It was also uploaded in 2008, so the quality’s not too great.

#719: Animal Collective – Leaf House

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In previous posts I’ve mentioned here and there that there have been certain bands who were essentially the soundtrack to a year in my life. The Beatles were 2009/10. The Who were 2010/11. Well, Animal Collective covered my first year of university – 2013/14 for anyone invested. Sung Tongs was the third album of theirs that I got around to listening to, following Merriweather Post Pavilion and Strawberry Jam. It took a few listens for both to set in, but once they did they became two of my new favourite albums very quickly. Why I chose Sung Tongs next I’m not too sure but I was certainly interested as to what it would sound like.

‘Leaf House’ is the weird, mysterious but captivating and attention-grabbing opening to Sung Tongs; there definitely isn’t any other album opener that’s quite like it. A distorted whirring sound opens the track before suddenly jerking into the song’s main rhythm, formed by booming tom-toms, jumping acoustic guitars and bouncing vocals between David Portner (Avey Tare) and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) that come frequently throughout the whole album. Despite it not being a typical 4-on-the-floor toe tapper, the herky-jerky percussion alongside the general warm tone of the track can send me into a trance if I’m really focusing on the music.

For a long time fans theorised that the track was influenced by the novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, due to them both sharing themes of cats and a man who doesn’t go outside much. Portner revealed it was more about Lennox’s childhood house, with some lyrics written in regards to the passing of Lennox’s father. It’s quite a sad song when looking into it but some of that tension is alleviated by the “kitties” outro. Is it strange? For some first time listeners it could be considered to be. But once you get it, it never leaves.

My iPod #545: John Linnell – House of Mayors

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“House of Mayors” is the title track from the second solo EP of They Might Be Giants’ John Linnell. Consisting of ten tracks it is something of an experimental piece of work; the majority of tracks are instrumentals named after former mayors of New York City. “House of Mayors” is very much the musical centrepiece –  spread throughout the EP are three short instrumentals that borrow some of the melody from the song – and the full thing is saved until the very last track.

Unlike his full solo debut album that would be released three years later in ’99, “House of Mayors” is very much a DIY project. All instruments present on the song are played by Linnell and the weird thing is I think, apart from the guitar, everything else is played on the keyboard. There’s a very heartwarming and earnest feel exuded by the minimal production and twinkling keyboard lines as John Linnell describes the scene at a fictional house of mayors where various political things are occurring. The subject matter doesn’t sound all that special, but the songwriter’s knack for great melodies and music make it one of the most comfortable listens in the vast catalogue of They Might Be Giants related material.

My iPod #212: Blur – Country House

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“Country House” by Blur was the first single from the band’s fourth album “The Great Escape”. Released at the height of ‘Britpop’ in 1995, the single went head-to-head with Oasis’ song “Roll with It” for the number one spot. “Country House” won, and stayed number one for two weeks before Michael Jackson knocked it off.

The song is about a man who buys a house in the country (no….. really?) to get away from the city but still isn’t very happy with his life. You wouldn’t be able to tell though. It reminds me of one of those songs that, when you’re really drunk, you grab your mate and put your arm around their shoulder and start yelling the words along to it. Then the brass coda kicks in near the end and you start doing the can-can and stuff.

It never fails to cheer me up, even though it can become a bit grating if you were to repeat it over and over again. Just because of the over emphasised English accent and the cheery music. It just shouts out, “Hey! We’re soooo British, look at us!” and that could annoy some people.