Autumn Winds-Greg Brinkmeyer

My Favorite Album of the Decade is...Kid A

It was the summer after I finished college and I was living in an apartment complex with a buddy of mine. Tight quarters, cookie cutter style, everything smelled like Thai food. I went and purchased Kid A, probably from Best Buy, and at that time I only bought new releases from Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and Stone Temple Pilots. And usually buying one of these new albums was a lone bright point in an otherwise unnoteworthy existence. I came home put Kid A in my stereo and played it loud. Not as loud as I would have liked because of the cubby hole closeness of my neighbors, but loud enough to enjoy. About 2 minutes into Everything In Its Right Place I started to laugh. A laugh similar to the one I project as I am listening to certain Bob Dylan songs (A Hard Rains Gonna Fall, Like A Rolling Stone) or watching certain Wes Anderson flicks (all of them). I am not laughing because it is Richard Pryor funny, but more like I am laughing because only aliens can produce what I am listening to, human beings are incapable. With Bob Dylan it is lyrically, with Wes Anderson it is his ability to create alternate realities, and with Radiohead it is sonically, lyrically, and their ability to create an another world. They do it all.

Then our cable man came to the front door and I went scrambling for the volume knob and ripped it down to almost a whisper. My reaction was that of someone watching scrambled porn with a knock at the door. I felt as though I shouldn’t be listening to this. It took me halfway to my volume knob to realize what I was doing was ridiculous. I don’t really care what my cable guy thinks; the music was just…not what I had ever heard before.

This record is filled with everything you want from a good album; interesting lyrics, more interesting sounds, great energy, and complete originality. I won’t waste everybody’s time by dissecting each song because the thought bores me to death. It’s been reviewed plenty of time by people who know more about music and people who know less about music than me. Most end with the same sentiment. It is amazing.

Although different, this album was not a complete surprise. It wasn’t as if Garth Brooks came out with this album. It was Radiohead and they had just put out an amazing OK Computer album, which served as a nice bridge between the acoustic, rhythmic guitar of The Bends and this extraterrestrial sonic explosion that was Kid A. This record doesn’t sound like anyone. Maybe it does, but that is outside of my knowledge of music. I think the album might be influenced by small green men residing on the planet Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood and company call home.

Upon listening to this album in its entirety I realized that this record feels like the end of the world; an apocalypse in a good way, in the way that it might be the end of the world but everything would all come back in due time. In one of my favorite books, Killing Yourself To Live, Chuck Klosterman explains how Kid A is a crystal ball into the horrible events that happen on September 11, 2001, 11 months after its release. Chuck Klosterman may be insane, on drugs, a genius or all three; it is eerily similar.
The first song on Kid A paints the Manhattan skyline at 8:00 A.M. on Tuesday morning; the song is titled "Everything in Its Right Place." People woke up that day "sucking on a lemon," because that's what life normally feels like on the Manhattan subway; the city is a beautiful, sour, sarcastic place. We soon move onto song two, which is the title track. It is the sound of woozy, ephemeral normalcy. It is the sound of Jonny Greenwood playing an Ondes Martenot, an instrument best remembered for its use in the Star Trek theme song. You can imagine humans walking to work, riding elevators, getting off the C train and the 3 train, and thinking about a future that will be a lot like the present, only better. The term KID A is Yorke's moniker for the first cloned human, which he (only half jokingly) suspects may already exist. The consciously misguided message is this: Science is the answer. Technology solves everything, because technology is invulnerable. And this is what almost everyone in America thought around 8:30 A.M. But something happens three and a half minutes into "Kid A". It suddenly doesn't feel right, and you don't exactly know why. This is followed by track three, "The National Anthem"
This is when the first plane slams into the north tower at 470 mph
You see, apocalyptic.

You have probably looked at many end of the year publications ranking the best albums of the decade and more times than not Radiohead- Kid A is tops on the list. You can hardly argue the points they make. What is amazing is the fact this album might be the best of the decade and also the most overrated. This doesn’t stop me from loving this record and placing it at the top of my list for albums of the ‘oughts’. So tonight put on your headphones and close your eyes and listen to Kid A in its entirety. If you don’t feel like picturing the events of 9/11 (and I don’t blame you), just listen to how amazing and detailed the record is. I have a hard time believing that I will hear anything like Kid A ever again. It was completely shocking and still holds up after nearly a decade.

My Favorite Album of the Decade is...Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-Wilco
Written by Greg Brinkmeyer
I was first introduced to the band Wilco in the late 90s in my brother's one-bedroom apartment in downtown Evansville. Many nights were spent there sipping drinks, watching movies, and listening to music. I'll never forget the alt-country sounds of Wilco's sophmore effort Being There echoing through the room as we tipped back several beers and grapefruit juice with vodka. It was an unfamiliar sound but a sound I wanted to become more acquainted with. I bought the album days later and still listen to it on a consistent basis to this day. The band's third album Summerteeth showed a band evolving as well as their sound. Strings were replaced with bells, horns, and periods of distortion. It seemed the band was on the brink of creating a new sound that would indentify with joy and pain simultaneously. Being There holds a special place in my heart, but Wilco's fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot helped change the way I would listen to music.
Chaos is the only word that describes the opening of YHF. Distortion takes over as the piano and guitars slowly fade in as Jeff Tweedy's haunting vocals give birth to "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". The opening track sets the tone for the entire album and catapults Wilco into a new dimension of music. The band energizes listeners with pure rocka and roll songs that connect on a deeper level. "Jesus, Etc." is a beautiful ballad that incorporates both the new and old sound of Wilco leaving fans wanting more.
Although YHF was a critical success, it also highlighted the inner turmoil of the band. Sam Jones' film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documents the power struggle between Jeff Tweedy and the late Jay Bennett which eventually lead to Bennett's dismissal from the band. Jeff Tweedy's battle with migraine headaches also explains the mystery behind the lyrics and the defining sound. Warner Bros. records refused to release the album because it didn't sound like the Wilco of old. The album was later picked up by Nonesuch Records, a division of Warner Bros.
Wilco released four albums in the past decade. Each album is unique and shows the evolution of the band through personal and professional struggles. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the beginning of this journey and its music is still relevant today. Chaos meets experimentation meets rock and roll, the end result is a remarkable album worthy of the greatest albums of the decade.

Getting to Know Our Correspondents

As I had mentioned earlier The Sun Sets On Indiana will be getting a little help from some additional correspondents. Before you read what they have to say it is important to get to know the person.

Greg Brinkmeyer

1. What was the first cd/cassetter you remember owning?
Tapes are one thing. I remember receiving the Rocky IV soundtrack and Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms. CD I bought the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack and The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks
2. Name an album, book, or movie that you feel you can judge a person with based on whether they like it or not.
Cool Hand Luke
3. What is the best live show you have ever seen?
Pearl Jam - Deer Creek Summer 2000
4. What is the last book you have read
Waiter Rant
5. Who is your favorite NBA basketball player of the 80's?
Larry Bird

I Go To The Barn Because I Like It

Ce N'est Rien- I Go To The Barn Because I Like It (Band of Horses) from Ryan Connors on Vimeo.

A New Approach for a New Year

The Sun Sets On Indiana will be taking a different approach this new year. Since the amount of output being produced by one man has been short of disapointing we are going to count on the output of 2 or 3 individuals.
This should be starting soon with some reviews on a couple favorite albums of the decade. Thats all for now.

2010

2010 will be the year of smoked meats and vegetable gardens, vinyl records and financial organization. It will also be the year of great recorded music. Here is a tune from New Years Eve and it is called You're Kinda Heavy for a Saint by Ce N'est Rien.
Enjoy it. There will be more to follow.

You're Kinda Heavy for a Saint from Ryan Connors on Vimeo.