destroyer, muppets
This Destroyer shit is dope. Here’s two tracks off the latest album, courtesy misra records:
The Sublimation Hour (2.8 MB), & Virgin With a Memory (1.8 MB). Destroyer is the less-accessible, crypto-Bowie obscure genius side project of New Pornographers dude Daniel Bejar. Here’s an awed interview from pitchfork. Thanks to AM for the loan of the albums (and if you want to weigh in with more about the music, please do, sir).
Also, in a bizarre toungy-cheeky retread of the infamous Spike Jones Buddy Holly video, the latest Weezer video features the Muppets.
from now on, my name is “ÿ”. I like the way this reads.
Glad you enjoy.
Hes been criticized for being derivative, nasally, long-winded and oblique. I think it boils down to whether or not a persons interested in lyrics. Short of a few of the unsurpassable old guys, Dylan, and who ever else you might have on your short list, I dont know of anyone capable of such evocative phrasing. The implicit question in his music has become: If Im this good, and I dont offer any explanations, will I really slip by unnoticed? Its a legitimate question, when you consider hes been cresting along at the top of his game for half a decade now, while the Canadian music industry has pushed David Usher and Eye Mother Earth at us ad nauseam. Whatever happened to people respecting talent?
> Whatever happened to people respecting talent?
I don’t know if that ever happened. I say bring back April Wine.
From what I’ve read about Mr. Destroyer, at least he realizes that his music won’t appeal to everyone. (And unless he cuts out the references to Fritzcarraldo, he don’t got that mass appeal.) Maybe his New Pornographers thing makes him feel better and a little more accepting about that – they seem to be quite the hot band.
Or maybe I’m not at all right – is it me or are there a number of anti-music-industry references mixed in there? He’s like the folk-pop Kool Keith.
ÿ >I dont know if that ever happened.
ÿ Yeah, Im also unsure, but it does seem to me that the best songwriters of the sixties eventually became known as the best songwriters of the sixties.
ÿ >Maybe his New Pornographers thing makes him feel better
ÿ Dan actually left New Pornographers as they were just starting to boom on the college charts, a little over a year ago. They were all gearing up to shoot a video and he didnt want to show up, and shortly thereafter he left Vancouver without much in the way of an explanation. New Pornographers went on without him and kicked ass on tour in the States so their feelings werent hurt. When it came time for them to make their follow up album, Dan was somewhat coincidentally just returning to BC (to record This Night!) and he handed over some more tapes for them to delve into. Hes developed a back log of songs by locking himself away in a room and not allowing himself to come out until hes filled up a blank cassette. Hes been doing this on a daily basis, off and on for years, I gather, and whatever isnt Destroyer material he has no qualms about handing over to Carl. The last explanation I got was that Dan was a contributing author, and may play on the record, but wont tour and isnt really “in” the band anymore. This type of ambiguitys pretty unusual, and I find it kind of compelling.
ÿ Youre absolutely right when you note that hes aware he isnt going to appeal to everyone. I wasnt meaning to imply I thought he should be receiving the same degree of attention that mainstream alternative Canadian acts receive, only that the fact that hes head over heals better than his competition and much less hyped has become an implicit element that hes not unwilling to address. “Im at a point of contention about the pointlessness of the invention,” he sings at some point, referring to rock and roll. I really like this about him. I like that he gives his views on the industry in the context of song. I find it arresting. Its not something you really hear very often, if ever. Theres that refrain from the opening cut of his latest album, “The listeners of the world are on her side.” I feel that way about the band. They really exist for people who care about words.
ÿ Imago check out Kool Keith.
> Yeah, Im also unsure, but it does seem to me that the best songwriters of the sixties eventually became known as the best songwriters of the sixties.
True… but in some cases it took a while (Nick Drake). Or is it true? Are some of the greats still unrecognized?
I have a feeling that the general splintering of the music market now makes it harder for any masters of a given genre to reach a broad market. No matter how good a rapper is, for example, at least 50% of the country will never listen to him/her, just because they never listen to rap. It’s even worse for electronic acts, and introspective folkies must also have the deck stacked against them.
I mention Kool Keith because some of his recent stuff is basically long tirades against the music industry… When you think about it, it’s a strange thing to listen to. He’s a strange cat, no doubt (my fave is the Dr. Octagon album, featuring a song whose chorus is “half shark alligator, half man”).
Another great anti-music-industry rap song is the Pharcyde’s Devil Music: every time I step to the microphone / I put my soul on two inch reels that I don’t even own.
Also, what did you press to get that wacky y?
Yeah, you’re right about everything.
Those are great songs you recommended.
I dont know what to type to make that “ÿ” appear. Maybe some Destroyer/Muppets/dblog fan knows the trick? Im getting sick of cutting and pasting already.
Hold down ‘alt’ and type ‘152’ and presto!
ÿ ÿÿ ÿ
hey cool. if only i had an alt key.
My option/alt key gives me “¡” with 152. Which’d be okay for a name too.
¡?
¥ ÿ
Hey now? ÿ ÿ ÿ
Option-u and then y does the job.
Option-u w/gives me ¥ which is also an okay name.
while we’re on the subject of things my computer can’t do, when I click on the the above song titles, nothing happens. why dat?
Don’t know, they work for me… or do you mean the mp3 links in the original post? *checking* they work for me too – they link directly to an mp3 file. If you’re on dialup it’ll take… gosh I don’t know how long to download.
or wait, it’s probably complicated, so forget it. just bring those cds tonight!
now, suddenly, it works. didn’t yesterday…
hmmmm…
I sometimes think it’s my OS. It loves me so much it strives please me by being as flaky as I am.
“strives to please me”, right…
man, I gotta start reading what I’m typing before clicking on ‘post’. do people actually use this “preview” option? It always seemed kind of ridiculous, but I’m starting to see the logic.
Sometimes I use it. Actually I need to fuss with the preview template – it totally doesn’t match.
dan bejar has listened to *a lot* of good records.
He’s breathing new life into the form..
Damn simpletons will never get it, and why should they?
the misra link above changed to http://www.misrarecords.com/artistdetail.asp?artist=destroyer
is there an offical website for destoyer? –and my friend and i had a talk about the end of “this night” sounding like druken muppets singing –so when i saw this page’s title, “destoyer,muppets” i thought A.) Allison is posting my thoughts or B.) someone had the same thought as me. But alas, it’s only the weezer video mentioned in the same breath I guess.
^insert gushy comments about my affection for Dan. i just moved to a moutain town outside of Seatle, do you think I could find him around?
What an odd confluence: muppets, destroyer. By chance, did you find this page searching for that, or through other means?
I’m not sure if there is an official website – the merge page is painfully lame. There’s the unofficial official site, linked to above, and the misra page also mentioned above – none of these are exactly flush with details, unfortunately. Seems like sankey.ca is the place to head for your destroyer needs, especially since ÿ ‘s on the case.
hi there. i’d like to know if there’s some website where i can find lyrics for the destroyer albums….. because everytime i try to find something related to destroyer in all those fucking web searchers, i only get stupid kiss sites and shit…..
long live destroyer!
heil!
😉
please mail me if you know about that site i am dreaming of…..
or, if you got some lyrics on a file, send it to me please!
thank you!
§
THOU SHALL NOT TAKE PART IN OR MAKE BAD ART
Hi all – it’s nice to find some more fans of Dan Bejar’s music
me having ‘puter problem
i be back
Okay – I am back – my computer has been freezing up on me lately – any way – like I was saying – It’s always good to run into more fans of Destroyer/Dan Bejar. If any of you are interested I started a yahoo group – The Sublimation Hour – not much traffic – but hopefully that will change after Your Blues is released. If any of you join please take the time to say hello and introduce your self
thanks – Tim
Great work Tim! There is also this guy, Dan’s close personal journalist friend at the Globe. There you’ll find fascinating up and coming news, for instance this – which is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
hey – I’m “this guy” referenced above. there’s a big thing up on my site now about Yer Blues that i welcome any + all destroyer fans (or anyone else) to come read. http://www.zoilus.com.
merci