Day After Day #322: Helicopter

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Helicopter (2004)

Writing about Arcade Fire yesterday got me thinking about the some of the other breakout indie rock acts of the same time period, what I like to call the MP3 Blog Era of 2003-2007 or so. Another great band that caught my attention at the time was Bloc Party, a post-punk band that emerged in 2004.

Formed in London in 1999 by lead singer/guitarist Kele Okereke and lead guitarist Russell Lissack, the group added bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong. They went through multiple names including Union, The Angel Range and Diet before landing on Bloc Party in the fall of 2003. The band's sound was danceable post-punk, inspired by acts like the Pixies and the Cure as well as contemporaries Franz Ferdinand.

Bloc Party released a few singles on indie labels before signing with Dim Mak, which then teamed with Vice Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. The band released two EPs in 2004, Bloc Party EP and Little Thoughts EP (released in Japan). 

"Helicopter" was released as a single in October 2004 and included on the Little Thoughts EP and later on the band's 2005 debut album Silent Alarm. The song is an absolute ripper, driven as much by the fills of powerhouse drummer Tong as the jagged guitar lines of Lissack and Okereke. The riff was inspired by the Jam's "Set the House Ablaze" from their Sound Affects album.

"North to South, empty/Running on bravado/As if to say, as if to say/As if to say he doesn't like chocolate/He's born a liar, he'll die a liar/Some things will never be different/Stop being/So American/There's a time and there's a place/So James Dean/So blue jeans/He's gonna save the world, he's gonna/Are you hoping for a miracle?"

The band races through the song at 171 bpm. Although Okereke denied the song was making any political commentary, it's easy to surmise it was taking a jab at U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, which the U.S. had jumped into a year earlier.

"Three out of five, three out of five (it's not enough)/Six out of ten, better luck next time/Just like his dad, just like his dad, just like his dad (same mistakes)/Some things will never be different/Hungry and dumb, hungry and dumb (so wait in line)/Queuing up for some more junk food/It's not my fault, it's not my fault (just this once)/They're getting so much younger/Why can't you be/More European?/Bastard child of guilt and shame/Bury your head/In the sand/I'm thinking six, six, six/I'm thinking six/Are you hoping for a miracle?"

The song was a hit in the U.K., getting to #26 on the Singles Chart; it didn't chart in the U.S. When Silent Alarm was released in '05, it was an immediate hit in Europe, but in the U.S., Vice pushed it more at the blog nerds instead of radio and was rewarded with the best-selling album in their history. It only hit #114 on the Billboard 200 (as opposed to #3 on the U.K. Albums Chart), but it sold 123,000 copies in the U.S. after just four months. Silent Alarm sold more than 350,000 copies in North American and over 1 million worldwide.

The band toured heavily behind the album and released their second album, A Weekend in the City, in 2007. It was another strong release, with "The Prayer," "I Still Remember" and "Hunting for Witches" all performing well. I saw them play in the summer of 2006 at the then-Bank of America Pavilion in Boston (no idea what the corporate name is now) and the show was great, mainly focused on the first album because the second hadn't been released yet.

Bloc Party's third album, 2008's Intimacy, went in more of an electronic dance direction and I don't remember hearing a lot from it. It still sold well (#18 in the U.S., #8 in the U.K.). The band released a single in 2009 and then went on a hiatus. They released Four in 2012, which again did well in the U.K. (#3) and less so in the U.S. (#36). I didn't pay any attention to it for whatever reason; much like with Arcade Fire, I had just moved on. Tong left the band in 2013 and Moakes in 2015, leaving Okereke and Lissack to soldier on. The band has released two albums since then, the most recent one in 2022. 

Bloc Party is still a going concern, but I prefer to go back to those first two albums.

Day After Day #321: Rebellion (Lies)

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Rebellion (Lies) (2004)

Twenty years ago, indie rock bands were popping out of the woodwork and a legion of nerds with MP3 blogs was sharing their music to the masses. One band that blew up immediately was the Arcade Fire, a Montreal-based act that made emotional, stirring anthems. They became industry darlings, renowned for their exhilarating live performances, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in rock. If you asked me in 2004 where the Arcade Fire would be 20 years later, I would have said they'd be one of the biggest bands in the world. The band is still touring two decades later, but its profile has diminished considerably for a number of reasons.

Arcade Fire was formed in 2001 in Montreal by Win Butler and Josh Deu, who first met at Phillips Exeter Academy as high school kids. The band came together when Butler was attending McGill University and Deu was at Concordia University in Montreal; they added Regine Chassagne, a music student, and other members. The band started recording an EP in Mount Desert Island, Maine, at Butler's family farm; the lineup changed, with Butler's brother Will and Tim Kingsbury brought in to replace Deu and Brendan Reed. 

Adding drummer Howard Bilerman in 2003, the band played live shows and recorded its first album, Funeral, which was released in September 2004 on Merge Records. The title referred to the deaths of several family members of the band. The album got an immediate boost from a review by online publication Pitchfork, which gave it a 9.7 out of 10; Pitchfork reviews carried a lot of weight back then, and the aforementioned MP3 blog nerdz praised it to high heaven. That's how I heard about the album, which I actually downloaded from one of those sites. Win Butler's impassioned vocals and the band's everything-including-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation gave the album an exciting, arena-ready feel, while also pushing aside the ironic attitude of '90s bands.

"Rebellion (Lies)" was the fifth single off the album, but it connected instantly with audiences and became a show-closer for years. 

"Sleeping is giving in/No matter what the time is/Sleeping is giving in/So lift those heavy eyelids/People say that you'll die/Faster than without water/But we know it's just a lie/Scare your son, scare your daughter/People say that your dreams/Are the only things that save you/Come on baby, in our dreams/We can live our misbehavior/Every time you close your eyes (Lies! Lies)/Every time you close your eyes (Lies! Lies!)/Every time you close your eyes (Lies! Lies!)/Every time you close your eyes (Lies! Lies!)"

The song picks up steam as it goes on, exhorting the listener to rebel against everything that your parents said to scare you.

"People try and hide the night/Underneath the covers/People try and hide their lies/Underneath the covers/Come on hide your lovers/Underneath the covers/Come on hide your lovers/Underneath the covers/Hiding from your brothers/Underneath the covers/Come on hide your lovers/Underneath the covers."

Live versions of the song (see below) were cathartic and thrilling, as the nearly 10 band members gave it their all in every performance. Funeral routinely topped 2004 year-end lists (including mine) with delirious praise heaped upon it. 

Arcade Fire followed it up with 2007's Neon Bible, which was strong and anthemic and continued the band's trajectory, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200. They appeared on SNL, Win and Chassagne guested at a Springsteen concert and the band played at an Obama campaign event at the president's request. The band's 2010 album The Suburbs did even better, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and winning Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards. The band also contributed to the soundtrack of The Hunger Games, one of the biggest movies of the year.

But the band's next album, 2013's Reflektor, was a bit of a misstep, a double album that delved into dance music. It still got decent reviews, but I didn't dig it. It felt pretentious and frankly, it just wasn't interesting to me. But it still went to #1 on the Billboard 200. The band's 2017 release, Everything Now, got mixed reviews but again debuted at #1. Arcade Fire's most recent album is 2022's We, which hit #6 on the album chart. I couldn't tell you what anything off the last two albums sounds like. That kind of shows you what it means to have a top 10 album these days: not a whole hell of a lot.

Two years ago, frontman Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct by four people; Butler denied the allegations and said the encounters were all consensual, but there was definitely fallout. Feist dropped off the band's European tour as a result of the allegations, and Beck later did the same for the American leg. Will Butler left the band right after the album was recorded in 2021. 

Despite the controversy, the band has been playing some festivals the last few years. I haven't listened to their music much over the last decade-plus, although I've heard a few songs from their first album at the gym in recent months. Listening to some of Funeral for this piece reminded me of what a great band they were 20 years ago, but I'm still not going to listen to their newer stuff. I've moved on.

Day After Day #305: Daft Punk is Playing at My House

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Daft Punk is Playing at My House (2005)

There was a lot going on in the NYC indie rock scene in the early 2000s. The Strokes became the face of guitar rock for a few years, but there was also Interpol, TV On the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Rapture and the Walkmen. It was an active and vibrant scene and it coincided with the MP3 blog era, in which indie rock fans shared MP3s of new bands they liked. For those of us who had little kids and weren't getting out to rock clubs as much as we used to, MP3 blogs were invaluable.

Another band to emerge out of New York at that time was LCD Soundsystem, an electronic rock act founded by James Murphy in 2002. Working with drummer Pat Mahoney, Murphy released a number of singles on DFA Records, the label he co-founded. The first single, "Losing My Edge," was released in 2002 and got some attention in the U.K. as well as NYC.

In January 2005, LCD Soundsystem released its eponymous debut album on DFA and Capitol Records, featuring the lead single "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." The song is punchy, eminently danceable and pretty fun, if the cowbell solo is any indication.

"Well, Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house/I'll show you the ropes kid, show you the ropes/I got a bus and a trailer at my house, my house/I'll show you the ropes kid, show you the ropes/I bought 15 cases for my house, my house/All the furniture is in the garage/Well, Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house/You got the set them up kid, set them up."

The song, of course, refers to the Parisian electronic music duo that emerged in the '90s and was pretty popular around the world; the two musicians started wearing robot costumes after their second album came out. They got huge in 2013 before splitting up a few years later. 

"Well, Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house/I waited for seven years and 15 days/There's every kid for miles at my house, my house/And the neighbors can't call the police/There's a fist fight brewing at my house, my house/Because the jocks can't get in the door/When Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house/You got to set them up kid, set them up."

The song hit #1 on the U.K. Dance chart and #29 on the U.K. Singles Chart and was nominated for the 2006 Grammy for Best Dance Recording. It was featured in several videogames including FIFA 06, SSX On Tour and Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 and X2. It also showed up in movies, TV and commercials; Murphy may have started as an indie artist, but he got paid. 

"Well, everybody's lined up in my house, my house/And Sarah's girlfriend is working the door/Got everybody's PA in my house, my house/All the robots descend from the bus/There's a freak out brewin' in my house, my house/In the basement/'Cause Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house/You got to set them up kid, set them up."

LCD Soundsystem toured with M.I.A. and got critical acclaim. The group, which in the studio was essentially Murphy, released two more albums before announcing a farewell tour in 2011 that sold out immediately; the final show at Madison Square Garden lasted nearly four hours. Murphy got the group back together in 2015; he worked on David Bowie's final album Blackstar and said Bowie convinced him to reunite LCD Soundsystem. Murphy caught some backlash for making a big deal out of the final tour and then bringing the group back a few years later to play festivals. The band released an album in 2017 and is reportedly working on a new album.

Day After Day #37: The Rat

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

The Rat (2004)

Twenty years ago, life was very different from a decade earlier. Technology was advancing at a more rapid pace. The internet was part of everyday life. And in the post-Napster world, music discovery was an entirely different beast. 

Where you used to hear songs on the radio or see videos on MTV or read reviews in Spin or Rolling Stone and then check out a band, now you were reading about new music on blogs and downloading said music immediately. In '04, I had finally acquired an iPod (I had different MP3 players over the previous few years) and I was looking for new stuff to put on it.   

One of the songs that really jumped out at me was "The Rat" by the Walkmen, a NYC band that sprung from the same hot scene as the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song was on their second album, Bows + Arrows, and it was an immediate grabber. Matt Barrick's pounding drums, the slashing guitars and Hamilton Leithauser's pissed off, ragged vocals get in your face and demand your attention. 

The song's all furious energy and insistent annoyance: "You've got a nerve to be asking a favor/You've got a nerve to be calling my number/I know we've been through this before/Can't you hear me? I'm calling out your name/Can't you see me? I'm pounding on your door."

Leithauser's railing against an ex-friend for perceived slights that aren't explained further, but they don't have to be. The music sweeps you up in a whirling dervish as Barrick careens along in Keith Moon-esque fashion. It struck a similar chord with rock critics and fans, peaking at #45 on the UK Singles Chart and coming in as the #6 single of the year by Pitchfork. 

The Walkmen have been unfairly labeled as one-hit wonders because of the song, but that's inaccurate because the song wasn't a "hit," per se. And yes, "The Rat" overshadows the rest of the album and catalog, but that's because it's goddamn amazing. Bows + Arrows is an excellent album, and the band doesn't try to make 11 versions of "The Rat." There's a lot of dynamics and their default speed is mid-tempo, so when they do rev it up on songs like "The Rat" and "Little House of Savages," it really stands out.

The band made five more fine albums before going on hiatus in 2014, but they reformed for a reunion tour last year. They've never been able to top "The Rat," but why should they have to? 

Day After Day #22: Romantic Rights

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Romantic Rights (2004)

Twenty years ago was the peak of the MP3 blog era. In the wake of Napster and MP3 sharing, music nerds all over the world were creating blogs and posting MP3s of new and interesting stuff. I was all over it. It was a great way to discover new music as well as get rare tracks and bootlegs. I was downloading songs from artists like TV On the Radio, the Hold Steady, the Black Angels, Midlake, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis and on and on.

One such discovery was a noise rock duo from Toronto called Death from Above 1979 (they've also gone by DFA 1979 and Death from Above at different times), comprised of bassist Jesse Keeler and drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger. The band's debut was the 2002 EP Heads Up, but it was their debut album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, that really made a splash. 

Two-piece bands were becoming all the rage thanks to the White Stripes (although Ween and the Spinanes had already been around for a while). In the early to mid-2000s, the Black Keys, the Kills and Lightning Bolt all emerged, with Japandroids showing up a few years later. But Death from Above and Lightning Bolt stood out because they were bass-drums instead of guitar-drums and were both louder than the guitar acts, with DFA79 being the more tuneful of the noise rock acts.

On "Romantic Rights," the lead single from You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, Keeler's fuzz-driven bass is the lead instrument, all monstrous Sabbath riffs and stuttering squeals while Grainger pounds the skins and yowls, "I don't need you, I want you." Loud, yes, but eminently danceable as well. The song builds into a frenzy and kicks about as much ass as humanly possible.

"Come here baby, I need your company/We could do it and start a family/She was living alone unhappily/We could do it, it's right romantically."

The song hit #57 on the UK Singles Chart, but got plenty of other attention. It was used on the MTV show Human Giant and on the soundtrack for the videogames SSX On Tour and NBA 2K15. 

In March 2005, DFA79 played "Romantic Rights" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and when Grainger stepped out from behind the kit to sing, Late Night drummer (and E Street Band legend) Max Weinberg ran across the stage to take over behind the drums. Weinberg, dressed as he always did in a three-piece suit, struggled to get the jacket off before pounding away while Grainger stood on top of the bass drum belting out the vocals. A truly electric performance.

DFA79 split up in 2006 and reformed in 2011, releasing a tremendous album The Physical World in 2014 and two more since. I still haven't seen them but I need to, because they definitely put on one hell of a performance.

Stuck In Thee Garage #436: August 12, 2022

The indie music scene was turned on its head in the early '00s by the introduction of the iPod and the explosion of MP3 blogs. I paid tribute to both in hour 2 of Stuck In Thee Garage this week. These are all songs I downloaded from 2003 to 2007 from blogs. It was an important time for music discovery.

This playlist will make you jump for joy:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc./Demon Days

M.I.A. - Paper Planes/Kala

Dudley Perkins - Come Here My Dear/Expressions

The Hold Steady - You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came to the Dance With)/Boys and Girls in America B-side

Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor/Demo

Tapes 'n Tapes - Cowbell/The Loon

Maximo Park - Isolation/Missing Songs

Pixies - Bam Thwok/Single

Graham Coxon - Freakin' Out/Happiness in Magazines

Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage!/Fire

The Apes - The Night-Time Reaper/Baba's Mountain

The Black Keys - No Fun/The Moan

We Are Scientists - The Bomb Inside the Bomb/Safety, Fun and Learning (In That Order)

Runner and the Thermodynamics - Powerlines/Runner and the Thermodynamics

Criteria - Run Together/When We Break

Hour 2

A.C. Newman - Miracle Drug/The Slow Wonder

TV On the Radio - New Health Rock/New Health Rock

Joel Plaskett Emergency - Work Out Fine/Truthfully Truthfully

The Black Angels - Black Grease/Passover

The Riverboat Gamblers - Ice Water/Something to Crow About

Beck - Strange Apparition/The Information

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rise Up With Fists!!/Rabbit Fur Coat

Band of Horses - The Funeral/Everything All the Time

Matt Mays & El Torpedo - Cocaine Cowgirl/Matt Mays & El Torpedo

The Unicorns - Jellybones/Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

Dead Meadow - Let's Jump In/Feathers

Annie - Me Plus One/Anniemal

Four Tet - Iron Man/Everything Comes & Goes: A Tribute to Black Sabbath

Devin Davis - Iron Woman/Lonely People of the World, Unite!

The Dears - Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe/No Cities Left

The Futureheads - First Day/The Futureheads

Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass/Silent Alarm

Greg Dulli - Cigarettes/Amber Headlights