Vetiver - "Blue Driver"

07/07/09 • -1 min

review by Monica McCallum

The opening chords of Vetiver’s cover of Michael Hurley’s “Blue Driver” evoke, in my mind, a very particular image. Driving through the desert, in an old beat up van with bad coffee, sporadic air conditioning, and stops at shady diners planted haphazardly in the middle of nowhere – I can understand why folk music is so popular out here. Of course, if you’ve never made the drive yourself, you can get pretty close simply by listening to this song. The steady tap of the drum and repetitive bass line in the background lend a sense of perpetual motion to the tune as it progresses steadily from start to finish, without a care in the world, ending only when a vocal siren wail pulls the song over for being too awesome.
Vetiver’s Andy Cabic first brought the group together in Greensboro, North Carolina where he met his fellow musicians Sanders Trippe (guitar and vocals) and Brent Dunn (bass). Since the group’s move to San Francisco, they have collaborated with numerous artists, including the delightfully original Joanna Newsom, amongst other local musicians, to produce a string of whimsical, earthy, indie-folk albums. “Blue Driver” can be found on Vetiver’s June 2008 release, Things of the Past, which boasts a wonderful collection of folk/rock covers from the late 60s and early 70s, revitalized by Cabic without destroying their originality. If you are looking for a mellow, blast from the past for your daily commute, be sure to listen to “Blue Driver” – you won’t be disappointed.
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Blue Driver (mp3)

Previous Episode

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Everything With You"

review by Joanna Clay

Birthed in the Big Apple in 2007, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is comprised of Alex, Kip, Kurt and Peggy. The band name comes from an unpublished children’s story written by a friend of Kip, and the band notes musical influences such as Black Tambourine and My Bloody Valentine.
The melancholy melodies of the talented four-some are reminiscent of dream inducing sugar-pop of the 80s and 90s. Their Slumberland single, “Everything with You,” sounds like the lyrical love child of the Velvet Underground and the Pastels with its magnetically soft vocals and bouncy beat. The sadly hopeful lyrics read like a journal-torn pubescent ballad: "I’m with you and there’s nothing left to do/Tell me it’s true/ ...and the starts are crashing through/ I want everything with you!”
Even if the themes may be youthful, the band is anything but immature with consistently solid tracks and stories that speak to souls of every shape and size.
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Everything With You (mp3)

Next Episode

Little Brother - "Breakin' My Heart"

review by Kristine Ugalde

Little Brother is one of those underground hip hop groups that gained critical acclaim a couple years back, but never received widespread attention. While it may seem like an odd collaboration, I don’t know why I’m still surprised that Weezy is on the track. It's certainly the right direction to go, not only because the self-proclaimed “Best Rapper Alive” has established himself as a formidable emcee, but also his ability to blow up the track.
However, unlike other artists who collaborated with Lil’ Wayne in the past, Little Brother doesn’t take a backseat. They hold their own weight. Wayne’s verse is saturated with clever metaphors, and many might easily dismiss the verse as a freestyle cipher from the 90’s.
I found that the “She loves me, she loves me not” cut in the beginning as well as the hook lacked creativity. It sounds like an old school R&B song bordering trite, holding no emotional resonance. While personally I’m not usually drawn to songs about relationships, the specificity of the lyrical content is honest and on-point. Phonte’s line “Cause a woman's life is love, a man's love is life” on the surface sounds like a gendered stereotype, it speaks volumes about the dynamics between women and men.
Although it’s a romantic track, the track ends with Phonte’s commentary on the younger generation’s misguided consumption and critiques how the ethnic majority are the benefactors of hip hop materialism, proof that Little Brother manages to put out evocative, honest music, which is the basic foundations of hip hop as a musical medium.
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Breakin My Heart feat. Lil' Wayne (mp3)