I can't help but hype it: "Myriad Harbour"
3 Comments Published by Kate on Tuesday at 7/17/2007 01:02:00 AM.
I always knew Dan Bejar was a little off his rocker (he was at one point for me "that guy in the New Pornographers' with the weird-ass voice"). His lyrics, always cryptic, seemed to be filled with a certain strong avoidance of basic normality, with lines like "there's a plague on / there's a rat-tailed ensemble / burying all of our hits in the sand / the same sand a desert uses." Twin Cinema was a low point for his song-writing role in the NPs, with "Streets of Fire" being the only track where he predominated vocally. I'm not much of a Destroyer fan, so I was sure after Twin Cinema that my love-affair with Dan Bejar's music was coming to an end. A.C. Newman had taken over, and Bejar was just the guy playing drums with a liquor bottle in his hand.But Challengers seems to be poised to place Dan Bejar at the forefront of the NPs again, and I couldn't be more excited.
"Myriad Harbour" immediately has a few obvious things going for it. It's self-referential, "I said to Carl" (A.C. Newman is actually Carl Newman) and "I said to Jon" beginning the first few verses of the song.
But the magnificence only comes in full force around the time that Bejar says coyly, "Oh well I do." There's no choice but to love him for his pretentiousness, his desire to think deep thoughts and not ever have them be fully understood. The song gets even better with, "I walked into the local record store / and asked for an American music anthology / It sounds fun." Dan Bejar, you're such a Canadian Euro-snob, will you run away with me to Toronto? Belfast? Milan? Barcelona? I do wonder.
Yes, "Myriad Harbour" is [download or die]
The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour (Challengers)
The New Pornographers - Chump Charge (Electric Version)
Pre-order Challengers from Insound
or... Buy Early, Get Now (do it! do IT! don't ignore me, DO IT!)
Just a tiny bit of self-promotion: my post (from last August) about my favorite song of all time...which just happens to be by the New Pornographers.
The NP's now have a DC date!!! (October 27, 9:30 Club) Whoopy! Now I just have to hold out for an Ohio tour date...(more tour dates here)
Just a little more: I had, say, 4 links (1, 2, 3, 4) I wanted to put up to The Music Slut and then I thought, what the hell? People should just read the damn blog themselves.
Labels: canadians, Dan Bejar, Destroyer, New Pornographers, song piece
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mmmm more pornnnnnnagraphers
never wear a NP shirt around children and mothers of said small children you are supposed to be teaching.
not good
and thanks for the edits, chief
I have also committed such t-shirt crimes...