Comments on: Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/2009/02/04/junior-boys-begone-dull-care/ formerly, The Paris Review of Mp3s Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:27:43 +0000 hourly 1 By: ELK http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/2009/02/04/junior-boys-begone-dull-care/comment-page-1/#comment-83 ELK Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:03:48 +0000 http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/?p=200#comment-83 It's true. I went through a major dance music phase a few months ago, scouring blogs devoted entirely to fist-pumping electronic anthems and such. And every time I went through my daily download binge, assembling everything new from every reliable source, there was just too much for me to pretend that I had some criteria for determining which of these three dozen songs were actually more than a song-of-the-minute--too many minimal intros, too many breakdowns, too many fours on the floor, too many extended outros, and worst of all, too many remixes. But it was inevitable. At some point, something would click. And while nine out of ten of those tracks ended up just being obscure titles in a playlist I couldn't remember, the one banger remained on heavy rotation, inexplicably thumping my brain all day, all week, all month long. It was undeniable. Time tells you the truth. Only time will tell. Time after time. And time flies. It’s true. I went through a major dance music phase a few months ago, scouring blogs devoted entirely to fist-pumping electronic anthems and such. And every time I went through my daily download binge, assembling everything new from every reliable source, there was just too much for me to pretend that I had some criteria for determining which of these three dozen songs were actually more than a song-of-the-minute–too many minimal intros, too many breakdowns, too many fours on the floor, too many extended outros, and worst of all, too many remixes. But it was inevitable. At some point, something would click. And while nine out of ten of those tracks ended up just being obscure titles in a playlist I couldn’t remember, the one banger remained on heavy rotation, inexplicably thumping my brain all day, all week, all month long. It was undeniable.

Time tells you the truth. Only time will tell. Time after time. And time flies.

]]> By: JoeyC http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/2009/02/04/junior-boys-begone-dull-care/comment-page-1/#comment-82 JoeyC Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:14:51 +0000 http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/?p=200#comment-82 Perhaps that's the case, but boredom may just be symptom of a much bigger problem in dance music, namely self-awareness. Getting the crowd to move their feet while keeping in mind several hundred minute rules of sonic hipness is bit like having to compose counterpoint at the business end of Fux's 9mm. How then, do you just go forth and groove, like the kids who play in the snowbank on a blind curve in the road, oblivious? I suppose the trick may be in paying very little attention at all to what you are hearing and for what ironic reasons they have come into your stereo. If your wife were to ask you what on god's green earth are you listening to, to have no ready reply. And yet, there you are, unconsciously humping the counter while you do the dishes, and the Junior Boys, despite themselves, have done it again. Perhaps that’s the case, but boredom may just be symptom of a much bigger problem in dance music, namely self-awareness. Getting the crowd to move their feet while keeping in mind several hundred minute rules of sonic hipness is bit like having to compose counterpoint at the business end of Fux’s 9mm. How then, do you just go forth and groove, like the kids who play in the snowbank on a blind curve in the road, oblivious? I suppose the trick may be in paying very little attention at all to what you are hearing and for what ironic reasons they have come into your stereo. If your wife were to ask you what on god’s green earth are you listening to, to have no ready reply. And yet, there you are, unconsciously humping the counter while you do the dishes, and the Junior Boys, despite themselves, have done it again.

]]> By: ELK http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/2009/02/04/junior-boys-begone-dull-care/comment-page-1/#comment-81 ELK Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:57:45 +0000 http://www.thecadillacofwinter.com/?p=200#comment-81 I'd have to say the first track, "Parallel Lines" is the jam on the album, another inductee to the Junior Boys' pop gems hall of fame. Joe, you should put that one up. But I have to confess the rest of it just hasn't grabbed me yet. There's something about the Junior Boys aesthetic that sounds like boredom. It's the minimal arrangements and the tempo that doesn't ever quite bring you to the dance floor no matter how much you wish it would. And to their credit, most of the time none of that matters--or it matters insofar as it's what sets them apart. But on second listen, this "Dull To Pause" track is really nice. Maybe it's a grower. I’d have to say the first track, “Parallel Lines” is the jam on the album, another inductee to the Junior Boys’ pop gems hall of fame. Joe, you should put that one up. But I have to confess the rest of it just hasn’t grabbed me yet. There’s something about the Junior Boys aesthetic that sounds like boredom. It’s the minimal arrangements and the tempo that doesn’t ever quite bring you to the dance floor no matter how much you wish it would. And to their credit, most of the time none of that matters–or it matters insofar as it’s what sets them apart. But on second listen, this “Dull To Pause” track is really nice. Maybe it’s a grower.

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