To download this track, submit your email address. If you already subscribe to The 'Gum Drop, you'll get a link to the file, and if you don't already subscribe, we'll sign you up and send you a link.
Birds Of Avalon - "Your Downtime Is Up"
Psychedelic Raleigh quintet Birds Of Avalon release their expansive sophomore album Uncanny Valley 6/23 (7/21 on vinyl) via Volcom. We spoke with guitarist Cheetie Kumar and bassist David Mueller about the hazy, disorienting standout "Your Downtime Is Up."
The idea of down being up's used by the Velvet Underground, Richard Fariña, William Vollmann, etc. What was the song's inspiration? Down and up can be used to create a plurality of interpretations -- a literal physical disposition, emotional states or something more intangible -- as in "rising up," or "standing down." The inspiration, I guess, was to have a title that suggests the sort ambiguity and mystery that reflect the overall musical elements and feeling of the song.
What's the narrative? You can get close to figuring it out, but the instrumental swells drown out a complete meaning. Maybe that's intentional? The idea is that ultimately songs are about what they feel like, not necessarily what they "say." That said, there is a loose narrative about a child playing in a storm tunnel, coming face to face with his doppelganger and getting frozen to the spot. He watches his double leave the tunnel to assume his identity while he (the child) remains trapped below forever. A playful scenario gone horribly awry...
Neil Young Covers The Fresh Prince Theme
Bang the Fallon gong, this is easily the best bit on Late Night since "Let Us Play With Your Look," and Sara Schaefer's right in that it's a good reminder of why Jimmy got the job in the first place.... (more)
LCD Soundsystem Scores, Cameos In Greenberg
Noah Baumbach's new film's full of James Murphy: the LCD man wrote the score, and the trailer features "All My Friends" plus a shot of James holding a phone at 25 seconds. Acting! But yes it does make sense to... (more)
New Final Fantasy - "Keep The Dog Quiet" (Live On Dinner With The Band)
Owen Pallett is adaptable. If he's performing solo outdoors under cloud cover, he'll seemingly conjure rainstorms while debuting a righteous new tune from his forthcoming Domino debut Heartland; while at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, he'll seamlessly flesh out his... (more)
New Polvo Video - "Right The Relation"
Polvo's comeback album In Prism finds the mathy NC noise-rockers in very fine form. If you're a casual listener, you might have only had "Beggar's Bowl" to go on before the release of this shadowy, strobed video for the collection's... (more)
New Fever Ray Video - "Keep The Streets Empty"
Few things have been as consistently immersive and reliably creepy as the unending flow of official videos from Fever Ray's self-titled debut. They've been practically episodic in nature, this being the fifth (including one for her Nick Cave cover), and... (more)
