Heldig (to gange -- to gange)

This is luck: yesterday, 18. april, the OLCC approved changes to Oregon’s minor posting rules, meaning that traditionally 21+ venues will now have the option to create liquor control plans and, if all goes well, finally(!) allow underage concertgoers inside. This means that Portlanders who have not yet attained 21 years of age will soon be able to get into more than four places in a city that (until now) has had a reputation of being great for music if you’re over 21 and horrible if you aren’t. (More info here.)

So… great news -- and coming soon! How soon? About six weeks -- the new ruling should go into effect 1. june. Five days before my twenty-first birthday. Annoyed as I am by the timing of things, I’m actually quite excited and pleased about this. There are lots and lots and lots of other people who will benefit from this rules change, and I hope it works out great for them. Super great.

Anyway, I spent the morning writing about this and otherwise fixing up the Modern Age website -- and completely forgot about updating things here. Sorry about that.

Spillelisten fra 18. april:

1. Scene I – Just Like You Don’t – Blue Swan (DK)
2. Lucky – The Tough Alliance (SV)
3. Something Nice – Stina Nordenstam (SV)
4. The Lucky One – Au Revoir Simone
5. Damsel – Typhoon
6. Take My Advice – Wet Confetti
7. Burning Ball – the Vonneguts
8. I Might Need You to Kill – the Thermals
9. Tammie – the Dø (FN)
10. Sneak – Rumskib (DK)
11. Rye Fields – Northern Fields (SV)
12. I No Longer Know Anything – Trembling Blue Stars
13. On the Radio – the Concretes (SV)

The show itself is kind of… distracted, as I was doing a pre-record of the Live Friday band (oxymoron, I know) at the time, and being a good sound tech kind of took priority over talking at regular intervals in order to maintain the regular format of my show. I mean, all the songs got played, and I think it was a good list. For those who are curious, songs five through eight are all Portland bands, all of whom (in various incarnations) played at the Modern Age later that night. I guess it was only yesterday, actually. And it was quite good.

Anyway. I wanted to talk about the Tough Alliance’s latest -- Lucky. Yes, I know everyone else has already written a glowing review of it. But I am in love too, okay?

So. Lucky. It’s a cover. The original, which is only two years old, is by a pair of really girly Swedish teenage girls called Lucky Twice. While it’s attractive, I think I like the Tough Alliance’s version better. Actually, I know I like it better. The only reason I’m confused is that the Lucky Twice version has been stuck in my head since I (unwisely) decided to listen to it for comparison. It’s just that kind of song. It’s not bad -- but it also sounds like an almost-underground pop staple -- the kind of song they would have played at the skating rink when I was in fifth grade. Under a disco ball. Or maybe a strobe light. With Andy Austin hitting on me by the back wall. Actually, I think that was in third grade… God. Anyway, all that is not to say that the Lucky Twice version is not good. It’s just that the Tough Alliance’s take is better.

The first time I heard the song, I listened to the sound, which is gorgeous. Gradually, as I continued to repeat it at least fifteen times in a row, I began to comprehend the lyrics. They’re not the most brilliant (and TTA cannot be blamed for that) and to be quite honest, I’m not entirely sure what the song is about. Compounding the confusion is the fact that TTA takes what was originally a very peppy and upbeat thing, slows it down, and makes it sad. Sounding as if they’re shouted down a long tunnel, the vocals are echo-y, far away, perhaps almost all the way gone… To me, it sounds kinda like a memory.

It’s a melancholy song, more suited to morosely sitting, post-break-up, in a sea of candles, moving only enough to hit repeat every two minutes and fifty-five seconds, than to dancing -- or even being very happy. It’s not what I expected from the Tough Alliance, and I don’t think it’s what anyone would have expected to have been released as the b-side of a song called Neo Violence. (To be fair, I have not actually heard Neo Violence. My relationship to the music of the Tough Alliance is still somewhat bizarre.) But -- especially considering the fact that it is a b-side -- it’s a real gem. No wonder everyone is so excited about this.

Unfortunately, since I think TTA would like you to actually pay for this, I cannot offer a direct download here (although you can hear it on the podcast (or probably find it quite easily through the Hype Machine)). You can purchase Lucky, along with its a-side, through Sincerely Yours, on mp3 or 7”. I am quite inclined to think the vinyl will be worth it.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (18. april 2008)