Friday Mailbag - 10/29/20
New "20 in 20" episode, questions from the readers, and more!
Greetings! And welcome to the first installment of the “Friday Mailbag.” Think of this as a nice way to wind down the week and get caught up on the world of New Experimental Hours.
20 in 20 EPISODE THREE is LIVE!
That’s right, I didn’t quit (yet). Sorry to all my haters. You can find the new episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or here at Buzzsprout. Shout-out to Marc for letting me use his song, “Small Lustrous Pearl,” for the intro. This week, I talk about:
We also caught up with John Wilmes for another installment of “My Favorite Shirt.” You can read that here.
AND NOW TO THE MAILBAG…
Loyal N.E.H. reader, Diego, asks:
Did you ever have an aversion to “harsh vocals” and what made you overcome it?
Great question. My first prolonged exposure to “harsh vocals” came when I bought Converge’s Jane Doe at Best Buy in 2001. As vocals go, those are truly harsh. I remember wanting to like Converge so badly that I pushed past whatever initial discomfort I experienced. My next purchases (Start Today, Get An Oxygen Tank, Chain of Strength) sounded like pop music in comparison. I still find Converge challenging for their harshness.
Loyal N.E.H. reader, Pat (no relation), asks:
Your go-to GBV track?!
Another great question. I immediately thought “Motor Away” so let’s go with that. What I love about “Motor Away” is that it’s about escape, and it sounds like escaping. It literally sounds like motoring. The guitars, the drums, and that triumphant vocal cohere to the lyrics in this very pleasing way.
Guided By Voices must’ve thought so, too, because they pushed the song hard. They played it when they went on TV for the first time, they released it as a single, they shot a music video for it, and they’ve played it over 400 times in concert. The video gave me chills when I watched it today. Speed on.
Got a question? Feel free to comment on this post or e-mail me at newexperimentalhours@gmail.com. Thanks!
I hope everybody has a great weekend. Happy Halloween. Be smart out there. Stay home and listen to some Misfits, listen to some black metal. And then on Tuesday, go vote. Peace!