Not Pop: “Drought”

— Matt

Though 2-minute pop will forever be Slay Tracks’ first love, we’ve also been known to flirt around with something much darker, longer, and unpredictable from time to time. We wouldn’t dare commit to it or introduce it to our mothers, but damn if it doesn’t sound perfect when in the right state of mind. It’s Not Pop. It’s the kind of stuff Laszlo Toth busts out once the crowd has been lulled into a false sense of security with a string of sing-along, feel-good numbers. That’s when you melt faces.

Pelican melts faces.

16 comments on “Not Pop: “Drought””

  1. So…. I read your guys blog now. I don’t know what caused it, whether it is out of sheer boredom, or the fact that Merlin is the only one with good taste in music around here (lolreferences). I’ve also thought some ideas which you guys may be interested in, only if your interested though.

  2. We’re interested in all ideas. You might say we’re in the business of ideas. Ideas and music. Musical Ideas.

    What do you have in mind?

  3. I’ll second Matt’s assertion with the slight qualification that jam band posts are strictly off limits unless derisive in nature. But other than that commence with the exchange of mind juice.

  4. As far as Pelican goes, my favorite is still the song I would actually consider letting Mary listen to: Aurora Borealis. I may just be too sensitive. I guess I like soft heavy.

  6. Well…
    Aside from the personal commentating between matt and scott, the blog has a very broad feel to it, this of course coming from an outsider looking in, or a new perspective, if you will. I was thinking to appeal to the people on a more personal level, or me and john. I fully enjoy the listening to things ive never heard of before, dont get me wrong, its just that im an emotional guy and i need to be in the mood for certain things. I know matt listens to music seasonally and im starting to do a similar thing, bands that used to do it for me any time of the week just dont cut it anymore. I’m delving into deeper territories. I want to know what your listening to and why. Sometimes studio is depressing and not every band can cheer you up, naw mean? So if your feeling blue, or in a great mood, or its too cold out or you didnt sleep well last night, tell me what songs, albums, bands in general you wana hear. Just my two cents. I have other ideas but they are not fully formed, ill update you if requested.
    Commas and grammar….
    PS. Im not asking to change anything, just to expand

  7. Good points. So you’re looking for more personal insight into bands/albums/tracks and less factual info — ie when it came out, who it influenced, etc — correct? We can definitely go that route, but sometimes those kind of recommendations can be awfully subjective and potentially sound super pretentious. For example, I love listening to Mark Kozelek when I’m down or during the winter months, but I don’t want to force that opinion on JBrock, who may prefer Air Supply.

    I’ll think on this…

  8. This is why it would have to be its own segment of the blog. Like i said, dont change what you are doing, just add. It could be called Situationally and Emotionally Charged Sundays, or not. Making a lame title downplays the pretentiousness. I find subjective recommendations more helpful personally, and if everyone gives their insight then it becomes even more helpful. I prefer hearing why you like someone rather than why you should like someone. I guess with all the music that i have been graced with i want to know which ones need some substance behind them to be more awesome. I personally take some bands more seriously and try harder to get into them if i know why others like them, rather then listening to a song or two to quickly form an opinion.
    Just my two cents, again

  9. That’s fair. I think from the beginning Scott and I have been trying to create a place where we just talk about music — recent purchases, songs we love, etc — and stay away from getting overly critical of what we don’t like (outside of our overt hatred for jam bands, you’ll notice we don’t criticize much music here). We specifically want to stay away from the typical music website/blog blueprint of daily news combined with album reviews — there’s just too many of them already.

    So I guess in a way what you’re asking for is what we’ve been trying to accomplish all along, but perhaps we just haven’t reached our ultimate vision yet? I’ll see what I can do. It’s only the third month and to be honest, it’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint and articulate exactly why I like a certain album/band/track without getting too cheesy. Actually, I think what helps is when you guys — ie not me or Scott — chime in with opinions/thoughts. Is there anyway we could make things slightly more interactive for you guys?

  10. idk what i want anymore… The Patriots in the Super Bowl? Michigan good at something? Our intramural team not getting mercied with 7 minutes left to play? (thats almost 40 points mind you, they were on fire) Sometimes the world is just full of tornadoes and train wrecks.

  11. Hahaha, was that you’re first conversational Crash Test Dummies reference? Well done, you make me proud. You should fit in just fine here.

    But ya, I’ll see what I can do. I’ve been working on a post that tries to explain why I love Pavement so much. Not that you need to be convinced of that, but it’ll hopefully be a good read.

  12. Well done Calth, well done (way to make Matt proud). If you do end up going for a more personal section please add criticism about other bands. I was reading up about Mogwai and I guess they hate the band blur. So without even hearing anything from Blur, I now hate Blur. This makes me happy.

  13. Oh, and matt can we make avatars instead of these silhouettes? I made one for Mgoblog awhile back but i was always to afraid to post on there

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