Everyone Except Me: Sidewalks (2008)

I don’t spend a lot of time listening to accusatory music. Who knows, maybe it is because I could be one of the accused. So when I first heard Everyone Except Me’s (a moniker for New Jersey’s Michelle Antisocial) second EP on ACOSM Records, Sidewalks, I was a bit turned off.

“iPod Ears” being the prime example of a sort of self-righteousness that is on the same coin as the type of people Michelle is singing against. I’ve been listening to Everyone Except Me on my iPod, what does that say about me?

Maybe I’m being grumpy, but it’s been difficult trying to tackle this record. Reading more about Michelle and listening to the songs over and over I have started to get a better feel for where she’s coming from. And it’s understandable to want to rail against the man, but things are a bit more complex than making generalizations about men in suits, rich kids, etc.

Sidewalks comes off best when she turns the guns on herself as on “Don’t Feed The Hobos.” More nuanced and subtle, this tale of the street is humorous/ironic and it allows Michelle’s lovely voice to shine.

And that’s the thing, Sidewalks is a wonderful record, Michelle’s voice is something unexpected in the folk-punk world and it’s a nice change of pace than usual gruff shouters. On “The Preacher And The Slave” Michelle and I align in our hatred towards organized religion in a hilarious manner as she shouts with a chorus, “You’ll get pie in the sky when you die/That’s a lie!”

My disillusionment with the whole protest/activist movement has kind of colored my experiences when I first approached Everyone Except Me’s Sidewalks, but really, don’t let my old man politics get in the way of a wonderfully sincere album that’ll get the blood boiling and the fist pumping.

Mp3:
Everyone Except Me-"The Preacher And The Slave"

Links:
Everyone Except Me on Myspace!
Order Sidewalks from ACOSM Records today!

Lauren Elle: I Prefer The Element Of Surprise (2008)

Hailing from Grand Rapids Michigan, Lauren Elle’s debut album on ACOSM Records, I Prefer The Element Of Surprise reminds me of the wonderful simplicity of music that so often gets lost today. Most of Lauren’s album is comprised of her trusty acoustic guitar and her voice. Now I am a sucker for female singing voices and although Lauren’s voice isn’t terribly unique she sounds like she has a wonderful handle on it and uses it to every possible advantage.

Take for example the first song, “I Wish My Heart Was A Stone,” it is probably the catchiest and sweetest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Pulling out as much humble sweetness in her voice she sings, “I/ Wish my heart was a stone/I/Hate making decisions/I/Am better off alone/Cuz I/Don’t trust myself.” No Lauren! Don’t wish these things because you sound too lovely to be so lonely. The stretch of the “I” is wrenching and beautiful.

Elsewhere on I Prefer The Element Of Surprise Lauren utters familiar hooks, but sings with such emotion and honesty, she really does make them all her own. On “H.O.M.E.S.” perhaps her most lyrically dense, she still manages to make lines like, “Smile like the sun does/Or my poor little heart might break/Or be sad and cry yourself a set of/Your very own great lakes,” into a chorus that is strangely catchy, but very moving. This song also contains one of my favorite lines on the album: “Sometimes I am criticized when my head is in the clouds/But to be honest I’m not partial to the solid ground.” That’s something I could definitely be criticized for as well.

Now I don’t know why “Bike Tickets” is listed as a bonus track on this album, but it is perhaps my favorite song here. Featuring a Lo-Fi sounding keyboard and drum track instead of her usual acoustic guitar, this angelic dirge is extremely haunting and beautiful. Her voice takes on an almost operatic manner, as she sings, “Won’t you be my sunflower,” over and over as if it was a mantra.

My only complaint about Lauren is that she sings The Moldy Peaches song, “Anyone Else But You,” alone. I don’t know if it was to transform it into a sad exercise on loneliness, but it unnerves me just a bit.

With that said, the rest of I Prefer The Element Of Surprise is utterly infectious for its strict simplicity and low-key manner with which it presents itself. Don’t let that fool you, Lauren Elle is making songs that are not to be missed. You may not know it, but the tugging in your heart is the lack of these songs going into your ears.

Mp3:
Lauren Elle-"I Wish My Heart Was A Stone"

Links:
Lauren Elle on Myspace!
Get I Prefer The Element Of Surprise on ACOSM Records!

We Heart Arts & ACOSM Records Doing The Good Stuff

Is that Shelby Sifers hiding behind that sign?

We Heart Arts is a truly wonderful organization that every Lo-Fi musician or anyone who believes in the power of creativity should get behind. It is non-profit and seeks to raise money for kid’s creative arts programs across the globe. Here are their tenants:

i. Creative arts teaches young people the value of lifelong active personal expressionism
ii. Creative arts teaches young people to question the world they live in
iii. Creative arts teaches young people that thinking outside of the box is an important mental function in life
iv. Creative arts teaches young people to engage in a social network of proactive young people invested in a community built on meaningful, sustained ideas and expressionism
v. Creative arts open up a world of opportunities for young people to grow and help others through arts therapy
vi. Creative arts can open up an avenue of communication for children with learning difficulties
vii. Creative arts can help children process and work through traumatic experiences
viii. Creative arts can provide peer interaction and a sense of community, independence and feelings of control

I for one agree whole-heartedly with these and in today’s world it is a whole lot harder to express yourself freely in the public sphere and kids shouldn’t be ashamed of what they create and love to do.

So if you want to support We Heart Arts in some way now is your chance. Write about it, make posters and take photos, make videos talking about it and buy the digital splits featuring so far Shelby Sifers, Eyes For Volume, Secret Owl Society and Fire Island, AK!

Here your chance to use your creativity to make a difference, and not just awareness either, but the more people take part the more things get done. Go!

My video for We Heart Arts:




In conjunction with We Heart Arts, ACOSM Records is a label that ya'll are going to hear a lot about in the near future. Also started by Tony Cannings, he says this about ACOSM’s ideals; “Music is about passion, drive and the need to free you creatively from the monotony of everyday life. It's about being flag bearers of a new cultural revolution, about having a voice and knowing how to use it, sometimes the quietest of voices can make the loudest noise!”

With recent closures or hiatuses of labels like Pop Monster and Valiant Death, we need labels like ACOSM to take up the new mantle of supporting the unbridled creativity of the Lo-Fi world. Like I said, big things will be happening soon, just you wait. But for now check out the likes of Lauren Elle and Everyone Except Me who are already on ACOSM getting the whole thing started.

Mp3s:
Lauren Elle-“I Wish My Heart Was A Stone”
Everyone Except Me-“50,000 Screaming Adolescents Can't Be Wrong”

Links:
We Heart Arts on Myspace!
Buy The Digital Splits Here!
ACSOM Records
ACOSM Records on Myspace!
Lauren Elle on Myspace!
Everyone Except Me on Myspace!