Elvis Presley and America

I used to love U2. It was a big day – a humid, windy, overcast day – when, after school, I got to ride my bike across town to the shopping mall on the day of release for U2’s “The Unforgettable Fire.” I was 14. Early surprise favorite was of course, “Bad,” as well as “A Sort of Homecoming.” But there was this other, odd, song – the longest song – on the B-side called “Elvis Presley and America.” It had no verse, it had no chorus, it just kept going, and changing as it went. The story goes, it was just U2 improvising in the studio with Brian Eno. This was the first record U2 had done with Eno and Lanios. And, although I didn’t love it, I certainly didn’t hate it either. It intrigued me. I tried to figure out the words – most of Bono’s lyrics were pretty hard to figure out at this time if they weren’t printed out on a lyric sheet (like the next, breakthrough album would provide), and – truth be told – probably better off that they’re shrouded in mystery, and, anyway, I never really figured out much from this track. Through the years of liking U2 less and less, this song, “Elvis Presley and America” still gets me. It’s obviously the most free, loose, risky (why not save this for a B-side? what’s this doing on the album?) and dare I say “out there” U2 had ever been or would ever be again. Bono sounds like he’s just waking up, and The Edge is strumming chords – which he never does – channeling something from somewhere else, just rolling and rolling, and just when it sounds like the wheels are falling off in the mucky bog, the sun breaks out and Edge and Bono victoriously come together for what has to be their most experimental song to this day. Although songs like “With or Without You” or “One” are still capable of giving you chills, “Elvis Presley and America” has to be U2’s most magical piece of music ever recorded.

Forthcoming:

Spiritualized – sweet heart sweet light (fat possum [US]/domino/double six [UK]) mar 2012
Altar eagle – nightrunners (type) 2012
Sic alps – vedley 7” (dc 508)
Windy & carl – we will always be (krank 163)
Mike harding – repaired/replaced 7” (ts 013)
Biosphere – mysterier 7” (ts 011)
Oren ambarchi – audience of one (to 083)

New this week:

Maria Minerva - Sacred & Profane Love 12" (SILK 013EP)
howling hex - Wilson Semiconductors CD (DC 501CD)
graham lambkin - Amateur Doubles LP (KYE 015LP)
Geoff mullen - Accidental Guitars LP (REL 018LP)
Guided by voices – doughnut for a snowman (fire) dec 2011
ryan Elliott - Kicking Up 12" (SPC 106EP)
Refractor – locus suspectus (under the spire) dec 2011
Xela – exorcism (learnwithxela) dec 2011
Flower / Corsano / Hejnowski – The Count Visits (Hot Cars Warp/Flowerhouse Records 14/03) dec 2011
Demdike stare – elemental pts. 1 & 2 of a 4 part set 2x12” (modern love) December 2011

Grabbed:

Wooden wand and the briarwood virgins – briarwood (fire) nov 2011
Sculpture – toad blinker (dekorder 58) October 2011
Andrew pekler – sentimental favourites (dekorder 061) nov 2011
Pete swanson – man with garbage (type 102) bonus CD w/ “Man with Potential” (type 101v) nov 2011
Jefre cantu-ledesma – conversations with myself (no label) jun 2011
Pole – waldgeschichten 2 (pole) dec 2011
Jérôme Noetinger & Will Guthrie - Face Off (Erstwhile 064) nov 2011
Xela – exorcism (learnwithxela) dec 2011
Alog – unemployed (rune grammofon 2116) dec 2011
Efdemin – Chicago remixes 2 (dial 61) dec 2011
Terranova – so strong (kom 246ep) dec 2011
Jakob olausson – morning & sunrise (destijl 97) dec 2011
Bvdub – then (ay, JAP) dec 2011
Heatsick – intersex (pan 19) nov 2011
Lawrence – kurama 12” (pampa) dec 2011

Older stuff:

Panda bear – surfer’s hymn (actress rmx) ltd. Single-sided 12” (kompakt) jul 2011
Derek rogers – populist context (goldtimers 011) june 2011
Derek rogers – the exhaustion of emotion (Bridgetown 44) jun 2011
Derek rogers – concealed weapon (calypso hum 14) oct 2010
Six organs of admittance – maria kapel (pavilion 10) may 2011
Richard skelton – black combe (sustain-release _ Aeolian editions) sept 2011
Xela – dunwich dreams 7” (life like) sept 2011
War on drugs, the – slave ambient (secretly Canadian) aug 2011
War on drugs, the – future weather ep (secretly Canadian) oct 2010
Concern – living wage (digitalis ltd. 220) aug 2011
Derek rogers – relative quiet (bathetic 43) aug 2011
imaginary softwoods - the path of spectrolite (amethyst sunset 013) aug 2011

Beer:

Short's the Wizard
Short's the Liberator