Britt Daniel “You Get Yours” and “Let the Distance Bring Us Together”
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Britt Daniel, the driving force (with drummer Jim Eno) behind Spoon, has guided the band through its myriad incarnations, from the early, dissonant Pixies/Modern Lovers period of Telephono to the brilliant, Pink Flag inspired Series of Sneaks (the title itself a reference to Wire’s song “A Serious of Snakes”) through the ebullient, mature, Beatles/Elvis Costello trad pop of Girls Can Tell and the sprawling, genre-defying masterpiece Kill the Moonlight to this year’s conceptual suite Gimme Fiction. Out of these changes have emerged several constants in Daniel’s songwriting style; the purposeful vocal affectations, partially created by his singing with his tongue hovering in the middle of his mouth (watch him live–you’ll see it), a concentration on the left side of the piano, Joe Jackson-style, a lyricism that vacillates broadly between avant-garde obtuseness and direct emotional catharsis, and most noticeably, a concentration on rhythm that borders on infatuation–drawing comparisons to everything from Purple Rain and Back in Black to Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and yes, Hall and Oates. Take another listen to the first few bars of “They Never Got You” and just try not to hear “Maneater.”
These two songs are drawn from a split-EP recorded with the insufferable Conor Oberst and released on Saddle Creek in 2002. Even Daniel’s cast-offs, however, burn with an intensity unmatched by any current songwriter. “You Get Yours” (mp3), featuring backing vocals from Oberst, offers the chugging punk energy and simultaneous anger/acceptance of “Jonathan Fisk,” while “Let the Distance Bring Us Together” (mp3) is a delicate, yearning precursor to Fiction’s “I Summon You.”
Bonus: A stunning, minimalist remix of Interpol’s “Slow Hands” (mp3) that actually may improve on the magnificent original.
Home Volume IV was originally limited to 2,000 copies, but demand forced a re-pressing. Buy it here.
Filed under: Britt Daniel Spoon
i like britt daniels. i like that you like spoon so much. our mutual fondness for the band helped us become fast friends. however…the ’slow hands’ remix is not so impressive. not so impressive at all. i’m sorry that i had to disagree with you.
I didn’t release the low quantity for the initial release of Home Volume IV and guess I was one of the lucky ones to get a copy while in Texas! I picked it up at Good Records in Dallas that sells only indie stuff.. Haven’t found a music store like it yet here in Maryland but probably some stores like it in DC..
Good call on Let The Distance… being a precursor to Fiction’s I Summon..! After listening to it again I definitely agree that it is in the same direction.