On Demand
Spinning On Air
-
(David Garland/WNYC)Grizzly Bear
With lyrics that abstractly imply shifting personal relationships, and music that's full of angles, shadows, and flashes of color, you might think Grizzly Bear's songs would hardly hold together. But somehow these tenuous elements combine to form songs that are forceful and engrossing. As the Brooklyn-based band Grizzly Bear is about to release their new album, "Veckatimest," they join host David Garland in the WNYC Studio to perform and talk about their new music. This is a rebroadcast of Thursday's live American Music Festival session. Photos from the session
David Garland on the Web
All About WNYC's Music Host
David Garland, host of WNYC's Evening Music and Spinning on Air, is also a composer and a performer. He has performed his music extensively in the U.S. and Europe and several of his recordings and downloads are available on his Web site, DavidGarland.com.
More
Comments
Refresh
LOVE Grizzly Bear & Thanks, David Garland!
I've loved your shows for a long time.
Maybe it's just me, but one of the GB's sounds like Robert Wyatt, re-invented.
A suggestion....
Grizzly Bears: Soft Machine.
Grizzly Bear's music is whiny, dumbed-down, soporific, stultifying, half-baked, pretentious and poorly executed. Their banal Emperor's-New-Clothes irony masquerading as nuance is a bore. My musical training and tastes are very eclectic -- everything from Gregorian chant to classical to bluegrass to jazz to worldbeat to indie rock and on and on. I have very open ears. Where Grizzly Bear is concerned, there truly is no "there" there. I imagine them privately laughing up their sleeves at their own success. The only way I can explain it is that because of American Idol and hip hop, our pop musical culture has long been bereft of basic musical values such as tunes, harmonies and instrumentation. Hence, our poor ears are starving for anything that reminds us of the tonal system in a way that doesn't feel assaultive. Well, Grizzly Bear sort of sings in tune and sort of applies a bit of harmony, but that's not the same thing as actually having something to say. It's possible to feel assaulted by pretension, too. Their music reeks of privilege and self-importance while their sensibility shrieks "I'm so bored, so cool and so sensitive." Well, I may not be cool, but I am sensitive, and I am way, way bored.
Methinks you're being a bit of a sourpuss. Although many focus on harmonies, their music is carefully wrought and has pacing and tension (Little Brother, Two Weeks) and a genuineness that is appealing to many. I know nothing about their situation but I suspect that their your perception of privilege may just be an artist's luxurious contemplation of the universe of music and not being negative, facile, etc. (I believe that sort of luxury comes from within). Perhaps, rather than just being negative you can suggest some music you think is more representative of what you consider admirable and let others consider the source (good or bad).
Beautiful, thanks for this.
They were also fantastic live both times I've seen them.
I think Milos must be trolling... or majorly projecting.
Leave a Comment
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. WNYC reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the WNYC.org Comment Guidelines before posting.