House Arrest!

[Futureman]

Ariel Pink's House Arrest, that is. This stuff is scratching me where I itch.

Me like! Need more!

[Lukas]

Ya I checked into this stuff after that video featured his tunes. Catchy and unique, but his production style is too much of a pain.

[tinobeat]

The production style on House Arrest is even the clearest of the three albums I've heard. Once you've sat through lots of home-recorded stuff by different artists, it stops being a pain.

You've got to wean yourself from the hi-fi teat!

[Futureman]

For me, the shoddy production contributes to the album's weird sort of beauty. Got any recs, tino?

[tinobeat]

well, I definitely recommend the other two Ariel Pink records on Paw Tracks, The Doldrums (the more heartbreaking and pretty of the two), and Worn Copy (which is a bit more of a sprawl).

As far as other recent charmingly lo-fi recordings, I recommend, off the top of my head:

Times New Viking - Dig Yourself
Jukeboxer - Learns the Alphabet
E-Zee Tiger - s/t
The Capitol Years - Meet Yr Acres
Dr. Dog - Toothbrush

[johansen smith]

The Capitol Years - Meet Yr Acres

I thought their last album was way better tho

[johansen smith]

and if we're talking lo-fi greatness, you gotta mention "Ponyoak" by Kleenex Girl Wonder.

[tinobeat]

I kind of agree about Capitol Years, but I almost think of Capitol-Years-As-Band as a totally different project from the original solo CY.

I haven't heard that Kleenex Boy Wonder album, I'll look into it.

[Lukas]

Another thing I hate about his style is that he purposfully plays off tune and makes mistakes to create his "sound".

EDIT - A lot of my favorite music is played like this, but at least it is not forced.

[tinobeat]

why would you say that Ariel's mistakes are forced and fake, and say, all the extraneous clutter on the old Pavement singles isn't? I think Ariel's as genuine as any other.

[johansen smith]

I think Ariel Pink is incredibly contrived and artificial, whereas the peripheral sounds in Pavement seem like happy accidents.

[tinobeat]

I like Pavement more than Ariel Pink (though I love both), but I'll happily venture that the old Pave singles, recorded as they were in Gary Young's not-entirely-lo-fi studio, are a lot more affectedly "lo-fi" than anything AP does. He's a genuinely weird kid, sitting in his room with truly shitty gear recording these crazy little songs. He's definitely not intentionally fucking up parts in order to seem cool.

I'm not saying you guys have to like what he's doing, but just because his lo-fi recordings aren't to your taste doesn't make it less real or more contrived than lo-fi recordings you do like.

[Lukas]

I like Pavement more than Ariel Pink (though I love both), but I'll happily venture that the old Pave singles, recorded as they were in Gary Young's not-entirely-lo-fi studio, are a lot more affectedly "lo-fi" than anything AP does. He's a genuinely weird kid, sitting in his room with truly shitty gear recording these crazy little songs. He's definitely not intentionally fucking up parts in order to seem cool.

I'm not saying you guys have to like what he's doing, but just because his lo-fi recordings aren't to your taste doesn't make it less real or more contrived than lo-fi recordings you do like.

Ummm...didn't I read somewhere that he has his own studio, and works as a part time producer? I might have dreamed that though

[Salman]

Add me to the bandwagon. Just listened to the record today and I was absolutely floored. Best record I heard so far this year.