Song of the Week – Black and White, Parquet Courts

IGNORED OBSCURED RESTORED

This post was originally mailed to my distribution list on October 4th.

A band that is currently on the indie rock circuit is Brooklyn (yes, another one from Brooklyn) based Parquet Courts. Their third album, Sunbathing animals, has been out for a few months now. I’ve been checking it out on Spotify and really enjoy the whole album. But “Black and White” stands out to me for its up tempo, post-punk drive – so it is today’s SotW. (It’s also the song they played on Seth Meyer’s late night show earlier this year.)

“Black and White” has a Velvet Underground/Television/Sonic Youth vibe to it – repetitive strumming and droning lead and a feedback laced freak out.

The lyrics communicate the difficulty and frustration of trying to balance how to continue to be fresh and creative when you’re trapped by the mundane tedium of constant touring. Here’s the second verse.

There’s a sinful sort of side of being
So contained, a bit like being lost
Stumbling through the background like a small town loner
Quietly a-whisperin’ my thoughts into my cupped hands
Folded and monk-like, at least that’s what I’ve always said
How does writing letters from the lonely margins feel
When there is no hair on my head?
Is the solitude I seek a trap where I’ve been blindly led?
Tell me, where then do I go instead?

Parquet Courts is another contemporary band worth keeping an eye on.

Enjoy… until next week.

2 thoughts on “Song of the Week – Black and White, Parquet Courts

  1. This is pretty good. Has that problem with overly beat poetic lyrics, which can be made to fit the rock rhythm but really should have their own spoken sense. If you read the quoted verse up above it would never sound like the way the singer presents those lines.

    Not a disqualifying problem, I think, but it makes it harder for me go LIKE! I like the music. When I read the words I like them, too. Together, it sounds fine, but is it a match?

  2. Pingback: Parquet Courts, Wide Awake | Rock 'n' Roll Remnants

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