Monday, December 17, 2012

Yo Momma

Since I've been too filled with ennui to write much about the books I've read recently, let me instead tell you about my favorite band of the moment. Say Hi -- originally Say Hi To Your Mom -- is one of those one-guy bands, in which a dude (it's usually a dude) does all of the instruments and vocals himself into an Tascam or a Mac in his room. In this case, the guy is Eric Elbogen, and Say Hi (To Your Mom) has released seven records over the past ten years.

It's somewhat droning music, rock-based songs that usually stick within a specific sonic range and form a solid hedge of sound, and I find his best songs sneak into your ear and stay there for a long time. The vocals tend to be buried a bit, so Elbogen's voice is another instrument rather than floating on top, and the lyrics are allusive and hermetic, usually circling around topics rather than saying things explicitly.

The song I'm currently obsessed with is "Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks," the closest Say Hi comes to the obligatory what-it's-like-on-tour song, from the 2004 Say Hi To Your Mom record Numbers & Mumbles:


The first Say Hi song I fell in love with is the odd love song "Maurine," from 2009's Oohs & Aahs, which might just be from the point of view of a ghost:


And the song I'm most fascinated with is "November Was White, December Was Grey," in which Elbogen's breathing punctuates the song, also from Oohs & Aahs:


You don't have to like 'em, but I do: so there.

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