Qiet’s latest offering doesn’t quite live up to the band’s name, but that’s not such a bad thing. Aptly titled “The Indie Song,” the track evokes the vaudevillian atmosphere of fellow genre darlings Gogol Bordello and Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes. Download the song below, and check out the mix tape the band made us.
“The Indie Song” (download):
Leonard Cohen “Sisters Of Mercy”
Christopher Vincent: Leonard is a classic, whose prose and poetry could tittilate the dead. He didn’t start playing music until 35, which makes me want to quit and pick it back up in 30 years. In this particular piece, he makes me feel like I’m the only one who knows what he’s talking about. That’s a real accomplishment, because I don’t ever understand what anyone is talking about. He’s just a sexy, sexy man. Broke or not. Video
The Debauchees “I’ve Got Energy”
James Maddox & Christopher Vincent: I’ve never hated a band for being ultra-talented, but these little bastards… Barely out of their teens, the Debauchees have quickly carved out a coveted spot in Qiet’s mainstay playlists. For Maddox, there are four bands that he’ll listen to on a continuous loop, but if he’s singing a tune under his breath or goofing off on the bass during practice, odds are very high that the song in question is a Debauchees riff. Their pop sensibilities are undeniable and their knack for catchy hooks and upbeat melodies make each new debut a pleasure. Thus far, the Debauchees seem to raise the bar of how good a three-piece can be. Video
Bach “Concerto For Two Violins” In D Minor BWV1043
Alasha Al Qudwah: It wasn’t until after playing the violin for three years that I fell in love with the great master that is Johann Sebastian Bach. When I first heard this piece, at age 12, I knew the way I heard music had changed forever. The fierce counterpoint that made these two violins shred with and against each other showed me that there is much more to playing the violin than sitting quietly in an orchestra, anticipating ones next musical entrance. This piece proved to me how much of a rock-star instrument the violin is, and it was then I realized I found my life calling: to be a rock star violinist. Now, granted the term rock star is very superficial, but at 12 years old, it created a whole world of dreams for me. (It was rare in my town that you met someone insanely obsessed with classical music that also rocked out to Nirvana every night before bedtime.) There are many pieces from Bach that continue to inspire me in the same way, but none as monumental as this specific piece. To this day, specific points of my improvisation come from the diligent practicing of “Bach runs” (continuous, rhythmic, melodic licks he is known for in his music). The track “Rumba,” from Qiet’s new album Pet Driftwood, is a prime example of this influence. Video
Edith Piaf “J N`En Connais Pas La Fi”
Christopher Vincent: Edith Piaf is the pinnacle of standards for a vocalist. She was unusual, spirited, and in her voice, you can hear the darkness of her past without knowing a thing about her. She transcended the other singers in her domain nearly immediately, because those who heard her felt she filled a part of them that was missing; something I could feel nearly 70 years later. I’m happy to have never known her, because we would’ve commiserated until neither of us cared to leave our rooms. Bon Appétit! Video
Mr. Special “The Fall”
Max Venoy: Once after a show, a good friend of mine told me, “You’re my second favorite trumpet player.” I was very curious about whom he had in mind, if not a little jealous. Happily, he gladly shared with me as I will share with you: Mr. Special. This two-man electronic/acoustic band from Portland, Ore., was disbanded before I’d even heard of them, but I fell in love with their work all the same. They demonstrated how symphony and technology can blend together in unique and interesting ways. If you dig a little deeper, their songs get downright industrial, yet beautifully haunting. Of course, the style of Pace Rubadeau, the trumpet player, influenced me and still does today. The amount of expression you hear in his tone is almost concrete, and the melodies he creates will be stuck in your head all day. Give “The Fall” a try, and you might have a new favorite trumpet player. Video
The Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
Russell Snyder: It is hard to narrow my musical influence down to one song, but I’ve picked “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys. I’ve always had an attraction to harmony, and not just in a musical sense. Long before I ever played music, I was fascinated by how their voices blended and rang together. When I was six, my brother and I yelled for our dog at the same time, hit a harmony note accidently, and I could hear it ringing in the hills of our rural home. I’ve chased that sensation ever since, and Brian Wilson-produced Beach Boys songs tickle my brain like no other sound. That’s why I play music. It doesn’t happen every time, but I love the feeling when the band feeds off of each other, then the crowd feeds off the band, the band feeds off the crowd, and the whole building transcends the moment. It is like yelling for my dog and feeling the unquantifiable again. Video
Warpaint “Composure”
James Maddox: A rough demo of this band was found way back in 2005 on some random site, and it wasn’t until their 2007 release of Exquisite Corpse that the interest in Warpaint became a full-blown obsession. Apparently, my ears aren’t the only ones listening. Since Exquisite Corpse, Warpaint has gone on to deliver quality music at every stage of its development, and with a new album coming in January, there’s a lot to be excited about from this band. Video
Shudder To Think “Hit Liquor”
Raphael Godfrey: It would be difficult to overstate the impact that Pony Express Record had upon me. I was completely unprepared for rock music that sounded at once so alien and so accessible, so unsettlingly dissonant and yet so satisfyingly gorgeous and deep.
And listening to it is quite an experience; Nathan Larson’s lead work, a harrowing mix of jagged edges and velvet licks, comes alive with otherworldly swagger. Stuart Hill’s bass lines play off the guitars in a way that is wholly unique in all of rock music. Adam Wade’s drumming is, simply, perfect: never present, never absent. And Craig Wedren’s abstract lyrics, overflowing with fantastic, bizarre imagery, are brought to life by a voice of extraordinary range and power. Twenty years after its release, it has not soured. I find it holds no less sway over me, no less potency. I have heard nothing else that sounds remotely like it, before or since. Hit Liquor perfectly illustrates this record’s strange peaks and lush valleys. Video
Ozric Tentacles “Curious Corn”
Raphael Godfrey: The Ozrics opened my eyes to instrumental rock, and showed me that it doesn’t have to be boring, predictable or pompously self-conscious; rather, it can instead be expansive and genre-bending, and can speak with a voice as lyrical and eloquent as the best vocal-driven music. Curious Corn’s title track, in particular, showcases the extraordinary aural palate from which the Ozrics draw, and the phenomenal effects achieved through their dense unguent of tonal color and texture. An off-kilter synth bass line slowly transforms into an intricate, seething mass of synths, bass and drums before Ed Wynne’s virtuosic guitar bursts into the mix. This ingot is thrust into a blissful, but dark ambient break, spinning and accreting around itself a massive, driving psychedelic riff that, at its apex, seamlessly shifts into an all-out refrain of the original theme. This tangled wave breaks on the shore of a delicate drone-based outro from which unfurls wispy tendrils of synth and synthetic percussion. A wholly original display of absolute mastery. Video
