Tag Archives: Simon & Garfunkel

Poetic Memory: Alex Kemp (List)

Up and comer Alex Kemp has been in three bands — The Godrays, Small Factory, and Assassins — that have taken him from New York City to Rhode Island to Chicago and everywhere in between. Now, the nomadic Kemp has set up shop in Los Angeles — this time to pursue a solo career.

In a short period of time, Kemp has raised eyebrows with his smooth, breezy grooves and heart-on-sleeve lyrics. He is currently preparing a series of limited edition, hand-screen-printed EPs for release over the next year, to be followed by a debut LP. Kemp was kind enough to take some time out from all that recording to share a Poetic Memory with us:

There’s a lot songs, tied to a lot of moments, that make up a sort of weird musical mosaic of our own personal histories. Everybody’s is so different though, so I don’t expect that anyone would see these song/moments of mine and relate, necessarily. But maybe they’ll go listen to the songs again, which would be fine, because they’re pretty fucking great songs. And we would have that in common — I’ll go listen to them again too.

Alex Kemp’s list of songs that have inspired his love for music is below. Continue reading…

Poetic Memory: The Moviegoers (List)

The Moviegoers

In the 1960s the average band enjoyed fame for a couple of months, if that, before people’s attention shifted to the next rising (and soon to be falling) stars. Being a one-hit wonder wasn’t a failure, it was the norm, and accomplishments by bands like The Beatles and The Kinks were rendered all the more impressive by the fact that any kind of longevity was exceptional, and enjoyed by only a small percentage of groups.

Not much has changed since then: nowadays most bands—particularly in the realm of indie rock—still amount to little more than passing fads, soaking up their proverbial fifteen minutes before succumbing to irrelevance. But one thing that has been accelerated by the internet is that entire genres seem to rise and fall in the space of a few months, leaving up-and-coming groups scrambling to tap into the next sound du jour and ride the Wavves waves of recognition before they fizzle out.

Then there are bands who are content to just create great music. Unfazed by meaningless trends, they place emphasis on great songwriting, captivating melodies, and a distinctive but inviting sound. They may not get drooled over by Pitchfork (and if they do, it’s only so long until P4K’s drool runs dry and the inevitable backlash begins), but they do create a body of work that speaks for itself, and will outlast the one-MP3 wonders that permeate the blogosphere. San Diego’s The Moviegoers are one of those bands, and though they may not auto-tune their vocals or mangle their guitars with lo-fi crunch, they do create moving, memorable songs accented by rich harmonies and understated confidence. And that never goes out of style. Continue reading