The Glow, Pt. 2

Literally the best album of all time, no questions

This album is like walking into a forest without a set direction.

Listened to this one more than a few times over the years and am still parsing out my thoughts. Just so incredibly raw in a way that few other LPs have come even close to touching, singer-songwriter at its core but charged with a noisy, reckless sensibility that forces the emotion upon you. There are some lumps and bumps along the extended runtime that don’t always make for a smooth listen, but for the most part it’s a wild ride that I’m happy to be on.

This one has been on my “to listen” list for a long time. Just never got to it. I think because it’s a longer record I never jumped on it. Thought it was really good and I have been missing out by not getting to it earlier.

I have recently interviewed LA folk rock singer-songwriter Sean Solomon (check out his great first solo album *The World Is Not Enough*), and this is what he had to say about The Microphones' *The Glow part 2": "That album really inspired my music sonically. And it was important for me to hear the lyrics be so honest and vulnerable. It also has such an amazing DIY ethos and feeling. It's an album that makes it feel like everything is possible and everything is being destroyed at the same time. I love that album." This is not the first time I'm hearing musicians I have infinite respect and admiration for praising this record... So of course, I have been familiar with *The Glow pt. 2* for years now -- even though it totally went over my head at the time of its release, 25 years ago (gasp!). In the field of experimental lo-fi rock / folk rock artistry, this record should now obviously be hailed as a masterpiece, and I'm glad I could catch up on it. As he patiently deconstructed and reconstructed the amazing chord sequences and arrangements of his terrific song ideas, Phil Elverum was not only creating incredibly moving soundscapes, he was also opening new doors for other DIY artists so as to let their inspiration guide them into new promising lands. Recorded in Dub Narcotic studios, which is also the headquarters of Calvin Johnson's K Records label, *The Glow part 2* only has two real forbears: Calvin Johnson's own band Beat Happening, and Beck's *One Foot In The Grave* album (also recorded at Dub Narcotic). The Microphones' artistry, going from indie-rock and folk to musique concrète and even tiny bits of noise and industrial metal, is too one-of-a-kind to be easily pigeonholed anyway. Those wild instincts were indeed fearless (and Elverum keeps on tapping into them today with his current Mount Eerie project). But more importantly, and as Sean rightly pointed out, it's the sensitivity, honesty and admirable poetic skills of this Northwestern American artist that initially made him stand out from the lo-fi indie-rock pack... The first three songs of the album, "I Want Wind To Blow", the title-track, and "The Moon" are iconic in that genre now. On paper, the manner in which Elverum glues different song parts together -- almost haphazardly at times -- shouldn't work. And yet, it does, miraculously. The compositions turn expansive. They feel both complex and straightforward somehow. Off-kilter arrangements abound (accordions, a brass section, some sudden bursts of noise that will regularly return in the course of the tracklist). Everything is possible and destroyed at the same time indeed. There's a bit of a rough patch after those first three songs, where the artistry may feel a little indecisive in its intents. Let's just say this goes with the territory here... In that rough patch, a pretty "Instrumental" and "The Mansion" still manage to leave an imprint on you. And you also have that enigmatic Lynchian sonar soundscape -- which will be repeated throughout the course of the record, and return for a longer stretch of time after the closer "My Warm Blood" (*Twin Peaks* apparently also influenced Elverum here!).... Yet once the hypnotic "Map" surges out of your speakers, the stars align again. And the twists and turns make sense, incredibly. One song in particular stays with you, and it should be praised for bringing the necessary gravitas tying all those twists and turns together: "You'll Be In The Air". In it, Elverum muses about his lover taking a plane while he stays at home alone. Simple yet sublime guitar arpeggios are here supporting lyrics that feel amazingly deep and poetic (I can't find a way to do them justice right now, you'll just have to read them). The elegiac streak found in that song -- bringing an understated cosmic scope to the description of nature and elements as a reflection of a person's emotional state -- is also found in many other moments in this record, but here it is particularly striking. It's a use of the old romantic trope known as "pathetic fallacy" that is almost heartbreaking in its sheer beauty. It sounds so simple on a surface level, and yet it is so deep... What follows often feels like rough sketches and not songs proper, admittedly. But some sketches made by genius artists can sometimes beat the crap out of wide and supposedly grandiose frescoes made by lesser creators... There's a "blink it and you'll miss them" aspect to "I Want To Be Cold", "I Am Bored" and "I Felt My Size" (the latter also using a romantic idea of the "sublime", just as Elverum meditates about his real place in the universe -- here feeling very small like everybody else on Earth should rightly feel). Yet as abrupt and even cut short as those compositions feel, those blunts presentations of Phil's strengths as a songwriter make you want to return to the songs again and again. There's a mystery to those short pieces that makes the whole endeavor feel fascinating in the long run. Probably why so many other artists and listeners ended up highlighting what was originally a very confidential record... "I Felt Your Shape" is yet another touching gem in the likes of "You'll Be In The Air". And concluding the whole thing, "Warm Blood" offers another abrupt yet striking highlight -- another short, "blink it and you'll miss it" example of how Elverum explores "sublime" undertones to explain how he feels both lonely and yet elated living in this strange universe of ours. The mountainous and woody terrains of the North American West easily provide such feelings, I imagine. But it's also the way the local joins the universal that makes "The Glow part 2" shine with a very special light. Cherish all those small moments, because we're not gonna be here for long, Elverum seems to say, before that ominous sonar takes center stage again. It's only up to us to listen to him. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5/5 for the production values -- lo-fi for sure, yet doing exactly what should be done in the genre -- and the musicianship + 4/5 for the artistry + 0.5 for the impact and influence on other great artists) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 108 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 116 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 251 ---- Message 3/4 : Je ne sais pas à quel rythme tu avances dans The Sopranos, mais il y a de fortes chances que tu aies fini la saison 5 au moment de lire ce message. Pas de spoiler ci-dessous au cas où c'est pas le cas, mais je dois évoquer le doublé d'épisodes "The Test Dream" et "Long Term Parking", juste avant le Season Finale (qui est aussi assez extraordinaire). Je ne me souviens plus si je te l'ai déjà raconté, mais ces deux épisodes sont en fait les premiers de la série que j'ai regardé, à la suite et par hasard un soir sur une chaîne du câble. Et je les ai trouvés tellement géniaux, même sans connaître le contexte précis du feuilleton en général, que j'ai tout de suite décidé de tout reprendre depuis le début. "The Test Dream" est un petit chef-d'oeuvre freudien, souvent hilarant, parfois perturbant ou étrangement émouvant. Quant à "Long Term Parking", aïe, aïe, aïe... Voir cet épisode en premier me spoilait certes massivement sur une sous-intrigue au long cours dans la série, mais qu'importe. Ce qui m'avait scotché à regarder ces deux bijoux à la suite, c'était aussi la variété du propos, le contraste entre les deux épisodes, qui pourtant faisaient partie du même self-contained universe. Esthétiquement, thématiquement, narrativement, on brassait si large... Forcément, que j'allais prendre mon pied à regarder tout le reste. Ma saison préférée reste celle-ci, la saison 5, avec la saison 3 juste après. Mais il y a des épisodes et des moments iconiques du début à la fin, et quand tu fais le compte global, ça en fait une sacrée pelletée ! Tu l'as peut-être déjà constaté, la sixième et dernière saison est en deux parties. La première partie n'est pas forcément pourvoyeuse de beaucoup de moments réellement majeurs... Ça part sur les chapeaux de roue, mais ensuite, ça prend gentiment son temps. Le sens du rythme brisé et du contre-pied narratif chez David Chase et ses scénaristes fait partie du charme de la série, mais il peut aussi être perturbant parfois, j'imagine... La seconde partie est toutefois exceptionnelle du début à la fin. Tu vas avoir affaire à un dernier jet bien fourni de moments légendaires, certains aussi drôles que d'autres pourront t'arracher le coeur ou te donner envie de buter un des personnages. Don't you worry about it, ha ha! Sinon, j'ai fait de mon mieux dans un message précédent pour essayer de te convaincre que The Wire valait le coup, j'insiste pas. Peut-être plus tard, effectivement... Mon petit doigt me dit que tu rencontreras d'autres über-fans de la série dans ta vie. Ils auront peut-être de meilleurs arguments de vente que les miens ? Je dois pas être fait pour dealer de la dope, ha ha. 😉 To be continued indeed...

Really experimental and challenging but enjoyable and a great choice for the list.

It's pretty good

Very indie-sounding indeed. I kinda liked it

This album was a little on the long side for me. I enjoyed it at times but at times is was grindier than I might prefer.

Pretty alright. Probably won't listen again, but glad I listened once. 3 stars.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: The moon

Folky, very ethereal alt rock on that Neutral Milk Hotel, Shearwater side of the spectrum. A vocal delivery style that tends to hide a weak voice. I liked itnOK but was not over the moon.

Yep... Definitely from Oly Wa. Didn't love it but will totally support it because it reminds me of home... IYKYK

This was very loud and very long

Started a bit interesting but then went in a direction I didn't care for and got annoying. Also too long. My personal rating: 2/5 My rating relative to the list: 2/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No

Lo-fi, indie folk, slacker rock, psychedelic folk, noise rock, ambient. No me ha gustado. Un 2.