Four months later and LITERATURE's Arab Spring remains 2012's sharpest cut so far. Who else writes paeans to
aperture speeds as unfussy and elegant as this? 24 minutes of minty fresh and
it’s done – crisp and to the point.
We here at LOLOTD share our enthusiasm with
the peoples of NYC, but the peoples, many of them stare blankly. Some, they complain
about that name. Oy, that name. Given the nanoseconds available to hold anyone's tension these days, a
name like LITERATURE perhaps fails to ignite upon first contact. Try convincing
your neighbor in the yellowing Fetus Productions t-shirt that LITERATURE or A GIANT DOG or TUNABUNNY are as good as their names are dry. Ain’t easy. Kind of like how
it used to be for WIRE, we suppose, but look at those guys now. Then again, maybe
this LITERATURE is more shrewd than we know. The advantage of word
as name is, of course, the potential to eschew
previous associations and stamp their own splendid imprint. Can't do that with
a name like IOWA BEEF EXPERIENCE. So, given LITERATURE's way around a push up bra, it's
possible they'll imbue their chosen designation with the potency of the ages and
the cheap headlines will plague us indefinitely. Fer instance, check this lead
in from the April 2032 edition of MOJO: "12XU reissuing classic LITERATURE". LOLITF! (i.e., Laugh
Out Loud In The Future).
Ahem. Anyway, enough
about that. Arab Spring is excellent. We said on 1/2/12:
Who pulled the shades up?
Literature’s manic minute and fifty-nine second “Manmade Man” was an obvious nugget on Casual Victim Pile II - a compilation that should be rechristened Nuggets anyway - but in no way did it hint at the wowfully delicious filtering of sunny available on Arab Spring. I’ve owned this music – can’t say record, cuz it was downloaded from their bandcamp page – for about what, twelve hours? Three full plays since the start of January 2nd 2012, the first round concluded before I even reached the Grand Central Parkway/L.I.E. interchange, and I can’t help but spill in an attempt to share; I’m almost giddy. Could be reaction formation, because not everyone gets the privilege of enjoying a great sun drenched January day listening to whatever the fuck they want. In fact, this guy over at the Morton Report profiled Literature on 12/29/11 and wrote, “Literature is a band with a good future if they can but get their music into your hands.” No, Mr. Morton, Literature is now. Who knows about the future? We all suffer and while Literature’s music won’t necessarily forestall it, there’s a chance it will make good days even brighter.
It’s a privilege to laze in Literature’s unfettered vessels of the heart and if a comparison fits, the one I’m coming up with is Orange Juice filtered through Harlem, with a dash of those Magic Kids even. Apparently they have a 2009 record that possibly sounds like Arab Spring, who knows. But despite this being released on 12/21/11, it’s not going on the 2011 list. I’m saving it for 2012. Literature – if you make it to NYC, I know some geezers who’ll be waiting.
And so NYC, we wait no longer. LITERATURE are finally here this weekend of 4/21/22 and sharing a classy bill at Cake Shop, courtesy of What’s Yr
Rupture, with the ZOLTARS, whose great new album is up on bandcamp. As for the Zoltars, their new one is a dizzying tap of haunting into the realm of spiritual dislocation. ZARJAZZ - a
reputable force in tronic circles - are headlining.
(4/22/12 at Shea Stadium too)
