Dust
It comes through the window
It comes through the floor
It comes through the roof
And it comes through the door
Dust, that is. But that’s not what you’ll be focusing on first time through, the Dada-esque lyrics take a back seat to the pure sound of this record, its aural hooks.
On paper I hate Parquet Courts. Overhyped by the Brooklyn establishment today we despise bands we’ve never heard because of their hipper-than-thou acolytes hyping them.
But “Dust” is a revelation. A hit in all its minimalist glory. If this were 1981 and Rick Carroll still programmed KROQ, the Roq of the 80’s, he’d spin this and it would become a giant hit. You see back then being outre, being different, was a badge of honor, whereas today everybody’s music sounds the same and you only differentiate yourself via your social media statements.
Not that “Dust” is completely original. It it resembles in conception nothing so much as Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator,” which was a progenitor. And the vocal is reminiscent of Jonathan Richman, when he sang with the Modern Lovers.
Still, “Dust” is a breath of fresh air.
HA!
Singing about dust?
Today it’s all platitudes, or endless statements on how much better you and your life are than those of the listener. But this minimalist statement is about the dirt and grime that piles up. Rust may never sleep, but dust ACCUMULATES!
Dust is everywhere
Sweep
It sneaks in ignored
It stacks up around
Devo-esque, with a hint of Frank Zappa thrown in. It’s when you don’t play to our preconceptions that you have a chance of hooking us, wowing us.
Still, “Dust” succeeds primarily on its hooks, which are broad and heavy, simple, like those of the Ramones.
You may not like it at first, with its cheesy, flimsy, trebly guitar intro.
But then the track settles into a groove that’s familiar but unremarkable and then…at 25 seconds in, there’s a guitar lick that catches your lip and drags you in.
And then at :35, there’s a change that grabs your heart.
And then at :45 the whole thing devolves into an instrumental with cheesy sounds playing lyrical changes and you don’t want to turn it off!
It doesn’t have to be about dust, it could be about anything, you’re completely enamored.
Just because you can fiddle endlessly to get it right, employ a zillion writers, buy beats from others, that does not mean you should. By breaking it down to the elements, by leaving so much air, Parquet Courts wins us over.
And the instrumental section that starts at 2:20 is an aural adventure akin to a guitar solo of yore, only this time the musician isn’t shredding, but adding digital sounds that are basic, but take you on an ethereal trip that is so enjoyable. You’re enraptured by music not on the hit parade, played by people who are almost committing a prank.
But we’re all in on the joke.
This was the genius of the Ramones, their music was the antidote to what was popular. While prog-rockers demonstrated their training in side-long opuses the Ramones purveyed a sound that was basic and compact, that lasted only a couple of minutes.
You can still get rich playing music.
But most people will not.
Thus, the early sixties have returned. The Beatles and the Stones never thought it would last forever. Today music is a lark, something you do for a few years before you get a straight job.
But since it’s not a career, you can take chances, you can turn the system on its head.
Which Parquet Courts has done here.
“Dust” should suck. Should be easily dismissed. Marginal talents selling indie rock.
But despite all that being true, the end result requires endless plays. “Dust” gets under your skin, it follows you everywhere, you’re in your own space, you don’t care a whit whether anybody else is listening, you just want to feel good.
Life is complicated, life is difficult to comprehend. As a result we fall for the work of those who sneak up on us, with work that is startlingly human in the way it affects us.
It follows, now swallow
You’re biting it now
Suffocate, suffocate
Is this the Silicon Valley titans talking to everyone? Imploring us to get on the gravy train without thinking, coughing up our personal data, because the future is so bright?
No, this is artists, questioning the precepts. Which is what they used to do before they all dashed for cash.
Dust is everywhere
SWEEP!
