This Is Not The Massively-Long Posting About Harmonicas That You Were Eagerly Anticipating
A couple weeks ago, I decided to write a long piece about one of my favorite bands and how so few people seem to know who they are. Then I went out and got really drunk. The next morning – with head throbbing – I tossed out this drivel instead, which ended up mentioning the band almost as an aside.
This past Thursday, I gave a listen to Dear John, the new album from Loney, Dear. Upon first listen, I was a bit underwhelmed – good but not great, ya know? But the seventh track on the CD, “Summers”, is probably the best song I’ve heard all year. Four days later, I still can not get the song out of my head.
By Friday, I knew that I wanted to write about this, but I wanted to write something more than just “listen to this song because it is awesome”, so I set out trying to find an angle. On Saturday, I thought about writing something regarding mind-blowingly amazing songs on otherwise-middling albums (for example, see everything that Beirut has ever released). On Sunday, I found a new angle: harmonica! More specifically, the fact that the harmonica part in this song is the best use of harmonica in an indie song since the chorus of “Myriad Harbour” from The New Pornographers’ Challengers.
My plan was now to write a thorough article about the effective use of harmonica in indie songs over the last 10 years-or-so, starting with “Summers” and working backwards towards, oh I don’t know, “Me And The Major” by Belle and Sebastian. It would take some time to write, but I figured it would be worth it, especially if it managed to spur some discussion amongst those who make periodic visits to this blog.
But then I got drunk Sunday night. Really drunk. Like, super fucking sloshed. It was awesome – best weekend in quite a while.
So this is all you get because I am once again hungover, groggy as hell, and not particularly inclined to keep writing (I’ve already written a lot more than I expected). Instead, I will focus my energy on drinking coffee, getting through my work shift, and going back to bed as soon as I get home.
Oh, and since I had already uploaded it to Boxstr before leaving the house on Sunday to begin my drunken funtime, here’s “Myriad Harbour” by The New Pornographers:
The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbour
Seriously, give “Summers” a listen – it’s wonderful.
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I’m pretty sure what you’re hearing on “Myriad Harbour” is a melodica, not a harmonica. A review of the liner notes confirms this (although it’s referred to there is a melodion, but they’re basically the same thing). I hope this doesn’t blow the premise of the post you didn’t end up writing anyway.
in the show of theirs that i watched online (can’t remember the name of the website, but i think i sent you a link to it a couple months ago), the guitar player plays the harmonica during the chorus.