Indie Rock Votes : 2008

Well, friends today is the day! For those of us who reside in the United States today is “Super Tuesday,” that is the day on which twenty-four states hold their Presidential primaries. After today we should have a somewhat accurate idea of who will be on the real ballot in November. I myself make no secret in pulling for Barack Obama. I won’t divulge why here, and I certainly won’t chastise you, should your opinion differ from mine. I do, however, strongly encourage, no, beg of you to exercise your right to vote today. If you’re not sure where or when you can vote, go here to find out.

I asked some friends who they’d be pulling for and you can read their answers below!

Chris Walla – Solo artist, producer, and guitarist/co-founder of Death Cab for Cutie –
“Barack Obama. Audacious indeed!”
[mp3] Chris Walla – Make Way For the New Times

Bob Andrews – Artist Manager / Undertow Music (David Bazan, Centro-matic, Jesse Harris) –
Barack Obama represents a much needed shift in this country. If I may use Bob
Dylan to help explain: For the past 20 years we have been “Only a Pawn
In Their Game,” but now I am more optimistic than ever because “The Times They Are A- Changin’.”

Molly Chance– Artist Manager / Undertow Music (Damien Jurado, J. Tillman) –
Mike Huckabee – A seemingly great guy, and the only candidate I have ever financially supported and literally campaigned for. It’s a bummer the pundits have all but pushed him out of qualification. He’s an excellent candidate who would make some sweeping and necessary changes to health care, education, and the tax code, not to mention the way Washington does business. He’s continued to be a very viable candidate as far as delegate numbers and polling go, but unfortunately the media and the money will probably have their say.

Matt Lunsford – Co-President of Polyvinyl Recording Co. (Of Montreal, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Aloha, Architecture in Helsinki) –
“I am definitely going for [Barack] Obama of my home state of Illinois!”

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – (Singer/Songwriter/Drummer/Guitarist Phillip Dickey) – “I’ll be writing in a vote for Bill Pullman.”
[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin – We Can Win Missouri!


Van Riker – Barsuk Records (Death Cab for Cutie, The Long Winters, Menomena, David Bazan) –
“I’m Pro Edwards at the Moment.”

David Bazan – (David Bazan, Pedro the Lion) –

“I’m not sure who I’m voting for yet. I guess it’s between Obama and Edwards, I’ve got some more reading to do.”
[mp3] David Bazan – Backwoods Nation

TW Walsh – Songwriter, Drummer, & Engineer –
“I practice political abstinence. If I had a gun to my head I’d probably vote for Kucinich. I like Ron Paul but he’s said some questionable things regarding race, and he’s a religious zealot, which is a real wild card.”

Via Audio – Seriously & totally awesome band from Brooklyn
Via Audio supports Barack Obama. We as a band believe that Obama will encourage a positive change in economic, environmental, international and foreign policies and pull America out of its current decline.

Fleet Foxes – (As declared by Vocalist, Songwriter & guitarist Robin Pecknold)
The fact that next January we could be swearing in either a woman or an African-American is so exciting. Hilary is wise and the thought of Bill Clinton as First Husband makes my heart swell – Obama is super inspirational and both would represent a huge step forward for the collective American subconscious. It’s a pretty rote perspective for a musician to take but it’s the truth.

A noted (i assure you) musician – who was asked to be quoted under anonymity
“I guess either Huckabee or Thompson since I live in Tennessee…..no, I’m kidding, I don’t vote.”

Chris Walla – Sing Again (Video)

In this totally awesome new video for his lead single Sing Again, Walla gets all Life Aquatic on you, singing his song in various locales in glorious hi-def wearing a tasteful spin on the Team Zissou outfit (intentional or otherwise). Count the indie rock celebs in the pool of walla look-alikes and leave them in the comments. Enjoy the video (streaming and downloadable) and the mp3 below.

[mp3] Chris Walla – Sing Again
Download the video here.

Chris Walla – "Field Manual" Analysis

There are those who are involved in an already established band who long for a selfish outlet of creativity in which they hold the sole power of veto. Often, if not usually, when these people step out from behind their shadows to do so, the results are dismal….if not catastrophic. Maybe they got ahead of themselves, maybe they just overestimated their own creative powers without the aid of their friends, but whatever the case, they fail.

Then there are those who bleed time signatures, dream in chord inversions, and write melodies while they eat. One of these people is a man named Chris Walla. You could know Chris from any number of things, the most significant being his role as Lead guitarist, producer, and co-writer in a little band called Death Cab for Cutie. Additionally, Mr. Walla has tweaked knobs and given advice under the guise of a “producer” to folks like Teagan & Sara, The Decembrists, Hot Hot Heat, So Many Dynamos, & more.

So maybe you don’t care, that’s fine too. Field Manual will have no issues winning over fans who couldn’t tell him from any other shaggy-headed man-boy in the cosmos as well. There is so much desperation in these songs, a quality, or at least a level of which, has been lost in some recent efforts from his day job’s records. Perhaps it’s a feeling that can only be achieved by someone who has just started anew, perhaps its just that these are really good songs (they are) but for sure it’s there.

Over the course of around fifty minutes, a lot of doors open and a lot of doors close, furthermore a lot of doors slowly wither from their hinges and fall to a million tiny irreconcilable pieces right in front of your eyes. There is unfaliling desperation in Unsustainable, political unrest in Archer V Light & Everyone Needs a Home, pop perfection in Geometry & C, and heartbreaking amounts of longing in A Bird is a Song. If that’s not your thing maybe the pulsating bass and thundering drums of St. Modesto would be more your thing.

In closing, dear readers, I offer you a solution: Proceed, immediately, to this link and buy the album in basic digipak or deluxe clothbound hard-cover format (the latter complete with Chris’ original photography) where you will get 3 bonus mp3’s just for doing so if you order by February 4th. There are deals and there are no-brainers, I think we know which this one falls under.

[mp3] Chris Walla – Everyone Needs a Home