Ryan Kattner | Allyson's Setlist

Before this relationship goes any further, I think you all should know some things about me. If you feel different about me after you read this list, I’ll understand. Really. Underpinning the entire post tonight is a girlish squeal and the clapping of abnormally small hands. I’m sure that’s off-putting.

The truth isn’t pretty, folks. It might not even be tolerably neutral looking. But, here goes:

I am a fangirl.

If some of you are still reading, thank you for giving us a chance. For the rest of you, my mom says I’m better off anyway (She also said you were no good, will miss me and will wind up alone. Hope that’s true.).

So, here are my top five fangirl moments. Be prepared.

The Amanda Palmer Bonding Incident

I was listening to Amanda Palmer’s “Do You Swear To Tell The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth So Help Your Black Ass,” and she agreed that the video was quite good. And she Retweeted me. There was a good amount of squee. That’s a scientific term encapsulating how I responded to the following:

Amanda Palmer both Tweeted and Retweeted me. *squeal*

The Honus Honus Hocus Pocus

Give me a lot of credit for that alliteration. It made me giggle. This just happened a couple of days ago. Honus Honus (aka Ryan Kattner), the lead singer of Man Man, read the blog post about Man Man and Tweeted me about it. It meant a lot. And it left me speechless for half an hour. Ask the people calling me at work. I didn’t say a word.

Honus Honus (aka Ryan Kattner) from Man Man read the blog and Tweeted me about it.

Are Your Antennas Up?

Literally could not think of a better hook for this entry. I’ve already told you about how Kyle knew my name at the AU concert a few months ago (and, for the record, I still totally consider that one of the best examples of my fangirlhood), so I think it’s fair to tell you how AU responded to the blog post. They Tweeted me:

Antennas Up read the blog and Retweeted me.

And Jonny Universe (Jon Ulasien, guitars/keys/vocals for AU) shared the blog post on Facebook:

Jon Ulasien shared the blog post about AU on Facebook.

Gareth Campesinos! Is The Exclamation Point

I have not kept it a secret that I’m addicted to Los Campesinos! right now. I mean, I’m so into them. For a couple of weeks, they were all I listened to. And I’m constantly discovering new things I love about their music. The lyrics are infinitely clever, the music is varied, deep and adorable at the same time, and they are such cool people.

So I Tweeted Gareth. He’s the lyricist and one of the lead singers of the band. I decided to tell him that I was in love with him because of his lyrics and the obscenities he Tweets (for real, he has a dirty Twitter Account). He responded:

Gareth Campesinos! Tweeting me.

I mean, I don’t want to say that means we’re going to have a happily-ever-after or anything, but I think it’s unarguably the start to a beautiful Twitter relationship. Oh, and he’s since Tweeted me no less than three other times. I squeal a little bit louder each time.

So. If you’ve stuck with me through all of that, I’m impressed. And hopeful that this means you still want to give us a chance. I promise I won’t let you down. I’m a great person, really. Just a desperately uncool one at times.

We still pals?

PS: Ludo concert tomorrow night. ”A Very Ludo Christmas” promises to be AWESOME. If you’re not going, you’re almost as uncool as me. OH BURN.

PPS: Lest you think these are my only fangirl moments…they’re not. There are so many others. But these are my favorite/most blush inducing. My humiliation is your entertainment.

PPPS: I’m sure some of you missed the playlists last night. That’s fine. I’m not hurt or whatever. But there are a few songs I think you should definitely make time to listen to. “When Water Comes To Life” by Cloud Cult, “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” by Stars, “Little Lover’s So Polite” by Silversun Pickups, and “Dance Yrself Clean” by LCD Soundsystem. Ideally, of course, you should listen to all of the songs. They were picked for their infinite awesome.

PPPPS: I don’t think I’m supposed to use this many “p’s” in a postscript. Just thought I should point that out for you.

The band Man Man, photo from http://www.jezebelmusic.com/116/man-man-us-tour-dates/

I’ve waited for this. I’ve actively looked forward to it. And it’s here!

I have concluded that I’ve listened to enough of “Life Fantastic” to give everyone the scoop. So, here it is.

As one might have guessed, “Life Fantastic” is rife with fantastic. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

Here’s the breakdown. The album is more polished than any of their other work, but still manages to convey the vaguely crazy nature of Man Man. The music is wonderful, and the lyrics are powerful. It’s really what you would want in an album. You have the optimistic (if somewhat reckless) view on life:

“If you gotta smash some plates to relax, I say do it. D-d-d-d-d-do it. And if you gotta crash a car in a lake to feel sane, I say do it. Just do it. And if you gotta scream until your voice breaks, I say do it. D-d-d-d-d-do it. And if you gotta punch your dad in the face, I say think about it: Do it.” (“Piranhas Club”)

Then you have the amazingly creepy “Haute Tropique.” Arguably my favorite song on the album, it provides a rather memorable chorus:

“You’re born what you’re meant to be. If you’re bad, then be bad the best. If you’re good, stay away from me. We’re a bad influence, we’re the best.”

Of course, despite the oddly upbeat nature of the previous song, I think the spirit of this album is really dark when you analyze the lyrics.

“And are you my pet? Or did I have to work so hard for nothing? I know you’ve met the mess you’ll marry. He’ll keep you fed, but can he carry the weight of your heart?” (“Steak Knives”)

“It’s how you hide your cards. It’s how you dress your scars and let them breathe. Life fantastic. Life so tragic.” (“Life Fantastic”)

I mean, what are you supposed to do with those two songs? The first example (“Steak Knives”) is about Ryan’s ex. So that definitely makes sense. “Life Fantastic” was probably not meant to be interpreted as darkly as I interpret it. But come on. It’s a rather cynical view of life. The entire song is about someone finding a corpse at a picnic. Really let that sink in.

Of course, once you know what was going on in Ryan’s life when he wrote this album, the vibe from it doesn’t seem so surprising. Ryan had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, he had nowhere to live and was traveling all across the country, and a couple of his friends who had actually been critical to getting him into the music world had passed away. That’s a lot for anyone to deal with. He said that it took him a year and a half to finish the first song on “Life Fantastic” because he had almost lost faith in music completely.

So, this album comes from a pretty deep place. And I’m not even done talking about it. Though I tend to focus more on lyrics, “Oh, La Brea” has some of the most moving and beautiful melodic surprises in it. Around the 3 minute mark, it moves into gentle strings that put me in the mind of peacefully coming to grips with some change in your life. Like that scene in a movie where the heroine has to get on the bus and go away to a new and strange land because she has no options left. She doesn’t weep. She looks forward to whatever she finds. Yeah. That’s what it is to me.

And that’s the end of the album. It ends with a wonderful journey just beginning.

Of course, I bought the album with the bonus tracks. This ain’t my first rodeo.

By far, my favorite bonus track is “Trunk Eyes.” Good grief, that song is great.

“Our hearts are such hungry beasts. The harder we starve them, the more all-consuming. And I understand they’ll never find the love that they need, so we try to run ‘em into the ground.”

So, yeah. This entire album is pretty great, and it certainly inspires some thought. I like Man Man’s music, but they are people, going through problems everyone else goes through. And music can either be a way that they deal with those problems, or it might cause some of them. But, either way, music is never a passive force in their lives. It’s constantly demanding, fulfilling and intoxicating. I can’t imagine living without it.

Sorry for the “deepness”, there. It kind of slipped in. If it makes you feel better, just pretend that I was talking about the weather.

Track List: