The New Pornographers

Now, before anyone unfamiliar with The New Pornographers gets in a tizzy, this post is not about any kind of pornography, but rather about the excellent band that goes by the name The New Pornographers. My good friend Jim Wiseman (he of the brilliant op-ed piece about Georgia's antiquated election runoff system in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a few weeks back) turned me on to them a little more than a year ago, and in that time, they've become one of my favorite bands. They fall into the indie-rock category, and what sets them apart is band leader Carl Newman's uncanny ability to write a power-pop song. Here's an example, called "Use It," from their Twin Cinema album:

I love that song, and if it comes onto my iPod, I've been known to listen to it twice.

I think the thing that really appeals to me about The New Pornos is that they're complete music nerds, in the same way that I am a complete comic book nerd. (The song "Challengers" even seems to reference an old DC comic by Jack Kirby called Challengers of the Unknown, but I'm not sure the reference was intentional.) But it's obvious, from the songwriting to the finished tracks, that Newman and band are really interested in songcraft, and I just dig that. And I think that's why they appeal as well to my buddy Jim, who is a nerd of the mathematical variety (and I mean that in the best possible way).

One of the important things to know about The New Ps is that they're kind of a supergroup; Newman is clearly the leader, but also in the band is the amazing singer Neko Case (whose Fox Confessor Brings the Flood album also never leaves my iPod) and another singer/songwriter named Dan Bejar, from the band Destroyer (which I know nothing about). The songs Bejar sings on the New Ps records are clearly the work of a different author, and have an almost entirely different feel. Early on in my introduction to The New Ps, I wasn't much fond of the Dan Bejar songs, which have also earned some level of scorn from Professor Wiseman. Yes, Jim's not a Dan Bejar fan. In fact, he really dislikes him. And when we saw the band in concert last year, I found Bejar's onstage demeanor off-putting.

But something has happened in the last few months; I now like most of the Dan Bejar songs on the three Pornographers albums I have (Mass Romantic, Twin Cinema, and the latest, Challengers). There's still a couple I click through - "Entering White Cecilia" and "Streets of Fire," both of which creep me out - but otherwise, I let 'em play. And there's a couple I actually really like, first and foremost "Myriad Harbor" on Challengers. Here it is:

It's a cool video, and in the way that ideas (I guess that's what they are) keep erupting out of Bejar's head in the animation, it makes me think of one of my favorite comics of the last couple of years, Matt Fraction's spy comic Casanova, which itself was inspired by several New Ps songs. I'd try and explain, but Casanova is pretty dense, and I can't summarize it in way that will make sense here; but Casanova fans will understand.

There you have it. Jim, I hope you don't hold my new appreciation for the Dan Bejar-penned-and-sung New Pornographers songs against me.

-EB