Far From Noise

I’ll just apologize ahead of time for the snobbishness of what I’m about to type…

About two blocks from where I work is an old Sears building. It’s a giant, blocky building with a sign that lights up at night beckoning the non-existent late night shoppers in downtown Oakland. Upon entering this monstrous two story structure a wave of sadness washes over you due to the yellow fluorescent lighting and the sound of the employee’s dreams being crushed. I have no clue how it stays in business.

I needed to stop inside this dreary place to pick up some ramekins for a dessert I was making for Thanksgiving. Yes, I’m a guy and I own ramekins, eight of them, you want to make something of it? Anyways, one of the 6 people in this entire store happens to beat me to the cashier and since they so rarely have to actually sell anything, the process took a bit of time. I think she had to dust off the cash register and review the manual on how to remove those damn security tags attached to the clothing. So there I am standing in my one person line and you wouldn’t believe what I hear being piped through the store sound system:

Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks 

I was shocked but I eventually figured out that somehow Grizzly Bear had entered the mainstream conscious because I started hearing it at several random stores. I think the last one was Target.

Grizzly Bear is a quartet from Brooklyn, NY. Their latest release Veckatimest is a beautiful album all the way through. I’m not sure how to describe the sound because I would definitely say that it is mellow but there is this fullness and complexity lurking under the surface. Almost as if each song is being just slightly constrained and leaves you wanting more…in a good way.

I can’t talk about this song without mentioning Gabe Askew who made this truly amazing fan video for “Two Weeks”. It kicks the original video’s ass! Completely done within a computer but it looks like stop motion. I’ve watched it several times and I never get bored of it.

And finally, to just leave Sears in downtown Oakland on a good note, apparently someone/something is still watching over it and trying to make it beautiful.