321 : New Villager

We wouldn’t be doing our job as a music blog if we didn’t mention this year’s SXSW and how we are not there. We are in the internet, not Texas. NewVillager are there though, spreading their joyous, psychedelic chant-pop throughout Austin’s dusty, booze-stained streets. Read about them at our NME blog, and after the jump they answer our three little questions.

NewVillager – Rich Doors [mp3] [Buy]

SlowVillager: “1. Personalities are malleable.

“2. The sound of the freeway isn’t that different from the sound of waves.

“3. Yerba Mate is a vibrant creative elixir.”

SV: “Sail Away, by Randy Newman. What a song! Newman plays the part of the slave trader. He sings to the Africans, convincing them to get on his boat in any way he can: “In America, you’ll get food to eat/ won’t have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet/you just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day/it’s great to be an American.” And what’s fantastic about this song is that, if you’re not listening hyper-closely to the lyrics, you’ll end up being convinced, dreaming about paradise, and then wandering onto the boat, seduced by Newman’s deceptively simple songwriting.”

Randy Newman – Sail Away [mp3]

FastVillager: “Cloudbusting, by Kate Bush. This song changed my life. I took over a friend’s room a few years back and inherited his turntable and record collection. After a few days of rotating between Neil Young’s, After the Gold Rush, Lucky Dragons’, Widows, and the Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings and Food, I came across his copy of Hounds of Love. I’d always written off Kate Bush as overly dramatic, but decided to give this record a shot, as I’d never given it a proper listen. For the next month, I don’t think that record left the platter even once. I played this last track from the first side every morning at least 5 times in a row. I just kept trying to figure out what subtle power was hidden under its surface that gave me such a rush every time she sang ‘I just know that something good is gonna happen.’ Songs like this are why I make music.”

Kate Bush – Cloudbusting

SV: “Let’s move on to a new type of currency. We tried money. It’s run its course. There are probably some better options for mankind. The Mayans used the cacao seed, which only maintained it’s worth until it rotted. No hording possible. Maybe something like that would be a better way of thinking about currency. In any case, it’s time to start working toward some solutions.”

NewVillager are all over SXSW ’09. You can buy the Rich Doors 7″ at Pure Groove.

01.03.09.