Greg Wood: Books at the Bijou
Not enough bands reference the early 1990s Nickelodeon TV show “Hey Dude.” In fact, I can only list one off the top of my head.
Of course, indie-pop duo The Books only reference the show once (that I’ve noticed—don’t hold me to that) on the first track of their 2002 album Thought for Food, in the form of a (roughly) four second sound clip. But what an obscure sound clip to include, but you must have to get obscure when your music centers around short, sampled sound clips.
The duo, consisting of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, play guitar and violin respectively, providing an ambient, sometimes-folky background to a plethora of sampled vocal clips.
The clips are hands down the most intriguing part of the music. The Books include a “found art” aspect to their sampling, including whatever they can dig up, record themselves, or are allowed to use by the Fair Use Doctrine. The listener usually doesn’t distinguish the source of the clips, but they’re fascinating regardless. This merging of peaceful instrumentation and sound clips creates a colorful, yet minimalist sound. The band can make tuned-down, droning guitars, a violin, and sound clips seem like a symphony.
The vocal clips add an element of surrealism to the music. You’d be surprised how trippy butchered clips of a 4th grade spelling bee can sound, or how frantic a woman with a thick New England accent can really sound.
But with the vocal clips as the bulk of the appeal, this prompts one to wonder: what are the Books like live?
The answer will be revealed to Knoxvillians on Thursday, April 19th at the Bijou Theatre for the price of $15.
Seeing how the Books play their instruments (which, on the albums, sometime branch out to include cello and vibraphone) while backing up sampled sound clips should be interesting. The dreamy, surreal nature of their music is perfect for the Bijou Theatre—a place which is dreamy and surreal in and of itself.
Violinist Todd Reynolds will be opening for the Books.
For tickets, call the Bijou Theatre at (865)522-0832.