This Is How We Build a Place

Of all the records I've heard this year, there has been just one that has kept me bright, open, and, best of all, dancing: Antidotes, by Oxford-based Foals. Continuing the heritage of sharp, angular post-punk of Gang of Four and Franz Ferdinand (with some traces of Wire for good measure), Foals' focus is on the immediate pleasures that are centered in the hips. At the same time, Foals, anchored ever-so-steadily by drummer Jack Bevan, somehow manage to sound as serious (or just so) as their more cerebrally-minded predecessors. Now, what helps this band so much is the use of a horn section, the cutting tone of which serves as something more than an accent, works more than an afterthought; it's a shame, however, given the instrument's punchy nature, that the horns were essentially buried in the final mix under a hailstorm of guitar- and bass-lines.

While the criticism that Foals' music isn't new or even all that interesting might very well be true, there's alot to be said, I think, for reminding listeners that music can, and should, remain the safest escape route from "the lighthouse (that) is an accident."

I'm particularly fond of "Olympic Airways," "The French Open," "Cassius," and--fuck it--I'm just going to say that I'm all over this record.

*

Anyone with half of a brain cell--or at least those who don't entirely consume their political coverage from Fox News--who saw last week's vice-presidential debate understood that the victor, clearly, was Joe Biden. On matters ranging from foreign policy to the economy, Biden, unlike the "debater" standing a few feet away from him, answered the questions that were directed at him, and he held back some of the sharp tongue that has gotten him into trouble in the past. Madame Governor, on the other hand, with her faux-populist leanings, ready-made zingers, and cutesy winks at the camera, proved evasive and insincere, and stood as something of a puppet for McCain's speech writers. (What price, desperation?)

What I found most troubling is the idea, as Maureen Dowd pointed out so insightfully in her column, that to be part of the "elite" necessarily means something sinister, misguiding, as though what we need in Washington are four more years of raging incompetence and tomfoolery. Oh, and let me just point out that Palin wants the Vice-Presidency to be granted more power, a black-black move given that the era of the most dangerous vice-president is about to end.

*

Homeward bound...