Loro — Pinback

#365Songs: March 26th

I can’t write without music. Mostly lyrical, sometimes instrumental, always dependent upon what I’m writing. I am, or at least try to be, a rhythm writer, each sentence crafted with the energy of a character’s inner life, the mood happening around the action, or to represent the location’s vibe. I was studying for my MFA in the early aughts, and bands like Pinback fueled me. Well, that plus vodka and cigarettes.

But there’s something in this music, the precision, the seamless interplay between drums, guitar, bass, and light vocals. Pinback has a sound that only Pinback has, and when you know them you’ll say “that’s Pinback” the moment you hear the first few notes.

And the Ripped Ones say goodbye,
While the others meet.
Attached somewhere.
At least they’re shared.
And the Ripped Ones never collide,
While the others
Da da da da da da, dada da da da da
Da da da dunna da da da
Da da da dunna da da da
Da da da da da da, dada da da da da

It’s not that Pinback diverged too far from the other sounds of the era: you can hear American Analog Set in some of the repetitive rhythm lines, a little Modest Mouse angst, and so many post-rock and math rock bands. Though they’re from San Diego, they just as easily could’ve been a part of the Chicago’s American Football and Tortoise cool kids.

I’ve written this before, but I accumulated thousands of post-rock songs during the Napster years, and then kept up with the catalog by purchasing more on iTunes for several years after that. The vast majority of it was instrumental only, and Pinback was the ideal exception to the rule (along with Chicago favorites, Sea and Cake). The lyrics are minimal, but tend to follow similar darker themes I gravitate towards: boredom, darkness, wasted time, and death, and wasted time. Whenever I feel struck by an unhealthy dose of writer’s block, I return to those old bands, to this genre, to refuel me, to get me grooving on the page again.

It almost always works. Almost.

Da da da dunna da da da
Da da da dunna da da da
And the Ripped Ones say goodbye, ( 4, 9, 5, 3, 1)
While the others meet.
Attached somewhere.
At least they’re shared.
And the Ripped Ones never collide, (4, 9, 5, 3, 1)
While the others
Da da da da da da, dada da da da da
Da da da dunna da da da
Da da da dunna da da da