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Driven by a guitar and a snare drum, the title track is the most conventional and catchy of the dozen songs on “Dear God.” There’s a fascinating incongruity between the bleakness of the refrain and its catchiness, as though Stewart wants listeners to sing, “Dear God, I hate myself,” without realizing quite what they’re saying. Additionally, the title track’s rhythms are thoroughly danceable. An underlying, distorted hand-clap beat, is accompanied by emphatically-strummed guitar. Both occasionally spiral into...
...accompanies Stewart’s vocals, both moving over the same notes in unison. The song is a reworking of a famous folk tune named for a pass in the Appalachian Tennessee, an origin which reveals another of the group’s diverse influences: bluegrass music. Though it’s the shortest song, “Cumberland Gap” stands out as one of the album’s shining moments...
...aggression, seems like a sort of purgation. Stewart opens the floodgates, rapidly pouring out all his anguish, then ends his songs just as the trickle of emotion falters. There are no songs longer than four minutes, as Stewart avoids allowing his message to dilute into thin, drawn out tracks. Though this can be overwhelming, it is also somewhat cathartic and gives the feeling of healing through expression. Xiu Xiu’s risk-taking and continued diversity of influence add another layer of interest to a fascinating album. While certainly not easy to listen to, “Dear God?...
...came from backgrounds of deprivation. I'm not saying that excuses their conduct. I'm simply saying that there were any number of points in the lives of my clients where I truly believe that if society had intervened more aggressively, it could have done something. In other cases, though, I don't see that at all. There wasn't any deprivation, and there wasn't abuse, and there wasn't poverty. Those are the cases that just make you stay awake at night. (See the 25 crimes of the century...
...reform bill with only 50 votes. (Vice President Joe Biden could, in this case, cast a tie-breaking vote.) The White House has been very careful not to explicitly say it intends to pursue a reconciliation strategy, which Republicans insist is a radical, undemocratic move - this, even though the GOP used it during the Bush presidency to pass two rounds of tax cuts. But during a briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said of the approach, "The avenue exists if one wants to pursue it." On an earlier call with reporters, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer...