This week I posed my "If I Dropped By..." question to Justin Vassallo of Brooklyn based band Bedfellows. I've been digging the track "Coming Up" which you can check out at the end of my "visit". If you're in the New York area, you can catch Bedfellows live and in-person at Pianos on Wednesday, August 7 at 9PM and it'll cost you $8. They will also be at Cake Shop on Thursday, August 22. Continue reading to see what I found out during my hypothetical visit to his home.
Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): ... and brought a friend who didn't know your music, what song of yours would you play for them and why?
Justin Vassallo (JV): "Like A Hostage" from our new EP "World Apart". When we did the final mix, it had a euphoric rush to it that beat any other mix session I've been a part of. When you've worked hard at something, it's a revelation and a relief when you catch yourself smiling a bit at the end result.
Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): ... and brought a friend who didn't know your music, what song of yours would you play for them and why?
Justin Vassallo (JV): "Like A Hostage" from our new EP "World Apart". When we did the final mix, it had a euphoric rush to it that beat any other mix session I've been a part of. When you've worked hard at something, it's a revelation and a relief when you catch yourself smiling a bit at the end result.
(QNYC): ... what song or album would you feel I needed to hear before I left?
(JV): Instinctively I'd reach for El Perro Del Mar's "Pale Fire" from last autumn. I don't have the bandwith to voraciously consume new music on a regular basis, but once in a while I make it my mission to share an artist I've fallen (back in) love with. It's a beautiful record and a fine example of song-oriented dance music.
(QNYC): ... would you proudly display the cheesy music in your collection or pretend someone left it by mistake?
(JV): You've got to own your mistakes and your guilty pleasures or the pursuit of art and good taste would be absolutely humorless. Of course it's normal to dump a lot of music from your childhood that you find out to be terrible later in life, but I think on principle you get turned on to more things and understand sound better the less your tastes are governed by what's considered cool at this very moment.
Pop music goes through cycles, and a lot of the time "cheese" becomes classic or at least integral to the aesthetics of contemporary groups. No one cared about Italo disco six years ago but then groups like Chromatics and Nite Jewel made it relevant, made it their own, and made it seductive.
(QNYC): ... vinyl, 8-track or digital?
(JV): Whatever makes you feel sexy at the right moment in the right place.
(QNYC): ... beach or mountains?
(JV): Beach before the coasts as we know them disappear.
(QNYC): ... what's one thing you must have in your refrigerator at all times?
(JV): Beverage is seltzer.
And all the ingredients necessary to make an elegant sardine sandwich.
(JV): Instinctively I'd reach for El Perro Del Mar's "Pale Fire" from last autumn. I don't have the bandwith to voraciously consume new music on a regular basis, but once in a while I make it my mission to share an artist I've fallen (back in) love with. It's a beautiful record and a fine example of song-oriented dance music.
(QNYC): ... would you proudly display the cheesy music in your collection or pretend someone left it by mistake?
(JV): You've got to own your mistakes and your guilty pleasures or the pursuit of art and good taste would be absolutely humorless. Of course it's normal to dump a lot of music from your childhood that you find out to be terrible later in life, but I think on principle you get turned on to more things and understand sound better the less your tastes are governed by what's considered cool at this very moment.
Pop music goes through cycles, and a lot of the time "cheese" becomes classic or at least integral to the aesthetics of contemporary groups. No one cared about Italo disco six years ago but then groups like Chromatics and Nite Jewel made it relevant, made it their own, and made it seductive.
(QNYC): ... vinyl, 8-track or digital?
(JV): Whatever makes you feel sexy at the right moment in the right place.
(QNYC): ... beach or mountains?
(JV): Beach before the coasts as we know them disappear.
(QNYC): ... what's one thing you must have in your refrigerator at all times?
(JV): Beverage is seltzer.
And all the ingredients necessary to make an elegant sardine sandwich.
