Pleasure Notes

It has been 22 days since Nic Harcourt screwed me, and I’m here to report that I have recovered from my heartbreak just enough to begin a mild flirtation with Jason Bentley.  I think things may get serious, though, now that Jason has rewarded me with a little joy – or, more accurately, Little Joy.  For those of you too distracted by inconsequential things like the failing economy, let me provide you the broad strokes about Little Joy.

Little Joy is a band, a fantastic band, created by Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Los Hermanos guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, and Binki Shapiro, whose totally fab name exempts her from having to have done anything but who is actually annoyingly talented as well. The band is named for one of those quintessential L.A. cocktail lounges that Swingers made almost obsolete, and it creates super-duper, simple, happiness-inducing music.  The eponymous debut album has been out almost two months, on Rough Trade Records, and the three musicians stopped by KCRW to talk to Jason this week.  I purred in response.

Stephen Troussé at Pitchfork says, “Little Joy is not going to stop the world or change your life, but it’s one of the sweetest, most listenable, consistently enjoyable records of the season.” I would argue that Little Joy is even more pleasurable than that.  But then again, I do have a soft spot for anything involving Brazilians – deixei um pedacinho de meu coraçao no Brasil. There’s another reason, however, that I like Little Joy, a reason that has nothing to do with their melodies.

Every time I hear Little Joy, I think… Little Death – le petit mort – The Big O! And yes, this is how my brain really works. Does that make me a nymphomaniac? Well, since word association is the only evidence I’m revealing at this time, I’ll vote no. Besides, who can blame me? Everyone knows orgasms feel much more like Big Joys than Little Deaths. Stubbing one’s toe, suffering a migraine, listening to George W. Bush – those are Little Deaths. So I have to love a band that makes me think happy thoughts. And I have to love Jason Bentley for giving me Little Joy in the morning this past week. As for the Big Joy… well, I don’t need Jason for that.

Little Joy \”Next Time Around\” on YouTube

Tags: KCRW, Little Joy, The Big O

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 pm and is filed under melodies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.