Discovering music
Before we get into things, I should set the record straight: I’m a punk rock guy. My iPod (and it’s an actual iPod) is filled with music by The Clash, The Ramones, Green Day, Rancid, Zebrahead, Fall Out Boy, The Dollyrots, Dead Kennedys, Sum 41, The Bouncing Souls and many others. However, I do love other musicians (I’m listening to “Dark in the Spotlight” by Steve Conte as I type this), and one of my all-time favorite bands is (or was) the greatest band you’ve never heard of: Beulah.
A onetime member of Elephant 6 (alongside Neutral Milk Hotel and The Apples in Stereo), Beulah was never really a popular band; they never had any hit singles, and they were never offered a big record deal. Quite simply, they fell through the cracks of the record industry. Although they lasted only eight years (and only put out four studio albums), their music is (in my opinion) some of the greatest ever made. Their lineup fluctuated throughout the years, the members were never really able to quit their day jobs and record sales were lackluster — but the band persevered.
One of the best things about Beulah is the fact that there is no such thing as a “bad” Beulah song. Some tracks may rise above the rest (my favorites are “Popular Mechanics for Lovers,” “Gravity’s Bringing Us Down,” “Lay Low for the Letdown,” “Landslide Baby” and “If We Can Land a Man on the Moon…”), but everything is highly listenable — and beautifully infectious. Violins, pianos and trumpets help give the music a perpetually upbeat, poppy sound, even when the lyrics would indicate otherwise (not an uncommon occurrence).
Many songs deal heavily with love and heartbreak (particularly the latter), but other themes (including success, failure and loss) appear at times.
The beautiful “If We Can Land a Man on the Moon…” can be interpreted as not only a love song, but also a look into the band’s career. Other songs are more abstract — “A Good Man is Easy to Kill” is not, in fact, about a girl — according to lead singer Miles Kurosky, it’s about his father, who was injured in a car accident. Some, however, are unambiguous: “Popular Mechanics for Lovers” (perhaps Beulah’s most-heard song, thanks to its use in an episode of The O.C.) is a pure, simple love song — and a damn good one at that.
Although a critical success, Beulah’s fourth album, Yoko, failed to gain them any mainstream attention; after a final tour (documented in the film A Good Band is Easy to Kill), the band broke up in 2004. The breakup was noted by Rolling Stone (which had praised them before), and their final recording (to my knowledge) was done on behalf of none other than their final album’s namesake: Yoko Ono (who, along with Michael Cera, is one of the band’s few famous fans).
While the track (a remix of Ono’s “Let Me Count the Ways”) was cut from her remix album (Yes, I’m a Witch), it can be found on Dailymotion. Kurosky eventually released a solo album (The Desert of Shallow Effects) in 2010, and the members of Beulah unofficially reunited about that time for a single performance.
Music by Beulah can be heard from time to time in commercials or movies (I personally discovered them after hearing “Popular Mechanics for Lovers” during the credits of Youth in Revolt), and most of their discography can be found on iTunes, Amazon MP3, CD and vinyl. Give them a listen — they’re well worth your while.
Brandon Caplan is a senior history major. He can be reached at brandon.caplan@gmail.com.
