heart on the line: m. ward’s hold time
m. ward’s new album hold time is suddenly everywhere (”everywhere” in my world means it’s in the new york times and the onion. and i imagine sasha-frere jones has recently emerged from his hyberbaric chamber of concentrated hip intellectualism and is thawing out to write some words for the new yorker.)
a classier blogger would sit back and wait for people to point out that the blue trenchcoat saw this coming. he/she would show restraint. this person would also floss regularly. he or she would just be generally on top of things, and so it naturally would come as quite a shock when this hypothetical person loses all depth perception, and spends the rest of his life trying to eat clouds. and so I have to say it myself: I saw it coming! been a long time coming for m. ward, in fact, but here it is, indie love becoming more mainstream, for whatever that’s worth. Post-War is the album that’s considered his breakout by many. I’ve personally never gotten over Transistor Radio. and the larger powers that be have waited until Hold Time. but why nitpick? suffice it to say m. should be able to soon afford a vowel, and maybe become mi. ward, or even om. ward.
this post is in no way about zooey deschanel, or her well-received collaborative project with m. ward, she & him. but another motto here is ‘when in doubt, add zooey’. this motto serves me less well when I am trying to make a peach cobbler. (there is a restraining order.) and here is one of the many reasons I fell for Transistor Radio: