Parquet Courts – “Bodies Made Of”

Aww man. It’s my first post for Sound It Out, and I wanted it to be free of the dreaded “so-and-so meets so-and-so” music-writing cliche. But Parquet Courts is one of those bands that make it impossible to avoid those types of remarks, not because they are overly-derivative or beholden to their influences, but because they practice a recombinant style of what might be called “record collection rock”, which tacitly acknowledges that the best ideas are probably already in the distant past of rock, but there are still some cool songs to be written, so they might as well be played loudly and presented in a way that evokes a bunch of the best bits of previous movements and eras, simultaneously. They don’t imitate other bands so much as use specific elements from them as tools in a toolkit, not unlike how hip hop beatmakers use samples. This isn’t a new strategy, and the Parquet Courts probably haven’t added anything to the experiment, but they’ve used these signifying elements to great effect, to make really good records, like Crystal Stilts or Yuck. In keeping with their Fall and Pavement-inspired cryptic album graphics and text, for their current tour, they’re appearing variously as “Parquet Courts”, “Parkay Quarts”, and “PCPC”.

This live version of “Bodies Made Of” was recorded in June at a record release party at Sugarhill Supper Club in Brooklyn for their “Sunbathing Animal” album (on What’s Your Rupture?). The footage was shot by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. It looks and sounds great.

I’d say, erm, it sounds like Television’s “Friction” meets Wire’s “Practice Makes Perfect” in Pavement’s practice space. But not “on acid”.

PARQUET COURTS, PARKAY QUARTS, AND PCPC LIVE DATES:

Tue.Oct 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus (as PCPC) w/ Thurston Moore

Wed.Oct 22 – Boston MA @ The Sinclair (as PCPC) w/ Thurston Moore

Fri.Oct 24 – Providence, RI @ The Met (as PCPC) w/ Thurston Moore

Sat.Oct 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle (as PCPC) w/ Thurston Moore

Sun.Oct 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade NYC (as PCPC) w/ Thurston Moore

Thu. Nov 6 – Washington DC @ DC9 (as Parkay Quarts)

Sat.Nov 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA (as Parkay Quarts)

Thu. Nov 13 – Lille, France @ Le Grand Mix (as Parkay Quarts)

Fri.Nov14 – Paris, France @ La Cigale (as Parkay Quarts)

Sat.Nov 15 – Nantes, France @ Stereolux (as Parkay Quarts)

Mon.Nov 17 – Toulose, France @ Bikini (as Parkay Quarts)

Wed.Nov 19 – Oostende, Belgium @ De Zwerver (as PCPC)

Thu.Nov 20 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique (as Parkay Quarts)

Fri.Nov 21 – Utrecht, Holland @ Le Guess Who (as Parkay Quarts)

Sat.Nov 22 – Amsterdam, Holland @ The Vrankrijk (as PCPC)

Sun.Nov 23 – Utrecht, Holland @ Le Guess Who (as PCPC)

Mon.Nov 24 – Ramsgate, UK @ Ramsgate Music Hall (as PCPC)

Tue.Nov 25 – London, UK @ Electroworkz (as PCPC)

Wed.Nov 26 – Leeds, UK @ Wardrobe (as Parkay Quarts)

Thu.Nov 27 – London, UK @ The Laundry (as Parkay Quarts)

Sat.Nov 29 – Koln, Germany @ Museum Ludwig (as Parkay Quarts)

Sun.Nov 30 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Frabrik (as Parkay Quarts)

Thu.Dec 11 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall (as Parquet Courts)