You MUST listen to "The Microphones in 2020" three times (Professor Skye Explains why) 

Phil Elvrum is one of the defining artists of our time. "The Glow Pt. 2" is one of the most influential albums of the century and "A Crow Looked At Me" is probably the saddest album ever, without exception. Phil has faced many hardships and has shown himself to be one of the most down-to-earth and emotionally potent writers of his, or any, generation. I realise this sounds very cliché (god I hope I'm using that right in front of a French Professor), but he is genuinely so so important in the history of independent music and is one of those artists with an unflinching, relentless vision that won't be tampered with by any label.

Also love how this review is almost as long as the song

I am a woman, 25 years old, from Colombia, and I relate so much to what you're saying: the first time I listened to this song I didn't have a clue who this guy was, and still saw so much of myself in him, and still listened until the end. All the names and places, all the bands, the years, the formal and informal way of referring to things, I felt it all. Because, although the names and things in my experience may vary, I too have spent "Countless sunrises burying the things I'd figured out the day before. Like that I probably won't find shelter in the arms of any other person though I will try. Again I'll deny the blanketing sky, the thing I just realized for probably the millionth time, that walking with my knees trembling is the true state of all things." (The true state of all things is a constant wobble of those which we call things). And I, too, have felt exactly this, though I've never gone to Mount Eerie: "Winding down the dark slope beneath Mount Eerie, I was already who I am." Not for nothing he says that he is "playing with words and trying to prove that names mean nothing." (What does it mean for a name not to mean anything, what does it mean today?) I really enjoy what you say here because as I deepened in Phil Elverum's life and artistry I found out that The Microphones is this big indie cult-fanbase band, and everyone knows every reference to everything he says in the song, as if the references, or the meaning, worked within and only for the people who are way too familiar with the context. I hate it a little when this happens, because I found so much universality in this song, it stands alone, I don't need to know anything about the shirt in the yard, I don't need to know or like the previous stuff he's made to let myself be absolutely permeated by the exactitude of this song. Just by listening a first time I automatically understand that he's a guy who has lived, suffered, a guy who has been weird, who has felt strange, and has let these things touch him in ways that I've let them touch me before. He's a guy with an artistic inquiry, which is, ultimately, an inquiry about life: What is time? How does it work, and how can I work with it? Is it really chronological? Does this mean we learn and retain things from experiences we've had? Is that the connotation of chronology? I do think that the two-chord thing moves towards that, and I am so glad you insist we shouldn't skip the first part. If time is what we have made it to be, and if music exists within time, what is music to us? How does music work? Playing two chords for forty minutes, playing a song that is not a song, as you put it, "too much song and not enough at the same time", rhyming, not rhyming, blurting out entire sentences, reading a list, all within the context of "song", this genre-uncertainty does so much for music, and what we consider music to be (and, of course, how we approach it -do we see it as a means? for what? can we not devote 44 minutes to this because it's a song and not a podcast? do we get bored with seven minutes of "this spooling out repetitive decades-long song string?") And that plays beautifully with all the permanence-impermanence themes. Thank you for bringing up the Bob Dylan situation! I love Dylan as well. I think that music and art are now moving (and probably always have) towards a desire to dissolve, or alter, or play, with genre. And, despite Dylan's novel genius, his often rigid chord and harmonic game makes me think that he's missed out on the performative question musical experimentation poses in this new era (even though he is an explorer, he is a rule-breaker, so much that he basically invented contemporary song and redefined the terms "artist" and "singer-songwriter", or even "person", much like Shakespeare did). I think of Joni Mitchell here. In addition to being a tremendous poet, much like Dylan, sometimes more so, she formally adventured in alternate and open tunings, with weird harmonics and melodies, with suspended chords, and in an interview she says: "I think because men need to solve things and come to conclusions, the SUS chord -there's a law that Wayne Shorter told me: never stay on a SUS chord too long, never go from a SUS chord to a SUS chord. Well, I know that I'm going from a SUS chord to a SUS chord to a SUS chord, you know, chords of inquiry, because my life is full of questions: When are they gonna drop the big one? Where is my daughter? There were so many unresolved things in me that those chords suited me. I'd stay in unresolved emotionality for days and days, so, here's a depiction, why can't you go three chords unresolved? And then, when you hit a major, or even a minor in the progression, you know, boom, there's quite a dramatic change coming out of that resolution." So, her musical experimentation was always a narrative one. To me, she really understood the formal necessity to disturb an order (I think Dylan did too, but in other ways), to engender the exact amount of discomfort for newness to be pleasurable, and, in it, to find the unimaginable. I definitely see that in whatever-this-thing-is, as Elverum often calls it. It is a fine piece of art, and calls for a redefinition of so many things that are, to us, so perfectly clear and organized: it estranges us, all the while making us able to recognize our own lives in it, all the while making us feel corresponded. So odd and beautiful. Thanks for the amazing and committed review! I one hundred percent share the passion.

Mount eerie - the prior 'final' album of the Microphones - is perhaps my favourite album of all time. Honestly seeing that Phil was releasing the first microphones album in almost 20 years was so unbelievable. How he illuminates his creative process and mindset creating those records I adore was a singularly magical experience. I'm still kind of in disbelief.

just noticed that this video is 43 minutes and 43 seconds long.

Honestly I envy your students; your style of presentation is ridiculously engaging.

I dunno if you knew, but there is a live comments section for the music video on RU-vid that you can enable and Phil was in the comments giving locations for many of the photos in the video along with comments from a ton of fans listening to the project for the first time under the pretense that it would just be "a new song". I especially like how everyone instinctively says how sad the album sounds and Phil keeps typing "it's not sad" "it's not a fucking sad song" into chat

As someone not even in their 20’s yet, I had never thought about this project in terms of a generational perspective. For me, what resonated the most was Elverum’s ability to convey his perspective on existence (a perspective that I know have always had but never was able to communicate properly) through the story of his life and his music.

Mount Eerie's 'A Crow Looked At Me' is one of the best records I've listened to that I listened to only once. It's very raw and honest and an album that sings about grief so well. Thank you for the review, gonna have to check his video out.

I made a full cover of this song and performed/recorded it live, it's on my RU-vid now!

I'm excited for when he listens to the rest of Phil's work, you'll realize this is more back catalogue long time fan made music.

The first time I heard/saw Phil's video I cried, no lie. I sat there and sobbed as I watched. My wife kept asking me what was going on. Thanks for your review, it's spot on in my opinion.

I'm a massive fan of Phil. I LOVE this breakdown. Some notes: Phil toured with Bonnie Price Billy. Meyham is put in as a joke by Phil here, it's meant to be absurd :) I'd highly recommend checking out his old work. It's ALL amazing and will actually add to your appreciation of this album. People will try to get you to listen to "A Crow", but that album will DESTROY you, don't stop there. Phil is releasing a "silent" book version of this. (subscribed)

Glad you covered this. You’ve got to listen to The Glow pt 2 by the microphones that is his masterpiece. A Crow Looked at Me by Mount Eerie is the other essential Phil album but for me personally it is very hard to listen to due to its lyrical content.

on phils website, p.w. elverum and sun, you can purchase a book that contains the photos in the Music Video. heavily recommend it

I LOVE THIS CHANNEL SO MUCH

So glad you reviewed this!! It impacted me more than anything I’ve listened to this year. Close to a perfect album

Love your channel! Almost cried just listening you talk about this album

In reply to your question: although he's playing with our ears somewhat, using the peculiar accents you pointed out, and the panned overdubs, it's actually in 4/4, but the accentuated beats are grouped like this (1 being the accent): 1234 123 1234 1(soft accent)2 1(soft accent)23 // etc., total of counts is 16 = 4 times 4). He also seems to use irregular repetitions of these measures of 4/4, which adds to the feeling of rhythmical disorientation (sometimes repeating the segment 3 times, sometimes 4 times or more, which is also not too common, at least not in corporate pop, it is though in folk or old blues music, feels very intuitive). Great review btw, greetings from a fellow Gen X'er who also wasn't cool enough to know Phil Elv(e)rum (that's his name) when he (and I, and you) were in our twenties and there was barely internet.

beautiful, i am bound to watch this again at some point

Fantastic video on a phenomenal artist. Subscribed!

I'd highly recommend listening to the glow pt 2 and mount eerie, and maybe even the rest of phil elverum's discography. those two albums are on par with this one, and the rest of the discography is all incredible.

Phil's music has been super important to me over the last several years and it makes me really happy to hear how much you enjoyed this- it was really cool getting to hear another perspective on this album. great video, thanks :)

Thank you for this review which i watched 2 years and a half after buying the record - I really appreciated your perspective on the album. I am a Phil Elverum fan of sorts and i totally recommend you Mount Eerie’s Clear Moon and Sauna, probably his most ambitious and complete records. Keep up the good work, professor - it’s so great that people like you still exist 🔥

The "finger pointing at the moon" thing originally comes from a Zen buddhist poem by Zen master Ryokan

great video love the analysis

My God. I loved this! I can't wait for you to *GLOW* while listening to his other works, if I may, let me suggest you a listening order: The Microphones - It was hot, we stayed in the water The Microphones - The Glow pt. 2 The Microphones - Mount Eerie Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me These are his most famous albums and you can get almost every reference from Microphones in 2020 in here, you'll see that his work is actually a huge universe of musical and lyrical elements being constantly referenced/completing each other, prepare to be amazed. PS.: Some other album recommendations for you to check out: American Football - American Football (LP3) Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar

Fantastic review, really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on this! Definitely check out a crow looked at me and now only by Mount Eerie. They are deeply personal album about the passing of his wife. But very cathartic listens. Besides those two I woul also definitely reccomend The Glow Pt. 2 and Mount Eerie, both by The Microphones.

Also gotta say I love these videos. I’ll keep auditing this even when online classes start in the fall

I'd love to take your class and have a discussion about this. It's so cool seeing a professor who is actually passionate.

Wow, this was a great listen and I loved the thought of being able to relate to this song / experience / podcast? Even without understanding any of the references. I think that’s what makes it feel so intimate, that I can pick out little moments that contrast with his real life experiences. It’s almost like viewing one eye through a nostalgic lens while the other picks apart all these little bits that make up who I am. I find myself not wanting the song to end but at the same time having to let go. Great video.

I'm late to this video, but you probably already figured out that a lot of the lyrics in Microphones in 2020 reference Phil's past albums. I would highly recommend listening to 'The Glow, pt. 2' because once you're familiar with it then you'll already catch the lyrical nods on this song. His last Mount Eerie album 'Now Only' is essentially a continuation of 'A Crow Looked at Me', but less sad. Again, there are nods on this song to it. Also, his album 'Dawn' was recorded while he barricaded himself in a cabin in Norway (also briefly mentioned on 2020). I've listened to it a few times now and I think I came to the conclusion during this video that it may be my favorite album of the year.

Can I make you a short playlist? This video, combined with having heard the song/album/poem/chronicling/memoir-to-the-ever-shifting-nature-of-water-in-the-life-of-an-artist brought up so much emotion, and so many memories in me. I feel indebted to you (somehow) and I feel like you'd appreciate a playlist as a thank you more than most people would.

There is a Richard Siken poem called "Anyway" which starts - "He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I’m surprised I saw his hand at all. The moon, of course, is always there-day moon, but it’s still there; behind the clouds but it’s still there. I like seeing things: a hand, the moon, ice in a highball glass."

Great recommendation and analysis! The music video fit extremely well in telling his story alone with the music and this video is almost as long as the album itself (lol). Funnily enough, I found the snapshot nature of one's youth (in terms of subject matter) was actually very similar to...Jack Antonoff's work; specifically his solo project Bleachers (whose work I started listening to about 18 months ago and who is also due to release his third album "soon"); albeit way less pop-ish and looking back to the late 90s/early 2000s suburban New Jersey instead of the same time period in rural Washington state. A lot of the tracks from Jack's first two solo albums ("Strange Desire" and "Gone Now") centre around him being 18 in 2001 and the loss of his sister to cancer (to say nothing of 9/11), revisiting that time and how it still impacts upon him. In fact, describing his recording process, Antonoff explains that he records in his home and has photographs and various artifacts from his youth on the walls and shelves to remind him of his younger self (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YkV8K17_0ec.html). He even brought along a recreation of his childhood home on tour with him (time.com/4806737/jack-antonoff-bleachers-interview/) and explained: “We all have this stuff we carry in an invisible suitcase. You can’t keep it all, because if you keep it all, you can’t move forward. But you can’t let it go, because if you let it all go, you’re not yourself. The great balancing act of life is, What do I keep in here?..."One thing I started looking at a lot...is how everyone has an end of innocence moment. For me I was eighteen, it was 9/11, my sister died, my cousin was killed in the war, and I had life before that and life after. Life before that was, 'That shit happens to other people.' Life after was everything happens to me...That’s the ultimate feeling of becoming an adult. You let go of the belief that it doesn’t happen to you. So how do you move forward? How do you exist in a relationship? How do you be 33?”

I was just blessed with a live performance of this album in Grand Rapids, can’t believe I got the opportunity

It was great to hear your thoughts! Thank you for listening and I'm glad you like it. You get at describing what this album says or makes the listener feel about memory that I have struggled to communicate concisely to my friends. I had thought that the song was in 4/4 just played very loosely but maybe I am wrong. I will listen for that more carefully next time while I am completing my homework. If you are interested in listening to more of Phil's music my personal favorite is the album titled Mount Eerie by the Microphones, but the Glow pt. 2, Dawn, No Flashlight, and A Crow Looked at Me would all be great places to start. Only listen if you want of course. Also, I would love to find out what the zookeepers sound like in 2020.

oh what i would give for a skye the glow pt2 review

It is easily available from the iTunes store. Perhaps I am the last iTunes user, but very simple. I did like the 'lyric' video on RU-vid as well.

please listen to the glow pt. 2. edit: i really really really love this video and this album. it was THE album that helped me with panic attacks

I'm a young guy, but I love this song. Contemplating while listening to it is still a very full experience.

I know this video is a year or more past, but I strongly suggest you listen to Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy that Phil mentioned, but under his older band name, Palace Music. The album “Viva Last Blues” is one *hell* of a record.

As a work of post-ironic internet art experience, and for the similar length, I'm watching this with the actual song in the background as I hear what you have to say about it.

Consider A Crow Looked at Me.

Why can't more song's be like a dairy chapter of a day it's nice I'm listening to it right now

This album perfectly encapsulates how it felt to live in the year 2020

You should listen to no flashlight (by mount eerie)

When are you going to review immortal technique "3rd world"?

What is the word for experiencing art through all the senses AT ONCE? It was in an interview with him, the interviewer mentioned the word, Phil was not familiar with it but thought it was pretty cool. It WOULD be great if it achieved that aesthetic. What's that word, Professor?

if you haven't already listen to everything hes made

The true state of all things...

Mate it is time for you to review Drogas wave from Lupe fiasco

It's also crazy to see a pic of you in 2002, when I was likely an embryo.

Loving the review so far! I recommended 7G by A.G. Cook the other day, the more I think about it, I'm not sure if it's that appropriate for this type of channel since it's not very lyrically-driven. In any case, I think you'll get a lot out of it because it's the first album to truly blow me away beyond words in years. I saw you reviewed 100 gecs remix album though, so maybe it's up your alley! It's in a similar style but created by the founder of PC Music - essentially the birthplace of that entire style of music. Alright I'll go finish the review now :')

Curious if you've gotten around to checking out Phil's earlier work. This is one of his "weaker" projects imo (still great though) but I consider albums like The glow pt. 2, It was hot we stayed in water, and lost wisdom ESSENTIAL Phil listening (A Crow Looked at Me too, but you mentioned you don't like albums focusing on death)

I suggest you listen to Ravens by Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum is such a great artist

saw elve, say rum, say elverum

you know it's so weird cause I'm only 20 but I vibed with this album on a similar leve;

11:57 LMFAO!

When are you going to review the new - BLU & EXILE album MILES? It’s a modern day classic and also when are you going to review the BUJU BANTON - UPSIDEDOWN 20/20 straight Fire 🔥 tunes and a well rounded album!

Don't know if you already found this but Phil made a short documentary which is really great and a very short but great insight into what he is like and how he sees his art: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hPUK06CLxG8.html

the funny thing is that this album was actually supposed to be called microphones in 2019 because it was gonna be released last year but then he spent another 5 months working on the song so the pun was accidental lmao

I'm pretty sure that most people don't realize how boring their lives are to other people. To devote one's lifetime to going over the same concepts repeatedly (ostensibly to achieve some type of immortality, or as Phil's lyrics say, "just to be remembered a little longer" than after his own death) gets...old. I can understand your excitement with no previous exposure. I was there too, 2 months ago, then I continued on and on and listened to everything... it gets unbearable really. It's all the same. I think it's good that you jumped in right where you did, you got the 44 minute condensed version of the loop loop loop of Phil's life and beliefs. Defining album: A Crow Looked At Me, not to be missed. It has heart and tooth. Continue into the world of Phil at your own peril. 😏

I like your review, I did not like "Microphones". I had a conversation only yesterday about music and lyrics. I told my friend that I could listen to a song years and not have heard the lyrics. I eventually get around to deciphering lyrics of songs I like but it's not primary with me. Music first. If I don't like the music I won't listen long. I will listen. But if the music does not BANG! GO! I'm out. I was not always like this. But I have come to this. I listened to Chris Connelly's "Whiplash Boychild" (an artist who also has work on bandcamp, althoug WB was on Wax!Trax, 1991) for about two years, disappointed that it was not like his work with RevCo and Ministry, but determined, since I had paid for the damn thing, to give it a fair hearing. It became a desert-island disk for me. I had the conversation with a young friend at seventeen, music or lyrics, and I was a lyrics guy then. I waxed polemical and tried to get him to come to my side, to give the lyrics a hearing even if one did not like the music. The conversation ended with his screaming "Fuck You!" in my face and furiously cranking away on his BMX bike. It seems that when I listen with my sensorium, heart, organizer, whatever you call it, I can make a decision very quickly whether to continue listening or seek something else,--or more often listen to something I have listened to many times, something which gives anew with each listening. Perhaps "Microphones" does that for some, or for many, people. I would recommend the album "The Episodes" by Chris Connelly if you love/like "Microphones". Most of Connelly's work has that je ne sais quoi, 'that feeling, you can only say what it is in Frawnsh'. The music he did as Chris Connelly and the Bells, especially, has a superlatively continental sound, super-coool! which probably owes much to Gainsbourg and Scott Walker, Jacques Brel and others

I like your commentary here but why did you not just take the 2 seconds to look up his name?

8:38 me after hearing playboi carti's DIE LIT

You can easily look up someone’s name.

My homework to you as a professional musician and educator, experience the Microphone's Mount Eerie album in it's entirety. And respectfully learn his name. It's not that hard.

I can't stand what you're saying. His name is permanent and it is Phil Elverum.

Wow. I am really not rying to be rude or crass but all I can hear is me me me , my my my, I'm sorry but the world doesn't revolve around you.

overrated as fuck listen to ichiko aoba's last year's album it will blow ur mind