Listening to Neko Case albums evokes a certain memorable time period for me, specifically May 2006-December 2006.
I first got into, if you hadn't guessed it already, in May 2006 when my friend made me a data disc and included two of her albums, Furnace Room Lullaby and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins was still popular at the time, and I was just not feeling that shite. But something about Neko Case stood out--maybe it was her voice, or maybe it was the fact that I heard rumors about her "princess-like" stage presence at shows. So of course that piques my interest, because I'm all for assholes for art's sake.
I got a great feel for Confessor just by the first track, "Margaret vs. Pauline;" then later that month I was standing front row at the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Wash. Unfortunately, a hailstorm decides to interrupt her set as she begins the third song, "Star Witness." She didn't give a damn and kept the show going. As soon as it ends, however, she grabbed the mic and said, "I'm sorry, they told me I can't finish the show." Bummer.
And the great thing I discovered about Neko Case is the fact that her voice live sounds EXACTLY like it does in studio recordings, which is an awesome thing because it's so strong, yet delicately beautiful. She's got some range, now.
I got even more into her when I was an intern at Paste, and I didn't realize how much I loved her until I gave a five-minute argument on how Confessor should've been in the Top 5 of their "Best of" list, and one of the editors said he wasn't impressed and he was more of a Jenny Lewis fan. I then spat in his face and called him Un-American and stormed out of the editorial meeting after yelling, "I can no longer work in a place that condones Communism." Or something.
Anyway, since that unfortunate hailstorm event, I have not recuperated. I haven't seen her. I just haven't been able to fill that void she left me.
Neko Case, please come back to me.
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