Preston School of Industry: Caught in the Rain
[purchase]
I didn’t expect to be posting a transition song this week for two reasons. First, I didn’t realize that I had a weather song by a band that had never been on Star Maker Machine before. And second, sitting here in the path of Hurricane Irene, I wasn’t sure I would have electricity. At the moment, it is strangely quiet outside, which may mean that the storm will wallop us again soon. But hopefully, I can get this done and posted before then.
Scott Kannberg records these days under the name Spiral Stairs, but when he first left the band Pavement, he formed the group Preston School of Industry. The band lasted long enough to record one EP and two full length albums, and then went on hiatus in 2004. The album Monsoon included guest musicians from Wilco and The Minus Five. All of this added up to songs like Caught in the Rain. There is nothing very profound about the song. But breezy pop songs like this are harder to get right than most people realize. The first verse reminds me of the mud I experienced at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival last year. That is about the happiest memory of mud I am ever likely to have.