Comments on: Apache Plaza

Apache Plaza

umbú — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:09:27 -0800

Ode to a doomed shopping mall.

I grew up in Minneapolis just a few blocks from one of the first enclosed shopping malls in the world. It was state-of-the-art at the time it was built (1961), a mid-century modern building curiously named Apache Plaza. When I was twelve, a tornado hit the mall and ripped part of the roof off. I vividly remember the surreal sight of department store products (teddy bears, golf clubs, skirts, etc.) strewn on people's lawns throughout the neighborhood. They rebuilt, but the mall never completely recovered. By 2003, when it was bulldozed, all but the most stubborn businesses had jumped ship, and it became an bleak, echoey post-apocalyptic scene, with solemn mall-walkers taking over the corridors. I wrote this song over a decade ago, but dusted it off and recorded it after seeing the generic new urbanist crypto-mall that was put in its place. It ended up falling into a Penny Lane-ish nostalgic mood. I trying to create faux muzak in certain sections, and pictured the vocals delivered by guys dressed like a barbershop quartet standing in the main atrium next to the Galaxian machine.

By: umbú

umbú — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:10:52 -0800

Oops. I meant 'I tried to...'

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:40:13 -0800

Cool stuff umbú, it does remind me of Penny Lane, or maybe something off of Smile.

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:13:56 -0800

This is great! I was envisioning Dawn of the Dead at the beginning and during the instrumental break. After finishing it, I think it should still be in the movie somewhere.

By: Karlos the Jackal

Karlos the Jackal — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:30:52 -0800

Pretty cool! Any song that can fit "numerous corporate ventures" into its chorus is aces by me.

Nice "muzak" sections -- very Jon Brion-esque.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:48:54 -0800

This is a ton of fun; I dig it. I like the little guitar turnaround especially.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:34:49 -0800

Nice vocal harmonies! And melodies. The reverb is a distracting for me, but it's a good listen, nevertheless.

By: thepressdelete

thepressdelete — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:11:27 -0800

I love this. Thanks!