Thao Nguyen Compulsively Screams and Wails

Posted on Oct 14th 2009 4:00PM by Mike Ayers
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On Thao Nguyen's third album, 'Know Better Learn Faster,' one of the more poignant moments comes during the song 'Oh No.' During the course of writing it, the San Francisco-based songwriter admits at one point she was just yelling the title over and over. "More than any other, that song is about the realization of f---ing up," Nguyen tells Spinner. "When I was writing it, I had no other compulsion than to scream 'oh no' over and over again. I wanted all the frustration and the mourning and the grief to take place."

With such a short amount of time to work with -- the song is only two minutes and 45 seconds long -- you'd think it gets to the point rather quickly. But not so. For the first two minutes, there is a slow and melodic buildup that eventually folds into a harsh, abrupt ending. "There are a lot of parts where I'm just screaming," Nguyen says. "It's low in the mix, but originally that's how it was. Loud guitars, crashing cymbals and me wailing. But then we decided to rope it in a little bit because that's not that appealing to listen to."

When asked what inspired the 'Oh No' moment, Nguyen was a bit mum, although she admitted she was a part of the problem. "It was a pretty focused moment of me f---ing up, helping to contribute to the end of something," she says. "Going to play music is my job and at that point, I was welcoming the opportunity to go on tour."

'Know Better Learn Faster' is out Oct. 13 on Kill Rock Stars, and features music by Nguyen's band, the Get Down Stay Down, as well as guest appearances by Andrew Bird and Tune-Yards.

'Know Better, Learn Faster' Full CD Listening Party