"It's not you, really, it's me." Apologies for being MIA lately. The usual reasons: work has me working, my free time has been costly, and then there's this little thing known as an impending move. Posts will be sporadic for the next few weeks. To make up for it, here's a massive jukebox upchuck full of favorite songs of late. Dusty Springfield – "So Much Love" I've been listening to so much Dusty In Memphis lately, ever since my trip to Louisville. (Must have been the "Southern" exposure.) [...]
Sorry for the delay, but it's that time of the year (NCAA) and I also just found out that a move is in my near future. So unfortunately, posts will be more sporadic. I love just about everything that the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar sister labels release, and I'm anxious to get my hands on the new Odawas record, Raven and the White Night . Cheesy album titles aside, I'm in love with this song and its atmospheric, Ennio Morricone, spaghetti-western vibe. I doubt it'll bowl you over, so give it time to grow. Odawas [...]
The Mops are widely considered the gold-standard of Japan's "Group Sounds" movement, which in lay terms was essentially Japan's attempt to copy the chart success of the American and British beat movements. You've probably heard The Mops' contribution to the second Nuggets box , "I Am Just a Mops," a catchy if simplistic rock and roll dirge. But the bulk of their 1967 album Psychedelic Sounds in Japan sounds nothing like that. Containing a mixture of covers sung in English and originals sung in Japanese, Psychedelic Sounds showcases an incredible band fully [...]
I've been asked before why I continue to dig deeper into the garage rock genre when it has already been excavated so thoroughly by the kind folks at Rhino, and the answer is, well, this... Crystal Chandlier – "Suicidal Flowers" Driving Stupid – "Horror Asparagus Stories" Race Marbles – "Like a Dribbling Fram" Adjeef the Poet – "Ieek, I'm a Freak" All are taken from Pebbles, Vol. 3: The Acid Gallery .
Pardon the absence, but I've been swamped with work and family and March basketball. I'll try to do a better job this week. I'm a late-comer to the Numero Group record label. But two weekends ago, while in Louisville, I picked up the first in their Eccentric Soul series, The Capsoul Label . This collection mines the depths of the Columbus, Ohio, label's five-year run, which spans just a dozen seven inches released during the first half of the '70s. It's an exceptionally well-done reissue, and if you dig these highlights, then it's well worth your money. [...]
The Kinks are the most underrated rock band, in my mind. Sure, they've sold millions of records and recorded one of the most recognizable rock songs of all time. Yes, they singlehandedly spawned heavy metal and power-pop with a simple chord exchange and guitar tone. (Van Halen sure loves them!) And they're in rock's hall of fame. But still, people don't give them enough props. Still, people don't own every record they recorded from 1964-1971, as they do with The Beatles and The Stones. Still, we haven't found it necessary to idolize Ray Davies as we have done with Lennon, [...]
I would have spent more time in my formative years listening to music that makes me smile, and less time with the doom and gloom. (Cue The Meters, circa '74)
You wouldn't necessarily know it from reading my blog on a regular basis, but I'm a sucker for The Magnetic Fields. Stephin Merritt is among the best pop songwriters of the past two decades -- if not the best. Plenty of people are already familiar with 69 Love Songs , but may not have explored his more electronic back catalog. The Charm of the Highway Strip , released in 1994, is his country concept record, and probably my favorite. For a change of pace, here's a couple tunes from that record... The [...]
There has been much dispute over the origin of the chair. Some say the chair dates back to well before Christ; others contend that its origins can be traced back only several hundred years. This photo clearly shows that chairs have been around at least as long as cigarettes. *Historical evidence that chairs are indeed for sitting.
I would have gone to see My Morning Jacket a couple more times on their 2004 tour for It Still Moves , one of my favorite records of the 2000s. Oh, how I long for the days when Jim James had a face full of hair. I just can't get into their new recordings; bring back lead guitarist Johnny Quaid! Anyway, I'll be visiting MMJ's neck of the woods this weekend -- The 'Ville, Kentucky -- so no posts until Monday. Until then, let your hair down...
Apparently, Charlie Louvin is going to play Bonnaroo this year, which surprises me as he turns 80 this July. He and his brother, Ira (long deceased), formed one of the best country gospel acts of their day. You'll recognize "The Christian Life," as Gram Parsons/The Byrds, among others, popularized it among the cool country set. For some fucking stupid reason, the Country Music Hall of Fame waited until 2001 to enshrine them. It's easy to hear where all sorts of followers may have gained inspiration from their recordings; the modern act that always pops into my mind first is The [...]
Pitchfork posted an mp3 today of Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal) doing an acoustic version of "Green Typewriters" by his old Elephant 6 mates, The Olivia Tremor Control. (You don't want to hear it, trust me.) But that got me thinking about OTC, one of my favorite unsung '90s bands. Here's a couple tunes from their superb 1996 debut, Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle . The band was/is the brainchild of a pair of guys from rural Louisiana, Bill Doss and W. Cullen Hart, who later relocated to Athens. They received help on this album [...]
Dungen's new album, Tio Bitar , is dropping on May 1 in the States. A few songs have already leaked, and the rockers sound dense and heavy, more so than just about anything on the spectacular Ta Det Lugnt. As usual, the record is sung in Swedish, so we don't have to worry about how corny the lyrics may in fact be. (Just a hunch; "Ta Det Lugnt", after all, translates to "Take it easy".) None of these songs are as immediately gripping as "Panda" or "Festival", as they each have a bit more prog in their [...]
I've tried so many times to convince people that Chicago's Catfish Haven are worth their time that I've lost count. For the most part, I've failed. Whatever. I still dig 'em. They put on one of the best live performances you'll see from a trio fronted by an acoustic guitar. George Hunter fuses Joe Cocker with Sam Cooke in such an effortless way, it's disarming. So disarming, methinks, that it scares the bejesus out of most peeps. I've gone to Catfish Haven shows and witnessed Hunter lay it all on the line -- spewing sincere clichés as if they were [...]
Here's today's tunes, from Soft Circle, who Pitchfork raved about today. I know little about Soft Circle -- I'm a lazy researcher, so shoot me -- but I found these two trippy-dippy songs to be good "work music," i.e. music to listen to at work while working. Soft Circle – "Moon Oar Sunrise" Soft Circle – "Shimmer"
The Greenhornes' collaboration with Holly Golightly (originally from The Greenhornes' album Dual Mono* ) was a perfect fit in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers . I often daydream about being the lucky sort of person who gets to pick songs for soundtracks. How do I get that gig, anyway? While I ponder that, enjoy this sensational song that sounds as if it was plucked from the year 1968. The Greenhornes – "There Is an End" *Definitely worth tracking down, by the way; this song is a unique [...]
I would have moved to France a decade ago, formed a retro rock band, and competed with the Dum Dum Boys for superiority. I don't know much about these dudes, other than the fact that they have good taste in covers (The Modern Lovers, Suicide, Alex Chilton) and they've been around for 20 or so years. Oh, and they obviously dig Spacemen 3 and The Stooges. (Or at least they did in 1987.)
I've got a treat for you today, a few songs from psych-folk singer-songwriter Linda Perhacs. Her lone album, Parallelograms , was released in 1970, and you've likely never heard anything quite like it. Perhacs was a dental hygienist living in southern California when she recorded this record. Like many other fleeting female folk artists of her time, her music fell mostly on deaf ears, and she quickly reverted back to her everyday life. Members of the current "freak folk" movement have helped to uncover many gems -- from Karen Dalton to Vashti Bunyan -- and Perhacs' music may just [...]
R.I.P. We hardly got a chance to get to know your boobs.
These three extremely long-legged women from Brooklyn play keyboards! Lots of keyboards!! And I either hate or really like all of their songs that I've heard. There's no grey area. Here's one I like. Au Revoir Simone – "Sad Song"
Good Moanin'
Circo Voador anuncia shows de The Kooks, Foster The People, Friendly Fires, Gogol Bordello e mais
The Kills on Letterman (Video)
James Blake – Live Album
Download: James Blake Live Album (Unofficial)
