2songs

Best of 2006 so far...

2006-07-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

AllMusic weighs in...

Completely agree with Tim Sendra's comment about Camera Obscura...

If the album were nothing but "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" and 40 minutes of ceiling fan hum, it'd still be a treasure.

Human Television

2006-07-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

If you've got a penchant for 80's-inspired jangle-pop, whether it's R.E.M. or C86 bands, I'm pretty sure you'll like Human Television. I read a review of their debut album Look at Who You're... in the latest issue of Magnet and the next day, heard one of their songs on RadioK. Serendipity. Embarrassingly, I soon discovered that I had downloaded a song from an earlier EP some time ago and forgot about it. Insound.com has 3 free MP3s to offer; the band's MySpace page has 2 additional songs for download (not counting 2 that overlap with those on Insound).

Several reviews I've read mention some similarity to My Bloody Valentine and other bands from the epic Creation record label. None of the songs mentioned here for free download have much of a shoegaze feel, but the songs RadioK played (wish I knew the name) definitely sounded like mid-period My Bloody Valentine, by which I mean Ecstasy & Wine through Isn't Anything. We tend to forget that Kevin Shields actually jangled...

Tokyo Police Club

2006-07-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm really enjoying Lesson in Crime, the debut 7-song EP from Tokyo Police Club. Recommended if you like Pavement, Sonic Youth, Yatsura, and to my ears, bouncier noise-pop purveyors like The Legends (see our earlier post). Good angular indie rock--think the aforementioned Pavement if they had been charmingly peppy instead of charmingly slack. You can download their single Nature of the Experiment from Insound.com or hear more of their songs at MySpace.com.

Back to The Futureheads

2006-07-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

After wringing my hands about the potential for a massive sophomore slump, I would be remiss if I didn't say how much I like the new Futureheads album, News And Tributes. Ultimately, I think they just chose the wrong song to be their lead-off single. I've come to like Skip to the End, but it's not my favorite song on the album. There are plenty of songs that are a logical extension of the first album (the first 3 tracks on the album, Yes/No, Cope, and Fallout, for example). Plus, there are other songs that are more of departure, like Burnt and Back To The Sea. Back To The Sea may be my favorite song on the album. A review I read somewhere suggests that the band now sounds more like English Settlement-era XTC instead of earlier White Music or Black Sea XTC. The Futureheads DO have their own distinct sound, but the XTC influences are very tangible, particularly during the skittery moments of Favours For Favours. All in all, a very good album - sorry I doubted them.

Asobi Seksu

2006-07-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

Asobi Seksu is a New York-based dream pop band whose first album I really enjoyed and posted about last year. Their name apparently means "playful sex" in Japanese. While the My Bloody Valentine / Sonic Youth, influence is still there, they remind me more of dream pop bands like Lush and February. The Allmusic.com review also mentions The Primitives, which actually makes sense in some places (can you imagine The Primitive's Crash sung in Japanese?). Along those lines, their bouncy noise pop moments also remind me a bit of The Legends, which we posted about here. You can download 2 songs, Thursday and New Years, from the band's website. (Thursday is also available from Insound.com here.) Asobi Seksu's website also offers the 4 songs from their first album that I posted about previously, in case you want to explore the band further.

Doctor May

2006-06-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

At the risk of degenerating into a music trivia blog, I just had to mention an interesting tidbit I heard today. Apparently, Brian May, legendary guitarist for Queen, is back on track to complete his PhD in astrophysics, which he abandoned in the 1970s. Could be that he was busy with something else at the time. Read more about it at NME.com. Also, check out May's official web site.

Can I Get a Fact-Check on That, Please?

2006-06-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

I just came across the following mind-bending factoid, quoted courtesy of AllMusic.com:
"Elvis Costello was as much a pub-rocker as he was a punk-rocker and nowhere is that more evident than on his debut, My Aim Is True. It's not just that Clover, a San Franciscan rock outfit led by Huey Lewis (absent here), back him here, not the Attractions..." Now, how can that possibly be true?!? Next thing, you'll tell me that Neil Young and Rick "Superfreak" James were college roomates. Oh wait...

Via Vegas

2006-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Up-front non-legally-binding disclaimer: Via Vegas is a vehicle for Glenn Perachio, my friend, former roomate, and former bandmate. Having got that out of the way, let me just say how much I'm enjoying his recent work. Glenn seems to have come full-circle. When we first met in the late-1980's in college, we shared a passion for The Church and The Smiths. Later in college, his songwriting influences were more informed by funk a la Red Hot Chili Peppers. In the late-1990s, he led a band in Minneapolis called The Bison Burns, that seemed more influenced by Summerteeth-era Wilco. These days, Glenn seems to have returned to Starfish-era Church. I was impressed by a group of 6 songs he was offering for download on his website Via-Vegas.com a year or two ago; particularly, Love at Antietam, which starts off slow but offers a big melodic payback when the chorus kicks in. More recently, he's recorded a couple of new songs, of which The Distance is my favorite with it's snarling, atmospheric guitars. You can listen to the aforementioned 2 Songs at Via Vegas' MySpace site, as well as two others. I've had some difficulty tracking down Via Vegas within MySpace. If the provided link doesn't work, go to my own MySpace page and follow the link to Via Vegas. And yes, he's my only MySpace "friend," and frankly, I'm comfortable with that, no matter HOW old you SAY you are...

Never Mind the Bollocks

2006-06-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

I just watched a documentary from 2002 called Classic Albums: Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. It was a lot of fun, and I'm eager to compare it to The Filth and the Fury, another documentary about the Sex Pistols from 2000, which Steve posted about here. I gather that documentary is perhaps more historical whereas this one is more focused on how the music was made. It featured many interviews with producers and sound engineers who worked on the classic album itself. I have a pretty low tolerance for lengthy discussions of studio wonkery (I don't know what compression is and I don't care to learn), but I found those pieces fascinating. As I'd often heard, Sid Vicious played not a note on the album; all of the bass lines were guitarist Steve Jones basically playing the same bar chords an octave lower. Also, while Steve Jones is no Kevin Shields, there are many more guitar tracks on any given song that I'd realized. Basically, it turns out that the Sex Pistols--with the glaring exception of Sid Vicious--were actually quite talented musicians.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the documentary, which included individual interviews with all four members of the band (by which I mean to include original and current bassist Glen Matlock, who co-wrote many of their greatest songs), was how generous they were to each other and how sad and wistful they were over their lost opportunities. I just wasn't expecting quite so much perspective from Johnny Rotten, I guess.

An Epitonic for the Troops

2006-06-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

The other day, out of the blue, I got an email from the fine folks at Epitonic announcing their return from the dead, or at least a year-and-a-half coma of their own choosing. Started in 1999, Epitonic was a free and legal source of indie rock MP3 downloads. However, for some time now, their site has essentially been dormant with no new MP3s being added. Now, it looks like they're back with new material and a new site design. The material is great, but the site design is ill-advised, weird, and just plain non-intuitive. Nevertheless, if you can figure out how to navigate the new site (which seems to be inspired by Tetris or a crossword puzzle), you can find some great downloads by bands like Mates of State, Cat Power, Spoon, Coco Rosie, and more.

Mylo

2006-06-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to listening to the Mylo album Destroy Rock & Roll that has gotten a ton of positive press. Like most I had heard Drop the Pressure but I had not really dug into the album.

All I can say is what took me so long? It is an incredibly diverse album. Recorded at home on simple computer equipment, Mylo hits on a bunch of styles and tempos including Acid House and Downtempo. Favorite tracks on the record include Sunworshippers, Valley of the Dolls, In My Arms (with the sample from the 80s hit Bette Davis Eyes) and Emotion 98.6 (which sounds a bit like Moby). You can listen to a sampling of songs on myspace but this really is a diverse album and a must own as well.

Amadou and Miriam

2006-06-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Another band I have been listening to an awful lot lately is Amadou and Miriam and their album Dimanche a Bamako. Amadou and Miriam are a married couple from Mali that are both blind. They are very popular across Africa and Europe and their music, like Nomo, is also Afrobeat but it has been more accurately been described as Memphis guitars combined with African singing. Checkout the songs La Realite and Senegal Fast Food on Myspace and you will end up buying the whole album.

Nomo

2006-06-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Saw the band Nomo at Bottom of the Hill last week. Originally from Ann Arbor, they are now on a long, long tour and the night in San Francisco seemed to catch lightning in a bottle. From the outset they were absolutely on fire. Nomo plays a combination of Afro-Beat, Dub Reggae, and Funk, very much in the same vein as Fela Kuti from Nigeria in the 1970s.

With searing horn solos, little singing, and a rhythm section keeping a ferocious beat, they tore through about an hour set. One of the first songs was Nu Tones which is on their new release from Ubiquity Records called New Tones. I have no idea what instrument the leader of the band was playing on this song but it is a relentless and quickly captured the attention of crowd that had been lulled to sleep by possibly the worst opening act I have seen in years. You can listen to this as well as two other songs at Myspace.

The Futureheads are Spinning

2006-06-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

All too rarely, I add a new album to my mental list of albums I'll be listening to for the rest of life. That august list includes classics like My Bloody Valentine - Loveless, the self-titled debut by The Stone Roses, the self-titled debut by The Clash, anything by The Beatles from Help through Sgt. Pepper, and Simon and Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (yes, you're reading that last one correctly).

In 2004, I added the self-titled debut by the Scottish group The Futureheads to the list. There isn't a song on that album that doesn't make me want to shout along in a bad imitation of a thick Scottish accent. Late in 2005, I posted here about Area, a new single by the band.

Within a few short days (June 13), News and Tributes, the sophomore album by The Futureheads will be released in the US (it's already out in the UK). Until then, you can content yourself with Skip to the End, the lead single from the album, which Insound.com has posted for free. Do I like it as much as anything from their debut? Not really. Am I worried about the quality of the 2nd album living up to the 1st? Significantly. Notice how many of the albums listed above are "self-titled debuts" rather than sophomore surprises. Will I still enjoy the debut album if News and Tributes sucks? You bet! Just this weekend, I listened to the The Stone Roses' debut and hardly thought at all about their ridiculously tepid, grandiose-titled follow-up Second Coming. So, don't worry Futureheads, your place on my list is secure! They'll be so relieved.

The Sky Drops

2006-05-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

Holy flurking snit! Check out these 2 free songs from Wilmington, DE band The Sky Drops that 3Hive just posted about. Since there will never be a follow-up to My Bloody Valetine's Loveless, you might as well enjoy these songs. Read more about The Sky Drops on their website.

In memory of Grant McLennan

2006-05-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens died on May 6. Read more about it at NME.com. LittleHits, one of my favorite music blogs, is posting a free download of the classic Go-Between song Cattle and Cane.

Better Than Prozac: Listening to New Order

2006-05-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Slate is featuring a good article about New Order entitled Better Than Prozac: Listening to New Order. Besides heaping well-deserved praise on some of our favorite Mancunians, the article mentions that a new Ian Curtis biopic is in the works, directed by Anton Corbijn (who I know mostly from having taken many of the defining early pictures of U2).

The Church

2006-05-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last time, I wrote about Echo & the Bunnymen, a band that meant a lot to me back in the day but until recently has seemed increasingly irrelevant with each new album that comes out. The same could be said for The Church. I WORSHIPPED The Church from the time I bought Heyday in high school up until Gold Afternoon Fix. I bought everything in their back catalog at a time when I couldn't really afford it. But after they failed to replicate the relative commercial success of Starfish with Gold Afternoon Fix, The Church seemed to say screw it! and retreat away from the jangle-pop of their best work, becoming more experimental and to my ears, much less interesting. I won't say that their latest album Uninvited, Like the Clouds, is a complete return to form. However, I strongly recommend the song Easy, which recalls their best work. The song Unified Field is also good. I may end up downloading a few more of the songs from eMusic.com, but those 2songs seem to be the standout tracks.

Echo & the Bunnymen

2006-04-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's not that I'm not an Echo & the Bunnymen fan. Far from it. Seeing them live in 1987 along with New Order was one of the seminal moments of my youth. However, I'll admit that my affections haven't been constant. Far from it. I haven't bought one of their albums since Songs to Learn and Sing (unlike some of my co-contributors, I suspect). So, when their latest album, Siberia, was released late last year I was indifferent at best. However, after reading some positive reviews and hearing some songs from more recent Echo & the Bunnymen albums that sounded pretty good to me, I decided to download Siberia from eMusic.com. So far, I really enjoy it, particularly the AllMusic.com picks. And, without actually having heard any of the intervening albums in their entirety, I can say with absolute metaphysical certitude that Siberia is Echo & the Bunnymen's best album of new material since Ocean Rain.

Breakestra

2006-04-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

An LA band led by Miles Tackett playing very heavy funk reminding me of the best of the JBs as well as the Meters. Breakestra released Hit the Floor last year on the Ubiquity label here in California and the album sounds in the same vain as this song Take My Time.

Goldspot

2006-04-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Goldspot. A band I ran across at Virgin record. It sported a sticker saying "Nic Harcourt's favorite album of 2005" and yes I had never heard of them. Apparently a song of theirs has appeared on "the OC" which I no longer watch so I am behind again. Check them out. The lead singer has the India music angle (lead singer named Siddhartha) combined with influences including REM, The Smiths, Travis, Radiohead. You can listen to four of their songs on myspace. Others are on their website including the song Cusp, which is a great, great song.

Envelopes

2006-04-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Envelopes is a Swedish group that sounds a bit like Pavement and the Pixies. Their new album Demon came out last month and Insound.com is currently offering a free MP3 of one of the singles, Sister In Love.

Arctic Monkeys Editors Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

2006-03-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

Huh? I don't know - it's a stream of consciousness post title. Anyway, I just discovered that Insound.com is offering free downloads of MP3s by several artists we've discussed here recently. First, they have I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor by the much-hyped Arctic Monkeys, which Steve mentioned here. Second, they have Munich by Editors, which I've mentioned here and here. And, of course, they have dozens of other great MP3s for free.

Melismatics

2006-03-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

This morning, RadioK played 2songs by The Melismatics as part of their Concert Box segment, in which they feature bands that will be playing concerts in the Twin Cities over the weekend. The Melismatics are a local band that I've heard of but never really heard; apparently, I've been missing out. The songs New Infection and Rite Where You Belong from their 2003 album New Infection are very catchy indie power pop on the harder end of the spectrum. Think Cheap Trick. You can download 2songs from the website of their label, Susstones. Also, you can listen to other songs on their website or MySpace.com space.

Figurines

2006-03-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

3Hive.com has been posting some great stuff lately, including Field Music, The Stills, and Tapes 'n Tapes (a Mpls band), but the Danish group Figurines is my favorite. Apparently, they turned quite a few heads at this year's SXSW festival and were a Spin band-of-the-day. Read more about them on their official site.

Free Editors Single

2006-03-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

This week, iTunes is offering Editors' great song Munich, which I previously raved about here. I imagine that it will be available until next Wed or so (~3/22/06). Definitely check it out if you haven't already heard it! And yes, it still sounds A LOT like Interpol's Obstacle 1, but who cares?

Alternative Hip Hop Playlist

2006-03-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

Was trolling around on iTunes last night and found this hip hop playlist. Mostly alternative hip hop stuff and some great songs throughout the list. Probably downloaded 30 songs off of this. Especially like the stuff from Blackalicious. Make You Feel That Way is an essential song.

Rip It Up and Start Again : Postpunk 1978-1984

2006-03-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

The New York Times had a review today of a new book called Rip It Up and Start Again : Postpunk 1978-1984 by English music critic Simon Reynolds. It traces the aftermath of punk rock beginning with the fall of the Sex Pistols to the death knell allegedly sounded by Frankie Goes to Hollywood's release of Relax in 1984 (but I kinda like that song...). It looks like an interesting read, although the review is a bit mixed. It's worth noting that on Amazon.com, a customer review mentions that 3 complete chapters plus parts of other chapters have been removed from the U.S. release of the book, making it ~200 pages shorter than the U.K. release. It remains to be seen [read] whether that's a good or bad thing.

Shoes

2006-03-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Shoes are an incredible late 70's/early 80's band that I've often read about in articles about power pop. I finally heard them on Bomp! Records' great compilation Roots of Power Pop, which I blogged about here. Today, I finally got around to downloading their greatest hits album SHOES Best from eMusic.com. I haven't been this thrilled since I bought The Record's greatest hits album, Smashes, Crashes, And Near Misses, which is similar power pop from the same era. I have to say that I'm in love all over again.

Talib Kweli

2006-03-01T03:01:00.000-08:00

When not obssessed with the BJM, I have been listening to Talib Kweli, a hip hop artist from Brooklyn who used to be in Black Star with Mos Def. Kanye West has been involved on some of his tracks including Get By and I am trying out a feature in Rhapsody to post a link to a playlist of his music from his three solo albums. I think that if you click on this RHAPSODY Link it will launch a plug-in for Rhapsody if you are not a subscriber but I am curious.

The songs on the playlist are - Get By, Rush, Joy, Waitin' for the DJ, I Try, Broken Glass, Ms. Hill, Right About Now.

This stuff is definitely worth listening to...

Arctic Monkeys

2006-02-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

I remember listening to a podcast about this band a while ago and wondering when I would hear more about the Arctic Monkeys...

Well since then the British press has gone bananas over them - the most important album since Oasis Definitely Maybe - and now the album finished number 5 in a NME poll of the top albums ever. I definitely like the opening song "I Bet you Look Pretty Good on a Dancefloor" with it reference to the Montagues and the Capulets (which by the way I just saw Baz Luhrmann's version of Romeo and Juliet last weekend for about the tenth time...this is an amazing film). A couple of other songs are very good songs as well such as "Fake Tales from San Francisco" (aren't all tales from California fake?) and "Riot Van." But come on let's get real, this album does not belong in any conversation with the other albums on the NME list - Revolver, The Stone Roses, The Queen is Dead, Definitely Maybe. Frankly I like The Libertines album more than the Arctic Monkeys. But this album is definitely worth a listen and will probably stay in the rotation for a bit.

Last thought, how can a top 5 album of all time not have a song better than the best song on the new album by The Strokes - Heart in a Cage.

Dimitri from Paris

2006-02-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well I have been playing the After the Playboy Mansion disc by Dimitri from Paris quite a bit lately. First time I heard it was three years ago when my friend Amanda put the disc on during a New Year's Party. Great mixture of house/disco and standout tracks include Indigo Blues by Llorca (is this song on every DJ compilation out there...we have this on at least 5 discs), All Good by De La Soul & Chaka Khan, and Candidate for Love by T.S. Monk.

So Much Soul

2006-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Walking down Haight Street about two weeks ago, I stopped into a small shop - the type of shop that you can't really tell what it is or how it makes money, with only a few items of clothing on a four or so tables, a wall with a small bin with 10 or so CDs and a stereo available for listening to them, and a couple of posters lining the walls.

Well looking through I found this DJ mix from DJ Vinroc called So Much Soul Vol.4 a compilation of hip hop and neo-soul and I highly recommend this with tracks from Erykah Badu, Mos Def and Talib Kweli and others. I am going to track down his other mixes over the weekend...

DIG!

2006-02-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

So I flew over to London recently on Virgin Airlines and the movie DIG! was playing. For those who missed it, DIG! is a documentary of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, both very good bands, though I am a bigger fan of the BJM and their love of the Velvets / Stones, which I have blogged about before. The movie won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and is frankly unbelievably good. I watched it three times in a row on the film and probably would have watched it again if we had not landed.

Anton Newcombe is a genius but not quite right as you can see on the film. Mike on multiple occasions suggested that we see the BJM live and now seeing the film I am kind of torn on this one. You see it appears that most BJM concerts break down into fights with the audiences or fights with other band members. Not sure I am up for watching the complete dissolution on stage of something that I enjoy so much on record. I have downloaded every album recently and am on a run of listening to them for days in a row right now...

Cat Power

2006-02-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

I'm neither a Cat Power fan nor a detractor. I liked the song (Nude as the News) she had on the What's Up Matador? compilation years ago, and I've generally liked other songs that I've heard on RadioK, but I've never been tempted to buy an album. With the release of her latest album, The Greatest, that hasn't changed, but I did download Could We, one of the standout tracks, from eMusic. RadioK played it recently and I was struck by how much it reminded me of Dusty Springfield. I can predict, with near absolute metaphysical certitude, that Steve Malloy will like this song, if he hasn't already picked it up. And you will, too.

Sigur Ros - Live!!

2006-02-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

Saw Sigur Ros in KC last night, a band I've been following for several years now and have wanted to see live now for as many. I think I remember just missing 'em in the Bay Area in '01-'02 when I was a denizen of that sleepy bay town.

It was certainly a show to exceed all expectations - oscillating between delicate, gauzy sweet lullabies (ie, Cocteau Twins) and dissonant wails conjouring, we agreed, something akin to the austerity of the Icelandic landscape and Norse sagas and nothing else I can think of. Most notweorthy, the lead dude, Thor what's-his-name has a phenomenal voice that is no less impressive live...a piercing otherworldy voice...an instrument unlike any other. After a couple of stunning songs to finish things off (one blistering tune reminiscent of the Spiritulized show I saw in SF with Steve, and another somber Coldplay/Radiohead piano number), the entire band came out for a bow and started clapping to honor the crowd; talk about the anti-Rock-n-Roll - don't think I've ever seen that...was kind of a beuatiful thing and really suited the contemplative mood of the evening.

Miskelanyus

2006-02-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, have I been slack lately or what? Here's a quick grab bag of songs pilfered from 2 of my favorite MP3 blogs: 3Hive and Little Hits. 3Hive pointed me towards 2 free songs by a new band called Ex-Boyfriends that sounds quite a bit like early XTC (one of my favorite influences of the last few years). Speaking of which, 3Hive also recently posted a new song by XTC that sounds good to me. LittleHits posted a song by an obscure band called TV 21. As promised, their 1981 single Something's Wrong does indeed sound like the Comsat Angels; it also sounds like Teardrop Explodes, for my money.

Mash Ups

2006-02-03T23:45:00.000-08:00

I was at a party a couple of weeks ago and my friend threw on a disc with a ton of mashups including Missy Elliot singing over Le Tigre, Kelis singing over Madonna, Gwen Stefani over Cameo. All of this from a monthly party called BootieSF where DJs spin much more of this. I definitely want to check this out. I remember hearing a mashup from Green Day, Oasis, Travis and Aerosmith on the radio about two years ago and found it recently. Also found a site with a Michael Jackson and Robbie Williams mashup over the song Under Pressure and many, many more mashups...

Yeah I realize that this was probably all very 2004, but I find these pretty funny in general...

Nuggets and more

2006-01-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

I seem to have an addiction to the incredible 4-CD box sets that Rhino Records produces. And yet, I seem to be incapable of buying them for myself, instead relying on the good graces of my wife and family around Xmas and birthday time.

It all started several years ago with Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968, a collection of great psychedelic/garage rock music, which was an expansion of the Nuggets album originally released in the early 1970's. Then, a year or two later I got Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, which is the same formula as the previous Nuggets volume but focuses on non-US artists (almost exclusively British) from the same era. Both Nuggets volumes are great if you think that the 1960's was limited to the music you hear played ad nauseum on your local classic rock station. Last Xmas, I got Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground, which covers the era that I grew up during. Finally, this year produced a windfall: I got both No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion and Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era - 1976-1996, the latter of which was just released this year.

Any of the collections I've mentioned are worth owning. With 70's and 80's collections, I admit that I already owned a certain percentage of the songs, but not enough to deter me from getting the complete collection. With the Children of Nuggets, I also own a few of the songs already, but the selection tends towards groups that I somehow missed the first time around, or less obvious choices from groups that we all are familiar with. The only issue I have with the Rhino collections is that they're so huge that they can be rather daunting. Each collection contains 4 CDs, and each CD usually has 25-plus songs on it. Sometimes, I find myself paralyzed because I can't decide which one to listen to... You can read more about the various collections mentioned here on the Rhino website.

Little Hits

2006-01-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

The current issue of Magnet mentions a great MP3 blog called LittleHits, which posts obscure songs rescued from vinyl. It's definitely worth checking out on a regular basis. So far, I've downloaded Like A Girl Jesus by Sleepyhead and Vacation by the Textones. Vacation is very fun to hear because it's the Ur version of the Go-Gos' song of the same name. Kathy Valentine, bassist for the Go-Go's, was the rhythm guitarist for this Texas-based group before she packed up her bags, moved to L.A., and made the bigtime.

The Net Is a Boon for Indie Labels

2005-12-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

There's an article in the NY Times entitled The Net Is a Boon for Indie Labels. According to the article:

Exploiting online message boards, music blogs and social networks, independent music companies are making big advances at the expense of the four global music conglomerates, whose established business model of blockbuster hits promoted through radio airplay now looks increasingly outdated.

This blog is, in a very very very very VERY small (seriously, we're talking miniscule) way, part of that phenomenon. Yayyy us! Check out the full article, and keep sticking it to the music conglomerates.

She Wants Revenge

2005-12-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

She really, REALLY does... She Wants Revenge is a L.A. band that mines the Joy Division vibe like it was going out of style (and that's never a bad thing, in my book). Their full-length debut won't be released for several months, but the entire album is available for purchase on iTunes. In fact, iTune's free single of the week is She Wants Revenge's Tear You Apart, which is a fun little number that apparently has enlisted Ian Curtis's ghost, gloomy detached voice and all. Get the single for free before it goes away.

The band's website has a rather interesting design. Instead of typical pages like Shows, News, Links, etc, the pages are entitled Deceit, Betrayal, Lies, Revenge, and Possession. There are 2 videos but no MP3 downloads, unfortunately. However, you can listen to a few of their other songs on their MySpace.com site. Sister, Out of Control, and These Things are all quite good - especially the former. I expect I will eventually buy their album when it comes out.

I Just Don't Get It (Vol. 1): Neutral Milk Hotel

2005-12-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

This post will be the first in a series entitled "I Just Don't Get It," which will discuss bands and/or albums that, as a reasonably sophisticated follower of indie rock, I'm apparently supposed to like a lot more than I actually do.

My first entry on this theme is devoted to Neutral Milk Hotel's sophomore album, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, which was released in 1998 to great critical acclaim. It was considered one of the best albums of the year and still rates in the Top 5 or 10 (or Top 1) on nearly every list of great indie rock albums I see. And yet... it does nothing for me. Don't get me wrong - I was way into the whole Elephant 6 scene. I can remember first reading about it in the local alternative weekly newspaper and feeling so excited. It was 1996, and the whole Nirvana-induced excitement of alternative music as a commercially viable form was starting to wear thin. Lo-fi indie rock stalwarts like Pavement, Sebadoh, Sonic Youth, and Guided by Voices were starting to coast a bit, and it really seemed like guitar-based indie rock was going to be permanently buried by electronica and hip-hop. So, I promptly ran out and bought the debut albums by the original Elephant 6 triumvirate: Dusk at Cubist Castle by Olivia Tremor Control, On Avery Island by Neutral Milk Hotel, and Fun Trick Noisemaker by Apples in Stereo. I absolutely loved the albums, especially Dusk at Cubist Castle. I also saw OTC and NMH put on great live shows.

However, by the time In The Aeroplane Over The Sea came out, I was getting a little tired of the first-tier Elephant 6 acts, as well as the legion of second- and third-tier acts (Elf Power, Beulah, Minders, Chocolate) that kept cropping up. Indie snob ennui aside, though, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea just never grabbed me. There are some good songs, but for me, the album suffers from homogeneity. The songs just seem repetitive and interchangable - one slow- to -mid-tempo acoustic guitar strummer laced with singing saws, kazoos, after another. Oh Comely, which is over 7 minutes long, just seems to go on FOREVER. On Avery Island may not have been consistent in terms of quality, but I find myself liking the good songs (Song Against Sex, Naomi, Gardenhead) much better than anything from the 2nd album.

I recently dusted off my copy of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and tried to give it another chance, to no avail. I think that it's a moderately good album, but I will never understand why it keeps cropping up on best-album lists. If any album from that scene deserves to make the lists, it's Dusk at Cubist Castle, in my humble opinion.

The Shrinking Islands

2005-12-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Awhile back, I came across the song State Fair by the Boston group The Shrinking Islands. Then, the other day I stumbled upon their website and picked up several more songs. The Shrinking Islands remind me a bit of Mitch Easter-produced R.E.M., The Feelies, and The Connells - in other words, the jangly indie pop of the mid-80's. The band doesn't appear to have an album out, but you can download 6 songs for free from their EPs, In the Black Carpet Version One and In the Black Carpet Version Two:

In the Black Carpet Version 1
1. Big Nature Comes Back
2. The Secret Activities Begin
3. State Fair

In the Black Carpet Version 2
1. Bad Company
2. Swallowed in Grace
3. In the Black Carpet

The songs are available at their website. I particularly like State Fair, In the Black Carpet, and Swallowed in Grace. The latter song sounds like it just got here via a time traveling bus from Chronic Town, which is OK by me - check out the guitar in the intro. In addition to The Shrinking Islands' website, check out their MySpace site.

Wilderness

2005-12-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

I read about a new Baltimore band called Wilderness in the previous issue of Magnet magazine. Their sound was compared to PiL, along with other bands with leader singers who have, um... distinctive vocal styles. It's true - I tracked down the song Arkless from their self-titled debut, and it really does sound like PiL, including a lead singer who shares some of the same vocal tics as John Lydon. You can download Arkless free from the band's record label, Jagjaguwar. I'm enjoying it. It seems like all the bands lately are channeling Joy Divison or Gang of Four - let's give some room for groups who want to emulate PiL. There's plenty of room under the tent for all manner of sincere flatterers...

Damaged Goods

2005-12-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

Is there a British band that's garnered critical attention lately that hasn't been compared to Gang of Four? Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, Dogs Die in Hot Cars - the list goes on. Well, why shouldn't Gang of Four themselves join the goldrush to capitalize on their sound? To wit, the band has reunited and re-recorded an album's worth of their classic late 70's/early 80's songs on the new Return the Gift. You can download a free MP3 of the re-worked Damaged Goods (probably my favorite Gang of Four song) from Insound.com. If you liked the original, you'll like this version. Other than a slightly fuller sound, it's the same (OK, it appears to be 1 second longer, but no overproduced wash of keyboards, horns, and session backup singers). Nothing like the awful reinterpreted versions of classic songs that some artists have tried to put across (anybody remember The Police's tepid Don't Stand So Close To Me '86?). It DOES seem a little strange to put out an entire album of self-covers, but given how much I've been disappointed by seminal artists who come out with sub-standard albums after decades-long hiatuses (cf., Big Star), maybe I should just shut up.

The Pleased

2005-12-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

Once again, while casting about for something interesting on eMusic.com, I ran across a San Francisco band called The Pleased, which released their debut album Don't Make Things in 2003. They have great sound that's in the same ballpark as your Interpols, Stills, etc, but with much more of an Echo and the Bunnymen influence. I've downloaded five songs from the album so far (ran out of eMusic credits - will get the rest of the album next month), and all are excellent: Already Gone, We Are the Doctor, Never Come Home, Another Disaster, and Don't Make Things. We Are the Doctor is particularly catchy. You can download Already Gone for free from the band's website.

The Unguarded Moment

2005-12-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

The Church released El Momento Descuidado - essentially, an "unplugged" album that was recorded in a studio rather than live - (relatively) recently. I cherry-picked a few songs from eMusic.com. I was, and am, a huge fan of the Church up through Gold Afternoon Fix, but what little of their more recent work that I've heard just seems listless. This album suffers from the same problem. Songs that were great are stripped of all their magic and energy. Nevertheless, I think the version of Almost With You is absolutely stunning. That has always been my favorite Church song, and they do it justice. 408, which I'm not familiar with, is also very good. Tristesse, another classic, comes off well, although some might find Marty Willson-Piper's exaggerated croak a bit off-putting.

Enter the 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse

2005-12-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, I sometimes make some surprising musical discoveries on the rare occasions when I switch from CNN over to my gym's proprietary music video channel. Today, I was lured away from Wolf Blitzer by the classic video for I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls (don't care what anyone says - that video and song grab me just as much as they did when I first saw them in 1982). The next video was for La La by Ashlee Simpson. Amazingly, I found myself actually liking the song (hence the reference to Revelations above)! Once the shock and awe wore off, I realized that it was because she (or her producer, anyway) was basically ripping off Garbage's sound, who in turn shamelessly ripped off Curve. And I liked Curve quite a lot back in 1992 or so. It's a shame that Garbage and now Ms. Simpson, the Younger, are making way more money off Curve's sound than they ever did. I'm listening to a few of my favorite songs from their great album Doppelganger -- Horror Head, Wish You Dead, and Faît Accompli, being among the finest. Do yourself a favor and check out Curve and reserve Ashlee Simpson for those moments when you're trapped on an elliptical cross trainer and the only other choice is CNN fluff.

Roots of Powerpop

2005-11-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

While casting about eMusic.com looking for something interesting to download, I came across a compilation from 1996 called The Roots of Powerpop put out by Bomp! Records. It collects some great late-1970's power pop from the likes of acts I was familiar with like Flamin' Groovies, The Romantics, 20/20, Shoes, and the Plimsouls, in addition to other less known groups. Some of the songs are classic power pop, some have a Nuggets feel to them, and some have more of a new wave/punk feel. I don't know of any free MP3s but you can listen to samples at eMusic or at Amazon.com. If you're into this genre, this collection is a must-have! I will probably also check out a similar Bomp! compilation called Destination: Bomp!, which appears to include some good power pop, punk, new wave, and garage rock.

New Futureheads

2005-11-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Futureheads, one of my absolute favorite bands of recent years, is putting out a new single entitled Area. You can download an advance copy here. I like the song but it remains to be seen if the Futureheads' new work will match the brilliance of their self-titled debut from 2004. That album remains in heavy rotation on my iPod, and I believe I'll be listening to it for years to come. Any band that takes early XTC and the Jam, mixes them up in a blender, and then adds their own original touch (including a willingness to sing a capella in delightfully thick Scottish accents), is alright by me.

Ballad of El Goodo

2005-11-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

I really haven't bought into all the hype this year over the Decemberists. Nevertheless, I came across a great live cover by them of The Ballad of El Goodo, one of my favorite Big Star songs. Check it out here.

Editors

2005-11-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

Editors is a new band from the UK that has been hyped as the British Interpol. Let's ignore the irony of that statement, which ignores the fact that Interpol basically has been making a decent living for the last few years pretending to be British and copping the sounds of British groups like Joy Division and the Chameleons. And let's ignore the fact that Editors' great single Munich is basically Interpol's Obstacle 1 sped up (seriously: check out that staccato rhythm guitar part playing 1/8 notes on the 1 and 3 beats - ching-ching! ching-ching! verrrrrrrrrrrrry similar). The fact is, the song rocks and is catchy as hell; I highly recommend it. And frankly, wouldn't it be rather jingoistic of me to applaud Interpol for channeling Joy Division but criticize Editors for doing the same? At any rate, currently, the Munich single is all that's available on iTunes. Unfortunately, Back Room, their full-length debut can only be bought as an import. Still, it seems to be available used from Amazon.com and others for a reasonable price, so I'll probably buy it soon.

Follow-Up, 11.28.2005
As promised, I did buy Editors' Back Room and am enjoying it immensely - dare I say more than the 2nd Interpol album? I'd recommend buying it. There seem to be many relatively low-cost used import versions out there. On a side note, mine arrived in great condition very promptly from an Amazon.com merchant. My only complaint, if you can call it that, is that some of the text on the back of the CD appears to be in Russian (just the legal/record label related stuff - all of the track names, liner notes, etc are in English). I knew that it would be an import but I foolishly assumed it was being imported from England. Oh well, I've always said that the Russian mob/black market does great work...

The Exit

2005-11-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

The free single on iTunes this week is Don't Push by The Exit, a band that Steve Jobs (or his minions, anyway) compares to the Clash mixed with Bob Marley. I don't really get that... The song does have a vaguely reggae beat in a few sections. Nevertheless, I like it. Get it for free before next Tuesday.

Sun Kil Moon

2005-11-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

One of my all-time favorite bands is the Red House Painters, San Francisco slow-core rockers of the 1990's with a penchant for unusual covers. Witness their dirge-like cover of Kiss's Shock Me, as well as covers of songs by AC/DC, Yes, the Cars, and Paul McCartney, to name a few. The band - basically a vehicle for serotonin-challenged Mark Kozelek - split up several years ago, but Kozelek's new band, Sun Kil Moon, carries on the Red House Painters' sound, as well as a flair for radically re-interpreting songs. Their 2nd album, Twin Cities, consists entirely of covers of Modest Mouse songs. It's an impressive work, at least from my perspective. I love Kozelek's work but am only a casual fan of Modest Mouse. The 2songs I know from the only Modest Mouse album I own (Lonesome Crowded West), are both good: Convenient Parking, and Trucker's Atlas. You can get a free download of Ocean Breathes Salty. Steve and any other San Francisco residents should check out this review from SF Weekly. And if you see Kozelek on the street (you might recognize him from the movie Almost Famous - he played the bassist in the band), wave for me...

And although this post is nominally about Sun Kil Moon and their kooky covers, I highly recommend that you check out their first album of originals, as well as the Red House Painters canon (start at their 2 self-titled albums from 1993 and work our from there, if so inclined).

Big Star - Lost In Space

2005-11-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

Let's assume that John Lennon and George Harrison were still alive. Does anyone REALLY think it would be a good idea for the Beatles to get together and make another record at this late date? Or maybe the Velvet Underground would be a better comparison? After a silence of 30 years or so, can any incredibly influential band hope to surpass their seminal work(s)? Certainly not Big Star. I knew all that, and yet I couldn't help it: I downloaded In Space, the first Big Star studio album since the mid-70's, from eMusic.com last month. As expected, it was a disappointment, despite the presence of Ken Stingfellow and Jon Auer of the Posies, a band which is my personal favorite heir to the Big Star legacy. Don't get me wrong: there are some good songs like Dony (in particular), Lady Sweet (basically a Posies song), Best Chance We've Ever Had, February's Quiet, and Mine Exclusively, most of which sound like vintage-Big Star. But the album is uneven at best, riddled with the kind of fuck-around, mess-with-our-expectations crap that's marked/marred Alex Chilton's post-Big Star work (or even Sister Lovers/Third, for that matter). Love Revolution is just plain embarrassing ("Shake that funky thing," my ass!). My advice: start with Dony and the other songs I mentioned, but don't feel obligated by nostalgia to be a completist.

The Subways

2005-11-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

The iTunes free-single-of-the-week is Rock & Roll Queen by London group the Subways. I don't know anything about the band other than what Steve Jobs tells me, but I hear a strong debt to Nirvana in their snotty sound. It would fit in fairly well on Incesticide. Get it while you can. I believe the free single changes on Tues so download it before 11/22/2005.

Giant Drag

2005-11-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

A combination of My Bloody Valentine guitars and PJ Harvey vocals? Not exactly but there is plenty of distortion and gritty singing by Giant Drag. Started a couple of years ago in LA, their on of their first songs was a cover version of Who's Crying Now by Journey, which I would love to actually hear. They have just released Heart and Unicorns. You can find cuts from their album as well as other bands at the label Wichita Recordings. This is a great album all the way through and you can listen to the rest of the album at the bands website.

Blood on the Wall

2005-11-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

Blood on the Wall is a Brooklyn-based group that evokes the Pixies and Sonic Youth. You can get free MP3s courtesy of their record label, The Social Registry. Of those, Mary Susan and Reunite On Ice, both from the band's new and 2nd album Awesomer (gotta love that title) are especially good. I wasn't familiar with them but heard one of their songs in the car just now on Radio K. It's not one of the aforementioned free MP3s so I'll need to track it down. Looks like eMusic.com has their first, self-titled album, so I'm hopeful that they'll carry the new release as well.

Antony and the Johnsons

2005-11-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Another Mercury Prize nomination this year was Antony and the Johnsons for the album I am Bird. Haunting with sparse piano and guitar much like another favorite band the Tindersticks, the music is just incredibly emotional. His voice, which has been compared to Brian Ferry and Nina Simone, definitely knocks you off your feet. He has all sorts of random guest appearances on this album - Lou Reed, Boy George, Rufus Wainwright. You can listen to sound samples online (not full length songs) and the whole thing is on Rhapsody. The song Fistful of Love feels like an Otis Redding song and is my favorite on the album.

The Go! Team

2005-11-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Again always a step behind, I have just stumbled onto a legally challenged well reviewed group who combine shouting cheerleaders, trumpet solos, funk and orchestral TV theme songs. You can listen to the Mercury Prize nominated The Go! Team on their website or on Rhapsody. The opening song Panther Dash is fantastic.

Bottom of the Hill - November Shows

2005-11-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Here are downloads of bands that are playing at my favorite venue in San Francisco in November...

Cerberus Shoal - Wyrm, Pie for Presidents, New One
The Drift - Streets, Invisible Cities
Chow Nasty - Ungawa
Black Furies - Killer Inside, Murder City Shakedown, Hard Luck, No Money Down
Why? - Rubber Traits, Sanddollars, Daria
The Life on Earth - Woes of the Unisured, Skeln, Your Karma is Coming, Pronnesetic, The Ladybug
The Welcome Matt - In San Francisco, Love Too Much?, Intro, A Rise and Fall
Candy From Strangers - I've Got You, Strange Ride
The Girlfriend Experience - Thumb, Katy, Gonorrhea
Great Lake Swimmers - Various Stages, Bodies and Minds, Moving Pictures Silent Films,
I Will Never See The Sun
Cushion Theory - In the Dust, Bad Eyes, R.O.H.a., Get Close, Star and eye
The Standard - A Year of Seconds
The Kingsbury Manx - Pelz Komet, Grape to Grain, Over the Waves
The Lucky Stiffs - Black, S.S. Shipwreck
Lonely Kings - Subderal Hematoma
Try Failing - Sleepless City, I Don't Believe, No Side
Inverness - Miller Does A Body Good, Are You Listening?
Gogogo Airheart - So Good, The Ideal Weight, The Last Goodbye, Mi fi

Here are the myspace sites of a couple of other bands...

Street to Nowhere
The Plus Ones

Nine Horses

2005-11-08T03:15:00.000-08:00

A post from another website Silence is Rhythm about Nine Horses a collaboration of a number of artists including David Sylvian. The post includes a link to the song Serotonin. I will leave the review of this album and track up to Mike...

Saxophone Colossus

2005-11-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

In my effort to continue to find more about jazz I bought Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins and I cannot believe I did not have this album already. The opening song St. Thomas, with the calypso beat laid down by Max Roach, is frankly incredible. Then to the seductive You Don't Know What Love Is, onto the finger snapping Strode Rode, then his take on Mack the Knife, here called Moritat, and ends with Blue 7. This album is absolutely a must own.

Nada Surf

2005-11-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

A new Nada Surf album has appeared and the song Do It Again can be downloaded. Like everything I have liked recently they are from Brooklyn. The album seems less contemplative than the previous album Let Go which featured the unbelievable song Blonde on Blonde. Listening to Dylan on headphones while walking in the rain strikes me as a good idea. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat is as cool a song as Dylan ever wrote...

New Cat Power

2005-11-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Cat Power is coming out with a new album in early 2006. A new song has been posted on Matador's website called The Greatest. More gruff voice, spare piano, and country guitar. Definitely looking forward to this. You Are Free was one of my favorite albums of 2003.

The Constantines

2005-11-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

The third album Tournament of Hearts from the Toronto band The Constantines is out and it reminds me alot of The Afghan Whigs with desparate guitars, driving drums, and urgent singing and that is high praise since The Afghan Whigs have long been one of my favorite bands of the 90s. They also remind me some of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Here is the song Love in Fear. Here is an inteview with the lead singer.

CocoRosie

2005-11-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

A new album also from CocoRosie which was one of my favorite new acts of last year with their indie/trip-hop/electronica combined with Billie Holiday vocals. Here is the Title Cut from the album Noah's Ark and for those worried that they would tone down the strangeness, you need not. They are strange once again.

Bobby Womack

2005-11-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Have also been listening to alot of Bobby Womack recently. Womack had a long and varied career working with people like Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Sly Stone. But his solo releases in the early 70s are what has captured my ear. The songs Across 110th Street, Woman's Gotta Have It, and That's The Way I Feel About Cha' have been in heavy rotation.

Rapper's Delight

2005-11-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Cool article about the song Rapper's Delight and the Sugarhill Gang on Vanity Fair's website. A must read for those curious about the beginnings of hip hop. Seems like a long way away from today where everything is much more corporate...the part about Sylvia Robinson seeking out rap talent though living in New Jersey and knowing nothing about the whole genre is very interesting...

R&B / Hip Hop

2005-11-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

So I was up in Minneapolis over the weekend hanging out with Drew talking about how I have been listening almost exclusively to hip hop and R&B throughout the fall, so a little about what has been on the playlist. First and foremost, I have been listening to the new Common album Be a ton. Standout songs include Chi-City, The Corner, and Go!

In addition, other songs that have been on the playlist include

Jay-Z - Heart of the City
TLC - Creep (much older I know but it is a great song)
The Game - Love It or Hate It
Common - The Sixth Sense
Angie Stone - U-Haul
Kanye West - Heard Em Say

San Francisco Hip Hop Blogs

2005-10-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

Cool article on San Francisco Hip Hop Blogs including one named Beer and Rap, which is as straight forward a purpose as one can imagine.

Prolific Beyond Belief

2005-10-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Whether you love or hate him, Ryan Adams has to be the most prolific artist alive right now. He put out a double album earlier this year called Cold Roses. You can listen to each of the songs here. Standout tracks include Sweet Illusions and If I am a Stranger. In addition, he just released an album called Jacksonville City Nights which sounds more like country music and has many standout tracks. You can listen to this here. He is planning another release before the end of the year.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

2005-10-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

The vocals remind one of David Byrne (or perhaps a cross with Thom Yorke) and the guitars of Luna or perhaps the Talking Heads, the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has emerged once again from the fertile grounds of Brooklyn in New York City.

Apparently they are still unsigned, although they toured this summer with The National, the new album Clap You Hands Say Yeah is definitely available on Rhapsody. They have two songs posted on their website for downloading Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood and Over and Over Again. Here is the review from Blender. You will either love or hate this band based on the vocals. Apparently, they have sold over 25,000 albums but since they do not have a deal they are hand mailing each and every copy.

Re: Chameleons

2005-09-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

Drew,This is a great album, though likely not as solid throughout as such former glories as Strange Times or Script of the Bridge. Still, tunes such as "Dangerous Land", "Anyone Alive" & the aformentioned "Indiana" do rival their earlier material. Gotta give the lads credit for retaining the majestic sweep of their earlier material, while also being imaginative enough to add rap vocals to the ambient tune "Miracles & Wonders". Just so you know , there was also another release "Skin" that came out around this time with some lovely re-workings of old classics such as "Caution". Incidentally, I was fortunate enough to see two consecutive nights in SF, November '01; can't recall if Steve accompanied me. Shame that they had to call it quits again in early '03 - for the second time, do to inner discord. Wo knows if we'll ever hear from the mighty Chameleons again ?

The Chameleons UK

2005-09-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've been curious about the album that the reunited 80's band The Chameleons (The Chameleons UK, to be strictly legal) put out in 2001. Allmusic.com gives the album Why Call It Anything? 4 our of 5 stars, but based on their description of the songs, and a quick listen to samples, I only found one song that recalls the glory days of such songs as Swamp Thing, In Shreds, Don't Fall, and Second Skin. Indiana, the 3rd song on the album, is classic Chamelons - a driving melody with soaring vocals and guitar lines that don't skimp on the effects pedals. The rest of the album seems more acoustic and/or down-tempo, which may not be a bad thing, but so far I've only downloaded Indiana from eMusic.com.

The Bridge Gang

2005-08-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Got turned on to a cool band by Indie MP3 - Keeping C86 Alive!, one of the blogs I mentioned in yeterday's post. The Bridge Gang is a very new and apparently unsigned (although they do have a single out on Dogbox Records) UK band. My advice is to beat NME to the punch and increase your indie cognoscenti quotient by listening to them now. So far, I've found four free songs:

- Pangs of Guilt
- Sarah's Brother
- London Sky Tonight
- The Gallery

All worthy of downloading and repeated playing. Read more about them on their website.

Cool Blogs

2005-08-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Found this blog today called Silence Is A Rhythm Too. The author has good taste and offers some unusual free downloads. Check it out.

Ditto on Indie MP3 - Keeping C86 Alive!

Rogue Wave

2005-08-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, RadioK debuted a new song called 10:1 by the San Francisco band Rogue Wave. I wasn't familiar with them, but some quick research on AllMusic.com convinced me that I've been missing out. They get compared to Elephant 6 bands (e.g., Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo), Built to Spill, The Shins, and even Simon and Garfunkel and Elliot Smith. However, they also remind me a bit of The Legends, a Swedish band that Steve brought to our attention several months ago. They have that same classic pop sound with fuzzed-out vocals, at least on the songs I mention below, which are all up-tempo. You can get 2 free MP3s from their previous album, Out of the Shadow, from SubPop's website. Both of the songs - Every Moment and Endless Shovel - are good. The song I heard, 10:1, which is from an upcoming album is also available. You can get more info from their impressively designed official website. They don't have any more free downloads, but the site features a built-in media player that will allow you listen to full versions of more of their songs.

Kiss Me Deadly

2005-08-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Just heard a good song debuted on RadioK this morning by a Montreal band called Kiss Me Deadly. Their record label, Alien8 Recordings, seems to think that the band sounds like Echo And The Bunnymen, The Sugarcubes and Sonic Youth, but I don't know. Vocally, perhaps, but not so much musically. The female vocalist does remind me a bit of Bjork or a less extreme version of the female singer from Blonde Redhead. Kiss Me Deadly will be touring North America supporting Bloc Party, and there's some sonic similarity there (danceable indie rock). At any rate, the song I heard, Dance 1, is available as a free download. Check it out!

The Embarrassment

2005-07-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Embarrassment were a Wichita, Kansas post-punk band in the late 1970's-early 1980's. According to AllMusic.com, the band is known to fans as "the best band you never heard of." To wit, I'd never heard of them before Steve Malloy introduced me to a few of their songs several years ago. More recently, I downloaded their singles compilation Heyday 1979-1983 from eMusic.com and have been enjoying it a lot. AllMusic.com compares their sound to The Feelies and Mission of Burma, which is fair, but I also hear a similarity to the Go Betweens. And you've just gotta love a band that writes a song called Elizabeth Montgomery's Face (star of Bewitched), who was certainly one of MY childhood crushes.

Some Assembly Required

2005-07-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

In general, I'm not a huge fan of sound collages or sample-based music. By which, I don't mean rap songs that incorporate samples, but rather artists who make music composed almost exclusively out of samples. However, I've been hearing a fair amount of the stuff on Radio K and two songs have piqued my interest lately. First is Favorite Things, a track by those master appropriators, Negativland. The song consists of samples of Julie Andrews singing My Favorite Things (from The Sound of Musicc) reassembled into a rather amusing ode to "girls with blue whiskers tied up with noodles" and the like. It will be interesting to see if Julie Andrews is thicker-skinned than U2, who sued Negativland many years ago. The second song is a mash-up, which is when you combine elements of two or more songs to form a new song. It's by an artist called Freelance Hellraiser and is called Stroke of Genius. The "stroke" of genius in this case is that it consists of the backing track of Hard to Explain by The Strokes paired with the vocal track of some awful song by that skankstress Christina Aguilera. Surprisingly, it works very well. While I wouldn't say that it's better than the original Strokes song, it would almost have to be better than Christina Aguilera's song, wouldn't it?

Beyond the novelty of these songs, I have to admit I really don't understand the appeal of this kind of music. Sure, it's an interesting artistic experiment and is usually entertaining on the first few listens, but I can't imagine listening to it repeatedly. But obviously, there's a niche for this sort of thing: Radio K has a show devoted to it called Some Assembly Required, which appears to be nationally syndicated as well. I'm glad it exists and that I get to hear it occasionally, but I probably won't be buying any albums...

The Soviettes

2005-07-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite bands from the last few years, The Soviettes, have a new album out titled -- in the minimalist tradition of previous releases LP and LP II -- LP III. The band consist of 3 women playing guitars and a guy playing drums. They all sing, although the drummer comes from the Fred Schneider (B-52s) school of delivery. The band specializes in a high-energy, pop-punk sound that has been described as the Go Go's meet the Ramones. Fairly accurate, although I've noticed a certain amount of new wave poutiness in their last two albums. Annie, who seems to sing all of the songs that get released as singles, has this great tough girl rock-n-roll voice that reminds me (for better, not worse) of Pat Benatar.

You can get two of the songs from the new album from their website:
- Multiply And Divide
- Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha
Note that Paranoia!Cha-Cha-Cha previously appeared on last year's Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 compilation. Please don't hold the fact that the album failed to prevent Bush from being re-elected against the band. You can also check out some of their videos, including one for Multiply and Divide.

The Posies

2005-07-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

The Posies, who along with Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet DEFINED power pop during the 90's, just released a new album called Every Kind of Light. This is their first studio album since they "broke up" in the late 1990s. It features some great songs that are in the vein of Frosting on the Beater, their hallmark 1993 album that remains one of my all-time favorite albums. Standouts include: Conversations, All In A Day's Work, I Guess You're Right, and Second Time Around. The rest of the album disappoints a bit, except the track I Finally Found A Jungle I Like, which I'm on the fence about. It's not the Posies sound I love - too much organ and horns - and the jungle metaphors are a bit annoying, but it's catchy. Is it just me or does the outro appropriate the horn riff from the outro of The Who's My Wife? Anyway, if you like power pop (and I know you do), check out the latest from the guys (i.e., the core of the Posies, Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow) who have so much power pop cred that they JOINED Big Star (in 1993)! And if you don't own Frosting on the Beater, please pick it up or get thee to a nunnery!

Queen B*tch

2005-06-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, I finally rented The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the latest Wes Anderson movie. It's enjoyable, although it doesn't stack up to Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums. Nevertheless, it's got some notable musical highlights. First, one of Steve Zissou's crew members is played by a Brazilian guitarist named Seu Jorge, who plays various David Bowie songs on the acoustic guitar on-screen in the background throughout the movie. The catch is that he sings them all in Portuguese! In addition, the closing credits are set to an early Bowie song that I wasn't familiar with -- Queen Bitch, originally on Hunky Dory. It's up-tempo with an incredibly catchy guitar riff that sent me scrambing to AllMusic.com the minute the credits were over. You may already know it but, to be honest, my knowledge of Bowie doesn't stray too far from Changesbowie and Let's Dance.

The Ponys

2005-06-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Ponys, my current favorite Chicago band, have a new album out produced by Steve Albini called Celebration Castle continuing their Richard Hell, Velvet Underground revival style. Strong reviews and many stand out cuts including Glass-Conversation. Also here is a track from the previous album Little-Friends.

The National

2005-06-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Read the review of a concert with The National and then listened to the new album Alligator, which is solid outting. Reminds me of Lloyd Cole. Also sounds a bit like the Tindersticks, both the singing and in places the violin like the track Val Jester, but The National are more uptempo on many songs than Tindersticks. The drumming on the album is great. You can stream the entire album or can download songs from their previous albums - Wasp Nest, Slipping_husband, Murder_me_rachael, Cold_girl_fever.

Live Bob Dylan

2005-06-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Saw him on 60 minutes last weekend and began listening to Blonde on Blonde again and then read that on his website, you can stream old and recent concerts.

Will write more after listening to this...

New Albums from Old Standbys

2005-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

So there has been a flurry of new music released...some quick thoughts...

Coldplay - Nothing new covered in this album. If you like the old stuff, you'll like the new. I used to hate Radiohead for ever leaving The Bends era but now after listening to X&Y, I completely understand why they did...that said White Shadows and Low are both solid tunes. Also recently listened to the Live album from a couple of years ago, the songs Moses and One I Love are both very solid and should be added to the collection if you like Coldplay. I do have the Joshua Tree feeling with this band, which is, I like the album but cannot stand the band for now. Way, way overblown. Perhaps they will recover and turn out their Achtung Baby and make me think they are the coolest band on the planet, but throughout the album I kept having the same tough time as when I heard "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For" and thought, if you haven't found what you are looking for when you appear on the cover of Time, Newsweek and every other magazine on the face of the earth, while pocketing millions and getting to tour to any city on earth you have ever wanted to see, well you are never going to find it.

Oasis - see above...though this new album Don't Believe the Truth is a quantum leap better than recent albums. It appears that they are actually trying to make good music again instead of snorting and injecting away their talent. I like The Meaning of Soul and Turn Up the Sun quite a bit.

New Order - Like this the most of the three. I agree with Drew that the early days are long gone but Waiting for the Sirens Call and Hey Now What You Doing both made me smile...

Just downloaded Ryan Adams, White Strips, and Gorillaz so more about them soon.

Astral

2005-06-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

A recommendation from Lee...the band Astral and the album Orchids out of my own San Francisco...owing a huge debt to Joy Division and the early days of The Cure. Their album is called Orchids and the first two songs on the album are unbelievable - Barreling and Blinding. If that does not whet your appetite than stop there...the album is available on Rhapsody and iTunes.

They have a couple of songs available for down load at IUMA...

The Go-Betweens

2005-06-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

I went and saw the Go-Betweens at Slim's on Friday night. For those who remember, the Go-Betweens were an 80s band from Australia, who had mild success stateside. They resurfaced a couple of years ago and just put on the new album Oceans Apart, which I highly recommend, (as others have...

The concert was very, very entertaining. My favorite part was near the end where four or five 40 something year old guys, all bald and overweight, got in a huge scuffle at the front of the show, stopping the music temporarily until order was restored. What causes such unrest?

Here are two live cuts from their website - Right Here and He Lives My Life.

Teenage Fanclub

2005-06-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

The great Scottish power pop band Teenage Fanclub has come out with a new album called Man-Made. The first single, It's All In My Mind can be downloaded from Insound.com. The new album, which I've downloaded from eMusic.com, is getting good reviews. It's definitely more on the "pop" end of power pop, but I like it. Time Stops, Slow Fade, and Cells are some other good songs to check out, especially if you are nostalgic for Teenage Fanclub's older, harder-rocking, more overtly-influenced by Big Star stuff. You can read more about Teenage Fanclub on AllMusic.com.

10 worst album covers of all time

2005-06-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

This is pretty funny stuff, if you haven't already seen it. Be sure to check out the 2nd 10 albums on the next page (follow the Next Entry link at the bottom). Do you own any of these?

Matador & SubPop

2005-05-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is probably, as they say, a "no-brainer," but Matador Records offers a great selection of free MP3s from their stable of artists. I mentioned in an earlier post that their site was down but it seems fine now. The new New Pornographers single can be found there. SubPop also has numerous free downloads on their website. As does most any decent label, I suppose...

Power Pop and Its Discontents

2005-05-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ran across an interesting little article on Slate.com called Power Pop and Its Discontents. It summarize five new/old power pop records. I can vouch for Sloan and Spoon, although I haven't heard the specific albums mentioned (they are on my To-Download list from eMusic.com, though). FYI, I tried following the link to the new New Pornographers song but the Matador records site seems to be down. Couldn't get to their main home page, either.

BSP - Open Season

2005-05-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

In case you missed my comment to the original below:

False Alarm; BSP's new outing, Open Season, is a lovely, fully defined, sophmore effort that seems more graceful and commanding with each listen. Though I know what you mean by the fact that it doesn't grab you by the neck as their first one, tunes like "How will I eveer find my way home" & "Oh Larsen B" (homage to a melting ice cap - who else could do that ?) explore new territory while maintaining BSPs eccentric perspective. It's true that mostr of the songs are quieter, but the ones mentioned above still remain intense (maybe more so) while being more focused and less scrappy. I would add that the production is eons better too. And, finally, there is the lovely (ok, maybe Ive used the word too often here...quite telling) ambient lament "like a honeycomb" ... a reflection on Britain's pastoral past and it's concrete present..."and the land's all sectioned off..like a honeycomb". Seems Yan is singing to the land itself. Still the most challenging, accomplished and genuine band out there for my money...would love to catch them live on the next tour, cause I hear they pack a wallop, much like the old incarnations of the Bunnymen, to whom they're often (and rightfully) compared

Go get it...still waiting on the HOL speciall order ...Days Run Away

New Oasis Single

2005-04-21T01:37:00.000-07:00

Oasis is about to release its sixth album and has put out the video for the new single Lyla, a mid-tempo, driving song, which while not as good as early songs such as She's Electric and Live Forever, is a vast improvement over the last couple of albums, which have been given one listen and then banished to the do not play list. Hope the rest of the album measures up.

The Killers versus Bravery

2005-04-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

Village Voice writer Chuck Eddy puts together his own list of post-punk bands (with links to download the songs). I really like Temper, Temper quite a bit - described as post-punk glam-rock. There also is a cover of Donna Summer's I Feel Love by Cobra Verde which is inspired.

Random list

2005-04-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

Would these be your top 25 albums of all time? The appearance of Alanis Morrisette alone made me laugh...

The Kills

2005-04-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

Just listened to the new album No Wow by The Kills and all I can say is that it is incredibly intense. Reminding me more of the best of PJ Harvey than the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, The Kills are led by female vocalist Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince and on most songs combine drum machines with fuzzy or very raw guitars. The Kills definitely have a strong blues influence as well and the music is very dark. On the NPR website reviewing SXSW, you can listen to Love is a Deserter (about half way down the page). I will definitely listen to this album quite a bit more but perhaps not all in one sitting.

On their website, they have posted their video for The Good Ones, which starts off in what appears to be a New York style art gallery, proceeding to turn into a pepto bismo clean up site, then a Devo video and ending inexplicably in a scene I cannot possibly describe. Absolutely worth watching. Allison and Jamie are very, very serious people.