Kaufman Reads Gatsby

extra crazy on top

2006-06-07T09:56:00.002-07:00

I finally got a subscription to netflix for the summer. My queue includes a mix of Jean Seberg, film noir, foreign movies, and one Albert Brooks comedy.

I'm also excited to see The Shield Around the K: The Story of K Records. I really admire the whole philosophy and aesthetic of K Records and its founder Calvin Johnson. Calvin is basically a god of indie rock. Not only did he found K Records and work on the fanzine that eventually became Sub Pop, he also formed Beat Happening, created an International Pop Underground, and helped Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, and Beck get their starts (among others.)

The Halo Benders - Don't Touch My Bikini
Halo Benders is Calvin's collaboration with Doug Martsch of Built To Spill.
It usually leans more toward Beat Happening than Built To Spill. Calvin's baritone mixes with Martsch's higher vocals to form a perfect sweet and sour effect. Don't Touch My Bikini is an instantly likable, retro dance number with really weird wordplay ("go to heaven, go to paris/7-11, roger maris?") It will always be funny when Calvin sings the titular lyric, followed by "Looking is free but touching's going to cost you something."

Heavenly - C is a Heavenly Option
A much sweeter duet between Calvin and Heavenly's Amelia Fletcher. Sadly, this was my "jam" all last April; I couldn't stop listening to it. It's that great. The lyrics are multiple choice and involve several relationship problems ("my boyfriend has no fashion sense.") It works really well with the duet style. Kind of uplifting, a good philosophy, perfect for K Records.
I would let this song be in the musical of my life.

Beat Happening - Cast A Shadow
Classic Beat Happening song. Simple Velvet-style drums and guitar combo with Calvin asking for "shadows of your protection." Often covered, most Beat Happening songs were pretty simple yet undeniably catchy and charismatic.

The cliche embedded youtube clip. One of my favorites. Beat Happening performing Black Candy at some weird public access show:

Also, Calvin made a mixtape for Tokion FM that can be found here.

Me=Terrible Blogger

2006-05-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like this blog isn't mine. I feel like I have a responsibility to the public to post good music even if I have nothing interesting to say. I guess I'm going to shut up sometimes and just post songs. I'll probably update more that way but with less substance. Is that better?

SO
what you need to know: Mark Robinson of Unrest and Air Miami is pretty much great.

Air Miami -
World Cup Fever makes me want to play soccer and score a goal with my head. Kind of dumb catchy song.

Unrest -
Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl is pretty frank. "I want to meet you. I want to fuck you all the time." Probably their best song. I guess Nirvana covered it once? Despite popular opinion, it is not about Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta.

Six Layer Cake is one of the first songs I would put on a numbers mix-CD. Not Numb3rs, numbers. It is from their best album Perfect Teeth, a CD I found in a local bargain bin like three years ago. Best bargain find ever. Except for the Steve Albini produced Fred Schneider solo album. What do you think they talked about in the studio? Love Shack? Surfer Rosa? Natalie Portman?

I write more when I try to write nothing than when I try to write something.

SSLYBY on OC

2006-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin comes from my hometown, Springfield, MO. Rumors have been flying about their recent tour: robbery? Fred Savage? Phil Dickey involved in a pyrotechnic accident? (That rumor turned out to be Metallica's James Hetfield, in 1992.) Tonight their song "Oregon Girl" will be played on The OC. Hopefully during one of three scenarios:

1. Ryan punches someone.
2. Julie tries to redeem herself for her past mistakes.
3. Sandy waxes his eyebrows.

Here's a song from their self-released EP, it's a Mommyhead's cover:

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Accident

OC totally stole my idea. This is SSLYBY playing on a talk show I had to do for a terrible media class about a year ago. We didn't even have a CD player for the shoot so we had to drive a truck into the studio and use its player. If Boris Yeltsin didn't come, some girl was going to have her boyfriend's band, Two Finger Tease, come and play. The show was worse than Magic Johnson's talk show, and everyone hated it. Especially Phil:

Be SSLYBY's friend on myspace and buy Broom. Fred Savage likes it!

There's something going wrong around here.

2006-04-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

I was talking about Joe Jackson at work the other day and it reminded me of how great his first album was. He's a classically trained musician who adopted the new wave style for his debut record "Look Sharp!" back in 1979. The album is most famous for the new wave hit "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" a perfect song for any self-important, romantic adolescent. What guy hasn't looked at a couple and thought, "I'm so much better than that jock?"

The majority of the album explores similar lyrical territory in catchy new wave pop. Not unlike Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson was an intelligent, frustrated teenager who wrote snappy punk rock for the lonely set. The year Gang of Four were attacking capitalism and The Clash were warning us of nuclear errors, Joe Jackson just wanted to sing about happy couples and gorillas.

The opening track sets a pretty high standard for the rest of the album. It opens with a scrappy guitar lick, followed by a running bass, and some of Jackson's most affecting lyrics. It's kind of strange to open a poppy new wave album with such a desperate, hopeless song, but amazing none the less.
One More Time

This is the song I always almost want to listen to at dance parties, but I'm afraid the piano break at 1:51 would just confuse everybody. Pure seventies strut and attitude, Joe Jackson at his most confident and sarcastic. The line "Check your watch and wallet now" always pumps me up for some reason.
Look Sharp!

Joe Jackson hates couples and so should you.
Happy Loving Couples

Sorry if EZArchive is being sluggish. Buy Look Sharp here.
Right, that's enough.

I'm in love, what's that song?

2006-04-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Name-checked by The Replacements, covered by everyone (Elliot Smith, Wilco, The Decemberists, Teenage Fanclub, etc.), and one of the most influential bands in all indie rock, Big Star perfectly captured various elements of pop past (The Beatles, The Byrds, and The Who) and combined them to create a stong prototype for the future. Unfortunately, they're probably best known for the song "In The Street" which was covered by Cheap Trick for the That 70's Show's theme song. I also recently heard their song "I'm In Love With A Girl" on a commercial.

Lead singer Alex Chilton is a pop genius, and one of the original cynical romantics in power pop. He best captured the feeling of adolescent romance in his own lazy kind of way. For me, lines like "I love you, well, never mind" and "I like love, but, I don't know" effortlessly depict the insecurity of teenage feelings in a simple, concise way.

That said, Chilton's probably insane. My favorite Big Star annecdote comes from the recording of Third/Sister Lovers when Chilton purposely sabotaged a possible single by using a basketball for a snare drum.

Here's some tracks from Radio City:

Way Out West
You Get What You Deserve
September Gurls

I strongly recommend #1 Record/Radio City, their first two studio albums on one CD.

New Les Savy Fav

2006-03-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I should post this. If it makes someone mad then I'll take it down as soon as I can. In fact, I'm only going to put this song up for a couple of days so get it while it's hot. It's from Plagues & Snakes, their new Austrailian Tour single. I like the first track, it's pretty calming. It kind of reminds me of Fugazi's I'm So Tired, just an interesting piano-based song.

About the single, Tim Harrington says, “It’s like two songs that are classic, but it’s lost the point. Like, what’s the point of doing two songs now? 45’s are doomed with mp3’s and all this stuff, but it’s such a great number - just natural two, it’s not as arty as three and not as fancy as one, which is so lonely. Two is interesting and cryptic.”

Les Savy Fav - When You Wake Up a Snake

You can download the single at emusic.

i have seen all your movies

2006-03-14T14:10:00.002-08:00

Busy busy busy. I just got back from Chicago and St. Louis, and I'm going to Kansas City and Seattle next week (Dallas and Chicago too, to change planes.) The short version of the story is I'm going to see Belle and Sebastian twice in two weeks.

I caught myself singing this song out loud the other day so I thought it was worth posting. They're called Oh No! Oh My! after a song by The Robot Ate Me. They changed their name from the Jolly Rogers because they claimed there were too many bands with the Jolly Rogers moniker. I wonder who would win in a fight between Hey Hey My My and Oh No! Oh My! (Not to mention insane Philly band Man Man and bedroom electro act Mylo.)

Anyway, they remind me of Of Montreal as well as other current synth-pop groups like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or Spinto Band. Visit their website, it's a pirate map. They're selling two CDRs of their work for two dollars, and they should have an actual manufactured release sometime soon.

Oh No! Oh My! - I Have No Sister

mr. show la tengo or how i stopped worrying and learned to love youtube

2006-03-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

I was afraid to cruise youtube because I've heard how addictive it can be.

It is. Now I'm hooked.

Mostly, I've been cruising for old music videos. Here's one of my favorite music videos of all time. I hadn't seen it in a while and all the jokes and references are still really good. It turns out Mr. Show and Yo La Tengo are like chocolate and peanut butter.

And because I feel compelled to post a song with every post, here's one of my favorite Yo La Tengo songs. It's an Only Ones cover, and I think it improves over the original for two reasons:

1. Less sax.
2. Husband and wive harmonies are adorable, especially Ira's reading of the line "Baby, I'm in love with you" like he's looking right at Georgia. Or maybe he's looking at James McNew...

Now with fixed links:
Yo La Tengo - The Whole of The Law
The Only Ones - The Whole of The Law

Not to slight The Only Ones, an underrated band with that classic Modern Lovers/Velvet Underground style. They had one song that probably rates up there with "Teenage Kicks" and "September Girls" as one of those classic pop hits that never were.

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet

she needs to feel at peace with her father

2006-02-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

I've always heard Destroyer was the more challenging of the New Pornographers (compared to AC Newman or Neko Case.) Despite the reputation, I picked up Destoyer's Rubies this week after I had been listening to the song Painter In Your Pocket non-stop. I really like it. He sounds like a cross between Cat Stevens and David Bowie (Glam-Folk?) He writes beautiful, hyper-literate lyrics yet his voice lends itself well to the various nonsense chants scattered through out the songs. (la, la, la; ba, ba, ba; etc.)

Plus, look at him, he's amazing. Can anyone tell me what book he's reading?

I can't wait to see him and the NPs play in Chicago next month. Here's a track from Rubies:

Destroyer - European Oils

You can buy Rubies here.

They Call Me Mr. Beast

2006-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty ashamed I haven't updated in while. The shame is almost enough motivation to update as much as possible even to the detriment of my personal and professional life. I might even post twice today.

Anyway, the new Mogwai, Mr. Beast, comes out on March 7th. They're working with Scottish producer Tony Doogan whose previous credits include Mogwai's Rock Action and several Belle and Sebastian releases. Guitarist/singer Stuart Braitewaite says the band "consciously tried to have some louder music on this album, because we began to realize that there was a big difference between our live shows and our records, and there was no real reason for that. We wanted to make a record we would enjoy playing live."

Mogwai - Folk Death 95

And I think Pitchfork might have broken Jens Lekman's website today by linking it. He's put up some out-of-print EPs on his website but it's incredibly sloooooow. Here's a different outtake, an orchestral version of a song from his debut album "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog," to tide us over until we can actually download those EPs.

Jens Lekman - Do You Remember The Riots? (orchestral version)

Lions and Violins

2006-02-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

Stereogum has the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song, Gold Lions. The rumor was that the Yeahs would take a folkier approach with the new album, Show Your Bones, due March 28. Judging from this song, I think it's just going to sound a lot like Love and Rockets. Hey Karen O, where's the flute solo?

From Earth, Sun, Moon:
Love and Rockets - No New Tale To Tell

Check out the Yeah Yeah Yeah's website if you want to see mildly disturbing pictures of rabbits killing people.

Final Fantasy posted a Joanna Newsom cover on his myspace. It's my favorite song from The Milk-Eyed Mender. Imagine if Owen and Joanna somehow got married and had kids, it'd be pretty adorable. Little harp-playing girls talking in alien voices and tiny violin playing boys with unkempt hair. Just keep them away from Devandra Banhart. He's creepy.

Final Fantasy - Peach, Plum, Pear
Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear

Possible catchy nickname for my fictitious celebrity couple: Owanna.

I'm terrible at making couple nicknames.

They Came And Took Her Baby Away

2006-01-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

A lot of critics of complained about the post-punk explosion of recent years. Labeling it the atonal whining of a bunch of hipsters in tight jeans with the DFA's number on their speed dial. Or dancey punk sung by musicians with Public Image Ltd. ringtones on their cell phones and Gang of Four bumper stickers on their cars. Yes, it has spawned several forgettable bands. (Radio 4 anyone?) How many Bravery albums are already in the bargain bin at your local record store? (5)

However, it has atleast inspired a recent series of reissues for the originals. Entertainment! was a no-brainer for the reissue treatment. I'm pretty excited about the Delta 5 reissue coming out this month, as I've barely been able to access any of their music previously. Later this year This Heat, a band I have often looked for in used record bins, will reissue their material in a box set.

I really want somebody to reissue the Au Pairs' Playing With A Different Sex. I heard a song a long time ago and I have never been able to track this album down. Basically, Au Pairs were to sex and women's rights as Go4 were to capitalism. The song Armagh sounds like the James Bond theme with a saftey pin through its cheek. It features a didatic front woman (Lesley Woods) screaming about torture, sexual abuse, and Iran.

Au Pairs - Armagh

Here's another song I found:

Au Pairs - We're So Cool

If they can reissue Brazilian post-punk, why can't they put this back out? Is the man trying to keep feminist rock music down? Or is it just more fun to say Brazilian post-punk?

Hey Hey My My

2006-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

From their bio: "It all began on February 9th 2005, while singing a few songs for friends during one of the Julien's birthday parties, a fire broke out in the apartment. Luckily, no one was hurt, more fright than harm, but this inspired the two Julien's to think of a part of a Neil Young song sayin 'It's better to burn out than to fade away,' which lead them to name their group with the title of this song: Hey Hey My My."

At this point, I could probably make some cheesy allusions to the phoenix ("Rising from the ashes of this fire emerged the folk stylings of this Parisian pop duo...") but I'm not feeling too metaphorical at the moment. Another note, I think the more apathetic Neil Young fire lyric would be: "It's only castles burning." But I guess that's a jerk thing to say to someone whose apartment just caught on fire.

Hey Hey My My are a new band making the mp3 blog rounds. They're from Paris and consist of two men named Julien (no relation.) They cite Nick Drake, Frank Black, and Johnny Cash as their influences and have a myspace with pictures featuring the two Juliens and various farm animals (no relations.)

"Too Much Space" reminds me of a subdued version of those Neil Young covers on the Pixie's Complete B-sides. It's fairly melancholy but with a dancey stomp and driving bass line. About fifty seconds into the song, the drums drop out and a mournful guitar riff serves as a kind of chorus. One can almost imagine the song soundtracking the christening scene described in their bio. A bouncy, French party interrupted by a gloomy guitar strum of drumless fire. Geez. I thought I wasn't feeling metaphorical. I apologize. Anyway, it's really good and they have two more songs on their aforementioned myspace (Too Much Myspace?)

Hey Hey My My - Too Much Space

Any Time Was Right For Secret Meetings

2006-01-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

Wasn't it exciting to learn about producers? I think it is an overlooked part of one's musical education. It's when you learn the producer's role and you start figuring out musical connections. I'm talking about when the producer transforms from this faceless, headphones-wearing enigma to an actual person with a personality. In my case, I soon discovered many producers were musicians themselves who simply have a talent for mixing and creating sonic landscapes.

Often I become a fan of a producer's own music through the bands they worked with. I had heard Remain In Light before I ever heard any of Brian Eno's solo work. I had been rocking out to Surfer Rosa long before I purchased a record by any of Steve Albini's bands. Similarly, I think fans of Kanye West's Late Registration would be well served to seek out Jon Brion's film scores.

Let's Active is a band I found through such a connection. I discovered them because the lead singer Mitch Easter went on to produce and engineer for REM, Dinosaur Jr., and Pavement. I bought Cypress/Afoot shortly after becoming enamored with the REM albums Easter had produced.

Every Word Means No is one of my favorite songs of all time. I think it gives the listener three thoughts upon first hearing it:
1. It is somehow instantly familiar.
2. Mitch Easter sounds like a whiny woman, but in a good way.
3. The New Pornographers probably have a huge Let's Active poster on their studio wall.
Every Word Means No

Sometimes Let's Active is called jangle pop's Joy Division. I can see that in this song when the gloomy verse is suddenly interrupted by an optimistic chorus. It is almost like both worlds in one song.
Room With a View

I post this song mostly because I think REM's The One I Love borrowed quite liberally from it.
Lowdown

coVUrs

2006-01-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

OMG it's a theme post. Knife requested the The Feelies cover of What Goes On, and I thought it would be generous of me to post a few more Velvet Underground covers while I was at it.

The Feelies - What Goes On
Big Star - Femme Fatale
Galaxie 500 - Here She Comes Now
REM - There She Goes Again
Yo La Tengo - It's Alright (The Way That You Live)
Cat Power - I Found A Reason
Rilo Kiley - After Hours

Until Boy Least Likely To covers Sister Ray, that's all I have/remember for now.

The Band With Perpetual Nervousness

2006-01-11T01:44:00.000-08:00

The Feelies are a classic post-punk band from New York. Their name is a reference to the futuristic shows in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. REM cited them as huge influence, and the above album cover served as an inspiration for Weezer's debut cover art. Their CD's are kind of hard to come by since they are mostly out of print (I saw a copy of their debut album, Crazy Rhythms go for over fifty dollars on Amazon).

I first heard them by finding one of their songs on a file sharing program:

The Feelies - Higher Ground

The jangle-pop, REM influencing sound is definitely there. Also, there's some great Television-like guitar interplay and a kind of hypnotizing drone to it. I really wanted to hear more.

Luckily, I was able to find Only Life, the album containing the above track, in the used section at a local record store. The gentle, mustached store owner commented on The Feelies' hypnotizing power as well. Later, I would find Crazy Rhytms at a Vintage Stock. I still cite this as my luckiest music find. I mean every Vintage Stock has like thirteen copies of Monster by REM, but I probably found the only one that has any Feelies records. Here's some tracks from Crazy Rhythms:

Fa Ci-La
Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except For Me and My Monkey) (Beatles Cover)*
Loveless Love

And I guess if anybody likes those, I might post their Rollings Stones and Velvet Underground covers.

*I guess there probably wouldn't be two songs with such an obscure title, but just to clarify.

I've Got It Worse For Her

2006-01-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

The dB's are an often neglected band in the indie pop canon. They were one of the best power pop bands. Forget Big Star, The Raspberries, or Let's Active; this is where it's at.

I think I already mentioned my jangle pop phase. (By the way, All Music defines jangle pop as "an American post-punk movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s.") It was kind of an aborted phase because I couldn't even get Dream Syndicate's first album. However, I was able to pick this up; it's a combination of The dB's first and second records, Stands for Decibels and Reprecussion respectively. It mixed the pop of Big Star while predicting that cool jangly guitar sound that REM would later popularize.

I was practically in love with it for a month in 2002. At the time, I was working on promotional material for a fake record store in my electronic publishing class. Therefore, I named the fictional store after this band. It was called dB's records and its slogan was "stands for decibels." Luckily, my teacher was a not a Chris Stamey fan, and thought this was very clever.

Speaking of Chris Stamey, he left the dB's shortly after Reprecussion for a solo career. He most recently recorded an album with Yo La Tengo. Meanwhile, the dB's have quietly reunited and plan to perform live sometime in the near future. The tour will feature the original lineup that recorded their first two albums. Their website has more information and a new song.

Here's some tracks from Stands For Decibels/Reprecussion:

Black and White
Bad Reputation
Living A Lie

Meanwhile, an update on my pursuit of The Life Pursuit, a foreign language blog has posted a coupe of track I had yet to find. You can find them here. Credit goes to my friend Adam, whose love of mp3 blogs may have exceeded my own.

Top Ten of 2005

2005-12-24T19:58:00.000-08:00

These songs are pretty close to my top ten for the year. If you're a good indie kid, you probably already have all this stuff.

10.
Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle With Me

9. It's funny that Colin Meloy is so verbose (with lyrics about magistrates, verandas, and being "purloined in Petrogard") but the one phrase that stands out above the rest from Picaresque is the simple "And if you don't love me let me go."
The Decemberists - The Engine Driver

8. It was hard to pick just one song off of Apologies To The Queen Mary, but this song is just too good. No offense to Dan Boeckner, but doesn't everyone think Spencer Krug should just sing all the time?
Wolf Parade - Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts

7. The Fiery Furnaces EP finally gave me the motivation to check them out. I was a little apprehensive after hearing about how challenging they were, but I became interested in this new, more accessbile collection of cast-offs. I was immediately won over by the three song suite which opens the record. These are the last two songs of that eleven minute stretch.
Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes The Summer/Evergreen

6. I can't listen to this in the car. I start singing along and dancing. I got caught by my friend Adam one time. "I saw you on the way to work...you were, uh, singing and dancing." Crap.
LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations

5.Quote from my friend Holly: "The vocals of this song make me want to take a shower
they're all...
well, she sings really well. " Leslie Feist makes girls want to take showers.
Broken Social Scene - Shoreline

4.I'm just going to say "Oh my gooooooood."
Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy Jr.

3.Can we make this guy more famous than the video game? I've never heard strings this delicious that weren't made out cheese. String. Cheese. Get it, son? Since when did I turn into Foghorn Leghorn?
Final F antasy - The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead

2.Combining all the things I didn't know I liked: Acapella, Kate Bush, and throwing footwear into various bodies of water.
The Futureheads - Hounds of Love

1.And this song combines all the things I already knew I liked. Post-punk guitar. A strangely twee pop sensibility and nostalgia. Lyrics that remind me of Jonathan Richman or River Cuomo's better moments. Basically it feels like a lost Buzzcocks song. The way the Buzzcocks could write a song like "Ever Fallen In Love?" or "What Do I Get?" and you could totally relate. This is that kind of song.

Eddie Argos has a knack for creating happy moments and genuine laughs. The way he can remember the last time he saw Emily right down to the second. The fact that he wants kids on school buses to scream her name. The fact that he wrote the song about an actual girl named Emily Kane that he liked when he was fifteen. This is my favorite song of 2005:
Art Brut - Emily Kane

My Pursuit of The Life Pursuit

2005-12-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Expect the rest of my list tonight. For right now, I just found another track from the new Belle and Sebastian album, The Life Pursuit, due February 7th. It has that same kind of poppy stomp that Step Into My Office, Baby had. I think my favorite so far has been Funny Little Frog.

Belle and Sebastian - White Collar Boy

15-10: Starting To Cheat

2005-12-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

I guess some of these choices are cheating.

I'm not sure where this track came from originally. I think Gorilla Vs. Bear posted it at some point. I think it's better than the original and features one of the better beats of the year.
Kanye West - Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Capski Refix)

The weird voice that enters the song around 1:49 makes the song. He sounds like an opera singer or something.
Iron & Wine/Calexico - He Lays In The Reins

Unfortunately this song was played over the speakers on repeat for nearly an hour while I was waiting at the gates for Lollapalooza. They used it during one of their informational segments on what was allowed into the park and how to survive the heat. I'm just now getting into a place where I can enjoy it again. However, before the tragic incident, it was one of my favorites of the year so it deserves a spot.
Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

I don't think this has been officially released, but I believe it was performed this year. It's a Magnetic Fields cover.
The Shins - Strange Powers

I didn't include any MIA because for some reason I associate her with 2004, specifically Galang. I also still kind of associate Annie with 2004, but since her album wasn't domestically released until May of this year, I think it can be included as one of my favorite 2005 songs.
Annie - Heartbeat

20-15: The List Continues Slowly But Surely

2005-12-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

I figured I would get these songs out there faster if I just post them with minimal commentary. I would say something like "I'm going to let the music speak for itself" but the truth is Holiday Break has inspired a rather lazy feeling in me I sometimes refer to as my "decompressing."

With its playful spelling and exclaimation, the title says it all. This song is pure, goofy happiness. From In Case We Die:
Architecture In Helsinki - It'5!

A lot of people say the lead singer sounds like David Byrne. I just think he sounds like someone talking into a fan. From their self-titled debut:
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - In This Home On Ice

Every band should want Jose Gonzalez to give their song the old JoGon treatment. He has the same knack for somber folk covers as Cat Power. (Speaking of, has anyone caught her cover of Blondie's "Hanging On The Telephone" on that commercial? I wish she would put that on her new album.)
He's already covered Joy Division, Kylie Minogue, and The Knife, but I really like this original song by him. And, yes, I do hope people start calling him JoGon. From Veneer:
Jose Gonzalez - Crosses

This is a somber cover of everyone's favorite Rolling Stones disco song. And because it is a Swedish band, I have to say something about them being Swedish. They're Swedish. So is JoGon now that I think about it. Off of the b-sides collection Layyourbattleaxedown:
The Concretes - Miss You

Really fun song. I wish there was a video for it with the lyrics at the bottom of the screen and one of those bouncing balls so everyone could sing along. There would also be a cane in this proposed video and maybe a guy in a giant heart suit. From Oh You're So Silent Jens:
Jens Lekman - A Sweet Summer's Night On HammerHill

25-20: Getting More Possible

2005-12-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some more of my favorite songs of 2005.

Working as a projectionist allows me the luxury to listen to music for the majority of my shift. It was during one such time that an unexpected visitor came up the stairs. It was the leader of a Girl Scout troop and a group of small girls. Apparently, I was not informed there would be a tour of the projection area on this particular day. The middle aged woman heard the music I was playing and gave me the most horrified look. Apparently she didn't appreciate the delicate gurgle of lead singer Jon Thor Birgisson. I immediately lunged for the volume button and muted the song. It was pretty awkward. The song? From this year's Takk:

Sigur Ros - Saeglopur

Another song to freak out the squares. The new album by Animal Collective was rumored to be more pop and accessible. I'm not sure I'm hearing it. From Feels:

Animal Collective - Did You See The Words

This song vaguely reminds me of the theme song from The Adventures of Pete and Pete, "Hey Sandy." I kind of wanted to know a girl named Mandy just to give her this song on a mix CD. From Nice and Nicely Done:

Spinto Band - Oh Mandy

I Am A Bird Now won the Mercury prize this year. Two facts everyone will bring up when talking about Antony:
1. Beautiful, haunting voice
2. Looks like a big ol' freak
Yes, the music critic community is a sensitive lot. Guest Lou Reed sets the tone at the beginning of this song with a poem. Listen to one of freakos best songs:

Antony & The Johnsons - Fistful of Love

Another song with a great video. M83 seemed to be making the transition from electronic My Bloody Valentine to nerdy, ethereal Interpol on his latest release, Before The Dawn Heals Us:

M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames

This Is Impossible

2005-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

I tried to come up with a rough outline of my top ten songs of 2005 and there are too many. I'm going to have to make it a top 30, or 28. And the rankings will be pretty arbitrary. I decided to exclude a lot of the big singles because you probably already heard those enough. These include: Hollaback Girl, Gold Digger, Feel Good Inc., Since U Been Gone, Do You Want To, etc.

Instead, I've made a list of the songs that I remember listening to a lot this year, and I also tried to remember what I had been playing on the college radio station. Here are the first five of a list of undetermined numerical value:

I bought Common's Be for my sister who promptly rejected it after listening to it on one trip to the mall. She probably didn't even make it to this track, the highlight of the album. I ended up listening to Be a lot this year for some reason. My feelings on this track can be summed up in one phrase: "So I had to did what I had to did."

Common (Ft. Kanye West) - The Food

I'm kind of sorry I missed these guys at Lollapalooza. They were on the stage that was across the street, the stage that I didn't find until half way through the first day. This song is insanely catchy, but it has that feeling like "This is probably the best song they will ever do." Like a one-hit-wonder that doesn't really hit, from Stars of Cctv:

Hard-Fi - Hard To Beat

So I guess I feel kind of dumb for putting this still semi-trendy post-punk stuff on the list. It will probably date it somehow. I listened to this song too much not to include it, from Retreat:

The Rakes - Retreat

This band toured with the New Pornographers, and apparently the keyboard player is Carl Newman's long-lost niece. From Ones and Zeroes:

Immaculate Machines - Broken Ship

I really like the video for this song. From With Love And Squalor:

We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

To be continued...

F-word

2005-12-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

Is this a wimp blog? Do people read it at the library while drinking milk? I mean, Field Mice? Belle and Sebastian? Boy Least Likely To? Damn. Was I on crack?

It's time to butch it up. Here are some of my favorite songs with the f-word:

I first heard this album while it was being played over the speakers at a used record store. I think it was RZA's work on Kill Bill and their appearance in Coffee and Cigarettes that finally convinced me to pick up Enter The 36 Chambers. Unlike most rap albums, I still don't even skip the skits on this album:

Wu Tang Clan - Ain't Nothin' Ta Fuck Wit'

I think this song fell under the radar. Highy recommended for fans of LCD Soundsystem. "Kick out the chairs, motherfuckers/kick out the chairs," surely a chorus sent down by divine intervention:

Munk (Ft. LCD Soundsystem) - Kick Out The Chairs

Pretty self explanatory:

Peaches - Fuck The Pain Away

The Fall are kind of hard to get into and I hardly ever recommend them to anyone. However, I really like the legend behind this song. Courtesy of allmusic: "Apparently, the band was on the verge of signing with Motown, at least until they heard Smith delivering the poisonous line, 'Where are the obligatory niggers?/Hey there, fuckface!'" From Hex Enduction Hour:

The Fall - The Classical

And a bonus song. From the new compilation Oh You're So Silent Jens:

Jens Lekman - F-word

I'm starting to get nervous. I feel like I have to have some sort of list as the new year approaches. So I'll have to start thinking about that. Top something or other. I feel bad that I procrastinated, I should have done it earlier. Now everyone has their's out and I can't help but be influenced. I also don't want to be willfully obscure. I'll try to have a Top Ten Songs of 2005 done tomorrow I think.

And because I can't help myself: Fluxblog has another new track from the next Belle and Sebastian album. It's not as good as the first two, but it is still worth a listen. Also, Chromewaves had some information on a Belle and Sebastian comic book. Weird.

I'm going to try start to updating on a regular basis this break.

P.S. I know the phrase "butch it up" is not actually used by anyone remotely masculine.

I'm Not Brave, I'm Not Special, I'm Not Any Of Those Things

2005-12-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

My Field Mice CD came in last week and I've been listening to it and the new Jens Lekman CD non-stop. The Field Mice were the flagship band of Sarah records from 1989-1991. They sound like someone gave Morrisey a roofie and had him front a strange mixture of Belle and Sebastian, New Order, and Isn't Anything My Bloody Valentine. Sleepy vocals over poppy guitar twangs and a drum machine.

Lead singer Robert Wratten is probably the wimpiest singer I've ever heard. He makes Ben Gibbard and Stuart Murdoch sound like jocks. Sample lyrics:
"I always feel this way, No harm can come to when I'm in your company"
"I can't help feeling it cannot last/I can't help feeling you will break my heart, break my heart"
"If the sun going down can make me cry, why should I not like the way I am?"
Comparitively, Colin Meloy is a lumberjack.

Sometimes when I listen to music, I think about it in terms of utility. Could I use these songs on mix CDs? Since the majority of the songs deal with love in such an earnest manner, it would be way too cheesy to give to a potential or even current mate. It would probably either make them laugh or creep them out.

The direct language of affection in the songs also definitely rules out male friends. You wouldn't want to give your friend anything that says "I love the sound of your voice/I love the way that you smile/When I'm not with you I can't wait to see you." I guess I would probably put "Emma's House" on a mix CD. It would have to be in between a Big Black song and a Fugazi song in order to maintain my masculinity.

Emma's House
You're Kidding Aren't You?
I Could See Myself Alone Forever

You can buy Snowballs + Singles here.

New Belle and Sebastian songs! Revolution In The Head put a peel session version of a new song up called "Funny Little Frog." And Matador Records posted the song "Another Sunny Day." (Coincidentally (or probably not so coinicidentally) Another Sunny Day was an indie pop band along with The Field Mice on Sarah Records.)

I was embarrassed to say I liked the subdued female cover of "Yellow" by Coldplay that was on the OC this week. I was slightly less embarrassed to find out it was Petra Haden of the Rentals and the Decemberists singing. Dreams of Horses posted the song here. I should thank them for the link too.

Also, The Big Ticket is doing his sequel to Mix '04 this year. Last year's was really good, he posted some good songs that I would have otherwise missed.

The Beat's Hanging On

2005-11-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

The wind was crazy tonight. It was the first time I remember seeing a "heavy wind" warning on television. I could hear the wind hitting my window. It was vaguely unsettling. How do you fight the wind? So strong. I really felt like something was going to fly through my window at any second. A branch. A tire. A little person. I seriously could have opened an umbrella and flew like Mary Poppins tonight.

Wind songs:

This song came from the Six Feet Under soundtrack and was later released as a single:

Arcade Fire - Cold Wind

Because if you post one wind track by a foreign, large-numbered group with a morbidly titled full length...from In Case We Die:

Architecture In Helsinki - Do The Whirlwind

What happened to this guy? Remember his cute little hat and British affability? Is it cool to still talk about this guy?

Badly Drawn Boy - Pissing In The Wind

The weirdest Canadian freestyle rap this year. I don't really know what it has to do with wind:

Broken Social Scene - Windsurfing Nation

We Don't Want To Grow Up

2005-11-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know if anybody reads this anymore. I know I had a couple of readers, but they were probably lost in the week I didn't update. I've been really busy with school. I had to deal with tuition and registering. Now I have to write several papers. I really need to pick a major.

As more adult pressures increase, I find myself becoming more and more interested in childhood. I kind of miss playing capture the flag. I like to think about the times when we made boxes for Valentines Day or played with a giant parachute. When we sometimes needed a straw to drink out of a tiny carton of milk. That's probably why I'm becoming more interested in indie and twee pop.

Speaking of twee pop, news came out today that The Boy Least Likely To's album "The Best Party Ever" will come out in the United States next April. It's a really great album, possibly one of the best of the year. With its bright artwork full of crewd animal illustrations and twinkling music, Boy Least Likely To feels like the work of children. I really want to see them play live when they come to the U.S. next year.

My Tiger, My Heart
Hugging My Grudge
Be Gentle With Me (follow the link) (I think I fixed this one.)

You can order "The Best Party Ever" here.

You Ain't No Picasso has the new Futureheads song here.

Indie covers of Kanye West? Do It Old Maid has a couple of tracks from the new compilation.

Matador posted some cool Cat Power videos here.

And one of my favorite music videos of the year is the Decemberists' video for 16 Military Wives. Very Wes Anderson.

I Don't Want To Leave, Unless Of Course, You Ask Me To Stay

2005-11-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

I just recently rediscovered Clem Snide's The Ghost Of Fashion, an album I bought sophomore year of high school. Lead singer Eef Barzelay has a name that for some reason I refuse to attempt to pronounce. I guess it might be easy, I mean I know all those letters. I know what they sound like phonetically. But there's just something about that combination that I feel like I could mess up some how and end up saying:

"Yeah, I think Elf Vandalay writes pretty good lyrics. I mean, if anything, sometimes they are too clever."
"Who the hell is Elf Vandalay? Do you mean Eef Barzelay?"
"I, uh, I can't talk good."

Clem Snide were sort of famous for a while when the NBC show Ed used their song for their theme song in the second season. However, they were somewhat infamous since Clem Snide's song, "Moment In The Sun," was actually replacing the fan-favored "Next Year," by the Foo Fighters. The change was made due to some copyright issues. NBC's parent company Universal wanted the theme song to be something on their label. Sadly, I was a big fan of the show and visited the Ed fansite www.stuckeyville.com nearly every day, so I remember the heated debates that took over the forum.

The closest comparisions I can make are a more country Decemberists or maybe a really nasally Wilco.

Joan Jett of Arc
Moment In The Sun
Ice Cube

You can buy The Ghost Of Fashion here.

You Know The World Is Made For Men, Not Us

2005-11-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

Another CD ordering mishap today, everytime I order a CD it gets back-ordered. Then, thinking I have extra money to spend on music, I order a different CD. However, as soon as I order the other CD, the first CD goes through and then I have spent $30.00 on CDs in two days. And CD money feels more than other money right? You don't really feel clothes money or book money. Sometimes you feel food money. Sometimes you're like "Why am I spending money on all this food? Food is temporary, CDs are forever," while other times you are like, "I will have a grand feast. Dessert? Yes, I will have two desserts!" But CD money. That's money you feel.

Anyway, I ordered "Snowballs and Singles" by The Field Mice, and I'm super pumped. They are supposed to be the missing link between The Smiths and Belle and Sebastian. Unfortunately, their career spanning compilation "Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way?" is out of print so I'll settle for "Snowballs."

I'll probably post on them when I get the CD, however ordering the CD made me want to post some indie pop in the mean time. There's something about indie pop that makes me feel like I'm wearing a sweater and my glasses and reading under a tree. Or makes me want to go up to a girl I have a crush on and kiss her on the cheek, then run away giggling. I don't know why. It just gives me a fuzzy feeling.

A couple of music websites have been writing about indie pop lately. Recently Pitchfork posted the charmingly titled article Twee As Fuck, an homage to indie pop. It's an interesting article, but way too long for me to have time to read it. It looks interesting. Maybe after school is out. Also, Tiny Mix Tapes posted an article about an old twee webcircle called The Cutie Club.

Here's some indie pop songs so you can be excited too:

Television Personalities - Part Time Punks
Beat Happening - Teenage Caveman
Belle and Sebastian - She's Losing It
Camera Obscura - Keep It Clean

I have a total crush on indie pop girls like the girl in this video by Acid House Kings. They are a new indie pop band from Sweden. Insound has an mp3 of their new single Do You Wanna Do.

While I'm posting music videos by bands from Sweden, you should check out the new video for Jose Gonzalez. It's really cool and strangely twisted. A horse craning a fetus and turning into a chair is mildy unsettling for some reason.

He Must Be Happy In His World

2005-11-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

People are talking about XTC again. They have a new box set, Apple Box, which collects "Apple Venus" and "Wasp Star" as well as Homespun and Homespawn. Strangely, XTC consistently receive shout outs on WB's Gilmore Girls. Not that I would watch Gilmore Girls. With my mom. Every Tuesday. At 7:00. Nope, not me.

XTC might be my favorite new wave band. They are really catchy and I like both song writers, Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge, equally. "Drums and Wires" is a good starting place. It's kind of an odd feeling album. It's really poppy and memorable but it never quite gels. Like the songs don't really mix with each other very well, but that's part of its charm. "Making Plans From Nigel" is one of the greatest songs of all time. I'm not even joking. It's hypnotizing.

Making Plans For Nigel
Ten Feet Tall
Chain Of Command

You can buy Drums and Wires here.

He Made Me A Mixtape Of Bootlegs And B-Sides

2005-11-03T23:13:00.000-08:00

This Belle and Sebastian song is one of my favorites of last year. It's from the Books single they put out, and it's been called the indie "Bohemian Rhapsody." It's a lot different than the majority of their work with its funky bass line and disco groove. I listened to it a million times the first time I heard it. The lyrics are fun too, full of cheesy spy metaphors. I like it when Stuart uses a kind of retro, cheeky style to his words such as in "Step Into My Office, Baby" and "Legal Man."
Belle and Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown

Of their early songs, I wish Interpol would have put The Specialist on Antics instead of A Time To Be So Small. It might be my favorite Interpol song. It was on the first EP they did for Matador and it was even featured on an episode of the OC.
Interpol - The Specialist

And finally, I'm looking for a rare Weezer EP from the Pinkerton era. The Good Life EP features two songs (Waiting On You and I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams) plus two acoustic versions of Pinkerton songs. I really love Pinkerton still, probably more than I should so this would be an excellent find. I no longer have any file sharing programs, but I managed to track down this song on the internet. It features Petra Haden of the Rentals and That Dog.
Weezer - I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams

She Does The Pill

2005-11-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

"Bandwagonesque" by Teenage Fanclub could probably found at your local Used CD store for 5.99. You should go check, I can almost guarantee it will be there. There are many bargain bin albums. "Monster" by REM. "Sixteen Stone" by Bush. "Good Stuff" by B52's. I think this one probably has the best value. For the price of a Ninja Turtle action figure, you could have twelve power-pop songs. You can't beat that. Unless it's Raphael. Then get the turtle.

At the time (1991) it was compared to other great albums, such as "Nevermind" and "Loveless," as being one of the best of the year. I think it's been mostly forgotten these days. They kind of combine the power-pop of Big Star with some elements of Neil Young, but not as good. They also sort of remind me of Weezer. Teenage Fanclub is still together and they just released a new album this year called,"Man-Made," which was supposed to have been good. I haven't heard it.

Some people call them "The Fannies" for short. I think that's dumb. Let's come up with a better nickname. Maybe "TFC" or "The Teenies." Or we could just say all four syllables.

Here's three songs from the album:
The Concept
Alcoholiday
What You Do To Me

You can buy Bandwagonesque here. Or in bargain bins everywhere.

Are You A Slut? NO YOU'RE NOT!

2005-10-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

Final Fantasy has an unfortunate name. Did he never hear of the role-playing game? Whenever I try to talk about Final Fantasy with people they think I'm talking about doe-eyed Japanese men with tall hair. I'm talking about a Canadian violinist. I'm talking about Owen Pallet, string arranger for Arcade Fire and Hidden Cameras among others.

I don't think this CD has been released in America yet. I just ordered it last week and have been listening to it and the new Animal Collective non-stop. "The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead" is a beautiful song. The kind that I've put on mix CDs and had people go "Wait, who is this?"
Final Fantasy - The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead

Here's another song which takes it's title from the husband and wife in the Arcade Fire. It also has a cool video which may have been the inspiration behind my new giant headphones. You can watch that here.
Final Fantasy - This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine

This other song takes a cue from the Issac Brock school of back-up vocals. I especially like the line quoted in the title of this post. We can't play this song on the college radio station because of the line "Don't let your cock do all the work." About this song, Pallet said, "[My brother] e-mailed me and asked me, "Why did you ruin that song with such an explicit line?..I don't understand strip clubs, gay nights, big muscles, tanning and shaving, hair removal. I don't understand "topless at the beach". So "Please Please Please" is essentially a song about that. I find sexiness to be something much more academic." You can read that interview here.
Final Fantasy - Please Please Please

If you're not in love yet, he claims his next album will be called, "He Poos Clouds." You can order "Has A Good Home" here.

Time To Hate Myself Again

2005-10-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever heard someone mention Kitchens of Distinction in real life. No friends. Teachers. Record store clerks. Nobody. I guess it's safe to assume I'm the only one who listens to them in all of Southwest Missouri.

On the internet, they are a band that is sometimes mentioned when discussing Interpol. Paul Banks' voice has a passing resemblence to KOD's Patrick Fitzgerald, and Interpol's more shoegazish (I don't think this is an adjective) songs, like Untitled and maybe The Specialist, could pass for Kitchens of Distinction songs. I picked up two of their out of print albums at a local CD store and ordered their third album "Death of Cool" from Amazon. They are excellent albums that I probably don't listen to enough. They kind of lie somewhere between The Chameleons, Echo and The Bunnymen, and The Smiths plus the aforementioned shoegazish sound.

Here's the thing though: The lead singer Patrick Fitzgerald is homosexual. Yeah, he even recorded a solo album under the name Fruit. Isn't it strange how that can influence your perception of a band? I consider myself pretty tolerant so it doesn't bother me. I'm not saying this is a bad thing.

Strangely, I kind of compare it to finding out a band you like is really religious. Your first reaction is: What?! Then you kind of go back and study the liner notes. Listen for lyrics and allusions you never heard before. Reinterpret songs. Like when you found out the Sufjan Stevens' song "To Be Alone With You" was really him wanting to be alone with God. Is it harder to relate to a religious or homsexual artist? Or is it a statement on the universal quality of love that you can still relate to and understand their songs?

Like this song from their third album "The Death Of Cool":
Kitchens Of Distinction - 4 Men

On this particular song, his orientation is pretty obvious. Does it make you uncomfortable that he is singing the chorus "I want you, I need you/But I haven't got the fattest chance in hell" to a man? I can still relate to Fitzgerald's feelings of desperation and self-loathing expressed in the song.

Here's a song from their out of print second album "Strange Free World":
Kitchens of Distinction - Drive That Fast

You can buy some used Kitchens of Distinction albums for cheap at Amazon.

You Smash Yourself Against The Rocks

2005-10-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Orange Juice was a band I had been meaning to get into for a while. I heard about them a lot during my Jangle Pop phase (The dB's, Early REM, Aztec Camera, The Feelies, Let's Active). However, their albums were out of print and I couldn't even hear a sound bite. All I knew was that they somehow mixed the Post-Punk sound of Gang of Four with the aforementioned bands. I gave up after a while, moved on to other things. I think I started listening to Freak Folk instead or something. I don't know. The point is I forgot about them.

Recently, however, I started really getting into Belle and Sebastian more. I read the biography "Just A Modern Rock Story" and bought the "Fans Only" DVD. I also picked up some singles and full lengths I didn't have. Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch was a big fan of Edwyn Collins and Orange Juice. The inside of the "Fans Only" DVD shows a beautiful woman holding a vinyl copy of Orange Juice's "You Can't Hide Your Love Forever." Stuart even mentions them in the liner notes of some his records: "I'm going to take a walk down West Princes Street today and think about Orange Juice, just like I've been doing on and off for twenty years."

Luckily, my interest in Orange Juice peaked right in time for their first official US release last August, a reissue of the compilation "The Glassgow School." It collects some early singles and early versions of what would become "You Can't Hide Your Love Forever." It has excellent liner notes, with a short paragraph explaining each track and tons of pictures. Though the production is rough on these early versions, you can see why people like Murdoch could have become so enamored.

The music is poppy and jangly, but with a funk/soul like rhythm allowing a diverse variety of bands, from The Smiths to Franz Ferdinand, to be compared to them. I fell in love with the first track right from the start. The way it alternates between this poppy guitar chime and dancey bass line is really cool. Makes you kinda dance a little bit and then sing along and then dance again. Plus, lead singer Edwyn Collins has an interesting voice, a kind of scratchy croon. Here's the first track, watch for the use of the word consequently in the chorus:
Orange Juice - Falling and Laughing

And here's another track where I think the bass player sings. I can't remember right now:
Orange Juice - Satellite City

You can buy The Glassgow School here.

I Miss You

2005-10-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with my Slint t-shirt. I bought it at the show in Chicago last March. I loved the mystery of it, it doesn't explicitly say Slint or Spiderland anywhere on it. It's just a black t-shirt with that iconic picture (taken by Will Oldham). You would have to know the album to understand the shirt. I guess, for some reason, I imagined walking down the street with knowing kids (Guys with goatees and messenger bags with "Tortoise" patches) giving me the devil fingers and high fives. I wore it proudly.

Until the questions started: "Who are those guys on your shirt? Are those your friends?" What the hell? I took a black and white picture of my friends in the lake and put it on a t-shirt?
"It's an album cover by this band Slint," I sometimes reply. "Oh, who is Slint?" I don't really even know how to respond to this question, especially to a normal MTV-watching, Power-Jams listening person. I usually mumble something about post-rock and Godspeed You Black Emperor! before changing the subject. Some weird drunk girl at a party said "Who are they? Those guys are hot." I never thought David Pajo was that hot before. So, the shirt is an annoyance in that respect.

But then there's the other thing: The fabric is amazing. My friend recently told me he thinks it's an American Apparel shirt. It feels really soft and it fits perfectly. It feels like some sort of weird mixture of spandex and cotton that really works. It might be my best feeling shirt. I think it's really strange that this brutal, enigmatic band would have such comfortable shirts.

So for that reason, I soldier on. Wearing my armor of black and white. Fighting the constant questions. It is worth it to represent Slint and feel so comfortable.

Back to the show though. It was a one-time reunion tour this year. Here is the song my friends and I drove from here to Chicago for:
Slint - Good Morning, Captain(follow the link)

It is defintely one of the best songs of the nineties. The "I Miss You" climax still gets me every time. I think I get chills. Or an eargasm. I don't know which. Maybe both.

Also, here's the opening track also from Spiderland. The whole album is great. This song is noteworthy because I usually end up trying to make the noises with my mouth for days after word. It goes something like this: Ding do do. Budda dada dada. It won't get out of my head. Plus both these songs have really weird spoke word in the background about pirate ships and fortunes.
Slint - Breadcrumb Trail(follow the link)

It's not an entirely accurate sound match, but I really wish all those neo-hippies that won't stop talking about Maynard would listen to more Slint. You can buy Spiderland here.

I'm Looking In On The Good Life

2005-10-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

I was going to write a post about Slint when I suddenly remembered something I thought was really cool. I think the first time I actually heard about Slint was from the music video for The Shins' New Slang. It's one of my favorite music videos ever. In the video, they attempt to recreate several classic album covers. The records are some of my favorites. At the time, I didn't recognize the Spiderland shot until I looked it up. I figured it must be good to be included in the homage. It took me a while to find the video but I found it here:

http://www.blanktv.com/videoenter/videoenter.php4?letter=s

Scroll down to the "The Shins" and click on the link for the "New Slang" music video. If you are a fan of indie rock (mainly from the eighties) keep an eye out for these album covers:

They are: Double Nickels On The Dime by The Minutemen, Spiderland by Slint, New Day Rising by Husker Du, Moon Pix by Cat Power, Zen Arcade by Husker Du, Let It Be by The Replacements, and Sister by Sonic Youth

How Time Flies With Crystal Clear Eyes

2005-10-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

This post is meant to be a companion to my Myspace blog entry on how I met Cat Power titled "Just because they knew your name..." You can read that here.

I thought I would post a couple of songs from the story. Here is the song that makes me feel awkward when I'm in a car with a guy. It's too sexy:
Handsome Boy Modeling School - I've Been Thinking (ft. Cat Power) (follow the link)

And this song is everybody's favorite Cat Power song. From the album Moon Pix:
Cat Power - Cross Bones Style (follow the link)

A lot of people say Moon Pix is her best, but I prefer You Are Free. I bought You Are Free around when it came out. I was a junior in high school. At the time, I had a bias against female singers I think. They sounded too much like what my mom listened to. Cat Power kind of opened me up. Strangely, You Are Free features cameos by Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder.
Cat Power - He War (follow the link)

In other news, Savefile is pretty stuborn. It's having server problems this month. So I'm trying different things. Also, I think files are only up seven days as opposed to fourteen like I thought. So get them while you can.

You can buy Moon Pix here and You Are Free here. Also Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People here.

You Tell Me Sleeping Only Makes You Tired...

2005-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

My first concert I ever went to was Yo La Tengo. Crazy, huh? No embarrassing skeletons in my closet. No Smashmouths, or Three Doors Downs. I was a late bloomer to music, I didn't start seriously listening to music until halfway through Freshman year of high school. By Sophomore year, I was listening to Pixies, Pavement, and Yo La Tengo. I didn't see the show until Senior year though. There were other attempts, discussions. My friends and I were going to see Sigur Ros junior year. But that was aborted. I think there was talk of a Sonic Youth show in St. Louis that was simillarly cancelled. Nobody could get it together. So I ended seeing Yo La Tengo with my dad summer after senior year. It was a nice bonding experience. I think my dad liked it. He said Ira was really crazy on the guitar. They did an acoustic cover of "Sheena is a Punk Rocker." I got a t-shirt signed.

That's why my first post pertains to Yo La Tengo I guess. A lot of people ask about the shirt. I usually end up telling the same story of how they got their name. I believe the story goes that there was a really bad Mets baseball team sometime in the sixties. They had a Spanish speaking player in the outfield and he kept running into his fellow players. He didn't speak English so when the ball was in the air, he didn't understand his team mates shouting "I got it." Eventually, they just started yelling "I have it" in Spanish which translates to: Yo La Tengo. I think it's a cute story.

"I Can Hear The Hear Beating As One" is probably the poppier, more eclectic release. It's a good way to introduce yourself to the band. However, I wanted to post some songs from the follow-up "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out." It has one of those album covers which accurately reflects the sound inside such as "Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine or "Echoes" by The Rapture. When I listen to the album, it makes me feel like I'm on that moon lit driveway. Wait, that's cheesy.

Anyway, it's a cool indie-pop album. Sounds like Velvet Underground. Blah Blah Blah. Definitely recommended.

Follow the links (if you don't understand, read the first post):
Tears Are In Your Eyes (follow link)
You Can Have It All
Let's Save Tony Orlando's House (follow link)
Edit: I fixed the problem on You Can Have It All. Now, it is the correct song.

You could buy And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out at Insound

Hip Priest: First Post

2005-10-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

The name is meaningless. Just words I thought sounded cool. I guess he did once.

This is my first blog post. On my first blog. On my first October the 24th of 2005.
Why did I make a blog? I don't know. Boredom maybe.

I've been reading a lot of mp3 blogs and I thought "I could do that." I also thought the same thing about boxing after seeing that Million Dollar Baby movie. I was wrong. Maybe I'm wrong now.

I like to share music. I'd like to think it's the humanitarian in me. I'm so giving. "I'm making people happy," I think to myself. I bought this CD for 13.99 and now I am burning it for a friend because they are poor. "Thank you Stowe," they might say. Poverty is not a barrier to enjoying the new Broken Social Scene if the Robin Hood of music is around. I use knowledge and resources to ensure others' happiness. I'm a super hero really. "You look like you would enjoy Forever Changes by Love," I would say sizing up a person, "I will burn it for you." And then I do, because I am a good samirtan.

Yeah, so the above paragraph is exaggerated for humorous effect. I really don't believe I am the Robin Hood of music. I'm usually pretty self-deprecating when it comes to my obsession. Like, "Yeah this is what I waste my time on. Dumb, huh?" or "The money I spend on music could probably feed a small child in Africa. I am a terrible person." I'm not a good samaritan. I am greedy. Wasting my life.

Maybe, deep down, sharing music probably has more to do with power. A good album (or even a song) could change someone's life. A person could return to it for entertainment or comfort weekly or possibly daily. An escape from their lives on a plastic disc. You burn someone a CD to introduce somebody to a band and then a year later they are wearing the t-shirt. You have changed their lives. You have something over them now. You think to yourself, "That was me. I did that." It's terrible. Elistist. Ridiculous. But it's probably a little bit true for me.

What is else is there to do with the music you collected other than listen to it and share it? "More people should listen to this," you think. I have a responsibilty to the artist.

You've read the liner notes. Magazines. Books. Zines. Websites. Blogs. You are as High Fidelty calls it, "an underapreciated scholar." You desperately want people to know that you have this extensive knowledge of something really trivial. Yet, if you are like me, sometimes you lack practical knowledge. How often does the fact that I really like The Feelies first album come up in conversation? Never. Yet, I don't know which directions the sun rises and sets. I know it's either east or west. I usually think about Japan being the land of the rising sun. I think that's right. So then the sun rises in the east? I don't know. Have you heard the new Wolf Parade CD?

So, I guess I've kind of portrayed myself as a petty, elitist music genius. That's a terrible first impression. I don't think I'm really that petty or elitist. I'm hardly ever openly scornful of people's musical tastes. To their face.

I'm not really an expert. I don't want you to think that. Here's some confessions: I've never owned a Beatles or David Bowie album. I don't like jazz. I call myself a Slint fan but I don't like their first album, Tweez. (Spiderland is really good, but that's six songs. Liking six songs isn't really being a fan.) I bought a Korn album once.

So there you go. That's my essay on various reasons for starting a blog. It was kind of long. You probably didn't read it. I don't blame you. It was crap. I probably only started a blog as a distraction. Something to work on. I'll probably be tired of it in a month. A month is my goal. This is a test I guess. For myself.

Note for the future: I don't want to pay for file hosting so I'm going to use Savefile. It's confusing. So here's how you download a song: Click on the link. Left click on the download button. Now left click on the word "Download file now." Choose the "Save file to disk..." option. That should work. Files will be up for two weeks I think. If you want to download something and it's down. E-mail me and I'll probably put it back up or something. Good luck.