Dogs and Burgers

As a kid, I tried to convince my mom that I had the sideshow talent of predicting the next note in any song I was hearing for the first time. A devotee of KBSG, the Seattle oldies station, I should have known that that's mostly true, but not for Beatles songs (except that you rarely hear one for the first time after the age of 3.5). Had Dr. Dog been old enough to stand in front of a mic, and my mom been schooled on the crossover bands that are Fader favorites and Philly exports, she could have thrown some of their songs in my face. I can't predict these melodies. And the music sounds nice too.

Fresh and antique faves from the DD repertoire:
Dr. Dog "Easy Beat"
Dr. Dog "My Old Ways" (from We All Belong)
ps the video for this is unsettling.

new Dr. Dog album for buying
free Daytrotter songs for downloading
shakey shack burgers for anticipating

Post Blur

Although this song lacks a serious payoff, I've found myself enjoying it all the way through. It's found a nice place between slow and fast that translates well to several settings. So far I know that it sounds good when I'm in the shower, and in front of the produce at the grocery store. Maybe if it kept playing all the time, my enjoyment of everything would just go a little up. Doing laundry? Not so bad anymore. Walking? I'd love to. Making cookies? Let's bake em with a whale, thank you.

The Good, The Bad, and the Queen, "Northern Whale"


Also, The National have announced a new album for May and some shows too at the Bowery Ballroom.

Sea town, jump on it

There was a time when Seattle had a firm hold on music, on flannel, and on morning lattes. Now the whole entire world has Starbucks, old Miss Starbucks cleaned up (and covered up) for the publicity, flannels are on their way back, and Portland is the official music scene capital of the Pacific Northwest. Although Sir Mix-a-lot is long gone, we can breath easy that Grey's Anatomy hasn't moved out. Thank you lord.

Portland Band The Shaky Hands:
The Shaky Hands "Summer's Life"

Two summer songs because, bare legs and iced coffee, I am READY! (these are some of last summer's favorites, neither of which are from Seattle):
Tapes 'n Tapes "The Iliad"
Voxtrot "The Start of Something"

deep thoughts

sometimes i see a commercial for 'save the children' or other struthersy charities on tv, showing little starving children from like nigeria or africa and it makes me really sad. on one hand, i'm so lucky to have been born into a well-off family in a first world country. but on the other hand, i'm really unlucky because i have to live in a world where hunger, famine and starvation are all major problems.

i always want to give money, but then i have heard that a lot of the money you donate goes to administrative costs, and i just wish i could reach across the oceans myself and help them plant an apple, banana or coconut tree.

another thing that makes me sad about africans is that there is an education gap. not only are their schools very poor and run down, but if they do go to school, arts education is undoubtedly a very low priority. gregory hines and sidney poitier are two examples of very talented africans that overcame these odds, but one of them is dead now, and i don't know how to save the music there. if anyone has any ideas, please e-mail me and maybe we can start a project.

i don't mean to get you guys down!! but if i could give the african children one thing, it'd be this song, from my favorite musical of all time, Rent. it's about the seasons of love.

Rent - Seasons of Love

Bulwinkle, Molson, and other import goods

A friend asked me to translate a Malajube song into English, and the results were mildly shocking. I raised a brow. Here they are, sounding so charming, singing all en francais. But the lyrics are about pilles and prostitutes and ejacule, which is not very croissant and Perrier of them. I guess it's because they're Montrealians, not Frenchies. Canadians are naturally cruder and more into tap water and Bryan Adams.

It seems like Malajube's just out for a good time, a quality I've appreciated from Canadians ever since I spent New Year's Eve at an a-frame ski cabin that flew straight out of the Canadian 1970's and into my American heart. They have shows this week that I recommend: two are sold out at the Mercury Lounge BUT tickets are still available for next Monday at Southpaw in lovely Sparkle Slope. I'll be there dancing mes pantalons off (but not mes sous-vetements, no matter what anyone says to me in French), and you should come too.

Malajube "Montréal -40°C"
Malajube "Pâte Filo"

The video for Montréal -40°C is also more or less fantastique:


Malajube on myspace
Buy anything but the Beatles at Sound Fix in my ex-hood.

it's only fair to tell you now

I just wrote this post about 69 Love Songs that wasn't really saying much, but have just now remembered that I really like this song Stephen Merritt did for Pieces of April, a Katie Holmes movie I know nothing about. Actually the whole soundtrack is him but this song, "All I Want to Know" is good and I suppose also pretty 69 Love Songs-ish. Also here are the two links leftover from my logostasis.

Rick Moody's article "Thirty-One Love Songs" in The Believer
Dave Eggers' introduction to the 10th anniversary of Infinite Jest

Stephen Merritt - All I Want to Know (from Pieces of April soundtrack)

The Magnetic Fields - Fido, Your Leash is Too Long (from 69 Love Songs)
The Magnetic Fields - Washington D.C. (from 69 Love Songs)

BONUS: I don't know when I uploaded this song, but Tegan and Sara made an album of covers called Songs for Christoff and I haven't heard much of it except their cover of Bruce's Dancing in the Dark, and it's pretty good.

Tegan and Sara - Dancing in the Dark (from Songs for Christoff)

Mr. and Mrs. Big

This is an impulse post! I just heard Irene yesterday, stumbling upon them when searching for a Mr. Big song. It looks like they also have a song called "To be with You". Wow, these guys are fun. Nothing to write home about I guess, but worth rooting for. Maybe its because I want jangly fun pop that hasn't already been crammed down my throat this past year (read: Jens Lekman, Camera Obscura) or maybe its the 2 minute limit they put on their songs or maybe i just love their anapologetic use of Cooper Black. Why am i saying maybe? Those are definately the reasons.

Irene "Stardust"

Irene "Little Things (That Tear Us Apart)"

I didn't hear the Irene song of the same name, I can only hope that it is a cover song.

Mr. Big "To Be With You"

not overkill

i know next to nothing about okkervil river. what i do know:

1. i know that a friend's friend runs a company called fluffwheels that takes bands on tour in europe. that is, they drive the band and their gear to all their shows, but are not affiliated with the band, their label, etc. kind of a neat idea. michal, the friend of a friend, recently came over to the US to take okkervil river on tour in this fashion.

2. i think they are on the saddle creek label, also believed to be the home of bright eyes.

3. my old roommate chris liked both bright eyes and okkervil river, and my annoyance at the former made me assume that the latter was also quite bad. full dislosure: for the most part, my qualm with bright eyes was very shallow and had little to do with his music. i've heard more since and like a lot of it.

4. i thought the band was named "overkill river" for a long time. this fact did not play a big part in my like/dislike for them, but it did make me get the big eyes the first time i read [what i thought was] their name.

in conclusion: chris is fond of the lyrics to okkervil river's song "red", particularly the following:

Yes is my favorite answer. I took a dancer home. She felt so alone. We stayed up all night in the kitchen doing my dishes on and on til the dawn. She said I know it's easy to have me, but I have seen some things that I cannot even tell to my family pictures and I'm full of fictions and fucking addictions and I miss my mother.

at first, i didn't like "red" very much at all, but after leaving it on repeat for about half an hour, it was stuck in my head, and i can enjoy it now.

Okkervil River - Red (from Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See)

on the other hand, i liked "westfall" the first time i listened to it.

Okkervil River - Westfall (from Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See)

Just Pretending to be Japanese

The lyrics in Fujiya and Miyagi's songs are sometimes ridiculous, and enunciated enough so that even the least lyric-oriented listeners (I know thats me and maybe it's you too) can understand them. Okay, that's fine though, because this stuff still sounds nice to listen to. It does a good job at landing in the no-man's land between pop and dance. Like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (on my top ten of the moment list), I think.

These guys are British. They like pretending to be Japanese (listen to Photocopier on their myspace page). They're playing at Mercury Lounge and at Barnard in March. So it seems they've found their way to the no-man's land in New York too.

Fujiya and Miyagi "Ankle Injuries"
Fujiya and Miyagi "Collarbone"

Since...

it's gotta be said:

Go dance for a minute or two at one or both of Harlem Shakes Burning Birthdays EP release parties:
Part 1: Tonight, the Canal Room at Canal and W. Broadway, 8pm.
Part 2: Tomorrow, Union Pool (which has a killer photo booth and root beer on tap if you're on the wagon), 8pm.

(Here's a sample of what you got coming to you. There may be a future post equating HS with Jesus. Hopefully* these songs aren't the ones that that post intended to use in support of this claim.)
Harlem Shakes "Eighteen"
Harlem Shakes "A Night"

Check out their myspace, or just get out there. Call in sick tomorrow. It'll be fun. Promise.

*Grammatical error intended.