DEoes anyone else read this? Did you remember you gave me ACCESS to this thing? We can write and simultaneously publish our correspondance (sp?) like George Bernard Shaw and that lady, like Heloise and Abelard for the modern age! Just kid- ding. I saw some movies too recently. Sweenie Todd was boring but Grandma's Boy has one or two funny parts.
"LURVE"
annie
i went to see the darjeeling limited with my brother this weekend. it was surprisingly good, based on the preview; not surprisingly good based on wes anderson's scorecard with pretentious upper class young people like me n bro. i really did love rushmore.
and again, wes proved his ability to ace a soundtrack. A new favorite featured in this movie is peter sarstedt, a british hit-machine with only one real hit way back in 1969: where do you go to my lovely. but hey, i found another. it has to do with love, and rescue, and of course frozen orange juice.
PETER SARSTEDT:WHERE DO YOU GO TO MY LOVELY
PETER SARSTEDT:FROZEN ORANGE JUICE
i had a discussion with a canadian friend recently about the difference between their music and ours. non-mainstream groups like final fantasy and patrick watson sound like they're playing a music you wouldn't hear coming from the us (grizzly bear might be the closest statesider?). their polaris prizewinners don't have any apparent inclination to make something that might break into general pop. unfortunately, i can't articulate music well enough to explain why.
the canadian maintained that canada's music falls short; i disagree. this song is beautiful. the horns.
SANDRO PERRI:FAMILY TREE
CARLY SIMON:NOBODY DOES IT BETTER.mp3
the content and imagery here arent related. for gods sake get over it.
Now I love Elvis actually , and I will send you a postcard from Graceland when I go there this week if you texty me your address.
BUT THAT JACKASS STOLE IT ALL FROM THE BLACK PEOPLE
It's true. I know this not only because Public Enemy told me so but also just because I have listened to Chuck Berry and I just know. See also "Surfin USA" if you want to hear a much worser version of a Chuck Berry song. The reason this is all so fresh in my mind is because staying with my mom means that I listen to 1410AM Seawinds Jersey Shore Oldies all the time. I love the Oldies so I am happy but since I have listened to them so much I decided to do some research and I found out that Little Eva had to clean houses in the 70s and that Ronnie Spector never made any money from "Be My Baby." Do you know who else is poor? Bo Diddley. COME ON. Meanwhile I'm watching Cribs and the kid from Fall Out Boy just throws his hoodies out and buys new ones when they are dirty. MEANWHILE the mermaid from AQUAMARINE has 3 cars or something. This country sucks. Fuck you Carol King. I would give Phil Spector a big fuck you too but it seems like ever since he produced that one Leonard Cohen album/ killed that girl his luck has been pretty poor. Anyway, there is always this, to show where the white people really belong (IN THE BACK):
Hi.
Annemieke added me to her BLOGTEAM because I was the only person who ever left her comment.
I saw PANDA BEAR at bowery ballroom on Monday. This is a music blog right?
He was so good. One little cute guy; lots of big sound.
Rusty Santos opened. He looks 100 percent exactly like anthony michael hall
before him the opener was kria brekken. actual image
i guess she sings with avery tare a lot. she could play the piano really beautifully but her singing was like someone told joanna newsome to try to sound more like tinkerbell. i couldnt stop laughing so jess made me leave and get more beer. then i still couldnt not laugh at her.
UPDATE: ok more investigation revealed THAT sugarbabyvoice spice is panda bear's WIFE which makes me feel bad for not liking her but also even more annoyed that she opened.
anyway, panda boy is really worth his rep and knows how to work his little switchboard and also had a great video show with clips of girls crying and climbing fences to get near the beatles.
anyway nice to meet you
There's no internet or TV in my beautiful new apartment, and found myself playing ukulele last night and trying to figure out the chords to a song from a band (see below) that I've been listening to a lot. This activity kicked watching TV's ass. (1.5 hours per week for Entourage and Lost excluded.)
That said, some people seem to be able to get a lot out of TV. For example, quoting from funny movies is usually a good conversational skill. Also, some people seem able to turn an episode of Family Guy into a personal connection with another TV-watcher. This is why I hate Family Guy on principle, although I have enjoyed watching it on occasion: because friendships based on TV shows are dumb, and so are the shows that spur said friendships. Family Guy is the worst offender.
Anyway, limited luck with the chords. But I did realize that Wilco's new album, which I was listening to a lot prior to this when in a slow music mood, did not make me want to sing or play along. Don't listen to the new Wilco Album unless it reminds you of Guatemala. Listen to this. Ray fills the void that Wilco-post-Yankee-Hotel has left in my slow music heart. That's not nothing.
There are four songs that I have been able to collect on my ipod from Ray's Vast Basement. A fifth, which I don't like, was recently deleted. Here are two, but you can find more on elbo.ws and you probably should go right now and do just that.
Ray's Vast Basement "How Through Sacrifice Danny's Friend Gave A Party"
Ray's Vast Basement "Black Cotton"
one thing that is nice about park slope is slopers' willingness to not be as snobby as they appear. they mostly wear glasses and button ups and look like they go home to this:
let's be clear that these cats nor their contemporaries can be found on MY floor. i do like the fatty in the back of the conga line though.
but surprise! there are many dog owners in park slope too. and together, many of these dog or cat owners are nice behind their acrylic-framed glasses. this is most evident in the springtime, when leisure-inclined freelancers get fancy brewskis at outdoor bars and turn social. plus, you can run into all your old friends. bottom line - there are nice things about spring in dope slope.
this is a free association about park slope music.
i know this to be a local fave:
ola podrida "run off the road"
which makes me think of this:
department of eagles "no one"
which is so nice but sometimes it makes you want to listen to this on repeat:
lcd soundsystem "north american scum"
and never play this p.s. classic again (sorry alana):
TMBG "why does the sun shine?"
ps. there's a new song "hey girl" on figurines' myspace page. it's fine.
pps. which of the transients moving through 3f over a year ago stole my stevie wonder "songs in the key of life" cd (part 1)? its time to return it.
I don't think the Raspberries ever achieved major critical success back in the 70's, I had never heard of them until i was introduced to this song. For the most part, they aren't heralded as power-pop OG's like contemporaries, Big Star. But I have a theory. If they could have just spread out all the fucking awesome parts of this one song into an album instead of packing them into this one track, they might have hit the big time. That being said, I hope they can look back fondly on this classic rock power-pop Frankenstein they have created. The song unfolds like an abridged history of teenage rebellious rock- the opening Slade riff and the Who part and the Free-esque clap-along guitar solo at the 3 minute mark - all sutured together by lead singer Eric Carmens' enthusiastic Paul McCartney impression and enough gut-driven "UH's" and "OOH's" to make you wish it was still OK to do that shit.
The Raspberries "Ecstasy"
A much newer band, Baby Teeth, has employed a similar trick with "The Simp" having created a song that consists exclusively of best parts of any given anthem from the late 60's and 70's. These guys just pile on the build ups and breakdowns and top it all off with nonsensical but totally appropriate lyrics - something about phones ringing, kids singing, and some sort of rock & roll-induced suicide. Of course I also just like any band that sounds sort of like Queen.
Baby Teeth "The Simp"
*Side Note
Lead singer, Eric Carmen DID go on to achieve commercial success as a solo artist, unfortunately by selling his soul to the AOR satan and recording gross hits like Hungry Eyes and All By Myself. And while I'm the last person to give 70s and 80s soft rock a hard time (All By Myself is actually a great song), it just seems kinda sad in this case that such a energetic and rebellious songwriter moved on to such bogus pastures.
Here are some things I learned yesterday:
1. The country with the most coastline. It's not the US and it's not Australia.
2. Red Hunter was indeed functionally compromised at his last NYC Peter and the Wolf show. (I believe. It was at CMJ in October or something. At least it was the last and only other time that I saw him.)
Thank you, Peter and the Wolf, for pulling it together last night. I don't know if I've posted Safe Travels before, but since it's so great, and some of you friends are lazy, here it is again. And another one that I like but it's not my 2nd favorite. That I'm saving.
Peter and the Wolf "Safe Travels"
Peter and the Wolf "Sayonara Suckers"
I would now recommend with a star that you go see Peter and the Wolf when they play again. There was a really sweet stage presence between the two on stage - Red and a lady friend whose soft voice can't fairly be called backup.
Then it started to pour on the way home and I was treated to falling asleep to thunder. Seattle girls love that.
This post on Joseph Plunkett & The Weight today on An Aquarium Drunkard listens a lot like David Berman/Silver Jews. So being that I happen to have some spare time at work, I set up a hefty playlist of the "original" honest manvoice singer to lull me through to lunchtime.
Dave's and Joe's voices aren't spitting sounds of each other, but have the same degree of enunciation, and I want them both singing me to sleep. On alternate evenings. Without listening to the words (I never do the first time a song plays) there's still the message sounds the same. Silver Jews is probably the closest to a downer band that doesn't get me down. Musical cozy zone with a moment of rocking out.
So, happy Mayday, and bring on the summer, listen to this Silver Jews cover my Mountain Goats, and one (nope, it became 2) of my favorites by the original.
Mountain Goats "Pet Politics" (Silver Jews Cover)
Silver Jews "Sometimes A Pony Gets Depressed"
Silver Jews "Tennessee"
this summer is going to be fantastic. seeing as how there's still some time before the season starts up (officially starts june 21st), bands have the opportunity to step up their game in anticipation of making summertime rock to their own kicky beats.
summer music should be danceable. from bands who have fun recording and pop out shows that take the fun and zoom in to 500%. we shouldn't even be able to focus we're having such a good time. wont even sip a milkshake except to the beat. not resist washing off the city grime while lathering in tempo. unwittingly wiggle in time with the music while tanning. only walk with a lot of speedy unnecessary motion (spiraling arms, tuck jumps, air-splits).
here's some models that kicked up my commute this am.
professor murder "champion"
white rabbits "kid on my shoulders"
The term "techno" is derived from "technology". Music journalists
and fans of the genre are generally selective in their use of the term,
careful not to conflate it with related but distinct genres (i.e. house,
trance, hardcore). At the same time, the term "techno" is commonly
generalized to refer to all forms of electronic music.
Tandemoro "For A While"
(another one too: Tandemoro "Lock Your Doors")
Tandemoro's website has their whole "Lock Your Doors" EP for download. It's nice like driving in the summer with the windows down.
Things Albert Hammond Jr. Inherited from his father.
-Wardrobe
-Hobo Clown Appearance
-Ability to write instantly enjoyable pop songs
Albert Hammond Jr.'s solo offering "Yours to Keep" goes down pretty smooth. I love it. Nothing in there to really object to or wonder about. No sonic experiments or dark poetry or initially jarring but eventually rewarding 8 minute tracks. Just instantly likable (if ultimately dispensable) pop songs.
His Dad must be proud. Albert Hammond Sr. made a name for himself by writing 3 minute chunks of California AM gold in the early 70's and this post is more about my love of him. He's pretty much written songs for everyone.
Juniors solo album is more than just a consolation prize for the awkward "First Impressions of the Earth." For me it feels like a subtle nod to a tradition of since-dismissed 70's AM radio music; warm, cozy, perfectly produced, and instantly recognizable. Albert Hammond Sr. sings his sunshine blues about how it doesn't rain in California - it pours, while Junior gleefully mopes about how hard it is to live in New York City. So what if we don't really buy it? That was never the point anyway.
Albert Hammond Jr. - Call An Ambulance
Bonus points for the ukulele
Albert Hammond Jr. - Hard to Live (in the City)
Albert Hammond -It Never Rains In Southern California
Albert Hammond - The Free Electric Band
Bonus points for giving up that Berkley girl for the Free Electric Band
Albert Hammond - The Air That I Breathe
There's a lot to like about Tiger Tunes. Their beats are up. They're not serious. They're Danish. They're mysteriously "on hiatus," which amps up the desperation and love for their songs. Hearing a Tiger Tune is much more fulfilling than sighting a Stroke in the East Village. It's like going to Starbucks and finding that they've reissued your favorite limited edition treat (which is, of course, the pumpkin scone).
This song reminds me of that scene in Rushmore where Bill Murray and Jason S. have teamed up and they're running down the hall with grenade launchers or something, and they're swinging their legs out with every step. They're too cool not to choreograph their every move. Also Masked Potato is a nice title.
Tiger Tunes "Masked Potato"
A lot of free songs at their super nice website.
Something that irritates me: this video, in my opinion, is only ok. Same with the song. Just because it features animals does not make it "very cute." Can we try NOT to jump to cuteness conclusions and rudely bait fans with promises to pull heartstrings. Whatever heartstrings are.
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
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.
