The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
From: “The Modern Lovers” (1976)
The organ. Listen to the horrible organ. They do things with it that synth leads only dream of.
Cat Power - Fortunate Son
From: “Dark End Of The Street” (2008)
Cat Power adds this hazy, druggy layer to her covers, which is something that I love about the way she plays. I wish I were friends with Chan Marshall. I’ve only been able to see her play live once, and it was on a hot, sweaty day at Bluesfest, and she was great.
Nine Inch Nails - The Great Collapse
From: “Things Falling Apart” (2000)
I forgot about this album. It’s got some highlights, and it’s got some lowlights. This is one of the groovier tracks on the album. You might have heard it before.
The Strangeloves - I Want Candy
From: “I Want Candy” (1965)
Good Morning!
Sufjan Stevens - Enjoy Your Rabbit (As Arranged by Michael Atkinson)
From: Run Rabbit Run
The Jesus And Mary Chain - Snakedriver
From: “The Sound Of Speed” (1993)
I’m not a hundred percent sure where Snakedriver comes from. “The Sound Of Speed” is a compilation of B-Sides and Rarities, but it’s not a B-Side of any singles as far as I can see. It was on the soundtrack to The Crow, but that came out after “The Sound Of Speed” was released.
At any rate, I think this song is pretty great.
Nicole Atkins - Cool Enough
From: “Neptune City” (2007)
Things I learned just now while putting this post together:
Ghostface Killah - The Champ
From: “Fishscale” (2006)
My favourite lyric in this song— hell, on the album, and possibly throughout the entirety of post-2001 hip hop: “Rip they guts out, like a hysterectomy.”
Also, I’m about 80% sure this is the first song to use the lyric “My swagger’s Mick Jagger,” which wound up being used over and over again.
Alright, I did this a lot last year, so without much more preamble:
Albums I Am Looking Forward To
#1. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead (Already Released)
Yes, I know it came out today. I haven’t had a chance to give it a critical listen, but I probably will post one of those pseudo-review things that I do, but I haven’t thought of a clever title for it yet. I played it earlier when I was cleaning up, and I really liked what I was hearing. It reminded me of “After The Gold Rush”, which seems to fit with a lot of the reviews I’ve been reading about it… very Americana, very roots-y.
#2. Destroyer - Kaputt (Due January 25th)
Make no bones about it, I love Dan Bejar’s Destroyer project. From its lush instrumentals to Bejar’s folk-stoner lyrics about being hungover or high or a combination of the both, augmented by his unique, nasal voice, Bejar can craft a song like very few people can. Chinatown, the album opener, is a smooth groove, and one of the best album openers I’ve heard in a while. “Trouble In Dreams” was one of my favourite albums of 2008, and if the “Bay Of Pigs” EP was any indication, Bejar’s songwriting has only gotten better, and his synths have gotten more pad-y and Sega Genesis-y, which is in my mind pretty dope. Kaputt is available for streaming over at Hype Machine until its release.
#3. Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore (Due January 25th)
Nicole Atkins is probably the best female singer songwriter you’ve never heard. Her 2007 release Neptune City blew me away with its full sounding arrangements and her powerful voice. She’s from New York, but recorded Neptune City in Sweden (?), so it has kind of a cool Euro sound to it. Also, she has nice hair. She has a free download of the song Vultures from the new album over at her website, if you can part with your e-mail address. It’s a little heavy on the “Nah nah nah”, but it’s enjoyable, with the same big sound (and big drums) that made me like her in the first place. It’s worth a listen.
#4. Iron And Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean (Due January 25th)
Adding to what is going to probably be an expensive day for me, is the new Iron and Wine. I’m not a huge fan, but Carly is, and we disagree very rarely, so I asked the guy at my local watering hole to put a copy of Kiss Each Other Clean with my copy of Kaputt so I can pick ‘em up next week.
#5. Cut Copy - Zonoscope (Due February 8th)
Have you ever found yourself in need of something to put on that has the sensibilities of a band like “Crystal Castles”, but hate the fuck out of “Crystal Castles” like I do? Well then, you might want to check out Cut Copy. In Ghost Colours, their 2008 not-quite-a-masterpiece-but-good-enough-to-put-on-when-company-is-coming-over-and-you-don’t-want-them-to-know-you-have-good-taste-that-they-just-don’t-appreciate-dammit debut was a surprise, and my main man Ric, who has disappeared into the ether at this point, put this on at Sunrise and we sold like a dozen copies over a weekend. Lana can holla. She was there. Anyway. Check out In Ghost Colours. It’s worth your time. Maybe not your money, unless you can find it used, but certainly worth checking out. I’d like to hear what they’ve done since. Hopefully it’s not another “Shout Out Out Out Out” situation where the debut was great but the followup was lacking the magic— which in Shout Out Out Out Out’s case was overtly negative and depressing lyrics sung through a vocoder.
#6. Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo (Due February 14th in the UK)
I saw Gruff Rhys, frontman of the formerly awesome Super Furry Animals*, open for Bright Eyes at the Bronson Centre a few years ago. He was awesome. Bright Eyes wasn’t. Which was an enormous bummer. But Rhys was part of that wave of solo musicians who worked wonders with a loop pedal. Also, Gruff Rhys is a Welsh separatist. I’m not saying that I’m for Welsh sovereignty, but it’s something to stand for, at the very least.
*Okay, look. I don’t want to start a scrap over this, but compare Rings Around The World and Phantom Power to anything they’ve done since. It’s not the same.
#7. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Due February 14th in the UK, February 15th in North America)
Mogwai have got to be the toughest Scottish noise-rock band on the block. Probably the only one, but toughest, nonetheless. Motherfuckers have beef with Blur. No one has beef with Blur. If I wanted to hang out in a shitty flat in Glasgow while ripping a bong, these guys would definitely be pumping on my stereo. Speaking of which, Supergrass broke up. Bummer. Anyway. Mogwai: awesome, but not for everybody.
#8. Bright Eyes - The People’s Key (Due February 15th)
I love Conor Oberst. Despite his aforementioned terrible performance at the Bronson Centre, I am a huge huge fan of this warble-voiced melancholy man. I am with Bright Eyes the way Hannah is with the Decemberists. The article in Rolling Stone this month definitely makes me want this album more than I already did. Saddle Creek’s Cursive and The Faint are playing on it, and it seems like they’re going back to the way things were, productionwise, for Lifted, which will be dope.
Also on the horizon is the new Strokes LP, which I’m timid about… First Impressions of Earth wasn’t my favourite, but the Julian Casablancas album was pretty great. Okkervill River has a new album coming out too, oh, and let’s not forget about Panda Bear, who I am anxiously awaiting. “Tomboy”, “You Can Count On Me”, and “Last Night At The Jetty” are all great singles, with fabulous B-Sides (“Slow Motion” and “Drone” especially). If it weren’t for the fact that my turntable can’t seem to get the hang of 45 rpm, I’d be chasing down the 7” versions of them instead of spending money in the iTunes store. But modernity is a bitch.
And on that note, that’s all for now.
