Dead Man's Bones - My Body's a Zombie For You

Just a great song... and a good way to kick off the first weekend of autumn...

Monsters of Folk - Say Please (Live)

At the risk of being redundant, here's the live performance from The Tonight Show that I referred to in the last entry. Looks like Will had a pretty good time banging on the drums...

Monsters of Folk - Say Please

The Monsters of Folk started out as the name of a tour that included Jim James, M. Ward, Coner Oberst and Mike Mogis a few years back. They decided to take their collaboration to the studio resulting in a new album that just came out last week. I haven't heard much of it but think this song is pretty strong.

The more exciting news for me is that they tapped Will Johnson to tour with them on drums. I've written about Will before on this blog. He heads up Centro-matic, South San Gabriel and also releases solo albums. I first met him around 2000 when we were both working on environmental cleanup projects at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. I think our first conversation was sparked by a Superchunk T-shirt I was wearing. He went back to Texas and made music his full-time job shortly after that. A smart move considering he'll be appearing with these guys tonight on Conan O'Brien. Check it out!

Pearl Jam - The Fixer

Call me crazy but I really like this song... makes me smile.

The Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died

It's been one of those years for notable deaths. The news shows will have to devote a whole hour to their "celebrity passings of 2009" at the end of the year. I heard about Jim Carroll yesterday and then Patrick "nobody puts Baby in the corner" Swayze this morning. I opted to post Jim Carroll instead of a Dirty Dancing clip... RIP.

Josh Ritter - Here at the Right Time

In life we are met with the impossibility of chaos. We wind our way through day-to-day life hoping that our journey will lead somewhere or to someone. This song was played at a friend of mine's wedding and it really hammered home the importance of finding someone at the right time. Marty and Rae Ann, congratulations on your marriage and I know many happy years are ahead.

The Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile

This is definitely in my top 5 as far as Rolling Stones songs go. It's one of Rae's favorites too so I figured now would be a good time to post it. We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for the land of nuptials. 4 days and counting...

How did Marky Mark become Marky Mark?

The answer is here, in the greatest thing ever recorded for eternity on video.

Death Cab for Cutie - Cath

Let's get one thing straight - I am not a fan of emo. That being said, there are some bands, songs, singers, that produce quality music. I don't think you have to embrace the whole ethos around this genre to appreciate some of what is produced. In some ways, isn't this just the extension of rock/pop for a different genereation? I am beginning to come around to Death Cab after a long standing stance against them.

The Lemonheads - Alison's Starting To Happen

Ahh.... the 90's. It's A Shame About Ray was the breakthrough album for The Lemonheads... the one that put Evan Dando on the cover of Tiger Beat and every other teen fan magazine. I think they're a pretty underrated band from that era, probably due to Dando's slacker-stoner-heartthrob image. All I know is he had/has a sweet voice and wrote great songs. They were also one of my earliest concert experiences. Lots of pogoing...

The Walkmen - On The Water

I guess it's been about a year since I bought this album (You and Me) and I'm still going back to it on a regular basis. Here's their new video for "On The Water," a song that didn't stand out at first but one that definitely grew on me after a few listens. The video fits the spooky vintage sound of the song well and gets me thinking about carving pumpkins, Watership Down, and hunting waskawy wabbits...

Songwriters

I remember the first time lyrics appealed to me that weren't directly political (i.e. not Dead Kennedys, Millions of Dead Cops, Reagan Youth, etc.). They were those of Dave Lowery of Cracker, whom I discovered before I knew Camper Van Beethoven. I wasn't much into the burgeoning "indie" scene growing up. I didn't like Sebadoh, I hated (still do) Pavement. Didn't like Weezer. (And besides, The Connells, whom I did like, should have gotten credit for starting emo, along with Rites of Spring.) But I was a huge Babes in Toyland fan, and so the first episode of 120 Minutes I ever saw was to see Kat Bjelland perform live. That episode also featured "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" and I was hooked. From Cracker came Camper Van came REM came Afghan Whigs, Screaming Trees, Gumball, Half Japanese, and so on.

Here's a recent live performance of Cracker doing my favorite song off their s/t debut, Dr. Bernice.

Matt & Kim - Daylight

There seems to be a noticeable trend going on right now with the use of music in TV commercials. Remember when Nike would pay top dollar to tap into the Beatles catalog? Their advertising budget probably paid for a whole wing of the Neverland Ranch. These days it seems like newer and lesser known bands are getting those royalty checks and their music ends up getting just as much promotion as the corporate product. How many people new about Feist before "1234" was used by iPod? The trend makes all kinds of sense. I've gotta believe that it's cheaper on the advertising budgets to buy the rights to a song from some indie rock kids instead of an established classic rock band, and you don't have to be too savvy to find these songs with the prominence of satellite radio and the Internet. I don't blame these bands for taking advantage of the opportunity either. Jeff Tweedy will probably put his kids through college with that check from Volkswagen...

The latest example I could think of are these two kids from Brooklyn hitting the big time thanks to an infectious song and America's thirst for numbness in the form of a sweet summer drink. Here's the video followed by the actual commercial...




Man, I want a Mojito now...

Portastatic - Noisy Night (XX Merge)

"Noisy Night" is the ultimate summer song, with lyrics referencing "summer currents" and "yellow bug lights" and "the dog days when the attic gets warm." It was a fitting song for XX Merge in late July. It was at least 90 degrees under that tent and Clay and I were sipping on mint julep snow cones.

This song is from the album Summer of The Shark, which is a reference to the summer before 9/11. Remember when the news was all about shark attacks, not because there was an inordinate amount of them but because there was nothing else to report on? How quickly things can change... I think this album summed up post-9/11 sentiments better than any other I've heard, and that includes Springsteen's The Rising. The Boss takes a lot of his cues from gospel on that album and eulogizes heroic firemen. Mac's approach is a little more subtle on Summer of the Shark. He paints images of catfish "swimming through tires at the bottom of the Hudson," not fully aware of the chaos at the surface. He addresses that day more directly in the song "In The Lines," where the narrator is trying to find a friend who may be gone: "Did you get lost or did our calls just cross in the lines? I hear some are going through but not my calls to you, but I'll keep trying."

Everything is still seems simple on "Noisy Night" though. Brokaw's reporting on shark attacks, the president's on vacation and Mac's singing about "lingering too long against the hood of your car." Bliss...

Bruce Springsteen - Reason to Believe

After watching the Bills last night, is there "Reasong to Believe?"

Kings of Convenience - Mrs Cold

Nothing like a little Norwegian Indie / folk from Kings of Convenience to help get some writing done. Maybe one day I will come out with my dissertation mix.

Band of Horses - The Funeral

Just a lazy Saturday afternoon. Trying to get some work done. I think this is about right.

Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me

If you were alive at all during the 80s, there is no way you could escape the reach of John Hughes' work. He brought to the big screen a new, suburban teen angst. You felt like these were the kids you went to school with. His movies provided endless quotes for me and my friends and we will continue say them, only with a little tinge of nostalgia since the end of an era has arrived.

Fight the Power - Public Enemy

I hereby dedicate this song to a certain utility company that keeps North Carolina lit up. Chuck D, I hear ya. (On a side note, it is very interesting to think of this song as having it 20th anniversary this year. Have we moved past these issues? Have we regressed? Did the beer at the White House serve as an interesting reminder?)

Guided By Voices - A Salty Salute

What's your favorite opening track? I'm not sure if this is my favorite but I've been singing it in my head a lot lately. It's just a great drunken sing along song. It's nice and short, opens with a dragging bass line, and finishes with the lyric: "The club is open!" I included both the album version (Alien Lanes) and an impromptu GBV reunion performance at a picnic in Ohio. That's how a non-instrument playing lead singer should perform, with a beer in one hand and a wiffle ball bat in the other...

Deer Tick - Easy

Deer Tick sounds like more than just another "country alternative" band to me. The long intro to this song sounds more inspired by The Byrds acid-laced Eight Miles High than their countrified Sweetheart of the Rodeo. This is off of their new album, Born on Flag Day. Cool voice...

Tenor Saw - Ring the Alarm

Like many high schoolers, I had a network of friends that were constantly passing around tapes. These could be anything from the latest releases to some unexplored classics. Once in a while a tape would circulate without any label. If it had already passed through a bunch of hands it could be hard to track down the artist(s) on the tape. A Tenor Saw tape made the rounds my senior year, but it took me nearly a decade to figure this out. It is much easier these days with the internets [sic] but I do miss the days of trying to track down artists.

Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie

To my innocent ears in the early 80s, there was nothing wrong with passing the dutchie. Growing up in the cable era was really a bizzare experience. The wide variety of videos that were played help me build an ecclectic taste. Every once in a while it is nice to revisit summer's past.

XX Merge Day 5

It's all over. The final night of XX Merge was a classy one. The festival moved over to Memorial Hall, where our shoes didn't stick to the floor and sweaty t-shirts gave way to collared Polo's. Somehow it didn't seem appropriate for Clay and I to bring the beer koozies that we had been using all week at the Cat's Cradle...


Wye Oak opened with a really beautiful set... what great musicians. American Music Club followed with a strange but endearing performance. Mark Eitzel was accompanied only by piano and played crooning lounge club versions of songs from his back catalog, like "Patriot's Heart." She and Him closed out the night and the 5-day festival. M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel were backed by 4-member band which had a nice full sound. I was really impressed with Deschanel's voice... she really belted them out. In addition to hitting all of the brightest spots on their debut album they played 2 or 3 new songs that I can only assume will come out on She & Him, Volume II. They had 'em dancing in the aisles for the last few songs.


Another product of my temperamental camera...

All in all, we had a really great time. Seeing so many diverse and great musicians perform was a real testament to what Merge Records has been able to do for the past 20 years. Let's hope they never go away...

XX Merge Day 4

Day 4 kicked off with an outdoor afternoon show at the Orange County Social Club. We caught Music Tapes and Portastatic before deciding to walk around Carrboro/Chapel Hill for a little break from the action. Man, it was hot... We had dinner in the little bar room at The Lantern (tasty). After surveying the scene we noted that Mac, M. Ward and his band, Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard were sitting right behind us...

As for last night's show at the Cradle, the lineup was Telekinesis, Erectus Monotone, Ladybug Transistor, M. Ward, Destroyer and Imperial Teen. Mathew Caws of Nada Surf filled in at lead guitar for Telekinesis. M. Ward played a really energetic and great set. He rolled out a few covers, including "I Get Ideas" (Louis Armstrong), "You Say It's Your Birthday" (Beatles) and of course "Rave On" (Buddy Holly), which is featured on his latest album:


Zooey Deschanel came out on stage for M. Ward's encore. Here's a pic I snapped:


It all wraps up tonight at Memorial Hall. We'll see if there are anymore surprises...

XX Merge Day3

The body feels like it's starting to shut down. It was another 3am arrival back in Greensboro after seeing sets by The Essex Green, Spent, Lambchop, Polvo, Pipe and Spoon. Although Spoon played a very solid set featuring an encore with Mac (see picture below), the highlights of the night were Lambchop and Pipe. They both played very energetic sets. You couldn't not dance during Lambchop and the beer was flying all over the place during Pipe. Today is a quick turnaround so that we can get back to Carrboro for the daytime show at the Orange County Social Club (featuring Portastatic) at 1pm. 11 bands in all on tap today...

XX Merge Day 2

Well, we made a bad decision on night #2. We were both exhausted and decided to hit the road back to Greensboro shortly after midnight. We missed one band and that, as we found out this morning, was Superchunk. We were both pretty bummed but Clay's seen them countless times and I've seen them twice in the past year alone. Oh well...

The bands we did see were The Broken West, Richard Buckner, Guv'ner, and the 3Ds. Buckner was the highlight. He's got one of my favorite voices of all time and this was my first time seeing him live. There were no breaks between songs as he bleed one into the next. In fact, I don't think he said one word. It didn't matter. It was transcendental...



Here's a picture that I snapped of Buckner last night...

XX Merge Day 1

The first night was a long one. We caught really good sets by Oakley Hall and The Rosebuds, and an amazing set by The Magnetic Fields. I've never been a huge fan of theirs, but they may have converted me last night. One of the funnier moments of the night happened in the middle of their set, when a flying cockroach started buzzing the members of the band. There were a few screeches by the ladies, but the band played on...



Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band took the stage around 1am and played a pretty rocking show, featuring a whole lot of foot stomping. They looked pretty road-weary (wink, wink), but were pretty tight considering. Here's a picture that I snapped...



We got back to Greensboro around 3:30 this morning. We recuperated with two sets of tennis, a quick dip in the pool and lunch down at Natty's. Four more nights to go...

Merge Week - She and Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

How was night 1?

Superchunk - Hyper Enough (XX Merge)

It all starts tomorrow... 5 straight nights of shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Merge Records in Chapel Hill. I'm not sure how my body will hold up but I'm ready to find out. The list of bands that'll be playing is too long to remember: Superchunk, Portastatic, Polvo, Spoon, M. Ward, She & Him, Richard Buckner, Lou Barlow, Telekinesis, American Music Club, The Magnetic Fields, Versus... it goes on and on. Then there are the rumors of a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion show and a surprise appearance by Arcade Fire (how could they not show?). My buddy, Clay, is flying in from New York tomorrow for one more music festival before we both take the plunge (he also weds in Sept.). In addition to spending countless hours at the Cat's Cradle, we plan to check on the Merge Cookout and Kick-ball Game on Friday and maybe we'll even tie a few on here in Greensboro.

I'm feeling "Hyper Enough" right now. I'm sure I'll be feeling "Kicked In" by Sunday...

Colin Hay - Beautiful World

Sometimes we need a reminder of the little things that make life pretty awesome.

My Morning Jacket - Librarian

Unfortunately when I first was introduced to this band it was at a time when I was inundated with new music. As a result, they got lost in the shuffle, quite literally. This summer I have had an opportunity to listen to them a little more and I think they will stay in my active rotation.

Bob Marley - Stir it Up

For me, summer playlists always include Bob Marley. I can remember in the summers before my 9th and 10th grade listening to Marley and enjoying the ease with which life came my way. Here is a younger Bob Marley stirring it up a little.

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Happy

Man, I stumbled on this one. Anyone remember? The lyrics to this chorus are easier said than done: "If you fly off the handle, wait til I'm not there."

Santigold

I'm assuming that I'm not alone in saying that warm weather opens me up a little more to pop music. The perfect example would be R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)" during the summer of 2003. Who didn't smile just a little when that came on the radio? These days Santigold is filling that void. She's got a punk rock background and has worked with members of Bad Brains, The Strokes and N.E.R.D. Now she's all over the radio and featured in commercials for Bud Light Lime.

This first song, "Lights Out," was tailor made for the beach...


"Creator" is a little more adventurous and seems to take its cues from M.I.A...

Drive-By truckers - Decoration Day

Nothing like a good southern song about feuding. That's what life's like. Wish Isbell was still with them.

AC/DC - Thunderstruck

Marty, thanks for holding down the fort. I am back from vacation and ready to rock. AC/DC is one of those bands that seems rather timeless. They could be releasing this stuff today and it would be knocking people's heads off.

R.E.M. - Harbor Coat

I'm a little conflicted when it comes to reissues. Who wants to pay for something you essentially already have? Luckily Will hooked me up when it came to all of the Replacements reissues, and really, the improved sound quality of the remasters makes it all worth it. I was happy to hear that R.E.M. was remastering their catalog. The sound quality was down right awful on pretty much everything predating Out of Time. Buying the reissue of R.E.M.'s second album, Reckoning (1984), was a no-brainer considering I only ever had the cassette. Harbor Coat is one of the highlights...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Down Boy

Making your Wednesday sexy...

Britt Daniel (Spoon) - Black Like Me

Here's a decent acoustic performance of a song off of Spoon's last full-length album. This song has a lot of good lines like "street tar and summer can do a job on your sole (soul?)" and "I spent the night in the map room, I humanized the vacuum." It reminds me a lot of our first full summer here in Greensboro... hard to believe it's been 3 years already. Spoon will be at XX Merge in a couple of weeks...

Sun Kil Moon - Gentle Moon

Mark Kozelek (a.k.a. Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) has a pretty impressive back catalog. In addition to his own music, he's covered everyone from Will Oldham to AC/DC to Simon & Garfunkel. The highlights for me are Songs for a Blue Guitar (Red House Painters - '96) and the album this song is off of, Ghosts of the Great Highway (Sun Kil Moon, '03). He takes his cues from the usual Americana suspects, but none more than Neil Young. It's good rainy Sunday listening...

James Brown - Living in America

Happy 4th, ya'll!!

These colors don't run! Eat it, Drago!

My America Songs

A random sampling of what this country has to offer. From the good, the bad, to the socially conscious. It really is amazing to see the man perspectives.

The Neil Diamond Opus - Coming to America - featured in Born in East LA



Green Day - American Idiot - While I have problems with Green Day, I did think that this song captured a distinct period in our history.



Toby Keith - Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American) - American hubris at its best.

Wilco - Bull Black Nova

The new Wilco album just came in the mail on Monday, so I'm still sinking my teeth into it. There are plenty of feel-good rockers but this is the song that really sticks out after a few listens. I'm not sure what's going on with the lyrics but there's a lot of blood everywhere and something that can't be undone. This song could be on the soundtrack for The Tell-Tale Heart if only the old man with the "vulture eye" was dead in the trunk of a bull black Chevy Nova instead of under the floorboards.

My Favorite America Songs

With all the deaths of the past month--Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Don Edmonds, Karl Malden, and probably people I don't even know about yet--I'm glad for this holiday to remind me what's really important: I'm a freakin' American and everyone can suck on that!

My favorite America songs:





I find this song both hilarious and poignant social commentary....


Well, of course.....




and oh yeah......Danzig and Hank III playing on 6/6/06.....American Nightmare!!!!!

Dinosaur Jr. - Over It

I can't remember if this video made it up already or not. Sorry for the repeat if so.

Michael Jackson - Billy Jean

At his prime as a perfomer and singer

Sadness

More new music

I probably will stand alone in liking Spinnerette, the new band featuring ex-Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle along with drummer Jack Irons (early Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, Pearl Jam) and some guys from Eagles of Death Metal. But I think even though the video is stupid that this is a good pop song. I make no apologies. I like it and I think everyone ought to.



If you don't know The Distillers, they were unfortunately and inaccurately compared to Hole (as all female-fronted loud bands tend to be now). I think a more apt comparison would be Joan Jett. Rock and roll swagger with pop sensibilities. Here's a sample:




And oh yeah....The Original Lone Wolf

The Clash - Charlie Don't Surf

It feels like a Clash day for me. At the top of my list for bands I wished I could have seen live is The Clash.

New music, and the ONLY music (by that I mean Danzig)

So Marty's been pointing out to me--rightly--that there is in fact some good new music. I decided to look for some, but I cheated a little. These are new bands featuring people from old bands I love.

First, from the ashes of McLusky comes Future of the Left.



In case you never listened to McLusky, permit me this glance backward:




I'll have some more tomorrow.....but for now, Danzig......

Neil Young - Pocahontas

Here's a track from the Neil Young Unplugged performance that I mentioned in my last post. Neil Young was one of the few artists that everyone in my immediate family could agree on, so this album and his others got a lot of play at home when I was growing up. How can you go wrong with a song that imagines sitting around a fire with Pocahontas and Marlon Brando?

Pearl Jam - Porch

Marty got me thinking about all of the MTV Unplugged shows. One that stuck out for me was Pearl Jam's. I was not their biggest fan at the time, but to see them rock out, especially in this song really made me appreciate their music more. It helped that at the time I was impressed by Eddie Vedder's histrionics. Nothing like rock stars acting like rock stars - throw in a little protest for good measure.

Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson - Folsom Prison Blues

I'm pretty grateful that I grew up in a time when acoustic performance shows were all the rage on TV. MTV Unplugged alone had some great ones... Nirvana and Neil Young immediately come to mind. This performance from the VHI Storytellers series is probably the most listened to live album in my collection. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson casually trade their songs like a couple of old timers telling fishing stories. Each songwriter seems impressed with the other's work, but there also seems to be a little bit of one-upmanship going on. Beyond the songs and the classic stage banter, what really makes this an album that I keep reaching for is the sound made by mixing two life-weary voices with Willie Nelson's amazing guitar play. It's clear that he's making up his solos as he goes along, tossing in jazz chords and runs in the middle of country songs with very little effort. Johnny Cash seemed about as impressed as I am...

The Ventures - Walk Don't Run

On Sunday, guitarist Bob Bogle of The Ventures passed away at the age of 75. The Ventures were said to be the band that launched a thousand bands. There instrumental, guitar driven rock was influential on many of today's artists, a fact that is corroborated by their 2008 induction into the rock and roll hall of fame. "Walk Don't Run" was their first major hit.

The Black Keys - Your Touch

The diner scene in this video is pretty funny. This song is off of their 2006 release, Magic Potion. It's their only album I own. I keep meaning to check out the rest of their catalog....

son volt - catching on

Son Volt will release American Central Dust on July 7th. It seems Farrar is continuing his everyman commentary on contemporary America. While he is not the voice of his generation by any means and his more recent albums have not aged that well, I still think he offers a good voice of dissent. Hopefully I will have a track from the new album in July, for now this is "Catching On" from Son Volt's best album to date - Trace. If you want to hear a track from the new ablum, go to http://www.sonvolt.net/

Brooklyn Murders Auto-Tune

I know I already ranted about Auto-Tune in an earlier post. The overused vocal effect has dominated hip hop music for the past couple of years, giving the tone deaf the courage to "sing" instead of rap. Well it seems like the tide is finally turning and here are a couple of examples from just this past week.

First, Jay-Z released his new single, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune). The beats and backing track are nothing to write home about, but the lyrics provide a biting critique of the Auto-Tune abusers. Like he says, "this is assault with a deadly weapon." Let's hope he just killed some short-lived careers. I also have to mention that Pitchfork wrote that with this song, Jay-Z has officially joined the Grumpy Old Rappers Club. Sometimes the hipsters over at Pitchfork confuse the "new shit" for plain old shit...


Then there's Mos Def and his performance on Letterman this past Monday night. He keeps it simple, and soulful without singing a note. I've gotta believe that this brand of hip hop will make a comeback...

Cat Stevens - On the Road to Find Out

See you all in Greensboro

EELS - Fresh Blood

Hombre Lobo was released last week. I wonder what E is up to with this album.

Magnolia Electric Co - Leave the City

Packing up, getting ready, reflecting.

Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'

A summer anthem from years ago.

Janet Jackson - Got 'Til It's Gone

I think this single still stands up 12 years later. Janet Jackson's hushed voice, the Joni Mitchell sample, and Q-Tip laying it down... it's just sexy. This video is close to perfect too.

Angry Johnny & the Killbillies

I saw these guys at a bar in Roanoke last Thursday. Angry Johnny was an artist from western Mass. (he painted the cover of Dinosaur Jr.'s "Where You Been") and he's been putting out "bloodgrass" records since 1996 (with his debut, Hankenstein). It was a great show; they played 3 hours. Here are some performances of the show they did in Norfolk the next night. The mandolin player is killer. Angry Johnny's lyrics are wicked awesome; I wish the sound on "Drunken Frenchman Built My House" was better, but give it a listen anyway.

Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You To Know

This is the new single from DJ's upcoming release, Farm. I honestly can't remember them playing this when we saw them a few weeks ago (maybe I was still in the afterglow of Mike Watt), but the song's got me pretty excited to hear the rest of the album.

The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer

So this was supposed to be last summer's anthem, but I'm carrying it over for another year. Springsteen's influence on The Hold Steady is undeniable. It hits you over the head in some of Craig Finn's lyrics like "work in the mill until you die," but Finn tends to sing more about just partying (hanging, dancing, gambling, drinking, drugging, etc.). He doesn't get too political like Bruuuuce. In this song alone he urges us to drink on top of water towers and raises a toast to "Saint Joe Strummer." Count me in...

Rocket From the Crypt - Born in '69

It doesn't seem that long ago...

She and Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

I listened to this record a lot last summer. The immediate draw was M. Ward's involvement, but I think Zooey Deschanel's simplistic song writing and voice are pretty endearing. Like most things that M. Ward is involved with, the record sounds like it'd be right at home on A.M. radio. This is yet another group that I'm looking forward to seeing at XX Merge in July.

Cursive - Dorothy at Forty

Getting old sucks...

My Patriotic Post

Nothing says American to me, at least what I want America to be, than Mike Watt. I've been pretty much listening to Watt, Minutemen, fIREHOSE, and dos since seeing Watt blow Dinosaur Jr. off the stage a few weeks back. Below is the Spike Jonze directed video for "Big Train."



But America's more than just hard-workin' piss bottle men.

It's also about skate punk. Suicidal Tendencies again, with the thought provoking "Join the Army."

RIP Jay Bennett (Wilco - Cars Can't Escape)

The Chicago Sun Times reports that Jay Bennett, formerly of Titanic Love Affair and Wilco, died this morning at the age of 45. If you're a Wilco fan, then you know that Jay's fingerprints are all over their three best albums: Being There, Summer Teeth, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. You also know that he was portrayed as an impossible collaborator in the movie I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, which documented Wilco around the time of the making and release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The uncomfortable dynamics between him and lead singer Jeff Tweedy gave the film its cringe moments and also resulted in his departure from Wilco in 2001.

I saw Jay play a solo show a few months later, in a small NYC club in front of maybe 100 people. This was after seeing him with Wilco a year earlier playing a sold out show at the legendary Town Hall. He was almost starting from scratch...

I think his greatest contribution to Wilco is the "sonic landscape" that he refers to in the aforementioned documentary. You got the feeling that Jeff Tweedy would enter the studio with a simple, albeit beautiful, acoustic song and Jay would send it over the top with organ, piano loops and guitar noise. His contributions meant that the band went from the run-of-the-mill alt-country of A.M. to the looser experimental songs on Being There. This outtake shows some of that tension between Jay and Jeff (together at the piano) as well as some of Jay's trademark noise (around the two-minute mark).

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

A classic performance and a good song for Memorial Day Weekend... have a good one!

Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You

Neko Case's Middle Cyclone has definitely been the surprise album of the year for me so far. I've always liked her stuff well enough, but I've never found the need to listen to one of her records over and over. I keep reaching for this one though. Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a weather dork... weather and nature seem to be the overriding theme. We saw her live in Raleigh last month and I was pretty amazed at the strength of her voice. She's got no need for studio tricks.

Van Morrison - Sweet Thing

I guess it's time that Van gets some play on this blog. His music is the ultimate mood setter, whether it be a wedding reception or an afternoon spent in a bar. That's not to say that it's just background music. It's there to pay attention to if you want, but I can't think of anything else that blends into the woodwork quite as well. It's dopamine.

Thanks to Laura for sending me the link for this video a few weeks back...

Modest Mouse - Satellite Skin

Beware of the birdhouse monsters! This video was directed by Kevin Willis, the guy who made all of those spooky videos for Tool in the 90's. He doesn't disappoint here, especially at the end. The song is off of Modest Mouse's new 7", Satellite Skin.

Black Lips - Katrina

A song about the storm of the century (so far...). I haven't seen a Black Lips show yet, but I've heard all about the vomiting, urination, nudity, fireworks, chickens and flaming guitars that they bring to the stage. Who said showmanship was dead?

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I Am Goodbye

Who wouldn't wanna take a walk with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy? This is off his latest, Beware. The album is pretty solid and has one of the funniest opening lines that I can remember: "I want to be your only friend. Is that scary?"

Canned Heat - On the Road Again

The title says it all.

Eastern Youth - Breaking the Vow on a Dare, August

I saw these guys open for the Blood Brothers and Cursive a few years ago in Philly. I think they came across a lot better live than they do lip syncing in this video, but you get the picture. Their set gave me the experience that I always wondered about when seeing video of American bands playing in Asia or Europe. I'd see all these kids singing and dancing to words sung in a foreign language, impressed at how well it all translated...

Telekinesis - Tokyo

I just got this album in the mail yesterday. There's nothing overly complicated about it, just a bright, poppy record that'll go good with summer. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys in a sweaty Cat's Cradle during XX Merge in July.

Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok

As a prelude to Belinda and my trip to Thailand next week. Let's hope there's a chess tournament to take part in. That is what Bangkok is known for, right?

Broken Social Scene - 7/4 Shoreline

I'm still making my way through the B's. Here's Broken Social Scene featuring Feist before she was 1-2-3ing it all over iPod commercials.

Bruce Springsteen - I'm on Fire

I continue to go back to his music. Not sure about the narrative.

Puke in my Mouth

A response to Andy Samberg's "Jizz in My Pants" by some liberated young ladies. This is probably a more accurate reflection of reality than Samberg's song.

Joe Strummer - Willesden to Cricklewood

Sunny day here in HK. Belinda arrives tonight. Song that seems to match.

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot

The sun was a welcomed surprise this morning after a few days of low clouds, intermittent rain and tornado watches. Seeing this recent performance of Teenage Riot just added some length to my exhale. Now if I could just get a hummingbird to visit my feeder...

The Postal Service - We Will Become Silhouettes

Sometimes the music doesn't quite match the lyrics. Rather than being destructive though, this can sometimes highlight simultaneous disposability and permanence of the music. Make sense?

Rage Against The Machine - Vietnow

In honor of Rae's birthday, I figured I'd post one of her all time favorite bands. We were both in the crowd for this performance at Woodstock '99, but we wouldn't meet for another six years. Rage played on Saturday night, the third night of the four day festival. My friend and I decided to pull stakes and leave after that night's performances because severe thunderstorms were in the forecast. It was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Sure, it never did rain and we missed a bunch of bands on Sunday, but we also missed out on the riots that ensued. It also only took us about 10 minutes to drive out of the parking field in the middle of the night. The average wait to get out was 10 hours on Sunday.

Anyhow, Happy Birthday Rae!!! Turn on the Radio!!!

Bob Dylan - I'll Keep it with mine

Haven't heard it in a long time. Enjoy.

Yo La Tengo - Little Eyes

Hey, I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday. This might get the day started right for you. Watch out for that Swine Flu - maybe time to invest in a surgical mask.

Beth Orton - Best Bit

So, I decided to just go with random shuffle on the ipod today to decide the song. Turns out it is Beth Orton's "Best Bit." You know what, I am kind of releaved; it could have been so much worse. In fact, I actually like the song so that is a bonus I suppose. I will be curious if anyone else is willing to gamble on their shuffle.

Mike Watt

Mike Watt. The Hardest working man in rock and roll. Here he is at the Monterey Jazz Festival, doing what he does. Seeing Watt live, and feeling his sweat in my heart, it changes things, you know?

Band of Horses - The Funeral

I started my iTunes library from the alphabetical beginning yesterday, letting it play through without skipping anything during my working hours. I think Will mentioned doing this once. It's an interesting (and yes, dorky) exercise that forced me to listen to The Band right after Bad Religion. I made it up to Band of Horses and this song off of their debut album, Everything All The Time. Looks like today's going to feature a lot of Beastie Boys and Beatles...

Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay

Marty, you bring up a good point. We often think back to country legends for commiseration when in reality, there are some modern day depressing gems out there. My point being, I think it is the nature of music to provide a cathartic moment for musicians and listeners. As Rob Gordon in High Fidelity says, "What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" So, I provide "Needle in the Hay" to bring you right down. It would also be in my top 3 best utilized songs in a motion picture - Royal Tenenbaums. I promise no more depressing songs - at least for this week.

John Roderick - The Commander Thinks Aloud (saddest song cont.)

My first idea for the saddest song thread was Johnny Cash singing Spiritual. I mean, how can you get sadder than the Man in Black repeating the lyrics "Jesus, I don't want to die alone" over and over? I thought that might put us in a rut of old country dudes singing sad songs though.

John Roderick is the front man for The Long Winters. I found some clips of the full band performing this song, but it was a little tough to make out the lyrics. Unfortunately there's not much to look at here besides Roderick's back. This song attempts to describe the observations made by the Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia during re-entry. I think Roderick pulls it off in a pretty devastating way, from the joyous line "Can you feel it? We're almost home!" to the grim observation that "The crew compartment is breaking up."

Townes Van Zandt - Tecumseh Valley (saddest song)

I don't know what is sadder, his life or his music. His voice seems to communicate the desperation and troubles of those he writes about. Here is just one example of many for saddest song from Townes.

Saddest song of all time

Actually, this is the second saddest song of all time. I'll post the saddest tomorrow.

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were kind of well known in the late '60s/'70s when it was in vogue for big rock bands to "go country" (See the Stones, Byrds, Kinks, etc.) Cody was always country, though, and not just country but honky f'n tonk.

Now he's old, so it's tough to imagine what he was like in his prime. When you listen to this song, picture someone who looks like Lemmy from Motorhead if he was from Oklahoma.

Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

In some ways this album has become the soundtrack to my year in Hong Kong. I don't see me being able to listen to this in the future without thoughts of HK rising in my mind. I don't want to like their album as much as I do, I am not sure why, but I can't resist it. Perhaps that is the very idea of what pop music is. It gets in your brain and you can't get it out. So, you might as well embrace it.

Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus

Okay, so the main guitar riff in this song sounds like Molly's Lips and a handful of other Nirvana songs... but they weren't the first to use it so why think they'd be the last? I bought Titus Andronicus's debut album, The Airing of Grievances after hearing this single a few times. It's full of angst anthems that make you assume these kids are from New Jersey before you even get to the liner notes...

Jose Gonzalez/The Knife - Heartbeats (2 for Tuesday)

I first heard this song on Jose Gonzalez's debut album, Veneer. It's a really good quiet acoustic album that reminds me a lot of Nick Drake. I later heard The Knife's version which is actually the original. I've grown to like it just as much, even with the 80's synth breaks. All of these folks are from Sweden...

Calexico - Alone Again or

It has taken me a while but I have finally come around to appreciate Calexico. I think what they do musically is interesting and unique at this point. I first heard this song on the Bottle Rocket soundtrack and I like the cover they do of it.

Going Solo continued - Lou Barlow - Round-n-Round

As frontman for Dionosaur Jr., J Mascis always seemed(s) to get the spotlight, but since his departure (read: getting kicked out) in 1989, Barlow has turned out some interesting records. His work in Sebadoh and Folk Implosion seemed to gain him some critical attention, but it was this last album Emoh that I think I enjoyed the most. While Dinosaur Jr. have reunited, I still think of Barlow as doing his own thing more than standing in Mascis' shadow. Hope you enjoy this Ratt cover.

Paul Westerberg - World Class Fad (more going solo)

In quantity, Westerberg's solo output has now eclipsed the Mats catalog. There's some pretty excellent quality in there too. I love the biting lyrics in this song. It's the perfect F-you...

Dee Dee Ramone, Peter Murphy: Solo

Of Dee Dee....Cocaine, it's a hell of a drug.




Peter Murphy....it's not awful, but it's so boring.....and I'm not sure that his look here was EVER cool. Well, I guess maybe on Sprockets

Lauryn Hill - Everything Is Everything (going solo cont.)

The Score was playing everywhere on my college campus during my freshman year. It seemed like the Fugees had the potential to make a few more great records and then all of the sudden it was over. The relationship between Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean soured and the group became another victim of the Fleetwood Mac syndrome.

The good news is that Lauryn Hill went on to make one of the best hip hop albums ever. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has the beats, the lyrics, the melodies... everything. She was only 23 years old when it came out, but she had already found fame, lost her group and had a baby with a married man. She seems both experienced and naive at different turns. Even on this song, she goes from sounding like a 1st semester philosophy student in the chorus to sounding like she could teach you a thing or two during the the rap break. Unfortunately she fell off the map after this, returning only for an MTV Unplugged performance where she was barely coherent and seemed to be having a breakdown.

Carla Bozulich--solo day 2

Carla Bozulich was a writer for Maximumrocknroll who sang with the industrial band Ethyl Meatplow in the early 1990s. Despite their ridiculous name, Ethyl Meatplow was really really good, but they broke up after one album. Bozulich started a new band, The Geraldine Fibbers, who combined a sort of Texas flavored roots rock with punk and avant-Eurotrash (they cover Can's Yoo Doo Right on their second album). Anyway, I like them a lot.

Going solo

It's always interesting to me to see what happens when a great band breaks up and members attempt to go solo. You really see who the talents are. For example, Sebastian Bach sucked as a solo artist, because Skid Row depended on the bass player for his songwriting skills. Thus, "Slave to the Grind."

Then again, why do obviously talented individual members always make bad solo albums? Mick Jagger and Keith Richards always made crap solo work. (Of course, the Rolling Stones make crap albums now too).

Dee Dee Ramone wrote all the best Ramones songs, yet his solo work is almost as embarrassing as Bob Mould's techno albums. (And do I even need to mention Chris Cornell's latest shitbrick with Timbaland?)

Of Genesis, the only good solo artists was Peter Gabriel. Of Guns 'N Roses, Izzy Stradlin.

My case study today is Bauhaus. Love them, but Peter Murphy's solo work is terrible. The rest of the band formed Love and Rockets after the breakup, and they were so-so. But I recently discovered Daniel Ash's solo album, and this single. While it's not life changing, I kind of dig it. (His other solo stuff isn't so great, though. Sounds kind of like Love and Rockets, but not quite as fun.)