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.