cool hand bak

Best Albums Of 2005

2006-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

2005 didn't return us to the dizzying heights of 2001-2003, but it also wasn't as disappointing as last year. Franz Ferdinand and Maria McKee were the only real artists who handed me shit when I asked for gold. Other artists did me dirty, but it was mostly people I never expected to treat me right in the first place. All of the big names (in my world, anyway) stepped up and delivered what were probably the best albums they had in them, and several exceeded expectations grandly. Just like last year, rookies accounted for more than their fair share of highlights. But enough of the chit-chat, here are my choices for best albums of 2005:

25. Castanets - First Light's Freeze

24. M.I.A. - Arular

23. Sigur Rós - Takk...

22. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema

21. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Naturally

20. Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers

19. Beck - Guero

18. Shannon McNally - Geronimo

17. The Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart

16. Sons And Daughters - The Repulsion Box

15. The Nein - Wrath Of Circuits

14. Bunky - Born To Be A Motorcycle

13. M. Ward - Transistor Radio

12. Spoon - Gimme Fiction

11. Des Ark - Loose Lips Sink Ships

10. Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth

9. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

8. Laura Cantrell - Humming By The Flowered Vine

7. Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright

6. Archer Prewitt - Wilderness

5. Dr. Dog - Easy Beat

4. Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now

3. The Decemberists - Picaresque

2. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods

1. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolf

This list is subject to change. I mean, it's not like I heard everything that was released. I never made it to acclaimed albums by Bruce Springsteen, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, Broken Social Scene or Young Jeezy, but, between you and me, I don't think any of those albums have much of a shot at this list. Questions and comments are welcomed, especially if you're trying to hip me to something you think I might've missed.

Ciao 2006

2006-01-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Home sweet home. After a week or so of travelling (with the flu no less), the bakster returns to kiss 2005 goodbye and welcome its successor.

2006 seems set to hit the ground running. Hopefully the new Strokes album (released today) will be as good as their last two, which were both outstanding. January 24th looks ready to vie for the title of All-Time Greatest Release Date with new albums expected from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (with Tortoise), Cat Power, The Gossip, Jenny Lewis and Ester Drang, as well as a Tarkio anthology from Kill Rock Stars and the stateside release of Saint Etienne's latest. That ought to devastate a few wallets. Later in the year there are scheduled new albums from Neko Case, The Concretes, Roxy Music, Simon Joyner, Grandaddy, Anna Oxygen, Ghostface, Quasi, Murs, Two Gallants, Nellie McKay, TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nas, The Flaming Lips and The Shins, as well as a live album from Elvis Costello and a Tom Waits rarities box set. And, if we all behave ourselves, maybe even a new Radiohead opus. Did I mention those rumors of Bob Dylan putting in some studio time recently? This all sounds like an embarrassment of riches in the making.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my Best Albums and Songs of 2005 lists, so look for those later in the week if you're into that sort of thing.

Once again I'd like to thank those of you who take the time to comment. Feedback and dialogue are two of the main reasons I do this, so I'd love to see even more of that in the new year. Thanks for reading.

Baby, Don't You Like What You See?

2005-12-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

If you've been following cool hand bak for any significant amount of time, you've probably noticed that I like to create little traditions here and there as a way of presenting everything I hear. cool hand bak, you see, is a creature of habit, as all beings are. Except maybe even more so. Attention to detail (read: obsessive compulsiveness) is my middle name. If you could see my record shelves, you'd understand. With friends I joke about it, but the truth is it's a quirk I'm proud of, a quality borne out of the extremely high value I place on consistency. For this blog, consistency of structure, theme and content is important, especially in light of the severe lack of consistent posting.

Which is why, for my last post of 2005, I'm doing the same thing I did for my last post of 2004 and the same thing I'll most likely do for my last post of 2006. That's right, today I'm posting my most listened to song of the year. The catch is it isn't a song from this year, since I'll post that later as the best song of 2005. All clear? Well then, here you go:

Heather Waters - "Turn"

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what country music should sound like five years into the 21st century. Heather Waters' voice, on this song, delivers one of the most essential country vocal performances since George Jones picked up a microphone. If you could bottle that voice, you'd have 150 proof liquid heartbreak. Put simply, as Taj Mahal is said to have commented, "that’s some fucking great singing."

"Turn" might begin as your standard relationship-on-the-rocks country song, but that's where its typicality ends. As the vivid loneliness and confusion of the verses (supplied by great use of the titular word) gives way to the resigned accusations of the chorus, emotions reel from excited heartache to calm despair. Redemption comes when Heather reaches into a higher register for the third chorus, arriving at another melody unbelievably even more gut-wrenching than the original. And this time, there is nothing even remotely resembling resignation or calm in her voice; whoever was responsible for her mistreatment (perfectly described in country-eloquence) now comes face to face with her anguish and, as the saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman burned. All of this occurs over a country hot-bed provided by the likes of Eric Heywood, Don Heffington, Tony Gilkyson and Rami Jaffee, and elsewhere David Rawlings and Gillian Welch chip in too. Somehow, Heather's voice remains untouchably the highlight throughout.

With this one song, Heather Waters throws her hat into the ring with a flourish that's impossible to deny. The rest of the album, her 2004 full-length debut Shadow Of You, may not have a snowball's chance in hell of bettering "Turn", but it's all damn good in its own right, with many other standout moments. The only thing keeping her from seriously challenging the likes of Tift Merritt, Neko Case and Laura Cantrell, at this point, is her relative lack of output; musically and, especially, vocally, she's ready to rival the best of what's going on in country music today. Hopefully, we'll have a follow-up to Shadow Of You before too long, and I won't be surprised if said follow-up warrants Heather a spot on the modern-day country-songbird Mt. Rushmore.

Shadow Of You was independently released on Heather's own Redd Fogg records. Visit her website to for more information and to purchase the album directly. I'm going leave you with these words from Ms. Waters herself: "Townes van Zandt has been credited with saying, 'There are two kinds of songs: blues and zippity do dah.' I definitely don't do zippity do dah."

See you next year folks.

One Down, 32 To Go

2005-11-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

This has been, without question, the fastest year of my life. No contest. I've been told that the older one gets, the less memorable the years become, coalescing instead into such vaguely defined phases as "my late 30s" or "the years after Meg left me". A part of me didn't believe it: every one of my teenage years still stands out as its own separate entity, why won't years 27, 31 or 52 stand-out just the same? What is this nonsense about everything becoming one long blur?

If this fast year has been the beginning of the end, then maybe I'm starting to understand. Either way, this here blog o' mine has a part to play. On one hand, it's partly responsible for how quickly the year has come and gone. Whiling away the hours at my computer, painstakingly composing each entry, quite a bit of time felt like it was going right out the window. But, on the other hand, I actually have something to show for all that time. I can remember what album or song was driving me into hysterics when, whose show I caught and what I thought and all of the other major happenings in my musical world. It turns out keeping a blog was time well spent.

As always, though, it's not about me, but about the music, and as far as the music is concerned, it's onward and ever onward. There's always something new to hear: classic albums, new releases, internet-only songs and, of course, live shows. cool hand bak's sophomore year will surely bring more surprises; I never know what my next musical obsession will be or where it'll come from. Discovering new music is a lot like getting mugged: the unheard becomes the heard like a sudden blow, and when you come to you probably have a lot less money. Far from the jaded routine that keeps many a music writer clocking in, I still listen with the unfailing enthusiasm and awe of a 13 year old poring over their parents' records for the first time. I confess, I got a little sidetracked near the end of the year, but I'm rededicating myself to my original vision: cool hand bak should document what I'm listening to when I'm listening to it, with all of the impressions (first or otherwise) and heart-reactions that come with it.

Now, seeing as I've made it through a whole year (major achievement, I know) I think it's only right that I celebrate myself and my taste, at least a little. To that end, here are a handful of songs from cool hand bak's first year, presented in the order they were posted, that I'd like to re-draw your attention to. Who knows, maybe you missed them the first time around. Why these five songs, you ask. These babies happen to be freely available on the internet, donated for your listening pleasure by the artists and labels that created them. Enjoy.

The Transmissionary Six - "Happy Landings"

Antony & The Johnsons - "Fistful Of Love"

Viva Voce - "Alive With Pleasure"

Amy Miles - "Kill To Know"

Chuck Prophet - "Pin A Rose On Me"

To Prove That I Can

2005-10-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time not too long ago, a blogger like myself caught a local show...

I'm always telling people that they should go to at least one or two house shows at some point in their life and, of course, I follow my own advice. Sure, you'll probably have to wade through a mass of scenesters just to get into the house, but if the bands are good (and you wouldn't be there if they weren't, right?) then it's worth it. In fact, it's part of the experience, like mass before communion or something. It's as close as you're likely to ever get to the true spirit of making music, besides making music yourself. With that in mind, last night I caught a show at the "legendary" Phoenix House. Though I'd be willing to bet that it's only truly legendary to Olympians, bands like Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and The Gossip played the Phoenix House in their time.

Kicking off the festivities last night was the lovely and very talented Robin Cutler. Sitting behind a kick-drum, surrounded by amps, guitars and her viola, Robin delivered a dozen or so gentle, well-written folk-rock songs. With songs for everyone from her little sister to the boy next door, Robin's music was heartfelt and genuine, devoid of the need to be clever that plagues so many young songwriters. On the drive home, a friend commented that it was too much like reading someone's diary, but that's never bothered me. I left a convert.

The following two songs are from her self-titled debut, which I believe is from 2004.

Robin Cutler - "Shadow Song"

Robin Cutler - "3-2-1 'Til Contact"

Visit Robin's website for more information.

Following Robin was a band I've written about before in these hallowed halls: Palisades. Despite the fact that it was another band's record release show, Palisades get the dubious honor of being the reason I hauled myself out of the house on a rainy night. That's because their self-titled debut EP from earlier this year has thoroughly won me over, and because they're one of those bands that I want to be able to say I saw them when...

I would say I prefer them on record, but that's pretty much true of everyone. Suffice it to say, they played a charming and charmingly shambolic set, which is exactly what I expected. By this time, the Phoenix House floor was sufficiently crowded, but Palisades had no trouble getting folks to dance all the same. Judging by the comments after they finished, I'm not the only one looking forward to their next show, not to mention their next record.

These two songs are both from the aforementioned Palisades EP.

Palisades - "Consuming Fire"

Palisades - "I Can't Remember"

Stop by Masa Records for more information about Palisades.

Kickball took hold of the communal instruments next, unleashing one hell of a groove-a-thon. I felt like I was at a dance-'til-you-drop contest or something. It was obvious that many of the kids around me were die-hard fans, which was nice because I feel like such an ass when I'm up-front (right next to Adam's keyboard!) for a band I don't know all that well. Luckily, the word-mouthers and song-shouter-outers had my back, allowing me to kick back and just enjoy the show.

The energy Kickball put into their set was admirable, and went a long way towards distinguishing them from your average indie-poppers. Drummer Lisa was on fire, in a young Janet Weiss kind of way, and lead-singer Jacob had a charismatic, almost sexual way of delivering his vocals. All of which is a roundabout way of saying they were good enough to make me want to hear their records, which I scooped up two of that night.

Their grooves are a lot less pronounced on record; they're quieter, more tame, but they've still got a handful of remarkable songs. Witness:

Kickball - "Stop ∞"

Kickball - "Opposite"

Kickball - "Bird"

Kickball - "Tides Or Swells"

These four songs are all from Kickball's 2003 release, Huckleberryeater. I'm only posting so many because three of them are available online and the other one ("Stop ∞") is my favorite Kickball song. Well, that and because they're so good.

Kickball - "Party"

Kickball - "Little Thing"

These two songs are from the album whose release party this post documents, namely ABCDEFGHIJKickball.

Six songs! C'mon, there's gotta be at least one you love. Which means you should buy an album, online at Houseopolis Records.

Children Already Belong To Us

2005-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine alerted me to the fact that Propagandhi have a new album coming out this October. It's titled Potemkin City Limits and the cover-art is by Eric Drooker. Their label, G7 Welcoming Committee, has already kindly made one song available for download:

Propagandhi - "Die Jugend Marschiert"

My first thought is that it's not as immediate or aggressive as the majority of their back catalog, but that's just a trite summary of my initial reaction. Besides, what it lacks in impact it more than makes up for in ambition. Their humor is certainly undiminished. Listen closely, the lyrics are actually (I'm guessing) a fictitious speech made by one Colonel Casey Wardynski, who has some fucked-up ideas about America. For starters, as director of U.S. Army's Office of Economic and Manpower Analyses, he personally oversaw the creation of "America's Army", the official video game of the U.S. Army. Homeboy came up with this shit to lure teenage boys into the army. You see, while your favorite band is sitting around writing ditties about their sack-of-shit lives and inability to get laid, Propagandhi are writing to expose pricks like Wardynski. I agree, it takes all kinds, but songs like this certainly put things into perspective. More power to them!

It'll be interesting to see what the rest of Potemkin City Limits is like, especially whether or not it maintains this trend of longer songs with more ambitious arrangements. It's all the more difficult to know what to expect considering that Propagandhi haven't released an album since 2000's Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. Granted, Propagandhi usually have a longer than average gestation period, but with all that's happened in the last four years I'm sure the wait has felt longer than ever for fans. Makes me wonder what they've been sitting on.

Here are two of their older songs, for comparison's sake:

Propagandhi - "True (Concrete Blonde)"

Propagandhi - "Back To The Motor League"

The first song is from 1998's Where Quantity Is Job #1 and the second is from the aforementioned Today's Empires. See what I mean with my less immediate, less aggressive comment? Propagandhi have always been informed, but the new song sounds so measured compared with these two.

Visit Propagandhi's website for more information, or visit their G7 page for upcoming West Coast tour dates.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Cohen

2005-09-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Every year on his birthday I listen exclusively to Leonard Cohen. Inevitably something else sneaks in from somewhere, but it's still one hell of an immersion experience. Since this is the first year I've had a blog on Leonard's birthday, it seems only right to celebrate by sharing what might be my favorite song of his. I say might be because, of course, the competition is pretty stiff.

Leonard Cohen - "Famous Blue Raincoat"

Basically, no one else can write like this. This is one of Leonard's greatest compositions, a story song (a veritable short-story, actually) in the form of a letter that sacrifices nothing. Not poetics or imagery, not melody, nothing. I especially love the way he reveals the details of the story so carefully, accomplishing as much with what's hinted at as with what's shown. Case in point: the third verse, where he begrudgingly admits "I'm glad you stood in my way". In my mind, it's crystal clear what his brother stood in the way of, but part of the beauty of this story is that each listener gets to fill in the details themselves.

And don't ever let anyone tell you Leonard Cohen doesn't have a beautiful voice. I realize this is coming from the distinct perspective of someone who considers Bob Dylan and Corin Tucker to be two of the greatest singers ever, but just listen to the way Leonard sings this. This vocal, in itself, is poetry.

This stunning, dare I say haunting song comes from Leonard's third album, 1971's Songs Of Love And Hate. There's no excuse for not at least giving this masterpiece a try.

Happy birthday, Mr. Cohen. Thank you.

Leonard Cohen's Website

All Apologies

2005-09-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to drop a short note of apology for my recent absence. In my line of work, this is literally the busiest week of the year. Without going into detail, let me just say that I've worked a grand total of 62 hours this week. Now you feel me.

It's going to take me a few days still to recuperate. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll be back in the swing of things. In the meantime, please take the time to listen to this truly outrageous masterpiece:

The Party Party - "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Listening to G-Dub has never been so bearable. I haven't heard any other tracks by these folks, but it looks like there's plenty more at The Party Party's website. Let me know if any of them are worth checking.

Little Bundle Of Joy

2005-09-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

The elder statesman of rock 'n' roll. The man who reinvented songwriting in the '60s. The dude who wiggle wiggled his way out of a fanbase, who went both domestic and dogmatic by the end of the '70s and disappeared up his own leather-bound ass, only to emerge from Brownsville with Jerry Garcia and a jheri curl in the '80s, and unexpectedly returned with a face to match his voice in the late '90s. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Columbia recording artist...

Bob Dylan - "Down Along The Cove [Live]"

Bob Dylan - "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight [Live]"

What we have here are a couple more performances from Bob's most recent tour. A friend requested them a while back, but I didn't want to post them too hot on the heels of my last Dylan post, else cool hand bak be accused of favoritism. This version of "Down Along The Cove" is from the March 11 show in Portland, Oregon, while "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" was recorded in Calgary, Alberta on July 24.

Anyone who hasn't already done so should pick up the seventh volume of The Bootleg Series, which doubles as the soundtrack to the upcoming Martin Scorsese documentary No Direction Home, scheduled to air on PBS on September 26 and 27.

Bob Dylan will next return to the stage on October 17 in Stockholm, Sweden, and he'll proceed to tour the bejesus out of Europe for more than a month. Exact tour dates and other information is, as always, readily available at the man's website.

Listen Over My Shoulder

2005-08-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

I don't listen to the radio. I haven't for years. I know there are some independent or college stations that are supposed to be worth listening to, but I'd just rather not deal with it. I'm selfish in that regard: I want absolute control over what passes through my ears, musicwise at least. Sometimes, though, despite my best efforts, I find myself in situations where someone else is in control of the music. And not someone who knows me and wants to introduce me to something they think I might take a liking to, someone who's tuning the dial carelessly. It sucks, but it's a fact of life. I've learned to handle it with dignity and grace.

And it's a good thing too, because if I've learned anything in my time as a music junkie, it's that you never know where your next fix is going to come from. I've been introduced to great songs in the supermarket and in elevators. The first time I heard Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "Tracks Of My Tears" I was walking around a shopping mall. There's a fragment of a song I heard once at a poetry reading. The singer was rebelling against guitars being outlawed at the event. That fragment means more to me than many things I've sought out; not a lot of time passes between the occasions when I feel the urge to sing it.

Today at work, someone else had the good computer, with the speakers. They chose the radio. KEXP. I don't have anything against this station, except that they don't play what I want to hear when I want to hear it. Well, and the fact that most radio personalities, if I can call them that, are annoying by nature. But today, KEXP did introduce me to something I liked, a lot. See, you just never know.

What KEXP played was an in-studio session by Seattle singer-songwriter Christy McWilson from August, 2002. The song I heard, sandwiched between your standard, unexceptional indie-rock fare, was called "Can't Stop A Train". It stopped me in my tracks; I've been thinking about it all day since. Luckily, and here's where KEXP gets props, the song is still available for download from their website, even if only as a Real Media file. I feel obliged to share it:

Christy McWilson - "Can't Stop A Train"

This song is originally from 2002's Bed Of Roses, Christy's second album (of two, so far). Her voice is classic and very country, fully possessed of that high, lonesome sound, and this song is perfectly suited for bringing it out. Simple, universal lyrics, a chugging rhythm that aspires to mimic a train, a plaintive melody and a phenomenal, rocking band: this can only be country rock. I challenge you to listen to this and not be moved, one way or another.

Christy McWilson - "The Serpentine River"

Christy McWilson - "Weight Of The World"

Here are two more songs from the same session that KEXP has kindly made available. "The Serpentine River" is also from Bed Of Roses, whereas "Weight Of The World" is from her first album, 2000's The Lucky One. These songs are also available to stream as Windows audio files if you'd prefer, also at the website linked above.

Check out Christy McWilson's website for (a little) more information.

You Would Have Adored Me

2005-08-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the strangest craving to hear the recordings of Woody Allen's standup routines. I've been aware of their existence for a couple years, but it wasn't until last week that I actually wanted to hear them. You see, I've been sort of a lukewarm fan of "Master Heywood Allen": his personality, at least as presented in his films, is something that I find more compelling than entertaining. My first few times through Manhattan and Annie Hall I might not have been having a great time, but something kept calling me back. Nowadays, the more and more I see of his work the more I appreciate it, and apparently (lo and behold!) my fandom is now full-blown enough for me to want to hear his standup from the early 60s.

Luckily, a local record store had the Rhino compilation Standup Comic for a mere $8.99. This particular compilation combines the recordings of three separate shows, from 1964, 1965 and 1968. I couldn't tell you if there are other extant recordings, but I'm pretty sure these bits are representative of his work as a nightclub comic, which is to say they fit right in with the persona he has crafted over the years. The secret to his success, I think, is that despite the extreme quirkiness of his character, he's incredibly easy to relate to. As he unfolds each bit in loving detail, it's almost too easy to visualize all of it actually happening to our hero. The listener accepts these preposterous anecdotes as real, exactly as Woody explains it in the "The Great Renaldo" bit:

I should just add, parenthetically, these stories are true, these things actually happen to me. I don't make them up. My life is a series of, um, these crises.

Some of the recordings are slightly marred by overeager audience laughter: these are the fanatics who, even at this early stage in his career, are just lapping it up. Just listen to the guy on "Private Life" or the one who does his best to ruin "A Love Story". Also, things occasionally seem a little too formulaic and predictable, which I think weakens the legendary "The Moose" bit and "The Lost Generation", with its punch-line (literally). I also don't like that the disc is sequenced in reverse chronology, opening with the 1968 recordings. Other than those minor quips, the recordings feature the same brainy, self-deprecating yet insightful humor Mr. Allen has parlayed into a career as an iconic film director. In other words, like his films, this is not bust-your-guts material. His rhythm and phrasing are outstanding. The one thing that surprised me though, perhaps because I haven't seen Stardust Memories, is how surreal some of the bits are, like the horse from "Second Marriage" that shows up at a sit-in in Georgia after eating a cube of sugar, or his mother knitting a chicken in "N.Y.U.". I mean, some of his stuff is practically Dylanesque in its imagery.

Woody Allen - "Bullet In My Breast Pocket"

This was recorded in Chicago at Mr. Kelly's in March, 1964. I love the way he's just playing with the sound of words on his tongue. It's a short and sweet, simple joke, the sort he tends to fare better with. It reminds me of the way Dylan switches cigarette and eyelids in "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again".

Woody Allen - "Down South"

This bit, also from Mr. Kelly's, is probably my favorite on Standup Comic. It's only been a week and I've already stolen the "I realized it wasn't my life" punch-line for my own purposes, but I doubt there's any way I'll ever be able to lead into it like he does here. I love the way he delivers the lines about grits too.

Woody Allen - "Eggs Benedict"

Pains in the chestal area, heartburn, Nazi recipes, a guy named Eggs Benedict, beating the medic out of $25, more heartburn, Eggs' mother, a twist ending...need I say more? This is taken from an April, 1965 performance in Washington D.C. at The Shadows.

Woody Allen - "The Vodka Ad"

This is the bit that opens the disc and it happens to be a highlight, if for no other reason than the line about being "breastfed from falsies". Typical Allen humor too, used on celluloid as recently as 2003's Anything Else: if you don't take advantage of an opportunity, someone close to you will. This was recorded in August 0f 1968 at Eugene's in San Francisco.

I just discovered, while researching for this post, that you can read along to the material at this website. Elsewhere, believe it or not, Woody Allen actually has his own website. Hey, everyone else does, why shouldn't he? Peruse at your own risk though; the comments on each film are hilarious, but you're liable to learn frightful things like the fact that he trained as a boxer for several months until his parents asked him to stop. Just imagine, poor little Woody in the ring...the stuff of nightmares!

Now I'm A Believer

2005-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm aware that the title of this post falls on the cheesy side of the fence, with a thud. I'm also aware that I'm more than a month late on this, but I still want to say a few words about the compilation that came with The Believer 2005 Music Issue, released way back in June. I picked up the magazine for the Carrie Brownstein interviewing Karen O feature, but I also happen to be a sucker for concepts like the one behind this disc: recent artists covering other (mostly) recent artists. I mean, I resent the notion that a song need be 30 years old before it can be reworked and claimed by a new artist. In my opinion, there's not enough of this sort of cross-pollination, switching and swapping of songs, today.

The results in this case are an interesting blend of straight-ahead indie pop and folk; not everything works, but the efforts are far from wasted. What's best about the comp is that the standouts don't come from the expected places. In fact, the only thing I suspected going in that turned out to be true is that Devendra Banhart's cover of Antony & The Johnsons' "Fistful Of Love" (already one of the best songs of recent memory) is the best thing here. Other than that, I found myself consistently pleasantly surprised.

Things start off smoothly: it's nice enough to hear Joanna Newsom's "Bridges & Balloons" in Colin Meloy's voice, but The Decemberists' version of the song certainly doesn't improve on the original. Ditto Spoon's take on Yo La Tengo's "Decora" and The Mountain Goats' read of The Silver Jews' "Pet Politics". Ultimately, CocoRosie's cover of Damien Jurado's "Ohio" emerges as the best thing about the first third of the disc. The middle of the comp sags beneath the oh-so-soft and slow whispers of Josephine Foster, Cynthia Mason and Espers, but things pick up again around Vetiver's bar-room sing-along cover of Michael Hurley's "Be Kind To Me". The rest of the disc doesn't squander the momentum earned there.

So, now's a perfect time for me to justify my claim that the highlights don't come from (too) familiar faces. I'll do my best:

San Serac - "Late Blues"

This is fantastic! This is what it's all about. All of these hot-shit name artists, and this guy I'd never heard of delivers the biggest surprise of the set. It's a cover of a very recent song by Ida, who also took part in this project. Ida's original was very slow, very smoky, but also stunning, very much in tune with what they do best. But where the original sounded a mournful tone at the start of something serious, San Serac turns it into a danceable, vaguely 80s piano-based manifesto. The sax breaks simmer and the drums hit hard and sensual, but it's San Serac's (Leonard) Cohen-at-a-club voice that keeps me coming back for more. I definitely have to track down this man's albums.

Visit San Serac at his online abode.

Jim Guthrie - "Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)"

I was feeling both The Constantines' Shine A Light and Jim Guthrie's Now, More Than Ever, but nothing on either of them grabbed me like this. Jim Guthrie takes The Constantines' song and turns it into a shuffling, bluesy confession of vulnerability. The violins that open the song are a great touch, the steady, repetitive groove really grounds the song in an engaging way and you can actually hear the words, something I've not quite managed with the original. Jim Guthrie's understated vocal is a major plus: just listen to the way he sings the "dead pigeons staring up at me" line. This makes me look forward to his next move...now, more than ever.

Home is where the rock is, and it's also where you'll find Jim Guthrie online.

I don't know whether or not you can still pick up the June/July issue of The Believer at your local newsstand, but if you can I'd recommend splurging for it. If not, feel free to read more about the issue at The Believer's website. Otherwise, join me in holding my breath in hopes that they do something similar for the 2006 music issue.

Your Ass Is Local

2005-08-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Despite what 50 Cent says, local hip-hop is a beautiful thing. People come together at hip-hop shows in a way I've never seen at a rock concert, local or not. At least in Olympia, Washington they do. I don't know if that's representative; maybe hip-hop is just another thing that has been affected by the overall progressive attitude here. You might still get shot at a local hip-hop event in Atlanta or Detroit, I wouldn't know.

There's an energy and an interaction at local hip-hop shows that I find unique. I've always compared hip-hop to the folk revival of the 60s in that respect: it's usually a tight-knit community where a strong bond is felt, not just between the performers themselves but between the performers and the audience as well. There's a certain intimacy one feels when they know the MC on stage personally, a feeling that not many people will ever get from a Jay-Z or Nas, or even from people's champions Talib Kweli and Common. In my mind, it's the same feeling the kids in Greenwich Village must've had attending a local Gerde's Folk City hootenany where Ramblin' Jack and Bobby Dylan were throwing down.

Another thing that's refreshing about local hip-hop is that, usually, there's quite a different pool of subject matter the artist is pulling from. Not a lot of rappers will get on stage and spit that fake thug shit at a local club because they know the mean-muggers in the audience haven't been patted down at the door. Usually the bling-lingo is gone too, because not many local MCs can afford to floss. And here in Olympia, thanks to that progressive attitude I mentioned earlier, misogyny isn't going to go over easy either. Which means the artist is left with their own life, experiences and emotions for lyrical fodder, as they should be. If that's not enough, there's always politics!

All of this has been my (extremely) long-winded way of introducing an Olympian hip-hop duo I consider worthy of your attention, you being everyone not in Olympia. Their songs pretty much speak for themselves. Don't expect slick production or a cameo from Pharrell, this is genuine underground hip-hop made with a mic and words, y'a mean.

Resident Anti-Hero - "Everything Is Politics"

Resident Anti-Hero - "Ignorance Is Bliss"

Resident Anti-Hero - "I Got Problems"

These three songs come from the album Professional Madmen, available from Space Gnome Records. If you like what you heard, pick up the album. It's for a good cause and shit. Visit Resident Anti-Hero at their website.

Portland Rocks For Free

2005-08-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

I take special interest in Portland's music scene, in part because there are so many worthwhile bands down there, but also because there's a good chance I'll someday end up calling Portland home. You can imagine my disappointment when I found out two weeks too late about Portland's PDX Pop Now! music festival. I can see you wondering: "big deal, you missed yet another festival you couldn't have afforded tickets for anyway". Not-uh homes, PDX ain't like that! You persist: "you don't even like crowds". You got me there, but PDX is free...like oxygen. In their bid to become America's greatest city, Portland ain't leaving no stone unturned, no corner, um, unturned and no song unsung. It's a beautiful thing man.

But, like I said, I missed it. Luckily, I did not miss the compilation it produced, which I came across while hitting up Portland record stores this weekend. Two discs, seven dollars. That's $3.50 per disc. That's 17 cents per song. You see what I'm getting at? Portland rocks! And is it awesome? Well, the first disc opens with Sleater-Kinney and the second with Viva Voce, if that indicates anything to you. If it doesn't, let me spell it out: over the course of its 41 songs (many of them previously unreleased), PDX Pop Now! 2005 makes a case for Portland as the coolest music scene in the universe.

For those of you, like me, not currently from Portland (non-Portlanders, non-Portlandians?), I'm prepared to share me booty. Not like that, like this:

The Minders - "I'm So Low"

Stunning melody and male/female vocal interplay from another band that occasionally melds country/folk with more aggressive pop styles. "I'm So Low" is a great sing-along. I hear they are (were?) an E6 band too. Visit: The Minders.

The Blow - "Pile Of Gold"

I've been meaning to get heavily into The Blow lately after being introduced to her with "How Naked Are We Going To Get?". This otherwise unreleased song makes a perfect second date. This woman exudes style and playfulness. Visit: The Blow.

Alan Singley - "These Trees Are For Resting"

I need to make a compilation of songs about singing country songs. Martha Wainwright had a great one on her debut and now Alan Singley delivers this beautiful, quiet gem. Alan has the kind of voice I love to root for. "And the place is just jumping". Thank you for that Mr. Singley. Visit: Alan Singley.

The Gossip - "It's Over"

I very much like what I've heard of The Gossip, but I didn't know Beth Ditto could sing like this. Wow! I must've been listening to the wrong stuff. She sounds like a cross between Dolly Parton and Lisa Kekaula, if you can imagine that. This song is like a lost hit from the 80s, and one that actually deserved to be a hit. Visit: The Gossip.

Sunset Valley - "Smallest Man"

A hilarious song, from beginning to end. There are, quite simply, not enough songs about phone sex. Cheers to Sunset Valley for contributing one more to the pool. Visit: Sunset Valley.

Norfolk & Western - "A Gilded Age"

There are drinking songs and driving songs, and then there's this: a drinking and driving song. Great lyrics here, great pedal steel in the background too. N & W might be the biggest name in this post, and this song certainly makes it seem well-deserved. Visit: Norfolk & Western

PDX Pop Now! 2005 has come and gone, but its website is still up and it has lots of stuff worth checking out, like pictures, T-shirts and more information on this compilation. It lists several places where the comp is for sale online, but the only one that actually had it when I checked was Seattle's Sonic Boom. Have at it, kids!

Everything You Know Now

2005-08-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

By now, I probably shouldn't be surprised. While overstated, over-the-top records hog all the attention, subtle and sophisticated records tend to go ignored. I saw it happen last year with A Girl Called Eddy's debut and Simon Joyner's masterful Lost With The Lights On, the year before that to Janet Bean and Jolie Holland and this year it's happening again, to Inara George's All Rise. It's understandable, I suppose: more people have an easier time rallying behind the Funerals and Elephants of the world. It seems to me that quite a few people make the mistake of thinking that because an album is soft-spoken it doesn't have anything to say. But, you and I know that's not true. On my watch, at least some of those quieter albums are guaranteed to get their turn. Today, the spotlight belongs to Ms. George.

Inara George - "Fools In Love"

This Joe Jackson cover opens with a perfectly obvious truth posed as a question: "Fools in love, are there any other kinds of lovers?" From there, Inara remodels the new wave of the original into a gentle, almost mournful acoustic guitar lullaby for lovers. Her voice sounds like she knows the territory all too well. The chorus is a dizzying delight, like a merry-go-round, only without the merriness; in fact, it's a powerful metaphor for the aimlessness of falling in love, again.

Inara George - "Good To Me"

"Good To Me" is one of the more upbeat songs on All Rise, helped along by another remarkable chorus, which begins like this: "There hasn't been a time that I have wished I wasn't here with you". Then she plays some interesting tricks: the song is written from the perspective of someone who has been told they "have a face only a mother could love", perhaps more than once. It's not an ugly girls rise up anthem though; instead, the narrator has fallen in love with someone whose eyes are good to her, a man who can see in her what her mother sees. It's an unusual concept, for sure, but it makes its point confidently: true love certainly isn't skin deep.

I've no doubt that music listeners capable of focusing a little more intently on whatever they're listening to, as opposed to simply aurally gobbling up monster riffs and painfully in-your-face hooks, will find much to enjoy over the course of All Rise. To those people, I heartily recommend the album, which is probably readily available from your local record store or from a cool online merchant like CD Baby. To find out more about Ms. George, there's always her website, of course.

Gonna Crush This Little Boy

2005-08-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of yesterday driving around to record stores looking for Des Ark's debut from earlier this year, Loose Lips Sink Ships. It all started just before noon; I was listening to various mp3s that had amassed on my desktop. I checked the properties on a random file, only to find that it was 29 seconds long. Not expecting much, thinking it would be an easy delete, I clicked it on up and this is what I got:

Des Ark - "Some Are Love [Clip]"

Can you believe that? 29 seconds, every one of them brilliant. Here are those kick-ass lyrics again, for those of you who don't listen to the words:

Take what you can carry and the rest we will destroy
This summer's gonna wreck us, gonna crush this little boy

This sent me into quite a tizzy, the likes of which I haven't known in a while. I like to think that first line is a reference to Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". The way Aimee Argote sings these two lines, especially the word boy, gets me every time. And that's a lot, I must've listened to this clip at least 29 times. And so the search began...

I set out scouring the web for the rest of the song, but it was nowhere to be found. I did manage to find this other song though.

Des Ark - "Jesus Loves You (But Yr Still Comin Home With Me Tonight)"

It may not be as great as that "Some Are Love" clip, but it does have one of the best titles ever, right? All the same, it didn't satiate me. Into the trusty automobile I went...

My search ended later that night when I found Loose Lips Sink Ships at Everyday Records in Seattle, used no less. Took it out to the car, threw that baby into a glowing slit in the dashboard and...ah, satisfaction! It's like the scenes in the old Looney Tunes cartoons when someone's ass or head is on fire and all of a sudden they find snow, minus the steam. And yes, I know I could've payed 99 cents or what have you and had instant gratification, but I'm old school, y'a mean: if you don't have to work for it, it probably ain't worth it.

So, here's the full version of "Some Are Love".

Des Ark - "Some Are Love"

Does it live up to the promise? You bet your sheets it does. Obviously I've only listened to the full album a few times, but this band is onto something special. God willing, they've got a long, expectation-defying career ahead of them. I don't want to get all sacriligious on y'all, but if they keep at it I can see myself caring about them as much as I care about (moment of silence) Sleater-Kinney. Okay, maybe not as much, but up there. Aimee's voice is intensely emotive, used as a caress or a weapon as she sees fit. Tim Herzog sounds like a monster on drums, I'm looking forward to seeing dude live, which will be in just a few days if these tour dates hold true:

8.17.2005 Phoenix Theatre - Petaluma, CA
8.19.2005 Loveland - Portland, OR
8.20.2005 The Vera Project - Seattle, WA
8.22.2005 Lo-Fi Cafe - Salt Lake City, UT
8.23.2005 Rock Island - Denver, CO
8.24.2005 Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS
8.25.2005 Sokol Underground - Omaha, NE
8.26.2005 Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN
8.27.2005 Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
8.28.2005 Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
8.29.2005 Buffalo Icon - Buffalo, NY
8.30.2005 The Middle East - Cambridge, MA
8.31.2005 Wallingford American Legion - Wallingford, CT

All these dates are with Engine Down and Bella Lea, two bands I've never heard. Good luck.

P.S. About the name, most references to the band call them Des_Ark, but they don't seem to refer to themselves as such on their website or in their liner notes. My advice is choose whichever one you like the most and roll with it!

Say No To Stars

2005-08-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

I do my best to keep it positive and I think that by and large I've done a pretty good job of only writing about artists I actually like, but every now and then the urge to warn others away from an album overcomes me. Granted, free publicity is probably not the best way to affect an artist's success, but when something comes along that I find genuinely offensive to basic good taste, I feel it's my duty to say so. Bearing that in mind, I found Star's 2004 album Set Yourself On Fire so maddening that I had to have a sit-down with the people responsible. I caught up with Stars' main culprits Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan in New York (where else?) for the following no-holds-barred interview...

cool hand bak: First question, for whom did you write the songs that comprise Set Yourself On Fire?

TC: The kids, man! Anyone who's ever been in love, or just anyone who drinks a lot and has a lot of meaningless sex. Anyone's who wants to be 17 again, you know. Manhattanites, basically.

chb: Ah, that's what I feared. But don't you think that demographic, the one you're aiming for, is already well-versed in what you're singing about? Most of them aren't doing anything but getting drunk and having cheap sex, so why bother to write these songs?

AM: Yes, but they need anthems! And we need to make a living. I mean, I don't care if other people listen to our songs and see a dead horse. I see a fucking white stallion ready to mount.

chb: Alright, let me come at this from a different angle. How old are the two of you? Doesn't it feel even a little wrong, at your age, to be writing songs with such juvenile concerns at their heart?

TC: Stars, for us, is like a beautiful reminder of the failure that was our youth. It's like, none of us were cool, we weren't getting any action back then, so we might as well write about it now. And really, what else are we going to sing about? Paying the bills? Developing a beer belly? No one but Yo La Tengo can really write cool songs about adulthood.

AM: I'm in rock 'n' roll, I don't have time to question what's coming from my gut, you know what I mean? Besides, plenty of songwriters in their mid-twenties are still writing songs about teenage issues. The Strokes have that song where they sing about being worried about the finals and there's that "oh really, your folks are away" line, so it's not like we're the only ones.

chb: Yes, but those songs actually sound good coming from The Strokes. Pretty much their entire musical identity may be borrowed, but at least they sound convincing. They can pull it off. Your songs' lyrics are so atrocious that they've gone past the point of being awful and have come back around to being laughable. Like the one that begins "First time in the backyard something something it was pouring and we were drunk as shit". That had me rolling around on the floor in tears. Don't you...

TC (interrupting): We had to amuse ourselves, man. Like, I'll admit it sucks to be almost 30 and have to cater to what 17 year olds care about, but there's really no way around it. That's just the nature of the business we're in. They're the ones that buy CDs. It's like, don't hate the players, you know, hate the game.

chb: Huh?

TC: You've never heard that saying? Basically, I'm saying it's not our fault, you know, we're writing what the kids want to hear. My life is boring, why would I write about that?

chb: Fair enough. Let's change the topic. Due to America's neverending campaign to make Canada its bitch, the hip thing to do these days is to champion a lot of average Canadian bands. Do you think Stars have benefitted from that trend?

AM: Definitely! New York is like our home away from home. People are so kind to us there. Well, except the time we went to jail and were surrounded by nothing but black people, that was sad. But we love New York, we want to be big in America of course. I mean, who wants a fucking Juno when you could have a Grammy? We want to be all things to everyone!

TC: What's weird though is that at the same time that mediocre bands like us, Broken Social Scene and basically all our labelmates [Editor's note: Except Feist] are being lavished with praise and adoration, Canadian bands that really deserve international attention, like The Deadly Snakes and The Be Good Tanyas, are still going largely unnoticed. Even The Arcade Fire. I mean, they're okay, but they certainly don't justify the hype they've been getting in the States. But, I'm actually American, so I don't really care.

chb: I agree, that is weird. Why do you think that is?

TC: Well, for starters, it helps that we're virtually interchangeable with mediocre American bands like The Postal Service.

AM: That's not why. The real reason is that Stars is about LOVE! Love is an action, and Stars are active. Love is everything! Love is forgiveness, love is horrible and love is beautiful. Love Jesus, love Allah, love love and fuck everything else.

chb: Um, you're not really answering the question.

AM: Whoopee, loooovvveeeeee!!! Once we smoked weed through an apple. Loooovovveeee!!!

chb: Alright, that about wraps it up.

There you have it. As you can see, it's too late for me. I should've gone running as soon as I saw song titles like "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead", "What I'm Trying To Say" and "Soft Revolution". As soon I heard them make stupid attempts at being clever with lyrics like "six drinks too many" or "the velvet underground" (sung in earnest!), I should've set the disc on fire. If that weren't enough, the first lines of their bio should've driven me away for good:

Montreal in winter is a cold, cruel place. It's the sort of city where you have to chip the tears off your cheeks when you start to cry...

So, basically, I went through all that so you don't have to. Stay away from this album. Far, far away. Enough said.

Z = They Are Alive

2005-08-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Splinking of fine young bands (he was really splinking), My Morning Jacket have released details regarding their follow-up to 2003's masterful It Still Moves. Titled Z (not after the film, I'm guessing), the album is set to be released on October 4 and will contain ten new songs, including these two:

My Morning Jacket - "Dondante [Live]"

My Morning Jacket - "Off The Record [Live]"

These are taken from MMJ's July 12 performance at Bonnaroo. The sound quality is not great, but that should just further whet your appetite for the new album. "Dondante" has an otherworldly, gorgeous and for the most part wordless vocal from lead singer Jim James. Well, the first-half does. It's almost like two separate songs, but the drum crash certainly bridges them well. The sax at the end is, of course, making me very happy. I believe "Off The Record" is Z's first single.

I'm looking forward to hearing the album versions of both songs. It's gonna be no small task to top It Still Moves, which I consider to be the very best album released in 2003. Let's hope these boys are up to it.

My Morning Jacket - "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man [Live]"

Here we go! One of my favorite bands of today covering my very favorite Prince song — I can't ask for much more. It's pretty faithful to the Sign 'O' The Times take, but there ain't nothing wrong with that. At least they sound convincing, right? I've heard words like "funky" and "jazzy" thrown around to describe Z, so maybe covering Prince is more than just a one-off. I am partial to their more country-rock songs, but it's also nice to see them moving in new directions.

You can regularly visit My Morning Jacket's website to keep up to date as the release of Z nears, but you probably already knew that.

You've Been Starring In My Dreams

2005-08-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

2000's EP compilation Boyoubetterunow served as an introduction for many to a remarkable young band from Stockholm called The Concretes. Their first full-length album, The Concretes, went a great deal further, unveiling the band as one of the most important currently making music. For it's pitch-perfect combination of pure pop and more traditionally Swedish atmospherics, The Concretes was awarded the disctinction of being one of my favorite albums of 2003. Prestigious stuff, I know. What's more, brilliantly well-written songs such as "You Can't Hurry Love", "Seems Fine", "New Friend" and (somebody stop me!) "Say Something New" also found themselves seated comfortably among the year's best.

Fast-forward two years and it's time to ask the inevitable question, the one common to any waiting period: where have all The Concretes gone? Friends, I'm here to tell you that the world's most lovable octet is back in the studio working on their sophomore album. I'll confess to feeling more than a little anxiety over their decision to work with Saddle Creek guru Mike Mogis, but I have faith in The Concrete's talents and basic common sense. In other words, they've got good heads on their shoulders, they'll do the right thing. That album is to be loosely expected in early 2006.

In the meantime, there's cause for celebration: The Concrete's have combined numerous B-sides with the entirety of their hard-to-find 2001 EP Nationalgeographic for the release of their second compilation, this year's Layourbattleaxedown. This band is so consistent that many songs on this disc are as strong as what was released on The Concretes. Observe:

The Concretes - "Miss You"

The Rolling Stones - "Miss You"

Would you look there, it's a side-by-side post. The 'cretes first wowed me with this uncanny reworking of "Miss You" last October when I saw them live at Neumo's in Seattle. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The original disco is slowed to the speed of an iceberg floating by, and suddenly the central sentiments of the song don't seem so sleazy. Their version really explains why The Concretes have been playfully described as The Supremes fronted by Nico: lead singer Victoria Bergsman delivers in a detached, resigned tone that is perfect for the song. It makes lines like "I've been hanging by the phone" and "I've been haunted in my sleep" sound even more lonesome. Whereas The Stones' version prided itself on it's psychotic energy and Jagger's effortless portrayal of a tormented ("People think I'm crazy!") spurned lover, The Concretes version actually sounds a lot more desperate, albeit no longer in a sexual sense. I sure would've liked to hear Victoria tackle the Central Park verse though.

Bottom line, this was an inspired choice for The Concretes and the result is fantastic. It ranks just below Feist's reimagining of The Bee Gees' "Inside And Out" in terms of best covers in recent years. Any band that can take a Stones song and make it sound like their own probably has that certain je ne sais quoi, and The Concretes most certainly do.

The Concretes - "Oh Baby"

This gem hails from the aforementioned Nationalgeographic EP. There's something so compelling about the plain-stating of the fact of a failed relationship:

I came to see 'cause I wanted to speak to you
But when I came around you didn't treat me good
So I am going home with something new
And I will find me another way

It's almost a country song in it's simplicity and directness. It goes to show, sometimes just stating simple truths like the one expressed above is exactly what songwriting should be about. Of course, it helps to follow-up with a gorgeous, kick-ass chorus, which is exactly what "Oh Baby" does.

Visit The Concretes' website for some online action. They do a better job of updating their site than most, and some of the captions under their pictures are laugh-out-loud hilarious. If you ever get a chance to see them live, please do!

This Feeling Still Here In My Heart

2005-08-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I feel bereft of originality on this matter, I am going to write about Bob Dylan again, specifically in terms of his show I saw last week. Why? Because seeing Dylan is always a special experience for me, unlike any other. I'm sure most Dylan fan(atic)s feel that way, but, possibly because I'm not one of the truly gone who follows his tour night after night, each show stays set apart, crystallized as one evening in time. Plus, there's always the uncertain element of it all. You've heard it before, but that's because it's true: the man is genuinely unpredictable. One never knows what to expect and, really, it's better to check your expectations (along with your camera!) at the gate.

Standing in front of the stage at a Dylan concert feels very much like sitting as the Master's feet. You can sense what is so magically enduring about his legend, even if you cannot name it. As he sings, whether well or not, there is a feeling that he instills in me, a feeling that remains days after the final notes of "All Along The Watchtower", his usual closer, have faded from my ears. Whereas after a Devendra Banhart or Bright Eyes concert the details are soon forgotten, the looks on Dylan's face, the unique phrasing of specific words and even his and his band's dresswear remain clearly within view of my mind's eye.

Bob Dylan - "New Morning [Live]"

Bob Dylan - "God Knows [Live]"

The saying goes that Dylan never sings any song the same way twice, and I buy that. One of my favorite consequences of this is his amazing ability to recast songs I normally don't much care for (to put it nicely) as the highlights of a show. Last March in Denver he did this with "John Brown" and "This Wheel's On Fire", and last week in Bend, Oregon he did it with the two songs above. Mind you, these versions are not from Bend; "New Morning" is from the June 12 show in Zebulon, North Carolina and "God Knows" is from the July 24 show in Calgary, Alberta, but they're both fairly similar to the ones I caught in Bend.

"New Morning", as you may well know, is from 1970's New Morning, my very least favorite Dylan record. Yet, something about the drama of this country-rock arrangement makes the song sound better, to these ears, than it ever did before. Dylan builds the suspense at the beginning with a solo moment at the ol' skeleton keys, his instrument of choice (or, some speculate, necessity, due to back problems) these days. The lightness of the album version is completely erased as Bob's current band digs into a pounding new creation.

"God Knows", unlike "New Morning", isn't a song I dislike so much as I'm not greatly familiar with it, being as it is off of 1990's Under The Red Sky, an album I simply don't put on very often. Still, I believe the album version severely pales in comparison to this ramshackle rendition. I don't know if it quite comes across on this recording, but the entrance of the drums at the end of the first bridge (more specifically, brilliantly after the line "God knows it could snap apart right now / like putting scissors to a string") made for one hell of a conniption in Bend. Drummer George Recile truly proves his worth on this one.

One reason "God Knows" stood out was certainly because it's better suited than many of his songs to his current voice, which has seen better days to say the least. Another reason these two songs were highlights is that the original recordings of "God Knows" and "New Morning" actually leave room for improvement, whereas Dylan will probably never improve upon the near-perfection of his best songs. Of course, that doesn't mean he shouldn't try.

Bob Dylan - "Honest With Me [Live]"

Since the release of 2001's Love And Theft (a masterpiece, by the way), "Honest With Me" has rarely been absent from Dylan's set. I've heard it four or five times myself. It's become easy to overlook, as common as it is, but it's a song that all the recent incarnations of Bob's band have really gone to town on. Like "God Knows", one reason it works so well is due to the – shall we call it the gravity of Dylan's changing voice. It never fails to make those who only came to hear "Like A Rolling Stone" or "Tangled Up In Blue" think twice, so it must be all right.

Bob Dylan - "I Believe In You [Live]"

Judging from the following three songs, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Dylan's current band is one non-stop touring force built exclusively for rocking out. I've merely been saving the best for last, and here's where they show how flexibile they are.

"I Believe In You" is one of Dylan's finest compositions from his Gospel days. This version, recorded on July 21 in Vancouver, B.C., certainly doesn't better the 1979 Slow Train Coming original, but I was still ecstatic to hear it live for the first time in Bend.

Bob Dylan is the greatest, most mercurial and most expressive singer I've ever heard. No other voice communicates with such emotional depth. With that in mind, it makes sense to me that a lot of the discussion of Dylan's current live show, among the die-hard contingent at least, tends to center on the condition of his voice. For myself, I'll say that I do miss the melody in his voice. He doesn't actually sing most songs these days, delivering them instead as if it were full-moon at a spoken-word performance, i.e. an expressive howl. When he does decide to sing, it's usually still fairly stunning, as this song attests. He slips back into a growl on the chorus, but that barely diminishes the beauty of this wonderfully ruminative version.

The adventures of the Master will resume in October, when are hero finds himself in Europe again. God knows what his band will look and sound like by then, but if I were European I wouldn't miss it for all the milk in Milwaukee. His website.

There Was A Child Went Forth

2005-07-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm barely back and already I'm hitting the road again. This time I'm heading out to a pair of Dylan shows, the final two nights of his summer tour, in Goldendale, WA and Bend, OR, respectively. Hoping for a "Visions Of Johanna" or a "Queen Jane Approximately", both of which were played within the last week. I'd really love to hear "To Ramona", but I'm not gonna hold my breath for that one.

I also picked up a book titled Scenic Driving Washington, so I'm hoping to make use of that. When I return, the road-trip bug should be out of my system for a little while (no promises though) and I should be able to get down to some serious writing.

In the meantime, here's one of my favorite poems of late for you to ponder. It's by a little-known American poet named Walt Whitman, and it's titled "There Was A Child Went Forth", just like this post.

There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day,

or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover,

and the song of the phoebe-bird,

And the Third-month lambs, and the sow's pink-faint litter,

and the mare's foal, and the cow's calf,

And the noisy brood of the barn-yard, or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there —

and the beautiful curious liquid,

And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads — all became part of him.

The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him;
Winter-grain sprouts, and those of the light-yellow corn,

and the esculent roots of the garden,

And the apple-trees cover'd with blossoms, and the fruit afterward,

and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road;

And the old drunkard staggering home from the out-house of the tavern,

whence he had lately risen,

And the school-mistress that pass'd on her way to the school,
And the friendly boys that pass'd — and the quarrelsome boys,
And the tidy and fresh-cheek'd girls — and the barefoot negro boy and girl,
And all the changes of city and country, wherever he went.

His own parents,
He that had father'd him, and she that had conceiv'd him in her womb,

and birth'd him,

They gave this child more of themselves than that;
They gave him afterward every day — they became part of him.

The mother at home, quietly placing the dishes on the supper-table;
The mother with mild words — clean her cap and gown,

a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by;

The father, strong, self-sufficient, manly, mean, anger'd, unjust;
The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,
The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture -

the yearning and swelling heart,

Affection that will not be gainsay'd — the sense of what is real —

the thought if, after all, it should prove unreal,

The doubts of day-time and the doubts of night-time —

the curious whether and how,

Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?
Men and women crowding fast in the streets —

if they are not flashes and specks, what are they?

The streets themselves, and the façades of houses,

and goods in the windows,

Vehicles, teams, the heavy-plank'd wharves —

the huge crossing at the ferries,

The village on the highland, seen from afar at sunset — the river between,
Shadows, aureola and mist, the light falling on roofs

and gables of white or brown, three miles off,

The schooner near by, sleepily dropping down the tide —

the little boat slack-tow'd astern,

The hurrying tumbling waves, quick-broken crests, slapping,
The strata of color'd clouds, the long bar of maroon-tint,

away solitary by itself — the spread of purity it lies motionless in,

The horizon's edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh

and shore mud;

These became part of that child who went forth every day,

and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.

No Such Thing As Love

2005-07-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

Reading this blog, you might get the impression that I go to a lot of shows. Unfortunately, very few of them are shows by local bands. That's something that I've been planning to change, but so far I've had little luck. I once, long ago, mentioned Encyclopedia Of Fun, a local band whose song "Hole In The Ground" was permanently lodged in my brain last January. Other than that though, there's been far too little local love 'round here.

I took my first step towards remedying the situation last week. A young Olympian band named Palisades were opening for Mount Eerie and Damien Jurado at a venue called Yes Yes. This was a show I had every intention of catching, but a lame-ass friend caused me to be late and miss Palisades' set. I did manage to snag a copy of their self-titled EP though, and I've been listening to it frequently since. At first I thought, "Okay, this is alright". Most of the songs fell short of being memorable the first few times through, but apparently they stealthily worked their way into the recesses of my mind because this afternoon I was listening to it and not only completely digging it, but singing along at points.

I first heard about Palisades from band-member Elijah Wood, whom I once took a class with. I snooped around online for more information about the band and saw that someone somewhere compared them to Modest Mouse. It's a convenient touchstone that I've used myself to explain them, but I regret it now because I think Palisades are significantly different overall. Mostly they're too tender and earnest to really fit that comparison, but I say that without having heard Modest Mouse's early work. Basically, Palisades have a very vulnerable sound that creates almost immediate intimacy within me as a listener, which is fucking cool. And if you do need an entry point, they say they want to sound like Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Will Oldham, Peter Gabriel and Sonic Youth, among others.

Anyway, small-talk aside, please lend an ear to Palisades. They're a band from my hood that I think have the potential to enrich your day, maybe even your life. Check it:

Palisades - "This Is How I Lay"

Palisades are at their best when they're at their catchiest, as they are on this song. The chorus is a perfect burst of ecstatic energy, pure pop goodness.

Palisades - "Consuming Fire Live On"

This appears to be either a demo or a live take on the EP's best song, "Consuming Fire". The version on the EP is a little more fleshed out, about as slow, and with the same heart-tugging melody better sung. This isn't bad though, and it was on their website so hopefully it'll make you want to hear the EP version.

Palisades - "Architecture"

If you're feeling these songs, stop by Radio Is Down and order the EP for a measly six dollars...that's a dollar per song, ya heard! Also visit their Myspace page, where the songs above came from. Their label's site, Masa Records, appears to be down at the moment, but I think there are more songs there. Put Palisades down on your bands to watch list, 'cause they should have a bright future ahead.

Guess Who Ain't Gon' Crack

2005-07-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hip-hop has long been a sport for spectators as much as for players, and many of us on the sidelines have never been able to resist the temptation to compare its greatest figures, like any sport really. With that in mind, some time in the last month I realized that my own personal "Best Rapper Alive" ordination had changed. I was one of those who firmly believed that Eminem was the true, living God MC. Despite his disappointing efforts on Encore and his increasingly shitty guest verses, I maintained. Em, however, seems to have momentarily (if not permanently) lost interest in using his flow for the powers of good; case in point: "My Ballz" on The Longest Yard soundtrack. Em's decline is only part of the story though; if it weren't happening at the same time as Jay-Z's culmination, he'd still be sitting atop the throne. The truth is, Em and Jigga have been neck and neck for some time. That's not to say there aren't other contenders: Murs, Ghostface, Nas, Black Thought, 50 Cent, MF Doom, Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden and others have all had their moments, but they don't manage to be as consistent as Eminem or Hov.

Inarguably, Em's greatest gift as a lyricist has been his ability to bring the personal to the plate in a palatable way. Others before him, most notably 2Pac, also dealt in the personal, but none of them ever made it the focus the way Em does. Granted, on Encore, that gift appeared diminished, tending towards exaggeration and nearing parody, but there's no doubt Em's success has influenced other rappers to bring more of themselves into the picture. No one has had more success with this than Jay-Z. Beginning with The Blueprint, S-Dot's lyrics have become more and more personal, with ever more of the man behind the mic being revealed. Combine that with the most flexible flow in the game, his charisma and his superior wit and wordplay, and you might begin to understand why I believe hip-hop has a new king.

Kanye West & Jay-Z - "Diamonds From Sierra Leone [Remix]"

Jay's turn on the "Drop It Like It's Hot" remix was what first alerted me to the possibility that he was overtaking Em, but this the verse right here that pushed Hov over the edge. Kanye does Kanye, whatever, but the man of a million names hits hard in his new President Carter guise. Like I said above, it's all about the personal. Not many rappers could get away with airing out their friend's shortcomings on record, but even fewer could brush it aside with a line like "As long I'm alive he's a millionaire". One has to wonder how Bleek feels being told that "he don't even have to write rhymes". Something this styling isn't supposed to have such substance, but leave it to Mr. "Impossible Takes A Week" to work it out. Jay's obvious joy for the new ways he finds to flow seals the deal, as he delivers the verse in an intoxicating rush of rhythm and gleeful swagger. Shit, if I could count Corporate America and the English language among my harem, I'd be giddy too.

Jay-Z - "Dear Summer [Funkmaster Flex Version]"

Here's a revealing rough-draft of the 534 cut on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show, from February of this year. From the fuck-up at the beginning to references to Peaches & Herb to his belated concern that the mic is catching feelings, the man is endlessly captivating. TRL, drunk uncles, advanced quotes, Suge, Superman - it's all here! How he still so good, and better? I guess in retirement he sits on his shit a little longer, honing it to perfection, but whatever the case may be he's accomplishing as much in his scant appearances these days as he used to over the course of an album. He clearly ain't lying about being in a good mood, nor about cats being lucky because of it. Hopefully both the game and Game were listening. 700%, y'all heard?

Jay-Z - "Dear Summer"

This has been around now for some time, so probably everyone who wanted it has it, but I thought it might be nice to post the two back to back for comparison's sake. I prefer the radio version, but that's just me.

Whether or not Em is down for the count remains to be seen, just letting y'all know where I stand today. Do you really need a link to Hov online? Probably not, but here goes: Jay-Z's website.

It's Been A Long Time...

2005-07-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't have left you, at least not without a dope beat to step to. Fear not, after a successful and much needed tour of some European cities, the bakster is back.

My vacation is not what you came here to read about, no doubt. Unfortunately, for the purposes of this post, you need to hear a few more details about my personal life. My adventures had barely begun when a sort of tragedy struck. While sitting at gate N15 at the Sea-Tac airport my mp3 player, freshly loaded with a few thousand tracks specifically for this trip (including a few troubling and yet somehow still hilarious Bushisms) just stopped working. Just stopped working! I went into "Rescue Mode" and tried cleaning it up, but that didn't work. Resetting it a few dozen times didn't help either. So, an hour into a 17 day trip I found myself completely without music.

It wasn't until five days later that I found an old mixtape (a real mixtape, not a CD mix) buried at the bottom of my backpack. Thanks to a tape recorder I had brought with me to record my thoughts during the trip, I was able to enjoy exactly one cassette (front and back) worth of music during my travels.

Here are two songs I rediscovered thanks to a long forgotten "Westward Mix":

The Busy Signals - "The Freeway"

Electric Sound Of Joy - "Night And Day"

Nothing life changing here, but these quiet gems really fit well in the mix, which also included songs by Simon Joyner, Cat Power, Mercury Rev and The Only Ones. Besides, they were all the music I had, which made them, for those twelve days, the best songs in the world.

Humming So Dearly

2005-06-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that the release date for Laura Cantrell's third album, Humming By The Flowered Vine, has come and gone without a peep from me. Laura is a personal favorite of mine; I've been in love with her music since the first time I heard her version of "When The Roses Bloom Again", which I posted here not so long ago. The reason I haven't been able to hype Humming, Laura's Matador debut, is because I've not even heard the album yet. I'm currently hastily preparing for a trip overseas, to Euroland, and haven't had any spare time for luxuries like listening to newly released albums, anticipated as they may be.

All the same, a new album from Ms. Cantrell is certainly worth commemorating, which is why I'd like to direct your attention to Matador's generous free download of Humming's first single:

Laura Cantrell - "14th Street"

Not bad eh? This song is pop-ier than anything on her first two albums, but that voice is as fine as ever.

Visit Laura's website to download an interesting New York City subway map, which also streams the album. There's also tour dates: Laura recently began a short tour of the East Coast, and she'll be heading out West in early July (including stops in Seattle!) before heading to the United Kingdom to open for Lucinda Williams.

A Pair Of Brunettes

2005-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Shows, that is. The Brunettes is the name of my latest flame, and over the course of the last two months I've been fortunate enough to see this young New Zealand band twice. The first time was in Portland at the dreaded Crystal Ballroom on May 15, where they were opening for The Shins. Unlike basically every other person in attendance, I went to see The Brunettes, having become enamored with them off the strength of their 2004 full-length Mars Loves Venus. Don't get me wrong, I also quite enjoy The Shins, but I wouldn't have made it to this show if it weren't for The Brunettes opening. And The Brunettes did not disappoint. I would describe their style as 60s bubblegum-pop meets Motown grooves; it's very derivative, true, but that does little to diminish its appeal.

I saw The Brunettes for a second time opening for Feist and Rilo Kiley exactly one month later at the Showbox in Seattle, a show that has the distinction of being the hottest (temp-wise) I've ever been to. For the first time in my concert-going experiences I understood why people pass out. The Brunettes, however, were once again remarkable. Though they played fewer songs that I'm partial to, they seemed to be much more in a performing frame of mind and worked this American audience much better than the one just a month before.

A long, long time ago I had intended to do concert reviews of each of those shows, pointing out that The Shins really are our modern Simon & Garfunkel, commenting on how simply awful Feist was live (which I say despite the fact that I love Let It Die) and going into detail about Rilo Kiley's set, but time is running out for me so I've decided just to write about The Brunettes. I'm sure you won't mind.

Here are my two favorite songs from the aforementioned Mars Loves Venus:

The Brunettes - "The Record Store"

My favorite Brunettes song thus far, possibly because, having worked in record stores for years, I can relate to the lyrics. It starts with a great lick, probably stolen, but it's Jonathan Bree's convincing vocal that seals the deal. Elsewhere, Bree severely damages several songs with his "rock voice" posturing, but that's not a problem here. It's just a great song.

The Brunettes - "Best Friend Envy"

This song is a great rave-up, sung by frontwoman Heather Mansfield. Here the lyrics prove the 60s pop connection: it harkens back to girl-group songs like Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" where something as simple as best friend envy can be elevated to such monumentally worrying heights. All in all it's a brilliant update of that style, especially considering that very few vocalists could pull off this kind of melodrama nowadays without being annoying. Which leads me to my next point: by far, The Brunettes steer clear of the many pitfalls awaiting a band with such a derivative palette. I find them endearing and playful where others would strike me as simply unnecessarily retreading already well-worn ground.

Be sure to head over to The Brunettes' website where you can stream-in-full every song from their two full-lengths, Mars Loves Venus and 2002's Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks. In fact, it's imperative that you sample some of those songs because neither of the two I posted feature The Brunettes' knack for the bubblegum-duet. Many of their songs, like "Talk To Jesus" and "These Things Take Time", have lyrics that sound like dialogue from old beach movies and such. Some of the songs on Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks, for instance, wouldn't feel out of place on the Grease soundtrack. Bree has some great lyrics (favorite line: "it's no secret that when I sing I like to sound American" from "The Moon And June Stuff"), Heather's a dynamic vocalist (listen to "Loopy Loopy Love"), and the other Brunettes do a great job of re-imagining those old sounds. Treat their Listen page like a box of chocolates and listen to whatever looks appealing at first sight. Just be sure to brush your teeth afterwards.

Sit Down Honey, Let's Kill Some Time

2005-06-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, let's see if I can remember how this works. I keep telling myself to take it slow, start off with a short post about how God awful the new White Stripes song is or something, but there's really only one thing I want to write about right now: Sleater-Kinney. Last Wednesday I pointed the car south and drove to Portland to see them play the Crystal Ballroom. How was it? Not so fast, first you have to hear about the openers.

Swan Island kicked things off, to my surprise. I was not aware that there were going to be two openers, so at first I thought Mary Timony had subjected herself to some really fucked up plastic surgery. Then four other ladies joined Swan Island's lead singer (aka Brisa Marie Gonzalez of the Jungle) and I realized this wasn't a guitar and drums duo but an 80s rehash from hell. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think they were that bad; they just didn't make much of an impression either way. The thing that stands out in my mind about their set was Brisa's dancing, which looked like she was using her body to create swan shapes...human origami, I believe it's called. I couldn't tell you what she sang about though because her voice was entirely inaudible over the band's crashing and thrashing. They had a few fun moments where they locked into a tight groove, thanks to guitarist Aubree and Bob on bass. For the most part though, they just struck me as a young band without much to distinguish them that somehow landed what I would consider a dream-gig, that is opening for the mighty S-K.

I don't have any tunes by them since they've only released one 3" CD, but google says they've got a couple up on their Myspace page, if you do that. Otherwise, if you're feeling particularly adventurous (or, more perversely, you think that my taste and yours are so antithetical that my so-so for them means they'll make you crazy), you could head over to 16 Records and pick up the aforementioned mini disc. If you do that, let me know if they come off any better on record.

Up next was Mary Timony, she of kickass guitar, along with her drummer (and man-toy, or so I hear) Devin Ocampo. I was excited however long ago it was that I found out Mary would be opening for S-K, especially because I've been enjoying her album from earlier this year, Ex Hex, so much. That album is consistently good, but I've narrowed it down to two of my favorites for your consideration:

Mary Timony - "Return To Pirates"

Mary Timony - "Hard Times Are Hard!"

Most of the songs on Ex Hex felt much heavier live, whereas on the record there's more subtlety and variation in mood and tone. Mary and Devin are what might genuinely be called a dynamic duo, their guitar and drums interplay a lot more interesting than several more high-profile duos I could name. The amazing thing to me about Mary's playing is how it manages to sparkle (in the girly sense of the word) one minute and be ultra-raw (in the rawk sense of the word) the next. Likewise, her melodies veer from tender to tough and back again, often in the space of one line. I think "Return To Pirates" is a great example of that. Devin was the first drummer I've seen in awhile who I thought deserved to be playing on the same stage as Janet Weiss, though Janet remains the best drummer I've ever seen. Definitely a show I'd recommend, especially since they tend to tour with similarly kickass bands like Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and, of course, Sleater-Kinney. Visit Mary Timony's website for information on those tour dates and stuff.

I realize that lately this blog is in danger of becoming entirely about Sleater-Kinney. I promise that after this post it'll be awhile before I make another S-K post, unless something really unexpected happens. And anyway, can you really fault me? They've just released a new album that extends their great album streak to six and, as I'm about to explain to you, they're just getting better and better live.

Wednesday's show was a contender for the best Sleater-Kinney concert I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. You could chalk it up to the fact that it was my first time seeing them since the release of The Woods, but I think it's more complicated than that. It was seeing them in their hometown of Portland, it was them being rested and off the road for awhile, it was them and us being excited to play/hear The Woods' songs live, it was the fucking amazing setlist (we got "Was It A Lie?" (finally!) and "Sympathy" in the same set) and it was them feeding off the energy of the crowd, and probably other things as well. It was possibily the loudest, most passionate, most energetic and, quite simply, the most fun rock show I've ever showed up for. Up in the second row, surrounded by kids that were really into it, everything just came together. For once the audience was up to the level that S-K deserve: Carrie and Corin broke into smiles several times throughout the night, obviously enjoying the enthusiasm of the crowd. I've never danced or jumped so much in my life. My ears rang for two days after the show, but it was well worth it. Sleater-Kinney are on fire right now. They've never cooled down, but right now they're burning up. In other words, catch this tour!

Here's The Woods song that has vaulted to the head of the pack in my world:

Sleater-Kinney - "What's Mine Is Yours"

The Woods happens to contain two of S-K's all-time greatest grooves, this song and "Steep Air". "What's Mine Is Yours" is the better of the two; in fact, it's just behind Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" as best groove of the millennium. Throw in yet another stunning, soulful vocal from the chords of Corin Tucker and a chorus that expresses love in the most simple (and, therefore, most profound) way imaginable and you've got what I currently consider to be the best song of the year. Yes, that good!

As a bonus, here's a Real Audio recording of the Sleater-Kinney show at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, B.C., earlier this year (February 26 to be exact). It's a show that I was at and, while not quite up to the level of Wednesday night, can verify rocks, rolls, rumbles and roars.

If any of you head out to see S-K on this tour, please share about your experience in the comments section. Visit the band's website for information on those tour dates and such.

On The Day The Dark Was Falling

2005-05-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today's the day, it's finally here! I was in Seattle at midnight last night to be one of the first to purchase Sleater-Kinney's new album, The Woods. Personally, the wait has never felt longer for any other album than it has for The Woods, but I'm proud of myself for making it to the release day without giving in and listening to the album, which has been readily available for at least a month. Hell, I didn't even listen to the single, "Entertain", when it was offered as a free download on their website. I wanted it to be a completely fresh, immediate, intoxicating experience when I finally ripped the plastic off and popped the album in. Thus far, I've been too busy to listen to it with complete and undivided attention. In fact, I've only made it all the way through once, but I'm working on my second time as I write this. I'm not going to share any initial impressions, just because I don't want to have anything to retract later, but I will say that I continue to believe that Sleater-Kinney are the single greatest band making music in the world today.

I've no mp3s from The Woods to share, in part because I've already posted "Entertain" (scroll down!) and in other part because you need to buy the album! Still, I wanted to commemorate the day The Woods was born. Now I'll turn the mic over to the ever commanding Janet Weiss. These are her words from her gracious last post to Sleater-Kinney's blog:

This is the last half hour the world turns without The Woods precariously in it. The wait for May 24th, the release date of our psychedelic love child, has seemed longer than usual. We've done too much talking about this record. I could go crazy trying to explain how songs fall from the sky into our laps. Sure, we work hard, but ultimately, we are lucky for our chemistry, for the love we have for eachother, for our differences. We definitely tried to break free this time, to shake our heads wildly with our eyes closed. And when it's raining and I'm sitting on the porch with my headphones on, it seems like we did. Welcome to The Woods, dearest listeners. I'm proud you want to come in and hear what we made. xojanet

Furthermore, here be some tour dates. Sleater-Kinney put on one of the best shows imaginable, so if you've never seen them before and you're even remotely curious, do check them out.

5.24.2005 Music Millenium (In-Store) - Portland, OR
5.31.2005 Sonic Boom (In-Store) - Seattle, WA
5.31.2005 Moore Theatre - Seattle, WA*
6.01.2005 Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR*
6.02.2005 Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR*
6.04.2005 Warfield - San Francisco, CA*
6.06.2005 The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
6.07.2005 Glass House - Pomona, CA*
6.08.2005 Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA*
6.09.2005 Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA*
6.10.2005 Shoreline Amphitheater - San Francisco, CA
6.15.2005 First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN^
6.16.2005 Riviera Theater - Chicago, IL^
6.17.2005 Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH^
6.18.2005 Phoenix - Toronto, ON^
6.19.2005 La Tulipe - Montreal, QC^
6.21.2005 Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
6.22.2005 Avalon - Boston, MA^
6.23.2005 Roseland - New York City, NY^
6.24.2005 Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA^
6.25.2005 930 Club - Washington, DC^
6.27.2005 The Late Show with David Letterman - New York City, NY
6.29.2005 Millenium Center - Winston-Salem, NC
6.30.2005 Sundown In The City Series - Knoxville, TN
7.01.2005 Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA

As if that weren't enough, I think more tour dates are on the way. The first two in-stores, as I understand it, are record signings only, S-K won't be brandishing their instruments. The dates with a * next to them are with the wonderful Mary Timony opening, whereas the dates with a ^ find Dead Meadow starting things off. I'll be at the Portland shows. I'd like to add that one of the best S-K shows I ever saw was at the Glass House in Pomona. It was such a great venue and the kids there were really into it, so if you can make it to that show you're probably in for something special.

On an unrelated, but equally important (to me, anyway) note, today happens to be the birthday of the greatest songwriter who ever did walk in chains, by which of course I mean lived. Happy Birthday Bob Dylan! May you stay forever awesome, and keep kicking out the jams! I know your tour with Willie Nelson begins tomorrow, so have fun and stay out of trouble.

Guess Who's Back!

2005-05-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Unbeknownst to you, dear readers, the lack of noise around here lately is a direct result of my having started a new job two weeks ago. I'm not going to say much about it, except that the work load is significantly greater than what I'm used to. Until I get back to my natural rhythm, I'll try to put up a few tracks here and there, but there probably won't be very much substantial writing.

Despite the fact that I hardly had a single free day last week, I was able to make it into a record store to purchase a few new releases. I'll dedicate this post to sharing some songs from those albums. Most of these have probably already been floating around, but I thought I'd give them the cool hand stamp of approval.

The Evens - "All These Governors"

Love might be in the air for Mr. Dischord, but it seems to have tamed him only slightly. And I'm already looking forward to his and Amy's next record. Visit The Evens' Dischord page for more information.

Mary Timony - "Friend To J.C."

In a word: wow. And, just like that, my love for MT deepens. Fucking yes! Visit Mary's website.

Edan - "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme"

Has anyone called this Public Enemy meets The Flaming Lips yet? If not, let me be the first. I've found my summer jam! Visit Edan's website.

The Hold Steady - "Your Little Hoodrat Friend"

Judging by my perusal of the album so far, "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is not the standout track from Separation Sunday. However, it is the track that The Hold Steady have made available for download, which is why it gets posted. Visit their website.

Spoon - "I Turn My Camera On"

Here is what I've overheard to be called "minimal sex-pop" from a band that only releases albums the same years as Sleater-Kinney, as Carrie observed in their recent blog entry. Visit Spoon's website.

Mercury Rev - "In A Funny Way"

I laid my money down for The Secret Migration despite the atrocious artwork, the four year absence and the negative reviews. If anyone can surmount such obstacles, it's gotta be Mercury Rev, and "In A Funny Way" is a good start. We'll find out about the rest when I actually get around to opening it. Visit the Rev's website.

There you have it, that's most of what I've been listening to lately. What about you all? What sort of fuzzy warbles have you been feeling? Rock the comments!

And This Was Their Finest Hour

2005-05-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I don't have to tell you that The Kinks' Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire is one of greatest albums ever recorded. The Kinks are in now, aren't they? So I don't have to make a case for Arthur, complete with evidence and what not. Instead, I can concentrate on pure gushing. Fun for all involved.

I was one of the lucky ones. Many years after its release in 1969, Arthur was my introduction to The Kinks, and it remains my favorite Kinks album. I think what amazed me first about Arthur was the extraordinary number of tones and moods the album moves through, with the lyrics and melodies sure, but with Davies' singing and the band's playing as well. There's the giddy fuck-it-all, let's-have-some-fun laziness of "Drivin'", the mock comfort turned quiet rage of "Shangri-La", the rumble-tumble, morale-boosting "Mr. Churchill Says" and the seemingly straightforward costs-of-War lamentation of "Some Mother's Son". I say seemingly because, truthfully, nothing is straightforward about this album; it happens to be one of the most emotionally complex albums I've ever come across, with subtle variations taking place not just from track to track, but usually several times within each song. It gets to the point where one must rightfully conclude that Davies' songwriting on Arthur, especially for sardonic wit and uneasy insight, is unparalled by all but Bob Dylan. All of that and there's a decidedly English narrative told in perfectly sparse storytelling to pay attention to. Gooseberry tarts anyone?

The Kinks - "Young And Innocent Days"

When I first started this post, I only wanted to write about "Young And Innocent Days", the song from Arthur on repeat in me brain lately. In the textbook of rock music, "Young And Innocent Days" deserves to be the chapter on yearning. Maybe the melody feels a bit hesitant at first, but the second verse brings the other Kinks, the second chorus brings the drums and by now the song has cohered into one of the most poignant mediations on the loss that always accompanies growing up. This is succinct, universally evocative songwriting of the highest caliber. Ray Davies' way of singing, especially on the two lines that comprise the chorus, is enough to make me want to see behind the curtain: I want to know exactly, scientifically even, how he manages to effect me so dramatically every time.

The Kinks - "Arthur"

Arthur is the album's greatest lyrical achievement, moving at it does from one immortal line to the next. The best of the bunch is "Somebody loves you, don't you know it", which could be the crown jewel in most songwriter's catalogues. Married to "Arthur"'s inventive melody though, the line really soars to new heights. When played loud, the handclaps and gospel-tinged celebration of the last minute and a half of the song can only be described as glorious.

The Kinks - "Mr. Churchill Says"

The fact of the matter is it's all there in Ray Davies' voice. Not to take anything away from the band, who are spot-on throughout, but the power of Arthur rests to a large extent on the unique expressiveness of Davies' singing. If the song is about complacency, I'll be damned if Davies doesn't sound complacent. "Mr. Churchill Says" is a perfect example. A classic case of "doth protest too much", the narrator of the song is all blind patriotic bravado, the one guy in the trench who really believes in the war because, hey, Mr. Churchill said to. The schoolboy chant near the end of the song brilliantly brings it all home to roost. Don't miss the "do your worst and we'll do our best" yell.

So, by now you realize you need Arthur, right? Well, don't settle for anything less than the best, be sure to get the 2000 Castle reissue which contains 11 fantastic bonus tracks, including the unforgettable "Plastic Man" in stereo and mono. It should be readily available from your neighborhood corporate superstore, or from Amazon. As for getting to know The Kinks online, your best bet is this Unofficial Kinks Web Site.

In A Time Of Flourishing Beauty

2005-04-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday's show was a quadruple bill, a veritable mini-festival, at Seattle's Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance, an art institution. Getting to the venue, which is packed away in a little corner on a hill in Queen Anne, was no problem, but finding a place to park was a real pain in the ass. All of the pay-to-park lots were full, the meters were all taken as usual and everywhere else was restricted for one reason or another. It ended up taking me over half an hour to find a spot about six blocks away, which was fine, except that it sent me to the show in not the best of spirits. Everything changed once I got inside, secured second row (dead center!) seats, studied the program and prepared myself for the first of four unique musical experiences. I was happy to be surrounded by people of every style and passion.

His royal hippiness, Devendra Banhart, took the stage first, along with his "brother" Noah Georgeson, (formerly?) of The Pleased. Astute Banhart listeners will immediately think of the song "Noah" off of Niño Rojo, the one about the cowboy that nobody knows. It seems Noah is one of the core musicians that Banhart called upon to play his next LP, his first with a full band. You can read all about that at the recent Pitchfork interview with Monsieur Banhart.

The two of them came with a cup of wine and a guitar apiece, sat down on a rug on the stage and began the festivities. With them seated and me in the second row, I could barely see them over the stage monitors. They played a set of mostly covers and new songs, interspersed with Devendra's storytelling. I'd be lying if I claimed to be a huge Banhart fan, so I could be mistaken, but I don't think he played anything from Rejoicing In The Hands or Niño Rojo, which meant no "This Beard Is For Siobhán" or "Will Is My Friend", my two favorite songs of his. He did play songs that'll probably end up on the next album, including one that might be called "Long Haired Child" that was a big hit with the audience. The covers were mostly not in English, so I can't really say what they were about, though he got quite into them. He was a lot more animated and bouncy than the Devendra in my mind, which was nice; it's always good to have one's expectations trounced.

Here are a couple songs Devendra Banhart songs to introduce you to his music, just in case you've been living under a rock for the last year and a half. "The Body Breaks" is from Rejoicing In The Hands and "Be Kind" is from Niño Rojo, and they are both standout tracks on their respective albums.

Devendra Banhart - "The Body Breaks"

Devendra Banhart - "Be Kind"

Devendra seems to have two websites, one at Young God Records and the other at XL Recordings.

Up next was William Basinski, the avant-garde auteur du jour. I've come across his name quite a bit in the past six months, but I've only listened to a few pieces here and there, which is to say I wasn't sure what to expect from a Basinski live performance. I knew the music wasn't going to be live, I knew there would probably be some sort of huge screen in the background playing an equally esoteric video, and I knew I was looking forward to the experience. Now, I have no idea what the titles are of the music I heard or the video I saw, beyond that they weren't part of the famous Disintegration Loops series. I apologize, I'm just not up on this stuff.

I can say a few words about my experience though. The music took me to a unique place, a place that was mostly new to me. I found myself sitting very still. It was a natural stillness, not the stillness we force ourselves into when we want to really pay attention. The images on the screen and music in the air worked together to give me something that I really appreciated, despite the fact that I know it's not something I need very much of to feel satiated. I was glad when Mr. Basinski walked out at the conclusion of his set; I wanted to see just who was causing me to feel what I was feeling.

As for the images, it was akin to cloud watching or Rorschach ink blot tests; I suppose I saw what I wanted to see. However, to make it more palatable to you, the reader, I'll share a poem I wrote during the intermission between Basinkski and CocoRosie's sets. For now it's called "Star Traffic":

Black dogs climb the waves
Until the waves are black

Stars are in the well
Until the well is filled with stars

Wires separate the city
They are fine and silver

You are wading out to sea
Until you are the sea

You’re caught inside a storm
Until you are the storm

Footsteps on the sky
Until the sky is trodden

Your reflection on the water
Is the water introspective?

You leave your body behind
Until your body is a shell

The clouds are made of fire
I hope it doesn’t rain

To provide a taste of Basinski's music, here is one of the tracks from The Disintegration Loops IV. Though keep in mind it's quite different from the piece I heard and saw.

William Basinski - "DLP 1.3"

For more information on William Basinski's work, visit his website.

If you had told me going into this show that I would enjoy William Basinski's set more than CocoRosie's, I probably would've laughed at you. I was one of the people who liked CocoRosie's debut album, La Maison De Mon Rêve, albeit with some major reservations. In fact, I wrote about the album and one of its best songs, "By Your Side", near the beginning of this blog. I wrote then that CocoRosie "fail interestingly" with that album, which I still believe. Their live performance, however, also failed and, worse, failed to be interesting.

I found myself not having a good time very early in their set. Too many things combined to provoke distaste: the probably-meant-to-be-ironic-but-really-just-lame Care Bare video playing on the aforementioned huge screen, the toy instruments that struck me as gimmicky rather than playful and the tape recordings that arbitrarily pervaded each song, adding nothing and distracting so much. It could just be me, I know, but the overall impression I was left with was that their music works a lot better on record than on stage.

Their set was not a complete travesty though: they did play "By Your Side", which remains my favorite song by them, Sierra sat down on the floor to play beautiful harp and they invited Antony on-stage for a very moving performance of a song from their next album, "Beautiful Boyz". The album is titled Noah's Ark, it's set to be released this September and, despite the fact that I didn't enjoy their set Saturday, I'm still very much looking forward to it.

Here is the song that their label, Touch & Go Records, has generously made available from La Maison De Mon Rêve:

CocoRosie - "Good Friday"

Visit their website for more information and such.

I have no problem admitting that the main reason I wanted to be at this show was Antony. His website describes him as "an utterly genderqueer musical sensation", which is certainly true, but he has entered my heart as a talented songwriter, blessed with a voice that I'm not even going to begin to try to describe. I had heard that he's also a special performer, and last Saturday I was able to see for myself.

For Saturday's performance, The Johnsons were comprised of Julia Kent, Rob Moose and Kevin Barker (of Currituck County). Antony's set began with Barker playing a couple of his own songs, one instrumental and one vocal, solo with acoustic guitar. I thought that they were nice enough, but I was anxiously waiting Antony's arrival. Maybe a part of me couldn't believe he would show, even though he had just been before my eyes at the end of CocoRosie's set. Finally, show he did, far stage right mostly hidden by a grand black piano. The picture above is pretty much the view I had of him the whole night, but he was still beautiful and his voice was still perfect.

His set was shorter than I would've liked, but then again I could've listened to that voice all night. He sang most of the best songs from this year's I Am A Bird Now (still one of the year's best albums), including "My Lady Story" and "For Today I Am A Boy". He sang "Cripple & The Starfish", which I was especially hoping for, despite the fact that it's from his self-titled 2000 debut. He invited CocoRosie back to sing Boy George's part in "You Are My Sister", then kept them on to sing their "Brazilian Sun". And then, as my inner music nerd hoped, he invited everyone back on-stage to sing what must've been an improvisational song. The song was "Water & Dust", so-called for containing only those three words as lyrics. He asked that everyone clap along, to lend structure to the song but also to participate in the true, joyous communality of these artists, all of whom seemed genuinely happy to be sharing the stage with one another. I never clap along at concerts, I feel goofy, but this was different - this was right. He even sang a gorgeous cover of Leonard Cohen's "The Guests", harmonizing with Kevin Barker for the wonderful chorus melody.

He didn't sing "Fistful Of Love", his masterpiece, but I wasn't disappointed. I know that I have been witness to something special when I find myself forgetting to breathe; instead of the natural breaths that I should take every few seconds, I realized I was drawing hearty, needful breaths every half minute. And then it was over. One by one the guests began to leave, the brokenhearted many and the openhearted few, back into the night, into the lonely color of the city, into reality, wherever they left it.

Here are two songs Antony sang on Saturday, the first from I Am A Bird Now and the second from Antony & The Johnsons.

Antony & The Johnsons - "For Today I Am A Boy"

Antony & The Johnsons - "Cripple & The Starfish"

Visit Antony & The Johnsons' website to better know this remarkable artist.

Extra super special bonus track:

Leonard Cohen - "The Guests"

I'll Listen Long As I'm Able

2005-04-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

I saw two great shows this past weekend. The first show was Over The Rhine, with Kim Taylor opening, on Friday at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland. I came close to seeing Sleater-Kinney there a few months ago, but I'm glad I didn't: it's this really tacky, faux log cabin hipster magnet. It's one of those places where the music (being performed downstairs) seems to be an afterthought, with the bar and restaurant the true attraction. Judging from their schedule they put on a lot of good shows, but I really wasn't feeling the overall atmosphere.

Luckily the ambience of the lounge in no way detracted from the music. Kim took the stage right on time, just her and her guitar. She played maybe five or six songs, and while I didn't enjoy all of them some were quite good and I liked her overall bluesy, confessional style. Plus she had a very charming stage presence, liberally interacting with the crowd and making jokes that were actually funny. She did this very endearing thing where she said she'd brought a trumpet player with her, and then she made these trumpet-sounding noises with her mouth. Look, you weren't there, it was funny dammit! The overall impression Ms. Taylor left me with was one of a sweet, coolly collected and down-to-earth simple gal, and I hope to hear more from her in the future. Here are a couple songs from her 2004 Extended Play EP, neither of which she played Friday night:

Kim Taylor - "Maggie"

Kim Taylor - "Telephone"

Here's another song available from Amazon, which means you'll probably have to sign in to download it. This one is from her 2002 full-length So Black, So Bright:

Kim Taylor - "Myself (Enough)"

You can visit CD Baby to preview more songs from So Black, So Bright, including my personal favorite "Birds And The Bees", and to purchase the album if you like. You can also visit Kim's website for more information and tour dates.

Over The Rhine took the stage shortly after Kim departed. This was my first time seeing them so I was pretty excited, having thoroughly enjoyed their Films For Radio and Ohio albums and just starting to get into this year's Drunkard's Prayer and their older material. I guess they weren't feeling the Doug Fir mood either, because they decided to set their own by lighting candles and bringing flowers out. Then they proceeded to play a great 18-song set (plus encore) with an interesting selection of songs culled from their many albums, which included some of my favorites ("Suitcase", "Long Lost Brother", "Anything At All" and "Born") as well as some great songs I didn't already know ("Jack's Valentine" and "All I Need Is Everything"). They played like a band that's incredibly comfortable with their music and their audience, which meant a lot of fun for both them and us.

Here's a few songs to introduce you to Over The Rhine, if you're not already familiar with them:

Over The Rhine - "Born"

Over The Rhine - "All I Need Is Everything"

As I mentioned above, "Born" and "All I Need Is Everything" were both played on Friday and they were both highlights of the show. They invited Kim Taylor back to the stage to play guitar and sing on these songs. They sounded really good live with the girls singing together, but they're great in these studio versions too. "Born" is from Drunkard's Prayer and "All I Need Is Everything" is from 1996's Good Dog Bad Dog, the home recordings, as opposed to the 2000 reissue of Good Dog Bad Dog on Back Porch Records.

Over The Rhine - "Show Me"

They unfortunately didn't play this Friday, but I decided to post it anyway. It's one of the standout songs on Ohio, which is my favorite album of theirs and the one I'd recommend a newcomer starting with.

Over The Rhine have one of the best designed sites I've seen and they offer a generous selection of free downloads from each album, plus a wealth of information for the uninitiated to explore. You can also purchase any of their albums directly from them, so be sure to stop by their website.

I'll post on the second show I saw this weekend tomorrow, or maybe the next day. We'll see...

It's Going To Be Wild

2005-04-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

The greatest band on Earth, maybe even in the universe, is getting dangerously close to releasing their seventh album, The Woods, on May 24th. I realize that, maybe, many of the people who are excited about this have already downloaded the entire album, but to my knowledge the first legal downloads were made available in the last couple days. Here be the goods:

Sleater-Kinney - "Entertain"

Sleater-Kinney - "Entertain [Video]" (For high speed.)

Sleater-Kinney - "Entertain [Video]" (For not-so-high speed.)

I've not listened to "Entertain" yet, watched the video, nor had any other exposure to The Woods beyond hearing some of the songs live. I want the album to be completely fresh and new to me when I pick it up the day of release. If anyone wants to comment on the song though, I'd love to hear what you have to say. I don't think you can really spoil a song the way you can a film or a book.

Besides that, S-K have completely redesigned their site with new photos, new T-shirt designs, a quiz, a page for Janet's mix-tapes (only one so far, but the girl's got taste!) and even a blog. They say they'll be posting to the blog regularly, but we'll see how long that lasts. As for the quiz, I took it of course and got a middling score; it's damn hard!

The band will be playing a few European dates over the next week, then they'll return to the Northwest, where I'll be seeing them in Seattle and Portland. After that they've got quite a tour scheduled, so catch them if you can. Their website, for more information.

Who Raised The Roof?

2005-04-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

Someone really should have told me about Chuck Prophet. I mean, anybody making music this fucking outstanding doesn't deserve to fly under anybody's radar, least of all mine. His music is practically perfect for my particular tastes: well-crafted songs composed by a songwriter (in the truest sense of the word), sung by a country singer (at heart) but produced with an ear to what's going on in the rest of the musical world as well. Over the course of his 2004 near-masterpiece, Age Of Miracles, Prophet comes off as a less willfully eclectic (and therefore more enjoyable) Beck, living with one foot a little bit deeper in country music than Mr. Hansen would probably consider cool. Actually, he's kind of like the guy I posted on yesterday in the way he takes the arms and legs of different styles and comes up with his own hideously beautiful beast. I think his press sheet sums it up best: "...a world where Dr. Dre and Charlie Feathers would both feel comfortable." That's brilliant man, that's exactly right.

I picked up Age Of Miracles as an impulse buy (read: I liked the cover art) about a week or so ago and I have not been able to stop listening or wishing I was listening to it since. I guess I had heard Prophet's name before, but I'm taking the pat on the back for introducing myself to his music. Good job bak, you really outdid yourself this time! Now turn to the people at home and let them hear what all the fuss is about. Listen people, you need to hear these songs:

Chuck Prophet - "Age Of Miracles"

Chuck Prophet - "Pin A Rose On Me"

Chuck Prophet - "West Memphis Moon"

Age Of Miracles is good enough to be a greatest hits album, except for the little fact that none of the songs can honestly be called hits and it's more cohesive than most compilations. Actually, it's better than most people's greatest hits albums. "Age Of Miracles" and "Pin A Rose On Me" are two of the best songs on the album, but I would've liked to post "You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)" rather than "West Memphis Moon". "You Did" is a hell of a lot more fun and it features his best incorporation of samples and hip-hop elements, plus it's one of the songs on repeat in my head these days. Whatever, it doesn't matter, every song on the album is good and these are the songs that New West Records has kindly made available. Damn you New West, you really think I needed one more person's entire back catalogue to hunt down!?! Now how am I gonna eat this month?

Pay a visit to Chuck's website for more information and stuff, like tour dates. Man, I bet these songs are a blast live, but I don't think I can justify driving back to Denver for another show.

Pay The Fiddler Off 'Til I Come Back

2005-04-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hows about a short post to get back into the swing of things? While we were waiting in line (God bless general admission!) to see Mr. Dylan in Denver, my buddy Leroy slipped out and down the street to a local independent record store. I believe it was actually called Independent Record Store. He returned bearing gifts. Well, one gift to be precise, but it's a gift that keeps on giving (pah-dum-shh!). What he bought me was Tom Waits' Big Time, one of the two remaining Waits albums I didn't own. Now all that's left is the soundtrack he did for Jim Jarmusch's Night On Earth.

I've been a fan of Mr. Waits since back in the day, long before it was the cool thing to be. Long, long before the hipsters got ahold of his Anti- records and began to champion him as the last genuine madman of music. It's a real pleasure to finally hear these songs that I've cherished in their studio versions in their nuttier and even more alive live versions. So, once again, thanks Leroy, you da man! I would say I owe you one, but I basically got you into Waits, so for all intents and purposes I suppose we're even.

Tom Waits - "Way Down In The Hole [Live]"

Tom Waits - "Train Song [Live]"

Tom Waits - "Clap Hands [Live]"

I love how theatrical Tom is live. Back in the late 80s, when he was signed to Island, the majority of his songs were perfect for this kind of treatment. Not another artist could pull it off. Must've been a joy to catch those shows. Unless you go even further back with Tom and his music than I do, Big Time is as close to live Waits as you're likely to get, so feast up! (Leroy, despite the fact that you warned me that this version of "Clap Hands" pales in comparison to the original (on Rain Dogs for you Philistines out there), I think it's an equally valid, equally enjoyable take on the song. Don't forget, my opinions are right.)

I mentioned a short post, so I'll wrap it up now. Listen to Tom folks, you can learn a lot from him. You don't want to end up like the soldier in the beginning of "Train Song", do you? The Anti- albums are great, but you gotta go back to the Asylum and Island albums too. For further enlightenment and more of Waits' wisdom, visit his official website. You'll thank yourself later on in life.

The Best Of What's Around

2005-04-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

At long last, here it is. Nearly two weeks ago I promised something special upon my return from Denver. Now, please allow me to introduce The Best Of What's Around, another post series that I hope to develop into an occasional feature. This feature will collect a CD's worth of great songs that I've picked up from fellow bloggers. It's basically a mixtape of what I consider the best of what other bloggers have introduced me to, the stuff that's really made itself at home in my world. At the same time, it's unlike a mixtape because I won't be selecting or organizing the tracks around any theme or concept; just one great song after another, from disparate genres and times. However, I did make a CD out of these songs and it sounds fucking incredible, so I do encourage you do the same if you're so inclined. It's certainly worth the effort.

So, without further ado, I present the first installment of The Best Of What's Around. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming size of this undertaking I have been reduced to using You Send It. It involves a little more clicking, but other than that it's basically the same. Enjoy!

Bob Martin - "Salisbury Beach"

Of all the songs I've been introduced to through the magic of music blogs thus far, Bob Martin's "Salisbury Beach" is without a doubt the one I'm most thankful for. The drums and shimmering guitar introduce a Dylanesque voice, but soon a more unique, genuine talent than just another Dylan derivative is revealed. On just this one song Martin distinguishes himself as a folk songwriter with few peers. The melody and pace of the song are impeccable. Martin's phrasing conveys so much, especially combined with such evocative lyrics. Listen to the way he sings "I might even get to play a song" or "Tryin' to think of who would loan you those plastic see-through shoes".

I was introduced to Bob Martin by Listen!, a self-described Alt-Americana blog that shares my love for artists such as Dan Bern, Songs: Ohia and Jolie Holland. He posted on Bob Martin way back on October 13, 2004, a post titled "The Other Bob". His second sentence is right on the money: "Bob Martin is one of those Folk singers that keep the Folk idiom alive while updating the subject matter and singing about today." "Salisbury Beach" is drawn from Martin's 1997 album The River Turns The Wheel. Visit his website for more information.

Anaïs Mitchell - "1984 [Live]"

Anaïs Mitchell's live version of her song "1984" grabbed me right away. It's a flawed but still great performance with all the energy and humor a young songwriter ought to trade in. Only a folk songwriter would so coolly spell out her distaste for the Patriot Act, as Mitchell does here. I laugh along with the audience every time she sings of turning her lover in. This live recording captures the all-too-rare occurrence of an artist saying something important and having fun at the same time. Extra props for fusing Prince and George Orwell.

This song is courtesy of Songs: Illinois, the host with the most. Songs: Illinois posts day after day, like a reporter sending back findings from his visits to the world of alt-country, folk and rock. To put it another way, I haven't come across another blog that can keep up with him, at least not while maintaining such a high level of quality across as broad a selection of artists. You see, I could easily make The Best Of What's Around just using songs I've picked up there. Limiting myself, I choose the one that has kept me coming back the longest. He's posted on Anaïs at least a couple times, this one comes from January 9 of this year. The studio version of "1984" appears on Mitchell's Hymns For The Exiled album from last year. Visit her website for more information and mp3s.

Amy Miles - "Kill To Know"

This song has attitude and swagger to spare. Amy Miles' voice is of the husky sort, a deep, bold instrument that she uses in what can only be called a sexy way, like a fun Melissa Etheridge. You gotta love that chorus and the rhythm that demands you get caught up in it.

I was introduced to this by Fingertips, a great blog that delivers three gems a week. He/she posted on Amy Miles the week of December 19-25 last year. Definitely read the post on it. Among other things, it has this great description: "Amy Miles writes down and dirty songs and sings them with an appealing sort of blase-ness." "Kill To Know" is from Amy's 2002 album Dirty Stay-Out. Visit her website for more information and mp3 clips for her new album, Noble Hatch.

Bette Bright & The Illuminations - "Soulful Dress"

This awesome song is the definition of sassy. Bette Bright, she formerly of Deaf School, turns in a classic new wave cover of Sugar Pie Desanto's "Soulful Dress". You can just imagine women terrified of losing their men after hearing this song; when Bette Bright sings "don't you girls go getting jealous when I round up all your fellas", she sounds like she means it.

I came across this through Fire Of lovE, a great blog that's all over the place but always on the mark. He/she posted on Bette Bright earlier this year on February 2, offering it side by side with the aforementioned Sugar Pie Desanto version. Bette Bright's version comes from her 1981 album Rhythm Breaks The Ice, which has probably never been released on CD. Likewise, there doesn't appear to be an official website for her. If you love it, hunt down the vinyl I guess.

Bunky - "Baba"

There comes a time in every musical correspondence when a line must be drawn, and when it comes to "Baba" that time for me is now. It's like this, if you ain't feeling "Baba", then I ain't feeling you. C'mon, who else could make the line "going bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh bluh" sound like the most profound lyric ever written? What could be more fun than out of control horns fronted by what sounds like a shit-talking 12 year old? Unless you said nothing, you are wrong!

To be perfectly honest, I don't know anything about this band beyond this song. It was What's Knittin', Kitten? that introduced me to this, and going back and reading his February 24 post I discover that Bunky is a boy/girl group signed to Asthmatic Kitty. "Baba" is from this year's Born To Be A Motorcycle, which I know I'll be picking up on my next visit to a record store. Visit Bunky's website for more information and mp3s.

Kylie Minogue - "Red Blooded Woman [Whitey Mix]"

Midnight Movies - "Time Of Year"

Here's two from Spoilt Victorian Child, one of my heroes when it comes to this blogging shit. Speaking without hyperbole, I would've never started a music blog if it hadn't been for my discovery of, and subsequent deep respect for, SVC's blog. To give you a hint, this blog's recent posts have included John Coltrane, Rufus Wainwright, King Tubby & Augustus Pablo, Squarepusher, Big Star, The Kinks, Hood and Two Gallants. That kind of breadth is beautiful.

Given the broad range of almost uniformly great music that SVC covers, it's a wonder these two songs stood out to me. I've never been a Kylie fan; in fact, the only album of hers I've heard is last year's Body Language, and the only thing that really stood out on that was "Promises". But damn, I love Whitey's mix of "Red Blooded Woman". Just the repetition of the lines "girl wants to run with you" and "you'll never get to heaven if you're scared of getting high" seals it. Placing Kylie's voices and coos amidst such expanses of space makes her sound otherworldly and exciting. This was actually one of the first songs I ever downloaded from SVC, way back on November 18, 2004. This mix is from the Australian "Red Blooded Woman" single. Visit Kylie's website for information and whatnot.

I was glad when SVC posted on Midnight Movies on January 16. The constant comparisons to Stereolab had peaked my interest, but I wasn't willing to pick up the album without hearing any of it. SVC put up "Time Of Year", a contender for best song on the album, and I was hooked. I love the way the monster drums dissolve into guitar squeal at the beginning of the song, and Gena Olivier has a fantastic voice. "Time Of Year" is taken from Midnight Movies' self-titled debut. Visit their website to learn more about them.

Jay-Z & Nena - "99 Luft Problems"

This is my shit! What's the hardest city in America? Compton? The Bronx? That's the city I want to drive through with the roof down bumping this. They'll think it's alright at first (Jigga still gets respect in the hood, right?), then the chorus'll come in and who knows what'll happen. I just want to see their faces. This is easily my favorite mash-up: I'm not going to say it's better than the original, but it's definitely close. The beat suits Hov's voice so well and Nena plays off of it with pure chemisty, despite the fact that she probably has no idea this song exists.

I think this was originally available as a bonus track on the Jay-Zeezer album, but I came across it the morning of October 1, 2004 at Bedroom Dancing. Needless to say, life simply hasn't been the same since.

Eminem & Eye-Kyu - "313"

Despite the fact that I'm a huge Eminem fan, I've never sought out Infinite. I hear it's available on eBay and I'm interested in hearing it, but for some reason I've just never put the necessary effort into acquiring it. I had heard a few songs from it, but not this one until The Tofu Hut used it as part of his numbers series on December 16 of last year.

Since then I've listened to it a lot. Eye-Kyu, "the freshest whack emcee", opens the track well enough, but Em's verse shines with the hunger and humor that characterized much of his underground work. The tone of his voice is so dramatically different from the voice that became familiar the world over. It lends credence to the theory that, far from reverse-Sam Phillips scheming, Dre simply didn't realize Em was white upon first hearing him. If you could go back and listen to this track in 1996, not knowing everything you've learned about his Shadyness in the years since, you'd have no reason to assume he's white either. He's just a kid, but there's already a hint of the sheer talent and desire that have made him so unique. "Simple as ABCs, skip over the Ds and rock the microphone with ease", indeed. Visit Eminem's website for information.

Genevieve Waite - "Girls"

Virna Lindt - "Underwater Boy"

Here we have two from The International House Of Pussy, a blog that only features tracks from women. They're from posts two and five on this page, but there aren't any dates. My guess is I got these from IHOP back in October or November last year.

I had never heard of either of these ladies before, but I eventually plan on checking out more of their music now. IHOP provides interesting paragraph-long summaries on each, so I'll try not repeat much. Genevieve Waite's "Girls" is alive with pure camp pleasure, a stunning piece of pop. IHOP describes Waite's voice as "Olive Oyl meets Betty Boop with a dash of Little Nell". Don't laugh, he's (why does the blog name make me think it's a guy?) serious. Truest line: "Girls'll run around in your head 'til you wish you liked boys instead". "Girls" is from the 1974 album Romance Is On The Rise, Waite's only solo album, which was just reissued last year with bonus tracks by Chrome Dreams. Not surprisingly, there isn't a Genevieve Waite official website, but Chrome Dreams has more information on the album.

Virna Lindt's "Underwater Boy" is a slow, hypnotic dose of quiet dream pop. IHOP calls it "sexy spy side-kick melodrama". Her label, The Compact Organization, calls it a balance "between light and shade". I call it fantastic. Unfortunately, according to IHOP, the album that "Underwater Boy" comes from, 1983's Shiver, isn't easy to come by, at least not without spending upwards of $100. For more information, visit Virna's Compact page.

Spooky Tooth - "I Am The Walrus"

Spooky Tooth give "I Am The Walrus" the apocalyptic doomsday treatment the lyrics so richly deserve, abandoning the "coo-coo-cachoo"'s that have always annoyed me. It's bluesier and heavier than anything The Beatles ever did, with the possible exception of the version of "Helter Skelter" from Anthology 3. It has an instrumental section that just screams early-70s, but this band does it better, or maybe just in a more accessible way, than I'm used to hearing and Mike Harrison's voice sounds perfect out in front.

Tuwa's Shanty, one of the first blogs I ever discovered, posted this song on December 4, 2004 as part of a farewell post. He's only made a few posts since, but thankfully he's not gone completely. He points out the "expert textpert" part of this cover as particularly good, and I concur. This song first appeared on Spooky Tooth's fourth album, The Last Puff, from 1970. It's available on CD on several Spooky Tooth compilations. For more information, visit the official Spooky Tooth website.

Becky Stark - "Cadillac"

This is a soft-spoken song that says a lot more than is apparent on first listen. Becky Stark's tender vocal performance is nostalgia incarnate, equal parts wonder and yearning. This song has all the intimacy that something recorded in a friend's apartment ought to have. Bonus points for working in a mention of Ypsilanti.

Mystery & Misery turned me on to Ms. Stark. In recent months Mystery & Misery has become one of the blogs I visit most frequently; I love the layout, the succinct writing and the range of artists featured (today he posted on Elk City!). He posted this song and a few others on January 10. As far as I can tell, this song was only released in mp3 form online, not as part of an album or anything. Visit Mr. Hyde Records, her label's site, for more information, and this post on their message board in particular for more information on the recording of "Cadillac" and links to other songs.

Wanda Jackson - "Cool Love"

Is there anyone around anymore who doesn't know how awesome Wanda Jackson was in her early years? If so, this is a track for them. This song must've been really ahead of its time when it was released in 1960 on Wanda's second album, Rockin' With Wanda: she tells her man in no uncertain terms exactly what kind of love she needs, making "you're acting like a square" sound like the worst putdown imaginable. She was on fire back then, her voice so perfectly suited to the rockabilly material she was singing. Throw in handclaps and some excellent guitar and, man, you'll really have a ball.

Honey, Where You Been So Long? posted this song on February 11, shortly before the start of his amazing Stackolee week. (Congrats on that by the way, I've never seen anything like it!) Visit Wanda's website for more information. While you're there, consider picking up her latter-day classic, 2003's Heart Trouble.

Pharrell, Jay-Z & Snoop Dogg - "Drop It Like It's Hot [Remix]"

This one's a little different. It was You Sent in my comments on March 6 at my request by someone called wooo. That was my first time hearing it, but now I'm crazy for it. Pharrell sounds good ("how you say it? bueno") and Snoop doesn't annoy for once, but again Mr. S-Dizzot steals the shizzow. Devoting his entire verse to Snoopizms, Jay makes it sounds fresh again, a feat that was last accomplished by Em on "American Psycho" on the first D12 album. It still boggles the mind how Jigga can dismiss foes in a matter of lines, as he does R. Kelly here. I miss the original's chorus, but it's all good. I'm not gonna link to these artist's websites, you already know what they're about.

Magneta Lane - "Cheap Linguistics"

Magneta Lane - "Their Party Days"

These two Magneta Lane songs are courtesy of Teaching The Indie Kids To Dance Again. TTIKTDA, as I believe it's known, is not a blog I read frequently, mostly because I'm not an indie kid, but I was happy to find songs from this young band one of the days I did check in. Magneta Lane are a Canadian trio signed to Paper Bag Records. Lead-singer Lexi Valentine sounds a little too much like vintage Debbie Harry, but other than that they seem well on their way to whatever form of greatness they choose for themselves. Great hooks, great drumming and good guitar interplay, plus attitude and style. Yup, that's how it's done. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a full-length.

TTIKTDA posted these songs on December 17 last year. "Their Party Days" is from the 2004 EP The Constant Lover, while TTIKTDA says "Cheap Linguistics" is from an upcoming 7". Visit Magneta Lane's website, or their page on Paper Bag Records.

Ronee Blakely - "Dues"

This song, "Dues", is from the soundtrack to Robert Altman's Nashville. I fucking hated that movie. I mean really, really detested it, so much so that I don't remember especially enjoying any of the music in the movie, which is what I was interested in it for in the first place. Nevertheless, when I picked this song up from The Sound & Fury Of Radio CRMW on January 12 I fell head over heels in love with it right away. Some of you may know Ronee from her stint as a background vocalist on Bob Dylan's Desire or from her solo albums. Here she's cast as a Countrypolitan singer in the vein of Tammy Wynette. Doesn't matter, this is a great song that's perfectly suited for her over-the-top vocal performance. In fact, it practically demands it. That chorus is to die for.

Radio CRMW seems to focus on music from the movies, but recent posts have included Neil Young, The Kinks, The White Stripes, Jimmy Smith and The Coasters, among others. Ronee Blakely doesn't seem to have a website officially devoted solely to her on the whole of the internet, for shame.

Nancy Sinatra - "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"

Don't call it a comeback, call it Nancy Sinatra for now people. She updates herself with the help of Pulp's Jarvis Cocker on this song. Worth it alone just to hear her sing "some skinny bitch walks by in some hot pants". I came across this one thanks to fellow Olympian We're Here To Help You Thru Yr Changes, who posted it on January 23. That post, titled Clawing Back Towards Respectability, puts his signature humorous writing style on full display. The song itself is from Nancy's self-titled album from last year. Visit her website for more information.

Jadakiss - "Animal"

This one I can't attribute to any particular blog. I just know it's been floating around the internet in the aftermath of 50 Cent's sophomore album and I picked it up somewhere along the way. Jada holds no punches, hitting 50 everywhere at once, from his "collaborations" with Biggie to his residency in Connecticut to steriod use to his rap crooning to...I mean, you get the point. Funniest line: "This is a true fact: since when has it become cool to get shot and not shoot back (never!)". It's the lyrical beatdown 50 asked for, that's for sure. The only thing Jada might've done wrong is play all his cards too soon, but it'll be interesting to see where this goes from here. Once again, let's just hope it stays on wax. This isn't available on any album (yet), but you might be able to find it on a mixtape or two. Visit Jadakiss' website for more information on Jadakiss, probably not on "Animal".

Whew! There we go, I'm spent. It might take me a couple days to feel up to posting again. Let me know in the comments what you think and what you like.

His Master's Voice Is Calling Me

2005-04-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Right, so unless yesterday's post didn't make it clear, I'm back from my Bob trip. I had a great time; you could say it was just what the doctor ordered. The drive to and from Denver was a blast. It amazes me how much I still enjoy just being out on the road listening to music, even after all those hours and miles. On the way there I took the more conservative route down through Oregon, across Idaho, Utah briefly and Wyoming and down to Denver. On the way back, I needed a change. I still went through Wyoming and Utah, but went North from Utah up through Butte and Missoula, Montana, through a different part of Idaho, through Spokane and the rest of Eastern Washington back to Olympia. I realize my driving habits are probably of no interest anyone except me, but I just spent all that time typing it out, so humor me.

Amos Lee and Merle Haggard & The Strangers were the opening acts each night. Amos Lee wasn't unpleasant, but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to hear his stuff. Other than the fact that he's also on Blue Note, it's easy to see why he toured with Norah Jones: they're similarly non-descript and unengaging. Merle Haggard, on the other hand, was a pleasure to watch. He's a certifiable legend, someone whose music I grew up listening to (filtered through the beer-soaked vocal cords of my father) and have gone on to rediscover independently. I'm glad he and Bob toured together, because he's one of those artists I would've never sought out on my own, despite the fact that I love his studio albums. His sets were comprised almost entirely of his greatest hits from yesteryear (you know the ones, "Mama Tried", "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive", "Swinging Doors" and "Big City"), with the occasional recent song or cover ("That's The News" and "Unforgettable", for example) thrown in. He also played "Okie From Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side Of Me", two songs which I would've expected him to move away from in light of this country's recent case of über-patriotism and his comments criticizing Bush. At the same time, I was glad to see he played them anyway, and along with "That's The News" no less; a true artist never does what the audience expects.

Now comes the difficult part. What the fuck of any interest could I possibly write about Bob Dylan? It's possible to analyze the most miniscule aspects of his two performances, comparing and contrasting them with shows 20, 30 or 40 years ago. It's possible to compare his current band to his last band, to the band before that and all the way back to The Band. It's possible to talk about his voice in terms of deterioration (both gradual and self-inflicted) and effort. It's possible to start talking about his set list right now and not stop for a week. Fortunately, none of that interests me. I can talk about my experience, the time I had, and my experience only. I thought they were two great shows, very engaging and exciting. After not seeing him for over two years, my anticipation level was through the roof. I got in line in front of the Fillmore with friends and freaks before noon each day and waited till doors at six to be in the second row, to see his facial expressions, to see him crouch over his keyboard, to see what words he chose to emphasize and to see the band play and interact. For my efforts, I got to hear several songs I've never heard live before, most notably "Desolation Row" (amazing!) , "Blind Willie McTell" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues". "John Brown" is an old seemingly anti-war song of Bob's that I've never cared for, but I'll be damned if it wasn't the standout of the second night. Songs he plays nearly every night, like "Honest With Me" and "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum", sounded vibrant and fresh. It's like that with Bob. It's like what I said about Merle, Bob has never once given me what I expected. He seemed to be having a good time too. I got what I wanted.

I also enjoyed his new band for the most part, despite the fact that Larry Campbell's musicianship was missed. Stu Kimball was very good on lead guitar and Tony Garnier on bass was as fantastic as ever. A lot of people seem impressed by Donnie Herron's steel guitar playing, but I was actually more impressed with Denny Freeman's playing. New violinist Elana Fremerman was the only setback. When she and Bob weren't making eyes at each other (seriously, get a room you two!) she was exaggerating every stroke of her bow and making R. Kelly faces in an effort to mask her overall lack of skill. I make allowances for the fact that she's probably not very familiar with the material, but I did not like her playing, and her grins and grimaces were distracting. Still, that was a minor blemish on two night's worth of some of the best songs ever written played very well.

I haven't come across any recordings of the Denver shows yet, but I'd like to share some mp3s from the current tour of songs he played when I saw him. Keep in mind that these live recordings vary in sound quality.

Bob Dylan - "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) [Live]"

The version of this song I got the first night wasn't quite this good, but I was still very glad to hear it. This version comes from the first show of the current tour, March 7 in Seattle, Washington. It's a great recording and features more effortful singing from Bob than I heard at either Denver show. I love his voice on the "anything I might have tried" and "I'd run and hide" parts, and his harp sounds good. It also rollicks and rolls, showing what this band is capable of.

Bob Dylan - "Moonlight [Live]"

This recording is also from the first Seattle show. It's not quite as dramatic a rearrangement as the one I caught, but it still pales in comparison to the Love & Theft original. The band feels restrained a bit and I think that allows Bob's voice to really standout, which it does quite a bit here.

Bob Dylan - "This Wheel's On Fire [Live]"

This is from the second of three Oakland shows, the date being March 15. It's the lowest quality recording of these four, but it's still pretty good. Bob went centerstage with just a mic and a harmonica for this song in Denver, which he does on this recording too. It's not a song I've ever been especially fond of, but I enjoyed catching it live.

Bob Dylan - "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum [Live]"

A setlist staple that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did. This be from the third and last night in Seattle, March 9. In Denver this was one of the songs on which Elana's violin playing was most overbearing, but it doesn't sound quite so bad on this recording. The majority of my pleasure seeing this live came from just watching Bob's emphasis and hearing his phrasing on each line. I always think of it as a long and winding story-song, but it's actually the shortest of these four.

Bob's still out on the road, moving East. Visit his website for tour dates.

P.S. I've still got that something special I promised before I left, but I'm gonna save it for Monday. Gonna start the week off right, y' heard!

Caution: It's So Explosive!

2005-04-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

A part of me believes that the world is not quite ready for The Return Of The Voice. By which I mean, of course, Mariah Carey's new album, The Emancipation Of Mimi. I mean, first there is the fact that MC has always been ahead of her time. Then one must consider that Mariah has been out of the spotlight for almost two years, hopefully spending most of it preparing the masterpiece that Emancipation surely will be. Plus, let's face it, not since Bob Dylan released his follow-up to Self Portrait has an artist of Mariah's magnitude had so much to prove. My point being, this is shaping up to be a comeback like no other. If the first single, "It's Like That", is any indication, Mariah is set to reclaim her spot both atop the charts and as the reigning diva in pop and R&B. Hear for yourself:

Mariah Carey - "It's Like That"

I was one of the first people on my block to bump this song. Mariah has always been an exceptional songwriter, but she very nearly outdoes herself here. Witness her brilliant use of metaphor: "Those chickens are ash and I'm lotion". Plus, rhyming party with Bacardi and tamale is brilliant, far ahead of most of the simple rhyming going on in most of today's pop music. Jermaine Dupri's spoken parts add an element of pathos and Fatman Scoop's Lil' Jonesque shouts really definitely pump me up, making this one of the best club anthems I've ever heard. On top of that, the throwback artwork is a nice touch.

Here are a few more songs from The Emancipation Of Mimi which show Mariah "The Voice" Carey returning to form:

Mariah Carey - "We Belong Together"

Mariah does ballads so well that sometimes they don't even have to be well-written, but when they are they're on a whole nother level. Case in point: "We Belong Together". It's noteworthy for its embrace and then deconstruction of the ballad form, which she accomplishes here through some very convincing use of rap. A lot of people forget that she was one of the first (and best, I might add) to merge pop and hip-hop. Also, fuck Dr. Laura, I've learned more about relationships from MC than basically anyone else. Her insight into the incredible multitude of emotions that come with heartbreak is unmatched. At the same time, she never leaves me without hope or inspiration. I often wonder, how does she do that?

Mariah Carey & Snoop Dogg - "Say Somethin'"

MC and Snoop Dogg have teamed up before and the results have always been nothing short of outstanding. They have a chemistry that is so pure and true, akin to duos from days gone by like Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty or John and Yoko. Throw production from The Neptunes into the mix and you've got a classic on your hands. It'll be interesting to see how this figures into Emancipation, which is a concept album.

Mariah Carey & Fat Joe - "It's Like That [Scott Storch Mix]"

I'm including this remix for those who've grown tired of "It's Like That", i.e. not me. It's not quite as good as the original, but it's nice to hear a different take on the song. I wish she had gotten someone else for the guest rap because, to these ears, Fat Joe just sounds too fat. Plus, the absence of Fatman Scoop limits my enjoyment. That certainly doesn't take anything away from Mariah's poetry though.

Be sure to visit Mariah Carey's official website for more information and, if you're lucky, more sneak previews leading up to the April 12th release (only 11 days away!) of The Emancipation Of Mimi.

Onward In My Journey

2005-03-26T01:24:00.000-08:00

Check it, I'll be on the road for the next week or so. I'm driving to Denver to see the Master himself, Bob Dylan, in concert. Merle Haggard will be with him, I'm looking forward to seeing him too. I do apologize for taking such a long leave, but I can promise that I've got something extra-special up my sleeve for when I get back. In the meantime, here's the traditional poem...this time by Lew Welch.

[I Saw Myself]

I saw myself
a ring of bone
in the clear stream
of all of it

and vowed,
always to be open to it
that all of it
might flow through

and then heard
"ring of bone" where
ring is what a

bell does

Asleep In Your Shadow

2005-03-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hot off the heels of last year's excellent Summerland with Moore brother Thom, Nedelle Torrisi kicked off this year right with the February release of her second solo album, From The Lion's Mouth. Where Summerland accentuated the positively jazzy and cool possibilities of Nedelle's voice, From The Lion's Mouth is mostly sweetly-strummed acoustic guitar folk and lullabies for falling asleep under the shade of your favorite tree during the middle of the day.

For some reason, this solo record seems to have gotten a lot less pub than Summerland did. Hopefully that's not because there isn't a man's name above the title. I mean, sexism no longer exists in the music industry and the media that covers it, right? I wouldn't bet on it, but I like Nedelle and I love what she's up to (with Thom and on her own) and that's why I'm blowing my horn, hoping someone else reading this craves knowing lyrics and shiny, sharp hooks, regardless of the gender of the voice singing them.

From The Lion's Mouth was released by Kill Rock Stars, of all labels, who have generously made two mp3s available. Snooping around the internet, I also found an mp3 of what might just be the album's best song, "Oh No!", over at Of The Record, which is either an online music mag or a really fucking good blog. I've brought them all here, for your pleasure and convenience.

Nedelle - "Oh No!"

Nedelle - "Begin To Breathe"

Nedelle - "The Natural Night"

Visit Nedelle's website for more information or visit her KRS factsheet, which lists her upcoming tour dates with Fred Thomas (of the almost-too-awesome Saturday Looks Good To Me) and Deerhoof among others.

To Make It All New

2005-03-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

I should've known that when I made the provocative statement that "modern jazz has become increasingly less interesting" in my post on Wibutee I was going to be corrected by at least a few people who know a lot more about the subject than I do. One of the people that sent me a passionate recommendation in the wake of that post was my friend Marat, who took it upon herself to introduce me to the wonders of Junk Magic.

Let me explain. Junk Magic is the name of Mr. Craig Taborn's 2004 album. Junk Magic is Taborn's third record as a band-leader, his second for Thirsty Ear Recordings and his first to incorporate electronic elements. It's that last fact that's most important: to call this album "the most fully-realized union of jazz and electronics", as Thirsty Ear does on their website, is one hell of an understatement. Taborn's band for the album features Mat Maneri on viola, Aaron Stewart on tenor sax and David King on drums, with Taborn himself on keys. However, one of the main reasons Junk Magic works so well is that Taborn approaches the album as much from the vantage point of a producer as that of a musician, using samples, cut-ups and clicks in a way that's much more akin to pop and hip-hop than jazz. The editing, the way it all comes together without ever sounding contrived or forced, is but one of the many things that astounds.

Craig Taborn - "Bodies At Rest And In Motion"

This song features Stewart's best sax playing on the album, which is why this is one of the first songs that stood out to me. It starts off as a straightforward stroll, bluesy and melancholy, but the song eventually becomes a world unto itself, a poorly lit walk through an ominous forest, where the clicks are creatures that you just know are waiting for the right moment to strike. As you emerge from the woods, the gnashing teeth of those animals trail off and you're left with the safe and all too sane sound of your own footsteps. This is where Taborn earns the phrase "junk magic".

Craig Taborn - "Stalagmite"

This is the shit, right here. I'd say this is as close to electro as jazz gets, and I'm sure Peaches or Felix da Housecat would agree. In some futuristic movie yet to be made, this is what plays while the neighborhood playboy swaggers down the street. It's just over a minute, but it's here to convey the breadth of styles Taborn takes on with Junk Magic. It's no suprise that he does it so well considering that one of his jobs as a sideman was in Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra.

I was unable to find an official website for Taborn, but I did find this long and enlightening interview with Screwgun Records. If you enjoy these two songs, don't hesitate to pick up Junk Magic because the rest of the album is very nearly as good.

Although with this and Wibutee I'm quite set in the jazz department for some time (not discouraging recommendations though!), I am really looking forward to eventually exploring Taborn's earlier albums and albums he's played on.

An Unusual Groove

2005-03-18T11:05:00.002-08:00

There's no doubt in my mind that if I had been born just a few years earlier I would've been a vinyl junkie, hopelessly addicted to hunting down the rarest of the rare. Alas, I'm a child of the digital age: the majority of my collection is CDs. I've moved six times in the last five years (including to Europe and back), I do a great deal of my listening while I'm driving and I can't imagine going for a walk without headphones (preferably plugged into something), so vinyl for me is entirely impractical. Luckily for people like me there are those who've dedicated time, energy and passion to rescuing forgotten gems from the obscurity of the great black vinyl mine. Some of them are bloggers, some DJs, but they all deserve respect and gratitude for making it possible to hear songs that, most of the time, are certainly worth hearing.

It was with this in mind that I picked up a "psychefunk rarities" compilation by Gareth Goddard. Under the pseudonym Cherrystones, Goddard released the perfectly-titled Hidden Charms last year to the inattention of most, but to the complete delight of me. Ranging from Ennio Morricone to The Shadows to the best Cher song you've never heard, Hidden Charms delivers almost an hour's worth of jewels, with the highlights popping out left and right like road signs on a late-night highway cruise. It's worth seeking out by anyone who has enjoyed the Nuggets or Pebbles discs or similar compilations of lost classics. Ultimately, the best compliment I can possibly pay to Goddard is to say I hope there's much more where it came from.

Here are the two Hidden Charms songs I think you most owe it to yourself to listen to:

Shocking Blue - "Hot Sand"

These track descriptions come directly from the liner notes, presumably written by Goddard himself:

A Dutch pop band with decided contemporary trend tendencies. Their big hit was ‘Venus’. This is the b-side, a tale of idyllic situations and supposed ideals, Tongue in cheek, with its sitars yearning for wisdom. Nirvana covered ‘Love Buzz’, another one of their better tunes early on in their career.

The Badboys - "Black Olives"

Back to the garage. This trio of (bad) boys were from Frederick, maryland. From 1966, this was the B-side of their only release. The other side, ‘Love’, is a more typical garage/punk affair.

The closest thing I can find it a Cherrystones website is this here, although it doesn't seem to have any information on Hidden Charms.

Looking For A Handout

2005-03-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

It just goes to show, you never know where your next favorite song will turn up. When I was in Vancouver, B.C. a couple weeks ago, I stopped at Zulu Records to pick-up Sleater-Kinney tickets. By the door they had a few boxes of free CDs and, seeing as I'm curious, I peeked in. One of the few things I took was The Nein's self-titled EP from last year. I can't really say what made me take The Nein - I like their name, I like the artwork and they're on Sonic Unyon, that was basically enough. I'm glad I picked it up though, and in the next paragraph I'll tell you why.

Being a music fan, at least one who's still looking forward to something new, means being open, willfully exposing oneself to new things. Like any hunt or journey, there are risks involved and usually those who are willing to take those risks are the ones who end up the most fulfilled. Especially now that radio is useless, music fans are more resourceful and have to take greater chances to hear "the next". Granted, picking up a free CD at a record store isn't taking much of a chance, but it's an example: I went into The Nein not knowing what to expect, just being willing to give this band I'd never heard of before a chance, and I was rewarded handsomely. Of course, sometimes it goes the other way and one ends up listening to a sorry excuse for music, but to me that's part of the process too. I can't ever see myself getting to the point where I'm so cynical about new music, or so content to limit myself to hearing again what I already love, that I stop looking in free CD boxes, reading blogs and reviews, or listening to the recommendations of folks I trust. You see, I really will listen to anything once. What happens beyond that is anyone's guess.

Now, hopefully I haven't talked this up to such an extent that you're expecting something truly mind-blowing from The Nein. They're an interesting young band from North Carolina with a couple songs I really like, and their EP definitely left me wanting to hear more. Here are the two songs I dig:

The Nein - "Handout"

The Nein - "War Is On The Stereo"

As mentioned above, The Nein are on Sonic Unyon, a great Canadian record label that is also home to Tangiers, Andre Ethier, Damon & Naomi and Frank Black. They'll be releasing The Nein's first full-length, Wrath Of Circuits, on May 17th. In the meantime, visit their website for more information and tour dates.

Over The Bridge We Go...

2005-03-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

Today I'd like to introduce what I hope to develop into a semi-regular feature. I'll be calling it Side-By-Side, and that's pretty self-explanatory: I'm going to take multiple recordings of the same song and put them up at the same time, side-by-side. If the mood strikes me I might try to write a little comparing the different versions, but for the most part I'm offering them simply because I myself often get a kick out of hearing different artists' takes on the same tune. During the course of my collecting I've come across many covers, as I'm sure most music fanatics have. Sometimes the difference is very subtle, other times it's so dramatic that it hardly seems like the same song, but very rarely is it any less than interesting. Occasionally covers even manage to provide insight into the essence and basic structure of the song, making the listener wiser simply for having heard it. Some covers are so bad they can actually enhance one's appreciation of the original, whereas others are so good they replace the original in the listener's heart and mind. Johnny Cash's cover of "In My Life" is a good example of the latter; sometimes I forget that The Beatles recorded it way back in the 60s. All of this is really to say I enjoy covers, and I hope you enjoy the ones I post.

So, for this inaugural edition of Side-By-Side, there is this:

The Velvet Underground - "New Age"

Tori Amos - "New Age"

Right off the bat I'll confess that I don't understand why Tori Amos' covers album, Strange Little Girls, was so totally trashed by critics when it was released in 2001. I'm not a card-carrying member of the Tori cult and having only ever heard Under The Pink and From The Choirgirl Hotel I don't have much to compare it to, but judging solely by the music I think she got a raw deal - perhaps because the album failed to live up to it's promise to fuse gender studies with pop songs. Without a doubt several of her covers are superfluous and the entire album is overproduced, but only "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" and "I'm Not In Love" are unpleasant. It definitely sounds good to hear Tom Waits' classic "Time" given a woman's touch, she does a good job with "Enjoy The Silence" and "I Don't Like Mondays" and I actually prefer her version of "Heart Of Gold" to the original, though I'm not much of a Neil Young fan in the first place. However, the album opener, her cover of "New Age" is the album's true gem. It's a good example of what I wrote above: her dramatic rewrite is so different from The Velvet Underground original that they could almost be completely different songs. They end up sharing only a few scattered lines and a chorus really, and barely that. Where The Velvet Underground's version is a snotty poke at a washed-up actress, Tori's version manages to capture the desperation and detachment of that same character in equal measure. I think it's quite an achievement on Ms. Amos' part; her rewrite is different enough in tone and lyric to represent the highest level of potential for cover songs. Ultimately they're both terrific and they fit well together, like two sides of the same sad coin.

As mentioned above, Tori Amos' cover of "New Age" is available on her Strange Little Girls album. The Velvet Underground original comes from their 1970 album Loaded, which is available on CD as a two-disc "fully-loaded" edition. Both should be readily available at most record stores.

P.S. I realize that there are some bloggers that dedicate themselves almost entirely to covers, and I certainly don't want to be stepping on their toes because I think that's awesome.

Save Sundays For Hip-Hop

2005-03-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since we've had any hip-hop at cool hand bak, and last week 50 Cent took it upon himself to give us something to talk about. Seemingly creating as much drama as possible to underscore the release of his sophomore album, The Massacre, 50 went on a particularly Makavelian spree through New York. Example one, in which 50 takes on anyone who's ever been in the same city as his enemies:

50 Cent - "Piggy Bank"

This is the track that started it all, even before it was released. Amidst all the buzz that it has caused, one could be forgiven for expecting something truly spectacular, but this is far from "Hit 'Em Up '05". Fat Joe gets it the worst with the song's one true brilliant diss, but 50 also takes shots as Jadakiss, Shyne, Nas and Kelis, yet somehow ignores his most vocal (and, perhaps, worthy) detractor, Joe Budden. I can barely call it battle-rap, but it definitely displays the charismatic arrogance and wit that Mr. How To Rob has always been known for. Out of all those called-out, Nas' response is rightfully the most anticipated, but it'll be interesting to see if Jadakiss can use this to finally catapult himself beyond "local" status and onto the national level. The fun doesn't stop there though. This was arguably the least brazen of 50's bold moves; example two, in which 50 instigates beef with a member of his own crew:

50 Cent - Hot 97 Interview

Here 50 "excommunicates" The Game from G-Unit, for disloyalty and disrespect. A number of remarkably harsh things are said, but the most fucked-up of all is 50's assertion that he makes more money off of The Game's debut album than The Game does himself. How's that for commentary on artists' rights in the music industry? Time will tell, but I think there's a good chance that this'll be what finally puts a chink in the Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit armor. It's difficult to imagine how Dr. Dre and Eminem will restore peace in their conglomerate without alienating either 50 or The Game and getting drawn into the beef themselves. With that in mind, here's what'll probably be the last song featuring the full G-Unit for some time:

G-Unit - "Hate It Or Love It [G-Unit Remix]"

In retrospect, it certainly seems as if The Game is issuing a warning of his own to 50 on his reworked verse for this remix. It's a shame too because both of these guys are probably better off together than apart. I'm just as much a fan of lyrical showdowns as the next person, but this has all the makings of something more dangerous than that. The bottom line is if it fuels what happens on wax that's cool, but here's hoping it doesn't go any further.

Let's end this on a more positive note. Here's a track from one of 50's targets that I've been enjoying lately. It's unreleased, and I think it comes from the Street's Disciple sessions. Why it didn't make it onto the album is beyond me.

Nas - "Talk Of New York"

Finally, while we're on the subject of mainstream hip-hop, if anyone has an mp3 of the "Drop It Like It's Hot" remix featuring the Jiggaman, can you put me up on it? Peace.

Been On The Job Too Long

2005-03-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

Today's post is going to be a quick one, just to pay tribute to a departing member of Bob Dylan's excellent band. Larry joined Bob's band on March 31, 1997 on guitar in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Over the last seven and a half years he has, along with bassist Tony Garnier, been the backbone for Bob's ever-evolving Never-Ending tour. Larry's contributions as a brilliant multi-instrumentalist have been incalculable. Honestly, it would probably be easier to count the instruments Larry can't play, rather than the ones he can. More than anything, I personally will miss Larry's pedal steel playing when I next see Bob.

And not only has Larry been a joy to watch in concert, his various appearances on record have been outstanding, especially on Bob's deep, dark, truthful Love And Theft album from 2001. Besides Bob, Larry has turned up (as a musician or producer) on albums by artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Edie Brickell, Buddy Miller, Peter Wolf, Roseanne Cash and The Dixie Hummingbirds - and that's just in the last five years.

Shortly before the start of the latest leg of Bob's tour (set to begin Monday in Seattle!), Larry announced that he was moving on from the band. It appears that Larry made this decision in order to spend more time off the road and with his family and to dedicate more time to being a highly sought-after studio musician. However, one of the first things Larry did since becoming a former member of "Bob Dylan & His Band" was release his first solo album, an acoustic guitar workout called Rooftops. Larry had this to say about Rooftops:

I suppose the common thread running through most of this album (with the exception of the two originals and "House Carpenter") is that these are all tunes that I originally learned on the fiddle. Playing fiddle tunes on solo guitar is certainly nothing new, but when you consider all the hoedowns, reels, jigs, rags, airs, waltzes etc. out there, it's pretty rich territory to mine.

Here's the Rooftops song that Treasure Records generously made available for download:

Larry Campbell - "Camp Chase"

If you like "Camp Chase", kindly pick up Rooftops from Treasure Records, and definitely get Love And Theft, Bob's greatest latter-day masterpiece. You can stay up to date on Larry's adventures as a sideman by visiting his website, which is incredibly informative and run by folks who are genuine fans of his music.

UPDATE: In an effort to convey what an extraordinary musician Larry is I thought it relevant to point out that Bob Dylan felt the need to replace him with three (!) new band-members.

In Praise Of The Openers

2005-03-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

For my first post back from three Sleater-Kinney concerts in three different cities I thought I would write a little about each opening band, starting with The Joggers. The Joggers are from Portland, Oregon, which might be why S-K decided to bring them along. They opened Friday night's show at the Nightlight Lounge in Bellingham, Washington. I had never seen or even heard them before, but I had heard quite a bit about their kooky four-part harmonies, crazy surf-rock and chaotic sets. True to form, The Joggers were all over the place, wild and messy and unique. Their lead-singer, Murphy Kasiewicz, sounds like he's just giving speeches while the band does their thing, which includes drummer Jake Morris going nuts, standing up after every song and drumming on his head and body and bassist Darrell Bourque traipsing the stage in Chuck Berryesque duck-walks. Throw in the fact that their guest guitarist looks exactly like a bird (!) and you've got a band that's just flat-out fun to watch. Here's a song from their 2003 debut and sole album to date, Solid Guild:

The Joggers - "Hot Autism"

Unfortunately, seeing as I haven't actually ever heard Solid Guild - this song was brought to you by the kind folks at Insound - I can't say how representative it is of the overall album, but I can say that on the strength of their show I'll be picking up Solid Guild and would recommend you do too. You can get it from their website, at their "Church of Merch". Of course, you could buy it from Amazon or Insound too but, as their website says, "it wouldn't be as cheap or as nice".

Viva Voce opened Saturday's show at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, B.C., my first show in Canada! In fact, Viva Voce were largely responsible for me even going to the Vancouver show: I already knew I was seeing Sleater-Kinney twice and normally would've skipped the drive, but I've been digging Viva Voce's 2004 album The Heat Can Melt Your Brain and really wanted to see them - what better opportunity than opening for one of my favorite bands!

Let me say a little about Viva. Viva Voce is comprised of Anita and Kevin Robinson. The majority of their press seems to center around the fact that they're a married couple making music, which admittedly is fucking awesome. I first got into them with 2003's Lovers, Lead The Way!, and while The Heat isn't quite as good as that album it's still pretty fantastic. A few of my fellow bloggers have already come forward with praise for the not-very-well-known duo, and I'm happy to join that group because, frankly, I was planning to write a whole post on Viva before this show came along.

Their show was wonderful, just as I expected. Anita looks a hell of a lot better than Pete Townshend when she brandishes her double-neck guitar. If it weren't for the jeans and cute T-shirt ("It's not whether you win or lose, it's what you do with your dancing shoes.") you'd swear she was a rock-goddess from days gone by, and she plays it as well as she looks it. Kevin is great on drums and kazoo, but their music is really more than the sum of its parts. They were just as much fun live as on record, so if you've heard The Heat you should check their website for tour dates and if you haven't heard it you should get on it. Here's a couple songs to get you started:

Viva Voce - "Alive With Pleasure"

Viva Voce - "High Highs"

As their website points out, these songs, as well as the rest of The Heat Can Melt Your Brain were self-produced and recorded by Viva Voce at home. Amazing, eh? God bless home recording!

Which brings me to Sunday night's show at Evergreen State College, where Sarah Dougher opened. Some of you may remember my post about Sarah a few months back, when she opened for Edith Frost in Seattle. Whereas that night she played mostly intense, somber folky fare, on Sunday she smiled a lot more and played some upbeat stuff, including a few "disco" numbers with the help of a laptop (for the first time, I might add). On top of that, she brought a friend wearing a horse mask on-stage to exercise to the laptop jams. All of which is to say that it was a very different experience than the last time I saw her, but definitely no less enjoyable. It was interesting seeing her play Evergreen because she used to teach Latin there. I wish I had access to some of the songs she played Sunday, not to mention pictures of her horse, but alas these songs from her 1999 solo debut Day One will have to do:

Sarah Dougher - "Moving"

Sarah Dougher - "A Girl In New Orleans"

Sarah Dougher - "Hold The Bar"

Head to Sarah's website for her upcoming tour dates and information on each of her albums.

Of course, Sleater-Kinney were outstanding at every show. Carrie was in a better mood than perhaps I've ever seen her at the Bellingham show, which meant more kicks and jumps and also a broken guitar string during "One More Hour". I wonder how Corin felt about that? I was upstairs for the Vancouver (or "the Couv", as Carrie calls it) show, which was unusual for me because I've been very near the front (if not in the front row) every other time I've seen them. The new vantage point was fun though, not least of all because it made it much, much easier to hear Corin and Carrie's vocals. Also got to hear "Sympathy" that night, which is always a treat as it's one of my favorite songs. I'd been looking forward to their Evergreen show because Carrie and Corin both were students there, and I believe that's where they first formed Sleater-Kinney. I was able to get into the sound-check too, which was major for a fan like me. During the show all three of the ladies seemed excited to be playing Evergreen. Corin said a lot more than I've ever heard her say before. She told a few stories, one about Nirvana playing in her dorm when she was a student and one about hauling her amps across campus on a skateboard when she was still in Heavens To Betsy. At one point Carrie mentioned that she felt like she was in Seminar and Corin said "I hear what you're saying", a great knock on seminar styled communication. Corin also commented that she felt like she was in one of those nightmares where you're back on stage at the school you attended surrounded by professors and classmates, and Carrie chimed in with "At least we're not naked!"

They didn't play any of the songs I was crossing my fingers for, but the new material is so strong that I didn't much notice. Seriously, The Woods is going to be one hell of an album.

So, that was pretty much the most awesomest weekend I could've imagined. I hope everyone reading this also had a great weekend; in fact, if you saw any good shows, let's hear about it in the comments section.

The Day I Went Away

2005-02-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Bellingham for the first of three Sleater-Kinney shows. If these shows are anything like when I saw them a few months ago, I'm sure I'll get to hear lots of stuff from the new album, The Woods (out May 24th!), but I'm hoping they'll throw in a few classics too, such as "Was It A Lie?" and "It's Enough" - both of which I've never heard them do live before.

I figured I'd post a poem, since the last time I went away I did just that and I might as well make it a cool hand tradition. Here is a Denise Levertov poem titled "In Mind":

There's in my mind a woman
of innocence, unadorned but

fair-featured and smelling of
apples or grass. She wears

a utopian smock or shift, her hair
is light brown and smooth, and she

is kind and very clean without
ostentation-

but she has
no imagination

And there's a
turbulent moon-ridden girl

or old woman, or both,
dressed in opals and rags, feathers

and torn taffeta,
who knows strange songs

but she is not kind.

We Like It Free

2005-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

One of the things the mp3 blog community has been buzzing about of late (and with good reason, for once) is the release and subsequent free offering of The Impossible Shapes' Tum. Created in two weeks, Tum is the vinyl only "younger sister" to the contemporarily released Shapes album Horus.

Despite the fact that Tum is more than half-comprised of seemingly underdeveloped instrumentals, Secretly Canadian deserves all available praise for offering up this free download by a band as currently vital as The Impossible Shapes, which explains why I'm throwing my hat into the ring and writing about this already much-blogged event. Thank you for your generosity, Secretly Canadian; thanks, thanks and more thanks!

Hopefully I don't come off as an ungrateful scrooge by saying that of Tum's 17 songs only "Florida Silver Springs" and "Late Summer Sky" come close to reaching previous Impossible Shapes highs such as "What About The Other Side" and "You Are Not The Target" (from 2003's We Like It Wild) or "Always The Way" and "The Line So Flexible" (from Bless The Headless, also released in 2003). The fact is Tum is an album of quieter, simpler pleasures than either We Like It Wild or Bless The Headless, though it still reveals a band that seems genuinely excited (and un-cynical) about making music.

Here are my three favorite songs from Tum, including one instrumental that truly does work:

The Impossible Shapes - "Florida Silver Springs"

The Impossible Shapes - "Hornbeam"

The Impossible Shapes - "Late Summer Sky"

Tum is still available for download in its entirety from Secretly Canadian, but only until March 5. The Impossible Shapes' website has lots of other information and mp3s to download, not to mention a great design.

Get Hip Or Die!

2005-02-18T11:40:00.001-08:00

It's not unusual for bands to attempt to recapture the spirit of rock in the 60s, but it is rare that a young band aims to genuinely recreate the authentic sounds of that iconic era. Hip Whips are an example of the latter: a band that comes dangerously close to sounding like a lost relic of the 60s, from their particular aesthetic and recording values all the way to their classic, organ-built foundation. Their ability to support a sound so indebted to what was going on 40 years ago, without residing entirely within the sickly realm of derivation, is due in large part to their incredibly gifted vocalist Markus Lindmark. In Lindmark, Hip Whips have a lead guy who is able to mix and mutate two of the very best vocalists of yesteryear with what seems like real ease: call him Mick Morrison or Van Jagger.

Hip Whips are, apparently, legendary in their homeland (Sweden, of course!) for chaotic live shows and for fighting with audiences and amongst themselves. They only have one album to their name, 2003's self-titled debut, which at less than half an hour's worth of music really ought to be considered an EP. Here are a couple songs from Hip Whips:

Hip Whips - "Stay With Me Forever"

This is the best thing Hip Whips have yet done: a fully realized, impassioned vocal from Lindmark combined with a fantastic organ performance that weaves and waves throughout the entire length of the song. The one area where Hip Whips regularly falter is songwriting, and this song is an example of that too. The melody is great, but an awful lot is asked of it; Lindmark is reduced to singing the same three or four lines of lyrics, teetering on the brink of annoying redundancy. Like a helicopter approaching a mountain in a Hollywood blockbuster, I happen to think that Hip Whips pull-up just in time, but I could see plenty of people getting the exact opposite impression. Redundancy, then, might be the operative word; one's ability to enjoy Hip Whips will probably coincide to a great extent with their ability to tolerate Hip Whips' retro flourishes. Personally, I love it: when something sounds this good, I try not to ask too many questions.

Hip Whips - "Pick Up Your Pain"

I guess this is where Hip Whips get spiritual, or philosophical, or disguisedly uplifting. Lindmark might not sound encouraging in the face of despair, but listen to what he's saying. Here the lyrical repetition and Lindmark's restrained vocal (for most of the song anyway) serve the song well, turning it into a soothing meditation of sorts.

Who knows what Hip Whips have been up to since the release of Hip Whips? The only website they seem to have is this Brass Button one, which isn't very informative. You can pick up Hip Whips from my favorite online store, Parasol, for cheap, and if you like that you can join me in hoping that the band gets it together for another album in the not-too-distant future.

UPDATE: Our prayers have been answered! Fine, my prayers. After spending a little more time at the Brass Button site, I noticed this tidbit of information scrolling near the bottom of the start page: "Hip Whips is in the studio finishing there new album. The firs single "Time Is On Its Way" will be released in the beginning of 2005 and the album is due to be released in March." The typos ain't mine, they're part of the quote.

A Real Cool Handjob

2005-02-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

There's not a lot I can say when it comes to Love Of Everything, although I've heard some interesting things about their album from last year, Handjob Community. What I can tell you is that Love Of Everything's steward and sole constant member is Bobby Burg, who's also a member of Make Believe and Joan Of Arc. I've never heard either of those bands, so I can't say how helpful a touchstone they are. Other than Burg, Love Of Everything consists of a different set of musicians on nearly every song, most of them being the borrowed band-members of Burg's more popular friends, including folks from Rainer Maria, The Race, The Owls, as well as the aforementioned Joan Of Arc and Make Believe.

The music Love Of Everything makes has been described almost unanimously as incredibly self-indulgent, with most of the reviews coming down on the unfavorable side of that term. Unfortunately, having only heard bits and pieces of Handjob Community myself I can't weigh in (very heavily), except to say that I have liked what I've heard. So, basically, this one goes into the explore-at-your-own-risk file. Of course, I wouldn't leave you without a couple songs to get started with:

Love Of Everything - "Proud Brave Nothing"

The picture for this post is actually Bobby Burg (second from right) surrounded by all the musicians that play on this particular song. This is the best of what I've heard so far. Burg's voice seems to be the thing that frustrated most critics, but it doesn't bother me one bit.

Love Of Everything - "I Love You Guys Fast [Clip]"

On Love Of Everything's website there are also these mp3's from their previous album and an EP:

Love Of Everything - "Mary My Wife"

Love Of Everything - "Strip To The Sky"

If you're feeling molto adventurous, Handjob Community is available from Redder Records.

You Might As Well Be My Baby

2005-02-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be wondering where the hell I've been. I apologize for my overlong absence, but I assure you I had nothing but the best intentions: after seeing two shows by Tift Merritt last week, I wanted my first post back to be about that great experience. To that end, I was expecting audio and visuals from the shows from a friend, but they haven't arrived yet. I'm getting tired of not posting and I thought maybe someone else out there was getting tired of me not posting, so I decided to have my first post back be about something else. Hopefully the Tift post will happen in a few days or so. There, now that that's all off my chest, let's talk business.

Martha Wainwright's self-titled debut album will be released by Rounder Records this year, on April 12 to be exact. I'm really looking forward to it, especially since I've seen the gorgeous, minimalist artwork. Despite only having one Martha Wainwright EP, 2003's Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, I consider her a great singer (like a cross between Marianne Faithfull and Dolly Parton) and an even better songwriter.

Martha Wainwright & Dan Bern - "Baby Love"

This is so fucking sexy! It's the song that introduced me to Martha, and still my favorite of hers. It's actually from Dan Bern's 1999 double-album Smartie Mine, and it features Martha singing lead (on a song she wrote) with Dan backing her up vocally and on guitar. Martha and Dan's voices sound wonderful together (good enough to make me wish they had done (or will do) a whole album together), but it's the way she uses her voice to accentuate the lyrics that really does it for me. For example, the way she brings the heat (as in hotness) for the line "When you touch me, it ain't really baby love" then sings all baby-like on the line "We are not babies, I know that". Right, plus it's a just a well-written song, full of lines and ideas that make me laugh, like when she sings "Pretty uncool, my brother says". One place you can buy this is from Dan Bern's official website. Even though this is the first Dan Bern song I've posted, don't consider it the "cool hand" introduction to him since he's mostly in a supporting role on this song. Dan's one of my very favorite artists, so you'll be hearing plenty more of him around these parts. Eventually.

Here are three other songs from the aforementioned Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole. These are all courtesy of Martha's website:

Martha Wainwright - "BMFA"

Martha Wainwright - "How Soon"

Martha Wainwright - "I Will Internalize"

None of these are quite up to the standard set by "Baby Love", but that's more of a reflection on how good "Baby Love" is than a comment on the quality of these songs. "BMFA" continues Martha's, uh, unique sense of humor, which I'm hoping her debut will also showcase. Something about that voice singing those lines that gets a chuckle from me every time. "How Soon" is a kind of straightforward jazzy love song, written and first performed by Jack Owens but made famous by Sinatra. It's lyrically generic but not generic overall because it's not a generic voice singing it. "I Will Internalize" features another great vocal, leading me to believe that Ms. Wainwright can do just about anything with her smoky voice. It might be girl-angst, but it sounds better coming from her than from...um, anybody.

Finally, here's a song I jacked from Amazon:

Martha Wainwright - "Lolita"

This is from her 1999 self-titled EP. Common Lolita stuff right? Wrong, Martha makes it sound more like a scary stalker-anthem than a come on.

Enjoy, let me know what you think, and keep a lookout for her upcoming debut or buy an EP or two from her website if you're feeling these songs.

I Seen Something & You Seen It Too

2005-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

I'll be in Seattle over the next two or three days, seeing a couple Tift Merritt shows and whatnot, but I didn't want to take off without leaving a parting gift.

I've been reading the poet Amiri Baraka (the artist formerly known as LeRoi Jones) a lot lately. His words always have a tremendous effect on me, which means I can't read him as often as I'd like, but lately I've felt up to the task.

I especially wanted to share a recording he made with The Roots a few years ago:

The Roots & Amiri Baraka - "Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)"

This is from their 2002 album Phrenology and is an incredible, incredible poem. Baraka has over 40 years of experience reading poetry, but that only partly explains why he has such an impact when he reads. Of course, The Roots back him up superbly.

Amiri Baraka - "In Walked Bud"

This is another recording of Baraka reading a poem. I took this off the internet, so I'm not sure when it comes from.

Amiri Baraka - "Wise Why's Y's [Video]"

This is a Real Player video of Baraka reading.

I also wanted to share a few of Baraka's written poems, because they're great and because I really want to incorporate my love for poetry into this blog. A lot of Baraka's poems can be found on the internet. His website is an excellent place to start looking. I hope you all enjoy the poems. I'll see you next week, if not Sunday.

Preface To A Twenty Volume Suicide Note

Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.
Or the broad edged silly music the wind
Makes when I run for a bus...

Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.
And each night I get the same number.
And when they will not come to be counted,
I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up
To my daughter’s room and heard her
Talking to someone, and when I opened
The door, there was no one there...
Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands

Monday In B-Flat

I can pray
all day
& God
wont come.

But if I call
911
The Devil
Be here
in a minute!

Wise I

WHYS (Nobody Knows
The Trouble I Seen)
Traditional

If you ever find
yourself, some where
lost and surrounded
by enemies
who won’t let you
speak in your own language
who destroy your statues
& instruments, who ban
your omm bomm ba boom
then you are in trouble
deep trouble
they ban your
own boom ba boom
you in deep deep
trouble

humph!

probably take you several hundred years
to get out!

Walk On Water, Now Walk On Fire

2005-02-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

The word timeless is another one of those lazy rock-lit favorites, one that is not only overused but, frequently, misused. Is it supposed to describe a song out of time or one that will stand the test of time? It's a good thing I'm on a personal quest to lay to rest all those words, only to resurrect them and use them correctly. Today's word is timeless, and luckily there's a band from Columbus, Ohio making music that fits both meanings of the word.

The Whiles have been said to sound like Gram Parsons (wait a minute!), Nick Drake (I can hear it), Belle and Sebastian (I guess), The Pernice Brothers (I wouldn't know) and The Smiths (what!?!). Nevermind that, The Whiles sound like The Whiles, and that's plenty different than anything else that came out last year and plenty good enough to still be worth listening to in 20 years time. You see, timeless.

Not every song, mind you; like every band they have their share of great, good and not-so-good moments. But if their next album can capitalize on their debut's strengths, they'll be well on their way to becoming as great as they ought to be. Observe said strengths:

The Whiles - "Ghost On The Hill"

If you're only going to download one of these songs, this better be it! I feel bad uploading this song when The Whiles and their label have already generously made several songs available online, but this is their best song and it's the song that inspired the whole timeless discussion. Honestly, would you be able to say when this was recorded if I hadn't already told you? I didn't think so. The only word for Joe Peppercorn's voice is beautiful, the lyrics are astonishingly good and, frankly, no one else is coming up with melodies like this these days. It is my sincerest prayer that The Whiles can come up with more songs like this on their sophomore album.

Here are a few more songs from Colors Of The Year:

The Whiles - "Lonely River"

The Whiles - "Lonesome Reply"

The Whiles - "Will You"

The Whiles - "Emily"

I really hope somebody reading this likes these songs (don't forget to let me know), and I hope that if you do you'll support The Whiles by purchasing their album from Anyway Records. I mean, they've been "in debt since 1991", and a label putting out music this good simply doesn't deserve such a fate.

You can learn more about The Whiles by visiting their website or reading this one-sheet. Or both, if you're feeling really adventurous.

The News Is Out...

2005-02-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Just as my last post anticipated, Bob Dylan will be hitting the road with Merle Haggard come March. That's great news, but there's even better news for those of us in the Northwest: the tour opens in Seattle with a three-night stay at the Paramount!

3.07.2005 Paramount Theatre - Seattle, WA
3.08.2005 Paramount Theatre - Seattle, WA
3.09.2005 Paramount Theatre - Seattle, WA
3.11.2005 University Of Portland, Chiles Center - Portland, OR
3.14.2005 Paramount Theatre - Oakland, CA
3.15.2005 Paramount Theatre - Oakland, CA
3.16.2005 Paramount Theatre - Oakland, CA
3.19.2005 Aladdin Theatre - Las Vegas, NV*
3.21.2005 Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3.22.2005 Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3.23.2005 Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3.25.2005 Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3.26.2005 Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
4.01.2005 Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL
4.02.2005 Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL
4.03.2005 Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL
4.05.2005 Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL
4.06.2005 Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL

The date with the asterisk next to it is the only one without Merle Haggard & The Strangers. All of the dates will also feature Amos Lee as an opening act. Bob doesn't usually like to take more than a day's rest between shows, so look for the gaps between dates (i.e. on either side of the Oakland shows and between LA and Chicago) to be filled.

I'm incredibly excited: it's been more than a year since my last Dylan show. Since the last time I saw him, he's put his guitar down (possibly because of back problems) and started playing keyboard on stage. He's also had some band changes, which I'm looking forward to hearing live and in person. For anyone who doesn't know, Bob's got one of the best bands in all the land, anchored by longtime bassist Tony Garnier and brilliant multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell. I don't have to remind you how important Dylan is to the history of rock, but I might have to tell you that he and his band still put on one hell of a show today, far removed from the senior-circuit and cash-cow retreads (I see you Macca, shaking that cash). In other words, if you've never seen the Master live, and if he's coming near you, do not miss the opportunity.

Hopefully this tour with Merle will result in some great duets, along the lines of Bob's duets with Willie Nelson on their tour of minor-league ballparks last year. For example:

Bob Dylan & Willie Nelson - "You Win Again [Live]"

Alright, so technically this song isn't from their ballpark tour. It's from a surprise appearance Bob made at a Willie Nelson concert at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on May 5, 2004. However, it is exemplary of how great their voices sound together, especially on this old Hank Williams number, and I can imagine Bob and Merle's voices achieving a similar, lonesome blend.

Barring a duet, maybe these two legends will at least cover each other. I hear that Merle does a great version of Bob's latter-day masterpiece "Things Have Changed", and I know Bob favors a Haggard tune or two. Witness:

Bob Dylan - "Sing Me Back Home [Live]"

This song was written by Merle Haggard way, way back, first appearing by Merle on his 1968 album of the same name. That was a landmark album for Haggard, and "Sing Me Back Home" went all the way to number one on the Billboard country charts. This performance comes from Bob's appearance at Bonnaroo on June 11 of last year.

Keep checking in with Dylan's and Haggard's official websites for more tour dates and other information.

Sing It As Blue As I Feel

2005-01-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

This morning I learned the sad news that Merle Haggard was hospitalized yesterday, for unknown reasons. He had been scheduled to play at a casino in Pendleton, Oregon, but was forced to cancel that show as well as subsequent dates in Boise, Idaho and Tacoma, Washington. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish him a complete and quick recovery. This is also the perfect excuse (not that one needs an excuse to listen to Hag) to post my favorite song of his, just to get some good vibes spreading.

Merle Haggard - "You Don't Have Far To Go"

This song is from Haggard's 1965 debut album Strangers, and contains one of his very finest vocal performances. He wrote the song with Joe Simpson and it's still one of his most affecting lyrics. It's available on CD as part of the 1998 2-on-1 Strangers/Swinging Doors compilation or on the 1996 four-disc box set Down Every Road, both of which are readily available at most major record stores. Keep in mind that this song is a slightly different version than the one that appeared on 1967's Branded Man, where it was titled "You Don't Have Very Far To Go".

Word on the street (read: the internet) is that Haggard will be touring with none other than Bob Dylan in March and April, so that's just one more reason to be sending Hag the best possible wishes. Keep an eye on his official website for more information.

Count All The Good Things

2005-01-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

Alright, I wonder how many people are going to be alienated by this post. Not that I'm doing it on purpose; I just have a feeling most people will consider themselves too hip or too manly to be able to appreciate today's song in all it's girly, decidedly new-wavy goodness. I hope to be proven wrong, but if not I have no problem dancing with myse-elf (oh!) to a little ditty called "Sunshine, Sunshine, Where Are You?".

Miss TK & The Revenge - "Sunshine, Sunshine, Where Are You?"

In a better world, this song would be an immediate smash hit, filling dancefloors across the nation, mucking up make-up, obliterating hair-dos and soundtracking glorious excess at its most playful. It's hard to believe how dynamic this song is, and equally hard to believe that there isn't even a hint of pretense or irony; it's just fun, fun and more fun!

I was able to find little information on Miss TK & The Revenge online, but apparently they're from my home state of New Jersey and are comprised partly of married couple Tannis Kristanjson (i.e. Miss TK) and Ari Katz, both of whom were in the band Zero Zero. Here are two more mp3s from thier website:

Miss TK & The Revenge - "Nowhere To Go"

Miss TK & The Revenge - "Concentrate [Demo]"

If you like "Sunshine, Sunshine, Where Are You?", please buy their debut album from last year, XOXO, because it's chock full of more glitter and glam. You can buy the album from their label, Gern Blandsten Records.

And To Them I Say, Bring It On!

2005-01-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

Carrie Brownstein, one of the mega-cool guitar-wielding singers of Sleater-Kinney, updated S-K's offical website on Tuesday with a longish note to fans. The most exciting piece of information revealed in that letter was her description of their new album, The Woods (due out May 24th on Sub Pop), as "heavy, raw, psychedelic". My answer is, bring it on! I can hardly wait.

Carrie went on to say: "We wanted to make something different, we always do, but for the first time, I think we actually have." While respectfully disagreeing with that "for the first time" bit (c'mon, both All Hands On The Bad One and One Beat were very different takes on the distinctive Sleater-Kinney sound), I'm glad that Carrie, Corin and Janet feel they've come up with something new.

After some musings on the Academy Awards (people still care about those things?), Carrie also wrote briefly about touring:

Plus, it has been a while since we've toured, which aside from writing songs and putting out records, is the reason we play music. When we don't tour, we don't connect with the people that listen to us. It all begins to feel a bit abstract.

About recording with new producer Dave Fridmann:

We were nervous to work with someone new but that quickly dissipated once we arrived in Fredonia. Dave Fridmann is masterful, and he understands our sonic intent better than almost anyone we've worked with. He pushed us and challenged us and I think it paid off.

And about being on a new record label:

We went through a lot of changes in the last year. Julie (our publicist and friend) retired from the business. And we switched labels. Sub Pop has been great. They didn't know what songs we took into the studio and we never played them the demos we did in our practice space. We mixed and sequenced the record with Dave and handed it over to Sub Pop completely finished. We crossed our fingers that they would like it and they did. We've greatly appreciated their complete trust in our vision.

Ending with that unique Carrie graciousness, of course:

We look forward to seeing many of you on our upcoming travels. Thanks for your support. I hope everyone is happy and healthy and still up for the struggle of just being alive right now. Peace.

I realize there isn't much of the note that I didn't quote, but you can read the full thing here if you like. The only other tidbit of news I have to report is that Sleater-Kinney will be playing SXSW this year, if you're into that sort of thing.

You Better Let Me In

2005-01-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Gram Rabbit's debut album from last year, Music To Start A Cult To, was a welcome surprise. G-Rabbit's pot runneth over - cooking up everything from alt-country twang to trip-hop to jangle-pop to a variation of rap closer to Nellie McKay than Chuck D - resulting in something they consider akin to their forefather Gram Parson's "Cosmic American Music". Of course, any group that attempts to capture so many distinct styles under one parasol isn't going to succeed entirely, but Gram Rabbit certainly do better than could reasonably be expected of a debut. In other words, the music Gram Rabbit make is as weird and unique as the desert trees which inhabit their hometown of Joshua Tree, California. There are quite a few wrinkles in the Gram Rabbit fabric, but I'm looking forward to the band attempting to iron them out on subsequent albums.

Unfortunately, since the band really is all over the place, there's probably not one song, or ever two, that I could post to give you an accurate impression of their full-length. Suffice to say, if you like any of the following tracks, do not hesitate to pick up Music To Start A Cult To.

Gram Rabbit - "Devil's Playground"

"Devil's Playground" is my favorite song on the album. It sounds like it might be a cover of an obscure country song from a by-gone era, but in fact it's just another gem from the pen of Jesika von Rabbit, Gram Rabbit's leading lady, and guitarist/singer Todd Rutherford.

Gram Rabbit - "Witness"

Bassist and "sample-guru" Travis Cline makes this song, although Jesika's beguiling vocal performance certainly helps.

Gram Rabbit - "Dirty Horse"

There's also this interview I found online, if you want to read more about the band. Otherwise, head over to their website or to Stinky Records to purchase the album.

I Like Your Happiness

2005-01-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago when I posted my best of 2004 list, one of the albums that snuck in near the end was Asobi Seksu's self-titled debut. I have no problem admitting that what first attracted me to the album was its gorgeous cover art, done by Sean McCabe: a heavily made-up Japanese girl in a pink cardigan lying on a bed surrounded by polaroids and a 45 phonograph. She's clutching tissue in her fist; her heart has clearly just been broken. The picture above appears to be an outtake from the sessions that produced the cover. It reveals a lot (the Jane Birken record, her legs and socks) that the cover left out. It really is a nice cover, all but guaranteed to reel in those of us who still care about what kind of package our plastic comes in.

But I didn't buy the album on the strength of the cover. What do I look like, a fool? I did some research, found out what Asobi Seksu means (look it up!), learned that the vocals are in Japanese and English (a +) and that the band is compared to My Bloody Valentine (a huge -) in nearly every review. Despite the cover, the Bloody Valentine comparisons took a serious toll on my interest. In fact, I probably wouldn't have picked the album up if I hadn't found it for dirt cheap in a used bin somewhere. I'm glad I did though: on the strength of a few great songs, it's a promising debut from a New York band trying to spice things up, at least a little.

I don't know that I would've posted about Asobi Seksu any time soon if it weren't for Fire Of lovE, a truly eclectic blog featuring everything from punk to gospel, mentioning in my comments section that he/she also had his/her interest peaked by the cover. So, here's your chance to hear Asobi Seksu, not live or in-person, before they get truly huge...which they will.

Asobi Seksu - "I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me"

Asobi Seksu - "Walk On The Moon"

I believe these are the two singles from Asobi Seksu. "I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me" is my favorite song of theirs: the pumping synths, Yuki Chikudate's deceptively tiny voice and that effortlessly happy melody...and that's well before James Hanna's guitar engulfs the chrous. You're right, I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but I'm too caught up in the tidal wave of noise to care.

There are a couple more mp3s on Asobi Seksu's website, as well as a link to buy the album at Insound if you like these songs.

Let me add, if I haven't made it clear enough already, that Asobi Seksu is a full, four-person band. On the off-chance that the band reads this, I apologize in advance for using the picture of only Yuki. I think it's disrespectful when the frontman or woman for a band, regardless of how photogenic he or she may be, gets all the attention. In this situation, I needed that particular image for the opening of this post.

33

2005-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Today's post is a special one to me because it's my thirty-third post. 33 has long been my favorite number, so to celebrate making it this far I'm going to post my favorite song. That's right, ever, all-time...however you wanna say it. It's all downhill from here.

And since my favorite song ever is by a man who uses the English language more profoundly than I could ever hope to, this is one that I'm going to let speak for itself:

Bob Dylan - "To Ramona"

In retrospect, my last post on The Gunshy makes for a good segue into this post. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the transition from Tom Heinl to The Game.

If you want to hear more incredible songs like "To Ramona", and really there's no reason why you shouldn't, you can buy the album from which it came, 1964's Another Side Of Bob Dylan. You can probably find it used on Amazon for pretty cheap. It's an underrated masterpiece in the Dylan catalogue that deserves to be heard by everyone.

Kinda Nice To Maybe Shine

2005-01-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

Usually when I hear that some unknown kid sounds exactly like one of my favorite singers I pay it no mind. Nine times out of ten it ends up being completely false. But, like a sucker always on the hunt for that latest discovery, I picked up The Gunshy's 2004 album, No Man's Blues, because I constantly heard him being compared to Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. The Gunshy is the name that 24 year-old Matt Arbogast has chosen for his one-man band. Unsurprisingly, the songwriting and performances on No Man's Blues are galaxies away from Dylan and Waits, but it's true about his voice: Arbogast does sound exactly like Tom Waits used to. It makes for an eerie, almost discomforting listen. It's entirely possible to close one's eyes and imagine you're listening to a lost Waits album. I know, I know, there's no way you're going to believe me until you hear it for yourself. Fair enough:

The Gunshy - "No Man's Blues"

The Gunshy - "Your Favorite Dylan Song"

Now do you believe me? "No Man's Blues" is the song on the album that features the most Waitsian vocal performance. "Your Favorite Dylan Song" pretty much makes it clear how Arbogast feels about comparisons like these, but it's also one of the best songs on the album...and not just because it references the Master in its great title.

The rest of the album doesn't reach the heights of these two songs, but it's still worth hearing. It's hard to resist the feeling that at times Arbogast pushes his voice to sound older and more haggard than it actually is. That might be unfair (he didn't choose his voice, afterall), but it is a notion that crept into my mind from time to time as the album spun. That and the production are the two main things holding The Gunshy back, but I think in time he might develop into a truly compelling talent.

There's more information on The Gunshy at this press release, including links to mp3s of a few more songs from No Man's Blues. If you like any of these songs enough to listen to them more than once, please buy the album from Latest Flame Records or catch one of The Gunshy's passionate live shows.

Peep Game

2005-01-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

The Aftermath/Shady family strikes again this January, this time with the much anticipated debut of Compton emcee The Game. What I've heard so far has been underwhelming, especially the lead-off singles "Higher" and "How We Do" with 50 Cent. But with production by Kanye West, Just Blaze, Hi-Tek, Timbaland, Eminem and the good Doctor himself, it's sure to have some of the best beats of the year.

Here's a sneak at the best track I've heard so far, not surprisingly the one produced by and featuring Eminem.

The Game with Eminem - "We Ain't"

If you can't (or don't want to) wait for the release of The Documentary on January 18th, you can peep the album in it's entirety on MTV's The Leak.

Because Laughter Is Cool Too

2005-01-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I went to see the Encyclopedia Of Fun at the ABC House in Olympia. They're a young Olympian band, comprised partly of Jenny Jenkins and Gabe Lifferth (also of the Strangers). They have this one incredible song called "Hole In The Ground", which is probably the first "looper" of the year for me. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of their CDs with them so I have nothing by them to post, but keep your ears open.

However, as luck would have it, a Mr. Tom Heinl was one of the first acts. This was to my complete surprise, I hadn't seen his name on the flyer for the show, but I was certainly pleased when he took the stage. Actually, there was no stage, so when he took the front of the room. Tom writes parody songs in the vein of classic country and western, at times sounding like a comedic Johnny Cash. I first heard about him more than a year ago from a friend who assured me that his music was hilarious; now having seen him live I can definitely attest to that. He had me hunched over in laughter for the duration of his set, delivering such strokes of genius as "Three-Way" and "IHOP" in complete deadpan. Here's a couple songs, hopefully they'll make you laugh too:

Tom Heinl - "Three-Way"

Tom Heinl - "Half Day Vacation"

Tom Heinl - "Ingrown Nail (On The Oregon Trail)"

See what I mean? "Ingrown Nail" sounds like a classic C&W story song from the 60s, until you consider the lyrics. "Three-Way" is Countrypolitan to the core, right down to the background singers, and anyone who doesn't double over when they hear Tom sing "you know it kinda turned me on when you told me one time you had a three-way" for the first time is hopeless.

Tom has two albums, I believe, the latest being 2003's With Or Without Me, so called because of the instrumentals that comprise the second half of the album, which invite the listener to sing their favorite Heinl songs through the wonders of Stereoke! "Three-Way" is from With Or Without Me. So is "Half Day Vacation", but the version above is from a tape of demos.

If you enjoy these songs, visit Tom's website and learn more about him. You can even read some of his fifth grade journal while you're there. Or you can purchase With Or Without Me from Leisure King. Lastly, there's this short but sweet interview of his with The Onion.

I Say, Don't You Know?

2005-01-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

sebby called it! When the 2004 lists began drifting in and Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" sat near the top, if not at the top, of most of them, I wasn't surprised. This song more than any other made 2004 for me. When I finally got my hands on FF's debut in March, it was immediately clear to me that "Take Me Out" was the stand-out. And it seemed 1000% unlikely that any other song would come along and knock it from the top spot. Nine months later the initial reaction still stands: "Take Me Out" is not only far and away the best song of 2004, but perhaps the best since the turn of the century. Haters can hate, let them miss the thrill of it all because they're too busy arguing over whether it's disco or not, at the end of the day it's a winner: a brilliant and infectious four minutes of sass and stomp.

My favorite "Take Me Out" moment is near the first minute mark, when a second song of new energy and urgency starts to slowly break free from the shell of the first. It's as if the song is taking over, forcing Franz Ferdinand to play something they hadn't intended. Or something like that.

There's probably little reason for me to post this song, seeing as anyone who's bothering to read an mp3 blog has surely heard it, but I'm posting it anyway: its ubiquity has done nothing to diminish its power.

Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"

Best Songs Of 2004

2005-01-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here are what I consider 33 of the best songs of last year. Enjoy, and let me know whether you agree or disagree.

Tift Merritt - "Write My Ticket"
Antony & The Johnsons - "Fistful Of Love"
The Transmissionary Six - "Happy Landings"
Two Gallants - "Crow Jane"
Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
Royce Da 5'9" - "Regardless"
Björk - "Triumph Of A Heart"
Elvis Costello - "Monkey To Man"
Simon Joyner - "Flying Dreams"
A Girl Called Eddy - "Girls Can Really Tear You Up Inside"
Murs - "The Pain"
Lloyd Banks with Eminem, 50 Cent & Nate Dogg - "Warrior Part 2"
The Arcade Fire - "Wake Up"
Modest Mouse - "Bukowski"
The Clumsy Lovers - "Rest"
Ghostface - "Be This Way"
Kanye West - "Through The Wire"
Xiu Xiu - "Fabulous Muscles (Mama Black Widow Version)"
Nas with Olu Dara - "Bridging The Gap"
Dan Bern - "Sammy's Bat"
Eminem with Obie Trice, Stat Quo & 50 Cent - "Spend Some Time"
Frausdots - "Dead Wrong"
Of Montreal - "Disconnect The Dots"
Castanets - "Three Days, Four Nights"
Mouse On Mars - "Wipe That Sound"
CocoRosie - "By Your Side"
Penelope Houston - "Hole"
Secret Machines - "The Road Leads Where It's Led"
Inouk - "Elected"
Devendra Banhart - "Will Is My Friend"
Nedelle And Thom - "You Know"
The Court & Spark - "Suffolk Down Upon The Night"

Tom Waits - "Dead And Lovely"

Actually, these are all runners-up, tomorrow I'll post what I believe to be the single best song of 2004. I should probably warn you that it might be a bit anti-climatic: this year one song in particular stood out to many people as the best of the best, and I happen to concur with that selection.

Best Albums Of 2004

2005-01-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

I have about a dozen or so (supposedly great) albums still to hear from 2004, plus a few imports I'm looking forward to tracking down, but by and large I know where I stand with 2004. To be honest, it was a pretty lackluster year from my perspective, although that might've been due to some disappointing efforts from a few of my favorite artists (I'm looking at you Eminem and Leonard Cohen). Also, part of the reason 2004 struck me as less than stellar may be that 2003 set the bar so incredibly high. Having said all of that, plenty of artists (including many newcomers) stepped up to the plate and made magic. As promised, here's my personal list of the best albums of 2004, in reverse order:

25. The Beta Band - Heroes To Zeros

24. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News

23. French Kicks - The Trial Of The Century

22. Nedelle And Thom - Summerland

21. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows

20. Asobi Seksu - Asobi Seksu

19. Jason Molina - Pyramid Electric Co.

18. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Oh, My Girl

17. Eleni Mandell - Afternoon

16. Elvis Costello - The Delivery Man

15. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

14. Mouse On Mars - Radical Connector

13. Jolie Holland - Escondida

12. The Thermals - Fuckin A

11. Dios - Dios

10. Tift Merritt - Tambourine

9. Tracy + The Plastics - Culture For Pigeon

8. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

7. Simon Joyner - Lost With The Lights On

6. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles

5. The Arcade Fire - Funeral

4. The Transmissionary Six - Get Down

3. Penelope Houston - The Pale Green Girl

2. A Girl Called Eddy - A Girl Called Eddy

1. Castanets - Cathedral

This list will definitely change as I hear more from last year, but these are albums I'm sure I'll always enjoy and, thus, highly recommend. Questions, comments, death threats, all will be appreciated.

I've Learned How To Wait

2005-01-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sleater-Kinney have announced five new tour dates on their website. These shows will take place before the release of the new album, so they should feature lots of new material. When I saw them a couple months ago in Portland, the majority of their sets was brand new...and very, very good! Here are the dates:

2.14.2005 Western Washington University - Bellingham, WA
2.25.2005 Night Light Lounge - Bellingham, WA
2.26.2005 Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
3.02.2005 Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
3.03.2005 Mercury Lounge - New York, NY

They also promised new and expansive (including international) tour dates after the release of the new record, which is scheduled to be released at the end of May by Sub Pop.

I'll for sure be at the two Bellingham shows and maybe the Vancouver show if I'm feeling adventurous, so let a brother know if you'll be in attendance too.

And lastly, did anyone catch their New Year's Eve show with Wilco and the Flaming Lips at Madison Square Garden? If so, I expect a detailed report in the comments section.

Ciao 2005

2005-01-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my road trip. I guess it was only two weeks, but it felt like a lot longer. I was surprised by how much I missed blogging. It appears I've grown attached to this after just a couple months.

Hopefully this will be the year I put cool hand bak on the map. I'm looking forward to using this blog more and more to capture my musical journey, to detail the music that's captivating me as it happens. 2005 is already shaping up to be a great year for music, with new releases expected from Sleater-Kinney, Magnolia Electric Co., Bright Eyes, Antony & The Johnsons, M. Ward, Solomon Burke, The Decemberists, Blackalicious, and The Fiery Furnaces, among others. I'm excited to finally have an outlet that allows me to comment on and share my appreciation for that music. That doesn't mean I won't be posting old stuff though: they'll be plenty of songs from years gone by.

Later today I'll post my personal Best of 2004 list and later this week I hope to round up some of my favorite songs from last year.

I want to thank everyone who commented while I was gone. It was great to check in from the road and see that people were still enjoying some of the songs I posted before I went away.

I Can't Talk Now, I'm Not Alone

2004-12-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

In a couple hours I'll leave for my road trip to New Mexico, which means that this is effectively my last post of 2004. I'd like to close the year with something truly special, so today I'll be posting my most listened to song of 2004. Not from 2004, of 2004.

Bruce Springsteen has always been an artist that I respect more than I enjoy. At one point or another I've heard all of his albums, except The River, and while the craft and passion in his music is undeniable, none of his songs have ever spoken to me on that level that I require before I can feel a genuine connection with an artist. There was never a Springsteen song that I could champion, that I could call my favorite.

That changed dramatically the first time I heard "Hearts Of Stone", from his Tracks box set. This song floored me and I remember singing it over and over that day. The lyrics say so little but express so much, the singing is Springsteen's voice at it's most nuanced, the melody is breathtaking and Clarence Clemons' saxophone moves me like very few things in music ever have. Keeping in mind that it's actually just a guide version for Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes makes it all the more incredible. Frankly, it makes me wish more of Springsteen's songs were guide versions.

Bruce Springsteen - "Hearts Of Stone"

There you have it. I'll be seeing you in a couple weeks. Or should I say next year.

I Know It's Out Of Love

2004-12-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had that experience where after hearing a song for the first time you immediately want to hear it again...and again and again? Last night this happened to me. I listened to Antony & the Johnsons' "Fistful Of Love" at least 20 times in a row.

"Fistful Of Love" is the first song I've ever heard of theirs. It's the lead single from their forthcoming album I Am A Bird Now (due February 1 on Secretly Canadian), but it also appears on their recent The Lake EP. On the strength of "Fistful Of Love" I Am A Bird Now has instantly become one of the albums I'm most anticipating in 2005. What makes it so special? Well, first Antony's voice is an evocative cross between Bryan Ferry and Otis Redding, but purer than that suggests. Secondly, the horns, arrangement and vocal performance are straight from Elvis' old playbook, circa From Elvis In Memphis. Throw in a spoken introduction and guitar from Lou Reed and you have one of the top three songs of 2004.

I could easily write pages about "Fistful Of Love", and as you've probably already realized I'm no paragon of brevity. I feel like saying something completely over the top like "This is beauty incarnate!", but for once I'm going restrain myself.

Antony & The Johnsons - "Fistful Of Love"

If you end up enjoying this song half as much as I do, stop by Antony & the Johnsons' website to learn more about this fascinating group.

Look Out, Matador!

2004-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

"My favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life" is how John Peel famously described Laura Cantrell's debut album Not The Tremblin' Kind. "It's country, and I don't know why I like it," he continued. I had just begun blogging when Mr. Peel passed away earlier this year and, having not spent much time in the United Kingdom, I never listened to his radio show, but just the fact that he was one of the few to play Laura Cantrell's music is enough to make him a legend in my book.

Since Tremblin' Kind was released in 2000, Laura has had one other album, 2002's When The Roses Bloom Again. To my ears, it was even better than Tremblin' Kind. Since then I have been waiting with bated breath for Laura's next move, as I'm sure all of Laura's fans have - all 15 of us! Despite her touring with Elvis Costello ("If Kitty Wells made ‘Rubber Soul’ it would sound like Laura Cantrell," he said) and a 2004 reissue of her 1996 EP The Hello Recordings, it's been a long wait. Once again, I get to be the bearer of good news: Laura Cantrell has signed to Matador Records. A press release this past Wednesday also announced her still untitled follow-up to Roses, which is scheduled for a late spring release.

For those of you who've never heard of Laura, allow me to briefly recount her story, which is really one of the most fascinating bios around. Laura's parents were both attorneys in Nashville. Her great, great aunt was a songcatcher and she absorbed a lot of country music growing up. Later, she was a tour-guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Keeping music mainly on the side, Laura worked at a Wall Street investment firm, eventually ending up with the unwieldy title of Vice President of the Banc of America Securities Equity Research Department. Lord knows what she did there. As her music career began to take off it became increasingly at odds with her day job until, thankfully, she resigned in the spring of 2003 to concentrate fully on her music. It's true - Oprah Magazine documented it in a section on "women who followed their passions". All of this and Laura continues to host "Radio Thrift Shop" every Saturday for WFMU. See, isn't that an interesting background?

I'd like to mention that Laura has one of the most sincere and deceptively emotive voices in contemporary country music. By that I mean, her voice sounds so simple and yet, before you know it, it has not only worked it's way under you skin, it's broken your heart with it's tune. To prove a point, here's the title track from When The Roses Bloom Again and Laura's excellent version of Bruce Brakefield's "Rain Boy", which was broadcast live on Peel Acres in May 2003:

Laura Cantrell - "When The Roses Bloom Again"

Laura Cantrell - "Rain Boy"

Laura's website has many other fantastic mp3s to download, including a beautiful cover of Elvis Costello's "Indoor Fireworks", as well as links to "Radio Thrift Shop" Real Audio streams. Matador Records proudly displays their recent signing of Laura on their front page, with a link to the press release I cited.

All I Want With My Life

2004-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

Usually the criticism "willfully eclectic" doesn't mean much to me: what's wrong with being all over the place? But listening to CocoRosie's debut album, La Maison De Mon Rêve, from earlier this year, I can almost understand. CocoRosie take on so many styles and ideas, from old-time blues and folk to twisted torch songs and trip-hop, that they set themselves up to fail. Their sound and approach are admirable, but their blatant lack of an ear for knowing what works and what doesn't is frustrating. The end result is an album that I really want to like, but one whose unfocused wanderings make it impossible for me to warm up to all but a few songs. And yet, saying that CocoRosie fail isn't telling the whole story; they fail interestingly.

The song I'm posting from La Maison is one that does work, decidedly so. It starts off creaking and hammering, then the beat appears almost before you realize it, then the first, childish voice and finally another voice, seemingly unaware of the first but feeding off of it all the same. The backing of the song is interesting, but it isn't what makes the song. It's basically trip-hop, though more compelling and eccentric than most of that tired genre. What makes this song is those voices: the way they float above the track, the way they circle each other, and, most importantly, the way they simulataneously sound like they don't belong to this song and sound completely at home over the beat's blips and blurts. The lyrics could be R&B fare, albeit weird R&B, but not when sung with the Casady sisters' voices. Hear for yourself:

CocoRosie - "By Your Side"

Visit Touch & Go Records for more information about CocoRosie or to buy La Maison. CocoRosie also have their own website, but it doesn't appear to be working.

Best News Of All-Time

2004-12-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Visited Tift Merritt's site this morning and discovered new tour dates, which I'll post here for your convenience.

1.19.2005 Continental Club - Houston, TX*
1.20.2005 Sons of Herman Hall - Dallas, TX*
1.21.2005 Stubb's Bar-B-Q - Austin, TX*
1.22.2005 Stubb's Bar-B-Q - Austin, TX*
1.25.2005 Paramount - Santa Fe, NM*
1.26.2005 Plush - Tucson, AZ*
1.28.2005 Troubador - West Hollywood, CA*
1.29.2005 Slim's - San Francisco, CA*
2.01.2005 WOW Hall - Eugene, OR*
2.02.2005 Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR*
2.03.2005 Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA*
2.04.2005 Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
2.05.2005 Richard's On Richards - Vancouver, BC*
2.08.2005 Liquid Joe's - Salt Lake City, UT*
2.09.2005 Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO*
2.11.2005 Blueberry Hill - St. Louis, MO*
2.12.2005 Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN*
4.30.2005 Columbia-Greene Community College - Hudson, NY^

Dates with an * next to them will be with Tres Chicas and the date with a ^ next to it will be with Sarah Lee Guthrie. Tres Chicas is that excellent supergroup featuring Tonya Lamm (Hazeldine), Caitlin Cary (Whiskeytown) and Lynn Blakey (Glory Fountain). Sarah Lee Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's grand-daughter. I've never heard her music, but I hear it's pretty good.

I'm so excited I just can't hide it! More savvy visitors to this site will remember that I've already written about Tift once after a few of her shows back in November. Suffice to say, you should not miss her if she's coming within a hundred miles of you.

I would take this opportunity to congraulate Tift on her Grammy nomination, but considering that those awards are a complete joke I'd rather not validate them at all. So, how about this: Tift, congratulations on being so unbelievably awesome!

Stop by her website for more information and to hear song samples.

Haloscan Added

2004-12-13T23:58:00.000-08:00

I've updated to comments by Haloscan, which means that you can leave a comment without being a member of Blogger.

So, hopefully, I'll start getting more comments. Or something like that.

If Only I Was A Star

2004-12-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

Another Sleater-Kinney related post today. This one's about a song called "Oh Carrie Brownstein" and it's by The Short Happy Life. The Short Happy Life is actually just Jerry Fels. Not much to say about this song, it's a bit of novelty to me and that's why I'm posting it. I'll let Jerry introduce it:

"Oh Carrie Brownstein" is the one I always play that goes "Oh Carrie Carrie blah blah blah", but I bet you didn't know that it's really about the time Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney and I walked past each other at The Middle East in Cambridge but didn't recognize each other (I didn't realize she was so short, and she only knows me by my handwriting and by the subsequent restraining order she put on me).

The Short Happy Life - "Oh Carrie Brownstein"

So it's a short, almost catchy stalker-anthem. Personally, I would have written it for Corin Tucker (I ♥ Corin), but it's not my song.

"Oh Carrie Brownstein" was released on The Album Is Also Called The Short Happy Life (not funny!), which came out on Nobody's Favorite Records. As far as I can tell Jerry doesn't have a website, but there is this.

P.S. I almost forgot to observe that today marks my blog's one month-iversary. Yay me! Wow woopy doo. One month down...

Über-Post, Part II

2004-12-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Alright, part two of Saturday's quadruple bill at the Graceland. The third artist of the night was Sarah Dougher. My involvement with Sarah's music is a bit of a tangled web. First came Sleater-Kinney's music, which I absolutely treasure. In the last couple years they have become not only my current favorite band, but one of my favorite bands of all-time. After one exhausts the entire Sleater-Kinney catalog, it's only natural that they begin to look at Corin, Carrie and Janet's various side-projects. Seeing as Corin's voice is the most thrilling aspect of Sleater-Kinney's music to me, it makes sense that I would begin my extra-Sleater-Kinney exploration with Cadallaca. And so, like a good fanatic, I hunted down and came to love 1998's Introducing Cadallaca, on which Corin, Sarah and Sts (from the Lookers) break out the Farfisa and have more fun than should be humanly possible. Then came Cadallaca's 2000 EP, Out West. After that, finally, I began to explore Sarah's solo music. She has released three full-length albums, the latest being 2001's The Bluff.

Sarah's set was short and spare: just her warm voice and acoustic guitar. Her music is nakedly emotional and very intense. Her songs are so obviously honest and thoughtful that it's possible for one to feel uncomfortable, like a voyeur...especially when standing right in front of her. A song she introduced as being about writing, for instance, felt like as much of a struggle as her songs about lost love. Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because the bare instrumentation made her music seem uninviting, many people used this part of the show as a bar or bathroom break. Not me; it's true that her songs are more accessible on her albums, but there was still much to enjoy about her set.

Anyway, here's a great song from the previously mentioned The Bluff:

Sarah Dougher - "Must Believe"

Visit Sarah's website for more information.

Finally, after midnight, the person most people came to see took the stage. I've already written about Edith Frost once during the short life of this blog and it's complete luck that Edith gets to be the first person written about twice.

Her set was outstanding. Cherry-picking from across her entire catalogue, Edith put on a terrific show. She opened up with two solo acoustic numbers, then invited Jason and Ryan of Manishevitz back up to play drums and bass respectively. There was a drunk girl near the front of the stage that kept flirting with Edith ("You have a lovely voice!") and Edith handled it like a pro ("I'm sure you do too.") Then Nate, also from Manishevitz, came up to work wonders with his flute. "Exploiting the openers", she called it. After Nate left, Manishevitz's lead guitarist Via came up. It was really cool to watch 3/5 of Manishevitz, who earlier in the night had played a variation of glam-rock so well, turn around and expertly execute country-rock.

Drunk girl observed of the small crowd, "We're the luckiest 20 people in Seattle", to which Edith replied, "Yeah, what the hell?" Throughout her long set, which seemed to fly by, she was charming and casual, swigging from a beer between every song. At one point drunk girl said she thought Edith would have been a Rolling Rock drinker and Edith quipped "I'm not a connoisseur". "I drink whatever they give me," she continued, and then invited drunk girl to buy the band a round of Rolling Rock. Sure enough, after the next song, drunk girl's boyfriend returned with four beers for Edith and the band.

So, here's one of Edith's finest songs, which she played last Saturday night. It's from Wonder Wonder, released in 2001:

Edith Frost - "Cars And Parties"

Visit Edith's blog for tour dates and whatnot, that way next time she's in your town you can help give her the audience she deserves.

Über-Post, Part I

2004-12-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

My apologies for my three day absence, it's been a busy beginning to the week for me.

On Saturday I saw a great quadruple bill at the Graceland in Seattle. It was my first time there and I liked it a lot: it's got one of those great wooden floors that vibrates with the rumble of the music, which for some unknown reason really makes me happy during shows. Go figure.

Up first was Graham Travis. I did some research on him the day before the show just to get an idea of what to expect. I found an interview and review of his debut album, Why Don't You Know Me Yet?, from Delusions of Adequacy. They place him in the company of Bens Folds, Kweller and Lee and also pegged him as a Beatles devotee, not surprising considering that he practices straightforward power-pop. He played a short set with four "friends" who really seemed to enjoy making music together. They actually reminded me of the New Radicals more than anyone else, which probably horrifies most people but was fine with me. Here's what I consider the catchiest song from his debut:

Graham Travis - "Tripped You Up"

I had a brief conversation with Graham after his set because a friend of mine wanted to buy his CD. He's a genuinely nice, easy-going guy so I wish him success with his sophomore album, which he said he'll begin recording early next year. Visit his website for more information.

Up next was Manishevitz, a band that I've been fond of for some time. I first became interested in them due to comparisons to Roxy Music, one of my all-time favorite bands. Upon discovering Manishevitz's music, via their albums Rollover and City Life, I was not disappointed. Their only real similarities to Roxy are their prominent use of horns (Nate Lepine on sax and flute) and lead singer Adam Busch's Bryan Ferryesque sassy croon; beyond that they are a young band with a lot of ideas and their own original voice. Sadly, almost nobody has heard of them. Describing their set requires me to employ oft-misused rock-lit jargon, such as "blistering", "non-stop" and "stellar". To me, the hallmark of a great band has always been one that I enjoy as much during their instrumental passages as I do during vocals. It's a very short list: Roxy Music, Sleater-Kinney, Radiohead, T. Rex, Creedence and maybe the Stones. Manishevitz definitely had this going on Saturday. I found myself completely absorbed by their sound and 100% engaged by their long instrumental breakdowns. Thanks largely to the fact that I was literally one of three or four people on the main floor in front of the stage, I let loose and danced my ass off. If anyone at the Graceland has found my ass, please get in touch!

I doubt anything off of either of their albums, as good as they are, can do their live show justice, but here is the opening track from their 2003 album City Life:

Manishevitz - "Beretta"

All three of Manishevitz's full-length albums have been released by Jagjaguwar, a great label that Simon Joyner, Julie Doiron, Oneida and Richard Youngs also call home. Please visit Manishevitz's Website to learn more about this great band.

Stay tuned for part two of this post, which will be about the second half of the quadruple bill.

On A Night Like This

2004-12-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

I wasn't going to post tonight, but then Bob Dylan turned up on 60 Minutes and the Simpsons! I've known for nearly a week that Bob was going to give his first television interview in nearly 20 years to 60 Minutes tonight, so I made plans to watch it at a neighbor's since I don't have a TV set. Then I find out that the Simpsons also has Bob Dylan on their show (for the first time!), also giving an interview. Coincidence? One has to wonder.

As for the 60 Minutes interview, Dylan was as cryptic, vague and fascinating as ever. The interview was basically a tie-in for his autobiography, Chronicles; the questions were pretty poor and he looked and sounded uncomfortable as usual, but somehow his charisma and raw personality still managed to shine through.

You can read the interview, basically word for word, at this link: Bob Dylan's 60 Minutes Interview

Thanks to Hippycat for the visual.

All Eyez On Nas

2004-12-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

With the absence of a proper Jay-Z album and a (relatively) disappointing show from Eminem on Encore, the onus is on Nas to deliver on behalf of the current Holy Trinity of mainstream hip-hop. Whoever delivered this news to Nas must've stressed quantity, as Nas dropped his double-album Street's Disciple on Tuesday. Of course, it's easily the most anticipated release of the 4th quarter.

Double-albums have a special place in hip-hop: you might be a confirmed superstar, but you haven't really made it in today's world if you haven't dropped your double-album. Thus Nas follows in the footsteps of Pac, Biggie, Jigga, Master P (WTF?) and Outkast. And considering that we're talking about double-CDs, these albums are longer than All Things Must Pass.

It should go without saying, then, that Nas does his fair share of stumbling. But, Street's Disciple is remarkably consistent, in the sense that there isn't much range between it's best and worst tracks. The flip-side of this is that the peaks are few and far between. Granted, I've only listened to it a few times through (it's almost 90 minutes long!), but so far the real highlight is the second single, which I present to you now:

Nas with Olu Dara - "Bridging The Gap"

What I find exhilarating about "Bridging The Gap" is that it really does attempt to bridge the gap, not just between the blues and hip-hop but also between two generations that seem to understand each other less and less. This makes "Bridging The Gap" not only the best song on Street's Disciple, but one of the best songs this year.

Nas' Website

You Need To Stay In School

2004-12-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Dropping the Killah from his name, signing to Def Jam and returning from a more than two year absence, Ghostface got real soulful (take that Kanye!) on The Pretty Toney Album. Acclaim was nearly unanimous (Metacritic has it at an 81), and with good reason: despite the fact that uncleared samples kept some great songs off the album, Ghost delivers beautifully.

Unfortunately, not enough people heard more than the radio songs ("Tush" and "Run", featuring Missy and Jadakiss respectively) and therefore never discovered the true gems scattered amongst Pretty Toney's 18 tracks. That's where I come in, to share one of said gems with you:

Ghostface - "Holla"

I love the way Ghost brilliantly freaks the Delfonics' "La La (Means I Love You)" for this song, keeping so much of it but turing the chorus into "Holla, holla, holla, if you want to". As if you have a choice, it's irresistible. And that's how the album goes: the Emotions here, Freddie Scott there, Billy Stewart over there and too many R&B divas to name, side by side with Ghost's many varied flows and insanely quotable lyrics. Cop this!

Ghostface's Website

Nothin' But A Painful Case

2004-12-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today I'm posting another of my favorite songs from this year. In fact, almost everything I've posted so far has been from 2004. It's kind of a year-end ritual for me to go through the highlights of the year and come up with "best of" lists and compilations.

The name of this band is Two Gallants. Two Gallants is two kids (really, they're both 21 years old) from good ol' San Francisco. They released their debut, The Throes, in May to a flurry of stupefied critics and Dylan comparisons. As has always been true with Dylan comparisons, they're mostly unwarranted: it's to the point that any young'n who takes on traditional styles of music with an unconventional voice, acoustic instruments and a lyrical bite has Bob's name bandied their way. And that's as unfair to Dylan as it is flattering to the band. Regardless, the music Two Gallants make is actually very good. I would call them a little on the underdeveloped side still, but their update of the blues fares better than what I've heard from similar duos, such as the Black Keys and the White Stripes.

The song I'm posting from The Throes is called "Crow Jane". It's a traditional song that dates back to Skip James and has been covered by the likes of Etta Baker, Nick Cave and Reverend Gary Davis. Two Gallants turn in an unequivocally gorgeous read of the song, such that it's easily the highlight of The Throes. Adam Stephens' vocal performance is a revelation, especially when it comes to phrasing. Here's hoping you enjoy it as much as I do.

Two Gallants - "Crow Jane"

You can visit Two Gallants' Website to see if their fairly extensive tour is coming near you and to watch a live video of "Crow Jane".

We Got Syndication!

2004-12-01T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, this morning I woke up, did my usual scan of the MP3 Blogs Aggregator and saw my shit linked to on the sidebar. Hell yes, I'm happy!

Now if only I can start getting some regular comments...

Believe Everything You Hear

2004-11-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

Looks like Murs gets to be the first to make the leap from my favorites on the sidebar onto the main page. No doubt Murs 3:16 - The 9th Edition, the album he released earlier this year with beatsmith extraordinaire 9th Wonder, deserves the spotlight. Murs himself considers it his best work yet, and I concur wholeheartedly. It's an album that, along with Doom and Madlib's Madvillainy, reminds us that beautiful things happen when emcees turn over all production duties to a single producer. Murs 3:16 makes it abundantly clear why more and more hip-hop heads are turning to the underground for new, real shit: the artistry, the intelligence and the diversity of style and ideas are simply more pronounced where the sun don't shine. Sure, there's a select few still making magic in the mainstream (Nas' new double dropped today!), but mostly it's mo' money, mo' mediocrity. Luckily, as Murs'll tell you, independent hip-hop is only gonna get doper.

Murs - "The Pain"

This particular track is my favorite from Murs 3:16 and, indeed, one of my favorite songs of the year. 9th Wonder basically outdoes all contenders at crafting the beat around a sped-up classic soul sample in that way that's been all the rage since The Blueprint hit shelves. Here he uses a fantastic Percy Miracles vocal that brilliantly meshes with the tone and content of Murs' verses. Murs fills in the blanks with some of the most honest and, dare I say, vulnerable raps I've ever heard. And, of course, it's tremendously rewarding for me as another who's "more Coldplay than I am Ice-T" to hear Murs cut to the heart of the "nice-guy" dilemna. Simply put, I think it's stunning.

More info on Murs is available here: Murs' Website

Nekolicious!

2004-11-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

Finally they let me back in. You see, I tried to post yesterday but for some reason Blogger was acting up and wouldn't let me in. So I apologize for them. Now back to business...

Last night I had the good fortune to see Neko Case and the Sadies at Neumo's Cystal Ballroom in Seattle. They sold the place out, drawing one of the rowdiest (read: most drunken) crowds at any show I've yet been to. Dexter Romweber opened up with a nice, albeit unremarkable, surf-rock/rockabilly combo, followed by the Sadies themselves. This was my first time seeing them and I have to say they weren't as dynamic in concert as I expected from their records. Nearly every song felt on the verge of a hoe-down, which meant that by the end of their set their songs felt so samey that they became one long blur. A fun blur though. At times I actually spaced out just watching Dallas Good chain smoke: I mean, the man plays guitar with a lit cigarette in his hand!

Of course, Neko was the star of the show and throughout her set she again and again made it clear why: from her commanding yet playful stage presence to her gorgeous voice she put on a show worthy of her relatively new standing as one of indie-rock's few household names. I recently read an article that placed Neko alongside Björk and Corin Tucker as today's most powerful female vocalists and that really sounds accurate to me. Her outstanding range in covers last night, including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Loretta Lynn and the Shangri-Las, and her work with the New Pornographers further solidifies that notion in my mind: Neko Case can sing just about anything...and well! Last night's show was all over the map, including a song or two from her tour-only Canadian Amp EP (which I was finally able to pick up last night!), the title track of this year's The Tigers Have Spoken, and quite a few songs she co-wrote with the Sadies that'll be on next year's studio album. Regrettably, she didn't play much from Furnace Room Lullaby or Blacklisted, which meant I didn't get to hear my favorite songs of hers, "Guided By Wire" or "I Wish I Was The Moon". Ah well, I didn't walk away disappointed.

Here's a song from Furnace Room Lullaby she did play last night, which she introduced as a song about killing your boyfriend. "Sometimes it has to be done", she observed. Indeed.

Neko Case - "Furnace Room Lullaby"

Neko's still on tour through mid-December, so visit her website to find out if she's kicking out the jams anywhere near you:

Neko Case's Website

Isn't This It?

2004-11-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

Another late post, perhaps the last one until Saturday if I leave for Vancouver tomorrow like I'm planning. The subject of tonight's post (or at least the main creative force behind the band, Annie Hardy) hails from Orange Country, California, but I won't hold that against them. At least not as long as they're making music this good.

They're called Giant Drag and, from what I can gather, they consist of Annie Hardy and whatever drummer she can snag - right now I think it's some guy named Eli Wood. They recently played a show in Los Angeles with "John fucking Cale" (her words) and have one EP (Lemona, which may or may not have been officially released already) to their name. However, Annie recently let it be known that the band is recording their debut full-length with "a revolving cast of LA's finest drug addicts/musicians" (again, her words).

They've earned a lot of comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Mazzy Star. Another reference point is Kim Deal and the Breeders, in fact too much so: in one post to Giant Drag's (often hilarious) website Annie wrote a letter to England in which she threatened "i swear to god, if you don't stop saying that we sound like the breeders i am going to kick your ass". Other than the Bloody Valentinesque guitar fuzz, it's Annie's lyrics that have probably gained Giant Drag the most attention. Yes, Ms. Hardy appears to have a knack for the outrageous, between joking in Giant Drag's bio on their website about her love of abortions to titling a song an acronym that stands for "You Fuck Like My Dad" to penning lines like "I will fuck you while you cry". Time will tell whether Annie and Giant Drag need such attention-grabbing ploys or not, but my guess is you'll be hearing a lot more from them in the future. Until then, here's a couple songs from Lemona:

Giant Drag - "This Isn't It"

Giant Drag - "YFLMD"

And here's an extra little special bonus super treat: what I believe to be solo Annie Hardy covering Journey (can't believe I just typed that):

Annie Hardy - "Who's Crying Now"

The Tail-End Of Rock & Roll?

2004-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late post tonight, but I've got something special to make up for it. Tonight I make my first post concerning the artist nearest and dearest to my musical heart. Who could that be? The same genius that sits soundly atop my artist links. Although tonight, Bob Dylan sneaks in by way of a band that only has six shows left in their career...if you guessed Guided By Voices, you win nothing, but you rock!

This little recording is taken from the band's November 7th show in Houston, Texas. It begins with an awesome rant in which Mr. Pollard lets the audience know that indie rock sucks and rock & roll is almost dead, but the end of the world won't be happening any time soon. Thanks for clearing that up Robert. Now, I've never seen GBV live so I wouldn't know if this is Robert Pollard sober or drunk, but I do know that if he rants like this every night then it's entirely worth the price of admission, regardless of what the band plays (or even if the band plays). Enjoy:

Guided By Voices - "Mr. Tambourine Man [Live]"

For information about those final six shows or information about thee Voices in general, visit:

Guided By Voices' Website

P.S. Thanks so much to Eric (aka 20/20 Vision) for the audio.

Say What You Mean

2004-11-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

Last year's More Parts Per Million was very good and had a few truly outstanding songs ("Back To Gray" and "Born Dead" chief among those), but this year the Thermals are even more passionate, more necessary and more better.

Fuckin A, the album they released in May, still stands as one of the strongest albums of the year, a half hour of power that feels more whole and complete than many albums twice its length. From "Our Trip", the mission statement that opens the record ("We're talking shit, our slate is clean, say what you mean...we're not listening"), to the sonic squeal that begins "Keep Time" and on to the final minute-long "Top Of The Earth", the Thermals offer no breathers. Hutch Harris' songwriting has improved since More Parts, where it was already fantastic, and his voice expertly conveys the urgency inherent in his writing. He's ready to rival Ted Leo as one of the most intelligent lyricists around, peep this from "A Stare Like Yours": "When you don't have control, you pretend...a stare like yours is hard to find, it's ultraviolet." Kathy Foster's drumming is phenomenal and producer Chris Walla cleans shit up just enough. Fucking A is right, listen to the Thermals:

The Thermals - "Remember Today"

Visit the Thermals:

The Thermals' Website

Speaking Of Free...

2004-11-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

I guess I'm having a country-rock week, because today I woke up wanting to post about Edith Frost. She's amazing, she's got three great albums on Drag City, the latest being 2001's Wonder Wonder. Earlier this year she did something so completely cool it still makes me happy: she released an album of demos of the songs on her three albums...on the internet...for free! Below are my two favorite songs from the album, appropriately titled Demos:

Edith Frost - "Wonder Wonder"

Edith Frost - "Look What Thoughts Will Do"

That's right, the second song is a cover of Lefty Frizzell's classic, which Edith handles brilliantly. If you want to hear the rest of Demos, you can download it from Comfort Stand, a super cool "community-driven label where all releases are free". In the past I've gotten albums from artists such as R. Stevie Moore and Joe Meek completely free from Comfort Stand, so spend some time browsing their catalog too.

And Edith is going on tour soon, all over the country, with some pretty outstanding supporting acts, so check out her hilarious website/blog, where she'll keep you up to date on, among other things, her roller-skating adventures:

Edith Frost's Website

All That You Have Ever Hoped For

2004-11-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last night I read a review that Melissa Amos wrote for Splendid about a band named Sunday Velvet. I'm already a sucker for bands with the word velvet in their name (Velvet Underground, Velvet Teen, Some Velvet Sidewalk, but not Velvet Revolver), but on top of that Melissa's review was so good that I immediately googled Sunday Velvet and ended up at their website. On their site, their leader Bruno Bernard describes their music as "a project at the crossroads of rock and american folk music", and while that's definitely accurate it doesn't betray the gloom and sadness that characterizes the EP Melissa reviewed, All That God Only Knows. As she says in her review, the EP possesses an ache that will be familiar to anyone with more than a passing interest in the melancholy country-ish music made by artists like Will Oldham and Little Wings.

The best part of it all, though, is that the entire EP is available to download from Sunday Velvet's website, as is the majority of two earlier EPs. So, this is what I've been listening to all day: the perfect soundtrack for yet another rainy Washington afternoon. To begin your adventure with Sunday Velvet, just go here:

Sunday Velvet's Website

Or you can just sample my two favorite songs from All That God Only Knows:

Sunday Velvet - "Barbed Wire"

Sunday Velvet - "Let It Slide"

Besides all these free songs, the other thing that's remarkable about Sunday Velvet's website is the following quote: "Nevertheless, if you happen to enjoy thoses tracks, please let us know it. It is such a pleasure and it's our only reward." Who could deny such an honest request? Needless to say, Bernard has an email from me waiting in his inbox.

And oh yeah, thanks Melissa!

A Real Good Woman Nobody Knows

2004-11-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

Get used to the name Tift Merritt because you're probably going to be hearing an awful lot about her around these parts. She is, quite simply, the finest young talent to hit my radar in the last couple years. Her debut album, Bramble Rose, is a masterpiece ("like the Rolling Stones fronted by Emmylou Harris") and definitely the perfect starting point if you've never heard of her. You probably haven't, but that's okay; that's what I'm here for.

Her sophomore album, Tambourine, finally arrived earlier this year and showed Tift taking a dramatic step forward, away from the more introspective country of her debut and into a full on Stax-revival. Yours truly, his bakness, recently had the opportunity to see her three nights in a row when she played Easy Street Records and the Moore Theatre in Seattle and the Roseland Theatre in Portland, and can testify that Tift is being 100% honest when she describes Tambourine as a better reflection of her more "rocking" live shows. The two albums together reveal two fully-developed sides to the same, extraordinarily talented artist. I think you should get them both, but I'm not gonna post a track from either. Instead, here's Tift performing an excellent cover of Lorretta Lynn's 1971 hit "Another Man Loved Me Last Night":

Tift Merritt - "Another Man Loved Me Last Night"

If that doesn't wet your appetite, I don't know what will. Maybe if you get a taste of Tift's personality, in a way that only she herself can provide. That's right, an interview! Here's the audio of a radio interview that Tift recently subjected herself to:

Tift Merritt - NPR Interview

Tift is still on tour, opening for Mindy Smith (boo!), with a few more dates in Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. To find out if she's playing near you, or for more information about her in general, there's always her website:

Tift Merritt's Website

I Can't Feel My Arms!

2004-11-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a song that I haven't been able to get out of my head since I first heard it a couple weeks ago:

The Transmissionary Six - "Happy Landings"

Isn't that chorus fab? "Happy Landings" can be found on Get Down, T-Six's fourth album, which should be in stores Tuesday along with Rufus Wainwright's Want Two and MF Doom's MM...Food. That's quite a release day. For more information on the Transmissionary Six, be sure to check out their website, where you can order the new album directly if you like:

The Transmissionary Six's Website

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself...

2004-11-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's here, motherfuckers! My name is bakinakwa and this is my mp3 blog. I intend to use this blog to share my love for many types of music: from folk to glam rock, from country to hip-hop, from mainstream to underground...and most everything in between. If you don't like what's being offered one day, check back the next because chances are it'll be at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. This first post serves the dual purpose of introducing my blog to the world and welcoming Eminem's fourth album, Encore, which hit stores yesterday. To celebrate, here's my favorite song from the album:

Eminem with Obie Trice, Stat Quo & 50 Cent - "Spend Some Time"

Gotta love that bewitching sample, which I'm pretty sure comes from Spooky Tooth's "Self Seeking Man", and the strange soft-rock chorus that shouldn't work, but does. Also, here's the video to another song on Encore, "Mosh", which even though it was unable to help get G-Dub out of office is still a remarkable piece of art:

Eminem - "Mosh [Video]"