Just finished my first listen-through of Gogol Bordello’s Super Taranta, and it is FUCKING AWESOME. I also got the new albums from Against Me! and Smashing Pumpkins (who did a show tonight in DC - waiting for my roommate to get home and report on that), but I haven’t really had a chance to listen to those two yet. More soon.
Holy crap I’m slacking. It’s been damn near four months since I’ve posted one of these, so this is going to be an abridged version.
January
At some point, I got The Weepies’ Say I Am You, a very mellow, folksy indie rock album that I listened to non-stop for about a week.
The last weekend in January, I was wandering around DC and protesting the war with a bunch of people. We stopped into a Starbucks, I grabbed the Decemberists’ The Crane Wife, and quickly fell in love with it. I haven’t listened to it much lately, but it got a lot of play in February and March. Plus, I actually bought the physical CD - isn’t that quaint?
The New Pornographers figured in there prominently as well.
February
I spent the first week of February in the SF Bay area, and while I was there, I picked up Kaiser Chiefs’ Employment (again, the actual CD!) and listened to it a whole bunch - mostly because I had heard Ruby on Ethel (on the flight there, no less!) and it was stuck in my head all week. I managed to find that MP3 and listened to it dozens of times while I was there. A couple weeks later, I got Yours Truly Angry Mob when it came out, and earlier this month, I got to see them live. They’ve been in rotation since early February.
Around the same time, I heard about Rautakoura, the Finnish bluegrass band, thanks to Boing Boing.
March
St. Paddy’s Day and Shamrockfest were upon us, so Flogging Molly and Dropkick Muphys got a lot of action.
Flogging Molly released the Complete Control Sessions EP (only on iTunes, I think), so I got the Float and Requiem for a Dying Song singles.
Later in the month, I got the Street Dogs’ Fading American Dream after catching a song or two during their Shamrockfest set. They’re a lot like Dropkick Murphys - no coincidence, really, since the lead singer sang for Dropkick before leaving to be a firemen, before leaving to be a musician again. Similar musical style, more working-class pro-union liberal lyrics.
April
Lucky Boys Confusion made a comeback earlier this month, probably by accident. I particularly like the song Atari.
Jonathon Coulton sauntered in for a while with Code Monkey and Re: Your Brains.
And this week, it’s been all about Arcade Fire. Somebody somewhere linked to a video of them playing in a freight elevator, and I knew I had to have it. I got Neon Bible, listened to it a few times, and began to understand why people had been raving about them for the past couple years. I did pick up Funeral after that, but I still like Neon Bible better, particularly Black Mirror, Intervention, and above all, No Cars Go. I feel like I’ve known them forever.
I’ve also been on a comedy kick for the past month or two, so Eddie Izzard’s Unrepeatable, Jim Gaffigan’s Beyond the Pale, and a Henry Rollins album (I can’t remember which one) have been repeated far more than such things should be repeated, and excessive quoting has resulted.
So that’s most of the music and spoken word I’ve been listening to. Sooner or later, I’ll get around to posting about the podcasts I’ve been listening to lately. Be patient.
Every time I take off my headphones to get a soda or use the bathroom, I’m a little disappointed that the music doesn’t follow me.
How did I not realize that the same guy sings for Death Cab and The Postal Service?
I haven’t been listening to music much this past month. I think it’s because I’ve been wearing glasses instead of contacts for most of the past month: I wear headphones when I’m listening to music at work, and they get uncomfortable quick with glasses on.
So, it’s a short list this month, but that’s OK. I just want to cross it off my to-do list.
Cowboy Mouth - Voodoo Lounge
I saw these guys open for Barenaked Ladies about eight years ago, when I was a sophomore in high school. It was the first concert I’d been to, so it was more memorable for that than for their music. They came back across my radar when they released Easy in the summer of 2002, and I listened to them quite a bit three years later when I was working for the College of Business. They’re a fun, upbeat, slightly southern rock band, so they make good programming music. They also hail from New Orleans, so a couple songs on this disc address Katrina and the aftermath. My favorites: Joe Strummer, a send-up to the late Clash singer, and I Told Ya.
The Sounds - Living In America
I have no idea when or how I got this MP3, but it came up on shuffle a few weeks ago and I love it.
Teddybears (feat. Iggy Pop) - Punkrocker
These guys got two mentions last month, but Punkrocker is definitely the best yet. I’ve never been an Iggy Pop fan - in fact, I’m not even sure I’ve heard anything other than Lust for Life - so I can’t really tell you how this compares to his previous work. The best I can do to describe this track is mellow indie-synth, with a tired-sounding Iggy crooning on top. The Godfather of Punk is getting old - he’ll be sixty this year - and he may still be in good shape, but it shows in his voice.
The New Pornographers - Use It
Technically, this was mentioned last month as part of the Twin Cinema album, but I’m still listening to it a lot. It’s just a really good track.
The New Pornographers - The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
This was on Mass Romantic, but it’s become one of my favorite Pornographers tracks of late.
According to Last.fm, these were my top 11 artists for the past year (11 because I wanted to include Gogol), including play count:
And the top 10 tracks:
Gogol Bordello is headlining a sold-out show tonight at 9:30, and I don’t have tickets. I SHOULD have tickets, because I knew about this months ago, but I kept putting it off.
No matter; my point here is that they sold out a headlining show at a pretty big venue, which is a big step from the first time I saw them, opening for Flogging Molly in a small venue in Binghamton (still a pretty good gig, but they’re definitely moving up in the world). I do feel a little of the requisite “I loved them back before anyone knew them and now they’re popular and I think they suck,” but I’m happy that they’re doing well. I’ll catch them next time.
It’s been over two months since my last review, so I’ve got a whole bunch for you today. Let’s split it up a bit, shall we?
Warning: some of the sites I’ve linked to will auto-play music from the band in question. It’s pretty obnoxious, but whatchagonnado? Turn down your speakers before clicking, mmkay?
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Indie Pop)
I have mixed feelings about this one. Mass Romantic and Electric Version are both fantastic - it’s fun, upbeat music, and that’s why I love these guys. Twin Cinema is a lot darker - more minor chords - and just sounds more depressive. That being said, I love Use It and The Bleeding Heart Show. Twin Cinema and Sing Me Spanish Techno are pretty good too, but I’m kind of disappointed in the rest. It’s definitely got the New Pornographers’ sound, and taken on its own, it’s a good album. However, listening to Twin Cinema requires a different state of mind than their first two albums.
Nickel Creek - Reasons Why: The Very Best (Contemporary Folk, Bluegrass)
I had never listened to Nickel Creek much, and they’re going on indefinite hiatus next year, so I’m glad they put out a Best Of. With the exception of two or three songs, it’s a fantastic disc. I especially like Helena, When You Come Back Down, and the biting Somebody More Like You (my favorite line: “I hope you meet someone your height / So you can see eye-to-eye / With someone as small as you”).
Scotch Greens - Professional (Rockabilly Punk)
These guys opened for Flogging Molly when I saw them back in February, and I finally got the album. Good gym music. I don’t have much to say about them, they’re just fun to listen to.
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers - Pandelirium (Hillbilly Rock)
One of the guys at work introduced me to these guys. They’ve been in DC at least twice since I got this disc and I’ve had to miss them both times, but I’ll get them next time - listen to Ichabod and tell me they won’t put on a ridiculous show (you can hear that and No Such Thing on their website). I can’t even really describe them - psychobilly, maybe? - but it’s definitely not for everybody.
Against Me! - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! (Anarcho Punk)
I’ve loved these guys ever since Fonny kept playing Sink, Florida, Sink a few years ago. There’s nothing new on this album, but it’s the second best thing to seeing them live.
Beck - Nausea
Who hasn’t been listening to this for the past two weeks?
Tenacious D - POD
This has been stuck in my head, on and off, for weeks. I still need to see the movie.
Placebo - Every You, Every Me
I finally saw Cruel Intentions last week. It was awful, but I liked this song.
Blue Man Group - Time to Start, Rods and Cones
I can’t believe I never got into these guys. I love percussion-heavy music, and I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to find stuff like them, but more drum-centric.
Teddybears - Yours to Keep
This was one of the iTunes free singles back in September. It’s just a catchy, fun, mellow tune.
Teddybears - Cobrastyle
I list this one separate from Yours to Keep because they’re so different. Both fun, both catchy, but this one sounds more like an iPod commercial song (probably because it’s been used in a few commercials). It makes me do that stupid-looking chair dance at work.
The Dandy Warhols - The Last High
Bohemian Like You comes up in shuffle every now and again, but somehow, I didn’t hear this song until a couple months ago, and it’s been in near-repeat ever since.
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Tamacun
This is currently the iTunes free single - go get it before Tuesday. I bought the rest of the album, which is good, but I haven’t listened to it much yet. The things that these two can do with guitars are obscene. Watch the video - seriously, you need to see these two.
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
I kind of hate admitting that I like stuff like this, but I love the way the song slowly builds into a crescendo of noise. That makes me happy.
I’m From Barcelona - We’re From Barcelona
There’s really nothing quite like a band of 29 Swedish hipsters calling themselves I’m From Barcelona. Just watch the video.
Nickel Creek released a best-of album today. Sitting here, listening to it at my desk, wishing I were at the Marcera Ranch, or at least driving through the hills of PA…makes me just a little bit crazy.
The New Pornographers make for some damn fine Sunday afternoon background music. And pretty good programming foreground music, too. And they’re pretty OK in the car, now that I think about it.
Wanna see something fucked up? How about thirteen year-old blonde twins that produce white nationalist bubblegum folk pop?
Yeah, that’ll restore your faith in America.
(got it from Jym, who got it from BP)
Dave Matthews
Can we all PLEASE just agree that we’re over him and get on with our lives? I can remember being in middle school, when Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming came out, when everyone was swooning over him and his posters went up in countless college dorm rooms across the country. It’s been a decade since Crash came out, yet we’re still swooning and the posters still hang. There’s a time and a place for Dave, and that’s the scene in the movie when the sensitive-guy protagonist walks dejectedly through the night streets after being informed by the true love of his life (who, incidentally, is engaged to an asshole) that she will go through with the wedding the next day, and then there’s a shot of her looking absentmindedly in the mirror as her wedding gown is given a final touch-up and you know that he’ll crash the wedding or she’ll run from the altar and they’ll leave town together in the back of a Greyhound bus that was just about to leave anyway.
The worst part is that I still like him so much. I was just checking the years on those two albums and saw a half-dozen tracks that bring back fond memories of my childhood. And maybe that’s why I’m pissed: just the thought of his songs brings the same feeling as that cliche scene in the movie - it’s going to turn out all right - but it took me ten years to understand why everyone likes him so much.
I said every week or two, but every month or two is probably more appropriate.
Ben Folds - Still Fighting It (Rockin’ the Suburbs
I guess this song has been out longer than I thought, but I just picked it up a few weeks ago and it’s been played a lot since. I should probably get the rest of the album, because I’ve liked the tracks I’ve heard - he’s a talented fella.
Boy Kill Boy - Suzie (Civilian
This was one of the free singles on iTunes a couple weeks ago, and it’s been stuck in my head pretty much non-stop ever since.
Cowboy Mouth - The Breakup Song
I saw these guys open for Barenaked Ladies about 7 years ago and wasn’t terribly impressed, but they came back into my view about this time last year. It’s a cover of a Greg Kihn Band song, but doesn’t seem to be on any of Cowboy Mouth’s CDs.
General Miggs - Broken Hoof (Download it)
I’m really not sure how I wound up with this one, but you can download it on their site. It’s a nice mellow tune to groove to.
The Killers - When You Were Young (When You Were Young
Who HASN’T been listening to this track lately? Apparently the video is pretty good, too, but I haven’t found it online. I pre-ordered the album on iTunes, so I’ll have the video on Sept. 18 or Oct. 3, depending on who you ask.
Lacuna Coil - Enjoy the Silence (Karmacode
I’ve been on a Depeche kick and downloaded a few covers of Enjoy the Silence, and this one’s my favorite. Little slower, little moodier, little grittier - it’s perfect.
My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday (Download it)
This one came on The Wired CD almost two years ago. At the time I wasn’t impressed with anything on the disc, but I guess I kept the MP3s. The video for this one was playing in the pub about a month ago and I made a note in my phone to buy the track, but it turned out that I had it all along. It sounds a lot like Little Dawn, by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, which I also recommend.
Pete Yorn - Undercover (Nightcrawler
This was also on the Spider-Man soundtrack
I spend most of my day at work with my headphones on, letting iTunes shuffle me though a musical smorgasbord, but when a new song or album catches my attention, I tend to queue it up a couple times a day. And, since my opinions are so highly respected, I thought I’d share them with you.
Harvey Danger - Happiness Writes White (Little by Little
I haven’t really listened to the rest of the album, but Happiness Writes White is fantastic. It sounds kind of like Flagpole Sitta and Sad Sweetheart, but a little mellower and happier.
The Fray - Over My Head, and How To Save A Life (How To Save A Life
These two keep getting stuck in my head. They drive me a little bit crazy.
Billy Talent - This Suffering (II
Really, most of this album is pretty good, but This Suffering is my favorite. A couple of the songs sound disjunct, like Red Flag - the slower verses explode into a furious chorus that just doesn’t fit the rest of the song. It’s a great album for the gym - the opening of Devil in A Midnight Mass is the best way to start a workout.
Ben Folds - Bitches Ain’t Shit (iTunes Exclusive, I think)
Ben Folds covering Dr. Dre seems like it would be funny for a little bit, but it’s actually a really good song.
Teddy Geiger - For You I Will (Underage Thinking
Don’t you judge me. This song was the main plot point in the only episode of Love Monkey that I got to see (which I loved), so it sort of stuck. Plus, the little bastard is from Buffalo too, so that makes it OK, right?
Under the Influence - Mama’s Room
I got this as an iTunes single of the week. They sound like Scissor Sisters on a good day.
Flogging Molly - Black Friday Rule (Whiskey on a Sunday
Black Friday Rule is definitely better live, especially when it runs 13 minutes. I was really looking forward to the studio version of Laura - the live version on Alive Behind the Green Door
Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families (Pikul
I have no idea where this song came from, but I came across it one day on shuffle and it blew my britches off. I even bought the music video on iTunes.
Music For One Apartment and Six Drummers
I have no idea who these guys are, but a few different blogs linked to the video a week or two ago. If you’re impatient like me, skip ahead to 1:00 - basically, they broke into someone’s apartment while they were out walking the dog, but you really don’t need to know that (’course, if you’re impatient like me, you started the video before getting this far). I put this on in the background almost every day just because it sounds so cool.
Metallica is on iTunes
I haven’t actually been listening to them lately, but as of this week, the full Metallica catalog is available on iTunes. A couple months ago I wanted a copy of the Black album, but wasn’t willing to pay $18 for it at Borders, and went home cursing Lars Ulrich. I’ll probably grab a couple albums on there when I want them, but the urge hasn’t struck yet.
That’s it for this week. Maybe I’ll do this every week or two.
(I think we both know I won’t.)
Can anyone explain why I’ve had Monster Mash stuck in my head?
(I was flipping through the CD’s in Jym’s car)
Jym: Make up your mind! Me: I’m looking for music that doesn’t suck. Jym: Well you’re not going to find it in my CD player!
