Just as a last mention, for a while; I just found this broadcast over on the NPR site. It's Lykke Li, El Perro Del Mar, and Anna Ternheim on NPR's World Cafe. The Program runs just over half an hour. This is just in case anybody is actually interested in this stuff, I know I have a healthy infatuation with them right now. Okay, so here are some links and then I'll shut up before someone tells me to STFU.
Another one of those cool Swedish chicks from last week, Anna Ternheim supported Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar. I've been spinning her album, Halfway To Fivepoints and I like it. This track caught my ear upon first listen, and it actually took me a another run before I realized that it's a Fleetwood Mac cover. It's pretty good once you realize it doesn't have those Stevie Nicks backup vocals, but I did used to like Christine McVie's voice. Check out more Anna Ternheim music here.
Okay, I am new to the world of Lykke Li. I saw her performing last Sunday and she was awesome. She's a total pop star, she's gonna be huge. It'll be a crime if she isn't. So yeah, I've been obsessing over her somewhat, this week. I've just seen this video of her and her band in a bathroom, doing I'm Good, I'm Gone. Awesome.
So check out her album, Youth Novels. It's produced by the Bjorn dude from Peter Bjorn and John. Listen to more music at her website, lykkeli.com, and at her myspXXX page. Make sure you listen to Little Bit, it's so fucking gorgeous. I've got a live version of it for you to check out here before you go traipsing out to those other sites.
Okay, onwards to something with some teeth. I don't know much about GO!GO!7188, but I like this song quite a bit. It's got a kinda punk/surf rock sound, and a more organic feel to it (definitely not overproduced like the PUFFY track in the previous post). This track is on their first album, Dasoku Hokou, released in 2000. It appears as though their sixth album is about to be (or has just been) released.
Oh, man. Usually I'd salivate at the prospect of a new PUFFY single, but I'm kinda afraid of this one. It's written by none other than Avril Lavigne and Butch Walker, the hit-making machine of whom we are all fond. So, I dunno...I'll probably pick it up because I love the PUFFY girls and I'm something of a completist geek. I wish they would at least have sung it in Japanese, then the lyrics might not sound so retarded. *SIGH*
I like the sorta sad feel to this. This version was recorded at a live KCRW session (they have some really great comps available), the original is on the Lemonheads' It's A Shame About Ray album. This album just received the double-disc reissue treatment as well, I guess it has now achieved "classic" status. Seems like more of a record label cash-in, though. Either way, it's still a pretty good little album. I think it clocks in around half an hour; short and sweet.
Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield > My Drug Buddy (Live at KCRW)
Oh yeah! Tom Waits is hitting the road. I seriously gotta try and see him so I can cross him off of my list. The man is a legend. FACT. And just in time, Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head, is about to drop. I am really not sure how I feel about this, but right now it's more novelty than anything. I mean, come on, it's Scarlett Johansson. She's h0tt and all, but this could very well go the way of the Paris Hilton album. However, at least she (Scarlett) picked someone cool to cover, if indeed the choice was hers. Oh, and some dude named David Bowie contributes backup vocals for a couple tracks on the (SJ) album, as well.
I was talking about this with my cousin a while back, and I meant to post it then, but somehow it escaped my mind. The other day, I saw a post that was gushing about New Order and that reminded me, so here I am. So, everyone knows the song, Blue Monday, right? I mean, even if you're a person who only listens to the radio or whatever your friends push your way...you still know this song. Whenever I would listen to some random countdown thingy on the radio, either Blue Monday or (The Smiths') How Soon Is Now? would finish first. If one was number one, the other would be number two. That's the way it always worked.
So I guess my question is; what makes Blue Monday such a classic? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great song; I'm not trying to be flippant here. I'm just wondering. The lyrics are okay, I think. Sometimes the music sounds dated when I listen to it; other times it sounds fresh and exciting. And that drumbeat. EVERYBODY knows it. It's like a fucking machine gun; rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat. You're in a club, the song starts up and you hear those beats; you, and everyone else in the room, instantly know what song it is.
I was thinking (and that may be my problem); if you actually met someone who didn't know this song and tried to convince them that it's worthy of its classic status, how would you say it? What words would you choose? When my cousin and I were discussing it, we tried but never really came to any definitive conclusion. Perhaps someone who reads this would be able to. Please comment, I am very interested!
Oh yeah, that pic up there; that was my first New Order experience. At that time, I had heard the name and maybe a few songs here or there, but I wasn't very familiar with them. This guy I worked with was into all three of those bands and organized a bunch of us to go to the show. So yeah, that's how I first became acquainted with New Order.
Just as a last mention, for a while; I just found this broadcast over on the NPR site. It's Lykke Li, El Perro Del Mar, and Anna Ternheim on NPR's World Cafe. The Program runs just over half an hour. This is just in case anybody is actually interested in this stuff, I know I have a healthy infatuation with them right now. Okay, so here are some links and then I'll shut up before someone tells me to STFU.
