I just stumbled onto Grand Duchy the other day when I read that Frank Black is gonna be playing here next month. I was sleuthing about, looking for tour dates and I found out that he's got a new project, Grand Duchy, that he's doing with his wife, Violet Clark. Awesomeness.
Grand Duchy's album, Petit Fours, just dropped this week and it's pretty fucking cool. It's difficult not to compare the music to that of the Pixies. It's also difficult not to compare Violet Clark to Kim Deal. Naturally, there is some of that Pixies flavor there, except some of this is a bit more synthy. According to the bio, Violet is more of an 80s music fan and has injected some of that 80s synth love into this album. Her voice is not as wispy as Kim Deal's; she really stands on her own.
Listening to the album today, I got around to the middle and this track absolutely destroyed me. I had to stop what I was doing and listen to it a few times in a row. I love when a song does that to me. I can kinda make out the lyrics, I think it's about aliens (Black Suit: kinda like the song Men In Black from his album, The Cult of Ray). It sounds so eerie and menacing and it totally fucking rocks. Check it out, and check out more of their music here.
Messing around with another video. The "You and I forever, for all time" line in SPC ECO's For All Time sorta makes me think of the movie Stardust. I threw them both together and this is what came out.
Okay, that last post was quite the rant, so on to better things. The new Bat For Lashes album, Two Suns, drops today. I confess I've been listening to it for a while and I like it quite a bit. Dreamy, ethereal, tribal, mystical, magical, fantastical; She really makes me think of Kate Bush, whom I adore to bits. All that said, she's not without a sense of humor, as evidenced by the cover of the first single, Daniel. It's a haunting song about love found and lost, realizing they were just "kids in the eye of the storm" and how she's plagued by the eternal "search for the flame". I am pretty excited, she's going to be playing here this summer. Check it out.
I'm kind of a completist nerd and I don't really have a problem with it. So of course, I went and ordered the new PUFFY b-sides compilation, Puffy AmiYumi X PUFFY, even though I already had most of the songs on the disc. Not such a big deal, right? I didn't even balk at the big price tag on the disc even though it was kinda expensive. I didn't care that the cover is awful (my nephews could do a way better job). I think the thing that really ticked me off was that they included three "BONUS TRACKS!!", according to the sticker on the back. Two of them are the themes to the Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi show, one "Spanish TV Mix" and one "Portuguese TV Mix", each about a minute long. MEH. The final "Bonus Track" is Ami and Yumi singing Happy Birthday to who the hell fucking knows. Maybe it'd be cool if they were able to do it Marilyn Monroe style or something, but you know that ain't gonna happen. It just comes off as so retarded. Who signed off on this? The girls? The label? It's just such cheap bullshit. I'd be perfectly happy if they didn't included these so-called bonus tracks. This is just stupid. It's like, what's the fucking point? Seriously. Hear for yourself.
Does anyone else remember this? To celebrate their 40th anniversary, in 1990, Elektra Recordsissued a two-disc compilation calledRubaiyat. It was basically one of those incestuous affairs featuring then-current Elektra artists covering songs from Elektra's past. Metallica did Queen's Stone Cold Crazy. The Cure mope through The Door's Hello I Love You. Pixies rip through The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's Born in Chicago. Faster Pussycat do a very amusing hair-metal version of You're So Vain. You get the idea.
Which brings us to what is perhaps my favorite track out of the entire 39; The Sugarcubes getting all campy with their take on Sailcat's Motorcycle Mama, complete with motorcycle engine revving. Honestly, I've never heard of Sailcat, but this song cracks me up. It's a standard rebel youth anthem about a guy trying to lure a girl to spend life on the open road, I'm guessing inspired by the movie Easy Rider and the Hells Angels motorcycle culture of the time (the original dropped in 1972). The interplay between Einar and Bjork makes me grin; the best is when they all shout out "WE'LL BE A TRIO BUT BABY MAKES THREE OHHHHH!" It's a lot of singalong fun. This compilation is dirt cheap these days and, along with this track, there are a few gems on it that make it worth the space on your CD rack.
Still going through my box sets, I just ran into this song the other day. I don't know the specifics behind this song, like what was the motivation behind it? It's a great song that comes off like a PSA. Maybe it was written specifically for that purpose, but wouldn't the world be that much more cool if all PSAs were Motown songs? Maybe The Supremes singing a song about using protection during sex, or Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell delivering a fiery performance about the evils of crack cocaine (sort of like that James Brown/Marva Whitney duet I posted a while back, that would be awesome). You know, something like that. I think more peeps would be apt to listen when it's not some retarded jingle or some stuffy old white guy in a suit preaching to you. I love this lyric, it's oh so true: "just remember/this simple rule/to be the driver/and not the mule", sing it Brenda, you rock. If I had heard this song when I was a kid, I'd probably have a PhD by now. Well, maybe.
A few of us started something up just for fun. It's called One-Word Album Reviews, and it's pretty much as advertised. Come on by and laugh at us, or maybe add your own one-word album reviews in the comments. Or something.
I've posted about this before, and I'll say it again. This is my favorite Marie Antoinette moment. Pure majesty. (I watched the movie again, last night).
I recently started (slowly) collecting Hip-OSelect's Complete Motown Singles box sets, so there will probably be these random Motown posts of hidden gems I'm running into. This one in particular is Frances Nero's Keep On Loving Me.
I've never heard of her at all, but according to the wiki article, Frances won a contest out of 5000 contestants and won a dozen long-stem roses, $500, and a one-year recording contract with Motown. This is her one Motown single, and it's absolutely wonderful.
I can't believe it's been twenty years, but there ya go. I was listening today to the Katydids' self-titled debut album. Produced by the original Jesus of Cool, Nick Lowe (1989, man...I still can't get over it), it's chock full of jangly pop goodness. It won't blow you away with originality or powerful, emotional lyrics, but it's a very pleasant and catchy album. It's light, breezy and sounds good turned up on a sunny, spring day.
One of my favorite songs on the album, Lights Out (Read My Lips), finds vocalist Susie Hug being playful and coy, egging her partner on. She tells him he "can have a chapter in the middle of the night", and encourages him to "read more, read on". It's kinda cute and has a high sing-a-long factor. They released said song as a single, as well, and included an acoustic version as one of the b-sides. The b-side is pretty straight ahead, and is practically the same as the original, sans drums. They released one album, Shangri-La (produced by Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds), after this one and broke up after they were dropped by their label. You can probably find this album in the used bins for a fiver or less, it'd be worth a pickup.
One of my favorite Elliott Smith songs is Pitseleh, which means "little one" in Yiddish. It's so filled with anguish, despair and even self-loathing. He knew he had this great thing, this relationship, except it was doomed because he's so flawed. So he tried, but it just didn't work out. And as he realizes it'll never work, he ends with the line, "I never meant to hurt you", and shuffles away underneath grey skies. Being a seasoned veteran of a million fucked up relationships, my heart just breaks when he sings "The first time I saw you/I knew it would never last/I'm not half what I wish I was." I guess it's not necessarily a good thing to be able to relate to his songs, but there is beauty in this sorrow.
Last week, the new PUFFY single finally arrived in my mailbox. I have to say, I'm not entirely taken with it. It's fine, but it doesn't jump out at me and make me want to listen to it over and over like some of their other tracks and records. That said, one of the b-sides, My Story (variation by agraph), caught my interest. I like the music on this track, but the vocals kinda clash with it. Maybe if they could have redone the vocals with something more low-key, sinister and sexy. I do like this idea, even if it's only a remix at this point.
I've been thinking lately that there are some artists who could use a change of pace, PUFFY being one of them. Don't get me wrong, I love the power pop stuff. I think, for example, that the association with Butch Walker isn't a great one. Last summer's Avril Lavigne-penned/Butch Walker-produced All Because of You single was a travesty. It's just time to move on from that sound. Either that or somehow talk Andy Sturmer into coming back.
I think, though, if they could reinvent themselves in a sort of an electronica mode, not necessarily subdued but not dance-y, maybe something whispery, it would be interesting even if it were not a success. You've already got the cash, you've already got fans; why not try?
Speaking of new singles, Perfume have a new one coming at the end of the month, called One Room Disco. There are a couple covers for it, the red/white/blue cover is the limited edition (includes a DVD) and the dollhouse one is from the standard version. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this one, it might be a grower. The last one, Dream Fighter, bolted out of the gate and knocked my socks off the first time I heard it. This one lacks the immediacy of DF so far, but I'll be giving it more of a chance when the actual disc shows up in my mailbox. If you're actually interested in making a purchase, I usually head over to yesasia.com as they've got a ton of cool stuff to add to your collection.
*EDIT* sorry, I just kept the one pic of the limited edition, they were breaking so hopefully this work. If you'd like to see them both, head over to Perfume City.
I just discovered Halcali's Long Kiss Goodbye the other night, it looks as if it came out a few months ago so I'm obviously late with this. Is it a rock song? Is it a hip hop song? I don't know, but I like it enough. The chorus is insanely catchy and the video itself is pretty cool. I love those reflector hoodies they're wearing. I totally want one, although I'd look pretty retarded trying to rock that.
I had forgotten how much I liked Cracker's Big Dipper. I have no idea why it popped into my head tonight, I don't think I've listened to it since before GWB took office. I love the imagery and the feelings of longing the song conjures. It's weird, it's sort of lazy, romantic and yet intense at the same time. The Big Dipper (the actual name is the Giant Dipper) is a roller coaster on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. He mentions being able to see Monterey, and possibly San Jose, from the top of the roller coaster. This definitely fits into my informal "Songs About California" series. I love this line:
And, hey, June, why'd you have to come Why'd you have to come around so soon? I wasn't ready for all this nature The terrible green, green grass And violent blooms of flowered dresses And afternoons that make me sleepy
It reminds of a summer with no plans; when the world was wide open and you could point yourself in any direction and it would be the right way to go.
A few obsessions all in one! I went to see Coraline (in glorious 3D) the other day and loved it. I read the book last week, as well, in anticipation of watching the film. And lastly, I've been obsessing over all things Curve for the past couple weeks. I happened to be looking for the soundtrack to the movie and I found this cool Neil Gaiman tribute album called, Where's Neil When You Need Him? Of course, all of the songs are by artists who are fans of Gaiman. One of the bigger names is Tori Amos, who has referenced Gaiman more than a few times in her songs.
Going back to my Curve obsession, however, another of the artists on the album is Rose Berlin, who just happens to be the daughter of Dean Garcia, the main dude behind the music of Curve. The track is actually listed as Rose Berlin (featuring Curve). Also, she and her father have also made a great album, along with other peeps, under the name of SPC ECO. Okay, I think I've gotten all my facts straight.
Yeah, that picture is correct. I'm gonna post an Elton song. Well, actually it's Sinead O'Connor doing a cover of Elton John's Sacrifice, which is on an album, called Two Rooms, dedicated to the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Bet you never thought you'd read those names on here.
Actually, when I was a kid, I did like me some Elton. I knew this one kid who had the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album and we listened to that one a lot. The Greatest Hits album also got a lot of time on my record player at school (I went to a boarding school for a few years).
In any case, I just remembered that Sinead O'Connor's name came up during my Mexico trip over New Year's weekend. I think it was because on the way back to LA, DJ Martin had played something else of hers, or maybe Elton John's, and I was reminded of this track. I dunno, that whole weekend is such a blur. In any case, Sinead absolutely owns this song and I think it's light years better than the original. There also is a Kate Bush track on the album (Rocket Man), which is good (and you know how much I love Kate Bush), but this one is clearly the class of the album. I'm betting you can find it in the bargain bins and it'd be worth the price just to get this track. But yeah, aside from this and the Kate track, the rest is lame. Like, really lame.
After all of the roses. After the Vermont Teddy Bear. After the Pajama-gram. After all of the chocolate, champagne and candlelit dinners. It's like this. Happy Valentine's Day.
I just bought this tonight. The disc is out of print and ran me a hefty $25, which is pretty expensive for an 8-track cd. It holds a lot of sentimental value for me, as it was one of the first albums (vinyl, of course) I ever got (I was around 8 or 9). My uncle gave it to me for xmas, and I used to listen to it over and over. my favorite songs were Rebel Rebel, Golden Years and Space Oddity (I totally wanted to be Major Tom, floating high above the world).
*EDIT* I just found this awesome Bowie blog here. As described in the header, it is "A review of all David Bowie concerts, with track listings and short reviews." I think I'll be spending some time on that page.
I just stumbled onto Grand Duchy the other day when I read that Frank Black is gonna be playing here next month. I was sleuthing about, looking for tour dates and I found out that he's got a new project, Grand Duchy, that he's doing with his wife, Violet Clark. Awesomeness.
