Ugh. What a black mood I've been in of late. Eight months of court-ordered sobriety (with six to go). My brother's death in February. A 40-year-old cousin dying of liver failure (despite never having been a drinker at all). A speeding ticket Thursday night. And goddam religion & pseudo-religion & "spirituality" every goddam place I look. Obama's goddam preacher doing his damndest to Swift Boat him. Goddam pope on the 24-hour news channels 24/7. Goddam Dalai Lama traipsing around my beloved, secular Ann Arbor (with Richard Gere! PHILIP GLASS! BOBBY fuckin' McFERRIN!). Orthodox Jews walking the streets looking like something out of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. Creepy Mormons in creepy dresses & creepy hairdos in Texas compounds. Why the hell couldn't we just burn them all down -- like we did with that other cult in that other Texas compound.
Okay, so I'm feeling a little angry. A little bitter. (Uh-oh -- there's that word again. Obama called the White Trash of Pennsylvania "bitter." Said that's why they cling to their guns & their gods & their prejudices. He was, of course, correct. Overly simplistic, but correct. So... welcome to the White House, John McCain. Welcome to four more years of old-white-man Republican rule, people of Earth. Welcome to 1989-1993, Part Deux. Son of a bitch.)
So.... what is one to do? Turn to pop music, of course. Happy, absurd, immaculate pop music from the beautiful people of Sweden. People who don't believe in gods or guns or Texas. People who believe in the important things. Like hockey. And vodka. And a great hook. And a glorious chorus.
So here's Part 1 of three today. Keep coming back. I promise to be less bitter. And, six months from now, I'll be right as rain....
Are THE COURTEENERS destined to be the next Next Big Thing outta the UK? Rumor has it that MORRISSEY thinks so. (Of course, I was just writing last week about how he thought JAMES were going to be the Next Big Thing back in the '80s, so one must certainly take his opinion with a grain or two or three of saltpeter).
Honestly, though, the Courteeners' "What Took You So Long" reminds me of a James' song (something about the guitars & drums, near as I can tell), though the rest of their debut LP, ST. JUDE, leans more toward typical, 21st-century Britpop.
SOUNDS LIKE: She may have escaped a religious family background (a la TORI AMOS), but her sound owes more to '70s AM radio. Hints of BACHARACH/DAVID (the easy-going chorus to "Let the Love") and a sort of mellow, PAUL McCARTNEY/CARPENTERS hybrid ("Where Do We Go"). Coming soon to a TV commercial or a Starbucks near you.
Looking back from here, I'm surprised to find that I'm feeling more affection for MONSTER than for NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI. The latter is the "deeper" disc, with a decidedly wider sonic range. But the former is, frankly, more fun.
N.A.I.H.-F. suffers from some clunky and/or generic rockers ("Undertow," "Binky the Doormat," "Low Desert"), a rather bland folk number ("New Test Leper"), and a highly unexceptional ballad ("Be Mine"). Granted, I'm hard-pressed to find anything positive to say about "King of Comedy"; "Strange Currencies" is essentially "Everybody Hurts, Part 2"; and "I Took Your Name" and "Crush With Eyeliner" sound rather lazily alike. But I'm willing to forgive MONSTER its trespasses. (Hell, I'm even quite fond of the orange packaging and the rather adorably dumb 'n' fuzzy bear-head cover. But that's just me....)
I have literally been waiting for years to get to this post -- to finally be able to say, with unabashed, carnival-barker bluster, that THE INDELICATES' debut album comes out today. Glory, glory, hallelujah. God save the Queen.
It was February 24, 2006 when I first happened upon these fine, upstanding Brits. The blog was INDIE FOR DUMMIES (now INDIE FOR BUNNIES), and I fell fast and hard for the delicioso demos they were then peddling. "We Hate the Kids" and "Waiting for Pete Doherty to Die" were instant standouts, inspiring me to type the following succession of letters: "[THE INDELICATES] are led by SIMON and JULIA INDELICATE - whose married-in-name-and-novelty-only vocal interplay brings to mind the SHANE MACGOWAN/KIRSTY MACCOLL dynamic of "Fairytale of New York." Or maybe they're what would happen if you jammed JARVIS COCKER, BLACK BOX RECORDER, and BILLY BRAGG into a blender. You'd get something thick. A bit bitter. Dark. Delightful. Delicious."
So there it is again. "Delicious." Delicioso. I might have added "decadent." "Droll." Bitter/sweet piss-takers. Sweet/tender hooligans. Bonnie & Clyde as essayed by GAINSBOURG & BARDOT. SID & NANCY crossed with THE CARPENTERS. (Okay, we go too far....)
The name of the album, by the way, is AMERICAN DEMO. It is available from any number of UK record shoppes, as well as iTUNES. By all means, seek it out. It's been a long time coming. It's been well worth the wait.
OCTOBERMAN is a Canadian collective led by MARC MORRISSETTE (apparently, no relation to ALANIS, may the heavens be praised). In various reviews, the band has been likened to BRIGHT EYES, PAVEMENT, and CALEXICO. Their 2007 sophomore release, RUN FROM SAFETY, spawned the subsequent twofer....
Nashville indie-poppers DE NOVO DAHL list a boatload of influences on their MySpace page. Here are the B's: BOWIE, BEACH BOYS, BLUR, BUZZCOCKS, (B)EN FOLDS, PET SHOP (B)OYS. And the S's: (S)TEVIE WONDER, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SUPERGRASS, SUPREMES. (In a pinch, I'd list the two "Super" groups as most representative of the DND sound.)
The first two songs below are taken from De Novo Dahl's second LP, MOVE EVERY MUSCLE, MAKE EVERY SOUND, which dropped in March.
Outside of Sweden, at least, CAESARS are best known for their iPod-ad-accompanying jingle-single "Jerk It Out." Now, they're back with a rather ambitious 2-disc album entitled STRAWBERRY WEED. It's been out in Sweden for about a month now, but won't see a wider release until May 6. Despite the multitude of new tuneage, there's little here to suggest that these guys will be shedding their "one-hit wonder" label anytime soon.
Brooklynites MOBIUS BAND put out a free EP of cover songs back on Valentine's Day. You can still download the songs [HERE]. (Besides the two below, the originals are by NEIL YOUNG, DANIEL JOHNSTON, DYLAN, and DAFT PUNK.)
I guess we'll go ahead and take this series up to BILL BERRY's departure. This, then, shall serve as the penultimate installment.
(FYI: Senor STIPE wrote the lyrics to "Me in Honey" as a male-centric response to NATALIE MERCHANT's "Eat for Two." He also joined Ms. Merchant on the bridge of "A Campfire Song." Why the latter was mixed/mastered at such a low volume has always puzzled/annoyed me.)
From the LP OUT OF TIME, 1991 >>> [MP3] "Me in Honey" [w/KATE PIERSON] [MP3] "Texarkana" [MP3] "Belong"
From the LP AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE, 1992 >>> [MP3] "Monty Got a Raw Deal" [MP3] "Find the River"
In terms of sales and status, KENT is the Scandinavian U2. In terms of sound, they're U2-by-way-of-RADIOHEAD. Anthemic melancholia. Which gets them grouped with the likes of COLDPLAY, DOVES, and MUSE. Generally-speaking, I like them better than those three; not as much as U2; not nearly as much as Radiohead. But they certainly rate a Sunday showcase, and this is it....
From the LP ISOLA [English version], 1998 >>> [MP3] "Things She Said"
From the LP HAGNESTA HILL [Swedish version], 1999 >>> [MP3] "Revolt III"
From the 2-LP B-SIDOR 95-00, 2000 >>> [MP3] "Spokstad"
From the LP VAPEN & AMMUNITION, 2002 >>> [MP3] "Karleken Vantar" [MP3] "FF"
From the LP DU & JAG DODEN, 2005 >>> [MP3] "Max 500" [MP3] "Du Ar Anga" [MP3] "Palace & Main"
From the EP HJARTA & SMARTA, 2005 >>> [MP3] "Ansgar & Evelyne"
From the LP TILLBAKA TILL SAMTIDEN, 2007 >>> [MP3] "Ingenting" [MP3] "Generation Ex"
1 gnarls barkley/run 2 duffy/stepping stone 3 tapes 'n tapes/conquest 4 adele/tired 5 tokyo police club/juno 6 the long blondes/the couples 7 the kooks/see the sun 8 the submarines/you, me and the bourgeoisie 9 the raconteurs/steady, as she goes 10 angus & julia stone/just a boy 11 mystery jets/veiled in grey 12 pete & the pirates/knots 13 great northern/this is a problem 14 madonna [w/justin timberlake & timbaland]/4 minutes to save the world 15 paul kelly/god told me to 16 de novo dahl/be your man 17 what made milwaukee famous/self-destruct 18 the red romance/break away 19 my sad captains/bad decisions 20 headlights/on april 2 21 pulp/something changed 22 the cuties/ugly boy 23 tara blaise/wishing her life away
DAVID BERMAN and SILVER JEWS will release their sixth album in 19 years on June 17. As near as I can tell, STEPHEN MALKMUS is MIA on LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, LOOKOUT SEA, with Berman's wife CASSIE listed as his primary collaborator this time out. I do believe you can hear her providing some substantial supporting vox on "Suffering Jukebox" below....
Ugh. What a black mood I've been in of late. Eight months of court-ordered sobriety (with six to go). My brother's death in February. A 40-year-old cousin dying of liver failure (despite never having been a drinker at all). A speeding ticket Thursday night. And goddam religion & pseudo-religion & "spirituality" every goddam place I look. Obama's goddam preacher doing his damndest to Swift Boat him. Goddam pope on the 24-hour news channels 24/7. Goddam Dalai Lama traipsing around my beloved, secular Ann Arbor (with Richard Gere! PHILIP GLASS! BOBBY fuckin' McFERRIN!). Orthodox Jews walking the streets looking like something out of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. Creepy Mormons in creepy dresses & creepy hairdos in Texas compounds. Why the hell couldn't we just burn them all down -- like we did with that other cult in that other Texas compound.
Are THE COURTEENERS destined to be the next Next Big Thing outta the UK? Rumor has it that MORRISSEY thinks so. (Of course, I was just writing last week about how he thought JAMES were going to be the Next Big Thing back in the '80s, so one must certainly take his opinion with a grain or two or three of saltpeter).
ARTIST: SANDRINE
BAND: AQUEDUCT
Looking back from here, I'm surprised to find that I'm feeling more affection for MONSTER than for NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI. The latter is the "deeper" disc, with a decidedly wider sonic range. But the former is, frankly, more fun. 
I have literally been waiting for years to get to this post -- to finally be able to say, with unabashed, carnival-barker bluster, that THE INDELICATES' debut album comes out today. Glory, glory, hallelujah. God save the Queen.
JAMES on WIKIPEDIA.
OCTOBERMAN is a Canadian collective led by MARC MORRISSETTE (apparently, no relation to ALANIS, may the heavens be praised). In various reviews, the band has been likened to BRIGHT EYES, PAVEMENT, and CALEXICO. Their 2007 sophomore release, RUN FROM SAFETY, spawned the subsequent twofer....
Nashville indie-poppers DE NOVO DAHL list a boatload of influences on their MySpace page. Here are the B's: BOWIE, BEACH BOYS, BLUR, BUZZCOCKS, (B)EN FOLDS, PET SHOP (B)OYS. And the S's: (S)TEVIE WONDER, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SUPERGRASS, SUPREMES. (In a pinch, I'd list the two "Super" groups as most representative of the DND sound.)
Outside of Sweden, at least, CAESARS are best known for their iPod-ad-accompanying jingle-single "Jerk It Out." Now, they're back with a rather ambitious 2-disc album entitled STRAWBERRY WEED. It's been out in Sweden for about a month now, but won't see a wider release until May 6. Despite the multitude of new tuneage, there's little here to suggest that these guys will be shedding their "one-hit wonder" label anytime soon.
Brooklynites MOBIUS BAND put out a free EP of cover songs back on Valentine's Day. You can still download the songs [HERE]. (Besides the two below, the originals are by NEIL YOUNG, DANIEL JOHNSTON, DYLAN, and DAFT PUNK.)
I guess we'll go ahead and take this series up to BILL BERRY's departure. This, then, shall serve as the penultimate installment.
BAND: CUT COPY
BAND: AIRFARE
In terms of sales and status, KENT is the Scandinavian U2. In terms of sound, they're U2-by-way-of-RADIOHEAD. Anthemic melancholia. Which gets them grouped with the likes of COLDPLAY, DOVES, and MUSE. Generally-speaking, I like them better than those three; not as much as U2; not nearly as much as Radiohead. But they certainly rate a Sunday showcase, and this is it.... 
Left-click [HERE] to download the March mix.
DAVID BERMAN and SILVER JEWS will release their sixth album in 19 years on June 17. As near as I can tell, STEPHEN MALKMUS is MIA on LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, LOOKOUT SEA, with Berman's wife CASSIE listed as his primary collaborator this time out. I do believe you can hear her providing some substantial supporting vox on "Suffering Jukebox" below....
