Fool's Gold//The Dive

I am getting married in one month minus one day. At this moment, my life roughly breaks down into these percentages:

30%: Doing Wedding Shit/Obsessing About Doing Wedding Shit/Not Sleeping While Thinking About Wedding
29%: Sleeping
26%: Day Job
6%: Eating
4%: Playing Music
3%: Obsessing in a Debilitating Way About Everything Else I Need to Get Done
2%: Exercising

Not that I'm losing it or anything. Not losing it. I am not losing it.

On another note, those glorious days of summer have reached their peak and are now descending, as they do each year, into earlier and earlier darkness. It's not over yet, but the time has come where we remember that the end is near. Not that that means anything here in California, where I see girls walking city streets in bikinis and cover-ups at all times, regardless of temperature or season (on cooler days, these outfits are often, curiously, paired with Uggs).

This song has been on heavy rotation on KCRW. I think it serves as a good reminder to capture as much of that late summer light as possible.

From what I can tell, LA's own Fool's Gold sound like what Vampire Weekend would sound like if they were a little less lame and a little more experimental from time to time. African-inspired guitar licks paired with indie rock guitar tone. Big hooks and muddy vocals. Feeling weird and confused on a bright, sunny day.

Apologies for the fact that this track cuts off. This album isn't out yet. But I'm sure you'll want to buy it when it comes out, which you can do here. Coincidentally, these guys play LA for FYF Fest, which just happens to be…you guessed it…the day of my wedding.



The Dive.mp3

Is motion the only thing real?

tUnE-YarDs//Bizness

Hello and good Tuesday to you. It seems like we all survived the great 405 shutdown of 2011. I spent the weekend mixing bizness with wedding planning, as I so often do these days. Six weeks and counting…wish me luck.

Ethan was playing me this new tUnE-YarDs record when he was here visiting a few months ago. I was liking it, but didn't get hooked in a way that made me want to seek it out immediately. In these situations, I usually add the band name to the list of band names I keep in my actual day planner book (because I am an actual dinosaur).

FF to now. This video's been popping up on various feeds (the face, the plus). And honestly, it's amazing. It's a really beautiful video that adds a lot to the song. It's almost like I couldn't fully listen to tUnE-YarDs until I saw this video, which is a weird thing to say, I know, because shouldn't the music stand on its own? The thing is, it totally does. It's just that, in this case, for me, it needed a little kickstart or something.

The sound sets are good. The bass line delivers. The build is a well-crafted mix of Animal Collective and Afrobeat. The lyrics are great. But what's the best? Merrill Garbus's voice, which is sometimes growling (ala Yaz's Alison Moyet), sometimes howling, sometimes pretty and always SO for real. Girl means it. We feel it. And isn't that the point?

tYs hits LA on 11/2. I will be there.

Here are two videos of the song, one official, one live:





Bizness.mp3

What's the business, yeah?
Don't take my life away.
Don't take my life away.

Kreayshawn//Gucci Gucci

OK, dudes--you have to forgive me. This is a TOTAL guilty pleasure situation, but I just can't get the sample from this song out of my head. One big room! Full of bad bitches!

I will freely admit that I am having some difficultly fully getting my head around Oakland rapper/phenomenon/thing Kreayshawn, although I do have plenty of speculative hypotheses. One thing I know for sure is that there's almost nothing I could say that this video couldn't. Thus:



Gucci Gucci.mp3

Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada:
Basic bitches wear that shit, so I don't even bother.

Micky Dolenz//Beverly Hills

I can't thank my good pal Tash enough for introducing me to this amazing set of comps, LA Burnout and LA Burnout 2. I've become completely addicted to these catchy, somewhat forgotten odes to the city of angels.

These jams are teaching me that I might have gotten it wrong. When I first got here, I was convinced that LA had no soul. Now I think that LA does in fact have a soul. It may be a sleazy, washed-out, drug-addled, sun-baked soul, but it's a soul, nonetheless. I also find it amusing that the songs on these comps fall into two major categories:

1. I love LA. It's so pretty and sunny. I left New York City, which is a mean town, and came here to live in a canyon. Ohhh, flowers.
2. I hate LA. It's a moral cesspit filled with fake people. And an earthquake is going to destroy us all any minute now.

There's also a little bit of overlap, if you can believe it. Of course, I tend to fall more into the second camp, although I tend to fall into the second camp in general. Maybe that's why I can't stop playing this particular song. Who ever thought I'd like a Monkey? Clearly, Dolenz was the coolest Monkey. He played Arrow in the stage production Harry Nilsson's The Point! in London. WHAT?! I didn't even know there WAS a stage production. I wish someone would bring that back.

ANYway, love it or hate it, LA has inspired some awesome jams. Coming back from a weekend trip to Mpls yesterday, I realized something had changed about how I viewed the city. As the plane touched down in LAX, I actually felt relieved. It might not ever be home, but it is where I live right now, sleazy soul and all.

Unrelated: The Slums of Beverly Hills is an awesome movie.



Beverly Hills.mp3

Plastic food and paper people,
Crooked doctors hawking pills,
Living in the slums of Beverly Hills,
Living in the slums of Beverly Hills.

The Beach Boys//Fun, Fun, Fun

A situation came up tonight that reminded me of this song. In fact, it's probably a bad sign that there are a few ongoing situations in the general vicinity of my life that correlate well to this song. Of course, it would be incriminating for me to tell you who "daddy" is (hint: not my dad) and what the "Thunderbird" is, but I will say that in at least one of the aforementioned scenarios, I may be referring to an actual car.

Is it just me or does, "Your dad took your car away? It's ok. I'll take care of you now..." feel closely related to the ownership/dependancy that transfers from father to son-in-law in traditional ideas about marriage? I'm not even going to touch the extreme patriarchal subcontext of this song with a ten foot pole of post-wave feminist criticism . It was a different time. But let's just say this: girl was not going to work and save her money so she could buy her own T-bird. Girl was just gonna let Boyfriend drive her around and take her out to burgers. Unrelated Sidenote: I imagine them to be In 'N' Out Burgers. Thoughts?

Apparently this song was based on a true story. From Wikipedia:

The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love about Shirley England, the daughter of the owner of radio station KNAK in Salt Lake City, Utah (not to be confused with the call letters now assigned to a station in Delta, Utah) where she worked as a teenager. She borrowed her father's Ford Thunderbird to go study at the library. Instead of driving to the library, she ended up at a hamburger stand. When her father found out, he took the car away. The next day she was at the radio station complaining about it to the staff while The Beach Boys were visiting and they were inspired to write this song.

On a lighter note, I think this may actually be one of my favorite Beach Boys songs. That killer Chuck Berry homage riff at the beginning. Makes me want to surf on a golden wave of rock n roll.



Fun, Fun, Fun.mp3

Well, the girls can't stand her,
cause she walks and looks and drives like an ace, now.
She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race, now.
A lot of guys try to catch her, but she leads them on a wild goose chase, now.
And she'll have fun, fun, fun til her daddy takes the T-bird away.

Earth Girl Helen Brown//Hit After Hit

A Month of Mondays: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Earth Girl Helen Brown's biography reads like a Lifetime made-for-tv movie waiting to happen. Don't believe me? Check out this note from Tyler at Banter:

Helen Brown was born in Vancouver, Canada, but raised in an Athens, Georgia-based religious cult, and was blinded in one eye from a childhood baseball injury. As an adult, she dropped out of Evergreen and traveled the country for a while as a nomadic psychedelic folksinger, before forming her first band One Eyed Tramps. For years, she lived alone in a mountaintop in southern Alaska, where she befriended a Cherokee Shaman (later revealed as a fake) who encouraged her to pursue a frustrating academic career. Rampant drug use, frequent fainting on stage, and occasional self-inflicted knife wounds on stage led to more interest in her stage antics than her music. However, a few sides did emerge in the late ’90s (recording dates unknown), which feature a unique mix of country, girl group, R&B, and ghoulishness. Crude and amateurish at best, these recordings are appreciated for their sincerity and intensity of feeling.

Earth Girl Helen Brown comes to us from Sonny Smith's (Sonny & the Sunsets) uber-ambitious 100 Records project.

If it seems like something is shady about all this, it's because it is. Earth Girl Helen Brown is actually a fake band brought to life as part of Sonny Smith's (of Sonny and The Sunets) 100 Records project. More on Smith and his own band at a later date. From Pitchfork:

He made up names and song titles for 100 fictitious bands, then sent them out to 100 different visual artists, who made up fake record covers for all the fake artists. Then Smith recorded 200 different songs (A-sides and B-sides) for each of these fake artists. Which is nuts.

This sounds exactly how you'd think: two parts Grace Slick, one part The Mamas and The Papas, one part subdued Aretha. The vibe is psychedelic cultish spooky with a sprinkle of backwoodsy mountain weirdness. Tape hiss and analog fuzz run alongside the recording as a constant backdrop to the melody. Weird as this hoax/art project might be, this turned out mighty fine. So fine, in fact, that the real players behind EGHB, Smith and Heidi Alexander of the Sandwitches, decided to live on as an actual group. This song, from their first EP Story of an Earth Girl, was released about a month ago. Learn more here.



Hit After Hit.mp3

Hit after hit I took for you.

Bryan Master//Let Me Come In

Return to the Local: Local Music Friday
What's up with Local Music Fridays?

Wow, where does the time go? Mine went to New York for the week to hang out with good friends, take care of wedding loose-ends and eat/drink my way through the city.

Just before I left, I had the pleasure of attending a new friend's album release show at the lovely Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.

You guys know that I have the tendency to get down on LA. More and more, I'm feeling like my fate is sealed. I may just not be a "Southern California person," whatever that means. And yet, I've really met some amazing, smart, talented people in the two short months I've been here. Bryan Master is, without a doubt, one of them.

Bryan just released a beautiful, sometimes twangy, sometimes a little ambient record. The songs have big, strong hooks that pull you right along. The production is immaculate--at times a little cleaner than my ideal--but it really works with the way the songs build and disintegrate.

Here, harmonies fall right in over the perfect crackle of heavy tremolo, which at first makes me wonder if I'm about to hear the voice of Lucinda Williams. Instead Master is joined by an old favorite, Liz Phair, sounding weirdly...is that sweet? Yes, I think it's sweet.

The whole album is worth checking out. Get more info here.



Let Me Come In.mp3

I've been out too long.
Let me come in.

Randy Newman//I Love L.A.

Recently, a friend posted a facebook update that read, "Enough Randy Newman. He must be stopped. Please. Year after year after year. We need a break." I can only imagine that this post was in reference to Newman dominating another awards ceremony for whatever "Original Score" or "Soundtrack" category was applicable. I like Toy Story as much as the next guy, but I see his point.

That said, this song has kind of crept into the soundtrack of my life, mostly thanks to a man who comes up with some frequency on this blog: my dad.

Much to the general dismay of many other members of my family, my dad has this way of fixating on one song and blaring it from the stereo on repeat all day every day until the next song comes along. He sings it. He whistles it. He quotes the lyrics in the middle of other completely unrelated conversations. Family dinners fill with eye rolls and declarations about the kids being "too damn sassy."

We all know I'm a bit of a nerd about music and as a result, I also get into the occasional "song jag.". Because of this, I think I am the most understanding about this little quirk of dad's. I mostly find it endearing, unless I'm being subjected to the 500th spin of Spirit's "Nature's Way" (Google it).

To get to the point of the story, when dad learned that I was moving to LA, a memory of this song, Randy Newman's ultimate hometown anthem, somehow got jostled loose in his brain and it instantly went on repeat. Siblings groaned. Mom sighed. Dad crooned.

The result of all this: I'm not really sure I love LA. But I do love this video:



I Love LA.mp3

Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time.
Looks like another perfect day:
I love L.A.
(We love it)

The Turtles, The Lightning Seeds//You Showed Me

Alright, all you casual music fans. Today is your day here at OSS. Behold: The Holiday Shopping Guide for People Who Think Music is Just OK.

Look, I know that for the most part, if you're reading this blog you're either (a) someone who is actually pretty into music or (b) a close personal friend (hi, Kot! hi, Karl!). But as people who are pretty insane about music know, almost everyone else in this world is not as insane about it as we are. And this is fine. We don't have to force our relatives to accept our gifts of obsolete 7"s and obscure chillwave CDs when really all they wanted was a nice pair of wool socks for lounging around the house (do 95% of mothers really just want these?). ALSO, if you're reading this, you might be scrambling around trying to get in your last minute online orders before it gets too late for shipping.

Hence, I give you this list of awesome "other" things to get for people (which are, in many cases, also made by awesome people). Ready, go:

Heroes of Science
Because, like music, science is another thing some folks seem to get all nerdy and passionate about. I'm guessing someone you have to buy a gift for would be pretty overcome with ironic or non-ironic appreciation of an ornament featuring Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking or Jane Goodall. Collect 'em all to turn your tree into a genetically modified super tree that can calculate complicated physics equations before you can say, "yuletide."
HoS are made by my homies Sharon and Jon and were previously featured here.


Grammar Love Letterpress Cards
Grammar is yet another thing people tend to nerd out about hardcore. I added hardcore to the end of that sentence to avoid a dangling participle. As the child of a couple of people in the journalism business, we actually had a family car named Gerund, which is why I'm really looking forward to pairing some of these with some of my holiday gifts. The cards are beautiful, hilarious and made my friend Kot, to whom I am entrusting the serious deed of pressing my own wedding invitations. To whom. That's right. I said it.


Tunnel Vision
I feel like it's necessary for me to show a little hometown pride here. These mugs and cheese plates are made for New York/New Jersoids or vice versa, or vice versa TWICE EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. IN. BUMPER-to-BUMPER TRAFFIC! The only things I've ever seen that could make getting stuck in the tunnel fun.


Bacon Magnets and Mustache Pen
Fred Flare has set up the most relevant death match of this holiday season: Bacon vs. Mustache. What I'd like to do is call for world peace. Why can't hipsters and jokesters bond together and live in Baconstache harmony? Actually, that does sound pretty gross.


Daria: The Complete Animated Series DVD
Give the gift of 90s sarcasm with this set that everyone in the entire world was waiting for for years. A and I recently started rewatching some of these and they are so hilarious. This DVD set doesn't include all the original music, but you know you'll still be laughing til you cry when the Morgandorfer family eats poisonous berries that send them running around the woods in search of Jake's spirit animal or when Jane, Daria and Trent don't quite make it to Alternapalooza. Mystic Spiral!

In fact, today's song(s) are inspired by that very episode, where a cover of the original track plays in the background toward the end.

The most well-known version of the song was recorded in 1968 by The Turtles. It was written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds. It was original composed to be a much faster song, but a broken harmonium forced The Turtles to record it slow, which actually made it much more powerful.

The cover included in Daria is from 1997 by The Lightning Seeds, a UK band I really don't know much about. They added just a little bit of disaffected edge to the song, which really brought it to a different place. I like them both.



You Showed Me.mp3 (Turtles)



You Showed Me.mp3 (Lightening Seeds)

If you or someone you know thinks music is more than just OK, check out the OSS Holiday Shopping Guide for People Who Love Music.

Del the Funky Homosapien//Style Police

Embarrassing, I know, but I think I first heard Del the Funky Homosapien's (or Del tha Funkee Homosapien's) solo work while playing Tony Hawk with Als at some ungodly hour in East Lansing, Michigan. The track featured on the game was "If You Must," a strangely fabulous track that basically focuses on the virtues of personal hygiene.

Of course, I had been listening to Gorillaz for quite some time. I loved Del's work on that stuff, knew he had a solo career, but for some reason just never bothered to look him up. Glad the stupid game jogged my memory, because his shit is completely insane.

Dude has the craziest flow. Seriously, what is he even doing? What is that beat? It's so weird and unique. Amazing.

This track is a banger. I'll just let you enjoy it. And while you're doing that, here are some things you might not know about Del:

-Del's real name is Teren Delvon Jones.
-He's the cousin of Ice Cube.
-During the late 90s, he was a frequent psychedelic drug user. Shocker.
-In 2009, he did an album with Tame-One. This will only register with New Jersey readers. But it's still exciting.



Style Police.mp3

When I’m up to bat, it's like you trying to duck a gat.
You commonplace,
I shift time and space,
Leave your mind erased like the year 2000
And data replaces the faces.

The Mamas and The Papas//California Dreamin'

Hey guys. I'm going to be taking a few days off. I bet you can guess why.

Until then, enjoy this:



California Dreamin'.mp3

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey.
I been for a walk on a winter's day.
I'd be safe and warm
If I was in LA.

Harry Nilsson, Ron Sexsmith//Good Old Desk

Today is my last day at the company I’ve been working for for almost four years. Crazy. I didn’t really expect it to feel traumatic, but it does a little. I suppose I’m terribly nostalgic under this thin veneer of snark when it comes down to it.

What ended up being the weirdest part was packing up my desk, so I thought I could discuss this song, a perfect ode to the virtues of the desk, and by extension, the dependable pleasure that can come with a job well done.

The original version of this song was written and recorded by Harry Nilsson (do you guys remember the unofficial Nilsson Week?) on his 1968 Aerial Ballet album. Speaking of work, the album was named after the highwire circus act of his grandparents. Speaking of the album, it features many Nilsson gems (and one tremendously popular cover—“Everybody’s Talking”), including the fantastic “One.”

An amusing tidbit from Wikipedia:
Guest-starring on Playboy After Dark, Nilsson told host Hugh Hefner the song was really about its initials... "G-O-D". Even though Nilsson later admitted that he was just joking around, it is still commonly believed that the song actually is about God.

It’s obviously not about God. It obviously is about a desk. The most wonderful desk, in its way.

I also came across this cover and very much enjoyed it, so thought I would post it here too. My stepbrother first turned me on to Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith when I was in high school. I accidently saw him play a solo show in a church in Montclair, NJ, which was very moving. I think he does a great job with this tune…both versions are really solid in different ways.



Good Old Desk.mp3 (Harry Nilsson Version)



Good Old Desk.mp3 (Ron Sexsmith Version)

Such a comfort to know
It’s got no place to go.
It’s always there.
It’s the one thing I’ve got.
A huge success,
My good old desk.

Redstone Hall//Get Back Jack

Another Reason to Love LA: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Hi guys. I don’t know if I’ve told you this yet, but this blog is soon to be a Southern California-based affair. Since I am an East Coaster/New Yorker through and through, I’ve been doing my best to think of reasons why living in Southern California might be cool. It hasn’t been easy by any means. Here’s what I got so far:

1. Be back with the girl I love
2. It’s warm everyday!
3. Uhm…ok…I know there’s more
4. Shows at Café Largo
5. My one awesome friend in LA
6. SF/Awesome friends a short plane ride/long car ride away
7. Which means Noise Pop Fest is also a short plane ride/long car ride away
8. Medical…uh…nothing
9. Swimming pools!
10. Fresh avocados!
11. Driving cars everywhere means listening to music in cars
12. Tech companies that need wordy nerds?

Now, I can also add this band, Redstone Hall (too bad about their name—“I know…let’s name our band after our dorm?”), to the roster. Something about the lead singer’s voice turns me off slightly (a little too earnest--I'm such a jerk, right?), which is why it’s a testament to how awesome this song is that I decided to post it anyway. Seriously, it’s super catchy solid pop. I love that lead guitar tone. I love those keys. I’m listening on repeat.

The band features Brian LeBarton aka Beck’s keyboardist, another good sign. I also hear a little inspiration from my favorite, and yours, another East Coaster turned LA’er, Jon Brion.

Naomi from Blink Interactive says:

Steven Rothstein and Zack Hall, the band’s principal songwriters, were both born and raised in LA. “I've been singing and performing as long as I can remember,” Rothstein says. “My parents were cool, so I started organizing jam sessions in my garage before I could even play guitar.”

Hall was raised in Beverly Hills. His mother introduced him to classic rock when he was a child. “She played albums by The Stones, Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and The Band. When I heard Phish, I started writing songs that broke out of traditional arrangements.”

The players were still in high school when Redstone Hall started. They evolved rapidly from a jam band to a more focused pop outfit, drawing on the sounds of the classic soul and rock of the 60s and 70s. They were soon getting noticed for the strength of their performances, with critics calling attention to Rothstein’s gritty vocals and Hall’s guitar prowess.

So while you’re driving around listening to this, could guys think of a few other cool things about LA. What are they? Any help much appreciated.



Get Back Jack.mp3

Been asleep at the wheel for so long,
Trying to figure out where it all went wrong.
Each day is another in a series of a soul crushing disease.
Gotta get back in stereo.

Michael Mcdonald//I Keep Forgettin', Warren G//Regulate

So, this story starts last weekend, when my parents had a little engagement party for A. and I. A lot of my friends happen to be musicians and so, parties often evolve into funny little jam sessions. Sean, a lifelong friends and Palmyra conspirator, sat down at the family piano and began playing some "beats." Another member of Palmyra, we'll call him Karl, jumped up and immediately started rapping along. The song was so familiar but I couldn't place it.

"REGULATE !!! by Nate Dogg and Warren G," Sean and Karl inform me.
"Yeah, I kind of remember."

I only kind of remember because the height of the song's popularity is 1994 aka the year I was 11 years old. I was highly impressed that Karl could remember so many of the words.

Fast forward to last night--I'm over at an honest-to-God pizza party at Sean's (another story for another post) and "I Keep Forgettin' by Michael Mcdonald (who unsurprisingly also had a stint with Steely Dan) ends up on the Youtube playlist. Again, I couldn't place it. Luckily, again, most of the people at this party were musicians. I was set straight and I want to set you guys straight too. As you will easily hear, "I Keep Forgettin'" is sampled heavily in "Regulate." These are two that I am really glad came out of my musical history blindspot.

Also, whoever wrote this seriously wins at life.



I Keep Forgettin'.mp3



Regulate.mp3

I keep forgetting we're not in love anymore.
I keep forgetting things will never be the same again.
I keep forgetting how you made that so clear.

Grass Widow//Shadow

Grass Widow: they might be your new favorite band...just sayin'... because I kind of think they might be mine. I'm hearing so many touches of things I already love in their sound. A little Breeders, a little classic 90s indie guitar sound, a little 70s proto riot grrrl/post punky stuff like Raincoats or Slits, a little Sleater-Kinney every now and then. And yet it's completely it's own thing. Yessssss.

I've been listening to their self-titled album basically on repeat for a week. It's so fucking good.

This song is from the SF-based group's new album, set to be released on KRS (duh) on August 24. If this is any hint of how sweet this album is going to be, it's going to mega-fucking-sweet.

WTF does Grass Widow mean anyway? Here's what.

Also, GW opens for Sonic Youth for $3 donation (aka free) THIS SATURDAY in Prospect Park for Celebrate Brooklyn. OMG AMIGONNA SEE YOU THERE!?



Shadow.mp3

Incapacity,
Walls that spoke to me

Al Lover//What Goes In Circles Remix (The Fresh & Onlys)

A New Take on Woodsist: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Hi. Been a while. Time to get back into the ol’ routine with some mail.

Alex (aka Al Lover) says:

I recently put together this remix album of songs off the Woodsist label for free download and thought you might be interested in checking it out. It's basically parts of different songs off their catalog sampled, chopped up on an MPC 2000XL, ran through effects petals and an old Tascam 4-track, then sequenced in somewhat of a instrumental hip-hop fashion. Lots of fuzz and delay, grimy stuff. I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think if you get a chance to check it out.

Here's a direct download link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ct4jevzyyam

and a link to my site:

http://coolallover.blogspot.com/


By now, between my strong love rants about Kurt Vile and all that crazy Northside coverage, you’ve probably gotten your fill of me going on and on about how awesome Woodsist is. But seriously, they’re awesome. In addition to checking out the releases from which these tracks come, I would highly suggest going over to Alex’s blog and downloading his full remix, because it’s a totally interesting take. Unlike much of what the remix world can represent, these tracks retain the dirtiness of the originals while also adding a new spin.



What Goes In Circles Al Lover Remix.mp3

More from Al Lover here.

Nat "King" Cole//My Baby Just Cares for Me

My baby just got home today from Mpls. I missed her so much and I'm really glad she's home. Ok, so she was only gone for four days. Ok, go ahead, make fun of me then.

Nat "King" Cole's baby was Maria Ellington (no relation), but who did use to sing in Duke Ellington's band. Together they got married and had five kid-os. One of them was Natalie Cole.

In closing, I have no idea who Mr. Tibbits is.



My Baby Just Cares for Me.mp3

My baby's no Crosby fan, Dick Tracy is not her man,
My baby just cares for me.
My baby don't care for Mr. Tibbits.
She'd rather have me around to kibbitz.

France Gall//Laisse Tomber Les Filles, April March//Chick Habit

Watching But I’m A Cheerleader last weekend also reminded me of this song, which is amazing.

The original version was composed by Serge Gainsbourg (father of Charlotte Gainsbourg) and performed by France Gall. It roughly translates to “Leave the Girls Alone,” an obvious plea to a boyfriend or ex to stop fucking around. It’s a classic “you’ll get yours” song. There’s a full translation here.

Indie popster April March (who was born a year after the original version of this song came out) did two cover versions, one in French and one in English, which appeared in BIAC and also Tarantino’s Death Proof. Apparently March (aka Elinor Blake) was also an animator on Ren and Stimpy? Who is this awesome person? Je ne sais qui.



Laisse Tomber Les Filles.mp3




Chick Habit.mp3

Hang up the chick habit.
Hang it up, daddy,
Or you’ll never get another fix.

Best Coast//When I'm With You

I've been hearing the buzz about Best Coast for a while now, but kept writing them off as the newest indie fuzz it-band. I've said it before and I'll say it again, throwing layers and layers of overdrive on something doesn't actually make it good. On the other hand, if it's already good, well, that's another story.

While we're on the subject of the fuzz, I was contemplating the great fuzz trend of two thousand and ? on the train today. I wonder if all this forced overdrive is some kind of response to the never-ending supply of clean digital sound thanks to advances/mass distribution (thanks, Apple) in recording technology. Anyone can press a button and very easily record something that sounds very crisp and clean. What's the fun in that? Where's the soul? While I don't think that fuzz is an answer to the question, it might be a welcome distraction or a quick fix. What do you think?

Back to the song, Best Coast has written a simple little gem here. Actually the lyrics are downright retarded sometimes--"The world is lazy, but you and me, we're just crazy." After you finish wondering whether Bethany Cosentino is a 7-year-old who just finished a lesson in basic rhyme schemes, take a moment to appreciate when that simplicity turns brilliant (ie. "When I'm with you I have fun"). Listen, there's no better way to say this. It's perfect. There are also requisite lyrical nods to 60s girl group/soul songs ("Ever since I was a little girl, my mama always told me there'd be boys like you"). Can anyone say, "my mama told me you better shop around"? Touches like these are seemingly lifted verbatim and inserted into the modern context of fuzzy, sun-kissed indie pop.

I also wanted to get this song up ASAP because it's one of those songs that sticks so hard in your head, that you wake up singing, that you love so much...but only for a week. And after that week, you want to die every time you hear it because it will never give you the feeling of that first high, the initial obsession. Hearing it reminds you of that, so it becomes annoying. Let's savor it while we can. We can look back on this post and skip over it after if makes it into The Gap's muzak system, which it inevitably will. But right now, it's beautiful and hazy and lovely, just like the beginning of a summer filled with the promise of twin cherry popsicles, empty beaches, polaroid pictures and mixtapes. Oh, and Ronald McDonald.



When I'm With You.mp3

I hate sleeping alone.

Dee Dee Warwick//You're No Good

Ok, so Good (Weather) Week, might be turning into Premature April Heat Wave Week and that’s, well, no good. But, what are you gonna do? A month ago, it was snowing.

For a song called “No Good,” this is pretty delightful—double tracked vocals that peak a little in that awesome fuzzy 60s analog sound, that super hot overdriven guitar that comes in about halfway through and one hell of a rhythm section! Ohh, baby. Bestill my heart.

This is another track from the excellent Girl Group Sounds comp, which I discussed a bit back in February. This might come up at least one more time this week. Turns out Girl Groups were really into the word “good.”

Dee Dee Warwick (or Delia Mae Warrick) (and yes, sister of Dionne Warwick and cousin of Whitney Houston) repped for The Bricks back in the 60s and 70s. She started singing in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ in the late 50s, forming a gospel group with Dionne and another famous relative, Cissy Houston, called The Gospelaires. By the early 60s, she was cutting a solo record for Jubilee Records. By the early 70s, she was on Atlantic. Sadly, Dee Dee died in 2008 at the age of 63 after a long struggle with narcotics addiction.



You're No Good.mp3

I broke a heart
Who’s gentle and true.
I left a boy for someone like you.
I beg his forgiveness on bended knee
But I wouldn’t blame him if he said to me,
You’re no good, you’re no good
Baby, you’re no good.

“Good” is one of those words that grade school teachers make verboten in long formal essays. It’s so unspecific that it can mean everything from morally excellent to high quality to well-behaved to genuine, it’s understandable why this word gets banned. On the other hand, we have not learned our lesson and we will continue to have a Good Week.