Electric Tickle Machine//Part of Me

Pop Mail: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Jessie Hector at Goldest Egg writes

Electric Tickle Machine's debut album, Blew It Again (out in October) relishes in the magic moments between cynicism and forgetfulness where surrender makes imperfection a blessing. Recorded in 14 days in the winter of 2009 by Matt Boynton (Gang Gang Dance, Vietnam, Bat For Lashes), the record delivers hooky anthems bathed in organic layers of psychedelic fuzz.

Weirdly, I can’t find much more information about this band on the internets, so maybe they just prefer to remain mysterious.

I like this song because it’s catchy and a little weird. It’s not really psychedelic, but there are mild tinges of it in the production values. It’s light and funny and a little snarky. The lyrical content and that keyboard sound conjure the occasionally enjoyable one trick pony, The Dandy Warhols. It’s hard for me to say if ETM has more range to offer, but hey, if this is it, at least we got to jump around with a smile on our faces.

From what I can tell, ETM is a New York band. You can learn (a little) more here, including that you can go see them at The Market Hotel on Sept. 26.

On a final note, I think we must be getting really desperate as a society that we have to start naming our bands things like Electric Tickle Machine. The world is definitely going to end really soon.



Part of Me.mp3

Everyday we get a little more invisible,
No heads are turnin’ when we’re walking down First Avenue.

Alex Greiner//Dans, Afrikaans

Dutch in New Amsterdam, Local Music Friday.
Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?

It's kind of interesting that Alex Greiner's track is called "Dans, Afrikaans," because I went to see District 9 last night with A. and it's given me a lot of cause to think about South Africa and those Dutch. First you're watching an intensely graphic and disturbing conceit about apartheid in the form of a major Hollywood blockbuster, and the next thing you know you're listening to an experimentally sprawling ballad named after the form of Dutch spoken in the setting of the movie. Life's so weird, huh?

I don't know Alex super well, but he came to a 50/50 show a while back and introduced himself. He's not hard to remember, because he has quite a mustache (see below). When he expressed interest in a show, I checked out his myspace and enjoyed his music, featuring innovative vocals and a lot of thoughtful instrumentation. I think you will too.



Dans, Afrikaans.mp3

Alex plays The 50/50 tomorrow night.

Dirty Projectors//Cannibal Resource, No Intention

Loves. I'm really sorry but I didn't get OSS done yesterday because my waking hours severely got away from me. Ever have one of those days where you're not exactly sure what you did with your time, but before you know it, it's getting dark. Yep, that's what happened. Still, I hate when I fail you, whoever it is you are.

One pretty fantastic thing about yesterday was that I got to DJ with Pat at Lucky 7 in Jersey City and it was SO MUCH FUN. Playing records and drinking for free--sign me up.

Anyway, switching gears, since I missed a day I'd like to make it up to you with two jams today from the album I became obsessed with basically overnight, The Dirty Projector's Bitte Orca.

I think finally deciding to listen to this band is a great example of Gladwell's Tipping Point theory. Here's what happened:

1. I heard the Dirty Projectors in a variety of places over the last few years. On comps, webisodes, ect. I saw their name on fliers. I didn't think much of them. There are a lot of bands in the world.

2. Various press outlets freaked out about Bitte Orca.

3. My friends in Chicago told me to check out Bitte Orca.

4. Finally, I had dinner with Scott a few nights ago. We were bemoaning the death of "the album." He asked, "what was the last album you heard that you liked through and through?" I answered with a few recent albums I really liked. He said, "Well, I guess I like Bitte Orca all the way through." Case closed.

And hey, it's worth it. This band is weird, because they sound exactly like themselves (in this way, I keep thinking about the Fiery Furnaces, who also sound exactly like themselves). How do you categorize this music? Into what genre does it fall? I have no idea, but the extreme originality of the sound and composition lets me forgive the occasionally ridiculous and bad lyrics that are peppered throughout the album (alongside some that are quite interesting and profound, to be fair). And the hooks, which you can't even tell are there at first, get into you, so that you wake up with them in your head in the morning. No joke--it happened to me.



Cannibal Resource.mp3

No Intention.mp3

<--These MP3s disappeared because copyright owners weren't into it.

I think you're more than a terrified witness
Behind the arbitrary line.

Destroyer//English Music

Once I played Destroyer for my dad and he was like, “Oh. It’s David Bowie circa Hunky Dory.”

OK, dad, you’ve got a point. But I still love the biting lyrics and meandering pop of what is basically Dan Bejar’s solo project (he’s also in The New Pornographers). His albums vary in arrangement and orchestration, but are, in my experience, always good.

Andrew gave us Destroyer on the same ridiculous weekend in Toronto when we discovered The Hidden Cameras. Am I really going to be able to resist a dude from Vancouver who has a song called “Farrar, Straus & Giroux”? No. I’m not. And I’m also not sure I’ve ever wanted to visit Canada’s Pacific Northwest more than I do when listening to Destroyer.

On top of all that, this album is really so fucking good through and through that it’s extremely difficult for me to select just one song for you. I keep changing my mind. After my fourth period of FTP switch, I’m going with the old reliable “English Music,” because that’s what this blog is all about: old reliable. The song that never fails you.



English Music.mp3

Everyone has got a finder's fee.
Find something difficult to do and do it
Right
Your English music, write your English music,
Write your English music, run free!
She tasted of the Christmas wines and said,
So many things have run through me.
I know
The altar boys, they just want to do me,
And that's fine.
You gotta have faith.

My First Earthquake//Outta The Band

A letter you may have already read, this time with Lisa Frank unicorn stickers all over it: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Ok, Josh at Fanatic, you got me. You filled my inbox with my not-so-covert kryptonite/dirty little secret music: the post-modern and more irreverent riff on the original “serious” Riot Grrrl movement or a pop take on grittier garage rock. These are the Boyskouts and the Metrics and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of the world. This is more like riot-girly than Riot Grrrl, but you can hear the influence and appreciate that a song like “Outta the Band” couldn’t exist without a band like Sleater-Kinney or a song like their own “You’re No Rock and Roll Fun.” Even so, “Out of the Band” gets pretty damn tongue-in-cheek, not just toward popular music, but also to the feminist band that the lead singer defects into after refusing a boob job. What I’m trying to say here is that while Corin Tucker does Betty Freidan proud, it seems more like Rebecca Bortman’s writing fan mail to Candace Bushnell...and that’s mostly fine with me. Sure, I’d rather watch an obscure feminist Czech New Wave film, but I’ve been known to enjoy the odd episode of “Sex in the City.” Oh my, I’m mixing my media metaphors.

Josh writes:

After racking up a cool 40,000+ views of “Cool In The Cool Way,” its ode to hipster body snatchers, San Francisco’s My First Earthquake has dropped “Outta The Band” the latest single and video from its popular full-length debut, Downstairs, produced by Anthony Molina of Mercury Rev.

Ok. So “Cool in the Cool Way,” which references the oft-remembered and much-beloved 80s kid snap bracelet meme, might be a little too cool for me. But “Outta the Band,” with it’s witty lyrics and it’s simple not-quite-punk fuzzy guitar progression, suits me fine. This goes out to all the girls who got kicked out of the tree-houses of the boys for wearing their leopard print snap bracelets. Or something.



Outta the Band.mp3

Knew it was the final straw,
Wouldn’t hold the lollipop
At the photoshoot last week.
Well, I have found a better band,
One that don’t require men.
All our songs are about the body politic.
All our songs are covers
And we all have multiple lovers
And we’re called The Beckys.

The Ultra Death Men//Pizza Tower

1+1+1=3, Local Music Friday.
Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?

You probably never thought you'd hear anything mathy here on OSS, but prepare to have your mind blown like it was when you got placed in that advanced Calculus class that turned out to be way over your head senior year of high school.

Today was the third full day of Palmyra recording this week, which meant lots of hangout time with Karl, Kenny, Sean and Jon. Well, this gave me the idea to feature Sean and Jon's OTHER (OTHER) band today, which has the best name ever: The Ultra Death Men. Yes, these dudes are in my band.

It's hard to outdo their own self-description. Read on:

The Ultra Death Men are an improvised, noisey, thrashy, free jazzy type group turned weird, math-rock mess from Verona NJ.

The group was started in concept in the Verona Summer Music classrooms, where all three members teach for one month each year.

I really like rocking out and thrashing around my room in strange spasms to Pizza Tower. We also enjoyed listening to it in the Volvo on tour.

An additional note: after hearing UDM play a live show, I noted that their music is, "like someone's playing a trick on you...but you like it." I stand by this assessment.

I'm wondering how high you could actually build a tower of pizza. Oh boy. I may have fried my brain with copious recording.



Pizza Tower.mp3

Learn so much more about the Death Men here. And also, have an awesome weekend. Summer is winding down, so get to the beach! Eat some ice cream! Jesus, do both. That's my plan.

Stephen Malkmus (and the Jicks)//Church on White

Hello. Today OSS comes live from day two of intensive Palmyra recording sessions at Karl's apartment. It's hot as balls here and when we're not tracking, we're all camping out in Karl's bedroom with the AC and the fan.

I asked my bandmates what the song should be today and Kenny helpfully suggested something from Stephen Malkmus's Pig Lib. Karl specifically suggested “Vanessa from Queens,” because it's summery (so summery, it made it onto Ali and I's summer mix, long long ago).

Don't get me wrong—I really like Pig Lib and I REALLY like “Vanessa from Queens,” but I've always fancied myself more of a self-titled album girl. Oh, those Jicks. Oh, Janet (even though she's not actually on this album).

Q: Karl, why do you like Steve Malkmus?
A: He sounds like he embraces his guilty pleasures and makes them sound good. He'll do what normally would be super cornball, but then it will actually be kind of cool.

Q: Kenny, why do you like Steve Malkmus?
A: Because I like Pavement...And I wish Pavement were still together.

And there you have it.



Church on White.mp3

When enough is enough
Do the fakers drop out?
Promise me
You will always be
Too awake to be famous,
Too wired to be safe.
But all you really wanted
Was everything
Plus everything
And the truth.
I only poured you
Half a lie.

Royksopp//Poor Leno

Continuing on a stream-of-consciousness journey from yesterday's post (and related to this one and this one, as well), here's Royksopp with my favorite Royksopp song, Poor Leno.

I don't usually love this kind of electronic music, but I do really enjoy a lot of Royksopp and I LOVE this video. The poor Leno is captured and put in a zoo, where he is ogled all day by curious humans. He dreams of returning to his homeland, the frozen tundra, relegated to etching pictures of the peaks on his cell wall with a spoon. By the end, his mate shows up, theoretically to spring him free. Everything about the way this animation looks (and works with) the song is perfect.

Also, this video once led to a decision to dress Squashington (a cat) up as a Leno for Halloween, prompting Ryan to say, "but we neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a Leno suit." Where does one acquire a Leno suit?

As for the band, Royksopp's particular brand of housey electronica fits into a movement known as Bergen Wave. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

Fun fact: Royksopp is the Norwegian word for puffball mushroom.



Poor Leno.mp3

I think I am officially ready to visit Norway now.

Coldplay//Sparks

I don’t know what my problem is. It all started with James telling me that Coldplay played a really incredible set at All Points West.

Then, in Costa Rica, Annie mentioned to me that she had been listening to a lot of Coldplay (which queued me to pump up the Buckley, who of course, their sound is a complete rip-off of).

Then, a few days ago, on a train to my Grandma’s house down the Jersey shore, I found my fingers dialing up the random Coldplay tracks that I still (for some reason) had on my iPod.

This lead me in turn to start daydreaming to a time when I really did like Coldplay, circa Parachutes/A Rush of Blood to the Head. During the spring/early summer of 2002, I went on a cruise with my cousin (who just got engaged this weekend—congrats, Kel) and my aunts to the Bahamas. This trip was weird for a few reasons, but most of all, I was just coming off my serious alcoholic year and was basically drunk the whole time. We got to Nassau for a day off the boat and I basically broke off from my family and cruised all the liquor shops, which each had their own tasting bars. I’d go to one shop and they’d give me three shots of different tropical rum varieties (Pineapple and Coconut—yum). I’d drink those and then go to the next place, where they’d give me three more. I’d go to an internet café and talk to my friends in Michigan over AOL Instant Messenger, totally shitfaced, declaring myself over and over again to be “Tropical G.” I ended up hammered with my cousin and a few aunts in the casino/resort Atlantis, watching them play the slots and drinking frozen Pina Coladas. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

How Coldplay fits into this ridiculous story is that every morning , I would walk around and around the deck of the cruise ship with my Discman (pre iPod, homez!) listening to either Coldplay or Kings of Convenience (obviously heavily in my sad drunk stage). What’s weird also--I found out later that Royksopp did a kickass remix of “Clocks.” Universe mashup!

Anyway, I really did like these songs, even if now I feel a little embarrassed at their obvious cheese-factor/extreme mainstream popularity (here are my snob tendencies revealing themselves). I’ve been trying to get over myself though lately. My first step was proclaiming my love for the Grateful Dead to the entire internet. Let this be my second.



Sparks.mp3

I promise you this;
I’ll always look out for you.
That’s what I’ll do.

Miguel de Braganza//Study for Potato Gun

Exprmntl Mndy//////Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Miguel de Braganza just wrote in to say hi following the death of Michael Jackson a few months ago. He also sent me a link to his myspace, which included some delightfully weird, pretty, analogy stuff, in addition to a long intense biography (feel free to read it (or check his dates--NYers can catch him on Aug. 30 at Arlene's) on your own time). Miguel explains, of this tune:

Potato Gun is an original that I made for a sound exhibition at The Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston.

You know what this reminds me of? Elephant Six—that’s what. Specifically, Olivia Tremor Control. I admire the way the music shifts, very experimentally, while also retaining melody. There’s a whole slew of influences here (folk, noisepop, dirgey lofi), ripped apart and recombined to form something new. Not only is this enjoyable to listen to, it also takes you on a strange journey.

Furthermore, to tie into Friday’s post, we can all thank Mr. Paul for all the amazing multi-track technology that lets us record these complex and layered soundscapes. Seriously. Thank you.



Study for Potato Gun.mp3

You’ll always travel a lonesome road.

Les Paul and Mary Ford//Tiger Rag

Hey Loves! I’m back in the USA! I left Annie’s house in Costa Rica at 4Am on Wednesday and didn’t get back to Brooklyn until 2AM on Thursday! This included a super-fun and totally unexpected seven hour layover in one of the worst places period, Dallas, Texas. Holy 22 hours of international travel, batman!

CR was amazing and totally mind-blowing. I could not even begin to adequately describe the experience here, but I was by-and-large cut off from technology/modern world, and it was awesome. No cell. No internet. Just incredible people, lots of bugs, beautiful mountainous rainforest views and super horrifying roads. Some pictures are here.

Sadly, while I was in layover hell, real life guitar hero Les Paul was living out his last few hours. Much has already been written about this 94 year-old extremely innovative legend who played weekly sets until his last days, so I’ll skip the obit. He still definitely deserves to be honored for his writing, performance and electronic innovation though. Please enjoy this 50s recording, with his wife Mary Ford, of “Tiger Rag,” (given to me in mix form from Emily) featured on NBC’s The Les Paul Show and observe a moment of music for this incredible individual. RIP, fine sir.



Tiger Rag.mp3

Has anybody seen that tiger?

PS. Also, thanks Les Paul, for giving us multi-track recording, because it's my favorite invention EVER!

Dionne Warwick//Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Tomorrow morning, WAYYY TOO EARLY, I will be on a plane leaving for San Jose, Costa Rica. I’m going to visit my friend Annie, who has been stewarding this house for the summer. I’ve never been to Costa Rica. In fact, I’ve never been anywhere in Latin America, so I’m totally excited! I’m overdue for an international jaunt.

There’s some good news and some bad news to this. The good news: today we are going to listen to DIONNE WARWICK singing a song written expressly for her by BURT BACHARACH. The bad: there isn’t going to be an OSS post for a full week. I’ll miss you guys.

So obviously, this song it about a very different San Jose, but I think some of the lyrics still apply. Indeed, I may be “going to find/some peace of mind.”

Something of note about Dionne Warwick, besides that when her career was slowing down in the late 90s she decided to become a spokesperson for Psychic Friends Network, is this : she was born just down the road from where I’m sitting right now (The Bricks), in East Orange, NJ. EO!!!! Also interesting is that Warwick made the Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers List published in October 2007, as she currently owes the government $2,185,908.08 (thanks Wikipedia). Hot damn. I thought I was broke. Maybe she can pay that and the government can start up some kind of Dionne Warwick Stimulus Package. Everybody gets 50 cents and a copy of the “Walk On By” single.

As for Burt Bacharach, he is a supremely cheesy song-writer, but somewhat self-consciously so, which puts him delightfully over on the kitschy side of the cheese-kitsch continuum. There’s some real talent under that kitsch, which you can really hear in this song, which is AWESOME. And damn, I really like those backup vocals! Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah.

And on that note, see you next week.



Do You Know the Way to San Jose?.mp3

ONE LAST (TOTALLY UNRELATED) THING BEFORE I GO: My BFF, Ange, is DJing tonight with Mia from Electrelane at Bruar Falls in Williamsburg. It's going to be sweet, so skip the free RAA show and come there instead to help me decide if it's really worth it to sleep for only three hours pre-flight or if I should just stay up all night instead.

LA is a great big freeway.
Put a hundred down and buy a car.
In a week, maybe two, they’ll make you a star.
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass,
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas.

The Idles//You'd Forget

LoFi MoFi: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Last week, I got an email from Kellen about a new label called Acousticlaw:

we recently launched acoustaclaw records to help spread the word on the music being made by some of our friends here in washington, dc. we are very happy to be kicking things off with 4 excellent albums from the idles, quidnunk and the idles/quidnunk collaboration mystery squid and hope you'll give them a listen and consider sharing them with your readers. some comparables might be artists such as the silver jews, smog and ariel pink.

each of these 4 albums can be downloaded in their entirety for absolutely nothing, so feel free to post whatever/as much as you like..

Smog? Silver Jews? Go on, I’m listening. Everything’s free? This label is called Acousticlaw? What could be bad about this?

Especially like this because it sounds very 90s indie to me, and that is a sound I wholeheartedly enjoy!

One little tip for those starting fledgling labels: links to myspace pages help a lot.

Note: not to be confused with the UK Idles.



You’d Forget.mp3

All you do is hang out at KFC now.

Aleise Barnett//You Will Descend Me

On Local Music Friday, life is like a ziplock bag of fresh Michigan farm-grown hand-picked cherries, just like the one I currently have on my desk.
Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?

Aleise Barnett might actually be the nicest person I have ever met. She’s so smart, so fun and such a sweetheart—I’m very lucky to have her as a friend.

The first time I met Aleise/saw her play music was at the end of the summer of 2002. Black Elk was having an acoustic show, and Michael and I were on the bill. Aleise also played and while she strummed her slightly out-of-tune acoustic guitar and sang along, in the lush backyard of the Elk, Mike and I talked about how she reminded us of Cat Power. We approached her after: “Hey. We liked that. You remind us of Cat Power.” She told us it was all she had been listening to all summer.

But to just compare her to Cat Power would be doing girl a disservice, because I’ve seen a lot of versatility in Aleise’s music, from the CDR album she recorded in an Ann Arbor parking structure, to this track, which was included in the Fred Thomas/Ypsilanti Records-produced comp, Ypsilanti Folk Singers.

Lots to love about this song: the spindly tremolo-heavy early 60s sounding electric guitar riff, that brings you back to that retro-school dance you never attended, that sad little organ section, Aleise’s vocals, willowy and melancholy and sometimes French. Tres bien.

I think Aleise is currently in Atlanta, taking a little hiatus from music-making, but for my sake and yours, I will hope that this break will be short-lived.



You Will Descend Me.mp3

But you never fall completely in love.

Stevie Wonder//I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever)

I spent most of my day trying to remember the name of this song and I am now immensely satisfied that I have been able to.

Stevie Wonder started playing piano when he was seven and mastered the instrument by the time he was nine. Wonder was signed to MoTown at age eleven as "Little Steve Wonder," because after all, eleven IS little and Stevie WAS a Wonder.

Songs have been making me cry a lot lately. I'm not sure what's up. Maybe it's hormonal? Or maybe it's just because I do believe that I fell in love with you and it will be forever.



I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever).mp3

I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again,
I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again.

Archie Bell and The Drells//Tighten Up

The previous song is undoubtably a tough act to follow, but if some song's gotta do it, this is the one.

I think Ali first played this song for me, putting it on a mix, perhaps after Kate played it for her. Later, I played it for my dad, and he remembered it instantly, singing along.

There's a lot to love about this song. Archie Bell's truly energetic while also strangely laid-back voice seems to me to exhibit the ultimate in cool. And of course, The Drells are thoroughly tightened up. All this is captured remarkably well on analog recording technology, to give us a sound that's rich and well-balanced.

A little more info, from Wikipedia:

Archie Bell (born September 1, 1944, Henderson, Texas), (the older brother of world karate champion (and lead vocalist of Motown's Dazz Band) Jerry Bell, Eugene Bell Sr. and NFL player Ricky Bell (1955-1984)) moved to Houston as a young boy and formed the group in 1966 with his friends James Wise, Willie Parnell and Billy Butler. They signed with the Houston based record label, Ovide, in 1967 and recorded a number of songs including "She's My Woman" and "Tighten Up".

Surprisingly, Bell's promoter, Skipper Lee Frazier, began unsuccessfully pushing the flip side of "Tighten Up", but at the recommendation of a friend gave the other side a try. "Tighten Up", written by Archie Bell and Billy Butler, became a hit in Houston, and was picked up by Atlantic Records for distribution in April 1968. By the summer it topped both the Billboard R&B and pop charts. It also received a R.I.A.A. gold disc by selling 1 million copies. The line in "Tighten Up", "we dance just as good as we walk" was a little ironic, given that Bell had been shot in the leg and was consigned to a military hospital bed at the time. However the Army began allowing him to tour later in the year and discharged him on April 15, 1969.

So, what exactly was The Tighten Up? You can check it out (and memorize it for future dance parties) here.



Tighten Up.mp3

We don't only sing,
But we dance just as good as we walk.
In Houston, we just started a new dance, called "The Tighten Up."
This is the music we "Tighten Up" with.

Talib Kweli//Get By

Guys, today I just want to listen to hip hop. It’s fucking hot and everyone knows that hot is the weather of hip hop.

This song is a classic Angie mix tape song, another that I would rewind and press play on in an endless loop in my forever-breaking down silver Hyundai in Ann Arbor days. Oh. My. God. This song, from Kweli’s first Black Star-departure solo record Quality, is just that: QUALITY.
The rhymes are fucking AMAZING.
The Nina Simone sample (Sinnerman--that track here, if you're interested) is PERFECT.
The gospel choir is ON FIRE.
The production, by Mr. West pre-mega fame, is FLAWLESS.
Such a SWEET SONG.

If similarly sample-heavy/inspirational/Kanye-produced Dialated Peoples burner “This Way” is an anthem of change and self-betterment, than “Get By” is a tale of sheer survival in the face of a fucked up day-to-day. And that message isn’t lost on me. The world is totally fucked up, and often, doesn’t make it easy for many people to succeed. Does that mean you should stop trying? Hell fucking no.

Get out in the sun and blare this baby, full volume.



Get By is gone, and has been, for weeks now, despite the fact that someone keeps taking this post off Blogger using Chilling Effects. There's no offending content here. Hasn't been any for a while!

Our parents sing like John Lennon, "Imagine all the people…,”
Watch:
We rock like Paul McCartney from now until the last Beatle drop.

Coeur de Pirate//Commes Des Enfants

Monday Mail Comments
What is Monday Mail?

Back on OSS’s first birthday, a few readers commented in suggesting I check out Coeur de Pirate.

Frederik said:
Oh, and for more upcoming French-Canadian talent-maybe you know her already- check out pirate de coeur. Saw her this weekend and it was pretty awesome.

And Ellen agreed:
And I second pirate de coeur, she is great.

Well, I did…and she’s awesome. Thanks for the tip, guys.

Here’s a bit more from Quit Before it Melts:

Her explanation on why she records under a pseudonym (which loosely translates to, “Heart of Pirate”; merci Monsieur Benchina pur les instructiones de français) is a little more vague: “A pirate is someone who doesn’t care about anything, and I think that’s similar to musicians in general. They write about what they feel and don’t expect anything in return.”

This song is so so beautiful, with Béatrice Martin’s gorgeous vocals coming to a stunning and very moving build at the end. Martin, who hails from Montreal, sings delicately in French.

I think perhaps that the universe was lining up to introduce me to Coeur de Pirate’s music; Palmyra just joined up to contribute to a film soundtrack that she is also contributing to. Interested? Check out Sneakers and Soul here.



Commes Des Enfants.mp3

Want to hear more Coeur de Pirate and maybe catch a date?

Benoît Pioulard//Kids Are Getting Younger

Didn't I meet you at that Madison House show in 2004?
Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?

Benoît Pioulard aka Thomas Meluch was a guy I'd always notice wandering around Ann Arbor streets, even before I knew him or who he was. I recognized him in a "I know we were at a show/party/thing together" or "I know he must live, like, across Catherine Street from me" way. He always looked so put together, like he knew where he was off to.

I don't think we really talked until a house show at Patrick's or Totally Awesome or Madison or something. We were both very drunk, with flushed cheeks. We hung out near the bathroom and talked about music, probably a little awkwardly, for a while.

It wasn't until years later that I actually heard any of his music, which is amazing. Everything is weirdly rich and layered, but also rhythmically minimal at once. And pretty. Pretty/sad. Pretty like Boards of Canada, but more musically coherent and accessible. Meluch's vocals are equally haunting, delivering a meandering melancholy. No surprise that post-A2 baby Moongadget and A2 electronic icon Ghostly, Benoît Pioulard was scooped up by Kranky (who, yes, also releases Deerhunter). Although, it should be noted that there was also a recent Hall of Owls, run by total sweet dude Forest Juziuk and an initial purveyor of Simonnewcomb, release.



Kids Are Getting Younger.mp3

Benoît Pioulard has one of the coolest websites I've seen lately.

Donovan//Museum

I love Donovan. He's so Scottish. He's so mod. Love him, love him. Picking just one Donovan song to put on OSS is a challenge that has come up for me a few times already in the last year, and so, instead I just tend to defer and write about some other artist.

As Pat reminded me last week, every single song on that Greatest Hits collection actually IS a greatest hit, rare for this type of collection. "Season of the Witch" was a teenage favorite, but oh my god, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Epistle to Dippy," "Sunshine Superman," the list goes on...
I will always remember the period of time when some of my friends and I got fixated on the line, "Elevator to the brain hotel/Broken down but just as well" and the hallucinogen-fueled episode from which this line must have originated. Donovan, you crazy.

Luckily, today my Donovan quandary was solved for me (and you) by circumstance. A. and I had this longstanding plan to play hooky from life and have a picnic on Governor's Island, since she's about to be out of town for a while. Also, I really want to see the Creative Time installation. Well, turns out that not only is Gov's Island not open to the public during the week, but it was also pouring (AGAIN!). Backup plan: Natural History Museum! Queue this song being stuck in my head, literally, all day.

Here's what we really liked: The Carbon Cycle, The Dinosaur Room (a childhood favorite) and The Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, where A. got lots of information about her favorite ancient Homo Sapian relative, the Neanderthal. We didn't actually get to The Whale this time around, but I have fond memories from previous NHM jaunts.

In this song, Donovan is asked by some girl to meet her under The Whale. I hope he did that, because that girl had to be awesome with a request like that. Donovan also ties into the previous post, as he was totally ridiculed by Dylan in D.A. Pennebaker's infamous '67 handheld tour documentary, Don't Look Back. You feel so bad for poor little Donovan as Dylan weirdly challenges him to a song-off, and he definitely loses.



Museum.mp3

I drank sweet wine for breakfast, I slept about an hour or so,
Smiled a little in the silence deciding on where to go.
"Meet me under the whale in the Natural History Museum,"
I think that's what she said, a little bit sad about having to leave them.

Charlotte Gainsbourg//The Songs That We Sing

Last night, in a weird haze of post-shitty doctor’s appointment, A. and I decided to watch I’m Not There, which has been collecting dust in its little Netflix pouch on my mantle for at least a month or so now. Even though it was long and weird, I’m really glad we did. It was such a creative take on Dylan.

One of the best performances in the film was by Charlotte Gainsbourg, who played the wife of the asshole actor version of Dylan. I’d never seen Gainsbourg act, only heard her music, so I was really interested when I saw her name run on the opening credits. She was totally amazing (and so fucking hot, too).

A little background: it’s no wonder that Gainsbourg ended up a singer/actor, as that was the exact occupation combo of both of her famous French parents (Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg (<3!)). Besides the Dylan movie, she’s done plenty of stage acting and other indie films. This (decidedly French pop) song, lushly orchestrated and instantly catchy, is from her second album 5:55. She’s currently working on her third, with Beck.



The Songs That We Sing.mp3

I saw somebody who
Reminded me of you before you got afraid.
I wish you that you could have stayed that way.

Kings of Convenience//Leaning Against the Wall, I Don't Know... (Remix)

Apologies for my absence yesterday. A string of haphazard occurrences and silly mistakes left me unable to post. Don't worry; I'm back on my feet now.

I know I'm not the only one who had severe trouble getting out of bed this morning. The facebook status updates of my friends told many similar stories. The sky was gray and the rain was falling in that peaceful pitter-pat that speaks loudly and emphatically to our primitive instinctual sides; "stay in bed because you're warm and it sucks out here and there's nothing you can get done when it's like this." A. and I definitely had a super rough time getting up. There was a lot of hitting snooze, resetting the alarm, hitting snooze again.

I decided to put the Kings of Convenience on and get back into bed. Nothing could have been more perfect waking-up music. A. commented that it sounded like Gossamer. Brilliant.

KofC is a Norwegian acoustic duo of Erlend Øye (who, in addition to being part of Royksopp, The Whitest Boy Alive and James Figurine, also released an awesome electronic solo album a few years back) and Eirik Glambek Bøe. Their songs are beautiful, quiet, somber affairs, reminiscent of Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel and the softer Belle and Sebastian tunes. I discovered them (through friends) freshman year in college and they served as the perfect soundtrack to dour/hungover Michigan sad times.

Also, the only thing I ever learned from Disney World's Epcot Center is that Norwegian people are the hottest in the world.

Here are two songs (to get you back for yesterday), the first from their initial studio effort, Quiet is the New Loud, the second from their remix album that I used as a soundtrack to walk around and around a cruise-ship for a week in the early summer of 2002 (another story entirely), Versus.



Leaning Against the Wall.mp3

I Don't Know What I Can Save You From.mp3

I asked you to come over,
and within half an hour,
you were at my door.
I had never really known you,
but I realized that the one you were before
had changed into somebody for whom
I wouldn't mind to put the kettle on.

Drunken Barn Dance//A Winter's Tale

Since it's finally hot, a local song to keep you cool:
Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?

Yep--this song is definitely about winter, presumably in Michigan, where it's super chilly and you hole up indoors drinking and playing games....the perfect antidote to the 85 degree day we're having here in New York today.

Scott Sellwood, in addition to being a truly sweet dude, is a master of melody. The vocal hooks in this song are so infectious that they got stuck in my head for the better part of the day yesterday. Also, I really appreciate that Sellwood managed to get just the right amount of reverb on said vocals. That is a very fine like to walk and he has walked it righteously. Also, also, on DBD's myspace, you can learn that he does everything in "no more than a couple takes." Well, I think that's cool, especially in an era of auto-tune and unlimited overdubbing. I like when people have real talent.

Anyway, enough slightly technical geekery--let's state some facts:

1. Mr. Sellwood has played with Fred Thomas in Saturday Looks Good to Me and with Joe Scott in White Pines.
2. His new album is available for digital purchase through QuiSci.
3. In this song, he references Cribbage and drinking alcohol out of mason jars. Despite the fact that I never actually learned to play Cribbage, this really brings me back to Michigan times.
4. This is downright charming.
5. Scott plays The 50/50 tomorrow!



A Winter's Tale.mp3

The cold makes me irate.
The dark makes me unstable.
Thought we'd bend, but not break.
We were kidding ourselves.

Desmond Dekker//The Israelites

Last night, after rehearsal, we went to Jersey City's own Lucky 7 to see my dear friend Pat spin on his brandy brand new turn tables. Let me say, I love Jersey City. I always have a great time there and am always impressed by the "scene"/community-vibe that it maintains, even so close to NYC.

Pat and I went to high school together and first became friends in Mrs. Sherman's seventh period (I think) art class. We sat at the same table, along with KK and Christie Taylor, and often found ourselves in ideological battles with the table directly across the room, populated mostly by football jocks, including my personal high school arch-nemesis, who shall remain unnamed. Pat was one of the roughly nine awesome people at my school and so I was always grateful for his presence. We also look quite a bit alike, which lead people to call us brother and sister, and lead me to keep a special sibling-inspired place in my heart for him.

Anyway, Pat started off the evening wearing what appeared to be a Lucha Libre mask and playing lots of great tunes, mostly Reggae, African and 60s/70s. He stuck to vinyl exclusively, which is something he should be praised for in this modern DJ era of iPod plugins. He should also be praised for his sweet-ass collection of 45s. When I requested this obvious old standard, he didn't miss a beat.

My dad first introduced me to this song, which really is a testament to my dad. Another one of those dad songs that he would wander around the house belting at the top of his lungs: "OHHHH OHHH THE ISREALITESSSS!" Later, my stepbro Joel gave me a "Best Of" Desmond Dekker collection. Jayums.

The story of Dekker, legend of Reggae/Ska/Rocksteady, is that he was born in 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica as Desmond Adolphus Dacres (he changed it--why?). He preceded Bob Marley as a major international music talent from Jamaica. This song was released in '68 and became the first Reggae track to top/top ten all the major charts by '69. Sadly, after a rise from the late 60s to the mid-80s and a fall that ended in bankruptcy, Dekker died in 2006, of a heart attack.



The Israelites.mp3

I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde.

The Grateful Dead//Uncle John's Band

Anika and I went camping in the Catskills last weekend. Even though it totally poured on us (all night) Saturday night, we still had an amazing time. We hiked up Wittenberg Mountain and took a funny day trip to burnt-out hippie-mecca, Woodstock. Some pictures here.

This all really reminded me of summer camp, mostly because we were just a few miles away from Frost Valley . I am one of those nerds who could probably be called a “lifer” of summer camp. I started going for two weeks, when I was just six, in 1989. By the time I was 14, I was volunteering in the barn, tending to horses and teaching beginner horseback lessons.

Camp was, without a doubt, one of the coolest experiences of my young/young adult life. This also might be because, despite the fact that it was officially "YMCA," my camp was a SERIOUS hippie camp, complete with a "World Hunger Day," a mock "Underground Railroad" and our own music festival, where I first played guitar in front of people, Hirdstock (remember, we were just a short drive from Woodstock). Of course, a camp of such a peace/love/wellness caliber attracted a particularly hilarious demographic of counselors, a number of which were serious hippies themselves.

One particular counselor, Zim, was no exception. We frequently played guitar together, including songs by Joni Mitchell, REM, 10,000 Maniacs, Rusted Root (I went back and considered "Send Me On My Way" for this post, and honestly, that song is just not good, guys) and, the ultimate hippie jam band, The Grateful Dead.

I am not ashamed to admit that I own and love two very fine Grateful Dead albums, American Beauty and the ultra-folky Workingman's Dead. Look, no one's going to argue that The Dead's eight-thousand-minute jams sessions aren't hard to handle sometimes. Also, they serve as the butt of many a joke by countless indie snobs. All that said, The Dead kinda rule. You can't beat them for honey'd up harmonies and thick coppery guitar tone. And dudes, I'm sorry, but without these guys, you hipsters don't get your Fleet Foxes or your Blitzen Trappers or your Motel Motels or even your Animal Collectives. Their influence is palpable and essential to the modern-day indie folk/noise/experimental groups--so chill the fuck out, smoke a J (like the crazy guy sitting behind me in the coffee shop garden is doing RIGHT NOW OMG, I love you, Brooklyn) and come hear Uncle John's band.



Uncle John's Band.mp3

When life looks like easy street,
There is danger at your door.