Sarah Vaughan//Lullaby Of Birdland

All that indie rock coverage of last week really put me in the mood for some solidly brilliant old timey shit. Enter: Sarah Vaughan.

Here's a controversial statement about Sarah Vaughan that I hold true: I think she's as good as Ella Fitzgerald (who she opened for at The Apollo in 1943, after winning one of their famed amateur nights). Some music fans would probably consider physically harming me for that one, but there it is. Don't get me wrong, she's completely different. But she's definitely as good.

Just listen to that tone. It's deep and rich and dark. While Ella has a smoothness to her voice which is completely unrivaled (and while she would definitely win in a scatting contest), Sarah's got this richness that's all kinds of magical (not to mention that she can also hold her on in scatting, which is evident in this track). Her nickname, "The Divine One," was well-earned.

Vaughan was also from Newark, which is kind of a soft spot for me. I often walk by the street named for her by NJPac on my way from the office to Penn Station. It makes me smile. In fact, as noted on Wikipedia (and verified on my commute):

In 2004-2006, New Jersey Transit paid tribute to Miss Vaughan in the design of its new Newark Light Rail stations. Passengers stopping at any station on this line can read the lyrics to one of her signature songs, "Send in the Clowns", along the edge of the station platform.

There's also the matter of the slew of jazz greats that she freqeuently had behind her, including Dizzie Gillespie, Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Charlie "Bird" Parker. Of course Birdland, the club named after Parker, is the subject of this song.



Lullaby of Birdland.mp3

Lullaby of birdland,
That's what I always hear,
When you sigh.

A Tribe Called Quest//Jam

Every so often, I’ll think to post a song by a group and be thoroughly baffled about which track to choose because so many qualify.

This is definitely the case with 90s hip hop phenoms A Tribe Called Quest. I can’t help but feel like there isn’t a single ATCQ song that would be a bad choice for this blog. Then, the problem becomes a common one for me: go with the obvious hit, which is often fantastic (and in this case would be “Can I Kick It,” complete with Velvets sample…or maybe “Bonita Applebaum”), something slightly more obscure (like, for example, “The Hop”) or the one that all the other artists/critics like (ie “Electric Relaxation”)?

In this case, I’m choosing to veer a little more toward the obscure, but mostly because I just can’t resist this guitar sample that serves as the hook in this song in combination with the plotline of the rhyme, which is a very well-crafted narrative.

Here’s what’s going down: it’s summer in the city and there’s a party. Oh, did I mention, you’re a teenager…and you just smoked weed for the first time? The party is awesome, but of course, the cops (ie “Jake”) show up. Shit. But it’s ok. You end up goofing off with your friends in a car at the end of the night.

Even though this song came out 15 years ago, it’s timeless. The season is right. Enjoy this at your next party, in your Jetta or while sipping a Heinken in your backyard/on your roof.



Jam.mp3

It was Friday afternoon in the middle of June,
Heineken bottle caps and the aroma of boom.
Around the time everybody had just got home from class,
Shootin dice, talkin shit, hopin the cash would last.
Yo, this was around the time when I didn't know no better.
Juney moved around in a tinted out Jetta.

Then he introduced me to that hydro smoke,
And I took one toke, yo, I almost choked.
See, I never smoked before and my nerves got shot.
Then he told me about the party at the spot jam rock.

Class Actress//Careful What You Say

Back to your regularly scheduled program: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Is it just me or have the 80s come and gone a few times in the last 10 years? Maybe it’s just the end of history, but it seems like they’ve been back, then gone, then back, then gone at least three or four times since I entered college. I can never exactly decide if I like it.

Also, I bet you’re really ready for me to stop blabbering on and on about Northside, especially if you don’t live in the general NYC area (SORRY!), but Class Actress, who I caught at the fest, is delightfully 80s in the way I do like—synthpoppy somewhere between some choice Magnetic Fields albums and actually wearing shoulder pads.

Brooke from Big Hassle says:

Class Actress is led by Elizabeth Harper, the second artist to sign to Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear and Ethan Silverman's Terrible Records. Harper is joined by producers Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthal for their debut, Journal of Ardency, which also features guest production from Jorge Elbrecht of Violens/Lansing-Dreiden.

Also worth noting, this quote:

Brooklyn's very own Madonna-New York Press

Although it might be slightly overstated, I think you’ll find this track in keeping with that sentiment. Actually, you know what it really reminds me of? Y Kant Tori Read. That’s what. And that in itself is really kind of amazing. What reminds you of THAT?

Finally, to wander back to Northside for one last hot minute, I had such an awesome time at the fest—although in combination with Pride, I am completely worthless today. I saw a million bands, hung out with friends and, of course, had so much fun organizing and playing last night’s show, which was a total blast in general. Thanks to Karl, The L, (festival buddies) Dana and Alida, Scott, Patrice, Ribbons and the rest of Palmyra (with an extra shout out to Kenny who made it through our set with a fever) for making it such a memorable night/festival.

Now, Class Actress, who I saw at the CLASSY new Knitting Factory space:



Careful What You Say.mp3

You just keep repeating the same thing.

Les Savy Fav//Yawn, Yawn, Yawn

Northside Week! : It's almost over because it's just beginning!!!
Northside Week: What does that mean?

Northside kicks off tonight and thus, I will leave you to your weekend of frolicking in the streets of Williamsburg, eating Endless Summer tacos and swilling dollar-off beers while listening to Brooklyn's finest indie rock. Before I do that, let's just do a quick lowdown on Sunday.

Chances are you've been running around like crazy all weekend, so why don't you take this one easy:

+++
1:30 PM
ARMS @ Newtown Barge
DMoM: 5

ARMs knows how to write 'em. Live show's not shabby either. And it's a good excuse to attend an outdoor show.
OSS posts about ARMS.

+++
8:30 PM
Les Savvy Fav @ Newtown Barge
DMoM: 7

Raucous. That's all I'm gonna say.



Yawn, Yawn, Yawn.mp3

If we get lucky, we'll be dead by dawn.

+++


OSS Northside Showcase at Public Assembly
Finally, where would we be without shameless self promo:
Ribbons (last NYC show) 11PM
Palmyra 10 PM
The Long Eye 9 PM
Drunken Barn Dance (Scott Sellwood of Saturday Looks Good to Me) 8 PM
We will see you there!!!!!!!!!*)!

Parenthetical Girls//Puritanically Yours

It's Northside Week!
Northside Week: What does that mean?

Saturday's Northside events are filled with friends and indie rock. Oh, yes.

+++
2:00 PM
The Senors of Marseille @ Glasslands
DMoM: 3

TSoM serve up cute pop songs. Stick around for the interesting sounds of DC's True Womanhood at 6.


+++
4:00 PM
She Keeps Bees @ Matchless
DMoM: 7

She Keeps Bees kill it with their perfectly paired-down sound. They're also super sweet kids.
OSS posts about She Keeps Bees.


+++
8:00 PM
Grandchildren @ Berry Park
DMoM: 7

Once I played a show with Grandchildren in an overgrown Philadelphia backyard, with the sun streaming down and PBRs in cans flowing freely. I challenge you to recreate my near perfect experience here, although you'll probably have to pay for the PBRs. Sorry.
OSS posts about Grandchildren.


+++
11:00 PM
Parenthetical Girls @ Coco 66
DMoM: 6

I fell in love with these guys from their song on the Bro Zone comp (which I have lost--why!?). I hear their live show is...dramatic...which you can imagine from the mp3 below.


+++
11:30 PM
Memory Tapes @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
DMoM: 7

Chillwave darlings Memory Tapes will make you feel blissed the fuck out.


+++
1:30 AM
The Beets @ Knitting Factory
DMoM: 4

Everybody here in NYC loves The Beets and it's easy to see why. Solid garagey fun.



Puritanically Yours.mp3

More about Parenthetical Girls.



OSS has a Northside Showcase!

Real Estate//Beach Comber

Northside Week continues. This time we’re outlining how to spend your Friday night at the festival.
Northside Week: What does that mean?

+++
8:30 PM
Netherfriends @ Europa
DMoM: 4

Chicago psych pop at its finest.

+++
10:00 PM
Fiery Furnaces @ Brooklyn Bowl
DMoM: 10

This is my current favorite band and has been for the past 4-5 years. They are amazing live. I have nothing more to say.
OSS posts about The Fiery Furnaces.

+++
10:30 PM
Dinosaur Feathers @ Public Assembly
DMoM: 3

The sadly dead dying blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted gives you another chance to see these guys.
OSS posts about Dinosaur Feathers.

+++
11:00 PM
MEN DJ Set @ The Knitting Factory
DMoM: 5

Le Tigre’s awesome butchy JD Samson gets on the decks for this DJ set. Expect Pride spill-over.

+++
11:15 PM
Woods @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

12:15 AM
Real Estate @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
DMoM: 7

Two Woodsist bands bring you classic lofi Woodsist sound. Woods (let's say Woods one more time) is denser, weirder lofi love. Real Estate is lighter, sweeter pop—a cross between Belle and Sebastian, The Beach Boys, Beulah and a touch of Bends-era Radiohead. Worth it, definitely worth it.


Beach Comber.mp3

What you want is just outside your reach.
Keep on searching.
…
You’re stealing from the lost and found.
What you find ain’t what you had in mind.



OSS has a Northside Showcase!

Dinosaur Feathers//History Lessons

As promised, babies, it’s Northside Week!

What does that mean? Here’s what: to count down to this weekend’s Northside Fest, we’ll be giving you a daily listing of the shows you CANNOT miss, telling you why you CANNOT miss them and, of course, throwing in a tantalizing track to accompany the selection. After all, a badge to the entire festival costs but $50. This is a serious deal for how many shows you are going to joyfully CRAM into the (long) weekend. Details on how to get badges: here.

Also, if you find yourself sprinting from one venue to the next, pressed for time, consult the Don’t Miss-o-Meter (here-to-for referred to as the DMoM). We’ll tell you on a scale of 1 (Good Distraction) to 10 (MUST SEE) how fast you should run to get in the door.

Let’s kick it off with Thursday, the first day of the fest and just three short days away:

+++
9:30 PM
Dinosaur Feathers @ Public Assembly
DMoM: 3

Hella smart, harmony-flecked truly unique pop with a beat--do not miss these local good guys.

+++
10:30 PM
Thao and Mirah w. The Most of All @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
DMoM: 8

Two of my favorite indie rock ladies have apparently joined forces to form a suburb super group.
OSS posts about Mirah.
OSS posts about Thao.

+++
11:00 PM
Wavves @ The Knitting Factory
DMoM: 6

Wavves, purveyor of perfectly crafted fuzzy surf punk, has a rep for being an unpredictable stage show. Who knows what you might catch. Bonus: if you haven’t been to the new Brooklyn Knitting Factory, now’s your chance.
OSS posts about Wavves.

+++
11:30 PM
?uestlove DJ Set @ Brooklyn Bowl
DMoM: 6

Legendary Roots drummer ?uestlove rocks a DJ set. No doubt we'll hear all kinds of delicious obscurities from his record collection.


+++
LATE ADDITION:
12:00 AM
Anni Rossi @ Matchless
DMoM: 6

Quiet Color has been hyping up their secret closer for a bit now. Pleasant surprise: it's friend Anni Rossi.



History Lessons.mp3

There must be something in the story of our history.


OSS has a Northside Showcase!

One Sweet Song//Northside Showcase

Local Music Showcase
What's up with Local Music Fridays?

I know what you're thinking: SLACKER!!! For once, it's not true! Au contraire, OSSers, I have been busting ass to organize something VERY COOL with Karl Sturk and today we are kicking if off with four, COUNT 'EM, FOUR sweet songs. Read on:

One Sweet Song and the ever-awesome Karl Sturk are curating a showcase for next week's Northside Music Festival. Guys, this is going to be a really, really good time. As FIPS says, you've gotten really good at this whole blog-reading thing--maybe it's time to try coming to a show. Shake hands, drink beer and hear awesome music. Oh, by the way, tomorrow's my birthday...this gives you the perfect opportunity to buy me a drink!

The Glorious Details:

One Sweet Song and Karl Sturk Showcase
Sunday 6/27
Public Assembly in Williamsburg
Doors 7:30, Music at 8
$7

Featuring the Amazing Sounds of:

11 PM :: Ribbons [Myspace]



Jenny Logan, Sam Roudman and Jeff Ciprioni tear it up with a sound that's fast and energetic while also retaining something dark and brooding. This is their last-ever NYC show, so catch them while you still can.

"...delightfully reminiscent of the golden age of that dark weird post-punk." - OSS

"...the stripped-down fever-shivers and uneasy fidget of classic post-punk--think Joy Division, Orange Juice, Durutti Column, etc. But these two Cali transplants can also play the shit out of their instruments." - The Village Voice

Mp3: Screens.mp3


10 PM :: Palmyra [Myspace] [Official]



The unlikely combination of a fuzzy acoustic guitar, a retro analog synth, a trumpet, a jazz drummer and a detroit-style garage rocker take on well-made rock and pop songs.

"100% shameless self-promotion" - OSS

"The City, On Repeat, is a gorgeous set of songs with a warm, homey feel. " - Tandem Shop

Quiet Color

Mp3: Suicidal Female Poets.mp3


9 PM :: The Long Eye [Myspace]



Karl Sturk and Patrice Scinta expertly combine finely crafted songs with a gritty, lofi garage sound.

"Karl’s songwriting talent, ear for arrangement and musical ability more than speak for themselves." - OSS

Mp3: Palisades.mp3 (Demo)



8 PM :: Drunken Barn Dance [Myspace]



Scott Sellwood's delightful sometimes solo, sometimes full band highlights his songwriting and always promises a rollicking good time.

"Scott Sellwood, in addition to being a truly sweet dude, is a master of melody." - One Sweet Song

"Drunken Barn Dance evolved from a solo folk project of Scott's into an epic multi-guitar attack band reminiscent of Television, Wilco and the Grateful Dead." - Metro Times

Mp3: A Winter's Tale.mp3

Also, look forward to Northside Week next week. I'll be counting down the days to the festival's start and giving you tips on which shows you HAVE to see.

Blitzen Trapper//Furr

Listen, don't judge a song by its title. When James and I rode to work together, we used to hear this one a lot on the indie rock satellite radio station. I was pretty much hooked the first time it played, although I haven’t thought about it in a while.

Reading that Blitzen Trapper has some shows coming up (tonight and tomorrow at Webster Hall) reminded me to relisten. I’ve actually heard some other Blitzen Trapper songs and was not wild about them, but they got this one so right…and lucky for you, they’ll almost certainly play it live.

The lyrics seem to revolve around a boy being raised by wolves or some other kind of wild dogs. The narrator embraces the primal nature of running with the wolfpack, but eventually is re-civilized and settles down with a girl on a farm. Maybe the whole thing is just some kind of elaborate metaphor for entering and passing through adolescence, but it’s plenty poetic along the way. Think: The Jungle Book + Creepy Magical Realism + Country Friend Indie Folk = Fur with Two Rs.



Furr.mp3

I was drawn into the pack and before long,
They allowed me to join in and sing their song.
So from the cliffs and highest hill, yeah,
We would gladly get our fill,
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn,
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong.

Neil Young//After the Goldrush

I had a magical weekend hanging out on a farm owned by some amazing and enterprising friends. In addition to emptying out a barn and burning its contents in a two-day long bonfire, gardening, checking out pigs, chickens, bees, geese and ducks (one of whom lost his life a little too early but in doing so provided us a delicious dinner) and looking happily out at the ever-beautiful Lake Michigan, we also listened to a lot of Neil Young, namely Harvest. It seemed like each time Erik got up to turn the stereo on, Neil’s voice followed.

I find Neil Young to be an acquired taste. As a kid, I did not enjoy him. I couldn’t figure out why he kept singing “like that.” Now, I can’t even begin to understand my younger thought process. Neil rules. And despite the anti-feminist implications of “A Man Needs a Maid,” he’s especially good for places like farms out in the country or old pickup trucks. You can always skip that one.

This is my favorite Neil Young song. I really enjoy that it’s some kind of hallucinogenic dream vision involving aliens and the environment, but beyond that, is rather hard to pin down. In fact, even Neil couldn't pin it down. Here’s a funny story about this song from Dolly Parton:

Dolly Parton once commented about the making of her version of the song; "when we were doing the Trio album, I asked Linda and Emmy what it meant, and they didn't know. So we called Neil Young, and he didn't know. We asked him, flat out, what it meant, and he said, 'Hell, I don't know. I just wrote it. It just depends on what I was taking at the time.'"



After the Goldrush.mp3

I was lyin' in a burned-out basement,
With a full moon in my eyes.
I was hopin' for a replacement,
When the sun burst through the skies.
There was a band playin' in my head
And I felt like getting high,
Thinkin' about what a friend had said,
I was hopin' it was a lie.
Thinkin' about what a friend had said,
and hopin' it was a lie.

Toro y Moi//Drive South

Let's talk about Chillwave...because even though it's a bit trendy at the moment (or just was...or something? don't hate on me, but I can't actually keep track), I kind of love it:

Chillwave is a debated term used to describe a group of music artists that although sonically disparate, are often characterized by their heavy use of effects processing, synthesizers, looping, sampling, and heavily filtered vocals with simple melodic lines. Its musical predecessors are diverse and include the synthpop of the 1980s, shoegaze, ambient, musique concrete and various types of music outside of the Western World. The overall aesthetic of chillwave is generally influenced by the idea of hauntology. In this case, nostalgia of 80s synthpop is filtered through a distorted lens, re-envisioning the era in a more vague and lo-fi sense.

A lot of it kind of sounds the same and some of it has retained the 80s cheese, but the fact is, I still like most of it. I hadn't ever heard of Toro y Moi before, but I stumbled upon this track after checking out an acquaintance's new blog, International Tapes (which is actually really worth checking out--a very origintal concept for a music blog that I haven't seen done before).

I heard this song about three days ago and I haven't be able to get it out of my head since then. There's something about that bass line and the echoing synth, the quiet, contemplative lyrics over it...and of course that sweet little guitar riff in the chorus. Brilliant.

Now, I'm going to do the opposite of this song's title and fly north/west for a few days to work on the farm of some friends in Northern MI. I'll see you on Tuesday.



Drive South.mp3

It's different now
Cuz we kissed on other lovers
And we know it doesn't matter anymore.

Eurythmics//Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

If you're my age, this song probably conjures horrifying images of the video that accompanied Marilyn Manson's cover of it. Speaking of which, where is that guy now? No real updates on him since 2007 when he divorced over an affair he was having with a 19-year old. Oh, well, back to the matter at hand.

For me, I most associate this song with a car, specifically my dad's red handmedown Volvo Gulf, which he named Heintz. My dad has a thing for naming his cars after generals from the countries of their corresponding auto comanpaies. For example, the Subaru was named Tojo and the Ford was named Omar. I changed the car's official name to Omar the Wonder Car when I inherited it for my last year of high school. I just couldn't get down with the military naming trend.

Anyway, Heintz had a Eurythmics tape floating around in it that would sometimes end up being popped into the stereo. Honestly, I was probably only about five or six years old, but even then, this song kind of freaked me out. It's really dark. It's like, dark at its core (I mean, come on, it's obviously about S+M). But still, that darkness is kind of what's great about it--because that synth line is hella catchy...and yet...you just can't help feeling that pure evil has made a creepy little home in the heart of this song. Probably what made it such an obvious Manson cover.

Also, this video is fucking amazing. Guys, this video was released in 1983 and it's better than SO many of the videos I've seen recently. That cello part? Oh my God.

A final note, apparently there is a website that will take the audio from any YouTube video and change it into an mp3 file? Wonders never cease.



Sweet Dreams.mp3

Sweet dreams are made of this.
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas,
Everybody's looking for something.
Some of them want to use you.
Some of them want to get used by you.
Some of them want to abuse you.
Some of them want to be abused.

Hall and Oates//Maneater

Just because something’s cheesy doesn’t make it automatically bad. Most of the time, it is bad. But it’s not always bad. If it was, we would never have Duran Duran. We would never have LOST. We would never have The Indigo Girls (gulp). All our guilty pleasures would be immediately obliterated. Enter Hall and Oates.

Mentioning these rock and soul all-stars from Philly in yesterday’s post really got me thinking that it was high time to give them a little shout out. After all, I grew up dancing around to their wonderful hits like, “I Can’t Go For That,” “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” etc. Album after album contained hit after hit for this half-mustacheoed duo. How did they do it?!

Apparently, it all started with a gunfight and an accidental/ uncomfotably tight elevator ride. From El Wiko:

Daryl Hall and John Oates first met each other at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia in 1967. At the time they met, each was heading his own musical group, Hall with The Temptones and Oates with The Masters. They were there for a band competition when gunfire rang out between two rival gangs, and in trying to escape, they ran to the same service elevator. Because of their similar musical tastes and close proximity inside the elevator, they quickly became acquainted. On further finding out that they were both around the same age and that both were just starting at Philadelphia's Temple University, they started hanging out together on a regular basis and eventually ended up sharing a number of apartments in the city. It would take them another two years to form a musical duo, and three years after that, they signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut album.

Oh, to meet your musical soulmate (also SOULmate) in an elevator and then shortly thereafter be signed to Atlantic Records…. Those really were the good old days.

In December of 1982, this particular song about a ruthless lady chewing up men and spitting them out (inspired by model Kelly LeBrock) hit number one on the Billboard charts and stayed there for four consecutive weeks.

Before we go to the song, this is probably the best use of a Hall and Oates song I have ever seen.



Maneater.mp3

(Oh oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up.
(Oh oh, here she comes)
She’s a maneater.

I wouldn't if I were you.
I know what she can do.
She's deadly, man,
She could really rip your world apart.
Mind over matter--
The beauty is there, but a beast is in the heart.

Wave Machines//Keep The Lights On

You know what they say about a picture: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

Austin from Eyes and Ears Entertainment didn’t send me anything except an mp3 and an album cover, but here’s what I could glean from the interwebs:

A mercurial Merseyside four piece, Wave Machines create instinctive art-pop; rhythms built of melodic ticks and bleeps, polka dots of sound drawn together beneath Tim Bruzon’s falsetto vocal, part Beck Hansen part Barry Gibb. With their English melancholia pricked by impudent promise… Wave Machines join that eccentric lineage of home grown musical adventurers; XTC, The Beta Band, Hot Chip.

Recorded in the bowels of the old organ room at St Brides Church in Liverpool, England, Wave Machines’ debut album Wave If You’re Really There owes much to the character of that formative space. The removal of old religious gowns from a small disused cupboard gave the band a vocal booth; the roof – or rather its view between Liverpool’s Cathedrals and out across the river – allowed the band a space to work things through; and at night the Nave became the bands live space, hosting the poetry, art, comedy and invited musical ‘competitors’ at the bands own night.

Although a remix was officially sent my way, I went and tracked down the original of this song, which I liked even more. This track sounds something like a macabre Hall and Oates song, with hints of electronic sounds that bring to mind that fantastic Erland Oye solo album, Unrest.

The song also appears to be about having trouble sleeping, which is something I can definitely relate to.

Stream the whole album from Wave Machines here.



Keep The Lights On.mp3

The night’s too long,
So when we sleep,
I keep the lights on.

Black Swans//Rooster

The Rooster's Crow Signals Local Music Friday
What's up with Local Music Fridays?

I had the pleasure to meet Jerry DeCicca, the man behind Black Swans, while on tour playing a show in Columbus, OH. Mr. Joe Scott (whose birthday is today--happy birthday, Joe!) introduced us. Jerry seemed like a positively swell guy, so I decided to check out his music, which is predictably awesome.

This is a sweet, melancholy tune that features my number one musical weakness, pedal steel. While I'm not sure how I feel about the barnyard sound effects at the end of the song, this one should kick off your weekend nicely.



Rooster.mp3

No longer do we need words
To make our dreams come true.

Antonio Carlos Jobim//Desafinado

I was lucky enough to be raised by a guy who had a solid appreciation for a bossa nova. This is why we listened to a lot of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the veritable godfather of the genre, in our house.

Bossa nova is a beautiful melding of samba, folk and imported American jazz. Middle and upper class students and musicians in Rio mixed samba, which sprung from Brazil's impoverished favellas, with cool jazz in the context of a worldwide late 50s/early 60s folk movement. Even if you're unfamiliar with the sound, you've probably heard the classic bossa nova hit, sung by Astrud Gilberto and penned (again) by Jobim, "The Girl From Ipanema."

It's so hard to choose just one Jobim-penned song, as so many of them are phenomenally good. This wasn't one of my favorites as a kid, but at some point in my early 20s, it became one. There are a few different versions. One instrumental features Brazilian jazz legend and frequent Jobim collaborator, Stan Getz. This one is sung by Ella Fitzgerald.



Desafinado.mp3

They'll be no desafinado
When your heart belongs to me completely
And we won't be slightly out of tune,
You'll sing along with me.

Jason Anderson//So Long

Local Music Houseshow
What's up with Local Music Fridays?

Last week, Jason Anderson played a show at my house and it was totally fucking awesome and intense, as I hear most of his shows are. I could write more about it here, but I fear that once I start writing, it will be hard to stop. Let me say that his performance of indie folk songs was the closest thing to preaching I have ever seen.

I was really happy that he played this song, because I spent a lot of time listening to the album from which is comes during the summer of 2004, mostly while driving around the rural rolling hills of vermont. It sounded very appropriate.

This song also has some great lines and references to three, count 'em, three really awesome bands (Elliott Smith, Fugazi and Tears for Fears).

It seems fitting, also, that for me, this is the final weekend of May, which has been the month of (almost) all my favorite people coming to visit. I've got four, count 'em, four friends in town this weekend and now we're going to live it up.



So Long.mp3

This is like one of those awesome dreams
Where you get to hang out with the guys from Fugazi.

The Dandy Warhols//Not if You Were The Last Junkie On Earth, Bohemian Like You

Everything I've ever listened to from The Dandy Warhols confirms my suspicion that these guys were never anything more than a novelty act. That said, novelty has its place in the world and sometimes clever, funny quips are enough to keep you engaged for a song or two (besides this, the most interesting thing about the band is their weird feud with the Brian Jonestown Massacre). But hey, this blog is all about songs, so let's do it, right?

Although I was vaguely aware of "Bohemian Like You" in the late 90s, I really never paid much attention until my friend/college roommate Kot (who is coming to visit TODAY!) reintroduced it to me. I checked out a few other songs and found them to be consistently enjoyable in an infectiously poppy, irreverently humorous way.

Say what you will about the gimmicky nature of the lyrics and the songs--these guys get it right a lot of the time and that's what makes them so hilarious. The Dandys knew how to critique hipsterism before hipsterism was a thing (is it any suprise that these guys are from Portland?). Amazing. Grunge is over, so heroin IS so passe and thus, it would be much cooler to get a few piercings and question your sexuality. Weird relationships with not-as-cool rich guys for rent money, casual drug use in too-cool bars, eating vegan, waiters in bands: it's all here and it's funny cause it's true. The Dandys wrote the soundtrack to Williamsburg before there was a Williamsburg...and for that, I think we should give them a few songs:



Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth.mp3

Bohemian Like You.mp3

So what do you do?
Oh yeah, I wait tables too.
No, I haven't heard your band
Cause you guys are pretty new.
But if you dig on Vegan food,
Well, come over to my work.
I'll have them cook you something that you'll really love,

Cause I like you.
Yeah, I like you,
And I'm feeling so Bohemian like you.

Archers of Loaf//Web in Front

This is the first Archers of Loaf song I heard. I heard it in 1998 (the year the band broke up—SEE WHAT I MEAN!) on a mixtape. Instant love.

To this day, AoL is one of those bands that brings people together, because for some astounding reason, they were never that popular. What they brought to the table was this classic 90s indie rock sound, some wonderfully weird lyrics and songs that were at once edgy and catchy. AoL (like Fugazi) also carried with them that awesome “put your money where your mouth is” anti-corporate aesthetic that was so strong in the 90s. The band actually refused a major label contract mostly because the other bands on Warner/Maverick were, according to drummer Mark Price, “that bad.”

After the breakup, lead singer Eric Bachmann went on to form Crooked Fingers.



Web in Front.mp3

And there’s a chance that things will get weird.
Yeah, that’s a possibility

The Paparazzi//The Rococo Tape

You’re Being Followed: Monday Mail
What is Monday Mail?

It can be hard for me on Monday when I’m trying to peruse the old Gmail tag “OSS” to decide what to put up here. It’s not that there’s a lack of submissions. On the contrary, I’m totally overwhelmed by all the OSS mail I get. It’s also not that there’s no talent. There’s a lot of talent. It’s just that most of it sounds EXACTLY the same. I mean, really, the same. I find myself mostly just looking for something, anything, different. Please, send me something different. PLEASE. I’m sure you guys are all really nice, but I’ve had my fill of soft-singing indie rock boy singers whispering over acoustic guitars and trebly electrics. ENOUGH with the synthy dance tracks and remixes. With a few VERY VERY special exceptions, if you read this blog, you probably know that I think most of that stuff SUCKS. I want to hear songs that do weird things, that sound different. At very least, I want to hear something with a vision where that vision is fulfilled. Send me hip hop. Send me a track with a female vocalist that’s not cheesy. Send me something in a rare time signature. PLEASE. /end rant.

That said, here's this from the folks over at Serious Business Records:

The Paparazzi is the musical pseudonym of songwriter and rock auteur Erik Paparazzi, who has spent the better part of the past decade as a sideman with Cat Power's Dirty Delta Blues. His new record Rococo, recorded back in 2004, has finally seen in March 2010 thanks to Serious Business. Expect a lush and dreamy ride that harnesses the best moves of several purveyors of lost classics and lost weekends: Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson, and Todd Rundgren.

Back in 2004 when The Paparazzi was performing regularly as a 7 piece band, they recorded the tracks for what was to become Rococo. But something was missing in the final results, and Erik shelved the record until 2007. On the road with Cat Power, he began remixing it on his laptop and wound up deconstructing many of the original performances and arrangements, sometimes drastically reinventing the songs. In so doing he gave new life to the project, and brought us a sonically stunning and wholly immersive record.

This is one to play through. From the first note to the last, Rococo thrusts listeners into a quasi dream state, conjuring rich images and soundscapes while reveling in pop thrills with enough happy accidents to subvert any hint of predictability.

There’s a lot going on here: a classic rock vibe and the licks to go along with it, a little bit of that indie rock fey aloofness in the vox, a hint of power pop, arrangements that ramble and change and morph. It’s not super crazy, but it is definitely enough. The Paparazzi knows what they’re going for. They got it.



The Rococo Tape.mp3

Popped in the tape deck
Your reddish pink cassette,
You have the voice of a juvenile delinquent.
And that surprised me.

Showdown at the Equator//Strippin

Local Music Showdown
What's up with Local Music Fridays?

For such a small town, Ann Arbor sure has lots of fantastic music in it. I'm not sure if Showdown at the Equator is still making music and playing shows, but they were a super sweet band when I was in the A2. I knew a few of their members as acquaintances. All good kids who could bring it.

Considering the show I saw earlier in the week, this is a pretty appropriate choice. Enjoy the weekend, strippers.



Strippin.mp3

You used to be so shy.
How long you been strippin'?

Julie Ruin//Breakout A Town

I really didn't know what to say to Kathleen Hanna when I found myself at a party with her last month. Let's face it, I just feel kind of weird about talking to random people I don't know, especially when they're famous in some way. It all seems kind of silly but in a way, it would have been so much easier to be at a party with Madonna or Harrison Ford than fucking KATHLEEN HANNA! What do you say to someone who arguably defined and championed a new union of feminism and art, one that feels so personally important? What do you say to the person who basically started one of your favorite music movements? I reviewed my options:

1. "Wow. You're Kathleen Hanna."
2. "Wow. You're really awesome."
3. "This one time you pulled my friend up on stage at a Le Tigre concert."
4. "It was cool how you wrote about my friend on your blog."
Related: you should really go see Erin Markey's show, which was just extended at PS 122.
5. Nothing.

And that's exactly what I did say. I avoided her as best I could. A dear friend sent me a text telling me that she didn't really have a desire to speak with the famous either, which justified my decision.

Regardless of shyness about telling her so in person, Kathleen Hanna is still totally rad. This is a song from her lesser-known solo album, Julie Ruin AKA the project that started Le Tigre (Hanna added members to fill out the sound live and voila). This album is cool because it keeps one foot in the raw punk sound of Bikini Kill while the other takes a big step toward the distorted blippy electro disco punk of Le Tigre.

Also, it just so happens that Hanna is having a tee shirt contest for Julie Ruin over at her blog. You should enter because the deadline has been extended!



Breakout A Town.mp3

You're so tired and I'm so lovely.
You're so great and I'm so bored.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs//Art Star

To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea what is going on with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs anymore. I basically checked out after Fever to Tell, moving on to other things, figuring that their success probably was about to make them start sucking anyway. But when this first EP, Master, broke, it was totally amazing.

It was 2003 and I was working at a record store in Ann Arbor and my boss dropped in one day to tell me I should REALLY check this band out for their new New York sound, extreme buzz, crazy lead singer, screaming, etc. So, I did and man, the whole EP was weird and golden.

A bunch of friends and I went to see them shortly thereafter on a tour with Liars at The Magic Stick in Detroit. Karen O. really lived up to her reputation. She was so drunk and wild that she almost slid off stage a few times. Something about the band's sound and persona in that era was so perfect for my age--the raucous nights charged with booze, sexual tension and a special kind of youthful aloofness. I think, at that time, we all considered ourselves art stars.



Art Star.mp3

I've been working on a piece that speaks of sex and desperation.
I've been screwing on the tracks of abandoned train stations.

Olivia Tremor Control//A Peculiar Noise Called ‘Train Director’

Now that we’ve opened the Pandora’s Box of Elephant 6, I figure we should just go with it. Yesterday’s song made me realize that I haven’t been listening to many of my favorite E6 albums lately, which caused me to revisit. So many of these bands really hold up…the stuff still sounds fucking great.

Of course, The Apples in Stereo’s Tone Soul Evolution is a brilliant pop gem, one that I will soon return on this blog, since it hasn’t been adequately covered yet. However, there’s also the equally amazing Black Foliage album by the lesser-known band in the original E6 trip, Olivia Tremor Control.

OTC are distinctively less poppy and more weird than TAiS. The songs veer out into strange territories sometimes, completely abandoning the hook and structure. Sometimes, the songs aren’t even really songs, just soundscapes. And yet, it’s not a problem. I’m not really a noise lover, but these guys make it work, dexterously weaving the ambient with the active and smoothing it all out with some harmonized 60s ooouhs and ahhhhhs in the background.



A Peculiar Noise Called ‘Train Director’.mp3

In the blink of eye you get several meanings.

Seamonster//Oh Appalachia

Missing Elephant 6? Monday Mail:
What is Monday Mail?

It’s great and all that Jeff Mangum is playing the odd, rare, hard-to-get-into show every now and again, but sometimes I just get nostaligic for those records that came out at the golden age of everyone’s favorite Athens, GA-based music collective. But what’s this? Hunter from Gold Robot Records says:

Thought I'd let you know about the newest release on Gold Robot Records, my small vinyl-only label based in Oakland.
It's a 5 song 7" EP by Seamonster (Todd Webb - Virginia Beach, VA) titled Two Birds. It's a beautiful collection of songs that recall Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel, which makes sense due to the fact that Todd is loosely affiliated with the Elephant 6 collective. He's also collaborated on a book with Robert Schneider (of Apples in Stereo) who also says: “It was a happy coincidence that brought me into the world of Seamonster’s wide-eyed songs and delicate, homespun arrangements: bedroom folk-pop for day dreamers and sleep walkers alike.”

After an intro like that, I went ahead and got the full EP, which is predictably fantastic. The sounds on the album conjure up a carnival that someone has personally created for you in their bedroom on some delightfully rich but grittily lofi equipment. The songs themselves are hooky without being trite. The content is never so overly sentimental as to become cheesy, but there’s also no lack of gravitas. I guess what I’m trying to say here is, for once, the tagline lives up to the content. Warped soundscapes: check. Fuzzy guitars: check. Musical saws: check. Hushed sincere multi-tracked vocals: check. Like Elephant 6? Then you’ll like Seamonster.



Oh Appalachia.mp3

Would you like to hear more?