Monday, September 29, 2008

Jack White and Alicia Keys - "Another Way To Die"

Jack White and Alicia Keys - "Another Way To Die": "I think this is definitely one of the hipper Bond themes, but I think Jack White oozes through the music so much already that I wish he wasn't singing and let Alicia Keys have her own rock-belting, Lisa Kekaula moment instead."

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Liz Phair - "Nashville"

Liz Phair - "Nashville": "I can't quite explain why, but this song sounds like what I feel like right now - well, at least the sleepy, quiet part up until the horns at the end. That part, not so much."

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Spoon - "Nefarious"

Spoon - "Nefarious": "A classic song from Spoon's under appreciated first record (Telephono) that I had resigned myself to never hearing live again. I've been seeing Spoon live since 1998 and, for reasons unknown (although I assume it has to do with their acrimonious split with their original bassist who appears on Telephono), they hardly did songs from that record then, let alone anytime afterwards. Then, last night, hell froze over and they did "Nefarious" live at The Fillmore. I almost died - it's still amazing."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Spoon - "Me And The Bean"

Spoon - "Me And The Bean": "...as heard last night, live at the Fillmore. It's amazing how this can be such a classic Spoon song when they didn't write it - it's a cover that originally pre-dates Girls Can Tell - but it always carries so much emotional heft that you'd never know it. There's something very sad about this tune, but I still think it's a love song."

Monday, September 22, 2008

Spoon - "Advance Cassette (alternate)"

Spoon - "Advance Cassette (alternate)": "In advance of my two nights of Spoon at the Fillmore, I wanted to highlight this exclusive alternate version of "Advance Cassette", originally from Series of Sneaks. Here, it's Britt solo and it's a strange take of the song, but still captivating. Can't wait to see them live tonight!"

Friday, September 19, 2008

Skee-Lo - "I Wish"

Skee-Lo - "I Wish": "It got played out at the time, but it's kind of nice to hear again after all these years."

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes"

Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes": "New Land of Talk - finally! It's a bit quiter and more mellow than I would have expected, after their first EP, but it's still tastily bittersweet. I look forward to the full-length."

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Kenny Rogers - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)"

Kenny Rogers - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)": "It's hard to think of country Kenny (or his Roasters) being this groovily psychedelic, but lo and behold, here he is. Oh, and:
'Nice marmot.' "

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Juan Maclean - "Happy House (Original)"

The Juan Maclean - "Happy House (Original)": "Juan gets things even dancier than before, while also continuing my love affair with LCD Soundsystem's Nancy Whang. The piano loop gets a little repetitive when you're just listening to it, but I bet it works great on a dance floor."

Monday, September 15, 2008

Portastatic - "Race You Home"

Portastatic - "Race You Home":
"I'm torn between being excited to finally have this track on something besides a 7" - and feeling like this private moment between myself, a record player and this fairly naked song from Mac, over a decade ago, has been exposed. I guess that's the ongoing challenge of being a fan of 'indie rock' - the frustration of no one knowing the music you love and the frustration when other people finally do."

Friday, September 12, 2008

Evelyn 'Champagne' King - "Love Come Down"

Evelyn 'Champagne' King - "Love Come Down": "A bit of a non sequitur, but something about the last two days' songs made me think of this song...so here it is."

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Ready for the World - "Oh Sheila"

Ready for the World - "Oh Sheila": "Wow - thanks to Universal putting out a hits disc split between The Jets (see yesterday's post) and this band, I've been reminded of some of the best Prince that wasn't, you know, actually Prince - but not for lack of trying."

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Jets - "Crush On You"

The Jets - "Crush On You": "Hey Tim Q - when we were at that party this weekend and you said that so-and-so just wanted to talk about The Jets...this is who I thought you meant. Not the football team. Just goes to show you the kinds of things that wind up being a frame-of-reference in my mind. (And I was wrong, they're Samoan, not Tongan.)"

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"

M.I.A. - "Paper Planes": "I heard this song a million times this weekend and it got drilled into my head even more than before. It's still probably the strangest song to turn into a 'hit' in a while. Just count the gunshots in the song..."

Monday, September 08, 2008

Cut Copy - "Future (Rhapsody Originals)"

Cut Copy - "Future (Rhapsody Originals)": "Check out this hot alternate version of 'Future', live from the Rhapsody Rocks Austin party earlier this year."