Helium - "Silver Strings": "Even though I seem to recall the rest of this EP being overwhelmed with RenFaire Prog touches, this song doesn't share that baggage. Mary Timony's guitar leads spread magic across the song, the bass and drums propel her along and synth handclaps are just the frosting on top."
New Order - "Crystal": "Get Ready may not be the best New Order album, but I think this track stands up with some of their best. Many of the guitar parts are classic New Order (even the ones buried in the mix - some of those at the end deserve their own song!), but the production and programming makes the track feel fresh, especially with a harder vibe not seen much since "Blue Monday"."
0
comments
Labels:
It's Friday - Rock It Out
Butter 08 - "Butter of 69": "It's funny how much I enjoy what's essentially a throw-away, one-off album from a veritable who's who of quirky alt/indie rockers from the 90s. Russell Simins brings the grooves of Blues Explosion (without Jon Spencer's overbearing swagger), while Miho and Yuka (of Cibo Matto) offer quirky touches associated with their main band, except in a much more rough and electric setting. It's all in good fun, wrapped in a strange butter obsession."
The Twilight Sad - "Some Things Last a Long Time": "Uber-Scottish band The Twilight Sad take on the Jad Fair/Daniel Johnston melancholy classic (which has also been covered, with equal but different magic, by Built To Spill). Here, the vocals are impassioned, while the music is minimal and ghostly, creating a powerful - if fragile - dirge."
Marvin Pontiac - "Runnin' Round": "John Lurie masquerading as a slightly unhinged bluesman (the imaginary Marvin Pontiac) leads to great grooves and off-kilter lyrics - which is actually not that surprising, factoring in his offbeat acting roles. The album kind of got buried because it came from someone who didn't actually exist, but that doesn't mean it's not captivating in its blend of bar blues-rock and head-scratching lyrics - see also "Bring Me Rocks"."
David Bowie - "After Today": "This Bowie outtake from Young Americans overcomes its safe sax and sometimes-strained falsetto with a casually swinging vibe and a bit more earthiness than most of the other YA tracks. It feels like a refreshingly naked view at what were, otherwise, very polished sessions (albeit amazing, polished sessions)."
Joy Division - "Transmission": "What an awesomely kinetic song! I especially love the drums, the guitar lead that kicks in at the 1:42 mark and the vocals/chanting at the song's end ("and we can daaaaaaaaaaaance!") - all bursting with energy. Never fails to feel electric, no matter how many times I've heard this."
0
comments
Labels:
It's Friday - Rock It Out
Radiohead - "Myxomatosis": "Great later-period Radiohead - The drums are off-kilter and a bit frantic, the keyboards are aggressive and ominous, and Thom Yorke's vocals run the gamut from disaffected to panicked. It's a dark number filled with unease - not unlike falling down a long staircase - but it shakes the arty detachment that is often the downside of their recent work."
Aimee Mann - "Long Shot": "Great power-pop guitar riffs tempered with cool-but-sweet vocals and pretty guitar leads equal a more subtle take on alt rock - appropriately catchy and crunchy, but with better restraint."
"It's strange to find two very different, but almost equally perfect versions of the same song, but if anyone's done it, Yo La Tengo has.
Yo La Tengo - "Blue Line Swinger"
In the Original version, from Electr-o-pura, "Blue Line Swinger" is a sprawling 9+ minute epic that grows gradually until the cymbals and guitars crash like building ocean waves. By the time you reach the sweetly reverbed "ba ba ba ba"s at the song's conclusion, they're the candy-coated life preservers in an ocean of sound. (In fact, few do "ba ba ba"s as well as YTL - especially on this record - and, here, they're freaking perfect.)
Yo La Tengo - "(thin) Blue Line Swinger"
In the "thin" version, from the Camp Yo La Tengo EP, the song has been edited and remixed down to a roughly four-minute version. While one could argue that the song has definitely been reined in, it somehow segues together key parts of the original, but in new ways. This is most notable in the intro, which strips the instrumentation to the acoustic guitar largely buried in the chaos of the original, building up musically from that instead of the multi-minute intro jam that originally birthed it.
It always amazes me that YTL were able to craft a new song out of their own work - as opposed to a third party remixer finding the different pieces for themselves.
It's a great song either way, so it just depends on which version you're in the mood for."
Marilyn Manson - "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell": ""Not that different than many other Manson rock numbers, but the female backing vocals (which I think come from the Sneaker Pimps??*) definitely provide a nice contrast to Marilyn's brooding, especially the "doo doo doo" part after the chorus. The "I wanna LIVE! I wanna LOVE!" delivery building up to the explosive, thrashy chorus, also provides the song with a great dramatic flow. Highly enjoyable.
* - As well as debuted on the Spawn movie soundtrack"
David Bowie - "The Secret Life Of Arabia": "This song may be low-key, but it still blows me away. From the grand-standing dramatic poses that also seem to double as narcissistic sexual ambiguity ("I walk through a desert song as the heroine dies..."), the song feels like the 1920s by way of outer space. I'll always love the processed-sounding drums by Dennis Davis (as on Bowie's other late-70s work) and the (male? female?) backing vocals creating a sound that's simultaneously modern and retro."
Morcheeba - "What New York Couples Fight About (featuring Kurt Wagner)": "I'm not sure that this pairing of electronic-tinged Morcheeba and Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner totally works - the beginning verses are particularly sparse and awkward - but the chorus is pretty alluring. A strange sing-song duet, it doesn't really sound like either band, but you can still pick out their respective sounds from it. It's like a science experiment gone wrong, but the chorus still bears fruit."
Ladytron - "Paco!": "I don't actually know for sure that this is a tribute to Are You Being Served?, but it sure feels like it is. It may not have the cash-register percussion of the show's theme, but it's still the coolest tribute to that show I can think of."
Family Fodder - "Debbie Harry": "I had posted about this song before, as covered by Unrest (which they revised as "Winona Ryder"), which is amazing, but the original still takes the cake. The Family Fodder's version is sexier (thanks to the French-accented vocals) and is simultaneously both funnier and more extreme ("Deborah Harry, I'm having your baby!"; "Debbie is ac/dc!"). Thanks to Chris O for pointing me at this many a year ago."
Weezer - "Pork and Beans": "The verses are throwaway (and creepily reminiscent of Sugar Ray - ew!), but the chorus is gold, even if it sounds like they're thieving from their debut album - at least they did it well!"
X - "Los Angeles": "This song still blows me away - and it's been around for how long now? The interplay between John and Exene sounds just as fresh today as it did when they made it - literally: I saw them do this song at SXSW this year and they still rock this live. The energy of this song is always infectious - a classic song for the City of Angels."
Autolux - "Audience No. 2": "Ladies and gentlemen, Autolux is back - and they are still excellent. As always, Carla Azar's drumming is a sparce but religious experience, so good it could be a song on its own. It just helps that it has woozy rock to go with it, making it even better."
Fischerspooner - "The Best Revenge": "The horns are a nice touch, but if this is the best they can do now, it seems like Fischerspooner is suffering from the law of diminishing returns..."
The Apples in Stereo - "Shine (In Your Mind)": "Yes! I am so excited that this track has surfaced. I discovered it as a bonus track on an old Spin Art sampler years ago - and, even then, I could not believe how such a great song could be abandoned on what was essentially a retail sampler. I'm glad that the Apples have finally put out a new odds-n-sods collection and put this on it. It's jangly, pretty and sweetly infectious. I get tingly just listening to it."
Posts
All Comments
