Local H - "Hit The Skids Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Rock": "Tambourine, sludgy guitars, answering machine messages, and one crazy long song title add up to one big slab of rock!"
The Comas - "Invisible Drugs": "How does something from 2004 sound like so much great `90s indie rock? Fuzzed out guitars matched up with boy/girl vocals, simultaneously crunchy and poppy. I know it reaches backwards, timewise, but you can never go wrong with a song like this."
Elbow - "Leaders of the Free World": "Wow, this could be my new favorite Elbow track. In ways, it reminds me of Catherine Wheel, with some of the vocal parts and guitar melodies, which is obviously a huge compliment. I love short songs, but any song that hovers at the six minute mark and doesn't feel long at all is obviously a solid piece of music."
Blondie - "(Can I) Find The Right Words (To Say)": "Blondie's final album (in its original incarnation), The Hunter, is often overlooked if not outright disregarded. True, it's not as classic as the previous albums, but it still has some true gems of Blondie essence, such as this number, which could have easily appeared on Eat To The Beat. There are other great numbers on this album, in between the apparent pitfalls, such as "War Child" and "Danceway" - check it out."
Stars - "The Comeback": "Before Stars got semi-famous for their baroque pop stylings, they were a synth-rock band of the heighest rank, followers of the best New Order had to offer. They had crisp beats and clever bitterness to share, perfectly evidenced here. This song also includes one of my favorite lyrics, delivered smoothly by singer Torquil Campbell, at the peak of his frustrated artist phase: 'When pop songs end, why do I feel fear?'"
Fairly unrelated, but there's another great song, also called "The Comeback" by the Shout Out Louds, so listen to that too.
The New Pornographers - "The End Of Medicine": "I was never that impressed by the singles I heard from this album, so I never paid it much mind. Recently, I found the CD in one of my stacks and gave it a spin - and lo and behold! There were all these catchy pop nuggets that filled the record, I just never knew it before. This is one of those magically catchy numbers which probably wasn't released as a single because it didn't feature Neko Case and would not have fueled the music press' uncontrollable obsession with her."
Depeche Mode - "But Not Tonight": "I forget what 80s movie this was used in (there was even a video from the soundtrack), but this is just a great example of mid-80s synthpop. Simple and charming."
Helium - "XXX": "Darkly humorous, singer/guitarist Mary Timony leaves you to wonder how serious she is when she sings: 'I'm gonna go out on the street and make some money / that was just a joke about the money / you're gonna pay me with your life.' When this EP came out, I remember SPIN making this big (lame) point out of how 'radical' it was that men played in this band, what with Mary singing all of these threatening lyrics towards men (or something). Which is stupid, because the only thing dangerous about this band is the music, not Mary Timony."
Catherine Wheel - "The Nude": "A little Grade-A Britrock/shoegaze before the Thanksgiving weekend - enjoy!
(I'll return with more music after the holiday, so scroll through the archives and sit tight until then!)"
David Bowie - "Panic In Detroit": "Awesomely gritty, Bowie takes his first real step towards the soul of Young Americans/Station To Station with the the full-throated backing singers, while still basking in the white hot lead guitar of Mick Ronson. The last minute or so is borderline religious as both melt down into each other while the percussion slams away. Ladies and gentlemen, this is rock and roll."
The Halo Benders - "Virginia Reel Around The Fountain": "A few years ago, I got the chance to interview Halo Benders/Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch. I asked him if he and co-HB frontman Calvin Johnson took songs and wrote lyrics completely independently of each other, then just slapped their results on top of each other in recording. Doug replied that I wasn't far off, which is partially why Built to Spill is able to perform this song without Calvin and it still holds together. But the magic here is that their separate takes on the same music interlock in mesmerizing ways, while the music is so strong it could hold its own as an instrumental track. Check it out, then try the live Built to Spill version, which is also strong, but shows how much more engaging the dueling Calvin/Doug vocals make the song."
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth": "I can't help but think that CYHSY takes the Talking Heads influence that people keep poorly shoehorning onto The Arcade Fire and actually bring it to fruition. Here, they add in a twist of Modest Mouse (mostly with the lead guitar intro) and, despite the obvious similarities to other bands, come up with a thoroughly enjoyable and awkwardly charming rock number."
The Roots - "Thought @ Work": "This rapid-fire track just percolates - Black Thought's unrelenting flow over crisp percussion and horn samples teeters on the edge of being overwhelming but never falters, which is nothing short of impressive. The whole track just sounds dangerous, in the best of ways. If this is Philly funk, I'm down."
Autolux - "Turnstile Blues": "One of my most favorite songs from last year - from the crisp yet heavy drumming to the Lilys-esque breathy vocals to the feedback-tinged guitar swirls, this song pulls off being thunderously dirty and disorientatingly dreamy at the same time. Autolux also features a former member of L.A. greats Failure, which is a total bonus."
Goldfrapp - "Number 1": "Just a really nice slice of synth-driven new wave from Goldfrapp - more mellow than 'Strict Machine' but more up-tempo than 'Black Cherry' - and infectiously upbeat."
Idlewild - "Quiet Crown": "Don't you love rediscovering music you kind of forgot about? I love Idlewild, but somehow I had overlooked this song in their musical cannon, until the other day. A subtle but engaging midtempo number from my Scottish rock heroes."
Robbers On High Street - "Hot Sluts (Say I Love You)": "Man, this song shreds me with its rock. It kills me that Robbers on High Street could put out a great song like this, a song that makes me want to bounce around uncontrolably, then not play it live or pretend like it ever existed. So now it's my duty to share it with the world. Listen to it and let your body move..."
Six Finger Satellite - "Race Against Space": "It's like two great songs in one! First it starts off like a Krautrock meets dub instrumental before it suddenly careens into a distorted Gang of Four-like thrasher about two minutes in. These guys were so twisted, it's no surprise that no one really got into them in their time...although hipsters, take note - this is the band that The Juan MacLean comes from, so represent!"
The American Analog Set - "You Own Me": "I'm moody today, so this song is working for me. It's quietly pretty, with a late-night kind of tempo and a hint of melancholy. Or maybe its happy submission - I think it's open for debate, so apply it to your own moods as you see fit."
Death From Above 1979 - "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine": "Last night, at a Polish dance club in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Death From Above 1979 tore it up! You would think that a band on full-time opening duty for QOTSA/NIN would want to sleep on their night off, but they rocked out hard instead, especially with this song."
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