speed of dark

indiechristoph has a Colin Meloy cover of Morrissey's "Jack the Ripper", one of my favorite Moz songs, a TVOTR B-side, and much more.

Audio Deficit Disorder has a track from Band of Horses' followup to their awesome 2006 album Everything All The Time, due in October.

Berkeley Place has 10 reasons to love Of Montreal, a zillion (okay, just 10) covers of Outkast's "Hey Ya", and a scary looking werewolf contest...no wait, it's a Mel Gibson contest.

Can You See The Sunset... has a review of Caribou's new album, Andorra. I've never been hooked by the songs I've heard by Caribou, but his review made me want to give the new album a try. Plus the new Iron & Wine album!

Music for Kids... features some great covers, including Girls in Hawaii covering Nada Surf and some tracks from the upcoming release by Division Day. Look for a review of that album here soon by alt-gramma.

Neiles Life loves the new Jose Gonzalez album, In Our Nature, and posts a bunch of songs in celebration of his 400th post.

Rawkblog starts his oeuvreblogging career with Nicolai Dunger and boasts an end of summer mixtape.

The Late Greats presents crazy ass Juliette Lewis and some live Smashing Pumpkins from way back in 1994.

coldplay: in the sun (feat. michael stipe) [live joseph arthur cover]
my morning jacket: all night long [live lionel richie cover]
live: supernatural [live vic chesnutt cover]
morrissey: you're gonna need someone on your side [live]

buy: [morrissey | my morning jacket | coldplay | joseph arthur]

I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday going through my blog e-mail box. I had about 150 unread e-mails. If anyone has sent me anything, and it seems like I'm ignoring you, I'm not, I'm just overheavelled, to use a word a friend of mine coined. I'm going to start trying to pass some of the really good stuff on to the blog.

That doesn't necessarily mean that things I don't post aren't good--I am just pedalling as fast as I can. Here are some quick picks with the focus on female vocals.

French Disco

Although vocalist Myriam de la Jara does sing in French sometimes, French Disco are based in San Francisco and the music is not disco. Their sound is more closely-related to classic shoegaze like His Name Is Alive, Ride, and Swervedriver. Two older EPs are available for sampling on iTunes, and their latest, released earlier this month, will be there soon. From the samples on their MySpace page, the new songs take a clear leap forward in defining their sound. Sean Smith's and Jason Fessel's guitarwork seems more bold, and the songwriting more confident.

From Mirror Stage (2007)
French Disco: Avant Garde Bubblegum
MySpace | Website | Label: Independent
Buy at CD Baby



Hot Springs


Montreal's Hot Springs first full-length album, Volcano, due for release September 18, hits your face with a hard-rocking punch and Giselle Webber's Bolan-worthy vibrato. Think how the Hard-Hearted Bastards would sound with Bjork as the vocalist and the prance of Franz Ferdinand, and you get the idea. I am especially fond of "The Fog and the Horn."

From Volcano (2007):
Hot Springs: Headrush
MySpace | Website | Label: Quire Records
Buy at iTunes



Show Schedule:
Sept 27 - Quebec City, QC - Velvet
Sept 28 – Montreal, QC– Le National (CD Release Show)
Sept 29 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace (CD Release Show)
Oct 20 - Sherbrooke, QC - Téléphone Rouge


Cannonball Jane

If you always daydreamed that your teacher had a wicked other life after school, you'd be right in the case of Sharon Hagopian, an elementary school music teacher from Bridgeport (U.K.) who performs as Cannonball Jane. This one-woman band combines 60's disco-pop with modern hip-hop, with a bit of torch and soul mixed in there. Although her album Knees Up!, scheduled for release October 9, was recorded completely in her home, it includes a remix by Adrock from the Beastie Boys of this song. Very sassy!

From Knees Up! (2007):
Cannonball Jane: Take It to Fantastic
MySpace | Website | Label: Gaddycat Records
Buy Street Vernacular (2006) here and at iTunes

Underwater Getdown are a six-member band out of Tempe, Arizona. While their website doesn't provide much information about the band, it is clear that the band members have an excellent sense of humor about themselves, indicated by their bios.

I was able to sample their entire debut album, Supersymmetry and I liked it quite a bit. The combination of Bryan and Audra's vocals with some very smooth, nice music with a kind of fuzziness to it made for an enjoyable album. At 11 tracks, it clocks in at just under 40 minutes, so it's short and sweet and the songs make me wonder what the band sounds like live. As a former band nerd, I get excited when I hear non-traditional instruments in rock songs, and Underwater Getdown features a healthy heaping of french horn. None of the songs sound identical, and one track, "Electric Lights", made me think of the B-52's (in a good way) with a orchestral meltdown accompanied by little yelps. "The New Asthma" is absolutely lovely, featuring mostly tamborine, acoustic guitar, and Bryan at his peak octave.

You can purchase their album on iTunes or purchase directly through their myspace page via PayPal. Check out a couple of great tracks from their album Supersymmetry, and catch them live if you're in the Phoenix area on September 1 at Casa Blanca or September 14 at the Ruby Room.

underwater getdown: hey
underwater getdown: monrovia
underwater getdown: the new asthma

official website | myspace | buy on iTunes | buy album thru PayPal

Time Travel Tuesday is on hiatus this week so I can get into some of the great new music that is bulging my e-mail box.

The Maps

James Chapman of the Maps
The sizzle of "It Will Find You" by Northhampton's the Maps will hold you spellbound. This is HOT. Songwriter and creative force James Chapman crafts a set of gorgeous and intelligent tunes on this brilliant full-length debut. Mercury has apparently has it on their short list for album of the year. Yes, the Maps are on tour too, through September and October in Europe, the U.S., and Britain.

From We Can Create (2007):
The Maps: It Will Find You
The Maps: Elouise
MySpace | Label: Mute Records
Buy direct from the Maps' MySpace or from Amazon and iTunes

U.S. Show Schedule:
Sep 21 2007 - Seattle Radio Station @ KEXP, Seattle, WA
Sep 21 2007 - Crocodile Café (KEXP Benefit), Seattle, WA
Sep 23 2007 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
Sep 26 2007 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
Sep 28 2007 - Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Sep 29 2007 - Lava Lounge, Brooklyn, NY


The Mabuses

Some of the many Mabuses?
Here are some guys--and gals--who have been getting together every few years since 1991 to make music while apparently intending to stay mysterious individually. Their flashy website contains cryptic notecards on a vast assembly of pseudo-characters with fuzzy photos. They have assembled their third record, Mabused, which is described as "a sprawling quirk-pop masterwork," which recalls a variety of influences from XTC to Canned Heat to Folk Implosion.

The band bios may be silly, but the music is delightful, jaunty, and obviously the work of people who know exactly what they're doing.

From Mabused, out on Sept. 25:
The Mabuses: Mirth
The Mabuses: Seasider
MySpace | Website


Manatella


Manatella
Lauren Chase and Alissa Leonard provide the engaging songwriting and lovely voices of Manatella, which seems influenced by the same forces that generated Mazzy Star, the Nethers, and the Owls, all favorites of mine. I am in love with these folk-influenced guitars, the lightness of "Apocalyptic Owl" and the somber mood of "Cherry Red." I must have more.

From their debut album just released August 24, Fashionable Neighborhood:
Manatella: Apocalyptic Owl
Manatella: Cherry Red
MySpace | Website | Label: Carlydog Records | Album stream

Show Schedule:
Sep 5 2007 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL
Sep 15 2007 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL


More new stuff soon!

This has been a terribly difficult project for me, one that I'm almost sorry I decided to undertake. It's extremely hard to look at an entire year of album releases and pick one song, especially as I get closer to the present day and it seems as though more and more artists have been able to release great music. Moving right along...

1993 - radiohead: anyone can play guitar from Pablo Honey [buy]
1994 - weezer: my name is jonas from The Blue Album [buy]
1995 - catherine wheel: heal from Happy Days [buy]
1996 - sneaker pimps: 6 underground from Becoming X [buy]
1997 - blink 182: josie from Dude Ranch [buy the only blink 182 song I can stand]
1998 - U.N.K.L.E.: lonely soul (feat. richard ashcroft) from Psyence Fiction [buy]
1999 - my morning jacket: heartbreakin' man from The Tennessee Fire [buy]
2000 - death cab for cutie: 405 from We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes [buy]
2001 - incubus: under my umbrella from Morning View [buy]
2002 - nada surf: killian's red from Let Go [buy]
2003 - the decemberists: as i rise from Her Majesty The Decemberists [buy]
2004 - interpol: not even jail from Antics [buy]
2005 - wolf parade: same ghost every night from Apologies to the Queen Mary [buy]
2006 - muse: exo-politics from Black Holes and Revelations [buy]
2007 - sea wolf: ses monuments from Get to the River Before it Runs Too Low [buy]

Check out parts one, two, and three!

Our nostalgia-fest this week has put me way behind (as usual) on posting about new bands. Here's a short list of some really wonderful new music featuring female leads.

This cute commisseration on the demoted ex-planet Pluto sounds like The Puppini Sisters with Andrew Bird, but Clare Muldaur, daughter of blues singer and music innovator Geoff Muldaur, has her own blue blood line. Their album The Movie is set for release on September 4. New Yorkers should check her scheduled dates for September and October.
Clare and the Reasons: Pluto
MySpace | Label: Frogstand Records


This song from Over The Rhine's latest album The Trumpet Child goes well with "Pluto," due to Karen Berquist's sultry vocals. Next week OTR begins an extensive world tour, so check out the dates on their MySpace page.
Over the Rhine: Trouble
MySpace | Website | Label: Back Porch Records


More Bird-like violin plucking with cooing female vocals from the Boy Sopranos, who are actually a bunch of women from different corners of the Minneapolis music scene who admired each other's singing and decided to form an acapella group.
The Boy Sopranos: Into the Spin


Grace Potter and the Nocturnals raise the temperature on this track from their third album This Is Somewhere which was released early this month. This band is also on tour all over the U.S. for the next two months.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals: Ah Mary
MySpace | Website | Label: Ragged Company Records/Hollywood Records | Buy


From our blogroll:

Chris at @indiechristop@ features Mogwai's lost EPK video from Happy Songs For Happy People. I cannot resist a Scottish accent. It's my absolute favorite version of English.

Blogs Are For Dogs has a bunch of neat stuff this week, among them new songs from José González and live recordings from Wolf Parade's performance last Sunday in Warsaw, which includes seven new songs. We'll be seeing Wolf Parade here in the States in a few weeks, so I am all jazzed now.

Oh boy! Another shoegaze mix at Skatterbrain.

Several of our neighbors are on vacation, and I'm still jealous. Happy weekend to you!

My desk looked like a florist shop today (not that I'm complaining) due to the lovely, beautiful flowers that I received from my two bosses and my best friend...thank you all so much!! Continuing my journey through thirty years of music...

1987: This is the year when I discovered teenage moping was all the rage, and I think I became more aware of music. I remember going to sleep with headphones on, spending time and money in the local record shop, being glued to the videos on MTV, and pestering my mother to let me attend a Guns 'n' Roses concert (to no avail). A ton of great music came out this year, including Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses, G'n'R's Appetite for Destruction, Kick by INXS, and U2's The Joshua Tree, to name a few. I bought the song below on 45 and listened to it repeatedly, and watched the video as often as possible - such a crazy video, like nothing I'd ever seen before.

new order: true faith from Substance (this is the '94 version) [buy]

1988: This is the beginning of my contrasting music tastes. I was listening to the despairing, lovely, moping of Morrissey along with the heavy-metal, rocking, angry sounds of Metallica, as well as the sugary mainstream pop crap that all of my friends were listening to as well. Yes, I listened to New Kids on the Block, I had their cassettes, I knew all the words. I admit it.

morrissey: everyday is like sunday from Viva Hate [buy]

1989: Again, I was listening to a multitude of different things. While I still liked the pop crap, I listened to Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation (who didn't?!) and Mother's Milk by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (influenced by my sister). I loved Faith No More and listened over and over to the tape of The Real Thing my sister got me for Christmas (I now own the CD...it's a great album). But I love this song that is from a great album released this year.

the stone roses: i wanna be adored from The Stone Roses [buy]

1990: At this point in my life, I wanted to be just like my friends, who listened to Top 40 and rap. I hid the fact that I liked different music, and I'm ashamed of that now. So even though I adored albums like Flood by They Might Be Giants and the absolutely amazing Violator by Depeche Mode, my friends didn't like them, or hadn't even heard of them.

depeche mode: clean from Violator [buy]

1991: This is the year I entered high school and became an automaton. As with the previous year, I continued to listen to music that irritated my mother (much like HMBG is doing with me now with his reggaeton) and to deny the fact that some amazing music was being released. I was able to reveal that I liked Ten by Pearl Jam and The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, because it was the start of the grunge era. But liking Toad the Wet Sprocket, Material Issue and the amazing Matthew Sweet? Forget about it.

matthew sweet: i've been waiting from Girlfriend [buy]

Check out part one and part two...and tomorrow, part four.

Lesley Gore, then and now
Occasionally I try to remember what I was listening to in the early sixties before the Beatles and the whole British invasion turned my world upside down in 1964.

Folk was still going strong, and country was big: Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton. There was a lot of soul and dance music. Rock was still a toddler on the playground: Roy Orbison, the Ventures, Bobby Rydell, the Everly Brothers, Del Shannon. I'd rather not talk about Elvis, Paul Anka, Ricky Nelson, and Dion. The Beach Boys were probably the best band around.

Women were represented by Anita Bryant, Connie Francis, and Brenda Lee. The black girl groups started hitting the charts in the early sixties: The Shirelles ("Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"), the Angels ("My Boyfriend's Back"), the Ronettes ("Be My Baby"), the Chiffons ("One Fine Day"), the Dixie Cups ("Chapel of Love"). 1962 brought the horribly-titled He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)", performed by the Crystals.

There was a lot of wishing and hoping and thinking and praying and following someone wherever they may go in these gooey teen-romance ballads. I was not very impressed.

Into this all this mushy crap came something entirely different--the defiant and ominously-toned "You Don't Own Me," sung by a teenage white girl from New Jersey. "You Don't Own Me" was not Lesley Gore's biggest or her first hit, but it had a social impact that other songs of the day lacked. Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique had been published only a short time before, and the big women's lib anthem, "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy, was years from release--and so were Bob Dylan's political and social protest songs. "You Don't Own Me" is one of the very first songs in which a woman demands her independence from a man.

Reportedly, Gore made a deal with her producer, Quincy Jones, that she would record a song he wanted her to sing if he would let her record this one, written by John Madara and David White. The song has been covered by many artists over the years including Dusty Springfield, Joan Jett, and The Blow Monkeys on the Dirty Dancing movie soundtrack. Most don't improve on Gore's version.

Here is the original plus a weird cover by Rasputina and a very nice new dance-beat update by Manon's Dream, a band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Lesley Gore: You Don't Own Me from Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts (1964)
Rasputina: You Don't Own Me from How We Quit the Forest (1998)
Manon's Dream: You Don't Own Me from Time Sensitive Angels (2007)

Lesley Gore Fansite | Official Website at Engine Company Records
Wikipedia | Lyrics

Check this fabulous video of the T.A.M.I. show, circa 1964, featuring feisty Lesley Gore singing "You Don't Own Me." Boy, is that hairstyle familiar. I think every girl in my high school wore her hair that way. Near the end of the video, you can spot Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Chuck Berry, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye.

Lesley Gore continues to write songs and perform live shows. Listen to samples of her latest songs at her official website.

Upcoming shows:
Sept. 1, 2007 - Lock 3 Live Outdoor AmphitheaterR, Akron, OH
Sept. 22, 2007- Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, Rehoboth, DE
Oct. 13, 2007 - Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY
Oct. 19, 2007 - Outpost In the Burbs, Montclair, NJ
Nov. 17, 2007 - Suncoast HOtel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 18, 2007 - Suncoast HOtel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Here's to the best birthday present I ever received! Happy Birthday, Beautiful!
The Innocence Mission: Happy Birthday from We Walked In Song (2007)

Don't you try to play those silly games
The morning of your birthday, you will look the same
The Shapes: Birthday Song from the shapes (2005)

This is absolutely gorgeous.
The Durutti Column: Birthday Present from Sporadic Three (2007)

Yes, there are lyrics. Wait for them.
The Ruby Suns: Birthday on Mars from The Ruby Suns (2006)

Continuing my odyssey of one song for each of my thirty years...

Prior to 1982, I don't remember hearing these songs until I was much older. But at about 1982, when I was five and my sister nine, I remember listening to records, or more specifically, singles on 45 or my mom's vinyls. I like to think that back in 1982, I was listening to good music, but I can't be sure it's a more recent memory.

1982: While I considered posting a track from the biggest album of 1982 and of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller, it wouldn't have been something I actually listened to at the time. We did not have MTV (I had to go to my friend Michelle's for that) and I didn't see the video for "Thriller" until years later. But I do remember listening to my sister's Men at Work album, Business As Usual and Duran Duran's Rio. I did not, however, listen to INXS this early in their career; but it's still a great song.
INXS: to look at you from Shabooh Shoobah [buy]

1983: At this point, it is starting to become difficult to pick a great song for a single year. So many great bands released excellent albums this year; Culture Club, Eurythmics, Men At Work, and the debut of the Violent Femmes. But by this time, courtesy of my sister, The Police were ever present in my life.
the police: synchronicity I from Synchronicity [buy]

1984: This is the year that both Cyndi Lauper and The Smiths hit the scene big with their releases She's So Unusual and Hatful of Hollow, respectively. Hard to choose.
the smiths: how soon is now? from Hatful of Hollow [buy]

1985: Again, with a little help from my sister, I discovered R.E.M., a little band out of Athens, Georgia. From my mom, I encountered the new and different sound of Lindsey Buckingham, fresh out of Fleetwood Mac. It was tough to choose between them here, but I finally chose the one I had rather than the one I would have to buy.
lindsey buckingham: slow dancing from Go Insane [buy]

1986: Another tough year, featuring the first of Depeche Mode's great releases after the departure of Vince Clarke (IMHO), Paul Simon's fabulous Graceland, the debuts of Crowded House and They Might Be Giants, not to mention Peter Gabriel's album So, featuring the song that changed my life and made me fall in love with John Cusack, "In Your Eyes". But I adored Crowded House, and loved their videos.
crowded house: don't dream it's over from Crowded House [buy]

Read part one and visit tomorrow for part three!

This Sunday is my birthday and I will be thirty years old. I see my thirtieth birthday as a milestone, but not one to dread. I am not making a big deal out of this birthday, although others in my life are trying to make it a bigger deal than I think it needs to be (I'm talking to you, co-workers).

But I have recently found myself listening to the classic rock station, turning the radio up on songs that remind me of my childhood, since music was always at the forefront in our house. So as part of my birthday celebration and also to relieve poor alt-gramma, who has been knocking herself out here on the blog, I present one song for every year of my life.

1977: The year I was born was kind of a drag for music. However, Fleetwood Mac were enjoying mainstream success, and an up-and-coming gaggle of art students known as Talking Heads released their first album.

fleetwood mac: never coming back again from Rumors [buy]

1978: Thanks to both of my parents (my Dad, especially), I have always been a fan of Dire Straits. Their debut album included this gem, one of their most famous and lasting songs. Other albums considered for 1978 included Neil Young's Comes A Time, Bob Marley and the Wailers' Kaya, and The Rolling Stones' Some Girls, among others.

dire straits: sultans of swing from Dire Straits [buy]

1979: This was a tough year for me to decide which song to pick. I considered Fleetwood Mac's Tusk, The Police's Regatta de Blanc, and even Michael Jackson's Off The Wall. But I eventally chose one of the many, many excellent Talking Heads songs.

talking heads: life during wartime from Fear of Music [buy]

1980: Although I wasn't yet listening to The Cure in 1980, this song is my all-time favorite song by the band. I almost posted my favorite AC/DC song, "Back in Black", which was also released this year.

the cure: a forest from Seventeen Seconds [buy]

1981: Alt-gramma was a big fan of Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman from way back. I have to admit I didn't get his genius until she took me to see their final concert on Halloween in 1995. I love to hear this song on the radio, although I wonder if it's bad for He Might Be Giant to hear me singing gleefully along with it.

oingo boingo: little girls from Only A Lad [buy]

Stay tuned for years 1982-1988!

Thanks to the lolcats at icanhascheezburger?

Today is not our birthday(s), but it is the start a weekend climax of birthday celebrations. To start off, here's the ultimate rock and roll birthday song by the Beatles, updated by Australia's Sunnyboys.

Sunnyboys: Birthday (Beatles cover) from Mushroom Evolution Concert (2005)

I loved this from the first moment I heard it:
Concrete Blonde: Happy Birthday from Free (1989)

Here's a truly horrible birthday song, but so funny. At the same time, it's a good thing it's short.
Wow! Another Birthday!
How did you do it?
I kept breathing and didn't starve!
Incredible!
We wrote the song because we hate you
And didn't want to waste money on a real present.
Adam and Andrew: Happy Birthday from Still Not Famous (2007)

A birthday massacre also sounds horrible, but I really like the heavy dose of drama and thick synths in this goth-rock number.
The Birthday Massacre: Happy Birthday from Violet (2005)

Cool concept if it's not already too late: if you don't know your birthday, then you never get old. You heard it right here.
Jebus: Birthday from Birthday (2004)

I must look further into this group from Austin, TX:
The Lord Henry: Birthday from Zoo Palace (2006)

From the Blogroll:

Today, the group at jefitoblog are dissecting some great old chartburners, like Martha Davis and the Motels' "Suddenly Last Summer" and songs by The Sugarcubes and Phil Collins, among others. Sample quote: "Oh, Phil... How can I continue to tell people that Abacab is a great album with a straight face if you go off and do music for monkey movies?" This is a must-read.

Lucky Marcy at Lost In Your Inbox gets to see not one but two delectable songbirds today: Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case. If I weren't wilted by the heat, I'd be jealous.

Taylor at Music For Kids Who Can't Read has two pre-released tracks from the new Rogue Wave album, Heaven's Gate.

Muzzle of Bees previews two very interesting new artists: Liars and Doveman.

This week So Much Silence featured Travis' visit to the KCRW studio and has some nice live tracks from their performance.

Happy Birthday wishes also to Eric at The Yellow Stereo!

To everyone who is on vacation right now: Lucky YOU! Have a good one.

Jesca Hoop grew up in a Mormon family where music and singing were an essential part of life. She earned her first paycheck for singing a potty-training jingle at seven years old but then did not persue a professional singing career until her late teens. She had the luck then to become a nanny for Tom Waits and his wife. They helped her, but there is no doubt that she has earned her way to the milestone of releasing her debut CD Kismet with tremendous talent, both as a singer and a writer of extraordinary songs.

I don't use the word "unique" very often. It isn't a word to throw around, and it's hard to be truly unique in the wide world of music. But Hoop takes ingredients from folk, pop, rock, jazz, and even musical show-tunes and creates a new recipe that is uniquely her own. She has an excellent voice that ranges from a low purr to a full-out belt.

Mr. Folkie and I first heard many of the songs on Kismet performed live with Hoop alone on guitar and sometimes with only a stand-up bass accompanying her. "Seed of Wonder" still starts off that way. On Kismet, these sketches are fully fleshed out with guitars, bass, drums, strings, and layers of vocals; and we can finally realize what Hoop had in mind all along.

The track list starts with the shimmering heat of "Summertime," one of my very favorites, then goes darker with "Seed of Wonder," the hallmark of her stream-of-consciousness lyric style. "Seed" really has no hook, not in the sense that songs usually do, but the tumbling words hold the listener spellbound.

Delicate acoustic guitar accompanies her breathy vocals on "Enemy":

"Beautiful
falling fast from a state of grace
and trusting there's a light
in darkest place
my dirty knees
hold the ground when it's done with me
I've come to see that beauty is a thing
that is without grace
you are mine
pennyroyal wine
Fly
like an innocent child
That followed every line
Back to my enemy."

"Silverscreen" begins with the static of an old film newsreel and has almost a show-tune quality. Here Hoop recounts her journey from childhood home performances to realizing the dream of singing her own songs before an audience. "Gates of heaven open/There is me--on the silver screen".

The theme rolls naturally to the pitfalls of "Money" and what people would do to make their dream of fame come true. Mr. Folkie and I liked this from the first time we heard it in the live acoustic version; but here with a full band, it becomes an especially strong statement.

"Money makes the world go round
Money, money, money makes you change your sound
If the price is right,
The price is right."


We heard "Dreams In the Hollow" too, and the album version with its echo-chamber background vocals and strings emphasizes that these are childhood memories recalled.

"Love Is All We Have" is Hoop's tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and one of my favorites on the album. Her voice soars here over simple acoustic guitar then the background vocals and drums add warmth and comfort.

"Intelligentactile 101" breaks the spell with a lively beat and impish humor. "Havoc In Heaven" is another of the demos and is musically similar to "Seed of Wonder." "Out the Back Door" is a jazzy, echo-y stomp with sound-effects including a spinning bottle.

The last track, "Love and Love Again," is the only one where Hoop shares songwriting credits--with David Baerwald (of David and David--Remember "Welcome to the Boomtown"?). It's also my least favorite with its movie-soundtrack strings, but it does make a lovely closing song.

Kismet is a stellar first album, and Hoop is on my short list for Best Debut Release and Best New Artist for 2007. The best news is, there is a lot more where this came from.

Jesca Hoop: Money from Kismet, to be released Sept. 18
Jesca Hoop: Enemy (live) at Molly Malone's, March 28, 2005

Find more songs at my previous post.

Watch this video interview at Critical Eye. The performance is the gorgeous "Summertime," and those are Amanda and Abby of the Ditty Bops on backup vocals.

MySpace | Website | Label: 3Entertainment/Red Ink/Columbia
Kismet will be available in digital format soon.
"Summertime" single and early demos available now at iTunes

CD Release show: Sep 19 2007, 8:00PM at the Ivar Theatre, Hollywood, CA

I was completely smitten by the Doors in my last years of high school, particularly with Strange Days, which was released in 1967. Their overwrought images of weary debauchery were irrestible to me.

When I wore the grooves down on the first LP, I bought another one. I still have both. Maybe at some point I'll rip those original tracks into MP3s. Meanwhile you can get both from Amazon and from iTunes the remastered versions of the original recorded tracks. I'm still trying to figure out if I like them or not. They don't sound quite like what I'm used to.

These covers from Strange Days aren't at all what I'm used to either, but it's interesting to see what other bands do with these fantastical journeys into the mind of Jim Morrison.

Spahn Ranch get the spooky part exactly right in this percussion-heavy goth-romp with the title song, while Joan Jett gives her good old regular rock workout. Diabolique channel Julie Cruise in a languid "Twin Peaks" treatment of "Unhappy Girl."

Echo and the Bunnymen stay pretty faithful to the original "People Are Strange" until they give it their own kick near the end. I think they are a little more interesting on "Soul Kitchen" from the Door's first album.

The last track is something I would usually pass over: an instrumental piano tribute version of "Break On Through"--except it is surprisingly lovely and interesting in a Chistopher O'Reilly kind of way.

From Strange Days:
Spahn Ranch: Strange Days from Darken My Fire-A Gothic Tribute to the Doors (2006)
Joan Jett: Love Me Two Times from The Hit List (1990)
Diabolique: Unhappy Girl (Jack Kerouac mix) from Uses of Disorder (2005)
Echo and the Bunnymen: People Are Strange from Crystal Days 1979-1999

From The Doors:
Echo and the Bunnymen: Soul Kitchen from Crystal Days 1979-1999
Fully Furnished: Break On Through from Mood Piano Tribute to the Doors (2005)

Better late than never, right? Thank goodness it's Friday. Let's start partying! Here are some nifty singles to get us in the right mood.

First, who doesn't need more cowbell? Four lads from Perth, Scotland can fill your needs.
Needs More Cowbell: I Need More Cowbell (live)
MySpace

This Arkansas band has a song co-authored by Brendan Benson and needs a drummer. Send your resumé to:
Candleblack: Disconnected
MySpace

You can't beat Olso's Massdriver for devilish and funky party music. These guys are GREAT. Find more here.
Massdriver: Brand New Car (remix)
MySpace

Seymore Saves the World and still has time to serve up a hot-hot-hot remix of "The Lake," which appears on their self-title 2007 CD.
Seymore Saves the World:The Lake DJ Kid Z Remix
They are playing lots of shows too. If you're on the west coast, in Denver, or in Minneapolis, check their tour schedule on MySpace for dates and venues.

From the blogroll:

Top of the list: I couldn't make this low-key sort-of-impromptu show in L.A. with John Vanderslice, but Aquarium Drunkard has the goods: photos and videos too. Hooray for the Internet.

Get a big ZIP file of covers from Berkeley Place. Wowza!

Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan? What?? Yes, according to Blogs Are For Dogs. New movie coming in November with a mind-blowing soundtrack.

Excellent review of The National's The Boxer at Can You See the Sunset From the Southside.

Howard and Beth at Lonesome Music are celebrating their blog's third birthday this week with some lonesome and lonely songs. Crash the party!

Taylor at Music For Kids has a list of good albums that unfortunately sported awful covers. I definitely concur on the Mew and Cat Power entries. See what you think.

Do you like shoegaze as much as I do? Matt at Skatterbrain left us enough for the weekend and a promise of more.

Happy weekend!

Jorge Raasch (keys, synth), Tony Najm (bass), Eric Lovold (vocals, guitar), Ryan McMillan (guitar), and Ryan Mach (drums)

The first full-length CD by Minneapolis' The Alarmists, The Ghost and the Hired Gun, has been out for a couple of weeks now, and I have to confess that the more I listen to it, the more I like it. So much music gets poured into my ears these days that it's getting hard to impress me, so I don't say that lightly.

This is not the album that will reinvent pop culture as we know it, but it does contain a lot of good listening and tunes that make you want to come back again and again. The few corny bits can be forgiven--the spacy intro to the appropriately-titled "Headspace" that kicks off the album, the spaghetti-western whistle at the beginning of "Nobody Knows You," and the tinny newsreel music that leads into "Walking Away"--because all else is rock-solid. "Thankful For the Chance,"as the only soft ballad in the bunch, is the only track that sounds weak in comparison.

This is a strong follow-up to last year's EP A Detail of Soldiers which garnered the band several awards. This is due in large part to Eric Lovold's strong song-writing skills, both with lyrics--retrospective on love left behind--and lovely hooks. Even the addition of lush strings on "Voice Within" can't turn the song into syrupy mush. I hate when that happens. I like things to stay crispy.

There is a lot of variety in the songs without sacrificing a consistent sound. There's piano on "On the Way" and "Try To Be Kind," trumpet and cellos on the haunting (no joke) "Ghost" that ends the CD, and lots and lots of guitar chords everywhere. It's no secret that certain minor-key notes and chords ring my chimes, and this album has them in spades. More favorites are "Summer's Heart," "The Places I'm From," "Count On Me," and "Light A Smoke."

From The Ghost and the Hired Gun (2007)
Hired Gun
Little Hands

MySpace | Website | Label: Instrument Control Records | Lyrics
Buy at band website and and band MySpace
A Detail of Soldiers available on iTunes

Upcoming Shows:
Aug 10 2007 - The Uptown Bar w/ So It Goes and Raven!, Minneapolis, MN
Aug 11 2007 - Pizza Luce Block Party, Minneapolis, MN
Aug 17 2007 - The Aquarium, Fargo, ND

Today's Time Travel post continues from this previous post on Tobin Sprout.

Although he is still actively recording music, of at least equal importance in Tobin Sprout's life is his studies in graphic art. His focus there is with light: its depths and reflections. You can see examples of that in the eyes of his dolorous and surreal subjects like this rabbit.

His other studies in the visual properties of light often involve its gleaming reflections off chrome and glass. There are truly amazing examples in the gallery of paintings at his website. Retro styles are another fascination of both his and his wife Laura, and the poster below is one of Tobin's works.

While I love Sprout's stuff mainly for the guitar work, he also occasionally composes on piano, and those rarer songs reveal a different dimension of the songwriter. A very private man, Sprout has said he keeps his personal emotions at arms length in his songs, even from himself. In these however, while the subject remains clouded, the emotional weight they carry is very strong. The echo-chamber effect imparts an intimacy that the guitar-based music that is less apparent when layers of guitar intervene. I think that "Moonflower Plastic" is perhaps the most developed and beautiful of these piano songs.

To me, "Water On the Boater's Back" combines Sprout's musical side with his graphic work with its focus on the tiny flecks of water on a muscled back. These tiny sparkles act like worm holes in Sprout's awareness that channel him toward a changed perspective on the world. I don't mind that the song feels rough and incomplete in comparison to "Moonflower Plastic." I can understand Sprout's reluctance to to return to the circumstances--the difficult birth of his children, in which he nearly lost his wife--that generated this deep reflection.

"Atom Eyes" makes an appeal for a simpler way of living. You can almost hear Sprout talking himself into leaving the hectic life of a touring band.
Atom eyes
Don’t worry your brain
Take a break from everyday
Sell the house, the car, the pain
Atom eyes
Just be sure to live again

In contrast, the GBV version sounds full and energetic but does not carry nearly the personal or the emotional impact of Sprout's solo version.

From Moonflower Plastic (1997):
Water On the Boater's Back
Moonflower Plastic (You're Here)

From Single Wish (a compilation album) (2002):
Atom Eyes (Sprite version)
lyrics

Compare this version from Bug House-rare and unreleased (1999)
from Guided By Voices' Peel Sessions:
Guided By Voices: Atom Eyes

Other Sprout piano songs:
To Remake the Young Flyer from Demos and Outakes (2001)
Angels Hang Their Socks on the Moon from Moonflower Plastic

Discography | Fan MySpace
Guided By Voices songs credited to Tobin Sprout
Guided By Voices Official website | Guided By Voices Database
Buy: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon.com

Information Sources:
Website | Wikipedia | Steve Albini Thinks We Suck interview (1997) | Matador Records

In a future Time Travel Tuesday: My other favorites from Tobin Sprout's discography and his latest release.

On his solo album My Secret Is My Silence Roddy Woomble, lead singer and songwriter for Idlewild, takes his familiar voice and sound on a detour away from rock and into the Scottish Highlands. The album has been available since last year in the U.K, but it was only released July 10 in the U.S.

Co-written with fellow Idlewilder Rod Jones, it is unmistakably Idlewild-ish, but instead of Idlewild's rock rhythms and layers of electric guitars, you'll hear a more a more organic, acoustic sound and more traditional Scottish/Irish flavors of violin (John McCusker) and Uliean pipes (Michael McGoldrick).

You'll also hear another wonderful addition: female vocals sweetening and lightening the mix. Kate Rusby returns a favor with backing vocals (Woomble contributed to her album The Girl Who Couldn't Fly), and Karine Polwart also joins in.

"As Still As I Watch Your Grave" would have sounded at home on Idlewild's last record Make Another World, except that here the violin and female backing vocals give it an entirely different dimension. "Whiskyface" is a jaunty Gaelic number that will have you dancing a jig.

This is a delicate and delicious album from beginning to end. Nonetheless, I do have a distinct favorite, and that is "Waverly Steps." It's a song of deep hope and faith, just keeping going when there's no reason to do so, even when the steps are "waverly." Yeah.

If there's no geography
In the things that we say
So words will keep us locked
In their old-fashioned way
Sure we are held together by
The experiences we've shared
But it's taken me
Waverly steps to get there
Close the front door
To open the window
Let the light be mined away
At least the light is mine always
But even the light will fade away

You can be carried away by the gorgeous fiddle in the title song and on "Under My Breath." There are more tracks to listen to on his MySpace page. I recommend this album highly, especially for fans of Idlewild. For those who are not familiar with the band, this could be a good introduction. This is a good CD to play on a long driving trip alone. The music will engage you and the lyrics will lift your heart.

From My Secret Is My Silence
Roddy Woomble: My Secret Is My Silence
Roddy Woomble: Waverly Steps

Roddy Woomble MySpace | Homepage | Label: Pure Records | Lyrics
Buy at Pure Records Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com

Wow...it's been a long time since I've been here. I was on vacation for a couple of weeks, and when I came back, it was to a dead computer. It was a long wait until I determined that it was actually and totally dead, and an even longer wait to get the new computer up and running. But here I am, attempting to get back to the blog. I've missed so much by not being online, and I'm behind on the music people send me and even what's going on in the blogiverse. It's great to be back, but I feel like I'm ten steps behind on everything (not that I was with the frontrunners to begin with). Here's a great band I've been missing out on sharing here:

Arwin
Chicago-based band Arwin are fresh off of the release of their excellent EP, The Bright Outside EP, and have been featured in some of our favorite blogs, such as Can You See the Sunset..., Berkeley Place and The Yellow Stereo, which is where I heard them first, quite a while back. The crew from Team Arwin were nice enough to send me a copy of their EP, and I repaid them by forgetting over and over to write about them. Arwin received a lot of praise for "Valerie, Bert, and Ernie", from the EP, but the rest of the sadly short EP is excellent.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Chicago area on August 10, check out Arwin at The Hideout. See All Things Lucid or Arwin's myspace page for more info, and check out these great songs from the EP.

arwin: valerie, bert, & ernie
arwin: bright outside