July 17, 2008
July 10, 2008
Song of the Day
July 2, 2008
Light & Platypi
After a fabulous show in Milwaukee on Sunday by the Polyphonic Spree... this song has been stuck on repeat. There are definitely worse things I could have on replay.
There is always something a bit magical about a Polyphonic Spree show... I'm not sure if it's the sheer number of people on-stage harmonizing at once, the positive energy that just radiates from them or just the great songwriting in the first place. Every time I see the spree, I like to look around the venue (or in this case outdoor pavilion) to witness the awe on the faces of those people who have never experienced this before. There is always someone within quick-glance-range who has the stunned deer-in-headlights look at the dancing, harmonizing extravaganza on stage in front of us. It's the same sort of look that a little kid might have at the zoo... the whole "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT" when coming face to face with a platypus. "Mom Look! It's got a beak AND fur AND a beaver tail AND a 7' tall harp player AND a horn section AND two drummers AND a spastic dancing choir in actual choir robes!"
Buy some: The Polyphonic Spree
June 24, 2008
Song of the Day
June 4, 2008
Song of the Day
June 3, 2008
Song of the Day
May 17, 2008
Empty Vessels
I would like to pretend that I am listening to all sorts of new music that I'd like to share with the world. In reality it's been a hard week and I've survived by replaying the same 5 songs from Black Kids over and over. And over. And over.
The record will come out on my birthday. See there you go, if you know me and you know when my birthday is... you'll know when you can go buy the new record. Aren't I a good music blogger? (Insert sarcasm here)
Buy some: Black Kids
May 12, 2008
I Thought I Saw...
I feel a bit like this tattered and old tabletop today. It's been a hard week, a harder weekend and unfortunately I see plenty of stormclouds in the future.
She & Him - I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
Louis Jordan - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
Buy some: The Shortwave Set, She & Him, Louis Jordan
April 22, 2008
[Begin Public Service Announcement]
Looking to kill a small time gap during the first night of SxSW I spied the name "Slaraffenland" followed by the always magical word "Denmark" on the schedule. After trying to figure out where exactly "The Gibson Room" at Maggie May's was... I found myself totally enraptured by five Danish boys I'd never even heard of before.
My intention was to just check out a few minutes of their set, hop on over to see Ed Harcourt and then Peter Moren. The second they started though I was overwhelmed with the mashup of horns, 5 part harmonies, synths and all around Scandinavian love that was freely flowing through the room. I could not be torn away from that set, no matter how many text messages or calls of "Where Are You?" came through. I picked up their record Private Cinema from Waterloo while I was still in Austin but honestly, it can't match the intensity of this band live.
I don't normally make flat out music recommendations like the average music blogger (why do i always want to type blooger instead of blogger?) so here goes... Slaraffenland is starting a rather extensive US tour in a few weeks and I definitely advise popping in on their live show if you can.
[End of Public Service Announcement]
Buy some: Slaraffenland
April 19, 2008
That's a lie.
Some days... I am completely lacking direction. (That's a lie.)
Most days... I am completely lacking direction. (Much closer to the truth I think.)
After lounging in a bubble bath for a while and reading Dean Wareham's Book... this meandering doesn't seem as horrible as previously thought. Going along for the ride doesn't always end up in a bad journey.
Buy some: Luna
April 5, 2008
PowerPop Saturday
I could explain where I've been or what I've been up to, but who really cares? It's a sunshiney powerpop Saturday, the likes of which Chicago hasn't seen in about 6 months1. We're all much better off throwing on a smile and some guitar pop than focusing on the who, what, when, where and (most specifically) why of my life.
1 Well if there was a sunshiney Saturday in the past six months, I wasn't here. I was off in those places, doing those things that I am not about to explain.
Buy some: The Box Social, Dressy Bessy, The Apples In Stereo, The Wombats
February 14, 2008
Five Years of Flirt!
How hard is it on Valentine's Day is it to post just a few love songs? Turns out, incredibly hard. Although "love" and it's discovery or loss has to be one of the most sung about topics in music, finding just that perfect song to express your sentiments is still near impossible. A few years ago, the other admins at Excellent Online and I put together a little two disc Valentine for the world... Flirt!
Looking back five years now, I'm still amazed at our accomplishment. We managed to wrangle up a few of our friends to give us new tracks, wonderful covers and rare gems. I never knew until that experience how time consuming and hard it was to organize a record release... and we only had to deal with an online release! Regardless, there are still several songs on that compilation that remain some of my favorite love songs of all time.
If I do say so myself, the whole compilation shows how ahead of our time we were. I don't think any of us envisioned Of Montreal becoming the international phenoms they are today or that Marc Maron would go on to be one of the founding voices of Air America radio. We were the first place to release new material from former Ride frontman Mark Gardener and saw a quick reformation of janglepop stars Velocity Girl (which sadly never came to full fruition). I need to thank again everyone who lent their material or time to the success of this compilation... thanks again to ALL OF YOU.
Buy some: Of Montreal, Seth Knappen, The Marlboro Chorus, Sprites, Velocity Girl, Koala, Cinerama
January 28, 2008
Go
Oh Mondays. Mondays. Mondays. Mondays. (shaking head to and fro)
How is it that one day of the week can be so creatively draining and intellectually numbing? It's not Monday's fault. It didn't do anything wrong. It didn't know that in the grand scheme of calendar planning that it would be shoved between Sunday and Tuesday. Someone else made it the day of dread... the day of returning to work, of getting started all over again, the day of GO.
Maybe... just maybe... this Monday doesn't have to be so bad. Maybe GO is a good thing. Maybe it's time we took to the starting gates with aplomb and made this a Monday with gusto...
Buy some: Apples In Stereo, Eggstone
January 23, 2008
Unsteady in Any Terms
Buy some: Harlem Shakes, The Shaky Hands, Lush, David Holmes
January 17, 2008
Always Wanting
Obligation is getting the best of me lately.
Buy some: Assassins
January 13, 2008
Like Car Parts, Bottles and Cutlery
We've hit that point now in the Chicago winter where I'm tired of all the grey and brown. Normally at this point of the year I'd be booking myself on the first flight to a coast, any coast. For the time being though, I've decided to tough it out. It would be a lot easier to deal with if my world looked like this picture. Norway anyone?
I tried to have a conversation the other day with a co-worker about how drab and grey the Chicago winter's are and I got a bit of a dull stare. He somehow took offense when I insinuated that brown and grey is not the ideal... that perhaps the Scandinavians have a good thing going with colorful architecture. It's amazing what a bit of paint can do to create a sunny disposition. Or maybe they just fake it better?
Buy some: Twilight Singers, Bjork
January 9, 2008
Prophesy?
Why is it that sometimes I wake up with a song in my head? Was I dreaming of this band before my alarm clock went off? Did I hear the song on NPR in those moments between sleep and wakefulness? I like to think those songs are a bit prophetic when they've "magically" popped into my head during sleep. If that's the case though I'm not entirely sure what "Hurricane Jane" says about my day to come...
Buy some: Black Kids
January 3, 2008
Song of the Day
January 1, 2008
Song of the Day (New Year's Edition)
I will admit that "Summertime" is an odd choice of song to ring in the new year. I stepped out of the shower this afternoon, and I will admit, I had a tear in my eye. As I walked into my bedroom wrapped up in a towel I heard the familiar refrain....
"Don't cry, Don't cry, Don't cry No No No No. Don't cry, don't cry"
I had to pause for a minute, wondering how in the world Sam Cooke had come up on random at that very second. When my "WTF" feeling subsided the lyrics hit me again...
"One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing, you spread your wings and take to the sky. But until that morning there is nothing can harm you"
Does it really seem so inappropriate for the new year?
Buy some: Sam Cooke
December 27, 2007
Song of the Day
December 10, 2007
30 Years Ago...
30 years ago today, Otis Redding died. Nothing I can write at the moment could express how important he was to soul, music or Memphis. This past March at the Stax Revue... Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Booker T., Isaac Hayes and William Bell sang this in tribute. It may be obvious, but it's also perfect.
Buy some: Otis Redding
November 28, 2007
Song of the Day
November 26, 2007
Song of the Day
I sat in the back of a cab on the way to work this morning with my headphones on. As I stared at the passing cars and church steeples off to the west, my ipod and thoughts turned to my favorite Ukranian Village rockstars1... The Aluminum Group. Aside from the odd cable television appearance last year, they've been rather off the chicago music scene lately. I think it was three years ago2 I last saw them play3 at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
So "We're Both Hiding" began on my ipod and I was lost in thought. The air of melancholy hung about me when I got out of the cab and went about my day. The song just stuck. This is often how things become my Song of the Day... seemingly random until much later in the day.
I got home tonight and discovered the first teaser from the new Aluminum Group album Little Happyness4 was actually released last week on a new comp from Minty Fresh. See... the Aluminum Group stuck with me today for a reason. Check the new song, it's called "Headphones". How perfect.
1 Used in the very loose sense of the phrase.
2 Or four years??
3 With the then unknown band The Changes as their backup. Oh and Rebecca Gates.
4 Granted we've been told for the past three years that this record is "forthcoming".
Buy some: Aluminum Group
November 13, 2007
I've got my doubts...
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town again in my life...
(Live 06/2006 Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco)
Sometimes the live version is a poor cover of a recorded song. Sometimes it takes on an entirely new fantastic meaning... especially when the performer has lost is voice almost completely and the entire music venue will sing the song for him. I need someone to sing the song for me today... and to do it just this well.
Yeah but you're going to do what you wanna do
No matter what I ask of you
You think you hold the high hand
I've got my doubts...
Buy some: The Mountain Goats
November 7, 2007
Broken French
I've been feeling a bit tied in knots lately. Life has begun to overwhelm me this month. I am sincerely sorry for the lack of communication, new music and the like... I really am attempting to play catch up soon.
Buy some: Giant Drag, The Aluminum Group, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Pipettes, Bart Davenport, Dylan Mondegreen
October 26, 2007
Song of the Day
October 22, 2007
How Dare You Say Such Filthy And Disgusting Things
Buy some: Saint Etienne, Voxtrot, The Magnetic Fields, Marden Hill
October 5, 2007
Shake A Fist
"Now If you have a pair of headphones you better get them out and get em cranked up out cos they're really gonna help you."
Buy some: Hot Chip
October 4, 2007
Song of the Day
(A collaboration with Romeo Stodart and Neil Hannon)
Buy some: Duke Special
October 1, 2007
Song of the Day
September 24, 2007
Song of the Day
September 20, 2007
Imaginary Girl This Is A Song For You
They used to be The Bees (U.S.). There was always confusion when I would see their name on a flyer because of my love of The Bees (aka "A Band of Bees"). Finally the confusion is gone, The Bees (U.S.) have changed their name to The Silver Seas. Now that I'm not annoyed by the name game anymore, I'm actually quite liking the 70's toned soft rock1. This isn't to say that I wouldn't have liked them while they were still "The Bees (U.S.)", I just don't recall ever giving them a chance.
1 Thanks Heather!
Buy some: The Silver Seas
September 18, 2007
Song of the Day
August 21, 2007
Nonstop Nonstop Nonstop
August 20, 2007
Song of the Day
August 13, 2007
Song of the Day
August 10, 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen... Miss Sharon Jones!
Photo by The Wild Koba
I suppose when the day comes that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are recognized for the soul brilliance they possess, I could have a new claim to fame. I walked out of a bathroom stall in Austin Texas once only to have Sharon Jones waiting patiently in front of me. Yes, I am claiming that I peed in the same disgusting toilet at Antone's as Sharon Jones. You can hold the applause... for me anyway. For her, clap away.
Right. On that note why don't you take a listen to the soon-to-be new single from the wonderful world of Daptone records, "100 Days". This is coming from the new Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings record due out to the world in October.
Buy some: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
August 9, 2007
When words don't matter
We don't need no stinkin' lyrics. Not today. No sir. Today we shall be enveloped in the guitar as voice or horn section as emotional cue. Forget lyrics... for today for we are reveling in soul.
Buy some: The Budos Band, Johnny Jenkins
August 2, 2007
Song of the Day
This is Chablis, my mother's agility running bichon. I call her bratty dog. To be fair, the older she gets the less bratty she acts. Anyway today's "Song of the Day" from Andrew Bird is a random pick, a bit like her name Chablis. And on that note have a good day.
Buy some: Andrew Bird
August 1, 2007
Song of the Day
July 18, 2007
Song of the Day
This is less like a Song of the Day and more like a Band of the Week. I have a bit of an obsession right now with a bunch of Kiwis... The Phoenix Foundation. I can't immediately classify them or lump them into a scene. I can't even accurately describe their sound without contradicting every thought I come up with. I can however listen over and over again to both of their records without getting tired of it. I am getting *really* good at pressing repeat. Without further ado... my two favorite tracks:
(Thanks to my favorite New Zealand-er for the introduction to the band. You know who you are.)
Buy some: The Phoenix Foundation
July 11, 2007
Song of the Day
Despite the 12 hours of sleep last night and the four days of "taking it easy" because of this virus I caught... I could go back to bed right now. Will I ever wake up?
1 So has this band officially changed it's name now to just "The Ruby Suns" or is that only in the UK? Either way I hear they are touring with the Shins in Australia soon (or now?) so this pairing is quite apt today.
Buy some: The Shins, Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns
July 6, 2007
Song of the Day
July 2, 2007
Song of the Day
I am approaching this week with far less caution than last. Firstly, it simply *has* to be less stressful. There's no if's or but's about this. Secondly, I just woke up from a dream where someone handed me an ear in a box, not in a scary gangster sort of way but as a "in case you ever need a new one". It is a little strange that I take this as an optimistic sign, but I do. I might need a new ear someday so it's a very sweet gesture.
I'm not sure anyone is ever going to get what these three songs have in common, but oh well.
Buy some: Cloudberry Jam, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Sarah Shannon
June 27, 2007
Song of the Day
I woke up this morning with one of the Kings of Convenience wandering around in my head1. I think this sounds like an ideal reason to throw out a few of his rarities to the world at large. The first track comes from his fantastic DJ Kicks CD, the second from a Tribute to Lee Hazlewood, the last track from his solo CD Unrest2.
1 Was he in my dream last night and I just don't remember?
2 Not rare but I apparently only have two rarities of Erlend solo. That first one shouldn't really be called rare either but oh well. Maybe there are no rarities and I should have posted KoC rarities, I have some of those. I suppose I could have posted some Whitest Boy Alive. Too late now.
Buy some: Erlend Øye
June 20, 2007
Song of the Day
June 11, 2007
Song of the Day
There's no rhyme or reason for the song choices today. The Kenickie song is an oldie but a goodie. Technically all Kenickie songs are oldies as it's been 'bout 10 years since the band split. The Johnny Boy song is one of my favorites. I could urge you all to buy their record as it was finally released a few weeks ago in the UK but I think I already urged you to buy it when it was released in Scandinavia. I suppose technically the UK version is easier to find. As for The Cribs, for the sake of a friend I am still trying to listen to them. I tried them live last year at SxSW and walked away scratching my head. This is one of the few songs on their new record I don't hate. I do like the title at least... "Man's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever".
So there's that. My random reasons for posting these songs that equal no reason what so ever.
Buy some: Kenickie, Johnny Boy, The Cribs
June 8, 2007
Song of the Day
Jane in the City Museum - Saint Louis
(Live on The Mark Radcliffe Show)
Buy some: The Boo Radleys
May 17, 2007
We Gathered In Spring
"His words brought me back to reality, and I stood up from the bench. This time I had no trouble standing. Once more I could feel on my skin the sweet May breeze. For a few seconds I stood there in a strange, dim place. Where the things I could see didn't exist. Where the invisible did".
"Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" ~ Haruki Murakami
Today just feels like Midlake. The crisp spring air, the brilliant blue sky, the rustling thoughts overwhelmed by the desire to escape...
Buy some: Midlake
May 15, 2007
Sofa Song
May 13, 2007
Song of the Day
It may not be pop but at least it's Monterey.
Buy some: Otis Redding
May 10, 2007
Tacks, the Boy Disaster
Tacks, the Boy Disaster was one of those bands I had on my list at SxSW. The showcase and day parties schedules were so packed that I never found the time to see them. I have however now found their new debut EP "Oh Beatrice" and fallen even more in love with their sound than I thought I would in March.
AFADJHF KAUEHFJSDH FJDKFDFD?!?$!@?!
That was the sound of me kicking myself.
Oh, lookit the tour schedule, someone is a few steps ahead of me and has booked them for my favorite venue in July. How nice of him to make it a Saturday night! Hmmm... perhaps a weekend in Brooklyn is in order.
Buy some: Tacks, The Boy Disaster
May 9, 2007
Song of the Day
May 3, 2007
Song of the Day
April 26, 2007
Song of the Day
I volunteered for Chicago Scores last night and acted as their photographer for the football match they organized between the Chicago Fire and the UIC Flames. I have a million photos to go through (aka over 500) and it was a lot of fun to do, but a bit chilly and wet. At least I no longer feel waterlogged and cold.
Buy some: Barcelona
April 19, 2007
Song of the Day
I feel like I've been screaming into the wind.
There appears to be a communication gap. It's as if I am speaking German and your speaking Dutch. Outward appearances are that we are communicating just fine but realistically, we are barely understanding each other.
Buy some: Headlights
April 18, 2007
Song of the Day
April 16, 2007
Song of the Day
Because when she came down
She had dust on her hands from the sky
Buy some: Ride. Love him: Mark Gardener
April 15, 2007
There was a girl who flew the world
I got home from a party tonight, sat down at my computer and decided whatever came up on random in iTunes would become my song of the day. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you...
Somehow my random generator, my computer, my itunes, whatever force lives inside my little laptop, just had to pick one of those life changing songs. I remember this song, this whole album really, as if it was yesterday.
It was February 1995. Technically, I was still in high school although realistically I'd "graduated early" and stopped going to pack up and move from Chicagoland to West Michigan. It was a change in my life I was not looking forward to by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, Suede (ahem, The London Suede) finally released their sophomore album Dog Man Star upon the world, and most importantly my small corner of the world.
They were due to play the Metro (with new guitarist Richard Oakes) just days before I was scheduled to move. I had practically been living at 3730 N Clark over the preceding months1 but this would be THE SHOW before I left. The one that I knew I'd remember forever as the last day as a Chicagoan. The one that would bring tears to my eyes as I crossed the Illinois border into Indiana never looking back.
The day of the show, I was driving somewhere in my car. Per the usual I had the radio dial set on WCBR, a now defunct "college" radio station2 and heard the DJ announced they'd have Suede on the air for an interview in a half an hour. I pulled a U-turn at whatever intersection I was at, picked up my best friend Anna and headed up the radio station3. We sat in the parking lot unsure of what to do for about five minutes before a limo pulled up. A limo.4 Out stepped Simon Gilbert and Brett Anderson along with some manager bloke. Some unknown force got me out of that car and into their path. I don't know how we introduced ourselves or even explained our presence at this random radio station in the Chicago suburbs. I do know that whatever we said was good enough to get us invited in to listen into the interview from the green room and share some lunch with them. I can still picture Brett sat in the studio, separated by only a window. He sat with one leg crossed, ankle resting on his knee, his hands folded on the back of his head. I remember thinking the diamond studded Rolex on his wrist was far more impressive than the limo and wow, was their actually money in making music that I liked?
Cut to a few hours later. We are downtown now, we lined up early5 and are in the venue waiting out the opening band (whom I have absolutely no recollection of). The show in general is a bit of a blur6 but I remember the encore crystal clear... "Black Or Blue" with only Richard on piano and Brett at the mic lounge singer style. That was the very image burned into my brain as two days later I left my friends and life behind and moved to Michigan. I'm not sure if there were more tears at the show or in the car as I watched the Chicago signs fade into the distance in my rear view mirror.
1 Lord knows how I afforded it all with the meager earnings I made life guarding and teaching wee kids to swim.
2 In no way affiliated with a college and in a random office building in Arlington Heights.
3 In a strange turn of events, I had been to this station a few times. The band I was in in high school played live on the air there once and I'd been in the studio a night or two.
4 Oh those were the days when whomever the NME christened the best-band-in-the-world actually BECAME the best-band-in-the-world for a few days.
5 As one had to do during the era of "Britpop" if they were only 5' tall and needed to stand up front for the show.
6 Insert pointless but bad Blur vs Suede joke here.
Buy some: Suede
April 9, 2007
Song of the Day
This SoftLightes song came up on random on my way to work this morning and has stuck with me all day. The quiet in my head has been replaced with endless loops of "BaBaBaBaaah."
Buy some: Softlightes
April 6, 2007
Song of the Day
April 4, 2007
Song of the Day
1 The New Tellers are no more but you might know them better as Field Music anyway.
Buy some: The New Tellers, The Radio Dept.
March 29, 2007
Song(s) of the Day
February 7, 2007
Song of the Day
"I'm just a light boy looking for a lighter day, and it's a cold wet Wednesday.
We had days in the sun but they added up to none.
It's just the fate of the atomic age.
There were lights in my head but they lost their place
I'm not good enough for Saturdays
We had days in the sun but they added up to none
It's just the fate of the atomic age
I am just a microwave."
Buy some: The Softlightes
May 9, 2006
Song of the Day
Something about this song makes me bounce up and down and want to shout at the top of my lungs (perhaps that the recording captures about half of audience screaming along with Timmy). A few years back when Ash was playing a gig here in Chicago, Timmy and I discussed this show at Leeds in 1996. He'd never heard this recorded version but remembered the show being an absolute blast to play. Perhaps that's why I think this version is superior to the original recording... the energy and enthusiasm comes through as pounding as a snare.
May 3, 2006
Song of the Day
They're infiltrating. Slowly infiltrating. They = Voxtrot, adorable energy-filled rocketsboys from Austin, TX.
First it's a good writeup on the mp3blogs, then it's pitchfork, then they're in the NME and now... Entertainment Weekly? Strange one that but I'll let it go because their music is ridiculously brilliant.
I present you with an (as yet) unreleased demo... The Warmest Part of Winter. It's slower (more reflective) than their average jump jump jump about tempo but just as wonderful.
May 2, 2006
Song of the Day
Anyone who has attempted to talk with me about Scandinavia or music has heard "The Swedish Pop Lecture" at some point. The conversation generally goes something like this...
Liz: So you're aware of the source of all good Scandinavian music?
Other Person: There's only one source?
Liz: Oh yes, it all leads back to one man (and collaborators).
OP: I don't believe you.
Liz: Well that's fine but it's true. Aren't you curious to know his name?
OP: It's a him?
Liz: Well of course, men still do run the world you know.
OP: (haha)
Liz: His name is Per.
OP: That's it? This man Per can be credited with all Scandinavian music ever?
Liz: Well anything past 1992 or so, yes.
OP: This is the most ridiculous imagined conversation ever.
Well, yes... it probably is rather ridiculous, but I adamantly stand by my belief. His full name is Per Sunding. This belief started with the music of Eggstone. It grew with the development of Tambourine Studios into a commercial venture. Then we've got Bonving. Add in about a gazillion bands in and out of their studios (an infamous band he's secretly thought to written all the early music for). It's hard to go on and on about the numerous ways that Per has contributed to the Scandinavian music world... it's easier to play musical six degrees of Per Sunding (and just to make it more difficult I won't choose any Scandinavians).
Depeche Mode--> remixed by Air --> worked with French producer/bassist Bertrand Burgalat --> released an Eggstone "Best Of" in the late 90's on his Tricatel and a frequent collaborator with the Eggstone boysU2 --> long time musical friends/collaborators-->Depeche Mode --> Int'l tour with Raveonettes --> Sune plays with Per in The Tremolo Beer Gut
Radiohead --> shared a stage with Welsh balladeer "Tom Jones" when they both won Q awards in 2002 (Radiohead for best band, Jones for Geezer) --> Tom Jones recorded with Nina Persson of the Cardigans for his Reload</