Common Loon :: Dinosaur Vs. Early Man
i went down to urbana to visit friends and celebrate a birthday. we all got on bikes to check out some local music at a champaign bar, not knowing what to expect. the first band we saw dominated the other bands of the night playing their brand of haunting, shoe-gazey, dreamy pop music. 50% Beatles + 50% Radiohead + 50% 60’s Psychedelia + 50% Apples In Stereo + 50% Elliot Smith = 250% good. two guys total, one with a guitar the other playing drums and running sequencers of organ tones, deep bass swells and sleigh bells, can make any of their songs sound like 10 guys with 3 background singers. i went up to them after the show to tell them i thought the show was great and i loved their sound, but when i started talking, the dude just kinda looked down, then around and quickly finished our conversation to get away from me. am i an asshole (no need to answer that) or is it better to just buy the record and leave bands alone? i always thought it would be cool if someone actually liked the music i played. either way, find this record, buy their new album coming out, become friends with them on myspace, look them up on itunes, bug them if you see them live and always support local acts.
Dinosaur Vs. Early Man (4.6MB MP3)
Common Loon (myspace)
Chemical Brothers w/ Hope Sandoval :: Asleep from Day
i have never owned a chemical brothers record. i never have because records that better suit my tastes have found their way into the pile at the register. but just ask friends to give you mix cds when you’re going on a road trip and you end up with at least one song that gets you through just about anything. this song’s vocals, luscious and drenched in reverb, set the pace for my trip. driving through utah, the ‘looney tunes’ state, i came upon the most massive storm these eyes have witnessed. curling through giant rock formations that push through the earth, the storm filled my entire peripheral vision. with a smoky grey cloud pushing its way towards my car, i met with the crest of a crack in the earth and saw the storm filling up a valley below and pushing up against a massive plateau, driving into what will become the darkest storm i’ve ever seen. it’s moments like these that make me fear every single god. luckily i could blast this song over and over again, and drive eighty-five with my white knuckled fingers gripping the steering wheel. seeing a sign that said ‘Caution: Eagles On The Road’ had me saying made-up prayers in my head to whatever higher power i could, that i not hit a deer, moose, or an anvil dropping from the sky.
Asleep from Day (6.6MB MP3)
the Chemical Brothers w/ Hope Sandoval (homepages, wikipedia)
Grinderman :: No Pussy Blues
If there’s one thing I love, it’s getting *_____. I just can’t resist when someone puts a *_____ in my face, because a *_____ is man’s great pleasure. Be careful though, because not every *_____ is the same. Some *_____ get pretty dirty, you don’t know where it’s been, so wash that *_____ and wash it good. If a hot *_____ is in front of me, I take my finger and feel around to make sure it’s warm and velvety on the inside, spreading the opening, getting that *_____ ready. Then I stuff the *_____ with my hot meat. When I’m done squirt my hot butter inside and all around that juicy *_____. Then I put my lips up against the *_____ and suck the gooey juices out. Finally I eat the *_____ like there’s no tomorrow. Mmmmm. Soon I have *_____ juices all over my face. Like I said, no two *_____ are alike, but I’ve never met a piece of *_____ that I didn’t like.
* potato, -es
No Pussy Blues (5MB MP3)
Grinderman (homepage, more info)
M.I.A. :: Boyz
So i’m hanging out with some friends… blah blah blah blah blah… next thing i know we’re at an N’Sync after party in downtown Cleveland. We knew one of the bar backers, so he got us up to the exclusive VIP party upstairs. We walk up this backroom stairwell filled with trash and the stench of stale beer. When we get to the top we’re greeted with a huge roof patio with it’s own bar clad in fake tropical grasses, bamboo, and tiki torches. Unfortunately there were no easter island heads. Justin Timberlake is in the corner surrounded by middle age women trying to get him to sign autographs or whatever. We get pretty bored because nobody wants to talk to the jerk off degenerates that don’t know why they’re there. My friend Tiffany tells me to follow her, so i do and we end up in this annex of the roof patio that’s its own enclosed bar. Friends that i came with show up and we’re the only ones in there minus the bartenders. We order some drinks and help ourselves to the two foot by four foot trays of sushi sitting out on the table. Mind you, we’re the only ones in there, the jerk off degenerates. Suddenly we hear the doors close. We’re shoving sushi in our mouths. Two huge security guards block off the door, and Justin Timberlake runs in to grab a spot to sit. I’m watching him run by, nothing between me and him except some chairs and the columns. I tilt my torso to the left, put my left hand behind my ear, and point right hand at him and yell “Hey Justin! What up Bo-Bo!” Justin returns the gesture by giving me a double up nod, almost responding with another “Bo-Bo” right back at me. Slowly they started letting people in and we were in the real VIP after-after party. We’re definitely the youngest people there, and we’re the only ones that didn’t care. Joey Fatone was sitting in a love seat with two girls, with a chair adjacent to the sofa. He was making out with the girl on the right, and rubbing the leg of the girl on the left. Soon, the girl on the right would leave, the girl on the left would take her place, and the girl waiting on the adjacent chair would take her place. It was this weird make out circle, and everyone just knew what to do. We stood there in the same spot all night eating sushi and drinking beers.
You all know who M.I.A. is. i didn’t like her first record, but this shit is off the hook!
Boyz (4.9MB MP3)
M.I.A. (homepage)
Teenage Fanclub :: the Concept
Back when i was tiny Johnny i used to watch 120minutes and Post Modern late nights on MTV with my sisters, where i first caught a glimpse of Scottish power pop band Teenage Fanclub. Soon i would see them performing this song on SNL, their long grungy hair juxtaposed with their uber-catchy melodies and nerdy looks. I found out later that this record Bandwagonesque was actually their third record as a band and first on a major label. This release in 1991 was considered the best record of the year by Spin Magazine, which beat out Nirvana’s Nevermind, My Bloody Valentines’ Loveless, and R.E.M.‘s hugest record Out of Time. Prior to Bandwagonesque they supposedly had a noisier hard rock sound that masked their vocals. Don Fleming their producer for this album, convinced them to strip down their sound for clarity and to bring forth their Brian Wilson inspired vocal harmonies.
No doubt about it, they’re my favorite of the power pop groups. Maybe because i grew up listening to them as opposed to Big Star or Cheap Trick, bands i didn’t find until later in my life. Maybe because at 11 years old seeing a band and getting caught in a moshpit was the sweetest feeling because it was the 90s. But there was no anger or apathy involved, it was just pure unadulterated pop music with loud guitars and songs about those ladies (or dudes) with the glowing aura you just have to be around. This song is about that girl or guy, the one that you see everywhere and want to hang out with because they’re just so damn sweet, wearing jeans (yup, that’s right jeans!) with a Status Quo Pictures of Matchstick Men 45rpm in hand. The picture is painted so clear with so little, yet in the chorus they sing “I didn’t want to hurt you, oh yeah” which leads your mind to wander and revel in the possibilities of this seemingly heart wrenching journey of fateful relationships. It’s not a new concept in the world of lyrics, but goddamn, they make it sound so luscious.
Ferg and Kurt this is for you. So turn out the lights, put your headphones on and blast the shit out of this song.
the Concept
Teenage Fanclub (homepage)
Big Star :: Stroke it Noel
Captains log…March 26 2008, Cadaques, Spain.
Tonight we drove into cadaques from barcelona. it’s on the northeast coast of Spain, so close to France that a lot of the people there speak french. it’s known for being the town where salvador dali spent his summers. along the streets there are plaques with dali paintings put into the spot that he actually sketched or painted them. “oh look there’s a sweet tree, i’ll turn it into a bull on fire.” we ended up at this bar called L’Hostal, where dali would frequent and i read he took mick jagger there and it changed his life. it wasn’t hard to find, because it was the only building with a psychedelic patio and a huge sign that read “Surrealisme”. we figured we were in the right place. upon entering, good ol classic american rock was blasting on the stereo, and the lights were dim. on each table was a drip candle, only these weren’t drip candles i’ve ever seen. they’d been dripping for the past 30 years at least, and now looked like formations of stalactites and stalagmites on like a sea rock on the mediterranean. the walls were plastered with posters of famous rock stars, photos of dali, origianl dali sketches and paintings. we sat down and ordered some beers, from the younger of two bartenders who did not speak a lick of english. the older bartender we assumed was the owner of the place. all night we were taking pictures and talking about dali and what it must’ve been like being there when he was alive, the whole time under the impression nobody understood us. i brought up to my sister how sad it must be being the owner having these tourists come in to honor his friend when they really didn’t know what dali was like or what he was all about, but at the same time being reminded of his friend’s death every day. but really i think he’s reminded of what kind of an impact dali made on the world that these tourists would come out to see this place from all parts of the world. so yeah, my sister bought a t-shirt before we left, and she was trying to say it in spanish, and the owner came over and said “We only have large.” he spoke english the whole time, and we didn’t get to talk to him about dali at all. but he gave us some matches with the bar’s logo that dali designed and on the inside is a drawing that gabriel garcia marquez drew for the bar. before we left, we took some pictures with Marcie the owner. it was totally inspiring.
Stroke It Noel
Big Star (fan site, wikipedia)
Elyse :: Houses
when i was living in columbus, i partied at the “cleveland house” everyday. actually we were a lot like an asshole frat house. we became the epitome of what we hated… dude in chicken suit, non stop chanting, blow-up doll on the wall, filling the interior stair with snow and sledding out the front door, blah blah blah, etc. this band i was in played a show at a party there once, filled with total debauchery. the entire floor was soaked because of the snow we had packed in the house. and i swear to god i saw a couple making-out and then she puked in a houseplant and they immediately went back to frenching.
when i left, i had a suitcase filled with guitar pedals. the suitcase was heavy and black with sharp metal trimmed edges. the guitar pedals made it even heavier. so yeah, i’m leaving the party with some friends and the stairs to the front porch are a solid block of ice. so i take a step down ever so gently placing my foot on the ice below about five feet from some parked cars. whoop! i slip on the ice feet in the air arms flailing like a jackass. in mid air, my suitcase swings in full circle like Pete Townshend’s power windmill all the way around from behind me to the front. my ass hits the ice below, my head hits the curb and my suitcase with all my pedals swings around and slams me in the nuts. i slide across the ice underneath a parked pickup truck and was laughing so hard i peed my pants.
yeah, so this song is for the upcoming spring. it sounds like the sun setting, wearing sunglasses and leather jackets with fringe. Elyse is canadian, which is why the crying, wailing guitar is played by the one and only Neil Young, and backed by the band soon to become Touch. she sings with pure feel and without precision, making it seem like the whole band is playing inside of a barn on a Sunday afternoon just rehearsing. she sings “I’ve got my ticket in my hand and I’m bound for the promised land” and goddamn she means it. not americana, but canadiana.
Houses
Elyse (label site)
More information (In Music We Trust site)
(Elyse’s self-titled debut was reissued in 2001 by Orange Twin, an elephant six non-profit to fund a small village of artists. the original vinyl does not have this song on it.)