Label Day: 5 Rue Christine

The avaunt-garde imprint of Kill Rock Stars makes an appearance!

One of the few falsetto voices I actually like. Deerhoof, You Can See

Would this count as an instrumental? Either way it's a great track. Schema, Far From Where We Began 

Hold on! Two instrumentals in a row? What is with me today? Hella, Biblical Violence

Mollxx

(Scientific) Music Monday

What better way to finish off a Big Bang Theory marathon than a science themed blog post?

Anybody wanna tell that guy he's missing a string? Guided By Voices, I Am A Scientist

This reminds me very much of Buddy Holly by Weezer. They Might Be Giants, Why Does The Sun Shine?

And as a fan of NCIS, of course I had to but this in. Tom Lehrer, The Elements

Mollx

Salt Lake City? Punk?

I've been watching a film this afternoon, called SLC Punk.

Yeah, I'd never heard of it either - not surprising, since it's a cult film, and I was actually rather pleasantly surprised. I was expecting something I'd have to switch off in five minutes, but no. It's the story of a punk college grad in Salt Lake City - and it's a cool, quirky comedy that stereotypes punk culture just enough to make it funny but not enough for it to feel stupid or stunted...and...well, I can't say anything else without a) making it sound pretentious, and b) spoiling it. But I can tell you it has a killer soundtrack, so go watch it on YouTube (for free!!!) There are much, much worse ways to spend an hour and forty minutes.

I'd much rather listen to this to this than the original (no disrespect to Lynn Anderson though. I just don't like it.) The Suicide Machines, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

I love this. One of my favourite Ramones songs - The Ramones, She's The One

Whaddya mean, this is the first time the punkiest-ever yodeller has appeared on this blog? Adam And The Ants, Beat My Guest

Mollx

Song Of The Week

Another week has gone by in Blogland...

SOTW: Get Away, by Yuck. They are very slowly growing on me. The general aura of demin-and-flannel-and-lo-fi certainly helps.

AOTS: Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol. Very good album.

Mollx

P.S. RIP Gil Scott-Heron.

So...You're With Them, Too?

Such a ambiguous title suggests a series, does it not? Hmm. Let's see how this one goes first, shall we?

The first person dragged up to the podium is Isaac Brock, from Modest Mouse and Ugly Casanova. Ugly Casanova, Things I Don't Remember

Joining Mr Brock up there is Peter Dolving, from Mary Beats Jane and The Haunted. Mary Beats Jane, Blood And Oil

I'm actually rather liking this. I wasn't sure at first, but I'm won over. Rick Froberg on vocal duty, from Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes. Drive Like Jehu, Caress

Mollx

Deja Vue Day - 1941

So, it was Bob Dylan's birthday yesterday.

But what of his peers?

I really like her voice. She reminds me a bit of Mama Cass (there's my penchant for only semi-valid comparisons again. They both have strong voices - therefore they are the same person). Joan Baez, Blowin' In The Wind

Well, this is surprising. A TOTAL departure from the previous track. Captain Beefheart, Ashtray Heart

Another great voice. Otis Redding, Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

Mollx

Happy Birthday!

It's Bob Dylan's birthday today!

...

Oh.

You already knew that, then.

Now, I can't find my favourite Dylan song on YT, (which is Shelter From The Storm), so you're going to have to make do with Blowin' In The Wind.

My Second Favourite Dylan Song

Mollx

Label Day: Moshi Moshi

Moshi Moshi!

How about some slow, vaguely dance-y stuff? Don't worry, it's good. Silver Columns, Always On

And in much the same, although more sinister, ballpark, James Yuill, On Your Own

OOOH. This is good stuff. I like my comfort zone. It's comfy. Hot Club de Paris, Free The Pterodactyl 3

Mollx

(Medicinal) Music Monday

The house is filled with empty boxes of Ibuprofen, discarded tissues and the unmistakeable scent of decongestant spray.

This can mean only one thing.

All three people in this house are as sick as parrots.

Why parrots have been labelled as particularly sick animals I don't know.

I really like this song. It's less dancy than their more recent stuff - and in my mind a helluva lot better. Not to go off on a tangent but one of their recent singles (Rocket?) just sounds like annoying Europop. This doesn't.
Goldfrapp, A&E 

I bought this album ages ago and have barely listened to it since, despite it being a perfectly good album. A trap many fall into when then their collections have long exceeded fifty CDs. And I don't get the Joy Division comparisons, either. Editors, Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors 

Well, this song isn't miserable at all, is it?  It drags, but I like his voice so I think I'll let them get away with it. The Modern Lovers, Hospital

Mollx

I Hope You Appreciate This...

...because I've had to drag myself away from Level 10 of Angry Birds to do it. (funniest when said in a fake-angry voice)

Whaddya mean, "It's still not funny?"


Ahh. Nice indie pop. I'm trying to stop using "indie" quite so much - but "alternative" sounds too mature and "pop" doesn't quite cover it. The Spinto Band, Japan Is An Island

Cool song. Even cooler boots. Amanda Palmer, Guitar Hero

The Walkmen are one of those bands. You know the ones. The ones that you see in magazines or hear on the radio and think "I must look these guys up later". Then, later, you get caught up in watching Criminal Minds and Firefly reruns and totally forget. Anyway, from Stubbs The Zombie, The Walkmen with There Goes My Baby

ZOMG.

Yeah.

Level 11 here I come!

Mollxx

Song Of The Week

Now it's a more acceptable hour of the day, how about a song of the week?

Kimya Dawson, I Miss You. The more I listen to her music, the more I like her. Guess what? She's climbed up to the must-buy list.

AOTS is Dishwalla's Pet Your Friends. Fairly standard post-grunge fair, but enjoyable nontheless.

Mollx

So What? It's The Middle Of The Night!

I'm tired, I'm not feeling very good, and I can't sleep.

So to hell with a theme.

Something nice and soft but with a bit of bite too. Likey likey. About Group, Don't Worry

The return of electro-rock! (oh, who am I kidding. It never went, let alone returned.) 31Knots, Candles On Open Water

This song is bugging me. The verses are all whiny and annoying. But then there's that bloody fantastically addictive chorus. Alex Winston (who reminds me of Sabrina from Raising Hope), Sister Wife 

Mollxx

P.S. See here. Pretty cool song - and a pretty cool guitar, too!

Well, This Is Weird.

I heard this (I say heard - heard about thirty seconds of Sliver as I was getting outta the shower) on Steve Lemaq's 6 Music show today, and I just had to share it. Little Roy, Sliver/Dive.

What do you get if you cross a fantastic Stones song with a post-punk/techno band? This: Devo, Satisfaction

I didn't know the Blondie one is actually a cover - but this is a great cover-of-a-cover. Acid Reign, Hangin' On The Telephone. In a similar vein, L7's version

Stick with it 'til the first chorus. Then it goes from ridiculous to sublime. Lawnmower Deth, Kids In America

Also, see here as to why Lawnmower Deth should actually be called Hod'd'd'd' Deth. (From 3.44, but just watch the whole thing, for gods (or James Mason's*) sake.)

Mollxx
(From 1: 29.)

In Memoriam

Thirty-one years ago today, Ian Curtis killed himself. I'm not a devout Joy Division fan at all - I admire them of course, and I don't think you can call yourself Mancunian without knowing at least some of the words to Love Will Tear Us Apart - but there's no denying they were a brilliant band.

And yes - until not very long ago, Love Will Tear Us Apart was the only song of theirs I knew. For the similarly uninitiated, here's a list of my favourite Joy Division tracks:

She's Lost Control. When I first heard this one, I was underwhelmed. Then I pressed replay. And then I pressed it again. And again. And again....so on and so forth until it became one of my favourites.

Digital. Another one that creeps up on you. But if by this time tomorrow you haven't found yourself murmuring "Day in! Day out! Day in! Day out! Day in! Day out!", I don't think you can be human.

Transmission. The intro is fantastic. 'Nuff said.

Disorder. Their best, in my opinion. I mean, come on! Have you heard that bass line? Plus, it's a really good one to yell along with.

And if you haven't already, go rent Control from the library or somewhere. I watched it a couple of months ago and it's one of those films where, even though you know how it's going to end, it still manages to make you cry. It's beautifully shot too, and Sam Riley is fantastic as Curtis.

Mollx

P.S. The original obituary. A very nice piece. http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=8469&title=paul_morley_on_ian_curtis_the_myth_gets_&more=1&c=1

Label Day: Jagjaguwar

Greetings from the opposite end of the Interwebs! Sorry for my absence of late - curse busyness! Anyway, I'm back in time for Label Day, with some very fine tracks from the free-download vaults of Jagjaguwar!

Featured on Radcliffe and Maconie way back when, they've been on the "Yeah, I've Heard Of Them. So?" list ever since. I've now promoted them to the "Stuff To Think About Buying" list (which is so prestigious it has its own YouTube playlist! Cue gasps). The Besnard Lakes, Albatross 

This song is beautiful. Really gorgeous. Peter Wolf Crier, Hard As Nails

Less ethereal than the previous two, but just as lovely. Julie Doiron, Consolation Prize

Mollxx

EDIT: Playlist link fixed now!

Song Of The Week

SOTW this week is a song that made an appearance all the way back in January, but that was so long ago that I think I can get away with it. Just to warn you though: it's extremely, extremely catchy. The Wave Pictures, Now You Are Pregnant.

AOTS: A program about David Gilmore interspersed with the FA Cup Final (well done Man City. Although, to be honest, I don't really care)

^I know that's not an album, but "Background Noise Of The Second" doesn't have the same ring somehow.

Mollxx

P.S. The Wave Pictures have a new album out called Beer In The Breakers, if you're interested, and you can get a selection of their songs from the Team Love Library.

Where'd It Go?!

In the interests of all things topical, and also in honour of Wednesday & Thursday's eaten posts (although now salvaged), three songs that.

(just stop.)

Which gives me a very nice excuse to post this. Dinosaur Jr, Just Like Heaven

I like this. I'm reminded vaguely of Barenaked Ladies. At least I think it's them I'm thinking of. The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site

Oh, this is great. What better way to lighten the mood on a Saturday afternoon, eh? Dead Kennedys, Stealing People's Mail

Mollxx

Ahh, The Joys of Caffeine Addiction

Blogger's been down the past couple of days, so here's Thursday's post:

I've quit coffee.

But, as quite a few people know, talking to me before I've had my morning coffee is a very bad idea. Maybe I can get through the withdrawal with these songs.

Noisy punk of the most enjoyable kind: Less Than Jake, Black Coffee on the Table

I don't listen to enough Blur. Blur, Coffee and TV

And the same applies to this band. The White Stripes, One More Cup Of Coffee

Mollxx

P.S: I was unsure whether to put this in, so it's an extra for those of you (if there are any) that don't like mainstream rap (i.e. the sexist/anti-social/just plain stupid stuff) but would like to dip a toe in anyway. I'm not sure if I do actually like it, but here it is: Aesop Rock ft. John Darnielle, Coffee

Must-Buy List Blues

This is the real problem with unemployment - teenagers such as myself can't get jobs, and so have to spend their free time doing various odd jobs just to scrape the money together to buy an album. Add to that that my watch and headphones have both broken, and you have a recipe for penniless-ness.  So just to tide me over, some bits from my "I Must Buy This" list. Which doesn't look like its going to shrink any time soon.

First, Diary, Sunny Day Real Estate's first album. It's been on my list for ages and always got pushed to the bottom for some reason. Sunny Day Real Estate, In Circles

Secondly, Sunset Rubdown. I haven't decided which album yet. I guess that depends on which ones I can find second-hand. Sunset Rubdown, Idiot Heart

Finally, Warpaint. I'm hoping to get both the Exquisite Corpse EP and The Fool (again, been on the list for ages.) Warpaint, Undertow

Mollx

A Label Day Heads Up

It's just come to my attention that if you look around the Joyful Noise Recordings website, you'll find some free'n'legal downloads.

See ya tomorrow!

Mollx

Label Day: Joyful Noise Recordings

From their website: "Joyful Noise is an Indianapolis, IN based record label specializing in a variety of ridiculous music. "Experimental indie rock" is often thrown around. We prefer to think of it as "symphonic noise-pop" or "schizophrenic-math-dance". We strive to release music that is lies somewhere between pop and noise, by bands who are artistically honest, exploratory, and often haphazard. JNR is not a traditional noise label, nor are we interested in traditional indie rock. We do however love when these two sides of the spectrum intersect in interesting ways."


Well, the  first "schizophrenic-math-dance"  song is Serpent Wings, by Memory Map.


No matter how good the song is (which is very good), the video is transfixing. Really, really good. I love the bit at 1:55 when the cat saves the day (I'm sure that sounded really dorky. But watch the video, for gods sake.) Jookabox, You Cried Me 


Less indie; more noise. And some scarily agile bass work. Push-Pull, Brain Fever  


Mollx


(PS: sorry for any difference in font/colour etc, Blogger's on the blink)

(Matrimonial) Music Monday

Well really, matrimonial is jumping the gun a bit. But the theme of significant-otherdom still stands.

I've been meaning to look up these two for a while. Kind of airy and twinkly and a bit creepy. Cults, Go Outside

Achem. Another one I've been meaning to look up. Jenny and Johnny, My Pet Snakes

PROPER lo-fi. Recorded in the bathroom, or sounds like it at least. Royal Trux, Stop

Mollx

Run For Your Life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to everyone who ran the Race For Life today in aid of Cancer Research UK - including my Mum, who never thought she'd run, let alone run 5K in 37 minutes!

I sense my "must-buy" list getting longer as I speak. Oh well. Psychedelic Furs, Run And Run

Now, I'm not sure if this was written by Warren Zevon as Werewolves Of London but with totally different lyrics, or whether Doves took the music and put their lyrics to it. Doves, Hit The Ground Running

And here - a double whammy! The obligatory running song - both the Kate Bush original (which is ace) and the Placebo version (which is well worth hearing, although not a patch on the original).

Mollx

Song Of The Week

An energetic bunch, these boys. I hear a teeny bit of Stornoway in the verses myself, but I think my ears are probably broken. Young The Giant, My Body

Album Of The Second: Plague Park, Handsome Furs. Awesome album. Apparently they've got a new one out soon, which I'm really looking forward to (but maybe I should get Face Control first, I mean, it's got Radio Kaliningrad on it for god's sake).

Mollx

In The Spotlight: Weirdcore

Yes, the series that never was has made a reappearance (if you haven't seen the first one yet, click here)!

As far as I understand it, weirdcore is an underground branch of hardcore punk, that is characterised by a certain - you guessed it - weirdness!

A Finnish band here, with a Latin-infused racket that is actually pretty darn good! Deep Turtle, Revolver

Mentioned them a couple of times now, so I might be cheating a little bit (with regard, that is, to the fact that In The Spotlight's recommendations should be new to me). But I like them. ORBS, Lost At Sea

Sorry about the lack of a third song, but the thing is that weirdcore is conspicuous by its absence on YouTube.

Mollx

Difficult Second Album Syndrome?

I'm very cynical about the idea of DSAS.
I think it's more that people (people here means "music journalists") expect immediacy - the prospect of listening to an album more than once is reprehensible, no?

Anyway, in the interests of knowing what I'm talking about, I'm only going to mention two albums:

I doubt any followers of this blog will be surprised at this one:
Letting Off The Happiness, Bright Eyes. To be brutally honest, it didn't have a lot to live up to - A Collection... wasn't exactly brilliant - but it takes the lo-fi, four-track-in-the-basement approach and runs with it. Everything from the rough panicky chords of If Winter Ends to the off-kilter, out of time harmonies of Contrast And Compare (recorded, according to the intro, at seven p.m. on 31st of December 1997) is charming in its own ramshackle way. And how could anyone forget June On The West Coast, arguably one of the best songs of their career? LOTH isn't the greatest album by any measure, but it takes A Collection...'s best moments and makes a whole album of them.

Recommendations: If Winter Ends (complete with "cumbersome introduction") , June On The West Coast

Recovering The Satellites, Counting Crows.
The "problem" with CC is that Mr Jones eclipsed everything. August And Everything After is widely regarded as their best album - but what of its follow up? More of a rock album than its predecessor, and more consistent to boot, it comes as a bit of a shock after the laid-back melancholia of AAEA, an album based on understated grace. RTS clubs you around the back of the head with its sharpness, its outraged yelping, and your first instinct is to recoil. After a while, though, you find delicacy under the riotous guitars of Have You Seen Me Lately, realise that the lyrics are as stronger than ever, and catch onto the idea that a band can change their sound and still be the same band. There's pretty much no filler - although Miller's Angels does go on a little too long, and yes, a few of the songs do need more than a few minutes spent on them, but by the time you've recovered from the majestic blast of misery that is A Long December, you're already reaching for replay.


Recommendations: A Long December, Recovering The Satellites 

Mollxx

Formulaic Band Names Pt 1 - ____ and the _____

Don't worry, I'm only joking about the 'Part One'. Unless, that is, I can think of another band name formulae.

I really, really love this. I love every single that NatW release, but somehow the notion of 'buying one of their albums' never crosses my mind. I really should do. Wait there. I'll go put it on my list before I forget again. Noah and the Whale, Tonight's The Kind Of Night

Thanks Mum. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken

Kate Bush-esque new underground stuff. Mind, they were in NME, so really they might be on the edge of breaking. Niki and the Dove, Mother Protect

Mollx

Label Day: Cherry Red Records

HUGE roster, this one.

Will you tell me why there are other bands that do this kind of catchy indie rock-pop and get famous, when bands like this fall by the wayside? One of life's unavoidable tragedies I suppose. Sixtyfivemiles, Mary.

Many people on YT have said this already, but that makes it no less true. This song could have come out yesterday. Marine Girls, A Place In The Sun

This has a strange video. A very, very strange video. Cineplexx, Mejor.

Mollx

(____) Music Monday

No, that's not a typing error in the title.

Anyway, we start with The Replacements, Can't Hardly Wait. Rather a good song, don'cha think?

A NEW song here. (Isn't that...strange?) Lykke Li, Silent My Song

And today's obscure-ish indie wildcard choice is Longpigs, She Said

Mollx