Foreign Friday: Denmark

This fixture is turning out to be quite intriguing, what with me listening to bands I may never have even heard of, let alone listened to.

You tend to have two camps in rock. Alternative rock, and mainstream rock. You get crossover, of course, but I don't think it's usually all that mind-blowing. I'm looking at you, Foo Fighters. This, on the other hand, is everything crossover rock (I'm patenting that) should be. The Floor Is Made Of Lava, All Outta Love

Going off the fact that I have actually heard of the Raveonettes, I would assume they are relatively well-known.
Or maybe not.
The Raveonettes, Attack Of The Ghost Riders

I know I say this all the time, but I really wish I'd been a teenager in the nineties. Because this is awesome. Psyched Up Janis, I Died In My Teens

And as always (but especially with FF) if there's a band you know that you think I'll like - even if it's the kind of thing I don't usually post, I'll listen to anything once - let me know, either in the comments or by sending me an email via the box on the right. I say especially with FF since I use Wikipedia to find these bands, and hence  they might be quite popular in their home country and I'd rather post more underground stuff as you know.

Thanks!
Moll

A Midweek Addiction Update III

I'm going to say something now, that you may not agree with.

Buying new music is not good for the wallet.

But it's good for the soul.

This song came along at the perfect time. I've been getting more into sixties soul-pop from all these episodes of Cold Case that keep getting shown, and until now I wasn't bothered about this album. But do you know what kind of music this is? Soul-pop. And do you know what just happened? I got paid. So if soul-pop + money = x, what is x? Me buying Feist's new album, of course. Feist, How Come You Never Go There

I haven't listened to Mr Adams for a good long while, but I'm a fan of his FB page, and as a result of his little updates, I find myself looking forward to hearing this album. Ryan Adams, Lucky Now

I can't think of much to say about this song, apart from saying that it's pretty awesome. Sissy And The Blisters, Let Her Go

Mollx

Late Label Day: Better Looking Records

Well, that was a good start to the week, wasn't it, being ill for near two days with food poisoning? Grr.

Anyway, let's kick off Label Day with some good old alt.rock music. The Electric Soft Parade, If That's The Case Then I Don't Know

Well, this is a twangy electronic mass, isn't it? Meho Plaza, I Sold My Organs

As a Heatmiser and Sordid Humor fan, I love this. The And/Ors, Flexiclocks

Mollx

(New) Music Monday

Sorry for my absence of late - it was mine and my Mum's birthday last week so everything was a bit hectic and I couldn't find the time.

Anyway, new week, new slate, new music. Well, new-ish.

I really, really want to like St Vincent. And I'm trying, I promise. So far I've been a bit...not underwhelmed as such, but not as blown away as I want to be. This is extremely good though, so if I see the album somewhere I might well get it. From her new album Strange Mercy, St Vincent, with Cruel

I started to smile as soon as this track started. It's not awesome, and it's not even all that original...but I love it anyway. The Horrible Crowes, Sugar, from the new album Elsie.

Well. Yes. Hmm. HOW CAN SHE BE THIS GOOD AT 21?? Laura Marling, the title track from A Creature I Don't Know

Mollx

AOTS: The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas

From last week:

"When you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don't expect him to thank or forgive you!" sings John Darnielle on The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton. It's a killer of a title track, filled with, as it says in the liner notes, The sound of a long-broken machine, deciding, on its own and without the interference of repairmen or excessive prayer vigils, to function again. As well as a musing on the Panasonic RX-FT500, it seems that that's a stencil for the relationships he sings about with such bitter passion. His lyrics are frighteningly clever, beautifully witty, and forced to the forefront by simple strumming and then buried in the crackle of the cheap stereo condenser microphone. The songs are what one could call basic - but it takes a long time to squeeze everything out of this album, and that's the mark of a truly great songwriter.

West Texas! West Texas! West Texas!

8.8/10

Mollx

SOTW: Your Ghost, Kristin Hersh

It takes a special song to stop you in your tracks. Your Ghost doesn't just stop you in your tracks. It covers you in goosebumps, makes your hair stand on end. It's full of melancholy poetry, a simple guitar, strings, and one of the most beautifully gritty voices since Patti Smith. But somehow it's more than just the sum of its parts. The sum of its parts would make an amazing song, true, but not a song this compelling, this heartbreaking. And it's more than just Michael Stipe's backing vocals that make it so.

10/10


Mollx

TV Theme Thursday!

I'm pretty sure one of you lovely people has seen at least a little of the US version of Shameless - well, as luck would have it, the theme song is rather epic. The Highly Strung, The Luck You Got

I don't know if this has a title of its own, but it's the Big Bang Theory theme, by Barenaked Ladies, and it rocks.

And if you don't know what this is from, watch some CSI. Except watch the earlier episodes of CSI:NY because season 7 is a bit crap in my opinion. Anyway, The Who, Baba O'Riley

Mollx