THE DOORS - PART 2

THE DOORS on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] "Hello, I Love You" [1968]

[MP3] "People Are Strange" [1967]

[MP3] "Light My Fire" [1967]

[MP3] "You're Lost Little Girl" [1967]

[MP3] "Take It As It Comes" [1967]

[MP3] "L.A. Woman" [1970]

THE DOORS - PART 1

I promised last week that we'd be taking a vacation from the British Invasion, but I also said that we weren't quite finished with the '60s. I am, if nothing else, a man of my word (at least, when it's convenient).

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of THE DOORS' later stuff -- the blues-ier stuff, to be precise. Other songs have been left out as a consequence of length ("The End" is probably best enjoyed as part of "Apocalypse Now" anyway).

[MP3] "Break on Through" [1967]

[MP3] "Touch Me" [1969]

[MP3] "Alabama Song" [1967]

[MP3] "Love Her Madly" [1970]

[MP3] "Unhappy Girl" [1967]

[MP3] "Waiting for the Sun" [1970]

NUREMBERG 1948 --> PARIS 1968

I hadn't planned to post anything else until Sunday, but I see that it's been a pretty busy week around here -- traffic-wise -- so, as a little thank-you from me to you....

I recently completed an alternating-track mix CD with a cyber-friend of mine. It was our second tag-team effort, requiring 15 months of our lives to complete, but I think it was well worth the time and effort. If you want it, it's yours....

(Oh, and... you'll have to guess whether I was the evens or the odds....)

Left-click [HERE] to download the whole kit 'n' kaboodle.

NUREMBERG 1948 -> PARIS 1968 TRACKLIST >>>

01 okkervil river THE WAR CRIMINAL RISES AND SPEAKS
02 THE NATIONAL fake empire
03 arcade fire INTERVENTION
04 THE WALKMEN another one goes by
05 candie payne BY TOMORROW
06 DOVES black and white town
07 the flaming lips POMPEII AM GOTTERDAMMERUNG
08 OF MONTREAL bunny ain't no kind of rider
09 strip squad HAIRLESS YOUTH OF BOSNIA
10 RILO KILEY the moneymaker
11 eels SOULJACKER (PART I)
12 PROTOTYPES ici ou peut-etre demain
13 dean & britta MOONSHOT
14 THE PIPETTES one night stand
15 brendan benson THE PLEDGE
16 ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE misunderstanding
17 manic street preachers SO WHY SO SAD
18 THE SLEEPY JACKSON rain falls for wind
19 tilly and the wall BLOOD FLOWERS
20 THE WHITE STRIPES i think i smell a rat
21 fabienne delsol CATCH ME A RAT
22 APRIL MARCH chick habit
23 serge gainsbourg MARILOU SOUS LA NEIGE
24 THE MAGNETIC FIELDS the night you can't remember

SON(S) OF 'HALCION DAZE'

While compiling my beloved HALCION DAZE mix (still available [HERE] for the low, low price of nothing at all), I came across many a tune that tickled me pink but didn't (quite) fit the bill. Here's a handful (+1) of tickly tunes to amuse you. (We'll get to the left-out ladies at a later date....)

[MP3] LEE HAZLEWOOD/"When a Fool Loves a Fool" [1966]

[MP3] JOHNNY CASH/"A Thing Called Love" [1972]

[MP3] TOM JONES/"Love Me Tonight" [1969]

[MP3] RAY CHARLES/"Where Can I Go?" [1963]

[MP3] JOE COCKER/"Unchain My Heart" [1987]

[MP3] DEL SHANNON/"Little Town Flirt" [1962]

CARLA BRUNI

J'accuse... me! No me parleyvoo or comprendeyvoo le frankinscence.

But no matter. Because I have always preferred french fries to freedom fries; french toast to texas toast; and french-kissing to ass-kissing (though, to be fair, that last one is sort of highly dependent on the context, if you know what I'm saying).

Fact is, you don't have to know French to get French. It's a lyrical language. Soft. Sensual. Forgiving. Tell someone to "eat shit and die" in English, and it might come across as crass. In German, it would be regarded as a declaration of war. In French, it might just as easily serve as preface to a seduction. Wine... song... l'amour... more wine... more song... more amour. Mange du murde et meurt? But of course. Just as soon as you make ravishing love to me on this French damask divan (or in the hatchback of my Le Car), under this painting by Renoir (atop this spare-tire by Michelin), to the gentle, soothing strains of Debussy's Clair de lune (to the gentle, soothing strains of Jerry Lewis' "Theme to 'The Day the Clown Cried'"). Viva la France! Viva le difference! Viva le cigarette, la baguette, le beret, le beret raspberry, le menage a trois, Monet, Manet, Marcel Marceau, Jacques Cousteau, Inspector Clouseau, and Pepe Le Pew!

And -- perhaps somewhat lower on this distinguished list -- CARLA BRUNI. Model. Singer. First Lady of France. Former paramour of MICK JAGGER, ERIC CLAPTON, and... um... Donald Trump. There is the small problem, of course, of Carla Bruni being Italian. But no matter. She sings in French, and that'll serve our purposes tres bien.

Now... is Carla Bruni a great singer -- a la EDITH PIAF? No... she is not. But remember: Dirty SERGE GAINSBOURG's girls weren't particularly skilled singers, either. But they could coo. Purr. Whisper. Come hither. Come thither. Keep coming and coming till the cows came home. And these things Carla Bruni can do, too -- over light, largely acoustic arrangements -- coo, purr, whisper & come.

[Okay, it's 3 AM, I'm tired, and it's time for you to get to downloading (or not) today's songs. As is sometimes the case when I'm writing these somewhat-longer-than-usual posts, I find that I have random scraps of crap left over at the end -- stray sentences that may have once made sense, but now no longer do because the post has decided (entirely of its own volition) to go in an unexpected direction. Normally, of course, I would simply delete said random scraps before sending the post out into the world. Today, though, just for the hell of it, I'm going to leave them be, for no other reason than... well... I actually took the time to look up the proper spelling of "gesundheit" (I originally had a "z" in there). And I really do despise German opera. So suck on that, RICHARD STRAUSS!]

>>> , if you get my tongue-in-cheek meaning.....

(So, let's just say that, when it comes to French prime ministers, Sarkozy isn't her first.)

(When it comes to opera, Italian should be the only language allowed. French would be fine but for the fact that French composers have no balls. German composers have great big, eugenically maxi-sized balls, but, alas, the German language is better suited to jackhammering granite than to singing. C'est la vie. C'est la guerre. Gesundheit!) <<<

And gute Nacht and bonne chance.

CARLA BRUNI on MySPACE.

From the LP COMME SI DE RIEN N'ETAIT, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Deranger les pierries"
[MP3] "Ta tienne"

From the LP NO PROMISES, 2007 >>>
[MP3] "Lady Weeping at the Crossroads"

From the LP QUELQU'UN M'A DIT, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "L'excessive"
[MP3] "Quelqu'un m'a dit"

MY NAME IS GEORGE

Okay, enough already with the catchy-but-derivative pop. I know, I know, I get it. Just allow me this one last entry, and I promise to definitively shift gears... starting tomorrow. Really. Truly. Enable me. I beg of ye.

Switzerland-based MY NAME IS GEORGE sound like a bunch of youngsters who just wanna lounge around smokin' the wacky weed and listening to... I don't know... THE TURTLES and THE LIGHTNING SEEDS; THE TROGGS and... gulp... SAVAGE GARDEN. They're Brad Pitt on the couch in "True Romance" -- after a couple of Red Bulls. FALL OUT BOY would eat them alive. But they could kick some big-time JONAS BROTHERS ass.

MY NAME IS GEORGE on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Radio"

[MP3] "Mary-Jane"

CLOETTA PARIS

I love '80s pop and all, but this is a little ridiculous....

Sweden's CLOETTA PARIS falls somewhere between KIM WILDE and TIFFANY on the wayback-machine dial. Early PET SHOP BOYS. LADYTRON. Effin' ACE OF BASE, for Christ's sake. Oh, and... they list T.A.T.U. as an "influence." Seemingly without irony. Oh me-oh-me-oh-my.

Just 64 days till I can have a drink. Can't get here soon enough....

From the LP SECRET EYES, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Young Girls in Town"
[MP3] "Secret Eyes"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Cry Just a Little Bit"

MIGHTY SIX NINETY

L.A.'s MIGHTY SIX NINETY first came to my attention in February of 2006 with the song "Have You Ever Asked Yourself." I loved the damn thing -- played it over and over and over -- never really tired of it. The fact that it sounded exactly like THE SMITHS didn't faze me in the least.

It took a couple of years, but Mighty Six Ninety finally released a full-length album -- CHEERS TO THE BITTER END -- this past June. The Smiths comparisons are still unavoidable. NEW ORDER. THE SMITHEREENS. But I remain unfazed. And determined to enjoy these gentle, retro-sounding pop confections before the summer up and turns into a pumpkin.

From the LP CHEERS TO THE BITTER END, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Never Go to Sleep"
[MP3] "Believable"
[VID] "Mistakes Like These"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Have You Ever Asked Yourself"

IDA MARIA

Sweden-based but Norway-born, IDA MARIA would seem to possess some Risk-like global ambitions. So far, she's managed to transport her indie-rocking armies across the North Sea and gain a foothold in the UK on the strength of single "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked." The song is a likeable-enough, cut-and-paste rasp-alooza -- only marginally marred by that too-cute-for-school title.

[Then again, I'll take that any day over a girl calculatedly crooning a calculatedly "controversial" song called "I Kissed a Girl" (unless that girl is named JILL SOBULE).]

Ida Maria's debut album is named FORTRESS ROUND MY HEART, and that ringing telephone you hear in the distance is STING calling in an indignant tizzy....

IDA MARIA on MySPACE.

[MP3] [VID] "Oh My God"

[MP3] "Morning Light"

[VID] "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked"

RANDOM BONUS AUDIO/VISUAL ADDENDA >>>

[VID] JILL SOBULE/"I Kissed a Girl"

[VID] STING/"Fortress Around Your Heart"

HEY, BANNER BANNER! SWING!

Every now, then & again, somebody asks me about this blog's banner. I'm always tempted to say that it's something I dashed off while doing 'shrooms and watching "The Wizard of Oz" synced to DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. But no... that wouldn't be the truth.

The truth is that it's Salvador Dali. "The Temptation of Saint Anthony." And I want you to know that I didn't crop the thing to spare you the sight of some skinny-man-ass. I cropped the thing to make it fit. And for that reason only.

Go [HERE], if you've got the itch to, for a bit of quick history.

See you all tomorrow, my pretties. And your little dogs, too.

INFADELS

Later today, the cable man cometh, so hopefully my connectivity issues will soon be a thing of the past. In the meantime, a bit o' the dance-rock to give your week a goose....

INFADELS on MySPACE.

From the LP UNIVERSE IN REVERSE, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Free Things for Poor People"
[MP3] "Circus of the Mad"

From the LP WE ARE NOT THE INFADELS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Girl That Speaks No Words"
[MP3] "Murder That Sound"

THE HOLLIES - PART 2

THE HOLLIES on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)" [1971]

[MP3] "Man Without a Heart" [1970]

[MP3] "The Air That I Breathe" [1974]

[MP3] "My Back Pages" [1969]

[MP3] "Stop! Stop! Stop!" [1966]

[MP3] "Don't Let Me Down" [1974]

[MP3] "Just One Look" [1964]

THE HOLLIES - PART 1

I've been having a devil of a time lately with my broadband connection, so I'm going to go ahead and get this thing out to you while I can. Part 2, hopefully, tomorrow.

THE HOLLIES will bring us to the end of our recent 1960s-British-Invasion Sundays (though we're not entirely through with the '60s just yet). Now... must hit "PUBLISH POST" before my connection once again pulls the rug out from under me....

[MP3] "Bus Stop" [1966]

[MP3] "I Can't Let Go" [1966]

[MP3] "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" [1969]

[MP3] "Look Through Any Window" [1965]

[MP3] "What Went Wrong" [1966]

[MP3] "Sorry Suzanne" [1969]

[MP3] "Lucille" [1964]

THE ELECTRIC CINEMA

Indie pop-rock from the UK. "Cut Down" is the opening track on THE ELECTRIC CINEMA's 2007 self-titled album and owes a great debt to GRANDADDY. "It's Fire We Crave the Most" is the closing track from that same disc and has more of an ARCADE FIRE-lite feel.

THE ELECTRIC CINEMA on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Cut Down"

[MP3] "It's Fire We Crave the Most"

NINA KINERT

NINA KINERT is a young Swedish singer who changed gears a bit with her 2008 CD, PETS & FRIENDS. Her previous country-folk stylings took a backseat this time around to moodier, edgier pop fare. I, for one, like the change. (Swedish car company Saab, on the other hand, was obviously A-OK with her earlier work, having incorporated the gossamer "Through Your Eyes" into one of their ad campaigns.)

NINA KINERT on MySPACE.

From the LP PETS & FRIENDS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Combat Lover"
[MP3] "I Shot My Man"

From the LP LET THERE BE LOVE, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Through Your Eyes"

THE STILLS

In my mind, I had more or less worked out that this post was going to be all about how much I had liked THE STILLS' debut album, LOGIC WILL BREAK YOUR HEART, back in 2003; how disappointed I had been with their "musical makeover" of 2006 (WITHOUT FEATHERS); and how 2008's OCEANS WILL RISE ultimately struck me as a sort of ho-hum, shoulder-shrug of a third act.

But then I re-read what I'd written here back in '06:

"I liked the 'sound' of the Stills' debut LP, Logic Will Break Your Heart, even if only a few of the 'songs' proved fully-formed and distinctive. The Montreal band will release their second CD, Without Feathers, on May 9th. People are already remarking on the change in the group's sound, as evidenced by opening track, 'In the Beginning.' As it happens, I didn't care for that song, and I don't much care for the rest of the album, either. Yes, that's one more 2006 disappointment for me, but who's counting?"

So... it would seem that I was never quite as high on that 2003 debut as I'd come to believe I was. I do like the "songs" from it below, at least. And I like the one (and only one) from the follow-up. And the top two would be my Top 2 from Disc 3. Alas, the phrase "diminishing returns" hangs over this post like the ghost of FRANK SINATRA, JR. (and yes, I know that Frank Sinatra, Jr. is still alive, but that fact does nothing to diminish my basic point).

THE STILLS on MySPACE.

From the LP OCEANS WILL RISE, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Don't Talk Down"
[MP3] "Snakecharming the Masses"

From the LP WITHOUT FEATHERS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Halo the Harpoons"

From the LP LOGIC WILL BREAK YOUR HEART, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "Still in Love Song"
[MP3] "Changes Are No Good"

JEFF HANSON

When it comes to Twin Cities singer-songwriter JEFF HANSON, it's all about the voice. Sure, the man knows his way around a gentle melody and a graceful arrangement, but it's the seemingly natural highness of his yearning, boyish (girlish?) vocals that will either draw you in or drive you away.

On his third solo long-player, MADAM OWL, Hanson continues to sing at the tippy-top of his register. The arrangements remain graceful; the melodies, gentle (if not, perhaps, as memorable as in outings past). I'd love to hear this guy commit himself to an album's worth of more "driving" tuneage [a la "Welcome Here" below]. JEFF BUCKLEY-by-way-of-LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM-by-way-of-JIM CROCE is a musical construct that can't miss with this particular listener.

MADAM OWL is available for purchase today. [HERE], for instance. For those wishing to kick the tires a bit first, the album can be streamed in its entirety [HERE].

JEFF HANSON on MySPACE.

From the LP MADAM OWL, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Your Only Son"
[MP3] "The Hills"

From the LP JEFF HANSON, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "This Time It Will"
[MP3] "Welcome Here"

From the LP SON, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "The End of Everything Known"
[MP3] "You Are the Reason"

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Austin, Texas' BROTHERS AND SISTERS should not be confused with Glasgow, Scotland's SONS AND DAUGHTERS, Los Angeles, California's THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS, Sydney, Australia's WOLFMOTHER, Belleville, Illinois' UNCLE TUPELO, or London, England's GAY DAD or ADAM ANT.

This is alt-country music, or what you get when you cross Texas rock with California rock (New Mexico rock?). In this case: unassuming & appealingly awkward stuff.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS on MySPACE.

From the LP FORTUNATELY, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "You're Gone"
[MP3] "Can't Hold Me Back"

From the LP BROTHERS AND SISTERS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "One Night"