WISHING HIM A VERY-MERRY-CHRISTMAS CORONARY

2004... 2005... WHAT'S THE BIG WHOOP?

CROOKED FINGERS

Ah, hell.

As I get closer to finalizing my Top 10 Albums of '05, I have hit a formidable, unforgiving wall. For some ridiculous reason, I was ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that the Arcade Fire's Funeral was released in the year 2005. Of course, not true.

Shit.

So there goes my #1. My no-brainer. My silver-lining. My shining light.

For, you see, slotting everything else has been painstaking. It's been a chore. A bitch. I was sure of my ground only with #1. But no more....

Fuck.

But life, as they say, goes on. So I will strive to forgive myself for not having a blog at this time last year - and therefore compiling a list of the Top 10 Albums of 2004 (though I reserve the right to compile such a list, post-facto, any time from this day till December 31, 2009) (just for the hell/shit/fuck of it).

In the meantime, there is the 2005 (I double-checked) effort of Crooked Fingers - Dignity and Shame. I suppose now that it has an outside chance of making my re-shuffled Top 10. At the very least, former Archer of Loaf Eric Bachmann's work continues to be worthy of praise and potential contention. (And what with Neil Diamond's recent career resurrection, it seems appropriate to include Crooked Fingers covering the Jazz Singer, especially as Mr. Bachmann's distinctive pipes are so often connected with Mr. Diamond's).

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Call to Love" [from the LP Dignity and Shame, 2005]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "You Can Never Leave" [from the LP Red Devil Dawn, 2003]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "You Threw a Spark" [from the LP Red Devil Dawn, 2003]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "New Drink for the Old Drunk" [from their self-titled LP, 2000]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Solitary Man" [from the EP Reservoir Songs, 2002]

SO MUCH MORE ELEGANT THAN A F*CKING FORK

SPOON

Spoon's Gimme Fiction looks like another near-miss for 2005's Top 10 list. "Monsieur Valentine" makes my Top 20 song list, however, and there is much else to admire and celebrate when it comes to these Austin originals.

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine"

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Sister Jack"

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "I Summon You"

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Stay Don't Go" [from the LP Kill the Moonlight, 2002]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Everything Hits at Once" [from the LP Girls Can Tell, 2001]

BAH HUMBUG?

BELLE & SEBASTIAN X-MAS

At the risk of running this recent Belle and Sebastian fixation of mine right into the ground, I am offering today a collection of ten Christmas tunes the band played at a John Peel party in 2002.

For your convenience, I have lumped them together in a handy-dandy zip file, which can be left-clicked and dowloaded [here]. Enjoy.

Tracklist:
1) O Come, All Ye Faithful
2) Christmas Time is Here
3) Santa Claus
4) Santa Claus, Go Straight to the Ghetto
5) Silent Night
6) O Little Town of Bethlehem
7) Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me
8) O Come, O Come Emmanuel
9) I Took Some Time for Christmas
10) The Twelve Days of Christmas

NEW DAY DAWNING...

Well, I finally decided to invest a couple bucks so that visitors don't have to jump through Rapidshare hoops to download some tunes. Starting with today's Gentle Waves/Isobel Campbell post, people can do the right-click/"save as" thing. And we'll see how this goes....

ISOBEL[LE] SANS SEBASTIAN

THE GENTLE WAVES/ISOBEL CAMPBELL

Following fairly naturally from yesterday's Belle and Sebastian post is today's Isobel Campbell entry. Isobel used to play cello and, every now and again, sing for B&S. She has also led the '60s-styled folk-pop outfit the Gentle Waves and released a solo album (Amorino).

Most recently, she has teamed with former Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan on the 2005 EP Ramblin' Man [to be released December 13th.] [Go (here) to sample the tracks.]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Falling from Grace" [from the LP Swansong for You, 2000]

[MP3] [right-click/"save-as"] "Partner in Crime" [from the LP Swansong for You, 2000]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Evensong" [from the LP The Green Fields of Foreverland..., 1999]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Amorino"/Isobel Campbell [from the LP Amorino, 2003]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Ramblin' Man"/Mark Lanegan w/Isobel Campbell [from the EP Ramblin' Man, 2005]

LET THERE BE LEAK!

NEW BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

Though their new LP, The Life Pursuit, won't be released until February 7th, 2006, Belle and Sebastian's new tunes are already leaking into the ether [see: Dreams of Horses, for starters].

And here's one that I've taken a shine to (though, granted, it ain't nothin' new for B&S)...

[MP3] [left-click] "Dress Up in You"

WELL, IT *IS* ALMOST DECEMBER...

THE DECEMBERISTS

I had thought for sure that the Decemberists' Picaresque would make my Top 10 for 2005, but, at the moment, it ain't looking good.

Still, I very much enjoy four of the songs on the disc, and I am offering three of these for your listening enjoyment ("Eli, the Barrow Boy," alas, will have to be the odd man out).

[MP3] [left-click] "We Both Go Down Together"

[MP3] [left-click] "The Engine Driver"

[MP3] [left-click] "The Mariner's Revenge Song"

THE NON-POISONOUS VARIETY

IVY

Adam Schlesinger, who is one-half of Fountains of Wayne, makes up one-third of Ivy. He is not the focus of this latter group, however; that would have to be lead singer Dominique Durand, whose voice is as smooth and cool as her name. ("Ivy," by the way, should not be confused with ska-punkers "Operation Ivy" or folk-popsters "Ida.")

Ivy certainly aren't as in-your-face-catchy as Fountains of Wayne; their sound merges pop with St. Etienne-esque soundscapes. My favorite songs by them tend to lean a bit more to the "pop" side, as may be evident below....

[MP3] [left-click] "Corners of Your Mind" [from the LP In the Clear, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Kite" [from the LP Guestroom, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Edge of the Ocean" [from the LP Long Distance, 2001]

[MP3] [left-click] "The Best Thing" [from the LP Apartment Life, 1997]

#11?

BLOC PARTY

In reviewing some CDs for my upcoming (and inevitable) Top 10 Albums of 2005, I found myself re-grooving on five or so songs from Bloc Party's Silent Alarm.

I don't think the record's going to quite make the Top 10, but "Banquet" certainly deserves a place on my Top 20 Songs of 2005.

[MP3] [left-click] "Banquet"

[MP3] [left-click] "So Here We Are"

[MP3] [left-click] "Luno"

###

BY THE NUMBERS

[MP3] [left-click] The Strokes/"12:51"

[MP3] [left-click] Rialto/"Monday Morning 5.19"

[MP3] [left-click] Rufus Wainwright/"11:11"

[MP3] [left-click] Deathray/"10:15"

[MP3] [left-click] Elastica/"2:1"

BLACK TUESDAY

BLACK BOX RECORDER

England's Black Box Recorder are often compared with St. Etienne, but that's crap. Most likely, that error is made because BBR singer Sarah Nixey's elegantly icy vocals do bear some resemblance to St. E's Sarah Cracknell's (though one might just as easily invoke Yaz's Alison Moyet).

Bottom line: while I've always found the bulk of St. Etienne's music to be airy to the point of pointlessness, Black Box Recorder's efforts have always had a tangible gravity and tang to them. Thus, I think it's much more accurate to insert them somewhere along the continuum between Pulp and Goldfrapp.

Arch lyrics... deadpan delivery... very, very British... sounds good to me....

[MP3] [left-click] "These Are the Things" [from the LP Passionoia, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Goodnight Kiss" [from the LP The Facts of Life, 2000]

[MP3] [left-click] "Swinging" [from the LP England Made Me, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "Brutality" [from the LP The Worst of Black Box Recorder, 2001]

ALEX LLOYD

CRASH VEGAS

THE FRAMES

AHH, NOSTALGIA...

Every now and again, I like to pull an old mix CD off the shelf and see if it has held up with the passage of time. Invariably, certain songs fall flat, while others resonate and reward all over again. For me, at least, the three tunes below fit comfortably in the latter camp.

Alex Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. "Green" is a lush little charmer with chiming guitars that reference mid-period R.E.M. more than the Smiths. There are also some happy-yet-melodramatic strings that might scare a few hardcore indie enthusiasts away, but screw those snobs. This one would give Kermit a peaceful, easy feeling.

Crash Vegas was a Canadian outfit featuring Michelle McAdorey on vocals and one or two members of Blue Rodeo. I heard the song "On and On (Lodestar)" in the summer of '95 or '96 on Canadian radio (just across the river from Detroit). I instantly fell in love with this haunting and autumnal tune. The mood? Think: "California Dreamin'."

The Frames are an Irish outfit that's been kicking around since 1991. I don't think they're particularly well-known in the States, but "Pavement Tune" deserves more than a little international attention. Blissfully simple, it's basically one big hook. Irresistible.

[MP3] [left-click] Alex Lloyd/"Green"

[MP3] [left-click] Crash Vegas/"On and On (Lodestar)"

[MP3] [left-click] The Frames/"Pavement Tune"

SINGLE-ARTIST SATURDAY

JOSH ROUSE

An Aquarium Drunkard reported the other day that Josh Rouse has a new EP, Bedroom Classics, Vol. 2, out on iTunes. As I'd already been planning to post a few of my favorite songs from this Nebraska singer-songwriter, the time seemed nigh.

Apparently, Mr. Rouse listened to a lot of the Smiths and the Cure in his youth, and you can certainly hear a bit of Morrissey & Marr in the chiming, rollicking "Winter in the Hamptons." Can't say that I hear much of Robert Smith in these particular tracks; "Flight Attendant," if anything, has more of a David Byrne thing going on. And the earlier "Directions" sounds like one of Matthew Ryan's better efforts.

Solid stuff, through and through.

[MP3] [left-click] "Winter in the Hamptons" [from the LP Nashville, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Flight Attendant" [from the LP 1972, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Directions" [from the LP Home, 2000]

IT'S JUST A STUPID SLED, DAMMIT!

THE ROSEBUDS

Yep, we're already going boy/girl again... this time with North Carolina's charmingly chimey the Rosebuds. Primary members Ivan & Kelly have been making music together since 2001 and should be around for quite some time to come. I have to say: I like these folks considerably more than the too-low-key-for-my-tastes Yo La Tengo.

Besides the ones I'm offering here, you can download many more Rosebuds MP3s from their site [left-click on band name above].

[MP3] [left-click] "Boxcar" [from the LP Birds Make Good Neighbors, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Outnumbered" [from the LP Birds Make Good Neighbors, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "You Better Get Ready" [from the EP The Rosebuds Unwind, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "What Can I Do?" [from the LP The Rosebuds Make Out, 2003]

GUSTAV, AGAIN

Seems that my pre-sleep weariness this morning got in the way of the facts re: Gustav & the Seasick Sailors. The LP Vagabond's Polka is, in fact, the band's debut album, while the one coming out in March of 2006 is to be entitled SIRKUS. The first three MP3s below are from the debut, while "Angels Fable" will appear on the sophomore disc.

Gustav e-mailed me again to say that, while Vagabond's Polka was more of a "singer/songwriter" type of effort, SIRKUS will have a more "raw, gypsy kinda quality." The infectious "Angels Fable" would certainly suggest that that's true.

I should be able to offer up a couple more tracks from SIRKUS as the March release date approaches. In the meantime, scroll down and check out the back-catalogue.

GUSTAV

& THE SEASICK SAILORS

GUSTAV & THE SEASICK SAILORS

[The correct, full-length MP3 of "Nightlife" has now been inserted in its proper slot below. My apologies to those that previously downloaded the truncated version. Me be dumb.]

I'm staying up past my bedtime this morning because I just received an e-mail from Sweden. Specifically, I received an e-mail from Gustav & the Seasick Sailors, an artist/band that I was already familiar with by way of their super-swell song "Angels Fable."

Seems that Gustav (just 20 years old, apparently) and his friends will be releasing an LP (Vagabond's Polka) in March of '06. I'm liking what I'm hearing thus far - lots of acoustic guitars and piano. Often gentle. Sometimes ever-so-slightly unhinged. Yes, it seems that Sweden has done it again (hell, even Madonna's sampling the Swedes).

Here's hoping that Gustav & his sailors receive many warm welcomes in many foreign ports...

[MP3] [left-click] "Nightlife"

[MP3] [left-click] "Mr. Moment and Miss Clarity"

[MP3] [left-click] "Minnie D"

[MP3] [left-click] "Angels Fable"

THE RIVER IS RUSSIAN; THE BAND IS FROM AUSTIN

OKKERVIL RIVER

Okkervil River is probably a pretty familiar band to those that regularly trawl the blogosphere. I discovered them first with the ragged epic "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks," and I've been with them ever since. There's something unhinged about these guys - the charmingly circuitous lyrics; the lead singer's cracked, semi-hysterical voice; the warm-yet-eccentric instrumentation. Somehow, they strike me as a more lo-fi and eclectic Decemberists.

Hard on the heels of their 2005 LP Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River will release a bonus EP on November 22. Like everything else they've done, it will surely be worth a listen.

[MP3] [left-click] "No Key, No Plan [from the EP Black Sheep Boy (Appendix), 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Black" [from the LP Black Sheep Boy, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks" [from the LP Down the River of Golden Dreams, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Westfall" [from the LP Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, 2002]

.215

THE MENDOZA LINE

Uh-oh... it's those nefarious boy-girl vocals here to beguile me again.... This time, they come courtesy of the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Athens, GA band the Mendoza Line. Their new LP, Full of Light and Full of Fire, will get its official release on November 22.

"Catch a Collapsing Star" gives us an idea what a duet between Bob Dylan and Neko Case might sound like (pretty damn good, natch).

[MP3] [left-click] "Catch a Collapsing Star" [from the LP Full of Light and Full of Fire, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Golden Boy (Torture in the Shed)" [from the LP Full of Light and Full of Fire, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "It's a Long Line (But It Moves Quickly)" [from the LP Fortune, 2004]

[MP3] [left-click] "What Ever Happened to You?" [from the LP Lost in Revelry, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Baby, I Know What You're Thinking" [from the LP We're All in This Alone, 2000]

[For more MP3s by the Mendoza Line, check out An Aquarium Drunkard.]

LUCKY SOUL

MADONNA, TAKE 2 + LUCKY SOUL

Hmm.... For some reason, my posting of Madonna's "Sorry" did not work the first time around. So here's an alternative source, just in case I can't get the old link up and running.

[MP3] [left-click] "Sorry"

Also, I have fallen in very-quick-love with an English band called Lucky Soul. I discovered them today over at Indie MP3 - Keeping C86 Alive!. So high-tail it over there and download all four available songs.

AND YOU CAN DANCE...

MADONNA

Poor, pitiful Madonna... I mean... um... "Esther." The harder the girl tries to infuse her acting with poignancy and passion, the more clear it is that she has absolutely no talent in that medium whatsoever. So disregard her babbling from that balcony and by all means cry for her, Argentina. For the love of god, cry for her.

Madonna's music, on the other hand, deserves at least one listen before being utterly dismissed. The fact that she has survived (and often thrived) for nearly 25 years now is almost beyond miraculous. I mean, who could have foreseen this upon first hearing "Holiday" back in the day? (And poor Cyndi Lauper; this could have been her.)

With her latest LP, Confessions on a Dance Floor, it seems clear that Madonna had her eyes, ears, and marketing mojo squarely fixed on Gwen Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. This time around, Madonna wants her fans (even the straight ones, I presume) to set their booties to "vibrate" and forget 2003's comparatively subdued (and commercially unsuccessful) American Life.

Unfortunately, these are fairly mundane Confessions - a lot of "I took the Lord's name in vain" instead of "I coveted my neighbor's wife... from behind... many times." Still, I'm a sucker for any song that samples ABBA so brazenly as lead single "Hung Up," and there are one or two other tracks that break from the otherwise generic pack. No doubt that will be enough to keep the Material Matron treading water in the pop-culture pool well into her 50s.

[MP3] [left-click] "Hung Up"/Madonna

[MP3] [left-click] "Sorry"/Madonna

[MP3] [left-click] "What You Waiting For?" [Jacques lu Cont remix]/Gwen Stefani

MADRUGADA OBLONGATA

Thanks again must go to Chris the Swiss at Music of the Moment for so generously sending me an extra song by Madrugada. For some reason, it put me in mind of a favorite song of mine that I'd yet to post here, so now seems as good a time as any.

I'm not sure that the songs sound all that much alike - the Madrugada settles into a nice soothing groove and stays pretty consistent to it (Tindersticks-esque, methinks). The other song is by Craig Armstrong and Paul Buchanan. Armstrong worked with Massive Attack and is also a soundtrack guy (Romeo + Juliet; Ray), while Buchanan was (and perhaps still is) the lead singer of the Blue Nile. I love how the strings and vox build to such an emotional crescendo on their collaboration, and I always find myself putting it between Portishead's great live version of "Roads" and the Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" on mix CDs. So, what the hell, I guess I'll go ahead and post those, too. Enjoy the mood...

[MP3] [left-click] "Let's Go Out Tonight"/Craig Armstrong & Paul Buchanan [from the Craig Armstrong LP The Space Between Us, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "Roads"/Portishead [from the LP PNYC, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"/The Smiths [from the LP The Queen is Dead, 1986]

[MP3] [left-click] "Majesty"/Madrugada [from the LP Grit, 2002]

THIS IS GIVIN' ME NORWEGIAN WOOD...

MADRUGADA

I've given a lot of love to the Swedes since starting this blog back in June. Only relatively recently did Beat the Indie Drum turn me on to one of their neighbors from Norway (the bound-to-be-big Robert Post, whose great "Got None" is still available [here]... but hurry).

Madrugada is a Norwegian three-man band that's been making music for about a decade now. Their last LP, The Deep End, was released earlier this year, though I doubt many Americans have even heard of it. I would highly recommend the three songs from the album below. The lead singer has a highly distinctive and resonant voice, and each tune succeeds in carving out its own unique character.

So let's show the oft-neglected Norwegians a little love here...

[MP3] [left-click] "The Kids Are on High Street"

[MP3] [left-click] "The Lost Gospel"

[MP3] [left-click] "Subterranean Sunlight"

A.K.A. "CHAN MARSHALL"

CAT POWER

The title track from Cat Power's upcoming album has been circulating through cyberspace for a while now, but it took Chris the Swiss over at Music of the Moment to get me thinking about posting some tracks from earlier in her career.

I've been smitten with Ms. Marshall's haunting, one-of-a-kind voice for quite some time now, though I've always secretly longed for fuller instrumentation and arrangements to occasionally buck that voice up. I have no idea what the bulk of the new record will sound like; I just know that I very much like the subdued strings that buoy the title track. Of course, just because the LP was recorded in Memphis doesn't mean that this'll be another Dusty in Memphis, but a boy can dream, can't he?

The Greatest will be released by Matador Records on January 24, 2006.

[MP3] [left-click] "The Greatest" [from the LP The Greatest, 2006]

[MP3] [left-click] "Free" [from the LP You Are Free, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "The Devil's Daughter" [from the LP The Covers Record, 2000]

[MP3] [left-click] "Cross Bones Style" [from the LP Moon Pix, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "Rockets" [from the LP Myra Lee, 1996]

WHERE YOU GET YOUR MUSIC... 4TH!

THE CARDIGANS

Other, better blogs (My Old Kentucky Blog, Scenestars, Said the Gramophone) have already been sharing some of the best tracks from the Cardigans' new CD - the somewhat surprisingly solid Super Extra Gravity. Still, I am not about to be dissuaded from offering yet another somewhat surprisingly solid track from it, as well as a sampler of previous Cardigans and Cardigans-related tunes.

Lead singer Nina Persson worked with Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson on a 2001 project credited to "A Camp." This LP included the Persson/Larson cover of "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" that appeared on the 1999 soundtrack to Boys Don't Cry, as well as the Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood-esque country-pop of "I Can Buy You."

[MP3] [left-click] "Overload" [from the LP Super Extra Gravity, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Please Sister" [from the LP Long Gone Before Daylight, 2004]

[MP3] [left-click] "Erase/Rewind" [from the LP Gran Turismo, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "Lovefool" [from the LP First Band on the Moon, 1996]

[MP3] [left-click] "The Bluest Eyes in Texas"/Nina Persson & Nathan Larson

[MP3] [left-click] "I Can Buy You"/A Camp

WELL... HELLO, SAILOR...

STARSAILOR

Starsailor is one the countless single-word bands that followed in Radiohead's wake (Travis, Coldplay, Kent, South, Paloalto, Muse, Keane, on and on, on and on...). I liked a few of the songs on their first album, either didn't hear or didn't like the ones on their second, and have just now had the opportunity to listen to their third.

Can't say that I'm especially impressed, though I suppose it's not "bad," either. It's just not... you know... The Bends or OK Computer.

Regardless, I'm posting, as usual, my two favorites from it, as well as two of my favorites from their debut.

Starsailor's latest CD will be released on November 1st.

[MP3] [left-click] "This Time" [from the LP On the Outside, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "White Light" [from the LP On the Outside, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Poor Misguided Fool" [from the LP Love is Here, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Tie Up My Hands" [from the LP Love is Here, 2002]

INDIGENOUS TO LONG ISLAND OR BOCA RATON?

SILVER JEWS

Didn't know much about these folks before; don't know all that much more now. But... leader David Berman started this up back in the late '80s or early '90s with future Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus. Apparently, they enjoyed making noise.

In more recent years, Berman has reportedly struggled with substance abuse, depression, and suicide issues - three things I have more than a passing acquaintance with. Alas, I lack the ability to make music; I can only listen.

I've read at least one review of the Silver Jews' latest CD, Tanglewood Numbers, that suggests that longtime fans may be surprised by the disc's hi-fi sound. Can't really comment on that, other than to say that the songs, at least, still tend to be rather ragged and deliberately[?] anti-mainstream. My two favorites [below] may be the most "polished" of the lot, and I would also recommend the sly little charmer "How Can I Love You (If You Won't Lie Down)?".

For more info and stuff, try [here].

[MP3] [left-click] "Punks in the Beerlight" [from the LP Tanglewood Numbers, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Sleeping is the Only Love" [from the LP Tanglewood Numbers, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Random Rules" [from the LP American Water, 1998]

GO THERE; IT'S BETTER THAN HERE (BUT THEN COME BACK)

KEEPIN' ON BEATIN' ON THAT INDIE DRUM

I've expressed my admiration of and appreciation for Matthew's operation over at Beat the Indie Drum before, but I figure it's high time I did it again. Not only does this guy offer an extensive archive of month-end compilations to comb through, he also regularly offers tons of other songs for download on pretty much a weekly basis. Combine that with his links to other interesting and off-the-beaten-path music sites, and you've got yourself a blog that all-but-demands daily visitation.

Offered below are five songs by artists that I'd never heard of before discovering them at BTID. Try them here, and then click on over to the site itself for further, fuller investigation.

[And be sure to drop Matthew a line if you like what you find there; his cat passed away recently (and that's inspiring me to post a last tune of my own as a respectful memorial).]

[MP3] [left-click] Stout/"Oh Happy Day"

[MP3] [left-click] Crosstide/"Opposite Day"

[MP3] [left-click] Cat-a-Tac/"Devil"

[MP3] [left-click] Flare/"This is the Sound of Good Music"

[MP3] [left-click] Memory Bank/"Bleed Like a Hero"

[MP3] [left-click] Jets to Brazil/"Cat Heaven"

MELANCHOLY DANES?

MEW

Chris the Swiss over at Music of the Moment has been all adrool over Mew's And the Glass Handed Kites for quite some time now, so I finally had to get around to giving it a listen.

I can't say that I'm quite as smitten by these Danish alterna-rockers as Chris, though I can certainly see/hear the appeal. At his highest range, the lead singer's voice is not altogether unreminiscent of the Sigur Ros guy's - albeit less whale-like and far more comprehensible (he sings in English, for one thing). As soundscapes, I find the songs quite effective, though I wish there was a bit more effort at traditional verse-chorus-verse catchiness here and there.

It might also be noted that the songs dissolve one to the next - concept-album-style - which makes for a nice, sinuous flow. In that regard, this effort reminds me somewhat of Mansun's Attack of the Grey Lantern, though - again - I think the songs on Lantern are stronger/tighter/catchier/etc. At the very least, the Mew effort makes for ideal background music to any number of activities, and I agree with Chris that the "Apocalypso"-"Special"-"The Zookeeper's Boy" is the record's best stretch. I also like "Chinaberry Tree," so I'm offering that up here as well.

And the Glass Handed Kites finally hit the U.S. marketplace on October 18th.

[MP3] [left-click] "Apocalypso"

[MP3] [left-click] "The Zookeeper's Boy"

[MP3] [left-click] "Chinaberry Tree"

MORE SONGS FOR FALL

MATT POND PA

Matt Pond PA, I have to imagine, is a relatively under-the-radar outfit. Appropriately enough, they are led by singer/songwriter Matt Pond and were once based in the state of Pennsylvania (now: Brooklyn). The band has existed in various incarnations for about seven years now, and has been rather prolific over that period.

The sound might be described as folk-inflected chamber pop. It's quite gentle. Autumnal. In other words, perfect for posting at this moment (at least, in theory).

[MP3] [left-click] "Brooklyn Stars" [from the LP Several Arrows Later, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Fairlee" [from the LP The Nature of Maps, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Closer" [from the LP The Nature of Maps, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Measure 3" [from the LP The Green Fury, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "The Hollows" [from the LP Measure, 2000]

SINGLE-ARTIST SATURDAY

THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS

I tend to be leery of bands that straddle the line between emo and pop-punk. Too often, that line all-but-guarantees a generic sameness in sound - a sound utterly white-washed, glossy, and embalmed.

I can't really say that the All-American Rejects succeed in transcending the genre, but they have to stand fairly high in the field. Certainly they know their way around a hook. And perhaps because they're so young (early-20's), they seem entirely unafraid of utilizing potentially cheesy, career-ending accoutrements - be they strings, synthesizers, or children's choirs.

To say the least, I'm not sure I'd want a steady diet of these guys. But if "lo-fi" = "no carbs," then I'm all for stuffing myself with bread, pasta, and potatoes every once in a while.

[MP3] [left-click] "Move Along" [from the LP Move Along, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Top of the World" [from the LP Move Along, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Swing Swing" [from their self-titled LP, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Time Stands Still" [from their self-titled LP, 2003]

THE *REAL* ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS

FALL-BACK SELECTIONS

MEMORIES OF SEPTEMBER

I just finished compiling my most recent quarterly best-of CD for 2005. Many of the songs I'd already posted here, but I thought I'd share the five below as well. I would certainly highly recommend them to anyone that occasionally enjoys the stuff that goes up in these here parts. Good hunting.

[MP3] [left-click] The Features/"The Idea of Growing Old"

[MP3] [left-click] Keri Noble/"Bartender"

[MP3] [left-click] Vigilantes of Love/"You Know That"

[MP3] [left-click] The Social Registry/"Bury Every Dream"

[MP3] [left-click] Columbus/"Christian Girls"

AH! LA MODE!

DEPECHE MODE

For me, it is a rare, rare thing when artists that I adored in my youth are able to resurrect themselves and release rock-solid albums in the present. In fact, Morrissey's You Are the Quarry is one of the only examples I can think of, at the moment.

Still, when Depeche Mode releases a new LP, I can't help but hope that they'll find a way to plug back in to their album-oriented prime (which is to say: Black Celebration/Music for the Masses/Violator).

Alas, Playing the Angel does not even come close to breathing that sort of rarified air. Nor, for that matter, can it match 1997's not-so-bad-on-second-thought Ultra. Even 2001's Exciter's top two tracks, "Dream On" and "Freelove," trump Playing the Angel's corresponding pair [see/download below].

Still and all, I hope these "grizzled" veterans will give it another go some two or three years hence. Then, as now, I will hope for the best, fear for the worst, and probably end up feeling pretty damned dissatisfied. But such is life...

Playing the Angel will be released in the U.S. on October 18th.

[MP3] [left-click] "Precious"

[MP3] [left-click] "Lillian"

HOLD THE "THE", PLEASE

EDITORS

Editors - a band from Birmingham, England - will no doubt be relegated by many to the Interpol knock-off bin, just as Interpol themselves are dismissed by some as shameless imitators of Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen. Fair enough in both cases, perhaps.

But I've been enjoying this '80s wave for quite some time now, and while Editors may be offering nothing particularly new or original with their debut LP, The Back Room, I'm still buying the vibe: dark and at least superficially delicious.

Anyway, at this late date in human history, I'm not entirely sure it's possible for an artist of any type to be truly original. Everything's been said, seen, expressed, and heard before. So, as we wait for the avian flu to come calling for all of us, we should probably find a way to be more forgiving of new artists attempting to carve out their own identities on this thoroughly second-hand planet.

[Unfortunately, at the moment, it would seem that The Back Room is only available to Americans as a predictably pricey import. But here are some songs in the meantime...]

[MP3] [left-click] "Blood"

[MP3] [left-click] "Lights"

[MP3] [left-click] "All Sparks"

WAY-BACK WEDNESDAY

Desperately searching for something to post today, I decided to reach back into my mix CD archives and pull out one of the first I ever burned, circa 2001. Truth be told, though, most of these tunes became favorites of mine during my three years in L.A., which means that most of them are probably about 10 years old. Egad! Where does the time go? Shoot me now, shoot me now.

Hope you'll enjoy these; they hold up for me quite well...

[MP3] [left-click] Elastica/"Stutter"

[MP3] [left-click] Fountains of Wayne/"Denise"

[MP3] [left-click] Magnapop/"Lay It Down"

[MP3] [left-click] Lush/"Ladykillers"

[MP3] [left-click] Goldfrapp/"Utopia"

666: DAMIEN MIGHT SAY

THE MAGIC NUMBERS

I posted the Magic Numbers song "Love Me Like You" here not so very long ago - considering it as I did one of the catchier things I'd heard in the month of August. I've since had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the rest of their self-titled debut LP, and, well... I'm a bit smitten.

As always, I'm a sucker for girl/boy vocal interplay, and these folks come by it naturally. Which is to say, lead singer Romeo is backed and accented by his sisters, Angela and Michele. For the longest time, I couldn't decide whose voice Romeo's reminded me of. Oddly enough, it turned out to be Vic Chesnutt's - albeit smoothed out, sped up, and perked up a bit (sort of a "shot of amphetamines with a Paxil back" sort of thing).

The Magic Numbers' debut LP will be released in the U.S. on October 4th by Capitol Records. It might also be noted that this record was nominated in the U.K. for the rather prestigious Mercury Prize, which I believe was ultimately won by Antony and the Johnsons.

I hope you'll find the time to give these folks a listen and decide for yourself if there is indeed fire with that smoke.

[MP3] [left-click] "Forever Lost"

[MP3] [left-click] "Long Legs"

SINGLE-ARTIST THURSDAY

OH NO

OK GO

Chicago popsters OK Go released their sophomore album, Oh No, on August 30th. For me, the jury's still out on whether or not it's as inherently and insanely catchy as their debut (or, for that matter, if this second effort exhibits substantial advances in musical maturity). But then again, who the hell cares? I'll take my melodic pop wherever, whenever, and however I find it. And you can find some of it right here...

[MP3] [left-click] "Let It Rain" [from the LP Oh No, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Here It Goes Again" [from the LP Oh No, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "There's a Fire" [from their self-titled LP, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "1000 Miles Per Hour" [from their self-titled LP, 2002]

I'M AMERICAN...

... SO SCREW THE METRIC SYSTEM

METRIC

Metric's new LP, Live It Out, will be released September 27th (which, come to think of it, is today). A few of the tracks have already been circulating around cyberspace, but here are a couple that people may not have stumbled upon yet. Also, I am posting my two favorites from their last record.

[MP3] [left-click] "Too Little Too Late" [from the LP Live It Out, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Poster of a Girl" [from the LP Live It Out, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Combat Baby" [from the LP Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, 2003]

[MP3] [left-click] "Succexy" [from the LP Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, 2003]

WHEN THE LEVY BREAKS...

LEVY

The New York-based quartet Levy is another relatively recent Internet discovery for me. Actually, I've been loving the Joy Division-ish "Rotten Love" since March, but their self-titled debut LP was just released by One Little Indian on September 13th. "You Be Sweet" takes its cues from the Smiths. And the slow-churning "On the Dance Floor" plays the shoegazing game - and plays it rather well. These guys are definitely worth a listen.

[MP3] [left-click] "Rotten Love"

[MP3] [left-click] "You Be Sweet"

[MP3] [left-click] "On the Dance Floor"

NAIHF

UP

REVEAL

ATS

R.E.M.n.a.n.t.s.

So, the time has come to finish our journey through the R.E.M. catalogue. In the past ten years, the band has downsized by one member (after the retirement of drummer Bill Berry, who has since become a farmer and sous chef) and released four regular albums. Alas, with the possible exception of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, these records must be considered some of the worst they have produced in their 25-year career.

New Adventures was recorded primarily during the infamous Monster tour of 1995 - either live or at soundchecks. It's a bit of a hodge-podge, no doubt reflecting the persistent health problems that then plagued three of the four band members, as well as the strain and tedium that routinely accompany year-long world tours.
A year later, Berry made his unexpected exit and R.E.M. officially became, in Michael Stipe's words, a "three-legged dog." Their subsequent CD, Up, would thus prove exceedingly difficult to produce, with the more meticulous Stipe and bassist Mike Mills often overruling the more spontaneous, leave-it-as-it-lays Peter Buck. Perhaps as a result, Up doesn't sound like it was made by a guitar band. Instead, it indulges in loops, vintage keyboards, drum machines, and other bits of vague electronica. Over it all, Stipe's voice and lyrics remain as resonant and one-of-a-kind as ever, but the overall tone is sterile and cold.

2001's Reveal seemed to be an effort to remedy this issue, and it is, in fact, a far warmer record. Still, though, keyboards and electronics are layered prominently into the songs, effectively choking them of life. Not helping matters is the fact that the band suddenly seems incapable of recording anything faster than mid-tempo. Perhaps a listen to 1981's "Radio Free Europe" single might remind them of whence they came.

Regrettably, last year's Around the Sun may well be the worst of the lot. Again, the band sounds hermetically-sealed and lifeless. Again, the keyboards overwhelm the guitars. Again, Mike Mills' backing vocals, once such a huge factor in the R.E.M. magic, are all but non-existent. And Michael Stipe's lyrics, usually so enigmatic and unique, suddenly sound phoned-in, cliched, and commonplace. Oh, the horror, the horror....

Though not an optimist, I am still somehow hopeful that R.E.M. has another great album in them. After all, it's been 13 years since Automatic for the People. They're due.

[Once again, I have chosen to skip over the singles and more obvious choices from these CDs in order to shine a little light on some undiscovered gems. Hope you enjoy them.]

[MP3] [left-click] "So Fast, So Numb" [from the LP New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996]

[MP3] [left-click] "Leave" [from the LP New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996]

[MP3] [left-click] "Walk Unafraid" [from the LP Up, 1998]

[MP3] [left-click] "I've Been High" [from the LP Reveal, 2001]

[MP3] [left-click] "Final Straw" [from the LP Around the Sun, 2004]

SOUNDS LIKE A GOLF COURSE... OR A CEMETERY

IDLEWILD

Idlewild's latest CD, Warnings/Promises, has been available in Europe for months now, but September 6th finally saw it land on U.S. shores. Overall, it pretty much follows their last effort in the further de-noisification of these once rocking Scots. This led me, upon early listens, to think that these guys may have become a bit too subdued for their own good, but now I'm not so sure. The thing has grown on me. And in listening to the band's back-catalogue to extract a few extra tunes for uploading, I was surprised at how much the older stuff made them sound like an American emo-pop band. Not that there's anything wrong with American emo-pop bands, but, well, you know....

So here are some favorites of mine from the band over the past half-decade...

[MP3] [left-click] "El Capitan" [from the LP Warnings/Promises, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "As If I Hadn't Slept" [from the LP Warnings/Promises, 2005]

[MP3] [left-click] "Tell Me Ten Words" [from the LP The Remote Part, 2002]

[MP3] [left-click] "Mistake Pageant" [from the LP 100 Broken Windows, 2000]

[MP3] [left-click] "There's Glory in Your Story" [100 Broken Windows b-side, 2000]