HALCION DAZE: MUSIC TO SOOTHE THE '60s HOUSEWIFE

Left-click [HERE] to download the vintage ditties.

TRACKLIST >>>

01 percy faith and his orchestra/theme from "a summer place"
02 perry como/magic moments
03 doris day/perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
04 dean martin/sway
05 rosemary clooney/mambo italiano
06 claudio villa/tic ti, tic ta
07 patti page/conquest
08 elvis presley/surrender
09 shirley bassey/gone
10 bobby darin/mack the knife
11 peggy lee/fever
12 louis armstrong/kiss of fire
13 nina simone/don't let me be misunderstood
14 screamin' jay hawkins/i put a spell on you
15 roy orbison/mean woman blues
16 connie francis/fallin'
17 tom jones/delilah
18 dusty springfield/you don't own me
19 andy williams/music to watch girls by
20 lesley gore/maybe i know
21 bobby vinton/mr. lonely
22 marlene dietrich/kisses sweeter than wine
23 scott walker/next
24 edith piaf/non, je ne regrette rien
25 frank sinatra/that's life
26 dinah washington/cry me a river
27 keely smith/what is this thing called love?
28 nat king cole/l-o-v-e

ODDS 'N' SODS #17

[MP3] THE DISPLACEMENTS/"Down and Out" [2008]

[MP3] FONDA/"Surrender" [2003]

[MP3] STEPSONDAY/"Deep" [2008]

[MP3] BRETT ANDERSON/"Funeral Mantra" [2008]

[MP3] THE VINES/"A.S III" [2008]

[MP3] FRANK SINATRA/"French Foreign Legion" [1959]

LITTLE BEIRUT

Portland, Oregon's LITTLE BEIRUT should not be mistaken for Brooklyn, New York's BEIRUT or San Francisco, California's BAY ROOT. For one thing, Little Beirut play "melodic, intelligent, Brit-influenced rock and roll" which "makes you happy for being so sad." Ah-hah. Well, that explains that, then....

LITTLE BEIRUT on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Love During Wartime"

[MP3] "Belle de Jour"

SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS

Sweden's SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS should not be mistaken for England's THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS, America's MEAT PUPPETS, or Serbia's PUPPETINA. For one thing, Sad Day feature a female lead (in the person of ANNA EKLUND). For another, they play shoegaze-y pop that should appeal to fans of THE INNOCENCE MISSION and THE CURE but may put narcoleptics at peril. Might I suggest headphones & a bucket of Red Bull...?

From the EP JUST LIKE A GHOST, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Hush"
[MP3] "Big Waves"

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.

It's all about expectations. Two years ago, when STROKES second guitarist ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. released his debut solo LP, few people could have predicted what a surprisingly winning little charmer it would be. The fact that it didn't try too hard to be "meaningful" or "important" or "new" only added to its appeal.

But the light touch that Hammond so ably demonstrated back in 2006 proves a bit more elusive on follow-up COMO TE LLAMA?. The easy hooks don't come quite so easy this time around. The songs don't seem to want to separate themselves -- to stand out -- and the rather inevitable result is an album that's a bit ho-hum homogeneous.

Not a bad album, you understand. Just one that can't live up to the standard set by its pleasant-surprise predecessor. That's the bad news. But also, in a way, the good.

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. on MySPACE.

From the LP COMO TE LLAMA?, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "GfC" [left-click] [ADDED WITH PERMISSION]
[MP3] "In My Room" [REMOVED BY REQUEST]
[MP3] "You Won't Be Fooled By This" [REMOVED BY REQUEST]

From the LP YOURS TO KEEP, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "In Transit"
[MP3] "101"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] ALBERT HAMMOND, SR./"It Never Rains in Southern California" [1972]

BECK - PART 1

While I'm not the world's biggest BECK fan, I can generally find something of at least passing interest on each of his albums. I found three such "somethings" on the new one, out today, MODERN GUILT. That may not sound like many, but it equals the number I unearthed on his two previous releases combined, so that's progress. (And, because I just know that you want to know... the third "something" from the new disc is a song called "Orphans." I'm confident, with just a bare minimum of initiative & ingenuity, you'll have little problem procuring it elsewhere on the 'net....)

From the LP MODERN GUILT, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Gamma Ray"
[MP3] "Modern Guilt"

From the LP THE INFORMATION, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Think I'm in Love"

From the LP GUERO, 2005 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Girl"

FROM the LP SEA CHANGE, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "Sunday Sun"

THE MORNING BENDERS

You know, I was actually going to take today off. I figured I deserved it. Other than Saturdays, I don't think I've missed a day around here since the beginning of my... ahem... "non-voluntary" sobriety period last July.

But wouldn't you know it -- rather than being able to kick back and relax this morning, I found myself feeling much the same way I used to feel when I didn't get some vodka into my system by 1 PM: relentlessly restless & a bit itchy in my own skin.

So, I surrender (to the tunes, not the booze). And I have the perfect band -- with the perfect band name -- to usher me past the nausea & shakes. Northern California's THE MORNING BENDERS. Indie-poppers. Short, sunshiny songs with a bit o' the '60s in them. Better than an early-morning Bloody Mary? Debatable. But a nice enough alternative. (And a lot lighter on the liver.)

THE MORNING BENDERS on MySPACE.

From the LP TALKING THROUGH TIN CANS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Damnit Anna"
[MP3] [VID] "Waiting for a War"

...DORIS DAY...DEAN MARTIN...ROSEMARY CLOONEY...

This past Wednesday, I allowed you all a privileged peek into my mix-CD-making process, just so:

"On mix CDs, I always tend to want to follow a LEONARD COHEN song with MARIANNE FAITHFULL song. Or vice-versa. Don't ask me why. My brain just links them.

And so it is with CULTURE CLUB and MEN AT WORK (or vice-versa). Link City. Pavlov's-dog-automatic. Don't question it. Don't resist. Whatever will be, will be. (Speaking of which, a DORIS DAY song should always be followed by a DEAN MARTIN song which should always be followed by a ROSEMARY CLOONEY song. LOUIS PRIMA... PATTI PAGE... BOBBY DARIN... CONNIE FRANCIS... NAT KING COLE... DINAH WASHINGTON... and so on....)"

Well, the proof is in the pudding (and, if you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding; how can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?). What follows is a little 11-song mix that took me the better part of two days to wrangle into place. (The more observant amongst you will notice that I have not, in fact, followed my own template in wrangling said little mix into place. Bobby Darin, for one thing, objected to being wedged between Patti and Connie -- insisting, instead, that he be situated between Shirley and Peggy. The preening, prima-donna twat.)

Now, depending on how this goes, we may just show up again next week with another couple strings of tunes to bookmark this particular string of tunes. When all is said and done, if we have ourselves something resembling a full, 80-minute mix, we'll be quite the collective happy camper.

In the meantime, mix yourself up a Gibson, slip in a "Mad Men" DVD, recline thyself on the divan or the davenport or the chesterfield, and pretend the Kennedys aren't yet dead....

[01.]
PERRY COMO/"Magic Moments"
[MP3]

[02.]
DORIS DAY/"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
[MP3]

[03.]
DEAN MARTIN/"Sway"
[MP3]

[04.]
ROSEMARY CLOONEY/"Mambo Italiano"
[MP3]

[05.]
CLAUDIO VILLA/"Tic Ti, Tic Ta"
[MP3]

[06.]
PATTI PAGE/"Conquest"
[MP3]

[07.]
ELVIS PRESLEY/"Surrender"
[MP3]

[08.]
SHIRLEY BASSEY/"Gone"
[MP3]

[09.]
BOBBY DARIN/"Mack the Knife"
[MP3]

[10.]
PEGGY LEE/"Fever"
[MP3]

[11.]
LOUIS ARMSTRONG/"Kiss of Fire"
[MP3]

01. DUFFY: ROCKFERRY

[MP3] "Stepping Stone"

02. THE SUBMARINES: HONEYSUCKLE WEEKS

[MP3] "Submarine Symphonika"

03. THE INDELICATES: AMERICAN DEMO

[MP3] "We Hate the Kids"

04. SONS AND DAUGHTERS: THIS GIFT

[MP3] "Gilt Complex"

05. AMANDA JENSSEN: KILLING MY DARLINGS

[MP3] "Amarula Tree"

TOP ALBUMS OF THE FIRST/HALF OF 2008

06. MATES OF STATE/Re-Arrange Us
07. THIS IS IVY LEAGUE/(s/t)
08. THE DUKE SPIRIT/Neptune
09. TILLY AND THE WALL/o
10. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS/Heretic Pride

BILLY IDOL

Uh-oh. This is starting to get a little out of hand now. Better put a stop to it pronto, before I start hauling out my old SCORPIONS, RATT, and QUIET RIOT records....

(Then again, if the likes of the Scorpions, Ratt, and Quiet Riot don't scare you too terribly, you can always go [HERE] and revel in the sheer overblown wonder of it all.)

BILLY IDOL on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] [VID] "Dancing With Myself" [1981]

[MP3] [VID] "White Wedding" [1982]

[MP3] [VID] "Mony Mony" [1981]

OMD

You know, it was just about exactly a year ago that I had myself an ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK itch that just demanded to be scratched. A quick post comprised of "Electricity," "Souvenir," and "Tesla Girls" proved a suitable salve.

Today, though, we're venturing into their ballad-pop period -- and to the songs that are likely their best known. Nostalgia, anyone?

[MP3] [VID] "If You Leave" [1986]

[MP3] [VID] "Dreaming" [1988]

[MP3] [VID] "So in Love" [1985]

EURYTHMICS

Hey, who invited the orange-haired gay dude to the party? He looks like BOWIE's younger brother. Pretty good singer, though....

EURYTHMICS on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] [VID] "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" [1983]

[MP3] [VID] "Here Comes the Rain Again" [1983]

[MP3] [VID] "Would I Lie to You?" [1985]

MEN AT WORK

On mix CDs, I always tend to want to follow a LEONARD COHEN song with MARIANNE FAITHFULL song. Or vice-versa. Don't ask me why. My brain just links them.

And so it is with CULTURE CLUB and MEN AT WORK (or vice-versa). Link City. Pavlov's-dog-automatic. Don't question it. Don't resist. Whatever will be, will be. (Speaking of which, a DORIS DAY song should always be followed by a DEAN MARTIN song which should always be followed by a ROSEMARY CLOONEY song. LOUIS PRIMA... PATTI PAGE... BOBBY DARIN... CONNIE FRANCIS... NAT KING COLE... DINAH WASHINGTON... and so on....)

[MP3] [VID] "Who Can It Be Now?" [1982]

[MP3] [VID] "Down Under" [1982]

[MP3] [VID] "Overkill" [1983]

CULTURE CLUB

I hadn't intended for this to become "We Love the '80s Week" around here, but it just kind of went that way. Seeing as I'm a slave to inertia, I was powerless to stop the general trend. So, onward and backward....

I was listening to some old mix CDs last week when I came across the old CULTURE CLUB chestnut, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me." I have to say, it sounded pretty great -- not as much a prisoner of its time as I would have expected. And I was reminded that BOY GEORGE -- back before he started inviting the New York City Police Department to his apartment for cocaine hijinks with his imprisoned male Norwegian houseguest -- had quite a nice set of pipes. Here's proof....

[MP3] [VID] "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" [1982]

[MP3] [VID] "Karma Chameleon" [1983]

[MP3] [VID] "Time (Clock of the Heart)" [1982]

THE GO-GO'S

The logical follow-through would have had a solo BELINDA CARLISLE filling this spot, but "Mad About You," "Heaven is a Place on Earth," "I Feel Weak," and "Circle in the Sand" all sounded just a bit too '80s-disposable for my tastes.

Now, obviously, THE GO-GO's weren't the most substantial of musical groups -- and their sound is hardly timeless -- but the guilt I feel in posting the subsequent troika is entirely of the "pleasurable" variety. And I can live with that just fine.

THE GO-GO's on MySPACE.

[MP3] "We Got the Beat" [1981]

[MP3] "Vacation" [1982]

[MP3] "Head Over Heels" [1984]