I know next to nothing about the London four-piece THE HOLLOWAYS, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let that stop me from sharing a bit of their music with you.
I do know that they released their debut LP, SO THIS IS GREAT BRITAIN?, in the UK last October, and that they've been a band since 2004. Their sound seems influenced by THE CLASH and, more recently, BLOC PARTY and THE LIBERTINES. It should be noted, however, that they do seem a bit younger, happier, and... um... "soberer" than the last group on that list. Overall then: a bit of light, carefree fun. Summertime music in the deep, dark heart of an icy winter. Wherefore art thou, El Nino? Why hast thou forsaken us?
The Holloways on MySPACE.
The Holloways on the road >>>
Jan 25 2007/8:00P/The Hub/Colchester
Jan 27 2007/8:00P/Fleche D'Or/Paris
Feb 1 2007/8:00P/Circolo degli Artisti/Roma
Feb 2 2007/8:00P/Covo/Bolongne
Feb 3 2007/8:00P/Extra/Recanti
Feb 11 2007/8:00P/The KLA Social/Bristol
Feb 12 2007/8:00P/The Zodiac/Oxford
[MP3] "Generator"
[MP3] "Malcontented One"
In some ways, this pick comes as a complete surprise to me. In other ways, it was entirely inevitable.
THOM YORKE, after all, is the voice of my favorite band -- a band that shattered my spirits early in '06 by announcing that they wouldn't be releasing a new album until at least 2007. Lazy bastards.
But then ol' Thom pulled a surprise out of his hat (his detractors -- and he seems to have many -- might say: "ass") by revealing that he had crafted a solo album with the help of long-time RADIOHEAD producer NIGEL GODRICH. Hallelujah!, thought I. This -- along with countless bootlegs of Radiohead's 2006 world tour -- would get me through.
There was, of course, one catch. Mr. Yorke was very quick to inform his fans that THE ERASER was almost entirely an "electronic" album. Blips. Bleeps. Loops-a-palooza. Cut. Paste. Not-so-okay computer.
Not that that came as any great surprise. I mean, the band itself hadn't done the full-on guitar-thing for almost a decade. At least, in the studio. So... I crossed my fingers and waited for the inevitable Internet leak, which, naturally, followed promptly enough.
First off, the STANLEY DONWOOD-designed album art was typically cool and creepy, which was reassuring. But then it was time to actually start listening to the thing, which kind of scared the shit out of me, to tell you the truth. You see, I'm really not a "blips and bleeps" kind of guy. I'm one of those people who wouldn't mind hearing "real" guitars on the next Radiohead record. Not that I need another BENDS, exactly, but something that incorporates some of that album's sense of music-made-by-humans "warmth" would be welcome.
So, when THE ERASER's title track initiated its sequence like one of KID A's more alien efforts, my heart despaired. But then: a reprieve -- in the form of that "wall of Thom Yorkes" chorus that's as "warm" as I could ever want or need it to be. Second song "Analyse" I liked even more -- more multi-tracked Yorke vocals, but this time coupled with some simple but haunting piano work. Over the next couple tracks, I realized that my worst fears were not going to be realized with THE ERASER. This was not going to be one long, unvarying drone of a record. True, the robots-have-taken-over-the-world electronics were the steel-rod spine that held everything together, but they were differentiated enough that actual SONGS emerged from the murk. Even more importantly, Yorke's voice was left sufficiently "unfucked with" to humanize the proceedings -- most notably while upbraiding the Iraq-apologists in the Blair regime on "Harrowdown Hill" or spewing simple, oh-the-humanity mantras for the 21st century like "Black Swan"'s "[This is] fucked up, fucked up."
As it turns out, what I thought would be little more than a placeholder for me as I awaited the next Radiohead epic, has turned out to be the album that most moved me in 2006. Who knew that a series of "blips and bleeps" could spawn such an irresistible emotional undertow.
Thom Yorke on MySPACE.
BONUS TRACKS >>>
[MP3] "Analyse" [live/in-studio]
[VID] "Cymbal Rush" [live/in-studio]
[VID] "The Clock" [live/in-studio]
[MP3] "Analyse" [VARIOUS Remix][MP3] "Atoms for Peace" [FOUR TET Remix]
2006 >>>01) Thom Yorke/The Eraser
02) The Veils/Nux Vomica
03) Mojave 3/Puzzles Like You
04) The Essex Green/Cannibal Sea
05) Now It's Overhead/Dark Light Daybreak
06) Scissor Sisters/Ta-Dah
07) The Pipettes/We Are the Pipettes
08) Malajube/Trompe-L'Oeil
09) The Format/Dog Problems
10) Regina Spektor/Begin to Hope
11) The Submarines/Declare a New State!
12) The Fratellis/Costello Music
[Yeah, looks about right. For now, at least...]
THE VEILS are singer/songwriter FINN ANDREWS's baby, especially after he fired all of his bandmates after their 2004 debut, THE RUNAWAY FOUND. As he was barely 20 at the time, that deed no doubt seemed premature and precipitous -- the act of an emotionally unsteady enfant terrible.
Be that as it may, if the guy continues to produce thrillingly schizophrenic albums like 2006's NUX VOMICA, I say let him lay as many sacrificial heads on the chopping-block as his cold, dark heart desires.
Andrews' music has a shape-shifting, chameleon-quality to it (as does his voice, which is one that some listeners will have to grow to love). Just when you've got the record pegged as a well-executed exercise in breezy indie-pop and bright, joyous choruses ("Calliope!," "Advice for Young Mothers to Be"), the guy hauls out his hairshirt and starts going to town ("Jesus for the Jugular," "Pan"). But once that's done, he'll find the time and inclination to lighten up and do the BRUCE/E STREET BAND thing ("A Birthday Present"), or put his own stamp on the whole FRANZ FERDINAND/EDITORS/etc. trend ("One Night on Earth"). Through it all, that aforementioned voice of his rises and falls; sags and soars. At times, it's highly evocative of STARSAILOR's JAMES WALSH. But on the slow-burn-to-explosive title track, he could just as well be JEFF BUCKLEY's bitter big brother, angrily lurching his way through a DOORS/LED ZEPPELIN bender.My hope is that the two songs below will give you some idea of the sonic extremes to be found on Nux Vomica. The trip it'll take you on isn't the easiest you'll ever experience; there are a number of detours you'll have to endure. But, sometimes, getting lost and having to find your way back by unexpected means can make for the most exhilerating and worthwhile trip of all.Me, I'll follow this kid anywhere.
The Veils on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Advice for Young Mothers to Be"
[MP3] "Nux Vomica"
If I didn't know better, I'd guess that THE ESSEX GREEN were modern-day English hippies, lounging about some shabby-chic London flat, rotating out FAIRPORT CONVENTION and KINKS records under a bounteous, pungent haze.
Thing is: They're from Brooklyn. (I'm sticking with everything else.)
I'm not even going to try to list the members of the band; they've had a habit of switching out players over the years. Also, they're one of those groups that likes to moonlight, with members pulling second shifts with the likes of LADYBUG TRANSISTOR and THE SIXTH GREAT LAKE.
With their third full-length under the Essex Green moniker, the band seems to have found their comfort zone. As with THE SUBMARINES, these folks make skillful use of boy-girl vocal interplay while spinning their neo-psychedelic, indie-folk yarns. What makes CANNIBAL SEA the best record of their career to date isn't just that the song cycle here is the strongest they've yet produced (though it is), but also the fact that they've embraced a wider sonic palette and a more expansive, "cleaner" production style. The song below is one of the more simple and stripped-down on the album, but even here the charming vocals and familiar-but-winning melody-line win the day.
The Essex Green on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Rue de Lis"
Well, here's ANOTHER record that I had low hopes for coming into 2006. Truth be told, I hadn't heard much from ANDY LeMASTER's project in the past that had impressed me overmuch. Somehow, his sometimes formless, shoegaze-inspired compositions seemed over-stuffed, almost too intense, and just plain unappealing.
Not so for NOW IT'S OVERHEAD's third release, DARK LIGHT DAYBREAK. In November, I wrote: "the songs seem to have some sharper edges than in the past (which [is] welcome), but there remain[s] a certain unsatisfying drone... a certain lumbering quality to the note and chord progressions...."Obviously, at that point, I still wasn't entirely sold on the CD, even though I felt good enough about it to write it up and post a couple of songs. I have absolutely no problem recommending DARK LIGHT DAYBREAK fully now, after listening to it through a number of times. LeMaster's voice remains entirely recognizable from his earlier efforts, and some of that old, dense intensity remains. But the SONGS are better here, and that has to be the biggest step forward this Athens, Georgia band made in 2006.
Now It's Overhead on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Let Up"
I didn't particularly care for SCISSOR SISTERS' self-titled debut LP when it "came out" in 2004. I found the lead singer's voice annoying, and, after about a minute, their cover of PINK FLOYD's "Comfortably Numb" quickly skipped down the Yellow Brick Road toward tedium.
So, I didn't have the highest of expectations for 2006's follow-up, TA-DAH. Nonetheless, first single "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" disarmed me quite a bit when it first hit the Internet, and I made a mental note to give the full album a fair shot before compiling my end-of-year Favorites list. Turns out, that mental note was a fortuitous one, as I ended up enjoying this record from "top-to-bottom." To my ears, it slants more toward late-'70s BEE GEES this time around than mid-'70s ELTON JOHN, so maybe it's my internal disco queen that's driving this pick. Regardless, like THE PIPETTES and THE FRATELLIS further down my list, Scissor Sisters traffic in fun, escapist pop for dancers and non-dancers alike.
Scissor Sisters on MySPACE.
[MP3] "I Can't Decide"
When I was but a wee lad, it was the era of the great Bubblegum Wars. I'm not talking about bubblegum pop MUSIC, by the way, but about ACTUAL bubblegum. You see, whether you preferred HUBBA BUBBA or BUBBLICIOUS back in the day could have a very major effect on a person's popularity at LEWIS CASS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (or Lewis "Ass" Elementary School, seeing as pranksters were always making off with the "C").
All of that has pretty much nothing to do with my #7 selection for Top Album, 2006. I just happened to enjoy the hell out THE PIPETTES and their '60s-styled pop debut. Shallow? Perhaps. Not destined for a long shelf-life? Maybe so. Do I sometimes skip past Pipettes songs while blasting mix CDs from my car windows -- fearful that people on the street might mistake them for THE SPICE GIRLS? Guilty as charged.But great chord progressions are great chord progressions; great harmonies are great harmonies; great pop songs are great pop songs. Regardless of which brand of bubblegum you chew.
The Pipettes on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Judy"
Somebody should check the water in Montreal; there's something fishy (Vichy?) going on. What else to explain the greatness of ARCADE FIRE's 2004 FUNERAL and the also-pretty-damn-well-swell 2006 debut by city-mates MALAJUBE? The latter group shares some of the former's boisterous energy, though its songs tend to play out in their native French. But no matter. The careening, devil-may-care soundscapes require no translation, and they've more than succeeded in keeping me occupied while awaiting Arcade Fire's upcoming effort. Viva la French!
Malajube on MySPACE.
[MP3] "La Monogamie"
[Well, surely you didn't think I'd neglect to prepare a Top Albums lists for 2006 -- just like every other blogger and his brother? I spent quite a lot of time over the holidays re-listening to albums that I thought might make the final list. Some, of course, didn't quite live up to my initial evaluation(s). Others seemed to improve with the passage of time. I'll be rolling these out over the next few days, and you won't be seeing such blog beloveds as JOANNA NEWSOM, TV ON THE RADIO, SUFJAN STEVENS, or BEIRUT here. Their popularity continues to mystify me.]
Sometimes, being dropped by your record company can be a GOOD thing. It seems to have worked out that way for Arizona's THE FORMAT, who were dumped by Atlantic before releasing 2006's excellent DOG PROBLEMS.
On June 27, I wrote about these guys: "You can hear a bit of XTC in THE FORMAT's sound. Also: BEN FOLDS and THE FLAMING LIPS. But there's something of the '70s burbling up in there, too. A heaping helping of HARRY NILSSON, perhaps? A sliver of SUPERTRAMP? Well, why the hell not."
The Format on MySPACE.
[MP3] "I'm Actual"
REGINA SPEKTOR sometimes seems to be a bit of a freak. We won't blame that on her Russian heritage, because, to the best of my knowledge, similar "freaks" such as TORI AMOS, KATE BUSH, NELLIE McKAY, and FIONA APPLE don't have an ounce of Soviet kitsch in their genetic make-up.
With 2006's BEGIN TO HOPE, Ms. Spektor seems to have turned a significant corner in her career -- putting together a solid and catchy record that keeps her grounded yet still allows for the occasional flight of fancy. Keep flying that freak flag, Regina; I'm toasting you with a nice swallow of vodka even as I'm typing this.
Regina Spektor on MySPACE.
[MP3] "On the Radio"
And we thought THE WHITE STRIPES were a soap opera....
L.A. duo THE SUBMARINES consist of JOHN DRAGONETTI and BLAKE HAZARD -- a man and woman who had a relationship, then broke up, then got back together, then got married, and then put out a record album. That album, DECLARE A NEW STATE, doesn't sound much at all like the White Stripes -- more like STARS or RILO KILEY, with the two singers trading leads and occasionally doing the boy-girl counterpoint vocal thing that I like so much. It may be that things get a little too slow and shoegazey on the second half of the CD, but the music here is quite beautiful and would seem to promise great things to come for these two. (So long as they don't break up again, natch.)
The Submarines on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Peace and Hate"
On December 13, on this blog, I wrote:
"Scottish trio THE FRATELLIS play an energetic style of glam/pop/punk that evokes everyone from the BEATLES to the POGUES; BLUR to SUPERGRASS."Even so, I wasn't too sure that their 2006 debut, COSTELLO MUSIC, would make my end-of-year list of top albums. But, as you see, it just got in under the wire.Not the most original sound under the sun (as my original post was meant to suggest), but nonetheless competent, consistent, and -- most importantly -- quite a bit of fun.
The Fratellis on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Flathead"
Now that all those annoying holidays have passed, I'm hoping to get back to more regular posting next week.
In the meantime, feel free to left-click [HERE] to download last month's mix...
TRACKLIST >>>
01) The Beautiful South/Manchester
02) Scissor Sisters/She's My Man
03) Mark Mallman/Death Wish
04) The Fratellis/For the Girl
05) Consequences/Come On
06) Pinto/Armchair Anthropologist
07) The Electric Pop Group/She's Playing With Your Heart
08) TIAC/It's Always the Same Anyway
09) Relax to Paris/Flavor of the Month
10) The Long Blondes/Once and Never Again
11) Veldt/Bullet
12) Johndoe/Nattskift
13) The Shins/Split Needles (Alternate Version)
14) Loveninjas/I Wanna Be Like Johnny C
15) Now It's Overhead/Type A
16) Yellowish/This is My Direction
17) The Killers/A Great Big Sled
18) The Frames/Rise
19) Marit Bergman/This is the Year
20) Warm in the Wake/Tame Thoughts
21) Serge Gainsbourg/Initials B.B.
22) Bob Seger/2 + 2 = ?
[First, I'd like to once again thank my friend JIM for riding to the rescue re: my long-lacking blog banner. I owe you, sir. Big time.]
My parents have been in town for the holidays, so I've been spending quite a bit of time lately holed up in my bedroom listening to music (suddenly, I'm a teenager again). One of my re-discoveries was LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM's rather rippin' live version of "Big Love," as performed during the much ballyhooed FLEETWOOD MAC reunion of some 9 or ten years ago. His performance still jumps out of the headphones at me, and I wish to hell I could play guitar like that (or play guitar AT ALL, for that matter).
"Big Love" got me thinking about the HBO show BIG LOVE, whose title sequence unspools to the strains of THE BEACH BOYS' "God Only Knows." I seem to be one of the only human beings on the planet who thinks that PET SOUNDS is overrated, but certainly this song (along with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and, to a lesser extent, "Sloop John B") are deserving of "timeless" status.
From there, my free-associating jones took a leap to film. I'd just re-watched THE BOURNE IDENTITY on TV not long before, so I was reminded of the pretty cool tune that accompanies that movie's pretty cool Mini Cooper car chase. "Ready Steady Go," indeed.
Apropos of nothing, I then got to thinking about one of my brother STEVE's "old" favorites -- TRUE ROMANCE. At the time, I was quite fond of the scene in the club in which CHRISTIAN SLATER does the duel-thing with a dreadlocked GARY OLDMAN. The insistent music that plays underneath it is key to its sense of impending, TARANTINO-etched mayhem. (Also unforgettable in that film, for better or worse, is the over-the-top, titanic battle between PATRICIA ARQUETTE and a pre-Tony Soprano JAMES GANDOLFINI.)
Somehow, that led me to MIDNIGHT EXPRESS [written by the Tarantino of his day (sort of), OLIVER STONE]. I remember being entranced by the simple and repetitive synthesizer aria that highlights the desperate, dirty-Turkish-streets foot-chase between "Hey, It's Only Hashish" BRAD DAVIS and "Hey, I Only Want To Help You Help Yourself, Billy" BO HOPKINS.
GIORGIO MORODER composed that particular piece of music, so it seems at least somewhat apropos that I then started thinking about BLONDIE's "Call Me" -- which Moroder produced and co-wrote, and which appears in the movie AMERICAN GIGOLO. I have heard that RICHARD GERE goes full-frontal in that particular picture, but I'm still holding out for his infamous Gerbil-goes-a'gamboling escapade to show up on You Tube.[And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the ever-popular BEST OF DECEMBER mix.]
[MP3] Lindsey Buckingham/"Big Love" [live]
[MP3] Fleetwood Mac/"Big Love"
[MP3] The Beach Boys/"God Only Knows"
[MP3] Paul Oakenfold/"Ready Steady Go"
[MP3] Nymphomania/"I Want Your Body"
[MP3] Giorgio Moroder/"Chase" [from MIDNIGHT EXPRESS]
[MP3] Blondie/"Call Me"
As many of you already know, DAMON ALBARN's new collective, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN, will be releasing their first album on January 22. If you pre-order it [HERE] before January 15, you'll have the ability to listen to five more of its tracks.
For my money, the first song below actually sounds a bit like PARKLIFE/GREAT ESCAPE-era BLUR, while the second leans more in the GORILLAZ' direction. GNARLS BARKLEY's DANGER MOUSE is producing.
[MP3] "80s Life"[MP3] "History Song"[The Good, the Bad and the Queen on MySPACE.]
Unlike SADDAM HUSSEIN, the rest of us have made it through another year. Congrats (I guess).
On an entirely unrelated note, the two universities that saw fit to grant me degrees are playing each other today. Here's hoping Michigan blows USC off the field (though I doubt they will).
[Look for my BEST OF DECEMBER mix on Friday and my TOP ALBUMS OF 2006 shortly thereafter.]
[MP3] U2/New Year's Day"
[MP3] Casiotone for the Painfully Alone/"New Year's Kiss"
[MP3] Asobi Seksu/"New Years"
[MP3] Azure Ray/"The New Year"
[MP3] The Lonelyhearts/"Next Year is Shaping Up to Be Real Awesome"
Compared with many of the musical eccentrics who have called the Motor City home at one time or another (IGGY POP, ALICE COOPER, TED NUGENT), BOB SEGER has always seemed like a pretty normal sort of guy. Meet him in a bar, and he might just buy you a beer, not break the bottle over the rail and start carving hieroglyphics into his reptilian torso (a la Iggy). Alice, of course, would be too busy in the deepest, darkest corner playing with his snakes and perfecting his guillotine (and golf swing) to pay you much mind. And Ted... well... Ted would be hanging his latest antlered sacrifice on the paneled wall, sucking down a gallon of Jack and a jarful o' jerky (the latter courtesy of his latest antlered sacrifice), and still singing the misty-eyed praises of the Reagan Revolution.
Which is in no way to suggest that Mr. Seger is some sort of priss or pansy. Just listen to early, balls-to-the-wall rockers like "RAMBLIN' GAMBLIN' MAN" and "KATMANDU" (or even the later "HER STRUT") and you'll be rid of that misconception right quick. But this much is true: the man is certainly known as much for his anthemic ballads as his "balls-to-the-wall rockers" (hell, "WE'VE GOT TONIGHT" was covered by KENNY ROGERS & SHEENA EASTON, for crying out loud). There's also the undeniable fact that, if the younger generation knows this guy at all, it's as the former voice of Chevy trucks (damn that young whippersnapper JOHN "THIS IS OUR COUNTRY" MELLENCAMP!) and as the soundtrack to TOM CRUISE's tighty-whitey two-step, circa 1983.
Seger's street cred may well have taken another hit when, after releasing his last album of the '90s (1995's IT'S A MYSTERY), he semi-retired to his Michigan home to (gasp) spend time with his wife and kids. In retrospect, that long break looked like it might come to an end early in the new millenium, as it was then that Seger seemingly rediscovered his muse and began work on new material. Alas, no new record emerged, and suddenly it began to appear as though the man's "semi-retirement" might just become a permanent thing.
Well, not so. This past year saw not only the release of the full-length FACE THE PROMISE, but also the first tour for Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band since 1996. Tonight, the band will play the third of four sold-out shows at the Palace of Auburn Hills, where Seger's loyal metro Detroit fans will dutifully hold their lighters aloft and sing along to all the old favorites and -- who knows? -- maybe to some of the new stuff, too.
Speaking of the new stuff... I've been surprised to read so many four-star reviews of FACE THE PROMISE. In a way, I can't help but think that these are being produced by a bevy of graying baby boomers flush with nostalgia for Seger's mid-'70s to mid-80s heyday. Not that it's a BAD record, exactly -- just a bit on the sterile and insular side. For a man whose breakthrough recording, in a lot of ways, was 1978's combustible LIVE BULLET, the years away from the road have clearly had something of a stagnating effect. Perhaps taking a cue from his own "STILL THE SAME," Seger has constructed his songs in the old, familiar ways. A mix of would-be classic rockers and ballads, FACE THE PROMISE employs the usual amounts of tasteful piano and keyboards, the occasional blast of sax, and the by-now-generic, "colored girls say doo do doo do," Motown/gospel girl backing vocals. On first listen, the title track has a certain welcome heft to it -- with its snaky riff and solid-like-a-rock backbeat. But that riff ultimately plays out as a by-the-numbers, down-by-the-Bayou exericise in showing the world that a 61-year-old man can still rock out like a teenager. And it doesn't help that the lyrics seem supplied by Rand McNally and some fill-in-the-blank songwriting software program.
Seger's collaboration with fellow Detroiter KID ROCK (on the VINCE GILL tune "REAL MEAN BOTTLE") works better -- if only because the two of them seem to be having such a blast singing the thing. Maybe -- just maybe -- Seger's current tour will inspire him to get back into the studio sooner rather than later, and to take a more devil-may-care approach to the recording of his next album. In the meantime, the man's voice remains as warm, craggy, and comforting as ever. And we'll always have his earlier work to come back to -- like that corner dive bar you just can't seem to find a reason to stop frequenting. The one where, on any given night, you might just run into a guy who looks and sounds a hell of a lot like Bob Seger. And where he might just buy you that beer.
Dec. 28, Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit
Dec. 30, Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit
Jan. 13, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa
Jan. 16, Charlotte, N.C.
Jan. 20, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
Jan. 25, Madison Square Garden, New York
Jan. 27, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
Feb. 6, Oklahoma City
Feb. 8, American Airlines Center, Dallas
Feb. 10, ALLTEL Arena, N. Little Rock, Ark.
Feb. 12, Toyota Center, Houston
From the LP FACE THE PROMISE, 2006 >>>
[MP3] REAL MEAN BOTTLE [w/KID ROCK]
[MP3] NO MORE
BONUS TRACKS >>>
[MP3] TURN THE PAGE
[MP3] NIGHT MOVES
[MP3] HER STRUT
[MP3] ROLL ME AWAY
[MP3] RAMBLIN' GAMBLIN' MAN
[MP3] 2 + 2 = ?[MP3] LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
I only today discovered DEATH CAB chauffeur and POSTmaster BEN GIBBARD's cover of BJORK's "Joga." His version (assisted by KIND OF LIKE SPITTING's BEN BARNETT) is slow and stark, but undeniably beguiling. And, since "Joga" appears on my favorite Bjork album (1997's HOMOGENIC), a couple of bonus tracks seem in order...
[Oh, and... are you diggin' my new site header? Really catches the eye, no? Argh. Hope to have it remedied -- one way or another -- by the new year.]
[MP3] Ben Gibbard [w/Ben Barnett]/"Joga"
[MP3] Bjork/"Joga"
BONUS TRACKS >>>
[MP3] Bjork/"Bachelorette"
[MP3] Bjork/"All is Full of Love" [strings mix]
Ahh... LAURA BRANIGAN. Can't call her a one-hit wonder; she had at least TWO. Below, you'll find a modern-day dance version of the one, as well as one of my favorite bands nicking the riff from the other ("Glor-ee-uh!").
[MP3] Infernal/"Self Control"
[MP3] Pulp/"Disco 2000"
