... BUT THIS GUY PROBABLY COULDN'T WRITE A DECENT POP SONG

MATTHEW SWEET

Well, this one's gonna be a stretch....

Today, in celebration of Presidents Day here in the U.S., I am featuring the one and only... Matthew Sweet. Yes, THAT Matthew Sweet. "Girlfriend" Matthew Sweet. The oh-where-have-you-gone-we-hardly-knew-ye Matthew-Sweet.

Why on Presidents Day, you probably can't even be bothered to ask? Well, it just so happens that Mr. Sweet hails from Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Nebraska, to be exact.

And there you have it.

And here you have some songs...

From the LP 100% Fun, 1995 >>>
[MP3] "Smog Moon"

From the LP In Reverse, 1999 >>>
[MP3] "Untitled"

From the LP Girlfriend, 1991 >>>
[MP3] "Winona"

[MP3] "Magnet and Steel" [w/Lindsey Buckingham & Susanna Hoffs]

[MP3] "The Ballad of El Goodo" [Big Star cover]

(1991-2001)

CATATONIA

R.I.P. Grandaddy.

That's where this post begins, as that's where the idea of shining a spotlight on a few bands that no longer live and breathe as music-making entities began. (Either that, or VH1's Bands Reunited; who the hell can tell?)

I'll get to Grandaddy at some later time, as a number of other blogs have already written that story and shined that light. Makes sense, too - as Grandaddy's demise at least comes with the casket-sized silver-lining of an impending legacy (the LP Just Like the Family Cat, V2 Music, May 9th).

With the Cardiff, Wales group Catatonia, on the other hand, no such mitigating factor seems to be in the offing. Four-plus years after calling it quits, lead singer Cerys Matthews has already moved on and released a well-reviewed (if little-heard) solo album (2003's Cockahoop).

All things considered, though, a ten-year run in today's dog-eat-doggier-than-ever music biz is nothing to sneeze or cast stones at, and Catatonia has left behind some solid songs to help alleviate the pain of their passing. Here's four-fifths of a handful...

From the LP International Velvet, 1998 >>>
[MP3] "Road Rage"
[MP3] "Mulder and Scully"

From the LP Equally Cursed & Blessed, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "Dazed, Beautiful & Bruised"

From the LP Paper Scissors Stone, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Village Idiots"

SAVING MATTHEW RYAN

MATTHEW RYAN

An Aquarium Drunkard featured an interview with singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan on February 10th and offered a slew of songs for your downloading pleasure. Always happy to hop on a bandwagon, I've decided to offer a few of my favorites as well.

I don't know how under-the-radar this guy is, really; it may be that everybody already knows about him. I discovered him with East Autumn Grin, which remains my favorite record of his. He has an attractively raspy voice and isn't afraid of arrangements that feature more than just voice and guitar. No offense to all the Sufjan, Iron & Wine, and Jose Gonzalez lovers out there (and you are legion), but those folks sometimes make me sleepy.

Truth be told, I hear at least a sliver of Springsteen in Mr. Ryan, and that can't be bad.

From the LP Regret Over the Wires, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "Return to Me"

From the LP East Autumn Grin, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "Heartache Weather"

From the LP May Day, 1997 >>>
[MP3] "Guilty"

[MP3] "Little Drummer Boy"

LESS LOVE/MORE MASSACRE

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS

Well, everybody's going to have their clever Valentine's Day themed things happening today. I thought I'd keep mine on the simple side and spotlight some of my favorite tracks from the Magnetic Fields' 1999 magnum opus 69 Love Songs.

Stephin Merritt, my papa was a rodeo... too.

[MP3] "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side"

[MP3] "No One Will Ever Love You"

[MP3] "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits"

[MP3] "Meaningless"

[MP3] "Papa Was a Rodeo"

CHENEY MAY HAVE MISSED HIS TARGET, BUT I'M ALL FOR QUAYLE HUNTING

THE 7-UP OF RABBIT-ORIENTED INDIE GROUPS?

UNBUNNY

I just discovered Unbunny's 2004 album Snow Tires rather recently. It's not exactly an obvious knock-out, but repeated listens reveal it to be quite the sly little charmer.

Common camparisons with these guys tend to go to Elliott Smith, Neil Young, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Probably a smidgen of truth with each of them, I suppose, but Unbunny have their own little thing going on, and they deserve their own little spotlight.

[MP3] "I Leave Stones Unturned"

[MP3] "I Knock Things I Haven't Tried"

[MP3] "Nightwalking"

[You can purchase this album (and discover any number of MP3s by other worthwhile artists) at...]

JENS, I KNEW SCOTT WALKER... SCOTT WALKER WAS A FRIEND OF MINE... JENS, YOU'RE NO SCOTT WALKER

SCOTT WALKER

I was listening to Jens Lekman the other day, and, as usual, finding myself liking but not loving him. Great voice, great atmospheric productions, but the SONGS, for the most part, don't tend to add up to much for me.

But thinking about that VOICE got me thinking about Scott Walker. I always want to preface this man's name with "the late, great" - the way people do with Nick Drake. But Mr. Walker, thank our lucky stars, lives and breathes and every now and again crawls out of his seclusion to remind us of that fact.

Scott Walker, for those who don't know, was rather big in the UK in the '60s - first as a member of the Walker Brothers, and then as a solo artist. Since the '70s, though, he's been downright hermit-like. Still, he has had a huge influence on everybody from David Bowie to Bryan Ferry; from the Divine Comedy to Pulp. (In point of fact, he produced Pulp's last album, 2002's We Love Life.)

I just can't get enough of this guy's sound, from the lush-yet-playful productions to, yes, that VOICE - a rich, almost '50s-era baritone, like some hip-daddy, bizarro version of Andy Williams. Enjoy.

[MP3] "Jackie" [from LP Scott 2, 1968]

[MP3] "Next" [from the LP Scott 2, 1968]

[MP3] "No Regrets"/The Walker Brothers [from the LP No Regrets, 1975]

[MP3] "Birds in Your Garden"/Pulp [from the LP We Love Life, 2002] [have to think that Mr. Walker had something to do with those cool, '60s-styled backing vocals on the chorus]

DID DR. PHIL THINK UP THIS TITLE?

THE PERNICE BROTHERS

[Blogger's been a bitch lately, so I can only hope this post goes through...]

If I had heard the Pernice Brothers' Discover a Lovelier You in 2005, it might well have made my Top 10 list. Pansy-ass, self-help-book title aside, the record offers up no end of sunnily autumnal hooks and is a solid listen first track to last. So here's to lovely, if belated, discoveries...

[MP3] "There Goes the Sun"

[MP3] "Amazing Glow"

[MP3] "Snow"

R.I.P. L.P.

PLEASURE CRUISE

JULEE CRUISE

[Blogger ate my longer post on Julee Cruise yesterday, which pisses me off mightily. Here, at least, are the songs I tried to offer...]

[MP3] "Into the Night"

[MP3] "Falling" [Twin Peaks theme]

[MP3] "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

[MP3] "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" [w/DJ Silver] [Eurythmics cover]

SINGLE-ARTIST THURSDAY

SILENT TONGUE

Silent Tongue is a relatively new indie collective led by singer/songwriter Matt Durante.

Their latest record, The Formula of Believing, clocks in at just 24 minutes, and its eight songs walk an experimental, pop-rock line that might appeal to fans of Guided by Voices and the now-defunct Grandaddy.

(You can download another Silent Tongue song from their MySpace page [here].)

[MP3] "86 Was a Good Year"

[MP3] "Still Defending"