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Team Conan

2010-01-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

35 Favorite Albums of 2009

2009-12-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

1. Metric - Fantasies

Are we really meant to feel sorry for Metric's plight, as they ponder whether writing hooks and gaining popularity and wealth will eat away at their soul and indie cred? Of course they will! But to be an artist is (usually) to be emotional, so even superstar artists should remain able to write songs everyone can relate to (e.g., "Party in the U.S.A." and "Paparazzi".) Hmm... or maybe mega-stars put flash and riffs first? Whatever the case, I found Fantasies the most consistent, engaging, and enjoyable album of the year.

Check out: Pony up your email address and get an acoustic MP3 of "Gold Guns Girls" at Metric's website. This version is on the acoustic Plug In, Plug Out EP. The streaming player on Metric's site includes the plugged-in version found on Fantasies (as well as the other tunes found on both Fantasies and Plugged In, Plugged Out.)

2. Bishop Allen - Grrr...

Some of 2009's most fun tunes appear on Grrr..., a danceable, sing-along collection of hopefully devoted songs.

Check out: Here's an MP3 from the album: Bishop Allen - Dimmer

Another MP3 from Grrr..., "The Ancient Commonsense of Things", is available at Bishop Allen's website.

3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

A dang great rock album.

Check out: These kids have one of those trendy streaming players on their website too.

4. Eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire

Sweet, lovely, heartbreaking. Eels, basically, and as such, there are references to birds and dreams.

Check out: The band's website has five videos and one live clip of songs from Hombre Lobo. Humorously, someone banned embedding on two of the clips ("Prizefighter" and "That Look You Gave That Guy"), preventing the band themselves from embedding them on their website. Wacky! They tried embedding them anyway. so y'all can click through to YouTube on links through their attempted postings.

5. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Imagery of animals and weather fill a well-written, somewhat melancholic album.

Check out: Here's an MP3 from the album: Neko Case - People Got A Lotta Nerve.

"Someday we'll find a heaven
Full of the good and freedom
Of somewhere younger than America
Born in what we can hope" - Younger Than America

6. Idlewild - Post Electric Blues

Idlewild-esque bands (skinny British men who croon about love and America as though they're the first who thought of either) might simply be your cuppa or not. I dig them, and cynicism set to the side, "Younger Than America" is a great song (my 37th favorite of the year, according to my favorite songs post.)

Check out: Here's a Radio Scotland version of that very song, as YouTube'd:

7. The Brunettes - Paper Dolls

Bouncy as a pogo stick, sweet as cotton candy, and as adorable as a bunny. Speaking of which, how many couples must have already made "Magic (No Bunny)" their song? Aww...

8. Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts

Part groovy ode to freedom and independence, part poignant wish to recapture a lost love. Both are stellar.

9. Christophe Willem - Caféine

Most of these synth-happy pop songs are sung in French, but they're perfectly enjoyable even if you have, let's say, a very shoddy understanding of a small amount of the language. The album includes a cover of Kylie Minogue's "Heartbox", as well as duets with Minogue and Skye Edwards. (The deluxe edition adds 5 extra songs; one is another duet with Edwards.)

Check out: Plenty of Willem's songs have been uploaded to YouTube, including album tracks and live performances.

10. The Juan MacLean - The Future Will Come

Nifty, fizzy new wave/electronic sound with great drums and lyrics about robots and love. "One Day" struck me as reminiscent of the B-52s with a more insistent beat... and strings.

Check out: The album is streaming at the band's website.

11. Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains - Plaine Inondable

Yes, more French music even though je ne parle pas Français.

12. Julie Doiron - I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day

Check out: Three tracks from the album are streaming at Doiron's website, and you can download "Consolation Prize" at JAGJAGUWAR.

13. Maxïmo Park - Quicken the Heart

Check out: One track from Quicken the Heart is available at RCRD LBL: "Let's Get Clinical".

14. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic

Check out: Here's a shorter version of a track from the album: Memory Tapes - Graphics (Edit)

Other songs from Seek Magic are available at RCRD LBL.

15. Muse - The Resistance

16. Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom

Check out: One song from the album is streaming at the band's website.

17. Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter

Check out: The title track's at RCRD LBL.

18. The Clientele - Bonfires of the Heath

Check out: A couple Bonfire tracks are available at RCRD LBL.

19. Wave Machines - Wave If You're Really There

Check out: Download an MP3 of "Keep the Lights On" at the band's website (without having to sign up for a mailing list; they merely require a click.)

20. Stephen Steinbrink - Ugly Unknowns

21. Owl City - Ocean Eyes

22. Built to Spill - There is No Enemy

23. Slow Club - Yeah So

Check out: You can listen to the first minute of each song on Yeah So at the Moshi Moshi store.

24. a-ha - Foot of the Mountain

Check out: Here's the video for the title track:

25. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Check out: Grizzly Bear's "Cheerleader", on Veckatimest, is at RCRD LBL.

26. Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe

Martin Gore is the stain in your bed...

Or maybe Dave Gahan is... depending on whether you go by the chap who wrote the line in question or the one who sings it. Hmm...

It's only right and fair to judge the basic, standard edition of albums when ranking them. But for the record, "Ghost", available on the super-special Deluxe Box Set Edition of Sounds of the Universe, is a pretty cool song. Awesome job on writing (and singing) the creepy lyrics, boys:

"I'm the ghost in your house
Calling your name
My memory lingers
You'll never be the same
I'm the hole in your heart
I'm the stain in your bed
The phantom in your fingers
The voices in your head."

I wish "Ghost" made it onto the regular edition, but a) I trust that it will make its way onto a bonus tracks collection sooner or later, and b) the album is still keen and tortured without it.

27. Eulogies - Here Anonymous

Check out: You can download an MP3 of Here Anonymous track"Two Can Play" as well as a non-album version of "Bad Connection" upon providing eulogiesmusic.com with a name and email address (presumably your own).

28. The Antlers - Hospice

Check out: RCRD LBL has Hospice singles "Bear" and "Two" for the taking.

29. Lusine - A Certain Distance

Check out: A Certain Distance tracks "Two Dots" and "Cirrus" are available at RCRD LBL.

The "Two Dots" video:

30. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

31. The Orange Peels - 2020

Check out: In 4 sunny minutes, this audio-only video for "We're Going to Make It" can give you a great idea of the glimmering power-pop on 2020. (Okay, so they veer into 60s psychedelic-pop on one track, "Emily Has Told Me Why"... a song I don't love. Otherwise, they pretty much stick to the power-pop, and I think the album is stronger for it.)

32. The Crêpes - What Else?

Check out: Here's a slide show set to the title track:

33. The Most Serene Republic - ...And The Ever Expanding Universe

Check out: The album is streaming at the band's website. In particular, check out the surging "Patternicity", which has a most pleasing theatrical quality.

34. Nosaj Thing - Drift

Check out: "Coat of Arms" is available at RCRD LBL.

35. Sweet Trip - You Will Never Know Why

Favorite Live Album of 2009: R.E.M. - Live at The Olympia

J'aime cet album!

Check out: You can listen to snippets from the album at the microsite or watch clips at the official YouTube channel.

75 Favorite Songs of 2009

2009-12-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

1. Two Door Cinema Club - "Standing on Ghosts" (on the Four Words to Stand On EP.) Also in contention: "New Houses" (also on the Four Words to Stand On EP.)
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Hysteric" (on It's Blitz.) Also in contention: "Zero" (on It's Blitz, a single.)
3. Bishop Allen - "Oklahoma" (on Grrr....) Fun. Catchy. Sweet. Also in contention: "Dimmer" (on Grrr....)
4. The American Analog Set - "Anything Could Happen" (The Clean cover, on Not Given Lightly - A Tribute To the Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene.) So beautiful.
5. Phoenix - "1901" (on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, a single.) Omnipresent, used in ads, but stellar.
6. Metric - "Help I'm Alive" (on Fantasies.) Always liked the catchy drum riff in The Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be", so it's good to hear it again... and Metric builds upon it nicely, leading to one of my most-played songs of the year. Also in contention: "Gimme Sympathy (acoustic)" (on Plug In, Plug Out.)
7. Dominique Leone - "Cover Yourself" (on Abstract Expression.)
8. Pet Shop Boys - "Pandemonium" (on Yes.) Also in contention: "Vulnerable" (on Yes.)
9. Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve" (on Middle Cyclone.) Also in contention: "I'm an Animal" (on Middle Cyclone.)
10. The Radio Dept. - "David" (on the forthcoming Clinging to a Scheme, a 2009 single.)
11. Owl City - "Fireflies" (on Ocean Eyes.) Also in contention: "Dental Care" (on Ocean Eyes.)
12. Eulogies - "Day to Day" (on Here Anonymous.)
13. One eskimO - "Kandi" (on One eskimO, the One eskimO EP, and a single.)
14. Eels - "Beginner's Luck" (on Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire.)
15. Snow in Mexico - "Velvet" (on the Snow in Mexico EP.) You can download the entire EP on the official website. It's free, but Paypal donations are accepted.
16. Thom Yorke - "Hearing Damage" (on the New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.) Edward Cullen looks like he's trying to convince people he's not a vampire, he's merely the president of the local Robert Smith Appreciation Society. It's curious that the Twilight soundtracks don't reflect his grooming choices, but why look good music in the ear, so to hear?
17. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction" (on The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a single.)
18. Depeche Mode - "Fragile Tension" (on Sounds of the Universe.)
19. The Bravery - "Slow Poison" (on Stir the Blood, a single.) Also in contention: "Slow Poison (Drop the Lime Remix)", which can be downloaded at RCRD LBL.)
20. Casiokids - "Fot i Hose" (a single.)
21. a-ha - "Riding the Crest" (on Foot of the Mountain.) Also in contention: "Foot of the Mountain".
22. The Decemberists - "Sleepless" (on Dark Was the Night.) Also in contention: "The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)" (on The Hazards of Love.)
23. Stephen Steinbrink - "When it's Easier" (on Ugly Unknowns.)
24. Miike Snow - "Black & Blue (Savage Skulls Remix)" (MP3 available at RCRD LBL.)
25. The Brunettes - "Bedroom Disco" (on Paper Dolls.)
26. Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait for the Others" (on Veckatimest, a single.)
27. Slow Club - "Giving Up on Love" (on Yeah So.)
28. mewithoutYou - "Every Thought a Thought of You" (on It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright.) Also in contention: "Goodbye, I!"
29. God Help the Girl - "I'm in Love with the City" (on the Stills EP.)
30. Annie - "I Don't Like Your Band" (on Don't Stop.)
31. Joel Plaskett - "Through and Through and Through" (on Three.) Although three is my favorite number, I found Three uneven and at times frustrating. But "Through and Through and Through" is irresistible.
32. The Clientele - "Never Anyone But You" (on Bonfires on the Heath.)
33. Maxïmo Park - "Calm" (on Quicken the Heart.)
34. The Raveonettes - "Suicide" (on In and Out of Control.)
35. Dan Black - "Symphonies" (on Un.)
36. Julian Casablancas - "30 Minute Boyfriend" (bonus track on Phrazes for the Young.) Not so into the album, but I dig this piece of synth-fueled brooding.
37. Idlewild - "Younger Than America" (on Post Electric Blues.)
38. Julie Doiron - "Spill Yer Lungs" (on I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day.) QTV live version:

39. Do Make Say Think - "Do" (on Other Truths.)
40. Fanfarlo - "The Walls are Coming Down" (on Fanfarlo, a single.)
41. We Were Promised Jetpacks - "Conductor" (on These Four Walls.)
42. Jesca Hoop - "Tulip" (on Hunting My Dress.)
43. Athlete - "Don't Hold Your Breath" (on Black Swan.) Also in contention: "The Getaway" (on Black Swan.).
44. Carrie Underwood - "Quitter" (on Play On.)
45. Delphic - "Counterpoint" (on the forthcoming Alcolyte, a 2009 single.)
46. Klaus Says Buy the Record - "New Dawn" (on Lights Out.)
47. Peter Bjorn and John - "Nothing to Worry About" (on Living Thing.)
48. Juan MacLean - "The Future Will Come" (on The Future Will Come.)
49. The Crayon Fields - "All The Pleasures in the World" (on All The Pleasures in the World.)
50. Sweet Trip - "Air Supply" (on You Will Never Know Why.)
51. Telekinesis - "Tokyo" (on Telekinesis!)
52. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Wasted Summers" (on Pin Points and Gin Joints.)
53. Andrew Bird - "Oh No" (on Noble Beast.)
54. Built to Spill - "Hindsight" (on There is No Enemy.)
55. The Kickdrums - "Tell Me Stories" (on Just a Game.)
56. Rooney - "I Don't Understand" (on the Wild One EP.)
57. The Wombats - "My Circuitboard City" (on the My Circuitboard City EP, a single.)
58. Fol Chen - "Cable TV" (on Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made.)
59. Gary Go - "Life Gets in the Way" (on Gary Go.)
60. Noisettes - "Every Now and Then" (on Wild Young Hearts.) Also in contention: "Don't Upset the Rhythm".
61. Mads Langer - "The Beauty of the Dark" (on Mads Langer.)
62. Placebo - "Wouldn't It Be Good" (Nik Kershaw cover, B-side on For What It's Worth single.)
63. Snow Patrol - "Just Say Yes" (on Up to Now.)
64. Moby - "Mistake" (on Wait for Me.)
65. Muse - "Uprising" (on The Resistance.)
66. Sea Wolf - "Wicked Blood" (on White Water, White Bloom.)
67. The Swell Season - "The Rain" (on Strict Joy.) Also in contention: "In These Arms".
68. Mew - "Hawaii" (on No More Stories.)
69. Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck - "In the End" (on IRM.)
70. The Autumn Defense - "Paradise" (on Ciao My Shining Star.)
71. A Camp - "Stronger Than Jesus" (on Colonia.)
72. The Church - "Hounds of Love" (Kate Bush cover, on The Coffee Hounds EP.)
73. Mute Math - "Spotlight" (on Armistice.)
74. Pants Yell - "Someone Loves You" (on Received Pronounciation.)
75. The Thermals - "Now We Can See" (on Now We Can See.)

12/30 Update: Jinkies, I completely forgot a song I mustn't leave off the list. How did it happen? I don't know, but let's not worry about whether it's my fault or yours. Let's move on to the loveliness of the song itself, which for the sake of convenience we might as well consider #76:

76. Los Campesinos! - "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future". It's lovely, and it's available as a free download. Hooray for band largess!

"I'll tell him where to put his toys"

2009-12-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

While this song doesn't mirror my rather less Grinchesque opinion of Christmas, I respect the artist's views and enjoy the unflinching way he expresses them. Even at the holidays, he keeps it real, and won't kowtow just for presents.

"I Hate Christmas" video:

Happy Holidays.

Life's been keeping me from the hat for far too long, but I do hope to post some traditional end-of-year lists... before the year actually ends!

Franz Ferdinand Makes Terrible Decision

2009-03-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

How disappointing that Franz Ferdinand has chosen a designer who "wants the progressive man to wear fur" to design the costumes for their Tonight tour.

Just a month ago, the band's Nick McCarthy went to a "Fur Is A Drag" party - PETA Europe's version of a Fashion Week. Why did he change his mind about fur? Does he or does he not consider fur a drag?

Kopenhagen Fur, one of the world's largest fur companies, nominated the designer in question, Christian Westphal, for a 2007 Golden Fur Pin. He later "teamed up with" the company. In a promotional interview dated last month, Westphal says, "My partnership with Kopenhagen Fur has been fabulous." The company also quotes Westphal as saying, "I will definitely use fur in my future designs, in both my summer and winter lines."

Last week, The Times (in London) reported that large fur companies, including Kopenhagen Fur, have been giving designers free fur clothing, accessories, and sponsorships. They're said to invite designers to their headquarters where they tell them that "fur farming" at their company is "humane" (possibly while keeping their fingers crossed behind their back or while winking and gesturing for a minion to pour more champagne.)

According to the The Times, the sponsorships offered to designers can be "lucrative" and offer a tempting amount of exposure. One designer accepted the opportunity to open Copenhagen Fashion Week.

It's not as serious a concern as his ethical issues, but at least some of Westphal's fur-free clothing designs are iffy in lesser ways. The clothes look a bit boring, and not particularly flattering. However, Franz Ferdinand might find their tightness appealing, and not want to spend time "comparison-shopping", as the kids say.

It remains to be seen whether any fur will be incorporated into the stage costumes. The band shouldn't be willing to work with Westphal, whether or not he thinks fur should be used in this project.

On Heavy Rotation

2009-03-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Some Songs I'm Digging Lately:

1. Telepathe - "So Fine" (on Dance Mother, out April 14th in the U.S.) Wonderfully breezy disco-dreampop.

The video (hey, it's another supermarket video):

2. The Cocktail Slippers - "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (on St. Valentine's Day Massacre, out April 27th in Europe and on April 28th in the U.S.) Possibly one of the most upbeat songs with the word "Massacre" in the title. The winsome retro charm of the Norwegian popsters helps do the trick, as do a few handclaps (handclaps always help). Plus, the song isn't about murders. It addresses, depending on your perspective, insecurity and/or lack of commitment in a relationship.

The video:

MP3: The Cocktail Slippers - St. Valentine's Day Massacre (on St. Valentine's Day Massacre)

3. Pet Shop Boys - "Vulnerable", "Pandemonium", and "More Than A Dream" (on Yes, out March 23rd in the U.K., April 21st in the U.S.) I like first single "Love Etc." well enough, but I'm more fond of the other three. At least for now, they're my favorites on Yes.

Audio-only video of "Vulnerable":

4. Placebo - "Battle For The Sun" (on Battle For The Sun, out June 8th, and available as a free download on Placebo's official website.)

5. Metric - "Gimme Sympathy" (acoustic version, non-album track, one of three songs given as an incentive to pre-order Fantasies - officially out April 7th - from Metric's website store. The others are "Help I'm Alive" (which is on Fantasies) and Pink Floyd cover "Nobody Home" (which is not). A limited-edition deluxe edition version of the album, vinyl, and assorted combo sets are also being sold in the online store. Metric is billing the acoustic version of "Gimme Sympathy" (along with "Nobody Home") as exclusively available with pre-orders. That's a pity, because I think the acoustic take on "Gimme Sympathy" is much better than the original. The slower tempo makes the song seem more introspective and yields more thoughtful and sincere-sounding vocals. Emily Haines sounds less connected with the lyrics in the peppier album version.

A video of an acoustic performance of "Gimme Sympathy":

An audio-only video of the album version:

Placebo Announces Battle For The Sun, Golden Tickets-Er, Laminates

2009-03-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Placebo has announced the June 8th release of a new album, Battle For The Sun, which will be available via download, CD, limited edition CD + DVD set, LP, and deluxe box set, with 5 "Golden Laminates" stashed inside deluxe box sets.

Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show has "worldwide exclusive first play" rights to the title track. They're scheduled to play the song March 17th at 7:00 PM (presumably that's UK time). Zane Lowe's shows are online for a limited period of time, but the song will probably pop up elsewhere before long.

Placebo's official online store is taking pre-orders for the deluxe box set. The first 500 copies will be signed by the band, and a "Golden Laminate Pass" will be hidden inside 5 box sets, with 1 Golden Laminate per continent. The Golden Ticket-Laminate, that is could get you and a pal "an amazing VIP day with Placebo", which includes "a gig within your country". (Who chooses the location of the gig? Good question! Perhaps you, but it doesn't sound like they pay for transportation there. Perhaps it's the concert-closest-to-you. A Golden Laminate is a Thing of Mystery!) You also get "2 nights accommodation" (Are those nights spent in a hotel? In a hostel? Bunking with the band? Thing of Mystery!) Also included in the Laminated Ones' prize: watching Placebo soundcheck, eating dinner with them at the venue, and watching the concert from side stage.

The track listing for Battle For The Sun hasn't yet been revealed, but there are lots of details about that deluxe box set. It includes "2 hardback bound books in hard back slipcase". In those books...

Book 1:

Disc 1: "Full album + 2 exclusive bonus tracks"

Disc 2: "Live album tracks from forthcoming world tour – Blank CD that allows exclusive download of live recorded tracks, from selected live dates"

DVD1: "Live at Angkor Wat. Full concert performance shot in December 2008 of the band’s only show last year which was the first ever rock show to take place at the world famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.
PLUS a film documenting the band’s trip to Cambodia, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the band."

DVD2: "In the studio; The making of 'Battle For The Sun' The album. A film featuring exclusive, never before seen, ‘fly on the wall’ footage of Placebo in the studio making the new album. Includes interviews with the band.
36 page photo book featuring shots from Angkor Wat and Cambodia."

Book 2:

"2 x Heavy Vinyl LP
16 pages of handwritten lyrics & studio photos
Exclusive film poster insert"

Folks who shell out £70 for the deluxe box set will also get a digital download of Battle For The Sun the day it's released.

58 seconds of "Twenty Years", live at Angkor Wat:

A full live performance of "Blind", from The Henry Rollins Show:

Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover, on the Sleeping With Ghosts bonus disc and the Meds re-release)

Maxïmo Park Releases Free Song From May Album

2009-03-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

If you're speedy about it, you can catch a sneak preview of Maxïmo Park's next album Quicken The Heart, which is penciled in for a May release.

"Wraithlike", the source of the title phrase, is available as a free MP3 for the next two weeks to anyone registered at MaxïmoPark.com. Those previously signed up for the band's mailing list have already received a longer version of the song. Freebies everywhere! Or at least three of them. The band has also announced plans to hold a free concert in Newcastle, with details to be revealed this Thursday. Info about the sale of 7" "Wraithlike" vinyls, to benefit a to-be-revealed charity, is also to come on Thursday (Fair warning: It's possible the vinyls will go on sale then.)

Intriguingly, according to the band, the punchy "Wraithlike" is "not the first proper single from the album".

Aw, does that comment show a bit of discomfort with this modern age? They're trying, with this "free MP3" thing that's so "in" nowadays but maybe they can't help but reveal their true old school feelings with a vinyl 7" pressing (just a little one, for charity!) and a tiny anti-digital comment.

Or maybe they have another reason for giving us this preview now, before releasing "official" singles in a Very Special order that will, say, tell its own story or form an interesting puzzle.

Maxïmo Park promises to update "soon" about the first "official" and second actual single from Quicken The Heart; now it will be a slight letdown if they only provide a title and a release date. Hopefully it will be at least as good as "Wraithlike", which is to say very. This spring and summer, the group is scheduled to play a slew of concerts and festivals. Their sets may or may not be proper in the "high tea", "MC Hammer", or Pepsi sense.

A one-minute-and-ten-second glancevert of "Wraithlike":

Sweet & Sappy Overload: A Valentine's Day Playlist

2009-02-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday's Anti-Valentine's-playlist post was the wordy one. Today's post is the cut-to-the-chase one.

The Valentine's Day playlist is at this drop.io site, where you can listen to the tracks and/or download them, individually and/or in a zip file. Life: it's partly about choices! The password for the drop.io is: cupid

Sweet & Sappy Overload: A Valentine's Day Playlist Track Listing:

1. Husky Rescue - "New Light of Tomorrow" (on Country Falls)

2. Klee - "Gold (English Version" (on Honeysuckle)

3. The Singles - "I'm In Love With You" (on Better Than Before)

4. Dusty Springfield - "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" (on Dusty: The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield)

5. Steve Almaas and Ali Smith - "You Showed Me" (cover of the Turtles song, on You Showed Me)

6. Adrian Belew - "Never Enough" (on Here)

7. Dave Lawson - "Songwriters in Love" (from the audio archives at Suburban Sprawl Music. The site is chock-full of free MP3s)

8. Tim Chaplin - "They Don't Know" (Kirsty MacColl cover, on The 80s Girls EP)

~ The image at the top o' the post is Valentines 09, a silkscreen print by Rob Ryan from the Soma Gallery. Tip of the hat (no pun intended) to Delicious Industries for the keen find. ~

The Best Hearts and Chocolates are Dark. And Cold. And Bitter. An Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist

2009-02-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

February 13th is not just Los Angeles Freedom to Marry Day (which does not imply everyone in Los Angeles does not currently have the right to marry.) It's also a great day in American cinema, as it's the day the new Friday the 13th motion picture is released!

Plus, it's the eve of one of the few major American holidays yet to be commercially exploited on a grand scale by Hallmark and their corporate brethren. They're usually so eager to peddle unhealthy candy as a festive treat and encourage people to associate spending money with love. Yet somehow they respect this holiday dedicated to romantic love enough to not treat it in that much of a cynical, greedy fashion—wait;I'm thinking of Friendship Day. Yeah, Valentine's Day is commercialized into the ground, year after year. Ugh, it's really annoying.

Hey, do a lot of people also spend lavishly on Friendship Day, driven by corporate, societal, peer, and self-inflicted pressure? Most of my friends might be incredible cheapskates. That seems like the sort of thing I should know. I wouldn't want any Friendz-4-ever candy and I don't think I could enjoy owning a Precious Moments figurine, even on a wacky, ironic level. Neither those bare facts nor my semi-occasional rants against the commercialization of holidays or capitalism in general should discourage people from giving me stuff. How can you tell people care about you if they don't buy you a ton of ridiculous space-and-money-wasting stuff you don't need?

I do love the genuine, sweet, lovey-dovey, sappy, and fun parts of Valentine's Day... which, for me, overlap with some commercialized aspects. They also include some candy. I'm a complex creature; aren't we all? The U.S. has Sweethearts, the U.K. has Love Hearts. They count as pop culture; they are not merely candy. Internationally, the online ACME Heart Maker is fun though its 4-character-per-line limit provides a frustrating challenge, which some of us respond to by throwing up our hands and making non-holiday-related hearts... Some greeting cards aren't so bad, and I love the tradition of kids exchanging lots of cute little Valentines, even if it entails profits for Hallmark.

But that's a lot of concession for an anti-Valentine's post.

Check out www.meish.org for some blunt, funny Anti-Valentines (including the one pictured at the top of this post.) They can be semt by e-mail or in a number of other Interweb-related ways. Paper cards are also available. Irony will never be dead, never, I tell you!

Listen to and/or save the songs on the somewhat-angst-ridden playlist at this drop.io site. The password is: hallmarkholiday There's also a zip file with all the songs at the site.

The Best Hearts and Chocolates Are Dark. And Bitter. And Cold. An Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist Track Listing:

1. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "Seems To Be On My Mind" (on #3)

2. Courtney Jaye - "I Need Love" (on the forthcoming Queen Of Sabotage)

3. The Living Blue - "Tell Me Leza" (on Fire, Blood, Water)

4. Angie Heaton & The Gentle Tamers - "Lucky In Love" (on The Rumer Mill)

5. Beangrowers - "Quaint Affair" (on Not In A Million Lovers)

6. Panda & Angel - "Dangerous" (on the Panda & Angel EP)

- Thanks and apologies for the inspiration behind the playlist title to Marc Almond, whose "Bittersweet" twirled in my head as I played with title thoughts, but I wanted to do something with dark chocolate because it is so clearly superior to bittersweet (and for that matter milk) chocolate. Thanks also to The Living Blue, whose catchy lines from "Tell Me Leza" ("Do you feel that a secret can become a lie/when your back's on the wall and your heart is as black as mine?") likely gave a subconscious spark for the idea of a dark-chocolate heart.

On Heavy Rotation

2009-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my favorite recent songs...as in what-I'm-listening-to-the-most-lately, considering that one is from 1989)...the majority still have that new song smell (I've tried lemon juice, baking soda, and soap, to no avail.)

1. Bishop Allen - "Oklahoma" (on Grrr...) One of my favorite tracks off an album that's grrr--oh forget that. But, yeah, it's a lot of fun. Danceable like whoa.

The sweetly quirky lyrics ("Let's pretend so we can begin again...You've got eyes like Oklahoma") remind me of a couple guys I recently met who rather impulsively drove to L.A. from Oklahoma with $100, just to spend a couple days here and check out the fair city. They plan to move here this summer and neither had been here before. They had some time, so the wacky kids decided to take a road trip. Love their adventurousness.

They have my idea of "eyes like Oklahoma". I think it means wide-eyed. For one thing, Oklahoma is very wide. On the more personal-association level, those kids were very nice, rather wide-eyed, and excited about traveling west to start their own lives...the concept also resonates with me as some mixture of those elements.

Live video:

2. Blind Pilot - "The Bitter End", "Three Rounds and a Sound", "One Red Thread", and "Go On, Say It" (on Three Rounds and a Sound)

Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski make charming alt-rock with a blend of romanticism and cynicism reminiscent of Fox "I Want to Believe" Mulder. Not to call any of them morbid (or pale), but it wouldn't be wrong to say they share a certain interest in death.

"Three Rounds and a Sound" live video:

3. Oliver North Boy Choir - "Blackmail" (synth version)

This second, synth-soaked take on the song was sent by the band as a spoonful of sugar along with a bitter pill to swallow: while they still love us very much, and they still care about each-other a lot, things have changed, and it's time for the group to go their separate ways. The end of Camilla Florentz and Mikkel Max Hansen's marriage, while not a great sign, wasn't necessarily going to mean the end of the group they shared with Ivan Petersen. Why look at the White Stripes...although Jack White sure does spend a lot of time with the Raconteurs lately.

While the former members of Oliver North Boy Choir are still "friendly", they say since Florentz and Hansen parted in October, "it's become increasingly hard to find the time to record". So "Blackmail" will be their final single. Their compilation Shameless Pop Songs, will be released February 22nd, along with the Blackmail EP.

This sweetly sly, kicky synth version isn't available on either. Check out more ONBC MP3s at their website, particularly if you're new to the group and don't yet realize how cool they are...were. May they rock in peace...not that a break-up is akin to death.

"Blackmail" (synth version) MP3

4. Paul McCartney - "My Brave Face" (on 1989's Flowers in the Dirt) Heard part of this song playing in a store recently and managed to scribble down enough of the lyrics to identify the song later, with the help of the Internets. I had also written "Sounds like Split Enz"...and was correct that it wasn't the work of an American artist. Also pegged it as vaguely historical...and it is from an era in time before the advent of computers, CDs, VCRs, and cellphones. Probably why people kept busy with silly things like those big MC Hammer pants; they didn't have anything else to do.

"My Brave Face" was co-written by Elvis Costello, under his birth name (Declan MacManus). Knowing of Costello's role, the song instantly makes a lot more sense. Some of those snappy rhythms and catchy melodies sound right up his alley and could easily bear his fingerprints... At other times, the song sounds a bit like Wings.

Not far beneath the surface of this take on an "I miss you" song" lurk less-than-idyllic nuances. Such murky material, along with some stylistic quirks like biting off words, finds Costello in comfortable territory. However, a fair amount of good songwriters who a) have been through a difficult break-up and/or b) find themselves writing a song with Elvis Costello might be capable of writing such material.

The interesting video:

5. Erin McCarley - "Lovesick Mistake" (on Love Save the Empty). [Dieter from Sprockets] A lonely little bird wanders on a beach at midnight, Her heart is twisted and bleeding, from so-called "love". Distracted by pain, she wanders into a freshly painted bungalow and becomes disoriented by the fumes. Maybe she begins seeing dancing bears where no bears dance and decides to serenade these bears. She is creatively inspired by something anyway, and puts her gorgeous agony into song, and her voice perfectly captures the beauty of her alienation and torment. Two thumbs up! [/Dieter from Sprockets]

Video of a live, acoustic version:

6. Annie Lennox - "Shining Light" (will be released as a single in the UK om March 2nd and on The Annie Lennox Collection.) The greatest-hits collection also includes a very pretty, attention-worthy cover of Keane's "Closer Now", retitled "Pattern of My Life", but the "Light" cover is the glittery attention-grabber--and it's fantastic.

The colorful, shiny (but of course) disco-fab video, which includes an all-Lennox band:

Feed switchover

2009-01-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the theme of change, and because Google's buyout of Feedburner means Feedburner accounts are soon going to be to be assimilated anyway, the Kofi's hat feed has a new home at: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/Kofis-hat. I, for one, welcome my new feed overlords. According to the folks at Google, anyone who fears or dislikes change won't notice anything different, and those who embrace change or hope for improvements will feel the transition is a uniquely transformational experience.

We can only hope under the keen eye and steady hand of Google, feeds will operate as well as Blogger has under their stewardship. What Will Google Buy Next? Everything? We can only hope!

Glasvegas at Amoeba Hollywood, 1/15/2009

2009-01-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Glasvegas took the Amoeba Hollywood stage late last night and may have regretted showing up at all. They already played their only other scheduled local show the previous night (and tickets for the Troubador concert had quickly sold out), everyone in the band, according to singer James Allan, was "hungover", and the set was hampered by persistent sound-mixing problems.

The crowd—which included touring partner Carl Barât (styled as
Jack White in the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow, recognized nonetheless)—wasn't given a real chance to hear what they truly sound like live or to see what they're like as performers (even in hungover/some-still-drinking mode.) That's a pity, but on the positive side: the band cared about the sound quality and played several still-obviously-good songs. The set was even fairly long for an in-store-5 songs, if you don't count second song, "Lonesome Swan", which Allan ended after 38 seconds, due to the sound issues. ("What's all this fucking noise, man?"):

By fifth song ("Daddy's Gone"), the hungover crankiness and the "fucking noise" had improved, somewhat...

...which doesn't mean it was a great time for a "Free Bird" request:

Amoeba threatened to email those who purchased Glasvegas' debut album that evening an MP3 version of the show "after it's been mixed". Mixed by who? Will they include the "second song" and the "Free Bird" request? Will the engineer go for accurately conveying the sound of the show or sweetening it? I bought the disc that afternoon, evidently before clerks were given the info about the download offer, and didn't return to give my email address. My friend and I made an attempt to stay for the signing afterward, but the band was taking an unusually long amount of time to emerge, and I had visions of them eating burgers at the Jack In The Box across the street, while debating whether to return. So we made like trees and got out of there. Don't know about those burgers (alas, as a vegetarian, I never will), but the ratatouille just added to the menu at Cafe Wa_s is delicious.

Glasvegas is making like a tree and getting out of this continent. They'll return in March, playing loads of dates before and after. Ratatouille is a traditional French dish as well as an American animated motion picture.

Glasvegas Setlist, Amoeba Hollywood 1/15/2009:

1. "Flowers & Football Tops"
2. "Lonesome Swan" (James Allan cuts it early due to sound problems)/rant
3. "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry"
4. "Geraldine"
5. "Daddy's Gone"
6. "Be My Baby"

An Old Painting of a Bright Purple Frowning, Vomiting Triangle FTW.

2009-01-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

The winner of the Art Vinyl Prize for the best album cover art of 2008 has been revealed, along with 49 also-rans. On top: Fleet Foxes' eponymous full-length debut, which relies on a detail from that still-trendy "1559 painting Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder." Will that painting ever go out of fashion?

Another cover featuring a a fancy-like old-timey painting, Coldplay's Viva La Vida, took third place, behind Roots Manuva's Slime & Reason. The Roots Manuva cover showcased another popular theme among the online voters who determined the winners: splitting headaches. Other popular imagery: geometric shapes (often brightly-colored), people and animals "vomiting" things others than vomit, and people, as well as animals with their mouths wide open for some reason other than to spew non-vomit.

Some of the top 50 on the Art Vinyl Prize longlist:

#5 - Elbow's Seldom Seen Kid - geometric shapes, admittedly not very brightly-colored.

#24 - Hauschka's Ferndorf - brightly colored geometric shapes (sort of); so there.

#38 The Whip's - X Marks Destination - ditto, plus the mouth thing.

#39 - Death Set's - World Wide - Kids, no one is upset with you; we just want to know whether everything is okay.

Favorite EPs of 2008

2009-01-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

It's never too early for 2008 nostalgia.

1. Coldplay - Prospekt's March

I think "Lost+" is downgraded by the added Jay-Z vocals (and, as a side note, the title variations for the different versions of the song are a bit hokey, i.e. "Lost?", "Lost-", "Lost+", and "Lost@".) On the plus, or, if you prefer, +, side, the remaining songs are excellent.

"Glass of Water" live performance:

2. Stars - Sad Robots

Beautiful...

"14 Forever" audio-only video:

3. Smashing Pumpkins - American Gothic

"Sunkissed" audio-only video:

4. Belong - Colorloss Record

Psst, someone tell Belong about the recent phenomenon called the "music video". Apparently, visual depictions of songs are made by artists (often in consultation with their record label friends.) It's trendy for kids to use the musical videos they're told are the most buzzworthy and cool to decide which tunes should join the hit parade. So making music videos seems advantageous.

Maybe it will help that 53 seconds of Belong's cover of Syd Barrett's "Late Night" are used to soundtrack a bloke's festive, yet spooky clip. The length should works with the alleged brevity of the Gen. X through Z attention span.

5. The Cure - Hypnagogic States EP

"The Only One (Remix by 30 seconds to Mars)" audio-only video:

6. She Wants Revenge - Save Your Soul

"Sleep" fan video:

7. Alessi's Ark - The Horse

Alessi Laurent-Marke's distinctive, lovely vocals evoke something like a velvety-voiced lounge singer with a bit of twinkle on loan from the nearest fairy princess.

"The Horse" video:

8. Anni Rossi - Afton

R.I.Y.L. Regina Spektor, Kate Bush, Andrew Bird, and/or Björk. You might find her a tad too heavily inspired by some of the above, or might decide, as I did, that she ultimately manages to intrigue with weird-in-a-good-way vocal aerodynamics and quirky instrumentation that are either her own offbeat style, or at least blend the styles of others in her own offbeat, fresh-sounding way.

"Wheelpusher" video:

9. Air France - No Way Down

Would indeed make lovely travel music.

"No Excuses" fan video:

10. Miniature Tigers - Black Magic EP

Would make a terrible Valentine's Day gift ("Sometimes the way that you love me/Makes me want to go back to Vietnam"), but it's catchy.

"Black Magic" video:

Shoutout also for Digitalism's Hands On Idealism EP, a strong collection of remixes of a handful of songs from their 2007 album Idealism. I'm especially partial to "Apollo Gize (Breakbot Hypnotoad Extended Remix)" (audio-only video.)

Lights Off

2009-01-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

Oh, this Dears live radio performance of "Lights Off" is wonderful to watch at (about) 5 in the morning after staying up all night ("Five in the morning, you know we couldn't sleep. Might be inspiration but it's been this way for weeks. And weeks. And weeks. And weeks. And weeks.") I suspect the song will prove roughly as lovely at other times of the day. And night. In addition to "Lights Off", the band played "Money Babies" (both from last year's Missiles) during their visit with Seattle's KEXP (slogan: "where the music matters". Rejected slogans reportedly include: "the only station that cares about music, frankly" and "where arguably insulting advertising matters.")

Happy New Year!

"Lights Off", via Rock Dirt:

75 Favorite Songs of 2008

2008-12-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Whew, at long last, the first of the hat's year-end lists is done. More to come.

1. The Dears - "Disclaimer" (on Missiles. Live performance of part of the song...surely it's a single-in-waiting and a video is forthcoming...)
2. Smashing Pumpkins - "Sunkissed" (on American Gothic. Audio-only video. The Smashing Pumpkins in "Zeitgeist"/interview mode: so annoying. Yet The Smashing Pumpkins in "Sunkissed"/"Again, Again, Again"-mode: enchanting. Come hear Billy Corgan's softer side.)
3. Jeremy Warmsley - "Lose My Cool" - on How We Became. This bloke knows what he's doing when it comes to music, and if there's any musical justice, a lot more people will soon know-and appreciate-what he's doing. Also in contention: his New Order cover "Temptation" and "If He Breaks Your Heart", from the same album. The "Lose My Cool" video:

4. Coldplay - "Glass of Water" (on Prospekt's March. An audio-only video. Also a contender: Viva La Vida's title cut.)
5. Cut Copy - "Feel the Love" (on In Ghost Colours. An audio-only video)
6. The Killers - "Losing Touch" (on Day & Age. A live performance.)
7. Keane - "Perfect Symmetry" (on Perfect Symmetry. The video.) Also in contention: "You Don't See Me", "Again & Again".)
8. Stars - "A Thread Cut with a Carving Knife" (on Sad Robots. File under "Sad, Yet Uplifting." If you don't have a category like that in your files, make one for this song; it's a stunner. A live performance.)
9. R.E.M. - "Hollow Man" (on Accelerate. The video has been removed from YouTube by some Warner Brothers Records weasels, but at least as of this writing, an alternate video remains on REM's official YouTube channel.)
10. Adem - "Bedside Table" (Bedhead cover, on Takes. I listened to this song a ridiculous amount of times in good old 2008. Adem's songs (and albums) stand up beautifully to repeated listenings. I'm all for his making more cover albums. Also a contender: his dEUS cover "Hotel Lounge (Be The Death Of Me)", also from Takes.)
11. Jamie Lidell - "Another Day" (on Jim. The video.)
12. Marit Larsen - "Is It Love?" (on The Chase. The video. A musical question: game and song in one, saving you time and money!)
13. Martha Wainwright - "Bleeding All Over You" (on I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too. Radio interview and performance.)
14. Her Space Holiday - "Four Tapping Shoes and a Kiss" (on XOXO Panda And The New Kid Revival)
15. Chris Walla - "Geometry &C" (on Field Manual. This song is much more fun than geometry. You can hear it playing perfectly well enough to tell that in this video clip in which a fellow adds a bit more drums to the song.)
16. Envy & Other Sins - "Don't Start Fires" (on We Leave at Dawn. Streaming audio of a radio edit version of the song, and others by the band. It's the best song on the album, and should have been the first single. Just sayin'.)
17. Anya Marina - "Move You" (on Slow and Steady Seduction: Phase II. The video.)
18. The Republic Tigers - "Buildings and Mountains" (on Keep Color. A live performance.)
19. Curt Smith - "Greatest Divide" (on Halfway, pleased. A different version of the album, which does include "Greatest Divide", was first released in 2007 only in France, so admittedly there is a sort of "France doesn't count" rulw in effect when it comes to release dates. I am hoping to not be quoted out of context when it comes to that "France doesn't count" bit. France counts for plenty! For instance, they gave the world the beret and the croissant. The video and MP3 for "Greatest Divide"; it's much better than a croissant. Also a contender: "Seven of Sundays", from the same album.)
20. Delays - "Hooray!" (on Everything's the Rush. The video.)
21. Those Dancing Days - "Home Sweet Home" (on Our Space Hero Suits. Check out the voice on frontwoman Linnea Jönsson; check out how good her bandmates are. Sunny, swirling Swedish pop. Also contenders: "Shuffle", "Run Run". The "Home Sweet Home" video:
22. Alessi's Ark - "The Horse" (on The Horse. The video.)
23. Vampire Weekend - "Campus" (on Vampire Weekend. Why, they rocked so hard at while playing this song at Amoeba Hollywood, the "Amoeba" sign fainted like a teenager at a Beatles concert.)
24. Ladytron - "Ghosts" (on Velocifero. The video.)
25. Cinephile - "Somewhere Nowhere" (on Cinephile - etheral vocals float through the synthesized bars of a honeycomb maze. Hopefully that description is helpful, especially because this streaming audio site might require a plug-in, boo.)
26. Like Honey - "Like A Song" (on Leaves. Sweet, fizzy alt-pop.)
27. Cartonnage - "Brand New Day" (on Curiously Connected. The video. Lovely, soaring, triumphant-feeling tune.)
28. Aqualung - "7 Keys" (on Words and Music. This live performance video seems to be the only clip of the song on YouTube. It's not top-notch, but is certainly good enough to reveal the song's considerable charms. Also in contention: "On My Knees", "Everything Changed".)
29. The Verve - "Love is Noise" (on Forth. The video. Also a contender: "Rather Be", from the same album.)
30. Black Affair - "Japanese Happening" (on Pleasure Pressure Point. The video. Also in contention: "Reel to Reel", "It's Real".)
31. Thom Hell - "My Heart is Longing for a Soul" (on God If I Saw Her Now. The video. Also in contention: "Don't Let Go".)
32. Tokyo Police Club - "Tesellate" (on Elephant Shell. The video.)
33. Adele - "Chasing Pavements" (on 19. The video.)
34. Elbow - "One Day Like This" (on The Seldom Seen Kid. The video.)
35. The Cure - "This Here and Now" (on 4:13 Dream. Audio-only video. Also contenders: "The Only One (30 Seconds to Mars Remix)" and "Sleep When I'm Dead (Gerard Way and Julien K Remix)", on Hypnagogic States)
36. The Helio Sequence - "Can't Say No" (on Keep Your Eyes Ahead. MP3.)
37. Glasvegas - "Geraldine" (on Glasvegas. The video.)
38. Lovers Electric - "Start Again" (on Whatever You Want. A live performance.)
39. Mates of State - "Now" (on Re-Arrange Us. Also a contender: "Get Better")
40. The Ting Tings - "Be the One" (on We Started Nothing. Not one of the flashiest songs on the album, but it, too, is bouncy, just not as rapid, and it's exceedingly charming. An audio-only video.)
41. Miaou - "Tetote" (on All Around Us. Beautiful instrumental rock. Also contenders: "Morning Sun", "Hopefulness")
42. The Script - "BreakEven" (on The Script. The title "BreakEven" bugs me a bit, although I understand the choice in the context of the song. Their writing is good, though, as you might expect from a group called The Script. The video.)
43. Uh Huh Her - "Not A Love Song" (on Common Reaction. The video.)
44. Leona Naess - "Heavy Like Sunday" (on Thirteens. The video. Also a contender: "Learning As We Go".)
45. Longwave - "No Direction" (on Secrets are Sinister Live performance.)
46. Billy Bragg - "I Keep Faith" (on Mr. Love and Justice. Live performance.)
47. Annie - "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" (on Don't Stop. The video.)
48. 8mm - "Quicksand" (on Songs to Live & Die By. The song is playing pretty quietly in the background as a guy strums along on the guitar in this video clip, which might as well be considered the definitive video for the song unless and until 8mm provides a better one.) Edit: OK, this one snuck by me: the song is from 2006, and therefore doesn't belong on the list. Sorry about that. There are a lot of songs I'd like to put in its place. New one will be added here very shortly.
49. Snow Patrol - "If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It " (on A Hundred Million Suns. Live performance.)
50. Langhorne Slim - "Restless" (on Langhorne Slim. The video.)
51. Ludo - "Love Me Dead" - on You're Awful, I Love You. Infectious. The video:

52. Dr. Dog - "The Old Days" (on Fate. The video.)
53. Los Campesinos! - "My Year in Lists" (on Hold on Now, Youngster.... "I cherish with fondness the day before I met you" is irresistably catchy and funny unless it's about you. The video.)
54. Moby - "Alice" (on Last Night. The video. Also a contender: "Ooh Yeah", from the same album.)
55. Joker's Daughter - "Kyoto Song" (Cure cover, on Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure. Streaming audio.)
56. Crystal Castles - "Crimewave" (on Crystal Castles. A live performance.)
57. Daedelus - "Hrs Mins Secs (Etan's Greenwich Mean Report)" - MP3.
58. Goldfrapp - "A&E" (on Seventh Tree. The video. Also a contender: "Caravan Girl", from the same album.)
59. A Silent Film - "You Will Leave A Mark" (on A City That Sleeps. Evocative and grand. The video.)
60. Takka Takka - "Silence" (on Migration. The video and MP3.)
61. The Decemberists - "A Record Year for Rainfall" (on Always The Bridesmaid Vol. 3. The video.)
62. The Long Blondes - "Guilt" (on Couples. The video.)
63. Télépathique - "I'm Not the Man You Think I Am" (on Last Time on Earth. Streaming audio, not working at the moment but perhaps it's a temporary glitch in the system.)
64. The Strugglers - "Morningside Heights" - Atmospheric and moody yet pretty, "Morningside Heights" makes me want to pensively, yet winsomely gaze off into a picturesque distance. - on The Latest Rights. The video:

65. Death Cab for Cutie - "No Sunlight" (on Narrow Stairs. Live performance.)
66. MGMT - "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters (Holy Ghost! Remix)" (B-side to the "Kids" CD single. Audio-only video.)
67. The Courteeners - "That Kiss" (A non-album single. The video.)
68. She Wants Revenge - "Save Your Soul" (on Save Your Soul. Granted, She Wants Revenge has a bunch of songs that are kind of like this...they're likely either your sort of thing or not. I like 'em. The audio-only video. Also a contender: "Sleep", from the same EP.)
69. Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) - "My Freeze Ray" (on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Wannabe supervillain/daydream believer answers reader mail with songs. It's not quite a karaoke blog--a karog? karlog?--but dangerously close. This response gives us an adorable ditty about conquering the world. The video, more or less.)
70. Young Knives - "Turn Tail" (on Superabundance. The video.)
71. Bubblegum Lemonade - "I'll Never Be Yours" (on Doubleplusgood)
72. Ra Ra Riot - "Run My Mouth" (on The Rhumb Line. The video.)
73. Safeashome - "Kxvlar" (on Not What Happens. Sounds like you've accidentally left another song playing in the background of the one you meant to listen to, causing extra layers of fuzzy noise that occasionally detract but mostly work rather well.)
74. Kaiser Chiefs - "Remember You're a Girl" (on Off With Their Heads. Also a contender: "Never Miss a Beat".)
75. Attic Lights - "Bring You Down" (on Friday Night Lights. I really dislike the video, but the song is fun and proved itself an earworm, sticking in my head every time I heard it.)

Urban Outfitters Belatedly Offended By Gays, Stops Selling Gay Rights T-Shirt

2008-12-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

It's the eve of Day Without a Gay (December 10th, not coincidentally, is also International Human Rights Day), and a month after several setbacks for gay rights.

Clueless intolerance continues. The world will always have ignorance and bigotry, which is one reason why a popular vote is not the best way to make decisions about civil rights. Should divorced gay women get to remarry? Let's put it to a vote! How about bi-curious men? Maybe people should have to "prove" they're straight before entering into heterosexual marriages. Let's get that on some ballots!

Or maybe equality isn't such a lousy notion, and there's something to that "separation of church and state" idea too.

Urban Outfitters is a little confused on the issues. On the one hand, they're Obama-t-shirt-profiteering, and for a week, they sold a (very cool-looking) "I Support Same-Sex Marriage" t-shirt, designed by Support Shirts' Travis Reilly (of band This Is Hell) and Tara Littman.

On the other hand, after that week, the shirt was removed from the Urban Outfitters website and stores. Brad Walsh, a friend of Littman, writes that the designer, and President of Support Shirts, was told "bad press" was behind the decision. However, she found only one blog post complaining about the shirt; it was written on an anti-gay-marriage site.

Littman's research found that the company's founder and President, Richard Hayne had made contributions to Rick Santorum, a former Senator notorious for his homophobia and remarkable levels of stupidity.

The shirt is still available, directly from Support Shirts, and there are many, many places to buy clothes and knick-knacks other than UO.

Interesting that the store is (now) offended by same-sex marriage, but still selling Position Of The Day: Sex Every Day in Every Way and Position Of The Day Playbook. No doubt the company will only sell these products to married couples.

A friend the other day gave me that old chestnut about not avoiding one place because then they'd have to boycott (and a lengthy list followed). No, it doesn't mean that. Who said it does? Setting up a decision to boycott as though it's an either/or decision to commit to boycotting a ton of places or none at all is a strawman. It's setting up a bogus argument so you can more easily rationalize inaction. People make similar excuses about volunteering and about living "green", i.e. I can't buy a hybrid, afford all-organic food, recycle all my mail, et al... so forget it. Everyone's allowed to make whatever decisions they like, whether it's on a case-by-case basis or not, but that all-or-nothing reasoning, especially from people who claim to be progressive, irritates me.

That was cathartic.

I hasten to add that jointheimpact.com is also selling shirts, both ones geared toward "2nd class citizens" and supportive straights. The Day Without a Gay website is down for maintenance at the moment, but as I recall, they too stock shirts.

While this is not turning into a t-shirt blog... after Day Without A Gay, there will be more t-shirt postage...as well as other content. I'm doing the supportive-straight thing and not blogging on the 10th.

What's the Greatest "I" Lyric...for a t-shirt?

2008-12-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

What's the "greatest" lyric starting with "I"? Say, while you're pondering, fancy an "I" lyric t-shirt? i/denti/tee is now selling a batch of 9 "I" lyric t-shirts, at a pricey $35 each, though thanks to a partnership with iTunes, each comes with 10 iTunes songs. Plus, they're EDUN LIVE shirts, not American Apparel, which is refreshing.

Each shirt is made "in Africa, by Africans, with African cotton, [so] it helps generate revenue and sustainable growth in sub-Saharan Africa." On the downside, for the time being, a) the shirts are only being delivered to the US (but stay tuned., b) if you've been trying to buy locally, this could really screw with your conscience; good luck with that.

i/denti/tee is seeking ideas for new "I" lyric t-shirts, and will seek permission to use the most-suggested lyrics. I hope the new shirts will feature different typography. Not a big fan of the tiny letters, with wordssmooshedtogether.

The 9 shirts available now are:

1. "I love rock n' roll" - Joan Jett
2. "I still haven't found what im looking for" - U2 (No surprise here. Bono co-founded EDUN LIVE.)
3. "I will survive" - Gloria Gaynor
4. "I used to rule the world" - Coldplay
5. "I'm a hustler baby" - Jay-Z
6. "I'm wanted dead or alive" - Bon Jovi
7. "I'm the only one" - Melissa Etheridge
8. "I wanna dance with somebody" - Whitney Houston
9. "I go back" - Kenny Chesney

So where's the real list? The Joan Jett lyric is a good choice, and the Gloria Gaynor one is a classic but doesn't seem like t-shirt material (so to speak).

What about Johnny Cash's "I walk the line"?

Or Velvet Underground's "I'm sticking with you?"

(from the songs of the same name)

File under classic:

"I'm happy, hope you're happy too"
- "Ashes to Ashes", David Bowie

"I am human and I need to be loved"
- "How Soon Is Now?", The Smiths

"I wanna rock and roll all nite and party every day"
- "Rock And Roll All Nite", KISS, from (KISS Alive!)

or

"I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day"
- "Rock & Roll All Nite" - KISS apparently upgraded to an ampersand and went with a new, classier spelling for "night" for Greatest KISS (this, according to their website's lyrics.) Granted, the old-school spelling is used with the online lyrics for "Rock"'s inclusion on many releases, such as the Box Set compilation, The Milennium Collection, and The Very Best of KISS, but there's not a consensus. I turn to rock music for consistency, so it's just a little disappointing, that's all.

Speaking of rock...how about:

"I wanna rock! (Rock!)"
- "I Wanna Rock", Twisted Sister

"I'm tellin' y'all it's sabotage"
- "Sabotage", Beastie Boys

"I guess it's true it's never too late"
- "Sunday", Sonic Youth

File under great "'I' lyrics" that wouldn't make great t-shirts IMO:

"I've always been a coward"
- "Hounds of Love", Kate Bush

"I wanna be adored" - from The Stone Roses song of the same name.

"I wanna be sedated" or "I wanna be your boyfriend" from the respective songs of the same names by The Ramones

Not Usually a Fan of Musicals...

2008-12-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

But this one, posted at Funny or Die, is splendiferous.

Free Christmas CD for (Less Than) 48 Hours

2008-11-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

The country's beacon of goodness and light, Oprah Winfrey, tells us what to read, and kindly selected a President for us, but her generosity doesn't end there. Apparently, she dedicated an episode of her show to the topic, "How to Have the Thriftiest Holiday Ever!" yesterday, and part of that moneykeeping guidance involves offering us a free Christmas compilation download, available for a whopping 48 hours (the clock probably started ticking Wednesday afternoon.) Hey, record industry, Oprah is encouraging people to download a Christmas mix this year instead of buying a new album to fulfill our merry music needs. Shouldn't you be demonizing her?

The songs in Oprah's mix can only be downloaded individually (which is rather convenient if you're only interested in checking out one or two of the songs.)

The compilation is titled Holiday Hits 2008, but don't let the name fool you, it's chock-full of Christmas songs. Specifically, these ones:

1. Faith Hill - "Joy to the World" (from Joy to the World)

2. Tony Bennett - "I'll be Home for Christmas" (from A Swingin' Christmas)

3. Il Divo - "O Holy Night" (from The Christmas Collection)

4. Josh Groban - "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (from Noel)

5. Brian McKnight, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (from I'll Be Home for Christmas)

6. Amy Grant - "O Come All Ye Faithful" (from The Christms Collection)

7. Harry Connick Jr. - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (from What a Night! A Christmas Album)

8. Aretha Franklin - "Silent Night" (from This Christmas)

Baby, It's Cold Outside, & You're Just Wearing a Gap Sweater, Scarf, Hat...

2008-11-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

Singing for The Gap's holiday ad campaign, Rainn Wilson and Selma Blair opt for a nontraditional take on "Baby It's Cold Outside". Wilson's the one who "really can't stay" and it's Blair who urges him to remain, plying him with drink, and cooing that, "Your eyes are like starlight now." Whether or not it moves people to purchase sweaters, scarves, and such, it's a cute clip.

But, say, shouldn't Wilson feel toasty-warm as bundled-up as he is in all that Gap cold-weather clothing? He's wearing an aviator hat, a thick scarf, and a wintry sweater over his shirt. The video might imply that the answer is no, Gap's cold-weather clothes won't necessarily keep you warm when it's really chilly outside. If the Gap is willing to risk sending that message, even in tough economic times, purely in the name of entertaining us with a jolly little Christmas tune, hurrah for them!

"There's the key, your adventure for today"

2008-11-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in
- "I Believe"

Ack, Michael Stipe needs a shirt! Here's one. It's funny because —well, you know. He deserves lots of hilarious t-shirts.

On the last night of their world tour, R.E.M. played extra songs for their Mexico City audience, including a rendition of "Country Feedback" that might be the most beautiful song they—or you will hear this year. Staggering guitarwork by Peter Buck.

The band has posted well over half an hour of Mexico City concert footage, including that gem. "This song is actually a request," Stipe said, in introducing "Country Feedback", "but it's a request on the part of each one of us because it's one of our favorite songs that we ever wrote and we love to play it." That's lucky, because a lot of people probably love to hear it.

Stipe cited the end of the tour as one reason for the extra songs, as well as fondness for the audience. Future concert-goers wondering whether there's anything they can do to increase the odds of extra songs might want to note his specific words of praise and follow their example: "You guys have been awesome and you look great too and you smell pretty good up close and you know the words."

The "set" as posted (i.e. a portion of their concert):

1. "Supernatural Superserious"
2. "Losing My Religion"
3. "I Believe" (Stipe, afterward: "Well, thank you. That was kind of goofy, but that was fun.")
4. "Country Feedback"
5. "Life and How to Live It"
6. "Man on the Moon"

The Kooks Cover "Young Folks"

2008-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Given how much of 2008 the Kooks have spent on tour, are the odds tilted in favor of a travel theme for their next album?

It's hard to believe all that time on the road won't have some influence. Maybe the album won't include an ode to hotel chairs or a salute to the Parisian roadie, but let's hold out hope for a rollicking song about a guy who collects Do-Not-Disturb signs.

In the meantime, the Kooks have posted their fun cover of Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" in a little Parisian travelogue video at their website. The video, labeled, "Paris Footage", has been uploaded to YouTube by a kindly fan. It was mostly shot backstage, and is interspersed with on-stage rehearsal footage and some touristy fun. Ah, the streets of Paris. Oh, airports.

The Kooks' new single "Sway" will be released on Monday the 13th. Le vidéo:

Hopelessly Devoted to Yuill

2008-10-09T04:19:00.000-07:00

Dark parlor games, the sort that ask players to choose between two horrible options, are torture for some, and bizarrely delightful for others.

James Yuill's last name is pronounced "Yule", but he poses and answers a rather non-festive question in the title of his second album, Turning Down Water for Air, first released last year and re-released October 13th on London's Moshi Moshi Records.

Turning Down Water for Air is a jumble of emotions set to the synthesized beats of Yuill's lovestruck heart. He seems like a sensitive guy, with somewhat volatile emotions, heavily influenced by the state of his lovelife at any given moment. On "Left-Handed Girl" he refers to himself as a man and his love as a girl. Does this "she's a girl and I'm a man" language indicate a difference in maturity, and if so, who is more mature?

Some songs, like opener "You Always Do", are optimistic, gentle, and sweetly yearning. About halfway through, the tone of the songs takes a change. Each song doesn't have the same mood after that point; it's more like Yuill's been hit with a poison arrow through the heart, and goes through different stages as he reacts.

Before that, there's "Head Over Heels", which contains some lovely bits of writing, but seems unfinished, not quite fully realized (and it clocks in at only 2:04). It's a bit of a lost opportunity, both as a transitional song for the album, and as an individual song. Then there's "No Ghost", danceable and intensely reflective ("When will I see my children lying in my arms?...You stole emotion from a man who needs it most.") The gently expressive, vocals-packed "No Surprise" barely gives Yuill a chance to rest his voice, and his work pays off; the catchy tune is the best song on the album.

"She Said In Jest" ("I can't seem to catch my breath") and "Breathing In" are but two of the album's songs that mention breathing. Songs also mention water, and earth plays at least a minor role, as in "Over the Hills". I didn't notice any mention of fire, though. Maybe next time. Its potential destructiveness might hold some appeal. Dark thoughts are threaded throughout the album, culminating with "Somehow", the only song I flat-out dislike. It's not the lyrics that bother me ("I know you want me to hurt myself/I know you want me to hurt myself/Somehow, somehow"), it's the entire odd conception of the song, as a chirpy, clap-a-long camp song (and I heartily dislike the unpleasant backup vocals.)

However, the last song excepted, the album is a very strong, catchy collection of what one might call intelligent dance music, if one used such silly terminology.

Yuill is currently on a UK tour:

The breezy "This Sweet Love" was released October 6th as a 7" single with non-album "They're Chasing My Hands" on the flip-side. On "This Sweet Love", Yuill uses slower, relatively hushed vocals somewhat akin to those used by Jose González.

For the "This Sweet Love" video, director Alex Emslie, sought"people who want to show the world something they love." Sorry, grandmothers of the greater London area, while you might immediately come to Emslie's mind as "lovable", he also apparently views you as things.

His elaboration of "something you love" was as follows: "Be it your grandma, pet snake, souped up golf cart or just a special view from your bedroom window, we are looking for a wide range of people of all ages, creeds and colours to show us what helps them get through the day."

Sure enough, the video includes a dude with a golf cart. So much better than a grandma. The people in the video didn't get paid, but at least, for some reason, they got the fun of seeing what they look like with black bars across their eyes. Oooh, anonymized...

The videos for "No Surprise" and "No Pins Allowed", two more songs from Turning Down Water for Air don't contain golf carts or grandmas, but they're good songs.

"No Surprise":

"No Pins Allowed":

Those who join James Yuill's mailing list get a freebie MP3 of his excellent cover of the Radiohead song, "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box".

Yuill is not only an accomplished singer-songwriter; he also makes some dandy remixes, and generously posts many of them at his blog. One I'm partial to is his A. Human "Pacey Singer" remix.

Here's an acoustic performance of the song:

Yuill's first album, The Vanilla Disc, which was released in 2005, is available from his online shop. His holiday album, It's Pronounced "Yule"!, has not yet been released, announced, or, possibly, recorded.