Tastemakers #2

Let's do another one of these.

  1. Choose three songs you think everyone should know. These should probably be songs that most people here don’t already know (you be the judge). They don’t have to be your favorites, and they don’t have to be the Best Songs Ever. They just need to be songs you think more people should know.
  2. Find YouTube vids or MySpace links or something for the songs - so that other people can hear them too! (important!)
  3. In as many or as few words as you want, tell us why you think we should know these songs.

Here are my three:

1. Marah - The Closer
The first Marah review I ever read (and all of them since) said that they were the "last rock and roll band". I thought that was typical hyperbolic rock critic nonsense - like how U2 or Oasis were supposed to be the next Beatles, how Nirvana single-handedly saved rock, etc.. But, you know what? In a way, it's actually true. If you take "rock and roll" to mean the kind of loose, raw and raucous grit that 70's bands like the Rolling Stones, The Faces, or Bruce Springsteen, and later The Replacements, worked in, then yeah it's true: Marah may just be the only band still making that kind of music - and doing it well (also, all Marah reviews must mention those bands). They've got the Stones' swagger, the Faces' reckless abandon and Springsteen's underdog-worship. And even better (IMO), they've got that sorta- sad-sloppy-silly semi-apathy that made the Replacements charming - they aren't Rock Gods from days past, they're a really good bar band that's working hard but having a tough time making it big. If I was synesthetic, Marah would smell like beer. And just to be clear: they aren't pre-packaged, arena-ready, retro-novelty douchebags. They sound like a really good band who un-self-consciously plays a style of rock that few other bands are doing these days (Wilco gets close though). And that's probably why they're still relatively unknown: that sound is a bit anachronistic, and describing it as Stones + Springsteen makes it sound even less interesting: "Classic rock? No thanks." And yet, every time there's a party at my house, I slip this song into the mix and people inevitably walk up and ask me "Hey, who's this?" So, here's the first song from their "If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry" record (which you should own), "The Closer":

Here's that same song, live.

Word is they have one of the best live shows around.

2. Sea And Cake - The Biz
On the other hand, nobody would ever describe The Sea And Cake as "raucous" or as having any kind of swagger whatsoever. The Sea And Cake are something else entirely: cool, cerebral, jazz-tinged.

It's often difficult to figure out what Sam Prekop is singing, and maybe even harder to figure out what he's singing about - his lyrics are abstract and disjointed, flashes of images and bits of conversation without context:

    I may try to stay misunderstood
    And it's working

I really have no idea what this song is about, though that doesn't bother me. I'm perfectly happy hearing vocals as just another instrument, and if I want a song to mean something, I can always make up something.

Sam's vocal stylin's aside, what I really like about what these guys do is that, for being so cool and detached on the surface, there is a lot of stuff going on underneath. Prekop's rhythm guitar fascinates me. I have no idea what he's doing - his chords are always strange and the melodies unusual - but I love hearing it. He's got a very distinct style: a bit of tropicalia, some jazz, a whole lot of something else that I can't label. John McEntire's drumming is energetic, complex, and full of surprisingly-placed accents, nearly a lead instrument at times. In this song, the other guitar (Archer Prewitt) plays tight with the vocal melody; but on other songs, he's up front with a counterpoint melody or sailing over top of it all with an eBow or a long sustaining distortion pedal - the icing on the cake in a way (sorry, I couldn't help it). It's not a lead guitar as in "solo over the 3rd repeat of the verse section", it's more about adding details on top of the structure everyone else has put together. It's the kind of guitar player I've always tried to be, when I've been in bands. The bass isn't very prominent in the mix of this song (and probably gone for good after YouTube has compressed everything) - but like Prewitt's guitar, he typically alternates between counterpoint and following the vocals.

Anyway, listen for yourself. Here's the first, and title-, track from "The Biz".

FYI, the video for this is the cover of the album, rammed through some effects I wrote using ISEffects (which I also wrote). I had big plans for it, but the tedium of tweaking the effects to make them interesting just wore me down - that thing took 45 minutes to render. Even the scaled-down 15-second version I was using for testing took two or three minutes to render. Gack.

3. Matt Pond PA - Sunlight
I have no idea why these guys aren't more popular. Seriously. If I could write one song as good as their worst, I'd consider it the high point of my life. Their songs are absolutely full of hooks and wonderful melodies, the lyrics are smart, Mr. Pond has a great radio-friendly voice, it's all well-produced and recorded, etc.. Then again, other similar bands (Elliot Smith, Toad The Wet Sprocket) have lingered in relative obscurity, too. Maybe the market for smart pop-rock is smaller than I think it should be.

See for yourself:

What about you? Which songs do you think we should know?

21 thoughts on “Tastemakers #2”

  1. Rob Caldecott

    At last! This has made my day. OK, here goes.

    The Soundtrack Of Our Lives – Nevermore

    TSOOL are a Swedish band formed back in the mid 90s who make perfect pop/rock. Their name is perfect – they sound like everybody! A bit of Beatles here, a smidgen of Fleetwood Mac there, a dusting of Zep there, etc. This might not be their best track but it’s as good a place to start as any.

    I saw them live at Reading a few years ago and they played a mid-afternoon set that blew the tits off the crowd.

    I highly recommend you check out their 2001 album ‘Behind The Music’. It’s perfect feel-good music and every track is a winner.

    Moby – When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die

    I’m not a big Moby fan at all, but this song featured in an episode of The Soprano’s and I just had to have it. The title might give you a clue that it’s a sad song, but there’s something about it that draws you in. It’s very atmospheric and unlike his usual commercial ‘dance’ tunes. I don’t know much about the song, other than it was recorded in 1998, so feel free to fill in the blanks.

    Doves – There Goes The Fear

    One of my favourite songs (and the NME’s song of the year 2002 fact fans!) from Manchester’s criminally underrated Doves. Simply brilliant. Bit of an epic number and a brilliant example of what this band are capable of. I think the song is about a mid-life crisis, but judge for yourself.

    The video is pretty good too.

    If you want more then get your hands a copy of ‘The Last Broadcast’. It won’t disappoint and I can’t stress enough how much I love this album.

    Enjoy!

  2. The Modesto Kid

    Wow man — that effects thing? Extremely impressive. I might not have paid proper attention to the song because I was busy watching the effects — not sure this was the intended purpose. None of these three is exactly my cuppa tea though I liked the Marah song — they all seem like songs I would be happy to hear at a party but would not follow up on.

    My impulse right now is to link to some songs by The Carter Family (“John Hardy was a Desperate Man”) and by John Fahey (“Desperate Man Blues” and “Sunny Side of the Ocean”), but I don’t think that will fulfill the aim of introducing you to new songs, so I will go away for a while and think about it.

  3. cleek

    Extremely impressive. I might not have paid proper attention to the song because I was busy watching the effects — not sure this was the intended purpose.

    heh. thanks :)

    but I don’t think that will fulfill the aim of introducing you to new songs, so I will go away for a while and think about it.

    not just me: everyone else who reads here. all three of em! link away. it’s always cool to see what other people are into.

    ——-

    I highly recommend you check out their 2001 album ‘Behind The Music’. It’s perfect feel-good music and every track is a winner.

    yeah. agreed. StOOL (whee!) is pretty good. my 1st experience with Nordic rock. :)

    Doves – There Goes The Fear

    me like.

  4. The Modesto Kid

    Link away

    OK: Here are three John Fahey tracks. Everybody should know his music, it is essential. Completely sui generis.

    “On the sunny side of the ocean” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYDrkG2EGwg
    “Poor boy” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAZNPqciOWk
    “Red Pony” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93v6eoTjpig

    As a bonus, the Carter Family track which got me thinking about Fahey:

    “John Hardy was a desperate little man” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_1UsiJHxOo

    Carter Family is one of the first bands that comes to mind when I think about “what music should everyone be familiar with” in my ideal world — and come to think of it I think I linked one of their songs on your last Tastemakers post — they are the heart and soul of American roots music. (And yes, commercial; commercialization is a big part of the history of “folk music”.)

  7. russell

    Miles’ “On The Corner”. Harsh, aggressive, nasty, hypnotic electric funk. The seed of about a thousand things that have happened since.

    Glen Velez, an American guy from Texas who for some reason decided his life’s work was going to be studying and playing frame drums. Frame drums are single-headed drums that are wider than they are deep. His solo work is remarkable for his sheer virtuosity, but my favorite stuff by him are the pieces he writes and performs with small ensembles. His recording “Assyrian Rose”, with pieces for percussion, french horn, bansuri flute, and harmonica, is one of my desert island recordings.

    Gnawa Diffusion, a north african pop band that mixes traditional gnawa music with rock and reggae. There’s a lot of cool north african stuff going on, not least because of the large north african community in Paris. Gnawa Diffusion’s reggae and rock stuff is nothing special, but they rock the sh*t out of the gnawa stuff.

  9. Rob Caldecott

    More Doves…

    Here is ‘Words’, also from ‘The Last Broadcast’. Great tune, catchy riff.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaEWlYHrF6w

    ‘Pounding’, again from The Last Broadcast:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kq5SCRvZts

    And if you’re one of those people who likes to see what sort of reviews an album has received (me), then check out the Metacritic link:

    http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/doves/lastbroadcast

    Now I’m off to listen to the other links posted here. God I love this place! :)

  13. cleek

    Miles’ “On The Corner”

    i’ve generally avoided Miles past 1969 or so. but this is pretty hot. i will have to purchase a copy.

  14. russell

    Sea And Cake. Who knew.

    I’ll be back to check out all of the other links. Thanks to all, it’s a pleasure to hang here.

    i’ve generally avoided Miles past 1969 or so. but this is pretty hot.

    I’ve got a soft spot for “In A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew”, and “We Want Miles” is one of my desert island picks.

    But “On The Corner” is kind of in a world of its own.

  16. path12

    Thanks for the Matt Pond PA song. I was a big fan of “Halloween” but saw them live once in an impossible spot: Second of three bands, opener was Gabrielle y Rodrigo(sp?) who seriously brought the house down (two encores). After that everyone was ready for the headliner (Gomez) and poor Matt Pond PA came out just knowing nobody cared from the start…..

    Marah is awesome. If you don’t have it, Kids In Philly is their masterpiece. And yes, very good live. Also VERY loud.

  17. Lesterbut

    Matt Pond PA made my day…..and maybe my tomorrow….and if I do fuck up, it will be ok…..

  18. cleek

    After that everyone was ready for the headliner (Gomez) and poor Matt Pond PA came out just knowing nobody cared from the start

    ouch.

    i saw Robyn Hitchcock (no way, really?) once, as part of a four-band tour: Cornelius, R.H., Flaming Lips and Sebadoh. the crowd was most definitely Not Happy about sitting through Robyn Hitchcock’s solo acoustic set while waiting for the F’Lips and Sebadoh.

  21. cleek

    Was this on the tour about which he wrote “Mr. Kennedy”?

    yeah, i’ve always assumed so. that tour was 1999. Mr Kennedy was… 2002/2003 (?)

    Have no inkling who Sebadoh is outside of listening to that song

    Sebadoh. noisy, dissonant but somehow sometimes pretty, post-punk.

    that was a strange group of bands.

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