Random five. Tell us a little about each!
- Copeland - The Gray Man. They've got a Death Cab + Silversun Pickups vibe that sometimes (right now, for example) sounds a little too precious for me. It's not bad, but my mood apparently is.
- Holy Sons - Chapter Must Be Closed. This on the other hand, is just right. A nice dreamy melancholy thing. I really like these guys - they've got a nice sleepy semi-psychedelic vibe. Stoner.
- Tortoise - Spiderwebbed. A great one from their classic first album. Instrumental, of course. Two basses and drums.
- A Tribe Called Quest - Word Play. Mellow & smooth. Sounds a lot like Q-Tip's solo stuff.
- Bardo Pond - Cracker Wrist. I've never heard this, and know very little about the band. Just put this album on my iPod... ok... the stoner tag fits this, too. Loud, long, repetitive. Wait, what's this? A female vocalist? Singing clearly, not skreeeeching; is not an ironic sample? Not what I was expecting.
What you got?
Carl Perkins – I’m Sorry I’m Not Sorry
Nothing special, but this is real rockabilly. The song structure is pure country — you can easily imagine Hank Williams doing it, if you just add a fiddle and a slide guitar. But it’s the little things, like the slight echo in his voice and the cymbal ride, that nudge it into the rock-and-roll camp.
AC/DC – It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)
These guys are such cock rock, I can barely listen to them most of the time unless I’m shooting pool in a bar. Until the bagpipes come in. The bagpipes win it for me.
George Harrison – Apple Scruffs
Like a lot of All Things Must Pass, this one is just a little too noisy. Too much echo on the voice makes it sound like it was recorded in a men’s room.
Rush – Limelight (Live)
I get my fill of Rush pretty quickly, but this one deserves its big hit status, because it has all the elements — virtuoso drumming, jagged time signatures, thoughtful lyrics, keyboard diddling, and a very memorable guitar hook.
(I do love the linked video — Alex and Neil look like college students, there’s an Eraserhead poster on the wall behind Getty)
Apartment 26 – The Fear
I have no idea what this is. Theatrical metal, techno beats, a singer who likes Tom Waits? Not my cuppa tea, I think I need to go to a sixth song to cleanse my palate.
The Police – Bring on the Night
Okay, that’ll do.
I am loving that Bardo Pond track. Why have I not heard them before??
1.Bauhaus – Endless Summer of the Damned
This is from their reunion album, Go Away White. It’s not bad, but there are better songs on this album. I kinda dig the tribal drums, but I am a sucker for percussion.
2. Love and Rockets – So Alive
Seriously, what are the odds that this song would immediately follow the last one? I LOVED this song at the end of the 80’s. Still gets my toe tapping.
3. Devo – Head Like a Hole
Pretty inspired cover of the Nine Inch Nails song. Totally converts it to early 90’s Devo. If you like Devo at all you will probably like this. Others will most likely find it really annoying.
4. Rock Kills Kid – Don’t Want to Stay
A seemingly one off band since I haven’t heard a thing after their one album somewhere in the early 2000’s. Sounds a lot like what Muse sounds like now, but doing it before Muse did. Pushes a lot of retro 80’s buttons for me.
5. The Beautiful South – We Are Each Other
For those of you who remember when I posted a song by the Housemartins, this is the band created in the wake of their breakup, retaining the main guy and singer plus the guitarist. This is a wonderful little slice of pop. This song just makes me happy.
The only thing keeping me excited this week, in the face of every drop of water in the world converging on my city the past few weeks, is the arrival of my new Samsung Galaxy S3 tomorrow.