Five, describe!
- Robyn Hitchcock - Glass Hotel. My favorite RH song. Though I think the live version on "Storefront Hitchcock" is a bit better. It's also an instance of the class of airy, acoustic tunes which are my favorite of RH's modes.
- Radiohead - My Iron Lung. I dig the ring modulated guitar. Good song, too. I think I prefer the old, rockier Radiohead to the new, electronic Radiohead. In general.
- The Breeders - Iris. This is a great one. Took me a long while to get into their first record, since it has so little of that goofy poppy charm of "Last Splash". But I'm over the lack of "Divine Hammer", and now I wish "Last Splash" had more of "Pod"s sneer. For many years, I only knew the live version from the "No Alternative" compilation, which is also fantastic.
- Benny Goodman Trio - Rose Room. A perfectly pleasant bit of softly-swingin' clarinet jazz. For about three bars towards the end, the piano player plays with something approaching urgency, and then it's over.
- Hector - Drag.
This is one of my post-college bands. Love the song. I always liked playing this one. For some reason, I came up with a fairly busy part for myself. Maybe a little too busy. I might be stepping on the vocals a bit. Plus, I'm about as sloppy as could be. Though that was acceptable, back in 94, for a bunch of Pavement fans, it's a little embarrassing today.
Show us your random five!
5ive Alive!
1. Rilo Kiley – 15
From the underrated “Under the Blacklight” record, after which the band seemed to collapse in on itself, but now I hear talk of a new record. I love Jenny Lewis’ voice and comparisons to Fleetwood Mac aren’t far from the mark. This song seems to be about under-age sex.
2. The House of Love – I Don’t Know Why I Love You
I’m no expert on this band and I can’t recall buying this record but I’m glad it’s in my collection (how I love shuffling my entire collection instead of whatever playlist fits on my phone, thanks Google). Lots of guitar parts, some nice harmonies and and pleasant enought late-80s/early 90s production.
3. The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby
This is from the 2009 remasters and the sound quality compared to my original copy is so much better (especially through decent headphones) that you forget this song was recorded in 1966, 5 years before I was born. I love this song, the strings are amazing.
4. Graham Coxon – Freakin’ Out
The song that proved that Mr Coxon really didn’t need Blur any more. Think Blur’s “Song 2” but with added bells (and multiple layers of power-chords). The perfect going out record. Deserves plenty of volume.
5. Ramones – Somebody Put Something In My Drink
Brain-dead punk pretenders. But strangely compelling.
No money. January begone!
I like the Hector track.
Billy Joel – She’s Got A Way
The original version, from Cold Spring Harbor, where his voice sounds a lot more youthful — or less mature, rather — than the Songs in the Attic version that charted ten years later. Even Joel called this “cornball,” but I have real fondness for it; I guess I heard it before I was old enough to recognize cornball.
The Doors – Take It As It Comes
From their first album. The track itself is nothing special, and draws too much on other songs to feel like much more than album filler, but it still contains all the elements that make a quintessential Doors song.
George Harrison – Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
The whimsical title of this one has always steered me away — it reads like one of the disposable extended jams that weigh this album down so badly. But hearing it on shuffle, I really perked up my ears; what is this? It’s not as epic and unforgettable as its neighbors, but it’s still yearning and heartfelt and I’m glad I finally gave it a listen.
Syd Barrett – Late Night
Like much of his solo work, it has a chaotic charm, like a cartoon train about to run off the rails. My only trouble is that it sounds like a bunch of overdubs, which it is.
Sixpence None the Richer – We Have Forgotten
Appropriately named track for a band that pretty well went the way of Natalie Imbruglia (musically speaking), but I’m still a sucker for this kind of cutesy vocal.
Billy Joel – She’s Got A Way
i’ve always liked that one. thinking about it today, though, i’m struck by how much it sounds like it could’ve been a Paul McCartney song.
Acoustic “Glass Hotel” was totally one of the peaks of the Eye show. (The other was “Clean Steve”.) I’m listening to the track on Give it to the Thoth Boys as a way of cleansing my soul prior to the shuffle.
And let the randomness begin! Here we have “You Drew” by Ken Stringfellow, off an album (Soft Commands) which I coincidentally bought at another Hitchcock show at The Bell House, where KS opened. My fave track off it. Actually the album track is better than the live version, owing to being produced. He played without amplification and the space was really a bit too large/too big a crowd for that to work.
Nice transition to Charlie Poole (from down your way) singing “Hungry Hash House”. This is a good Charlie Poole track in that it is raspy rather than maudlin. Awesome fiddle scraping away behind him.
Camera Oscura plays “Forests & Sands”. nice video available. Lyrics seem really interesting but I am unable to follow them until about midway through. (And her voice is not recorded as clearly on the album as in the video/that is to say it is put through more effects.) It feels like none of this is real. Any idea where this band is from?
And we close with “Johnny A”, by Departure Lounge. Whatever, a nice sound but not really up to the standards of the rest of the shuffle.
Hey want to hear some hot Benny Goodman? Check out this archive of his Orchestra’s radio shows.
the track i was listening to on Thoth boys was clean Steve, not glass hotel.