Ghostland Observatory-Paparazzi Lightning

Thought I would post a little upbeat dancing tunes for this here Tuesday, the voting day.

The band is not political, just excellent.

They hail from Austin, Texas, and are comprised of a 2 friends, one with pig-tails who sings oh so heavenly, and the other who usually wears a cape, and makes the beats with his computer. Check out their Myspace page for more. www.myspace.com/ghostlandobservatory

The music is on par with The Rapture, but you can tell very distinct differences. I actually prefer the two Ghostland albums to the new Rapture.

Sad Sad City may be one of my Top Five songs of the year.

I know they recently played 7th St for all you MPLS peeps, but if you get a chance to see them again, go go go go go.

Whitest Boy Alive- Dreams

It's FINALLY here. Sorry for the delay, it is well worth it.

This is the sideproject of Erlend Oye, of Kings of Convenience fame. The band is comprised of Erlend and 2 of his friends. It was concieved in the same way The Postal Service came to be; where Erlend and his friends were commisioned to write a song for a compilation (Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard made a track for DNTEL, called This is the Dream of Evan and Chan, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FANS).

Well, The Whitest Boy Alive liked what they heard and decided to record and album. It is similar in tone to Kings of Convenience, but is has a more upbeat, dance tune to it.

Despite the succes of Whitest..., Erlend promises another go around for Kings in the near future.

Dreams is a complex album, that goes from airy pop, to harmonizing twee, to techno sugar pop.

John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band

Lennon told Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone Magazine: "The poetry on this album is superior to anything I've ever done because it's not self-conscious...." Of the equally minimalistic music he said: "I always liked simple rock.... I was influenced by acid and got psychedelic like the whole generation... but when you just listen, the piano does it all for you, your mind can do the rest.... I don't need anything else."

Singles

Singles are the best. They're the first music I ever latched onto, when I found my parents' box of 45s. It's not big, and there are deeper collections out there. But there's some Motown, Stax, a mess of Capitol & RCA, and Leslie Gore. I've toyed with the "album", but I'll always favor pop singles. These are some of my favorites.

1. Mississippi Delta - Bobbie Gentry: She left a ton of great singles, and I think this is a great soul banger. If you're ever at Half-Price Books and can cop some Bobbie, do it.

2. Hard Times - Baby Huey: This came from Curtom, Curtis Mayfield's label. Baby Huey was an enormous Chicago dude who died of a heart attack at 26. Another great soul tune.

3. Independent Women - Destiny's Child (remix by 2 many dj's): I swear the only thing holding back soul and R&B these days is lousy production. This remix - actually a mashup with 10CC - gets everything right about Beyoncé. The vocal performance is lightning, but the original's flat production drags it down and masks a superior tune waiting to get out.

4. Lover & A Friend - Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham: Super-catchy funk, complete with tremendous breaks. Eddie Bo is a total god, and probably my favorite singles artist.

5. (Runaway) I Wouldn't Change a Thing - Coke Escovedo: This is AM Gold, great pop from the 70s. Again, a very generous break, and terribly catchy.

6. Doomsday - MF DOOM: First, he crafts a hip-hop alter-ego based on Dr. Doom. Next, he samples Anita Baker.

7. My 2600 - Captain Funkaho: The genius of this cut is that it manages to use the bad cliches from three full decades of music. It's weird and goofy, and totally bad. But it's from Stones Throw, so it's got to be good, right?

8. Mama Roux - Dr. John: Great tune, back when the Doctor mattered.

9. Our Happiness Is Guaranteed - Quasi: My friend John turned me on to Sam Coomes and his two-person band. You should really check out "Featuring Birds", as it's pretty much a solid pop records loaded with singles. I love the thunderous drums throughout, and how the dystopic sci-fi lyrics go down so sweet.

10. Check Your Bucket - Eddie Bo: "There's a Hole in the Bucket" re-done in sexual terms (or maybe the themes are just made more explicit). Another big winner by Eddie.

11. Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones: It rocks out hard, and has a nice break at the beginning - big ups to Charlie Watts.

12. Hard to Handle - Otis Redding: Like me, you probably only knew the Black Crowes version. Otis Redding might be the best male soul singer who ever lived.

13. The Mexican - Babe Ruth: Would you believe me if I said they rocked this at block parties in the Boogie Down in '80? Strange how British prog rock is present at the birth of hip-hop.

14. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan: I figured everyone had this, but this mix is about pop singles, and this is likely the best single ever.

15. Where Is Love - Eldridge Holmes: Tough to follow Dylan, so something short and to the point. I like that this song goes all over the place in less than two minutes, but you never feel lost.

Getz/Gilberto - Vol. 1 & 2

Reviews from Amazon.com
Vol. # 1, Originally released in March 1964, this collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto came at seemingly the end of the bossa nova craze Getz himself had sparked in 1962 with Jazz Samba, his release with American guitarist Charlie Byrd. Jazz Samba remains the only jazz album to reach number one in the pop charts. In fact, the story goes that Getz had to push for the release of Getz/Gilberto since the company did not want to compete with its own hit; it was a good thing he did. Getz/Gilberto, which featured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, not only yielded the hit "Girl from Ipanema" (sung by Astrud Gilberto, the guitarist's wife, who had no professional experience) but also "Corcovado" ("Quiet Night")--an instant standard, and the definitive version of "Desafinado." Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. It remains one of those rare cases in popular music where commercial success matches artistic merit. Bossa nova's "cool" aesthetic--with its understated rhythms, rich harmonies, and slightly detached delivery--had been influenced, in part, by cool jazz. Gilberto in particular was a Stan Getz fan. Getz, with his lyricism, the bittersweet longing in his sound, and his restrained but strong swing, was the perfect fit. His lines, at once decisive and evanescent, focus the rest of the group's performance without overpowering. A classic.

Vol # 2, This live follow-up to the surprise blockbuster Getz/Gilberto was inevitable. Interestingly, the original LP release of the October 1964 Carnegie Hall concert focused on separate sets by Getz's quartet (featuring vibist Gary Burton) and Gilberto's trio: each is as meditative and sweetly melancholic as you'd expect.

Pavement, Live at the Palace, Hollywood, April 24, 1994

Matador has been giving us gold in the form of their Pavement reissues. If you are a fan, you need to go out to Cheapo, Amoeba, InSound, whatever and buy them right away. Slanted and Enchanted, being the greatest album of the 90's or just a great Pavement album, is fantastic in the reissue. The packaging, extra songs, quality of recording, just great. Crooked Rain, my personal favorite, has never been better.

So Matador is again giving us a reason to buy albums, and is releasing the seminal Pavement album, Wowee Zowee, on November 7th, calling it the Sordid Sentinels edition. It is jam packed with bonus songs, b-sides, demo's, live, you name it.

They had a great pre-order program with the album where you get a 7", fold out poster, and upon pre-ordering, access to this here live show from Los Angeles. The show was right before Zowee came out and shows Malkmus and Spiral and Crew testing out the new tracks.

Excellence!!!!!

Pussy Cats

I've posted both albums, but I'll let allmusic do the talking.

The relationship between Harry Nilsson and John Lennon is legendary. They were notorious booze hounds and carousers, getting kicked out of clubs for misbehavior and generally terrorizing L.A. during Lennon's "lost weekend" of 1974. They wanted to make an album together -- hell, anyone working at such a peak would -- and the result was Pussy Cats, a Nilsson album produced by Lennon. Almost immediately, Nilsson got sick, resulting in a ruptured vocal cord. Not wanting Lennon to stop the sessions, Nilsson never told his friend, stubbornly working his way through the sessions until he lost his voice entirely. These are the sessions that make up Pussy Cats, an utterly bewildering record that's more baffling than entertaining. Like many superstar projects of its time, this is studded with contributions from friends and studio musicians, all intent on having a good time in the studio -- which usually means hammering out rock & roll oldies. In this case, it meant both Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and the children's song "Loop de Loop," which gives a good idea where Nilsson was at. Through its messiness, Pussy Cats winds up showing how he and Lennon violently careened between hedonism and self-loathing. Of the new songs, the inadvertently revealing "All My Life" is the strongest, followed by the sweet "Don't Forget Me," yet this is more about tone than substance. It's about hearing Nilsson's voice getting progressively harsher, as the backing remains appealingly professional and slick. It doesn't quite jibe, and it's certainly incoherent, but that's its charm. It may not be as wild as the lost weekend itself, but it couldn't have been recorded at any other time and remains a fascinating aural snapshot of the early days of 1974.

Remaking an entire album -- especially one as rooted in mood and the performers involved as Harry Nilsson's Pussy Cats -- seems about as wise an idea as Gus Van Sant's shot-by-shot remake of Psycho. Fortunately, the Walkmen's song-by-song redo of Pussy Cats doesn't come off as a half-baked technical exercise. The band remains loyal to the rambling feel of the original (which, to be fair, was half covers itself) and the results are as intimate as an in-joke between old friends. The Walkmen recorded this album concurrently with A Hundred Miles Off and were getting ready to shut down their Marcata Studio; while it's not exactly the months-long "lost weekend" that Nilsson and John Lennon embarked on in early 1974, Hamilton Leithauser and crew give off a similarly rumpled, tweedy, maybe too smart for their own good vibe as Nilsson did, and invite a bunch of friends, including Ian Svenonius and Mazarin's Quentin Stoltzfus, to help them send Marcata off. Interestingly, one of the stronger moments on A Hundred Miles Off was the band's cover of Mazarin's "Another One Goes By," so the spirit of having fun interpreting other people's music was already flowing by the time they approached Pussy Cats. And while the band's versions of these songs aren't much different than the originals, they do them well: Svenonius' cameo on "Subterranean Homesick Blues" helps make it a goofy highlight, along with Stolzfus' collaboration on "Mucho Mongo/Mt. Elga," which with its tropical percussion and shimmering organs, seems to have been a big influence on A Hundred Miles Off. Likewise, Pussy Cats' rare moody moments, "Don't Forget Me" and "Black Sails," are also perfect fits for the band's sound. A little messier than its inspiration but with the same freewheeling spirit, the Walkmen's Pussy Cats feels like a musical wake, rooted in just having fun making music with friends.

Enjoy.

Haunted Mix Tape

In honor of the impending Devil's Night, I've created a Halloween-themed mix. These 13 tracks remind me of Halloween for one reason or another. I've included the XML file so you can keep the playlist order. After you import the tracks to iTunes, go to File > Import… and select the XML file.

01. Incanatrix - Jedi Mind Tricks
02. Tonight the Monkey Dies - Low
03. Do They Know It's Halloween? (Radio Edit) - North American Halloween Prevention Initiative
04. Halfsharkalligatorhalfman - Dr. Octagon
05. This Devil's Workday - Modest Mouse
06. Monsters - The Boy Least Likely To
07. The Boogie Monster - Gnarls Barkley
08. Vampires - Atmosphere
09. They Are Night Zombies!! - Sufjan Stevens
10. The Ghost - I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
11. Dracula - Gorillaz
12. The Killing Moon - Echo & The Bunnymen
13. Blood Embrace - Matt Sweeny & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

I've convinced my wife to dress up as Tenacious D with me for Halloween. What are you going as?

Taking a vote

Hi Everyone, longtime reader, firsttime writer...

I used to work with Kyle in MPLS, but then moved to LA to further my acting career. Okay, that was a j0ke.

So I have a ton of new music I have been obsessed with and wanted to take a vote from you guys as to what I should post about first.

Let me know which of the following you are most interested in:

Peter, Bjorn and John-Writers Block
The Whitest Boy Alive- Dreams
The Kooks-Inside In Inside Out
Oh No! Oh My!
Tokyo Police Club
Ghostland Observatory-DeleteDeleteIEatMeat
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly-Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager
I'm From Barcelona-Let Me Introduce My Friends

I found Harry Smith

If anyone is interested-Harry Smith, the folk, blues, ect. music collector guy is a member at LaLa. You can view his LaLa page at
http://www.lala.com/frontend/action/karma?userToken=55392@10157

Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Sessions

Seu Jorge is a Brazilian musician who is known for his work renewing the interest samba. His popularity has never moved much past his native Brazil, but his work was featured in the films City of God and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It is the second movie that brought him to my attention. Seu had a bit part in Wes Anderson's fantastic character study, as a deck hand/sound man with Steve Zissou's crew. The movie is just short of fantastic. Fantastic being Rushmore. It is probably my second favorite Wes Anderson film. I thought it really expressed the theme of fatherhood and what it means to be father and son and that realationship. It was dark, but not overly morose like The Royal Tennebaums. It kept the essence of the ensamble cast but narrowed its focus on Steve and Ned, rather then the meandering as The Royal Tennebaums. I know I am probably in the minority of with my love of The Life Aquatic, but hey deal with it.

Seu Jorge did most of the soundtrack for The Life Aquatic, it is comprised of sweet acoustic music, enhancing Seu's deep timber. Did I mention that all of Seu Jorge's songs on The Life Aquatic soundtrack are all David Bowie covers. Yes the Thin White Duke, being covered by samba musician who speaks and sings in nothing but Portuguese. It is suprisinly good. Seu strips the songs to their essence and brings out the qualities of the music. It is what a good cover/tribute album should be. The idea of the original music is there but the artist makes it their own. Seu does a wonderful job.

The uploaded album is not the soundtrack rather the studio sessions that Wes Anderson had Seu Jorge record for the album. Only five songs make the soundtrack. On the The Life Aquatic Sessions there are 13 Bowie songs and one original composition (Team Zissou). If you are fan of Bowie or not, you will enjoy this album. Highlites on the album are Life on Mars, Changes, and Queen Bitch.

Enjoy

This post updated while listening to The Maginificant Defeat by Jay Bennett

Beck-The Information

Beck's new album The Information.

Atlanta Rock n Roll

If you hang out with the Clap Your Hands and Say Hey Hey Look at Me, I'm Hip crowd then you should already know about Atlanta's Snowden. I heard about Snowden via the Musichead podcast everyone reading this should check out. Anyway, Snowden sounds like Interpol or the Cure. Check out tracks one (Like Bullets) and five (Black Eyes). Enjoy.

Uploaded by listening to Ambulance LTD cover Pink Floyd's "Fearless."

Badly Drawn Boy - Born in the U.K.

The newest offering from Badly Drawn Boy, aka Damon Gough. I've been hooked on his lush pop sound since I came across his first album, Hour of the Bewildered Beast, in 2000 at SRI. I've only listened to this once through, but it's seems pretty good so far. The title track is pretty interesting, check out the video for it here.

The Stooges - Fun House

Proto-punk at its best. A classic.

TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

Here is TVOTR new album. There are some interesting cuts with lots of guitar, fuzz, and high-energy vocals. David Bowie does some guest vocals on "Province." The song "Wolf Like Me," reminds me of the Joy Division song "Walked In Like." If you are interested, go to YouTube and look up "Wolf Like Me" on Letterman, it is a great live performance that aired in early September.

Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 3: Songs

The Anthology of American Folk Music is one of the most important compilations in American music. It was assembled, sequenced, and edited by Harry Smith, a strange, self-styled anthropologist/ethnologist/experimental filmmaker/bohemian independent scholar. He was an odd figure around the intellectual beatnik scene in New York in the 50s and 60s. He had a huge, legendary collection of hillbilly and blues 78s, back when no one really thought much of those recordings. This was before those old recordings were largely ignored or thought of as backwards and unimportant. Smith is partly responsible for changing that perception by creating the Anthology, which became the central canon of American Roots Music.

I won't write a long history of the set. If you want to learn more, you can read about on the Folkways site or in the book The Weird, Old America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes, by Greil Marcus, or check it out on Wikipedia. Suffice it to say that it sparked and inspired the Folk Revival of the 1960s and influenced all of popular music since then. It's a source of songs and lyrics of staggering beauty, brutality, and honesty.

I've uploaded Volume 3 of the set, which focuses on lyric songs (as opposed to ballads or story songs) and blues. This is the most accessible volume of the three.

If I had to choose a desert island collection, this would be it. I wouldn't even have to think about it.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

In my social circles, my loathing of indie rock is legendary. Yet I adore this album. Here's what strong, original songwriting and clear production can do for ya.

TV On The Radio-Dry Drunk Emperor

This is a free download that I found while reading up on TVOTR. "Dry Drunk Emperor" is an anti-Bush, anti-war song that was inspired by the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is part southern gospel and part indie rock anthem with lots of fuzz and guitar.

Bobby Bare Jr. - The Longest Meow

I was first introduced to Bobby Bare Jr. by P2 while he was working at Hello Booking. Part punk, part country, Bare Jr. has rocked his way out of his father's Nashville shadow. His albums are pretty good, but his live shows are amazing. The Longest Meow was a live session recorded in 11 hours with 11 artists from such bands as My Morning Jacket and Clem Snide. It's not Bare Jr's best album, but it shows his range spanning genres and devolving into a few jams. Highlights include 'The Bionic Heart' and, Pixies cover, 'Where Is My Mind.' I'm also posting my introduction to Bare Jr., Young Criminals Starvation League. Bare Jr. will be at the 400 Bar on October 19, The Longest Meow comes out September 26. Enjoy.