Dec 31, 2008 — This Will Be Our Year by the Zombies
Another week, another holiday. This is from 1968's "Odessey & Oracle". You might know the Zombies from their bigger hit, "Time of the Season" (what's your name, who's your daddy), but this is another great one, a little more Beatlesy. Best wishes for 2009 to everyone!
Dec 24, 2008 — Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
(Tech note: I've gotten some reports of attached mp3s not appearing right in Gmail. I tried to rename this one to work better. Ping me if it doesn't seem to.)
Dec 10, 2008 — Up The Ladder to the Roof by the Supremes
This is the Supremes in 1970, without Diana Ross, who'd just left the group for her solo career. It starts out sounding like going "up the ladder to the roof" is a figure of speech, but I think by the end it's pretty clear what they're really talking about, if you know what they mean.
I think I count at least three different languages in this awesomely trashy Indian hip-hop song. It plays over the closing credits of Slumdog Millionaire. "Jai Ho" from the soundtrack of same. Good movie too.
I wanted to find a track from the new Guns N Roses album that I loved enough to send out this week, but haven't yet been grabbed by anything. Instead, I'm temporarily obsessed with this chorus-in-search-of-a-song throwaway by The Fireman. This is the pseudonym used by Paul McCartney and some other guy for occasional experimental pop and electronica (!). They probably have better tracks, but I'm too busy humming along with this one to find out.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Nov 20, 2008 — Money Changes Everything by the Brains
This song is from The Brains' self-titled debut album, 1980. These new-wave guys achieved little fame-- they sound like the love child of the Cars and the Talking Heads to me.
This song, however, would be turned into a hit a few years later by Cyndi Lauper, who covered it on her debut album.
Nov 13, 2008 — Sharpen Up Those Fangs, by the Presidents of the United States of America
This is "Sharpen Up Those Fangs," from this year's "These Are the Good Times People". I like the unusual, angular meter.
You may remember these guys from Peaches and Lump, etc, in the mid-90s. They're still occasionally rocking as an indie-ish outfit in Seattle.
Hey pop music fans, With this mail I am starting a little once-weekly-ish mp3 list for songs I'm digging, inspired by friend Aditya's excellent long-running one for "tracks". Let me know if you want off. If you stick around, you're likely to get recent indie pop/rock, as well as random other stuff from the vaults that catches my ear.
In honor of this surprisingly spring-like day in San Francisco-- now darkening-- I offer you Darlin' by the Beach Boys. It's from 1967, off of Wild Honey.