Song Of The Week Archive

2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Dec 29, 2010 — King of Spain by The Tallest Man On Earth

Sounds like Mumford & Sons meets Bob Dylan. Tallest Man On Earth is just one (Swedish) guy. From this year's "The Wild Hunt". (Unrelated to the goofy Moxy Fruvous track of the same name.)

"I will settle in Pamplona,

And I'll provoke the bulls with words."

-----

Ben's Totally Offhand 2010 Most-Listened-To New(ish) Albums List:

-Robyn's "Body Talk" album(s). Best song that didn't make SOTW: "Dancing On My Own"

-Avett Brothers' "I And Love And You", which I came to late, but which is truly fantastic-- I'm on the bandwagon.

-Ad Frank's "Your Secrets Are Mine Now". ("Winterthru" was my most-played to song of 2010.)

-Harvey Danger's "Dead Sea Scrolls" freebie B-Sides/Rarities compilation.

-Thao With The Get Down Stay Down's "Know Better Learn Faster". Title track is great.

-Vampire Weekend's "Contra"

[Would love to see your list if you're read this far and are inclined to share.]

Dec 23, 2010 — Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas (Sometimes) by The Long Winters

It was a tossup between this track and a jazzy rendition of the Sugarplum Fairy song, but this features sleighbells, so it gets the holiday nod. It's a decade-and-a-half old Harvey Danger obscurity, covered (and tightened up) by The Long Winters. Comes from a great lineage of not-necessarily-joyful holiday songs. Featuring several Seattle references for those who'd know them.

Merry Christmas all, particularly anyone (and I know there are least a couple of you) who will be putting in work hours this Saturday.

"My vodka-and-snow is melting...

The alcohol isn't helping."

Dec 15, 2010 — Down River by David Ackles

Since I got so much crap last week for sending a song that everyone already knew, I'm taking revenge this week by picking a 60s obscurity that I guarantee you've never heard. It's a great song, but it's a grower, and not everyone will love it.

David Ackles was an American songwriter/performer who put out 5 albums in the late 60s and early 70s before retiring from the music game to go teach at USC (I think). He's a songwriter's songwriter, hailed by the leading UK pop artists in that era (Elvis Costello, Elton John, even Phil Collins (!) ) as influential and groundbreaking, but no one else really ever listened to him. Which is one reason this un-remastered track sounds so quiet and unloved.

"Down River" is from his self-titled debut (1968). It's a story-song: the entire thing is the prisoner's side of a conversation with his visitor, a former lover, who has settled down with a guy named (of course) Ben.

"I still remember our song,

when you were mine, Babe."

Dec 8, 2010 — Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

Great track from solid UK folk-rock outfit Mumford & Sons, featuring conspicuously-un-English banjo, etc. From last year's "Sigh No More" (is that a pun in a Brit accent? Or maybe an Aussie one.). Thanks to Kim and Pete independently for the recommendation.

The part that should give you goosebumps is right after the rising, rising, rising bridge: they plow back into the chorus only to suspend all instruments under the vocal harmony for four clean beats before the band comes crashing back in (~3m28s). Awesome. I wonder if they're that tight live?

"Your boldness stands alone among the wreck."

Dec 1, 2010 — Gimme Sympathy by Metric

Metric takes us for the century lap-- this is the 100th (!) Song of the Week. From last year's very good "Fantasies" album. (Thanks to Aditya for the tip on Metric long ago.)

In addition to the two great hooks back-to-back in the prechorus and chorus, "Gimme Sympathy" name checks some classics in the lyrics, and gets its title (I assume) from shoving together the names of two great Stones tracks (exercise for the reader).

"After all of this is gone

Who would you rather be:

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?"

Nov 24, 2010 — Doppelganger by Freezepop

Infectious new single from Freezepop in advance of their upcoming album next month. (I know this is a repeat artist from relatively recently, but their latest tracks are really excellent, and I'm hoping they start getting the broader recognition they deserve.) Good lyric about seeing an ex dating someone just because they're like you.

"I never really got her name...

Guess it's all just a blur

When you're looking in the mirror at midnight, at midnight..."

(Happy Thanksgiving.)

Nov 18, 2010 — 10,000 Feet by The Beautiful South

Franken-duet, with a prominent mid-90s britpop groove (think Blur) wrapped around pretty folksy verses. Took a couple spins for it to coalesce for me. Beautiful South is a UK band that apparently never got much play stateside. This is from 2000's Painting It Red. The runner up track was a great acoustic folk song of theirs with a refrain that repeats "don't marry her, f**k me". Interesting band.

"Are you asking me down your runway?

I'm asking you to be watchtower."

----

PSA: Girl Talk (the awesome DJ who strings together complex layered samples into whole albums-- we had a SOTW of his a while back) has a new album out, "All Day". Free download. http://illegal-art.net/allday

Nov 10, 2010 — Time Warp by the Rocky Horror Show cast

Shamelessly latch onto the current pop culture zeitgeist? Who, me?

Totally bitchin' piano rock number, recorded by the original (1974) LA stage company production of "The Rocky Horror Show."

"You're spaced out on sensation, like you're under sedation."

Nov 3, 2010 — If It Wasn't For Bad by Leon Russell ft. Elton John

Country/soul-tinged, slowly-adamant piano pop from 60s songwriter and performer Leon Russell. Elton John sings on there too, and the song comes from the pair's brand-new collaboration album, "The Union".

The story goes that they performed together back in the 70s, and lost touch for 40 years before the aging John plucked the aging Russell from Nashville obscurity and encouraged the new songs. John claims that Russell's writing, and especially his piano style, was highly influential, and it's amazing to hear this on the record-- I'm familiar with a lot of early Elton John work, and the stylistic resemblance is uncanny. Most of the album is unfortunately given to Elton's compositions, and he's long past his ability to surprise. This track is a Russell composition, and it's the best of the lot.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd be happy

If it wasn't for lies, you'd be true

I know you could be just like you should

If it wasn't for bad, you'd be good."

Oct 27, 2010 — Soul Man by Sam & Dave

Would have been more sly/topical last week, but the internet wasn't cooperating then. This one truly is a classic, recorded by Sam & Dave in 1967 for Stax. Isaac Hayes cowrote it, long before reaching greater career heights as the Chef on South Park. Get down!

"Comin' to you... on a dusty road."

Oct 27, 2010 — Can't Nobody by 2NE1

From the Department of What The Foreign Kids Are Listening To These Days:

This recently released pop track seemed to be everywhere in Korea. I'm not saying it's a quality song; to be clear, it's terrible. It's put out by an explicitly manufactured corporate girl group whose first ever song was for an LG commercial. Written by Teddy Park, off 2NE1's debut full-length.

[This week will be a twofor, since we skipped last week, and I don't want this one to be the stuck in your head.]

Oct 14, 2010 — (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea by Elvis Costello

From one of the great songwriters of the new wave, this is from Elvis Costello's great sophomore album "This Year's Model", released eight days before I was in 1978.

I find the most interesting pop musicians are the ones who stay actively engaged with the history and vanguard of their craft. This decade-old Vanity Fair article details his top 500 recommended albums, after tossing off my favorite music maxim: "When in doubt, play track 4; it is usually the one you want."

"She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle.

But there's no place here for the miniskirt waddle.

Capital punishment, she's last year's model."

Oct 7, 2010 — That Thing You Do! by "The Wonders"

This is the title song to the 1996 Tom Hanks film, which I recently saw again. It's a cute movie, about a group of teenagers in the 60s enthusiastically forming a band and accidentally making a hit record. The song is a well-executed pastiche 60s British Invasion tune complete with harmonies about the pleasant maddening-ness of a girl. (Liv Tyler, in this case, who is nearly by herself worth watching the movie for.)

What I love about this song is how much of a challenge it would have been to write. Here you have a movie that is literally about a band that scores a big hit in the 60s with one song. That song is therefore the a priori protagonist of the movie, and for the whole enterprise to even hold up, we have to believe that the song could have been a big hit in its time. Writing songs is hard; writing songs that MUST be good enough to top the charts is presumably a bonus challenge (and if it could be done on demand, wouldn't everybody?).

Apparently the producers (Hanks) put out a call to musicians for the task, and it was answered by Adam Schlesinger, one of modern rock's behind-the-scenes auteurs. (He's the force behind Fountains of Wayne and some other stuff.) Schlesinger answered the challenge on a whim, because he was a student of that form of 60s song, and he nailed it: in the movie, the song reaches #2 on the fictional Billboard chart. Outside the movie, it charted to #18 on the Top 40 in 1996. Not shabby. The only real giveaway are the sparkling 90s production values-- I wish they'd done a dirty mono recording instead.

(Schlesinger took up a similar gauntlet when he wrote the song-in-the-movie for 2007's "Music and Lyrics".)

"Well I try and try to forget you girl,

But it's just so hard to do."

Sep 30, 2010 — Vaxxine by Visqueen

I was planning a wordy email about some behind-the-scenes pop stuff, but I'm not in the mood. Maybe next week. Here's some chick punk instead. Short and loud.

"Vaxxine" is from 2003's "King Me". I saw Visqueen at the legendary (for me) Sasquatch festival the following year, where I also first heard The Postal Service (thanks Vlada), the Shins, and the New Pornographers, among others.

Sep 26, 2010 — Temptation by New Order

This is my favorite New Order song, and one of my favorite dance tracks in general. New Order was a UK act that rose from the ashes of Joy Division after the lead singer of that band committed suicide in 1980. They were one of the pioneering 80s dance bands, probably best known now for the classic "Bizarre Love Triangle".

This recording of "Temptation" is longish, but worth your time. It feels almost sad in a way that dance music usually doesn't-- the friend who turned me on to it years ago described it as the only dance song that makes him want to cry. Beautiful, surprisingly organic guitar melodies and vocal parts in a driving structure. This is the 1987 version re-recorded for the "Substance" collection. The original 7" single is more raw, and also excellent. This song is also notable as the only successful DJ request I've made at a club.

The reward at the very end is the percussion hiccuping off the rails as the song closes out.

"Oh you've got green eyes

Oh you've got blue eyes

Oh you've got grey eyes

I've never seen anyone quite like you before

No I've never met anyone quite like you before."

Sep 17, 2010 — X by Gavin Guss

From this year's "Mercury Mine", solo debut from a longtime northwest music scene guy. This song is fun. (Though I can't recommend the album overall).

"You were flirting with the waiter.

You aroused him while he waited,

Our service soon accelerated,

as his tip degenerated"

------

PSA: Freezepop (synthpop band from a couple weeks ago's song of the week) is playing in SF at the Elbo Room next Saturday night. Should be a blast. I'm planning to hit the show, if you're local and want to join, let me know.

Sep 9, 2010 — The Show Must Not Go On by Harvey Danger

This song is brand new, and it's the final release by what might be my favorite-ever band. You already know Harvey Danger, if not by name, then by the sound of their one hit single, 90s pop-punk anthem "Flagpole Sitta". But to stop there is to miss everything else, right up to this track.

----

I was several years late to the party when "Flagpole Sitta" hit my radar. Living in Seattle, in 2003 or so I stumbled on a copy of their debut album for $1 in a music store bargain bin. I bought it on the basis of that single and the cool silkscreened cardboard slipcase, but it surprised me with gloriously hooky songs and cerebral lyrics that ran throughout the whole disc. It quickly found pride of place in my car's CD collection, where it remains today.

Serendipity struck one evening while ordering a cappuccino; next to the cash register was a photocopied flyer for an upcoming Harvey Danger "10th Anniversary Reunion" show at the renowned Crocodile Cafe. Turned out these guys had been a Seattle act, put out another album after the debut, and then fallen off the map four years previously. Now they were giving it a spin for kicks at a tiny club-- the kind of club where you can't help chatting with the musicians between acts, because they're fighting you for drinks at the bar.

They didn't look like rock stars, certainly not ones who had been on MTV. The frontman was tall, pale, and bookish, with a white man's afro. The lead guitarist was a preppy Asian guy. The drummer from the opening act was filling in on percussion, since the original drummer had moved to Chicago in the intervening years. But the show was incredible. The air was electric; this night was clearly the second coming for a band that everyone in the club really loved. (People don't love one-hit wonders like that.) It went on for ages, they went through the songs I'd come to love, and many that I didn't know. The frontman, who I'd learn was local Seattle renaissance man Sean Nelson, was self-deprecating and witty at the microphone between songs.

I came at just the right time-- the show at the Croc kicked off what became a two- or three-year indie-scale rebirth, during which Harvey Danger played many small shows locally and several outside the northwest. They released a third album (this time without a record label) and their style continued to evolve towards more mature and diverse arrangements. I saw several of the shows, dug up the other albums and various rarities and B-sides, and my esteem increased with every new find.

The Beatles, the Stones, and Nirvana belong to everybody. But Harvey Danger was my favorite band, in the way that all favorites are more valuable when they're personal. These guys were not artistes or culturemakers, and national fame never suited them. They were students of pop-- underappreciated craftsmen who found a unique voice, and for that I admire them. Their music is consistently tuneful, but their songs stay for the conversation-- referencing literature, and film, with honest stories and emotional ambiguity, laced with wit and wordplay. This is the music I would write if I could write songs.

And they were just regular guys! Living in my neighborhood! Lead singer/songwriter Sean worked at the Seattle weekly paper "The Stranger". I accidentally met him once over a plastic cup of wine at my neighbor's apartment party. We talked for a few minutes; I could only pretend I was vaguely aware of his band, because I didn't know how to tell him he was a hero without feeling like an idiot. Jeff, the aforementioned preppy guitarist, was a Computer Science grad student at the time, and his advisor was an old acquaintance of mine. Apparently his affectionate nickname around the advisor's house was "rock star Jeff". I saw Harvey Danger's bassist Aaron shooting pool at a bar once and bought him a beer, just on principle.

Time went on, though. The regular-guy lives-- and the other local musical projects-- of the members probably overshadowed the spare-time Harvey Danger part, and after a couple years of almost no band activity, they announced in 2009 that they'd be playing final shows in a couple cities, ending with a last-ever show in Seattle. I'd moved to San Francisco in the meanwhile, and I'd seen them enough times that I didn't fly back.

They wrote one last song to play at the final shows, so that they'd have something new to accent the nostalgia of a farewell tour. It's existed on live recordings since then, but wasn't otherwise released in any way, until today.

"The Show Must Not Go On" is Harvey Danger's uptempo swan song. It's about love, but you can also read it as a goodbye. It showcases signature stylistic elements: wistful, catchy, bass-driven, with fun bah-dah-dah nonsense in the chorus. More prosaic than their most ambitious work, it's still an archetypal Harvey Danger track, bringing it back together once before they quietly ride off in separate directions. A classy finish from a great band.

----

If you like what you hear, they have their final album (Little by Little), and a full collection of great rarities (Dead Sea Scrolls) up for free download on their site at http://harveydanger.com/downloads.

Sep 1, 2010 — Who Fingered Rock'n'Roll by Cornershop

A great Stonesy stomp for the start of summertime (!). You might remember these guys from last decade for Brimful of Asha. This is from their 2009 album "Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast". The twangy instrument you hear in the intro and throughout is a sitar. Awesome.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

Aug 27, 2010 — Fuck You by Cee Lo Green

OK, I know that I'm playing all fast and loose with the one-song-per week rule, and I promise to return to restraint soon, but it's Friday, and my brother just forwarded me this, and it's the awesomest new thing I've heard in ages. Seems worthy well beyond the sensationalist title.

New single by Cee Lo (he's half of Gnarls Barkley, and this is in the R&B style). Song is attached, but it's best experienced by watching his video for it, which is a surprisingly riveting typographic adventure:

http://kottke.org/10/08/fuck-you-by-cee-lo

"I guess he's an Xbox, and I'm more Atari."

Aug 24, 2010 — Stakeout by Freezepop

It's meltingly hot in SF today, and the album cover on this jangly synthpop favorite looks very appealing. Freezepop is out of Boston, and specializes in goofy, inconsequential tunes; this one is the most danceable from their 2004 album "Fancy Ultra Fresh". These guys are masters of the synth, the vocoder, and sometimes even a Speak & Spell--they exist in some alternate universe where the 80s kept on evolving instead of being blown away by grunge.

(Also, never before or since has a band been paired with a name so perfectly apt as Freezepop.)

"Watching and waiting.. the feeling is elating."

Aug 19, 2010 — E Isso Ai by Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge

Live version of Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" by Brazilian artists Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge. She (Ana) sings in a surprisingly low contralto, and you might recognize him as the crew member who sang all the awesome Bowie songs in The Life Aquatic. This is from 2005's "Ana & Jorge: Ao Vivo", a triple-platinum smash down south.

Rice's original in English is, stunning, heartwrenching stuff-- listen at your own risk. That version is amazing, but I'm giving the nod to the Brazilians on the theory that love, longing, and loss somehow sound more comfortable in Portuguese.

(Tip of the hat to Team Jamaica Plain for this version.)

Aug 11, 2010 — Death Cab for Cutie by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

Yes, that's right, the name of the song is "Death Cab for Cutie". When Ben Gibbard was looking for a name to give his indie rock project back in the 90s, he decided to use the title of this now-obscure bit of 60s pop. The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band was apparently a sort of eclectic, artsy British outfit. This track is from their 1967 debut album, "Gorilla."

It sounds for all the world like an hommage to Elvis' "All Shook Up."

"When he saw Cutie, it gave him a thrill.

Don't you know, baby, cabs can kill?"

Aug 4, 2010 — Cry When You Get Older by Robyn (b/w Konichiwa Bitches)

After reading the (what else?) New Yorker profile discussing the latter-day career of Swedish pop singer Robyn, I've found myself immersed in her music for the last week. It's great, especially compared to her one iffy 90s hit. She seems to have matured into a sort of eclectic pop auteur. It was hard to pick just one track of hers for this week's song, so for the first time we have a special two-for-the-price-of-one deal!

"Cry When You Get Older" is from this summer's new album "Body Talk Pt. 1". I can't stay away from a well-executed upbeat, hooky electropop number. I love the smothering insistence of the synth riff, and the lovely melody in the prechorus. I wouldn't be surprised if this track starts making radio rounds eventually.

"Hold up a second now, I got something on my dirty mind."

"Konichiwa Bitches" (off 2005's self-titled album) is probably the more interesting song, and a totally different kind of track. It's got a punchy groove-- sounds like an Odelay-era Beck track-- over which Robyn basically throws down to any (?) haters, in a sort of adorably wordy Scandinavian rap. Between lines like "I'll count you out, like a mathematician" and "I'll run you down, like a marathon", she drops at least one lyric that would make DMX blush. The title, of course, is stolen from Dave Chappelle.

"On the north pole, I'll ice you, son."

Jul 28, 2010 — Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmerelda

Latin/disco club hit from 1977, more recently featured on the soundtrack to Kill Bill. This great song was written for Nina Simone, who recorded it to little fanfare in '64, but it found a broader audience the next year when The Animals covered it, producing the de facto standard recording. But that version always felt like an energetic guy trapped in a suit that's a little too restrictive for the kind of dancin' he's trying to do. This Santa Esmerelda dance mix fulfills the song's promise.

"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good..."

Jul 22, 2010 — Cecilia Ann by the Pixies

Dirty surf rock instrumental from 1990's "Bossanova".

The Pixies were an influential rock band out of Boston. They put out five records in the late 80s and very early 90s, pioneering a "loud-soft" dynamic that would be copied by more well-known acts. (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was an intentional ripoff of the Pixies' sound.) The Pixies themselves never really got to mainstream recognition, but they were respected as a "band's band".

It took me a while to get into their music-- the lyrics are usually bizarre and incomprehensible, and the music is loud and noisy. But listen closer, and most tracks are well crafted pop songs (even ones with names like "Wave of Mutilation").

"Cecilia Ann" is one of my favorites-- there are no words, and although it's nominally a cover of a 60s recording by the Surftones, it distills the underbelly of the Pixies' sound into one high-octane shot.

Jul 14, 2010 — Teenage Kicks by the Undertones

Earnest power pop from 1978, by UK band the Undertones. This song is notable for being legendary BBC DJ John Peel's favorite song (his career spanned from 1967 to his death in 2004). Short, punchy, and simple, it'll grow on you.

(Thanks to Benjy for the recommendation with the Peel history.)

"Teenage dreams, so hard to beat,

Every time she walks down the street."

Jul 8, 2010 — Letter From An Occupant by the New Pornographers

I'm breaking my own rule about artist repeats here, but I recently found this gem buried in the New Pornographer's debut album, "Mass Romantic" (2000). I've praised these guys before, so I won't go on again. Neko is singing on this one (as she is on most of their greatest tracks). The clincher here is the sublimely gibberish harmonies in the the climax of the bridge (~2:05).

"What the last ten minutes have taught me:

Bet the hand that your money's on."

Jun 30, 2010 — Hit 'Em Up Style by the Carolina Chocolate Drops

I'm a fan of the decade-old Blu Cantrell original, which is a groovy pop revenge song at its finest. Finally it's no longer a purely guilty pleasure, as the traditional folk trio Carolina Chocolate Drops cover it-- wisely dropping the "oops!" part and using all sorts of cool instruments (fiddle, jug?, other stuff)-- on this year's "Genuine Negro Jig".

Thanks to Hema for this one.

"When you go then everything goes,

From the crib to the ride and the clothes."

Jun 23, 2010 — Comptine D'un Autre Ete, L'apres-Midi by Yann Tiersen

Short, pretty piano piece by Yann Tiersen, most known from the soundtrack to Amelie.

Learn to play it yourself by watching one of the many tutorials on YouTube!

Jun 16, 2010 — Wichita by The Billys

An evocative road song about long distances late at night by obscure, defunct folk duo The Billys. It's sometimes overcute, but the persistent acoustic groove and the quick minor chord turn before the chorus redeems the unnecessary theatric tics here. Listen closely for the mathy "word problem" about the driving distance shot through the lyrics, leading to a sly Zeno's paradox in the bridge. Good to listen to when you are, in fact, driving long, late at night.*

From 1993's "The Time Has Come." I first heard this many years ago in an a cappella (!) cover version via Misty (thanks) and probably in turn via Jen (hi). Tracking down this obscure original turned out to be its own rewarding challenge...

"It's good if it's engaging...

It's better if it hurts."

(Bonus lyric note-- contains the phrase "We're racing, we're pacing, [...]", three years before Cake used similar words in almost the same phrasing in "The Distance")

*thematic dedication to Losho and Slick Johnny.

Jun 12, 2010 — Winterthru by Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women

Just stumbled on this song by Boston-based sorta-retro sorta-glam outfit Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women. Catchy new wave homage and/or pastiche electropop ditty. From 2009's "Your Secrets Are Mine Now".

"All the winter through, I'll be missing you.

When you forget about me, I want to forget about you too."

Jun 2, 2010 — Growing Up with GNR by Aqueduct

Like a sweet chestnut, this song is all spiny and angular while you work your way into it. But then you break through, finally--two whole minutes in!--to the delicious chorus, and it was all worth it.

From 2005's "I Sold Gold". Aqueduct is a Seattle-based indie band.

"Welcome to the jungle,

you're much-too-much to handle,

I wish I weren't in love with you"

May 26, 2010 — Ballroom Blitz by Tia Carrere

In honor of teenage crush Cassandra's recent divorce filing, this week's song is Ballroom Blitz, from the Wayne's World soundtrack (1992)-- she even did her own soundtrack vocals.

The Ballroom Blitz was originally a catchy, campy 1973 single by UK glam band Sweet. This is the best-known cover, smoothing over the rougher edges and simplifying the bridge into basically just a long drum break. It's lots of fun, if not especially significant (is it about a rock show? maybe zombies?).

Personal note: this MP3 was ripped from the actual Wayne's World soundtrack CD I bought in 8th grade with my allowance; third album I ever owned. This soundtrack has aged well, with a killer mix of hair metal, early Chili Peppers, Hendrix, Queen, etc. Party time! Excellent!

"Oh my dreams are getting so strange

I'd like to tell you everything I see"

May 19, 2010 — Daylight by Matt & Kim

I've had this song rolling around for a couple years, and was never really sure if I liked it-- if it was better than the sum of its parts: a tiny, angular, aggressively repetitive piano melody paired claustrophobically with in-your-face drums.

But the jury is in: It's good. There's heart and soul in the words, and joy bursting from the seams in the structure.

(I had a somewhat more somber choice lined up for this week, but I'm calling an audible to let this one through.)

"Slip and slide on the subway grates

These shoes are poor man's ice skates"

May 15, 2010 — Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangles

I'm a sucker for interesting covers. You probably are familiar with the Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian" and their middle school torch song "Eternal Flame".

But their secret excellence was in being more of a polished folk quartet than a straight-up pop group. Given the folk sensibilities, it's less surprising that they are here covering Simon & Garkfunkel's great "Hazy Shade of Winter" (late 60s). It's faithful to the mood and harmonies of the original, but a LOT louder. The only two missteps here are a noncommittal synth horn in the first chorus, and dropping out the second (edgier) bridge verse from the original. The Bangles knew how to ROCK. This track is (almost) great enough to redeem them for Eternal Flame.

"Down by the riverside,

It's bound to be a better ride

Than what you've got planned."

May 5, 2010 — Big In Japan by Alphaville

Back after a several-week hiatus. I sort of wish I had something more meaningful than this song to share, but it's wound its way onto my recently played playlists, and I kind of dig it.

Alphaville, a German synthpop/new-wave outfit from the 80s, seems to really own the ridiculous/awesome genre, which their better-known track Forever Young also falls into.

"Should I stay here at the zoo,

Or should I go and change my point of view?"

Apr 15, 2010 — Pleasant Valley Sunday by the Monkees

Yeah, those Monkees. Ridiculed in the 60s for being a prefab wannabe-Beatles boy band put together by TV execs (which they were), the Monkees put out a string of great songs, and even some weird and challenging ones. This track was written by the power hit team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The Monkees weren't usually allowed to play instruments themselves on their recordings, but eventually life imitated art; they pushed their contractual boundaries, got good, and toured as a proper band, and later got critical respect.

"Another Pleasant Valley Sunday, here in status symbol land."

Apr 1, 2010 — Crash Years by the New Pornographers

Brand new single from the New Pornographer's upcoming album. They're a really fun power-pop "supergroup" out of Canada that have put out a series of excellent albums over the last decade or so (including 2003's Electric Version, one of my all-time faves). The female voice is Neko Case, who has her own impressive alt-kinda-country career (we heard from her on SOTW last year). The prime mover/writer of the group is Carl (AC) Newman, who occasionally records solo albums that feel similarly melodic to Pornos albums but tend to be a little darker.

Nothing special to say about this song-- Neko's singing, and it features some nice whistling noises and a pleasantly surprising (to me) jaggedness to the harmonized chorus melody. No idea what it's talking about; haven't listened closely enough yet. Looking forward to the album.

"Windows were closed in the crash years

Honey child you're not safe here"

Mar 23, 2010 — Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap

I had missed this single from last year by Aussie band The Temper Trap. It doesn't signify much to me, but the structure is compelling and the soundscape is pretty.

(Although I got them from separate sources at different times, it turns out--thanks, Wikipedia--that both this song and last week's sit shoulder to shoulder on the soundtrack to "500 Days of Summer", which I haven't seen, at this point on principle. So much for original music selections!)

"Don't stop till it's over"

Mar 19, 2010 — You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates

A killer song for a sunny Friday morning. From 1980.

Especially impressive is this video by a high school outside of Seattle that filmed a lip dub of this song, starring hundreds of students... entirely in reverse, catching the attention of Hollywood cinema types for its technical challenges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7TI-AJi2O8

TGIF!

Feb 24, 2010 — When We Swam by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

Thao Nguyen writes the songs and fronts her group, the Get Down Stay Down (currently reigning as my favorite band name, ever). It's scruffy indie pop, but lyrically raw-- last year's album "Know Better Learn Faster" is a hurt breakup album layered over some deceptively upbeat tunes. This song (from that album) is definitely the most accessible of the bunch, but it's not the most sophisticated. (If you like the style, give a few spins to the title track which features Andrew Bird, of previous Song of the Week fame.)

"The fall of your face / the wish of the well

The rush of the push / The length of the spell

And you won't bring your hips to me"

Feb 19, 2010 — I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper is one of my favorite female pop vocalists. Her mid-80s debut release "She's So Unusual" is a near-flawless album, containing a couple originals but mostly covers and songs written by other people-- she excels at interpretation. (This list has seen two original songs by others that were also covered on her debut.)

Here's a cover of hers-- not from that album-- this soaring, near-perfect song written for and originally recorded by Roy Orbison at the very end of his career; he's one of my favorite male vocalists and it was a toss-up over which version to include, but I'm going with Cyndi because hers is a little better for the relative restraint in the instrumentation. (You still need to get over the 80s synth if that's not your cup of tea.) I strongly recommend also checking out out the Orbison one though, with its killer video featuring Jennifer Connolly (good), but also Jason Priestley (less good).

Feb 12, 2010 — Angel of the Morning by the Iconics feat. Sean Nelson

Sean Nelson is the former frontman of Harvey Danger, and one of my favorite musicians. Here he joins a random assortment of Seattle musicians in a live performance of Merrilee Rush and The Turnabouts' 1968 hit "Angel of the Morning". It's a faithful cover, and I dig the male vocal. For what it's worth, I'm told by my family that I claimed this as my favorite song when I was a wee child. (Seems about right.)

"If morning's echo says we've sinned

Well, it was what I wanted now."

Feb 5, 2010 — Tonight She Comes by The Cars

The Cars found a unique sound at the intersection of a few different genres as they came to popularity through a string of albums in the late 70s to early 80s-- synthy new wave, power pop, some guitar punk. Their signature, beyond the driving melodies, was flawlessly airtight production and vague emotionlessness-- easy to sing and dance to, but drifting away without a lot of significance.

This track is a quintessential Cars song, and was released only on their 1985 Greatest Hits album-- a rare example of the tacked-on-Greatest-Hits-bonus-filler-track going to #1 on the charts. The double-entendre of the title is so ridiculous that I can't help but think it's probably just a single-entendre.

"She tells me it's easy

When you do it right."

Jan 31, 2010 — Long-Forgotten Fairytale by The Magnetic Fields

This is one of the sixty-nine (!) tracks from the Magnetic Fields' 1999 masterwork "69 Love Songs". It's common to describe albums of that ambition with words like "sprawling" and "epic," and those adjectives are deserved-- possibly more the former than the latter. The Magnetic Fields are a nebulous indie group centered around singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt, with some of his friends. He undertook this project to write 100 love songs, but that proved too much, so he settled on (of course) 69 of them, running across all notions of love, with titles from "I Don't Want To Get Over You" to "The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be" to "Papa Was a Rodeo", and across genres as diverse as country and chamber pop. Most songs are pretty short, some are pretty dumb, but all together it really does sprawl and achieve greatness.

Thanks to Nitin for repointing my attention to this song, which I had basically missed in the years I've had the album. The album's 3 CDs long (!), so there are always new good ones to find.

"I saw you last in summertime

You said you hated long goodbyes

You said 'There's nothing to explain;

in every life a little rain'... etcetera."

Jan 20, 2010 — Giving Up The Gun by Vampire Weekend

This is the closest thing to a dance track on their sophomore album "Contra", released last week, almost exactly 2 years after their awesome debut. I've already raved about Vampire Weekend here. People say their most direct parentage is "You Can Call Me Al"-era Paul Simon worldbeat pop, which is probably close to true, but I think sells their wacky prep school/Cape Cod languor a little short-- they build a casual world in lyrics and groove and totally own that. The new album goes a little deeper than the first one, sometimes at the expense of fun, but I think that's an OK tradeoff for them to make. This song is less weighty than some others, but that's also OK.

-----

Song of the Week bulletin board:

I have a couple coupons for MP3 album downloads that came with records I bought that I don't need. I have a virgin Avett Brothers coupon for that whole album (see last week's SOTW). And I think my Vampire Weekend code might have another couple downloads on it, but not sure. Hit me back if you're interested in one of these albums. Both are very worthy albums. First come, first served...

Jan 14, 2010 — Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

[bonus makeup song for last week]

This is an epic tale of an artist (a DJ, in this case), becoming slowly irrelevant as he ages. James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem, talk-sings his way through over 7 minutes of hand-wringing on top of a rough electronica groove. Even if you don't love electronic music, I strongly suggest that you bear with this one-- the story is worth it.

It starts off simply, with one voice and a simple track, lamenting that he's "losing his edge" to the younger kids "whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks". Soon the spoken voice gets multiple tracked, schizophrenically reflecting the anxiety he's describing. Periodically, he'll pull it together to slam down a "but I was there!", where the beat coheres again and he tells us he was at Ibiza, or playing at CBGB's, but then the nervous foot-tapping buzzing energy comes back. Towards the middle he starts name dropping to show both what he knows and what he's scared of the new kids knowing. Eventually, he falls apart into a new tune: "We all know what you really want..." to close it out. Such an awesome story.

"I've never been wrong; I used to work in a record store."

From 2002, LCD Soundsystem's first single.

(Thanks to Pat for pointing me to this track a couple years ago.)

Jan 12, 2010 — Kick Drum Heart by The Avett Brothers

I don't know too much about the Avett Brothers, but apparently they were more of a scruffy independent bluegrass/country act, until their major label debut "I And Love And You" from last year. Rick Rubin, legendary producer, did the record-- he turns down the banjos and brings his trademark super-clean polished sound around acoustic performances that he also used for Johnny Cash's last albums, recent Neil Diamond and others. I haven't gone super deep on this album yet--just got it--but my sense is that there's greatness here. There are more significant songs, but this one, "Kick Drum Heart" was way too fun to pass up. It has a perfect little indie melody, buffed to a shinyness that most indie bands can't afford.

"It's not the chase that I love / It's me following you."

(Song of the week took last week off; I'll be making up the absence with a track from the archives later this week.)

Jan 2, 2010 — Witch Doctor by David Seville

From 1958, here's a hit novelty rock song that features the very first recording of the voice that would become "Alvin" and the Chipmunks. David Seville was the stage name of Ross Bagdasarian, who essentially pioneered the variable-speed-tape technique that led to the creation of the Chipmunks' distinctive voices. This was his first single using the trick (he's doing both parts), which was followed soon after by "The Chipmunk Song", and the rest is history. (Bagdasarian seems to have been a man of many talents; he also had a minor part in Hitchcock's famous "Rear Window" in '54.)

"Ooo Eee Ooo-Ahh-Ahh Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang"

(Thanks to Sarah for prompting the research on the Chipmunks.)

---

Note: Skipping the New Year's theme this week. If you're looking for that, I recommend you go back and listen again to the excellent "This Year" by the Mountain Goats.

< 2011 | 2009 >