Published August 31, 2007
in Dance.
Listen to “North American Scum” here.
You can’t get any more cool than LCD Soundsystem, because they are just that cool. How do you get to be that cool? Lay down the catchiest beats possible, keep them simple, and have fun. Their lyrics chronically make fun of stereotypical notions of cool, too, which only makes them that much more cool. And they do it by simply being themselves, which is the coolest form of coolery. Cool. “North American Scum” (from the album Sound of Silver), then, is the definition of being cool the natural way.
Technorati Tags: LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver, cool
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Published August 30, 2007
in Pop.
Listen to “Throw It In the Fire” here.
“Throw It In the Fire” is a good starting over song. Brought to you by The Mendoza Line (on the album Fortune), this song is the equivalent of burning up your psychological baggage and saying hello to the new person you can suddenly become. Of course, to get to this point you have to go through a lot of devastation and the slow lilt of the beat makes you feel devastated every step of the way. This song is, appropriately, the definition of throwing it all in the fire.
Technorati Tags: The Mendoza Line, Fortune, fire
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Published August 29, 2007
in Hip Hop.
Listen to “Breakdown” here.
Handsome Boy Modeling School has a sense of humor. What else do you expect from a couple of people who stole the idea for their name from an episode of Get a Life? And if they thought it was hilarious to put hip hop samples behind Jack Johnson vocals, they were dead right. It is hilarious. But it also overwhelmingly works as a beautiful piece of music. Somehow, Jack Johnson’s traditionally hippy-style lyrics are given soul. His vocals (and even his whistles) are turned into gold. Handsome Boy Modeling School’s “Breakdown” (from the album White People) is the definition of adding soul to the whitest of places.
Technorati Tags: Handsome Boy Modeling School, Jack Johnson, White People, Get A Life
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Published August 28, 2007
in Pop.
Listen to “One Day Late” here.
Sam Phillips is not just a beautiful woman that plays the sexiest killer in Die Hard: With a Vengeance. She’s an excellent singer and songwriter with a recent blues bent and a way of telling you what you already know but don’t want to admit. In “One Day Late” (from the album a boot and a shoe), she reminds us that “help is coming” (though of course, it’ll be one day late). The song is clever at pointing out that despite the harsh reality of life (that things probably won’t work out), there is beauty, still. Just as in her best scene from the third Die Hard film: she slices up good, hard-working security guards, but she does it with grace and a whole lot of sex appeal. “One Day Late” is the definition of waiting for the stars to appear during the last day of your life.
Technorati Tags: Sam Phillips, a boot and a shoe, one day late, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, stars
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Published August 27, 2007
in Pop.
Listen to “Weather the Weather” here.
In “Weather the Weather”, The Postmarks are timid and crushing–crushing, that is, on someone special. Or at least, someone they think is special and their feelings are probably affected by a subtle din of fog. It’s hard to see clearly in fog, but a light gray haze often adds a beautiful tone to life. “Weather the Weather” (from the album The Postmarks) is the definition of hazy, delightful infatuation.
Technorati Tags: The Postmarks, weather, infatuation
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Published August 24, 2007
in Pop.
Listen to “Swing Gently” on LeonaNaess.com or here.
Leona Naess approaches everything with a catchy kind of grace that is impossible to ignore. “Swing Gently” (from the soon-to-be-released album Thirteens) is a smooth progression that belies its complexity. It’s like going swimming in an ocean with open wounds on your arms. It’s like smelling fresh air while being unable to forget the time you spent in prison. This song is the definition of making it without quite making it.
Technorati Tags: Leona Naess, Thirteens, open wounds, prison, fresh air
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Published August 23, 2007
in Folk.
Listen to “Crazy For You” here.
Rachael Pollard’s “Crazy For You” (from her soon-to-be-released album A Good Thing) brings back the 1960s New York girl pop sound and blends it with Pollard’s unmistakeable stripped-down folk sensibility. It’s an appropriate combination for the subject matter, for while the 1960s girl group love songs were often ecstatically positive, they weren’t necessarily believable. Pollard challenges the crazy-for-you standard by introducing the standard to doubt and anxiety, thus giving us a song that is much more real. Even the shoop shoop’s in this song are words you can trust. “Crazy For You” is the definition of a crush grounded in reality.
Technorati Tags: Rachael Pollard, girl groups, “Crazy For You”, A Good Thing
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Published August 22, 2007
in Rock.
Listen to “Hey Mr. Sky” here.
Jackie-O Motherfucker’s “Hey! Mr. Sky” (from the album Flags of the Sacred Harp) has the most apocalyptic undertone of any song that depends as heavily on an acoustic guitar and mellow vocals. It’s an unforgiving afternoon in a wasteland town. It’s a call to a higher power that either doesn’t listen or doesn’t even exist. This song is the definition of a calm, dead end.
Technorati Tags: Jackie-O Motherfucker, Flags of the Sacred Harp, apocalypse
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Published August 21, 2007
in Rock.
Listen to “lift yr. skinny fists, like antennas to heaven” here.
“lift yr. skinny fists, like antennas to heaven” (from the album of the same name) starts with a trumpet call, an endless trumpet call that may well be a reference to Foucault’s Pendulum (by Umberto Eco), when Belbo extended a virtual trumpeting note in his head because he felt it “kept the sun in place”. For the remainder of Belbo’s life, he constructed a search for that moment, that singular eternal moment when he held the sun up and the world was his and he was a part of the world. Godspeed You Black Emperor! captures this moment perfectly. The trumpet extends into climax after climax after climax, for eternity. This song is the definition of being in place, and feeling it.
Technorati Tags: Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco, eternity, climax, trumpet call, being
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Published August 20, 2007
in Rock.
Listen to “Molly’s Lips” here or here.
You’ve heard Nirvana’s cover of “Molly’s Lips”. The Vaselines did it first. The whispy tendrils of vocals have a way of giving you all the facts without having to state them explicitly. You know this relationship. This song is an unhealthy coupling taking place in a cloud of misunderstanding (yet, the cloud feels refreshing and cool). “Molly’s Lips” (from the album The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History) is the definition of making out with abandon.
Technorati Tags: The Vaselines, Nirvana, The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, making out
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