You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September, 2006.
I think the spirit of a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie has possessed me. And apparently his favorite song is “Free Bird”. You might think, well at least it’s not “Sweet Home Alabama”. But everywhere I went to today I could hear it ringing in my ear, everywhere! I didn’t even know I knew the words, but I do. How does that happen?? I can’t even remember the last time I heard the song, I don’t listen to classic rock radio. But there it was today: Free Bird in the shower, Free Bird on my way to class, Free Bird while I was trying on an ugly shirt and you’ll NEVER guess what song they were playing at that particular clothes store … “Sweet Home Alabama”! I kid you not.
So I’m trying this new therapy I came up with myself to exorcise the spirit: I’m listening to the song over and over and then maybe I’ll be so saturated by all the Lynyrds and Skynyrds that Mr.Roadie’s ghost thinks ‘Ah my work here is done’. Sounds almost scientific right?
Ok I’m listening to it right now. Alright it’s a bit corny, but I forgot how dreamy and how exciting and how, ehm long it was. I’m kinda glad that most bands don’t do the epic three guitar solos anymore. It sounds exhausting to play and to listen to, to be honest. Well I must say, it is nice to hear again after all this time.
I wonder who the very first person was who called out Free Bird at a non-Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. He musta gotten a lot of laughs, because it’s one of the longest running jokes in music history and it’s spoiled many a live recording from all kinds of bands. There’s always that one joker in the audience … Hmm maybe all these years it’s been that same guy. Anyway here it is, the full ten minute version. Now play that a thousand times in a row and that was my day.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
Hot Club De Paris are a band that I’ve been meaning to check out for ages and I’ve finally got around to it. They appeal to the part of me that loves Maximo Park and The Rakes and those kind of bands. They do have similar qualities to those bands, but they definitely have their own sound. In fact, they’re touring soon with both Maximo Park and Jamie T, so let’s just say that if you like any of the bands mentioned in this rather aimless post, you’ll probably like Hot Club De Paris, too.
I’m clearly doing a horrible job here, so just go listen to their stuff on their myspace page. You can’t miss out on “Shipwreck”, that one’s my favorite.
And keep a look out for their debut album, Drop It Til It Pops, which comes out in two weeks.
This is another song that makes me so happy like only a true Poptastic song can. Mel & Tim use American football as a metaphor for a love affair gone wrong. They use a whole bunch of terms I don’t understand, in fact I’m not even sure what backfield in motion means. You don’t need in depth knowledge of the sport to enjoy the song, because it’s just a really sweet soul song with great harmonies, a cool horn section and a chorus that’ll set up camp in your brain for the next few days. As far as I know this is the only top ten hit for the singing cousins.
There’s also a ‘Backfield In Motion’ movie featuring the song, starring Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold and that guy who plays Darlene’s girlie boyfriend. It’s about a mom (Roseanne) who is appalled by the macho football world on her son’s high school, so to teach all those gosh darn chauvinists a lesson, she organizes a mothers vs sons football game. The mom’s win. DAMN, I gave it away. Oh well, now you don’t have to watch it and a perfect pop song stays untainted by this, ehm, superb Disney-friendly movie.
Mel & Tim - Backfield In Motion
I guess Tam told you all that I’ve been sick. I’m not sure what I have can really be called the ‘common’ cold. I think it was more like a cold sent to me by Satan, punishment for some evil I’ve done in my past, possibly a warning for my future. Ugh. I still feel like crap and the sad thing is that this is a major improvement.
So my week was spent alternating between whining and feeling very, very sorry for myself and being so grumpy that my brain was eating itself. The two mp3s for this week’s Soundtrack Day represent those two emotions. The Smiths are the sound of me lying in bed, blowing my nose and feeling weepy. The hours and hours that I spent wishing I could sleep, thinking of the time stretching ahead with no end in sight, like the dusty, desolate desert - that’s all Nick Cave. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to be around me when I’m sick?
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
What do dancing dogs look like? V//Formation seems to know, their song “Dogs” claims they dance just like ‘em. I love songs about dancing animals, I’ve done the funky chicken and my goose is very loose if I do say so myself. Uh, I’m not making sense anymore, but I have a headache so I just took two painkillers. My headache’s gone, but it left me feeling a bit floaty. All I can say is, this should be interesting.
Anyway, my recent ailment has nothing to do with V//Formation. I cannot wait for them to put out a full album! Their debut single “Little Heart” came out in May and it’s time for someting new, fellas. That song is definitely gonna make my best of 2006 list, and that’s not the drugs talking. “Dogs” is equally contagious, but it’s more upbeat and ends with a euphoric sing-a-long. It’s so catchy I half expect them to yell out ‘All together now!’. The singer sounds like he’s been smoking since he was three and their steady grungy rhythms get under my skin like, ehm, like a gross, exotic parasite, but pleasurable. Now that’s the drugs talking.
You can listen to “Little Heart” and more songs on theirspace.
I can’t sleep so I started a-browsing when I came across a clip of The White Stripes on The Simpsons’ episode that aired last Sunday! Here it is for all of you who, like me, missed the excitement. I think it’s hilarious and I agree with Otto the stoner busdriver dude, it is indeed trippy. Whoo, insomnia pays off yet again!
Poor Bean is feeling a bit under the weather, so today I will be the deliverer of your weekly Poptastic fix. And I’m happy to do it, because now there’s a reason for me to talk about Sublime. I know I say it a lot, but I loved them back in the day. Remember, they were huge in 1996 thanks to the immense success of their self-titled album. They were the only band my brother, sister and I could all listen to at the same time without shrieking with horror over the other’s horrible taste in music. I mean really, Dutch R & B?!? Anyway, the reason why my siblings and I all loved it in spite of our differences was probably because Sublime covered many music styles besides ska and they were incredibly catchy, fun and chock full of mind altering herbs. Yum!
I give you the excellent video for “Santeria” one of my favorite Sublime songs. I know that “What I Got” was the real pop hit, but the whole album was uber popular that year, so let’s mix it up a little. Besides this song has it all: jealousy, love and poppin’ caps in Sancho’s ass.
I love that their late singer Brad Nowell’s dog Louie, whom he sings about a lot, plays such a big role in it. Sadly, his owner wasn’t there to enjoy their last album’s big success. He died of a heroine overdose just two months before the release of Sublime. His ghost-like appearance in the funny video and the sweet and melancholy melodies of the song make the whole thing feel a bit tragic and sad to me. So now that I got you all good and depressed, enjoy the song and the excellent, western-themed video.
Oh and let’s practice a little bit of good Santeria (if there is such a thing) of our own and send The Bean some healing thoughts! Shwing! That was supposed to be a cute magic Disney-ish sound effect, not the Wayne’s World hot chick shwing.
Dear God, do we love The Black Keys. I’m so tired of them being compared to another colorful, no-bass twosome we adore. There are as many differences as there are similarities between the two bands, so now after three albums I think they deserve to stand alone. Dan Auerbach has the sexiest, deepest blues voice in garage band history. If saying that makes me a sad fangirl, then so be it. When I first saw them live I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see a skinny little white dude singing. Even though I had already seen pictures of them, it was still amazing to hear such a big sound come out of them.
I wasn’t gonna share this with you all, because it’s embarrassing, but we are the proud owners of one of Patrick Carney’s busted up drum sticks. Ok so it lives with me, but sharing the humiliating revelation makes me feel like less of a dork. HowEVER, I did not fight off groupies and die-hard drum freaks for it, nor did I climb on stage and swipe it from the man himself, I swear! He was banging them skins so fiercely, one just flew my way.
Their new album Magic Potion came out last week and I’ve been listening to it ever since. It rawks. Yep, that’s all. Oh and, go. Buy it.
Alright, for all you unbelievers who need more incentive, here it is: their current and their previous albums are on the soundtrack of my life because I don’t think they’ll ever get old. Though, The Big Come Up is sadly not part of my collection yet. I can’t find it anywhere here in Amsterdam and now it has become my Holy Grail CD. I passed up the chance to buy it in London last year. It’s one of my two biggest music-related regrets, both happened on that same trip to London. The other had to do with my favorite album of 2005 with the band’s signatures on the cover … in gold to match the printing! You guessed it, I didn’t buy it. Whenever I think about it, it makes me want to chew off my thumbs. Let this be a warning to you: If you see something you want more than you want the abillity to grab stuff, buy it and think of me. Yeah, I know I can buy The Black Keys’ CD online but the whole point of a Holy Grail Album is the way it feels when you finally find it and buy it the Amish way.
But I digress, I was saying that they play the kind of blues/rock music that has no expiration date because they don’t seem to let modern influences affect them without sounding tired. Alright enough of this, just go get it ok? If you still don’t like it, send me the CD and a letter of explanation and I’ll send you a nice Are-you-friggin’-crazy reply … Pssshh, were you really expecting your money back?? Sucka, Tam ain’t got no money!
Like most Transgressive acts, Jeremy Warmsley doesn’t fit some short and tidy description. His songs are kind of sweet and melodic in a Beatle-y sort of way, but he’s got some electronic funky stuff going on as well. You might like him if you like Belle & Sebastian or Jamie T or Beck or maybe even the Fiery Furnaces. I’ve been listening to the music you can stream from his official site and I like him even more right now than I did a few hours ago. His next single, “I Believe In The Way You Move”, will be out on the 25th of this month and his debut album, The Art Of Fiction, is released on October 9th.
If the rumors are true and official sites have now become completely obsolete, go listen to Jeremy on his myspace page. He also has a wikipedia page, which is odd and makes me wonder who else has a wikipedia page and why 100b doesn’t, but is still informative.
Nowadays everybody has to have a cool arty-farty, preferably two paragraph band name. These guys called themselves Unit 4 + 2, because they used to have four band members but then they got two more. Ahh, simpler times.
“Concrete And Clay” is their one and only number one song, but they were around five more years, had one other top 20 hit and switched genres and band members a bunch of times. By the time they broke up they were more like Unit 4 + 5.
I love this song, it’s so sweet and simple and I love the way the mood changes in the chorus. It’s no wonder it hit the number one spot when it came out in 1964 and then later again in 1976 when some guy covered the song.
Fun Fact Of The Day: The drummer that joined the group in 1967, Bob Henrit was in a bunch of bands after Unit 4 + 2 including The Kinks.
Unit 4 + 2 - Concrete And Clay
About 7 months ago, I posted about the demise of Special Needs, a band I had been so excited about. I totally know that my plee for their album had a lot to do with Re-Action Recordings deciding to release it, I have a lot of influence in these sort of situations.
Seriously though, I was insanely happy when I saw that Funfairs and Heartbreaks would be released even though the band is no more. It finally came out last month and, had it been my turn to pick an album of the month, it would definitely have been my choice. I haven’t stopped listening to it since it got here, so here’s one of my favorites from the album. I hope you all go buy it and the Special Needs lads will know that we loved what they did, even if they weren’t around nearly long enough for my liking.
Special Needs - Gloucester Road
Pete And The Pirates are a charming - yes I said charming, but please don’t stop reading - band from Reading. I tried to think of a more inventive way to describe these guys, but apparently I have a limited vocabulary and the best I can come up with is that they’re just incredibly charming. I know that it sounds a bit condescending, but I honestly don’t mean it that way. They are exciting and sweet and they don’t seem too worried about being cool, if that makes sense. They sound familiarly British but totally new and fresh. If that all is not the very definition of charming, I don’t know what is. Anyway, they’re a really good new band, who make good music, so check ‘em out, maybe you can come up with a more fitting adjective.
I really like “Knots” on their MySpace which is sadly not on their EP Wait Stop Begin, but “Ill Love” and “Come On Feet” are really wonderful too.
It is now finally time for our first ever Album /Single of The Month post and I am the lucky lady that gets to pick the first ones. I am not worthy, but I’ll do it anyway. So for August I give you Drakkar Sauna and The Fratellis. Woo!
Drakkar Sauna are Wallace Cochran and Jeff Stolz. They are so far removed from normal, I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how strange they are. I can’t really compare them to anything either. They play old timey bluegrass with a big fat twist. I mean Hank Williams would love them but then he’d listen to the lyrics and say what on earth are these boys going on about?!? (That’s how I imagine Hank Williams talking, if I’m wrong I’m very sorry all you nitpicky Hank aficionados.) They sing about, well weird stuff. Their songs have titles like “There’s Not Enough Tits On A Wolf” and my personal favorite title of the year “Mongrel Of A Half Man Slave Bitch”. They play like they’re the official band of the Dia De Los Muertos (the Mexican holiday that celebrates the dead) and often sing in Spanish to prove my point. They play some instruments I’ve never heard of like a harmophone and a tamboosh. I don’t even know how to spell tamboosh, but I like the sound of it. In fact I might start calling myself The Mighty Tamboosh from now on. Heh heh. Yeah, maybe not.
I LOVE old timey Bluegrass and weird and creepy, overly creative people, so this band is exactly what I’ve been looking for, even though I didn’t know it. They’re third release Jabraham Lincoln came out August 25th and is definitely worth the ten dollars Marriage Records charges for it. You can listen to a very surreal interview with them about their new album over on Lawrence. And here’s a taste from their new album and an older favorite of mine, respectively:
Drakkar Sauna - Teach Me Your Legs
Drakkar Sauna - #4 Very Much alone part 4, Oh Fuck. I’m Fucked. Fuck.
Holy shiz, Marc Bolan lives! The Fratellis lead singer doesn’t just sound like him, he also looks a bit like him. Have a look at their kind of sleazy video for their new single “Chelsea Dagger”. My favorite Fratellis song is still the acoustic version of “Creeping Up The Backstairs”, their latest is just a bit too much of everything to kick it off the top spot. It’s glam, in your face and the song’s influences are obvious, but it’s a big loud bawdy party and I like it. It may not be the best or most original single that came out this month but I’m sure it’s the most fun, though the latest Good Shoes single “All In My Head” is a solid contender. See how I slipped that one in there? I’m all about the loopholes.
You know how sometimes you’re sitting around, looking into the sea and thinking about your old childhood friends? And then some angels appear and sing a song of hope for you and it goes “come sail away with me, lads”? But then you realize that they aren’t really angels after all but you and the lads get on their starship and sail away anyways?
I mean, c’mon - we’ve all been there.
Styx - Come Sail Away
I am back! So as you may know by now I went to sunny Spain to escape the dreary Dutch weather for a week. The first few days were a bit cloudy but by siesta time the clouds had cleared and there was nothing but a tight blue sky. Then came The Day Of Darkness (said in booming voice)!! I ehm call it that, it adds a certain flair of drama, don’t you think?
Anyway, we went to the local supermarket to buy stuff that day, as you do. On the way there it was a bit darkish for three o’clock, but nothing to write home about. When we walked home however there was a light show going on on the other side of the hills. At first I thought they were setting off fireworks for some national Spanish holiday or something. I know I often try and fail to be funny, this is not one of those times. It soon looked like the hills were spitting out a giant dark cloud along with the fireworks, so we decided to step it up a little. Five minutes after we arrived back at the hotel the dark cloud had swallowed the whole town. It was pitch black and the only light we got was from a barrage of lightning and thunder. That’s when the downpour of hail, yes HAIL in freaking Spain in August, started and winds started blowing away everything not bolted to the ground.
There was one place with giant inflatable castles and spaceships for kids to jump on, and ironically the inflatable Titanic was lifted up and smashed onto a pole. Kids were panicking and crying and some adults were ooh-ing and aah-ing. I thought this is the end, so I sent the Bean a message and I got the distinct feeling that she found it somewhat amusing that I traveled so far for an imminent death by storm. And then it stopped as abruptly as it started. The rest of the holiday was really nice again, but my eyes were fixed on the sky the whole time so I was prepared next time it happened. I think Reigning Sound’s stomping version of “Stormy Weather” provides the soundtrack for this freak weather best.
