Shala-lala-la
Yes, I’m still here. I guess writing this crap has taken a backseat to things like work and being social. It’s not such a bad thing really. After what seems like one of the rainiest Januaries in Seattle history, we’re finally getting some sunny days again. I can’t wait for the Spring.
I’ve been in a real pop phase recently. I’m not completely sure why; I think it has something to do with going through all this change in the past six months or so. After moving to the West coast back in the Fall, I went through a few minor hardships, and I think I needed comforting. That’s what I like about good pop music, I guess–it’s so damn right. It’s like well-made home cooking or a good friend: nice and cozy…inviting. There’s still something to be said for that, especially in light of all the awful news these days. It makes things a little better.
Case in point: The Brunettes, a New Zealand band who recently signed to Sub Pop to release their 3rd album, finally calling themselves to my attention. They are a male/female duo clearly (and pretty wonderfully) inspired by 60’s girl group. Their music has a weird bent to it, though. At times it’s definitely silly and happy, but there’s a darkness there too. And they’re not so innocent. I like their first album, Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002), a bit better than the 2004 follow-up, Mars Loves Venus. Both records are kinda bubble gum and nearly every song is about love, but the debut has something about it. It’s a little weirder, a little more daring. I prefer those moments, rather than the super peppy, hey-everybody-let’s-dance stuff.
“Talk to Jesus” [MP3]
“End of the Runway” [MP3]
[Speaking of 60’s girl group, I recently picked up Rhino’s awesome boxed set, Girl Group Sounds, Lost and Found: One Kiss Can Lead to Another. Highly recommended if you like that sort of thing. One minor gripe: it gets my vote for most embarassing packaging ever. Where the hell am I supposed to keep this thing???]
We Could Walk Together
Good news on two recent favorite bands of mine:
The Clientele are touring the states in June, including a stop at DC’s 9:30 Club on the 3rd. Looks like they’re playing in suppport of a another Merge Records band, Spoon.
I first saw the Clientele a few years ago having only heard a single song. My friend convinced me to go regardless. It was a good show (in fact, it convinced me to buy their excellent singles collection, Suburban Light), but having heard so little of their material prevented me from enjoying it as much I would have otherwise. I’m not too familiar with Spoon, but I’m planning to go just to hear the openers since I’ve now listened to just about everything I can get my hands on by them. A lot. Oh, and it looks like their second album will be coming out sometime later this year.
Another awesome Merge band, the Rosebuds, are set to release a new 6 song EP on April 12. You can stream the entire record from here. It’s good shit. “El Camino” especially floats my boat. There’s a Pitchfork review of the EP as well, if you care what they have to say.
No local tour dates from those guys, yet. Hopefully they’ll hit DC sometime this summer.
You know what? Merge is a pretty damn good label. I mean, they’ve put out their share of crap over the years, and I was never really into Superchunk, but the number of their bands I really like is pretty impressive. I don’t know if I could say the same for many other labels.
My favs:
The Clean
The Clientele
Ganger
David Kilgour
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Rosebuds
M. Ward
Slabs of Glue Have No Standards
I realized last night that VH-1 Classic’s The Alternative is much less fun to watch alone than with a friend. I mean, when something like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones comes on, who am I gonna talk shit with? My cat? Wally doesn’t care about how annoying Eddie Trunk is.
Tim’s got it right: They should just rerun every episode of 120 Minutes from beginning to end. That would be cool.
I keep meaning to catch this Subterranean show on MTV2. It looks decent, but for some reason I always forget about it. Oh yeah—because it’s on right in the goddamn middle of The Alternative (Sundays at Midnight).
I need a DVR.
Dark Green of My Soul
1. Never be disappointed: expect nothing.
I’ve been cleaning my room. It’s all dust and pennies and unmarked CD-Rs. It feels good to do something productive on an otherwise lazy weekend. I didn’t get out on Friday, due to the bad weather and my usual end-of-the-week collapse. Saturday’s highlight was a good Thai meal with Jonathan and his friend Brent. I’ve decided that Pad Pik King is a simple yet delicious dish. I wish I had leftovers.
I worked a little on these button designs I’ve been thinking about for a while. Allison has a button maker thing and will hopefully hook me up after I’ve printed them. I’ll post those when I feel like it. In other semi-creative news, I did some precursory recording of this song I’ve been fucking around with lately. It’s not really a song yet, just a couple different bass parts and basic drums. I really like the bassline I came up with, so hopefully I can take it somewhere.
2. Movies are photographs, twenty-four times a second.
I watched the Criterion Collection edition of Slacker today, a most fitting title for my weekend. Despite being nearly fifteen years-old, I think it’s aged pretty well. Speaking of Linklater, I’m really looking forward to A Scanner Darkly this summer. [Trailer here.] I’ve been reading the novel recently, on loan from Tim.
3. Music is for chumps.
Last night I discovered this little section of reviews on Tiny Mix Tapes where they recommend older records and review them. I love that. You’re bound to find out about something cool that you missed the first time or rediscover something you already have but haven’t listened to in a while. Give ‘er a try.
I found the latest Four Tet album, Everything Ecstatic, on SoulSeek last night (also thanks to TMT). I haven’t listened enough to get a good impression, but it sounds at least decent so far. Looks like legal copies will be out May 23rd on Domino.
Coming this week on my little ol’ site: recently acquired records I’ve been enjoying, site updates to the oft-neglected photos and music sections, and The End of Days.
PS: Fuck daylight savings.
Recent Listening
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There Were Wolves
The Accidental -
Alight Of Night
Crystal Stilts -
The Whitey on the Moon UK LP
Department of Eagles
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