a PLAGUE of ANGELS

JOHN MELLENCAMP - PART 1

2008-07-20T00:12:00.001-04:00

Okay, I admit it: These career-spanning retrospectives are getting a little out-of-hand....

Why JOHN MELLENCAMP, you ask? (Come on, play along here....) More to the point: Why John Mellencamp now? Excellent questions. Well... the man does have a new record out. He appeared on Letterman Friday night (thus reminding me that he's still alive). And he was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So those will just have to be reason(s) enough.

(It did occur to me, though: If Mellencamp is the poor man's SPRINGSTEEN, why the hell didn't I just go ahead and dedicate this multi-part, discographical series to the Boss? Uh... excellent question....)

From the LP SCARECROW, 1985 >>>
[MP3] "Rain on the Scarecrow"
[MP3] "Small Town"

From the LP UH-HUH, 1983 >>>
[MP3] "Authority Song"

From the LP AMERICAN FOOL, 1982 >>>
[MP3] "Hurts So Good"
[MP3] "Jack and Diane"

From the LP NOTHIN' MATTERS AND WHAT IF IT DID, 1980 >>>
[MP3] "Ain't Even Done With the Night"

From the LP A BIOGRAPHY, 1978 >>>
[MP3] "I Need a Lover"

PARKA

2008-07-18T13:19:00.000-04:00

90 degrees outside... 80 degrees inside... so there's really no call for a parka, coat, jacket, poncho, or any other variety of outerwear today. But I guess we'll make an exception for the Scottish band that calls itself PARKA (come to think of it, we already dealt with the band that calls itself MY MORNING JACKET a couple weeks ago).

Parka (the band) has an album out called ATTACK OF THE HUNDRED YARD HARDMAN, which sounds like the title of a gay porn video centering around American football locker-room/shower shenanigans -- tight ends becoming wide receivers, etc. The first song below is fairly standard, modern-day Britpop. The latter channels THE B-52's (who could probably provide a pretty fabulous soundtrack to a gay porn video centering around American football locker-room/shower shenanigans). (If Tom Brady is in it, I am so there....).

PARKA on MySPACE.

[MP3] [VID] "Better Anyway"

[MP3] "DJ in the Corner"

MATTHEW SWEET

2008-07-18T00:06:00.001-04:00

I mentioned MATTHEW SWEET in the last post, so now seems as good a time as any to preview a couple tracks from his upcoming album (SWEET SUNSHINE LIES; August 26).

Back in the day, everyone went over-the-moon-batshit-ga-ga over the song "Girlfriend" and its attendant, "buzzworthy" video. Me, I'm more of a 100% FUN/BLUE SKY ON MARS/IN REVERSE kind of guy. (And I consider anime to be one of the most annoying things ever conceived by man.)

MATTHEW SWEET on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Feel Fear"

[MP3] "Around You Now"

YOUTH GROUP

2008-07-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

Going into this post, I found myself wondering if anybody thought of the band YOUTH GROUP as the Australian COLDPLAY. Perhaps because their sound seems designed to appeal to the masses. Their gestures may be a bit less grand and blustery, but their edges are just as soft. No one was harmed in the making of this music; no one will be harmed listening to it. Rather reassuring, that.

Turns out, though, that Coldplay may not be the best reference point. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE gets mentioned (pre-NARROW STAIRS, one presumes). One review cited BADLY DRAWN BOY. Another: MATTHEW SWEET. I agree that there's much "pop" in their pop-rock, and, in that regard, singer TOBY MARTIN has an absolutely ideal voice for carrying their message forth -- clean, pristine, yearning but never overreaching.

(P.S. Though I only stumbled upon it while checking YouTube for videos to today's selected songs, the skateboarding video footage accompanying "Forever Young" is uncommonly apt & engaging. This isn't eXtreme, X-Games-styled jumps, stunts, thrills & spills, mind you. Just slow, woozy '70s nostalgia that perfectly complements the music. And you needn't have been a kid in the 1970s -- like yours truly -- to find yourself a bit beguiled by it.]

YOUTH GROUP on MySPACE.

From the LP THE NIGHT IS OURS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "One for Another"
[MP3] "Babies in Your Dreams"

From the LP CASINO TWILIGHT DOGS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Sorry"
[MP3] "Dead Zoo"
[VID] "Forever Young" [ALPHAVILLE cover]

From the LP SKELETON JAR, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Lillian Lies"
[MP3] "Someone Else's Dream"

THE CONFUSIONS

2008-07-16T12:16:00.000-04:00

I don't have a lot of background information on Sweden's THE CONFUSIONS, so the music's going to have to do the talking here. They seem to be a band. With six (or so) members. From Sweden. Dark-edged indie-rock. Songs are rife with catchy elements yet refuse to unspool in staid, predictable ways. (First three songs below taken from their 2008 album, THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY.)

THE CONFUSIONS on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Whatever Money Can Buy"

[MP3] [VID] "The Logo"

[VID] "Perfect Plan"

BONUS MEDIA ADDENDA >>>

[MP3] "All Dressed Up" [acoustic version] [2007]

[VID] "The Pilot" [2002]

BLONDFIRE

2008-07-16T02:02:00.000-04:00

We're big fans of brother/sister duos around these parts. We've had Australia's ANGUS & JULIA STONE. Sweden's THE KNIFE. Downey, California's THE CARPENTERS. (Not to mention Detroit's leg-pulling/piss-taking WHITE STRIPES.)

Now, we have NYC's BLONDFIRE (formerly ASTAIRE). ERICA & BRUCE DRISCOLL were born in Grand Rapids, MI but spent a good chunk of their childhoods in Brazil. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, they cite ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM and ASTRUD GILBERTO as influences.

Overall, the Driscolls' smooth, cosmopolitan pop bears a resemblance to that purveyed by their fellow New Yorkers, IVY.

BLONDFIRE on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Always the Last to Know"

[MP3] "Pretty Young Thing"

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS

2008-07-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

LIBERTINES spinoff DIRTY PRETTY THINGS are back with their second CD, ROMANCE AT SHORT NOTICE. (I find that I have very little else to say on the matter.)

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS on MySPACE.

From the LP ROMANCE AT SHORT NOTICE, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Kicks or Consumption"
[MP3] [VID] "Tired of England"

From the LP WATERLOO TO ANYWHERE, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Bang Bang You're Dead"
[MP3] [VID] "Deadwood"

BECK - PART 2

2008-07-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

At which time we reach the end of the road (or beginning of the road, as the case may be) i/r/t Mr. BEK DAVID CAMPBELL aka BECK HANSEN aka BECK. (For our purposes here, we will discreetly seek to ignore the fact that the man is a Scientologist. Jeepers creepers!)

From the LP SEA CHANGE, 2002 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Lost Cause"

From the LP MIDNITE VULTURES, 1999 >>>
[MP3] "Pressure Zone"

From the LP MUTATIONS, 1998 >>>
[MP3] "Dead Melodies"

From the LP ODELAY, 1996 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "The New Pollution"

From the LP MELLOW GOLD, 1994 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Loser"

AZURE RAY - PART 2

2008-07-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

AZURE RAY on ALLMUSIC.

From the LP HOLD ON LOVE, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "If You Fall"
[MP3] "Nothing Like a Song"
[MP3] "Sea of Doubts"

BONUS TRACKS >>>

[MP3] MARIA TAYLOR/"My Own Fault"

[MP3] ORENDA FINK/"Bloodline"

AZURE RAY - PART 1

2008-07-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

Omaha-by-way-of-Athens-by-way-of-Alabama's AZURE RAY have been out of business for four years now, but their music lives on -- slow, dark, and pretty.

So, back in time we go, to let MARIA TAYLOR and ORENDA FINK beguile us, albeit bittersweetly....

From the LP BURN AND SHIVER, 2002
[MP3] "Rest Your Eyes"
[MP3] "The New Year"

From the EP NOVEMBER, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "November"
[MP3] "No Signs of Pain"

From their self-titled LP, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Displaced"
[MP3] "For No One"

HALCION DAZE: MUSIC TO SOOTHE THE '60s HOUSEWIFE

2008-07-11T12:17:00.000-04:00

Just to review... This all started, innocently enough, with:

"... a DORIS DAY song should always be followed by a DEAN MARTIN song which should always be followed by a ROSEMARY CLOONEY song. LOUIS PRIMA... PATTI PAGE... BOBBY DARIN... CONNIE FRANCIS... NAT KING COLE... DINAH WASHINGTON... and so on...."

And this is where it ends. I managed to get just about everybody in (sorry, Louis Prima; "Jump, Jive an' Wail" just missed the cut), though not necessarily in the originally intended order. This took more hours than I care to count to compile. I hope you'll find it a worthwhile diversion from our usual fare....

Left-click [HERE] to download the vintage ditties. ('60s-styled cocktails & Quaaludes optional.)

TRACKLIST >>>

01 percy faith and his orchestra/theme from "a summer place"
02 perry como/magic moments
03 doris day/perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
04 dean martin/sway
05 rosemary clooney/mambo italiano
06 claudio villa/tic ti, tic ta
07 patti page/conquest
08 elvis presley/surrender
09 shirley bassey/gone
10 bobby darin/mack the knife
11 peggy lee/fever
12 louis armstrong/kiss of fire
13 nina simone/don't let me be misunderstood
14 screamin' jay hawkins/i put a spell on you
15 roy orbison/mean woman blues
16 connie francis/fallin'
17 tom jones/delilah
18 dusty springfield/you don't own me
19 andy williams/music to watch girls by
20 lesley gore/maybe i know
21 bobby vinton/mr. lonely
22 marlene dietrich/kisses sweeter than wine
23 scott walker/next
24 edith piaf/non, je ne regrette rien
25 frank sinatra/that's life
26 dinah washington/cry me a river
27 keely smith/what is this thing called love?
28 nat king cole/l-o-v-e

ODDS 'N' SODS #17

2008-07-11T00:04:00.001-04:00

[MP3] THE DISPLACEMENTS/"Down and Out" [2008]

[MP3] FONDA/"Surrender" [2003]

[MP3] STEPSONDAY/"Deep" [2008]

[MP3] BRETT ANDERSON/"Funeral Mantra" [2008]

[MP3] THE VINES/"A.S III" [2008]

[MP3] FRANK SINATRA/"French Foreign Legion" [1959]

LITTLE BEIRUT

2008-07-10T12:51:00.001-04:00

Portland, Oregon's LITTLE BEIRUT should not be mistaken for Brooklyn, New York's BEIRUT or San Francisco, California's BAY ROOT. For one thing, Little Beirut play "melodic, intelligent, Brit-influenced rock and roll" which "makes you happy for being so sad." Ah-hah. Well, that explains that, then....

LITTLE BEIRUT on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Love During Wartime"

[MP3] "Belle de Jour"

SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS

2008-07-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

Sweden's SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS should not be mistaken for England's THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS, America's MEAT PUPPETS, or Serbia's PUPPETINA. For one thing, Sad Day feature a female lead (in the person of ANNA EKLUND). For another, they play shoegaze-y pop that should appeal to fans of THE INNOCENCE MISSION and THE CURE but may put narcoleptics at peril. Might I suggest headphones & a bucket of Red Bull...?

From the EP JUST LIKE A GHOST, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Hush"
[MP3] "Big Waves"

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.

2008-07-09T00:22:00.006-04:00

It's all about expectations. Two years ago, when STROKES second guitarist ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. released his debut solo LP, few people could have predicted what a surprisingly winning little charmer it would be. The fact that it didn't try too hard to be "meaningful" or "important" or "new" only added to its appeal.

But the light touch that Hammond so ably demonstrated back in 2006 proves a bit more elusive on follow-up COMO TE LLAMA?. The easy hooks don't come quite so easy this time around. The songs don't seem to want to separate themselves -- to stand out -- and the rather inevitable result is an album that's a bit ho-hum homogeneous.

Not a bad album, you understand. Just one that can't live up to the standard set by its pleasant-surprise predecessor. That's the bad news. But also, in a way, the good.

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. on MySPACE.

From the LP COMO TE LLAMA?, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "GfC" [left-click] [ADDED WITH PERMISSION]
[MP3] "In My Room" [REMOVED BY REQUEST]
[MP3] "You Won't Be Fooled By This" [REMOVED BY REQUEST]

From the LP YOURS TO KEEP, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "In Transit"
[MP3] "101"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] ALBERT HAMMOND, SR./"It Never Rains in Southern California" [1972]

BECK - PART 1

2008-07-08T01:09:00.000-04:00

While I'm not the world's biggest BECK fan, I can generally find something of at least passing interest on each of his albums. I found three such "somethings" on the new one, out today, MODERN GUILT. That may not sound like many, but it equals the number I unearthed on his two previous releases combined, so that's progress. (And, because I just know that you want to know... the third "something" from the new disc is a song called "Orphans." I'm confident, with just a bare minimum of initiative & ingenuity, you'll have little problem procuring it elsewhere on the 'net....)

From the LP MODERN GUILT, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Gamma Ray"
[MP3] "Modern Guilt"

From the LP THE INFORMATION, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Think I'm in Love"

From the LP GUERO, 2005 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Girl"

FROM the LP SEA CHANGE, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "Sunday Sun"

THE MORNING BENDERS

2008-07-07T12:45:00.001-04:00

You know, I was actually going to take today off. I figured I deserved it. Other than Saturdays, I don't think I've missed a day around here since the beginning of my... ahem... "non-voluntary" sobriety period last July.

But wouldn't you know it -- rather than being able to kick back and relax this morning, I found myself feeling much the same way I used to feel when I didn't get some vodka into my system by 1 PM: relentlessly restless & a bit itchy in my own skin.

So, I surrender (to the tunes, not the booze). And I have the perfect band -- with the perfect band name -- to usher me past the nausea & shakes. Northern California's THE MORNING BENDERS. Indie-poppers. Short, sunshiny songs with a bit o' the '60s in them. Better than an early-morning Bloody Mary? Debatable. But a nice enough alternative. (And a lot lighter on the liver.)

THE MORNING BENDERS on MySPACE.

From the LP TALKING THROUGH TIN CANS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Damnit Anna"
[MP3] [VID] "Waiting for a War"

...DORIS DAY...DEAN MARTIN...ROSEMARY CLOONEY...

2008-07-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday, I allowed you all a privileged peek into my mix-CD-making process, just so:

"On mix CDs, I always tend to want to follow a LEONARD COHEN song with MARIANNE FAITHFULL song. Or vice-versa. Don't ask me why. My brain just links them.

And so it is with CULTURE CLUB and MEN AT WORK (or vice-versa). Link City. Pavlov's-dog-automatic. Don't question it. Don't resist. Whatever will be, will be. (Speaking of which, a DORIS DAY song should always be followed by a DEAN MARTIN song which should always be followed by a ROSEMARY CLOONEY song. LOUIS PRIMA... PATTI PAGE... BOBBY DARIN... CONNIE FRANCIS... NAT KING COLE... DINAH WASHINGTON... and so on....)"

Well, the proof is in the pudding (and, if you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding; how can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?). What follows is a little 11-song mix that took me the better part of two days to wrangle into place. (The more observant amongst you will notice that I have not, in fact, followed my own template in wrangling said little mix into place. Bobby Darin, for one thing, objected to being wedged between Patti and Connie -- insisting, instead, that he be situated between Shirley and Peggy. The preening, prima-donna twat.)

Now, depending on how this goes, we may just show up again next week with another couple strings of tunes to bookmark this particular string of tunes. When all is said and done, if we have ourselves something resembling a full, 80-minute mix, we'll be quite the collective happy camper.

In the meantime, mix yourself up a Gibson, slip in a "Mad Men" DVD, recline thyself on the divan or the davenport or the chesterfield, and pretend the Kennedys aren't yet dead....

[01.]
PERRY COMO/"Magic Moments"
[MP3]

[02.]
DORIS DAY/"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
[MP3]

[03.]
DEAN MARTIN/"Sway"
[MP3]

[04.]
ROSEMARY CLOONEY/"Mambo Italiano"
[MP3]

[05.]
CLAUDIO VILLA/"Tic Ti, Tic Ta"
[MP3]

[06.]
PATTI PAGE/"Conquest"
[MP3]

[07.]
ELVIS PRESLEY/"Surrender"
[MP3]

[08.]
SHIRLEY BASSEY/"Gone"
[MP3]

[09.]
BOBBY DARIN/"Mack the Knife"
[MP3]

[10.]
PEGGY LEE/"Fever"
[MP3]

[11.]
LOUIS ARMSTRONG/"Kiss of Fire"
[MP3]

01. DUFFY: ROCKFERRY

2008-07-04T00:05:00.000-04:00

[MP3] "Stepping Stone"

02. THE SUBMARINES: HONEYSUCKLE WEEKS

2008-07-04T00:04:00.000-04:00

[MP3] "Submarine Symphonika"

03. THE INDELICATES: AMERICAN DEMO

2008-07-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

[MP3] "We Hate the Kids"

04. SONS AND DAUGHTERS: THIS GIFT

2008-07-04T00:02:00.000-04:00

[MP3] "Gilt Complex"

05. AMANDA JENSSEN: KILLING MY DARLINGS

2008-07-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

[MP3] "Amarula Tree"

TOP ALBUMS OF THE FIRST/HALF OF 2008

2008-07-04T00:00:00.004-04:00

06. MATES OF STATE/Re-Arrange Us
07. THIS IS IVY LEAGUE/(s/t)
08. THE DUKE SPIRIT/Neptune
09. TILLY AND THE WALL/o
10. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS/Heretic Pride

BILLY IDOL

2008-07-03T11:52:00.001-04:00

Uh-oh. This is starting to get a little out of hand now. Better put a stop to it pronto, before I start hauling out my old SCORPIONS, RATT, and QUIET RIOT records....

(Then again, if the likes of the Scorpions, Ratt, and Quiet Riot don't scare you too terribly, you can always go [HERE] and revel in the sheer overblown wonder of it all.)

BILLY IDOL on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] [VID] "Dancing With Myself" [1981]

[MP3] [VID] "White Wedding" [1982]

[MP3] [VID] "Mony Mony" [1981]