Five Dollar Radio

Links: July 26, 2008

2008-07-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

Paul Westerberg: Up To His Old Tricks (via Paste)
I'm surprised, but thrilled, at how much press 49:00 is getting. I've listened to it half a dozen times already, and I hear something new each time. Yes, the one-long track thing is frustrating, but rewarding.

I attempted to write a short piece about the Mercury Prize for BlogHer. Gah, I'm old. The only artist on that list I'm familiar withis Robert Plant. I had to take a crash course in British "it girl"chanteuses.

Album of the Week: Comic Strip by Serge Gainsbourg

2008-07-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

I took three years of French: two in high school and one in college. If I had to, I could tell you that I have a red bicycle (J'ai une bicyclette rouge), that my pen is on the table -- with my notebook (Mon stylo est sur la table avec mon cahier), and I probably could order cheese (Puis-je avoir le fromage).

Okay, I looked that last one up.

I still love Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip. Like a dirty French novel... or a dirty Frenchman whispering in your ear, I understand little, but I'm smitten.

Mercury Prize Shortlist Announced

2008-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

The shortlist for the 2008 Mercury Prize:

Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Music
Burial - Untrue
Elbow - The Seldom Seen
Estelle - Shine
Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee Deep In The North Sea
Rachel Unthank - The Bairns
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - The Raising Sand
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement

Radiohead, and obvious favorite, but I'm rooting for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

New Radio Station Alert

2008-07-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Devil's Lullaby

(Named for the Clem Snide song.)

A little more country than rock 'n' roll.

New Releases: July 22, 2008

2008-07-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

After a two-day delay, Paul Westerberg's online only album, 49:00, is available for download. (Here or here.)

I've already purchased and listened to most it. For an album that costs less than a cup of coffee, it's pretty sweet. I warn you though, if you thought his last few albums were lo-fi, 49:00 makes those sound as polished as the new Miley Cyrus record. It's definitely scruffy. One caveat: it does require some patience, as the twenty plus songs are packaged as one continuous track. (Unless you're more tech savvy than I and split them up.)

(Billboard story)

Video: Blake Babies - Out There

2008-07-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Remember pre-Nirvana when MTV would sneak in a couple videos a week during normal viewing hours that were considered "alternative?" (We called it modern rock back then.) But no one (read: marketers) was really sure what alternative was?

Hey, something to get excited about

2008-07-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, something for me to get excited about, anyway.

(And probably a few of you, too.)

Looks like Paul Westerberg will be releasing some new music, his first set of tunes since the soundtrack to the 2006 animated film, Open Season, and going back further, his last "proper" solo album, Folker, in 2004.

This from Billboard:

In related news, frontman Paul Westerberg is planning to release a host of new music for 49 cents via his Web site on Saturday (July 19). The artist's last solo release was 2004's "Folker."

Check out his website (or the blog, or the fan boards) for all the official details. This is an online only thing, so get your downloadin' boots on.

Album of the Week: Anders Parker S/T

2008-07-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is more an excuse to go hunting for live clips of my favorite song of the moment: Anders Parker's "Dear Sara" from his self titled album.

Parker, lead singer for the alt-country band Varnaline, has a handful of records out, that I'm sorry flew under my radar for too long.

Live and acoustic version of "Dear Sara"

Last.fm gets a new look

2008-07-17T15:34:00.001-07:00

If you have a Last.fm account check out their new website. According to their blog:

"Along with putting straight our clutter, we’ve cleaned house too: the user interface has been re-aligned to be a more robust foundation for features to come, and we’ve updated the look and feel. This is an evolution of the Last.fm interface, and it won’t stop developing either—we’re inspired by iterative change and dedicated to adapting the service."

So far I've had few problems with it, other than being a little slow to load, but not every user is happy with the new digs. Check out some of the reactions on the member forums.

Cover song of the week

2008-07-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ben Folds's version of The Cure's "In Between Days" (YouTube)

I've never been a big Cure fan. (There's a running joke between my dad and me that goes back to the first time HE saw the Cure on MTV: "If that's the Cure I'd hate to see the disease." Okay, it's not really that funny.) And I've only been a marginal Ben Fold's fan, but I'm really digging this.

File sharers (especially those in the UK), you might want to read this

2008-07-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

Latest BlogHer Post: File Sharing Woes

For all you music bloggers out there that do offer MP3 of copyrighted music, what precautions (disclaimers, etc.), if any, do you take?

New Releases: July 15, 2008

2008-07-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

The Hold Steady's latest, Stay Positive, is out today. If you've yet to hear of these guys, their 2006 album, Boys and Girls In America, made them critical darlings, compared to everyone from Bruce Springsteen to The Replacements.

According to the press: "Stay Positive is the fourth studio album from The Hold Steady and follows their hugely popular 2006 release Girls And Boys In America. Working once again with producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.), the album sees the band continue in the same direction their previous release took them, mixing classic bar-room style Rock with Craig Finn's half spoken/half sung lyrical tales of drinking, partying and love." (Amazon)

Sounds good to me.

Video: The Ledge by The Replacements

2008-07-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

MTV wouldn't play this video when it came out about twenty years ago. Five years later, Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," a much more violent variation on the same theme, was a huge hit:

Another day, another meme

2008-07-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is a good one. I found this music-themed meme over at Srah Blah Blah:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs.

1. The Shins - Gone For Good
I have to thank Pandora for this, because I've been ignoring the Shins for years. (I'm pretty sure it had something to do with another song being prominently featured in Garden State, a movie I secretly love though wouldn't admit it. Until now, I guess.

2. Teddy Thompson - Wake Up
I've been listening to his first album a lot lately, despite shelving it for a few years, KDHX played the devil out of this song (not a bad thing, by the way) about eight years ago, which first got me into his music. Brilliant songwriter, amazing voice.

3. Tom Waits - Pancho's Lament
I'm looking for some version, any version of this song and can't find it online. Sorry. I just heard this today, so I'm still in the "OMG THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME SONG IN THE WORLD!" stage.

4. Things That Disappear - Rhett Miller
His first solo album was a departure from the early, twangy Old 97s records, to say the least, but it's pretty and poppy and melancholic all the same.

5. The Bleeding Heart Show - The New Pornographers
Don't you hate when a commercial makes you remember how much you love a song?

6. Ashes Of American Flags - Wilco
No blurb necessary.

7. Masterfade - Andrew Bird
THis is the second time I've linked to this song. but it's absolutely gorgeous.

A sampling of everything weird and wonderful

2008-07-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

With the odd Billy Joel song thrown in for good measure.

Outsider (Pandora station)

My somewhat limited knowledge of "outsider" music. I've been going through the songs, giving them a thumbs up or a thumbs down as I see fit, and it's not as Dr. Demento as I'd hoped.

Album of the Week: Voice of the Sparrow by Edith Piaf

2008-07-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

I can't think of anyone with a more moving, more affecting, voice than Edith Piaf. I don't care that the only words from her songs that I can understand is mon coeur; it doesn't matter. That voice.

The Voice Of The Sparrow is the first, and only, Edith Piaf album I've aquired, and all my favorites are there, especially the definitive, "No, Je Ne Regrette Rien."

If you get the chance, rent La Vie En Rose, last year's biopic starring Marion Cotillard. She completely embodies Edit Piaf, almost to the point that it's frightening.

(Watch the movie trailer)

Meme time

2008-07-09T15:44:00.001-07:00

I stole this music meme from Cheeky's Hideaway. It's pretty simple. just list your favorite albums from every year you've been alive:

1973 - Lou Reed - Berlin
1974 - Leonard Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony
1975 - Patti Smith - Horses
1976 - Ramines - Ramons
1977 - Johnny Thunders - L.A.M.F
1978 - Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos
1979 - Marianne Faithfull - Broken English
1980 - The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
1981 - The Gun Club - Fire Of Love
1982 - Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
1983 - REM - Murmur
1984 - Meat Puppets - II
1985 - Replacements - Tim
1986 - Throwing Muses - S/T
1987 - Prince - Sign O' The Times
1988 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions...
1989 - Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
1990 - Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
1991 - American Music Club - Everclear
1992 - Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
1993 - PJ Harvey - RId Of Me
1994 - Jeff Buckley - Grace
1995 - Son Volt - Trace
1996 - Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
1997 - John Lennon -Lennon: Legend
1998 - Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999 - Paul Westerberg - Suicaine Gratifaction
2000 - Teddy Thompson - S/T
2001 - Ryan Adams - Gold
2002 - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2003 - Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
2004 - Jolie Holland - Escondida
2005 - Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2006 - Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
2007 - Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
2008 - ???

Suggestions?

2008-07-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'd like to turn this site into something other than the occasional YouTube cut-and-paste. The problem is I'm not comfortable enough posting MP3's, though I guess videos aren't really that much of a departure. Honestly, I haven't been happy with this site in some time, and I'm trying to decide if I should give it a makeover or the bulldozer.

New Releases: July 8, 2008

2008-07-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Future Is Unwritten, last year's Joe Strummer documentary, hits stores finally.

What I wrote last November, after seeing it for the first time:

Julian Temple did a wonderful and respectful job with his biopic. My only problem was not knowing who some of the contributors were, given the usual captions you see under someone's name when he's being interviewed were missing. Lots of early, background footage and interviews throughout Strummer's career. (I was struck by how eerily similar his speaking voice is to John Lennon's, and no, it isn't because all Brits sound alike to me.)

Video: The Gossip - Listen Up

2008-07-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Been grooving to this song lately.

Anyone Else But You

2008-07-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Mix inspired by the recent success of the movie Juno:

1. Anyone else But You - The Moldy Peaches
2. In Spite of Ourselves - John Prine and Iris Dement
3. Someone Like You - The Knitters
4. Daydream Believer - The Monkees
5. Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus - Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin
6. The Dress Looks Nice on You - Sufjan Stevens
7. If You Ever Needed a Stranger (To Sing At Your Wedding) - Jens Lekman
8. I Love You, You Imbecile - Pelle Carlburg
9. They Don't Know - Kirtsy MacColl
10. Never Been In Love - Dave Edmunds

I am, apparently, a child of the 80s

2008-07-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Your result for A Random 80s Sitcom Quiz...

Avid Viewer

You scored 80 percent – well versed in those sitcoms

You have watched a lot of eighties sitcoms. You probably watch reruns of these shows on TV Land and Nick at Nite when you get the chance. You may even be one of those people that thinks sitcoms died in the nineties, so you don't really watch them anymore. In any case, kudos to you for your command of sitcom trivia.

80s Sitcom Quiz

Album of the Week: See How We Are by X

2008-07-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

I saw X, in Knitters form, three years ago, before Mississippi Nights closed. It was easily one of the best shows I'd seen in a while, and makes me sorry that I had not seen them sooner. (Especially with The Replacements as an opener. Grrr. I was more into Barbies than punk rock then. That's my excuse.) And See How We Are, which doesn't get nearly the acclaim it should, has one of my favorite X songs (as penned by Dave Alvin) on it, as well as the only song I really like about the 4th.

Happy 4th of July!

(John Doe singing "4th of July")

My radio stations...

2008-07-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

are in the process of getting an overhaul, or at least a new shade of lipstick. Jolene (I'll explain the name in a minute) now is "seeded" (I'll explain this in a minute, too) with Neko Case and Townes Van Zandt.

In case you're unfamiliar with Pandora, you "seed" your radio station with an artist or song, and Pandora choose songs you should like based on that song or artist. I've found it's better to seed stations based on the artist, as it encompasses his entire catalog, especially if you're a fan of someone who's records tend to be a mishmash of different styles.

Oh, the name? Um, it was originally based on Dolly Parton's song "Jolene."

I know a girl who goes (or went) to shows

2008-07-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

I'm temporarily retiring from concert shooting.

Temporarily retired? That's an oxymoron, right?

Truth is, I can't afford, nor do I have the time to go to that many shows anymore.