I could not think of a picture to go with this post, so here's this.
I was driving towards a coffeeshop on Friday when Home’s “Variations On I-Max Theme” popped up on my mp3 player. This got me thinking about other bands who have covered themes of any sort. Once home, I searched my hard drive for songs with the word ‘theme’ in them, then got to (very quick) work on the following.
Sometimes, it’s just that simple.
This is mostly instrumental, so apologies if you like words and stuff. I’m book-ending it with two live tracks by The Divine Comedy and Pulp.
I’ve got a rather large pile of unsorted mp3’s in one of the folders of my hard drive. These are all songs that were offered on other music blogs over the past couple months (most of these fine blogs are the ones that make up the ‘Musical Linkage’ sidebar on the right). This past week, I’ve been trying to go through as many of those tracks as I can, picking out the ones I like and welcoming them to the rest of my music collection, where they will lead happy and fruitful lives until my hard drive crashes.
The one track that has stood out the most so far is from a UK act called Ambulances. The track was featured at the bottom of this Songs By Toad post, where it is sadly no longer available for download. Here’s the video for the song, which is called “Cease To Exist”. Along with being a terrific song, it also provides some inspiring words to live by. Over the last couple minutes, the band reminds you that – whenever things are bad – everything will be better if you just “put on the Backstreet Boys.”
At least that’s what I think they’re saying.
More songs can be found at either their home page (where you can buy their album, which you should) or their Myspace page.
The following song and video did not come from my unsorted mp3 pile. Instead, it came to me via email by one of the members of another UK band, Her Name Is Calla. This video is for a song called “Long Grass”. In it, they make very good use of the natural reverb provided by the fort where they recorded this video. This one is pretty slow, but stick with it.
Here’s the mp3, which features some very subtle differences in the arrangement. Compare and contrast, yo:
Today is National Black AIDS/HIV Day but we’re not going to go there. Don’t worry, if it was National White AIDS/HIV Day, we wouldn’t go there either. The subject matter is just too much of a downer.
Instead, let’s turn the clock back 24 hours and celebrate New Zealand Day, also known as Waitangi Day, which was observed yesterday. It’s a holiday that celebrates the 1840 signing of New Zealand’s founding document. New Zealand is a lot like Scotland, but farther away for most of us.
Here’s a song that’s been growing on me like a hair out of a mole. It’s by a band from New Zealand so give it a minute to grow on you, too.
A couple months ago, I decided to post some of the various Magnetic Fields covers I had in my music collection. Along the way, I went a little overboard and ended up posting pretty-much every Magnetic Fields cover known to man. The result was a six part series titled, “Let’s Listen To Some Magnetic Fields Covers”, which featured 35 songs in total. The links for all of them can be found below.
Since it was the most popular thing we’ve done around here, I solicited our fine readers to send in their own covers or to drop me a line if they stumble upon one that I hadn’t featured previously. My goal is to put up one of these follow-up posts once I’ve gathered 5 more songs to feature.
So here we are, and here are the 5 songs, along with a bonus track that comes with a caveat. More on that in a sec.
The tracks by Jan and Rose Polenzani were suggested to me by readers, for which I am grateful. More songs from Rose Polenzani can be heard at her Myspace page. I could not find any further information on Jan beyond the fact that they’re from Minneapolis. If you have any link for them, please put it in the comments and I’ll amend the post. By the way, heaps of kudos go to them for including the extra lines in the third verse of “Smoke And Mirrors” that were only previously found in the Mark Robinson remix of that song.
The Shane Turner Overdrive track was sent to me by the overdriven man himself, for which I am also thankful. He also mentioned that he sang back-up on the two Woodpigeon tracks that were featured in parts two and four, which is pretty cool (especially since those two songs are what originally got me thinking about the number of Magnetic Fields covers I already had in my collection). I highly recommend going to the Shane Turner Overdrive Myspace page to listen to a couple more of his songs.
The track by Lake Holiday was posted last month by the ace Canadian who runs Chromewaves (and who also plays on the track).
I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea how I ended up with the track by Library Voices. I drank a shitload of beer this week – that might be clouding my memory a bit. Good band, though – I’m listening (and enjoying) the songs on their Myspace page as I type this.
And now for the caveat part:
The last track featured is Portastatic’s cover of “Old Orchard Beach”. This song is from a 7-track digital EP whose entire proceeds are going to charity. I’m posting it here because I’m a completist who foolishly wants this whole series to be the definitive catalog for Magnetic Fields covers. With that said, I’d rather you fight the urge to download the track and instead visit the Merge store to purchase the EP (a mere 5 bucks for all seven mp3’s).
I said it before, and I’ll keep on saying it: If you’ve ever recorded a Magnetic Fields cover and think it warrants being part of this feature, or if you’re aware of a cover that I’ve overlooked (PLEASE check the prior posts to make sure I haven’t featured it already), send it my way.
Last night I watched the 2009 Sci-fi psycho-thriller, Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. The film is directed and co-written by David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones. On top of being an excellent movie, the soundtrack also got my attention.
Check out the trailer. Kevin Spacey is the voice of GERTY, the computer.
Doing a little online research, I found the music was written and performed by Clint Mansell. Where have I heard that name before? I dug a little deeper. You know what? Clint Mansell is a guru of soundtracks! He did the critically-acclaimed music to Requiem For A Dream along with the scores to Pi, The Fountain, The Wrestler, and about a dozen other films.
Still though, these soundtracks weren’t the reason I recognized his name.
WHO ARE YOU CLINT MANSELL?!?!?!
Oh yea! You use to be the lead singer and guitarist for England’s finest, Pop Will Eat Itself! Yes, being a self-confessed Poppie-head from the late eighties, I still have PWEI on vinyl, cassette and CD. You guys were totally mad with your danceable, industrial pop-rap!
Can U Dig It?
Unfortunately, like Mansell’s hair, PWEI’s music hasn’t held up all that well over the years. I fear the next time I see a film featuring his music, no matter how great the score is, I’ll be hearing this song in my head:
Yesterday Carl posted a Tindersticks video. Also yesterday, Steve Earle won a Grammy for his album of Townes Van Zandt songs, simply titled Townes. My condolences go out to Neko Case whose Middle Cyclone album lost to Earle.
Staying apropos, here’s Tindersticks covering a compelling version of a Townes Van Zandt song.
The album’s already out in the European world, but American folks like me (well, not like me, as I was sent a review copy a while ago, not that I’m bragging or anything) have to wait a little bit longer. Pre-order the album here – it’ll make you happy.
This is a new feature that will pop up on the weekends. It’s a combination of (a) follow-ups on prior posts, (b) links to cool stuff I’ve recently found on other music blogs, (c) quick write-ups on submissions that have been sent my way lately, and (d) whatever-the-hell else I feel like rambling about.
- This week’s edition is being typed while listening to Drew Danburry’sGoodnight Gary, which he was kind enough to send my way in advance of its February 9 release. You might recall that Mr. Danburry is responsible for this mesmerizing photograph. He’s also pretty good with a tune. For an example of the goodness currently emanating from my laptop’s speakers, here’s the second song released from Goodnight Gary:
- Bad Panda Records releases a free song every Monday. Even better, it’s usually a good song, too. Go there now, then check back tomorrow. Each song is issued under one of those Creative Commons licenses, so download and enjoy, but don’t use any of them to soundtrack your next commercial.
- Like this Turbo Tax commercial, which inexplicably features a couple of my friends:
One of those friends (with the sweater around his neck) is the primary player in one of my favorite local acts, Altered Statesman. Here is one of their songs, the absolutely beautiful “Viola Street”:
- Another week, another video sent to me by the folks at Baeblemusic.com. Though they send me things regularly, only occasionally does it involves artists I’m keen on. This month though, they seem to be reading my mind. After featuring Camera Obscura and Thao With The Get Down Stay Down earlier in the month, they bring January to a strong finish with this 3-song performance from Basia Bulat. This clip is the last song of the set, “Go On”. Catch the other two songs (performed on autoharp) here.
And here’s a track from her newest album, Heart Of My Own, which came out last week:
- This popped up on Pitchfork a couple weeks ago, but it bears repeating (mainly because I got the same press release, but didn’t bother to open it until this week). The folks at Lefse Records have started up another label called Waaga. Waaga (I just did that on purpose because it reminds me of Fozzy Bear’s catchphrase) is focused on – per Pitchfork – “instrumental and tough-to-define music”. I don’t write about this type of music too often, but it’s actually the type of music I like to record when I’m bored at my house, so their stuff is right up my alley. To commemorate the launch of the label, Waaga has released a 15-song compilation that you can download for free. Clicky-click here to start downloading. Here’s my favorite track so far:
This track got me in the mood for messing around with some instrumental music. So – in a rare show of narcissism – I will humbly share with you a tune I wrote and recorded last night, as presented under my JUBANO! moniker. It’s a two-chord instrumental using only the equipment I had within arm’s reach (i.e. I was too lazy to stand up). Since chill-wave seems to be a hot genre right now, I added some beach sounds, which I sampled from the Flash game, Dolphin Olympics 2. The track is called “The Last Day Of 32″. If you wanna keep the chill-wave thing going, then feel free to call it “Blissful Splendour” or “Seaside Cool” or whatever.
The Great Inbox Clearance is my way of getting through the overwhelming number of emails we received after taking a week off. Check out this post for the details behind the project. That post will also explain why lemurs are involved.
Hey, bug your grandpa for one of these:
Use it to buy The Parade Schedule’s album Seeds To Be Planted, Trees To Be Cut. If this widget thingy works (note: it won’t if you’re reading this through our RSS feed), then you can listen to it here. Once you’ve heard a couple tunes and have started to dig it (another note: you’re gonna dig it), click on the “Buy $2.00″ button on the widget thingy, then give up the goods. If that doesn’t work, then head over to this page over at The (very awesome) Record Machine and do the deed there. Then buy another copy for your grandpa – he’s always been so good to you.
Here’s an mp3 from the album, for those that don’t feel like dealing with widgetry:
More tunes at The Parade Schedule’s Myspace page. And check out The Record Machine’s other artists when you got the time, as there’s not a bad one in the bunch.
The Great Inbox Clearance is my way of getting through the overwhelming number of emails we received after taking a week off. Check out this post for the details behind the project. That post will also explain why lemurs are involved.
Why does every band that records on tape have to subtly brag about the fact that they record on tape? I seriously want to know the answer to this question. Does anybody really give a shit anymore about the recording methods used for a song? I want to know the answer to this question, too.
Here’s one more: Is the song any good? To me, that’s the only question that matters. Everything else is immaterial.
With that in mind, here’s Plants And Animals. Their label’s write-up for their upcoming sophomore release, La La Land, really wants to drive the point home that this album is analog and free of studio wizardry (which used to be cool back in the day, but is apparently not the case now that computers are involved).
Here’s the first track they’re releasing to the world. It is a compressed mp3:
Promotional photos of bands jumping in the air annoy the hell out of me. Sure The Beatles did it, but that was nearly FIFTY YEARS AGO. If your band is at a photo-shoot and the photographer says, “Hey! You know what would be fun? You guys jump in the air and I’ll take your picture!” Go find yourself another photographer. If one of your bandmates suggests the idea, kick the person out of your band… or at least put them in time-out for an hour or so. It’s such a bush-league idea and although it may have been cute years ago, it’s been done to death. I equate it to the blooper videos of someone hitting a guy in the balls with a golf club. It’s time to retire the novelty.
Like their music, apparently their photos influenced bands.
MATT AND KIM (aka Dana Carvey and John Leguizamo) love to jump!
New York City's CKDK are awesome at jumping!
Failsafe, from Preston, UK, at first weren't good at jumping so they stood on their toes and let the photographer work his magic with Photoshop.
They eventually learned to jump quite well. During these photos, a Frenchman was overheard referring to Failsafe as stupid Americans.
Not to be out-done, Barcelona's Drizzle of Dust proved they didn't need to be in a line to jump.
Say it isn't so. I saw Twin Tigers last October at the Next Big Nashville music fest! Keep your feet on the ground my friends!
Australia's The John Steel Singers suck-ass when it comes to jumping.
Underline The Sky, also from the UK, absolutely love to jump. Note the two guys with only one leg each can jump higher than the rest.
This photo of The Temper Trap was posted recently by Carl. It was this photo that inspired this post. Thanks, Carl.
Fuck me. 3 out of the 4 members of Las Vegas' A Small Crowd of Adventures can jump AND wave.
C Phineas, from New York City, recently proved themselves by out-jumping the Riverdance gals from Ireland.
The Danish gals in Tyskie didn't quite make the cut at the Riverdance tryouts... they received a 3.0 --on the Richter Scale.
If there's a safe time to jump, this is it. At home with friends, playing fake instruments and hopefully drunk. Even then, don't take pictures.
If you know of any similar photos of bands jumping, feel free to forward them to us. Personally, I hope I never see a picture of a band jumping in the air again.
His book almost got Ronald Reagan killed. It did get John Lennon killed.
In High School I was given the choice to read either Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye or Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Thankfully, I chose Vonnegut.
A few years ago my ex-girlfriend gave me Salinger’s masterpiece to read. Before I got around to it, she “borrowed” it and then coincidentally, we broke up.
A guy went to a psychiatrist. “Doc,” he said, “I keep having these alternating recurring dreams. First I’m a teepee, then I’m a wigwam, then I’m a teepee, and then I’m a wigwam. It’s driving me crazy. What’s wrong with me?”
The doctor replied, “It’s very simple. You’re two tents.”
Um . . . alright. How about this one:
One grape lived for lying around in the sun. It was his “raisin d’etre.”
Don’t speak French, eh? Okay okay, give me another shot. Here’s goes:
Where do pigs park their cars?
. . .
. . .
. . .
In porking lots.
Aw c’mon, it wasn’t that bad. Give me one more shot. One more shot – I promise ya, this one’s gonna leave you howling:
A Jewish missionary went to Africa to educate a tribe of pygmies called Trids. After a few weeks, during the first full moon, the Rabbi noticed the Trids getting nervous. Then all of a sudden, a giant gorilla came out of the jungle and started kicking the Trids up in the trees. The Rabbi confronted the gorilla and said, “Pick on someone your own size!” The gorilla replied, “Silly Rabbi, kicks are for Trids!”
WHY WON’T YOU SMILE??!!
FOR GOD’S SAKE, PLEASE JUST . . . PLEASE!!
One smile – that’s all I ask of ya. Just give an’ old jokester that and I’ll be happy.
Goddammit.
The Ropes released a free, 3-song EP earlier this month. Here are the tracks for your downloading pleasure:
There are plenty more free goodies at their website. And more songs can be heard at their Myspace page, which is where all the pictures for this post were “borrowed” from. And just for the heck of it:
The mp3s hosted here are for sampling purposes only, and are only available for a limited time. If you represent an artist and would like a file taken down, please let me know. Um, yeah . . . that's all.
