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May,
2007
Mika, "Grace Kelly"
[A fun & poppy single that is pretty distinctive in its vocal sound, even though
this Lebanese-American (living in London) has a voice that comfortably sits between Freddie Mercury and the Scissor Sisters with
its rock-disco falsetto; somehow it's about the range and delivery, and as a songwriter Mike seems to be pretty attuned
to picking the right melodies to go along with his energetic runs -- a pretty hot track for the Spring]
April,
2007
Silversun Pickups, "Lazy Eye"
[I know it really feels like I'm several months behind these days, but I never got
around to acknowledging the strength of this great single, so better late than never; this L.A.-based indie rock quartet has
a variety of sounds on their debut album Carnavas (from July of last year), but the one that gets all the airplay
-- rightly so -- is this deceptively simple loopy confection with a monotonous bass line, steadily dumbed-down percussion,
and sharp guitar noodling underneath the star of the show: the vocals -- a performance from Brian Aubert that starts off quiet
and, feeling like it almost has no choice, grows against its will into a snarling shout, at once both pissed off and celebratory...
despite virtually incoherent lyrics, it's a tough song to get out of your head]
March,
2007
LCD Soundsystem, "North American Scum"
[I'm always let down by LCD albums because they're full of filler; but there's those
one or two singles that just bring down the house and make the whole thing worth it; this one from their second (I think?)
LP is just awesome, riding along a groovy rhythmic beat for over 5 minutes -- and it's amazing that during that entire running
time the song never goes anywhere (it ends just as it began and has no real builds or changes) but yet it's compulsively listenable
anyway]
February,
2007
The Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice"
[I should have written about this a year ago or whenever I first heard it; but now
it's won a Grammy and thus legitimized by possibly the worst governing body of any cultural evaluation for art that exists
-- does anyone think the Grammy Awards remotely relate to quality? Seriously? -- anyway, back to the song... I've had a soft
spot for this band ever since I read interviews with them, because they seem like smart ladies with their heads in the right
place and everything; but I've never liked their music as much as I've tried; I just don't like pop-country and their melodies
never grabbed me. It's fortunate that their best song musically also happens to be accompanied by really powerful lyrics just
shredding the intolerant red-state motherfuckers who assaulted the band with death threats just for expressing displeasure
with Bush. Shit, I hate the asshole too -- wanna send me some hate mail? Anyway, good job girls.]
January,
2007
The Baldwin Brothers, "When My Brother Had a Datsun"
[What better way to kick off the new year than with this fucking mad crazy awesome
dance track? The two most important questions one must be asking right about now are: 1) who the hell are these guys; and
2) where in the world did they come from? -- the answers are: a duo of DJs from Chicago unrelated to the actors of the same
name (though their record The Return of the Golden Rhodes is even more entertaining than Alec's performances in The Departed and 30 Rock put together); why haven't we heard of them before? I DON'T KNOW BUT JESUS CHRIST THEY RULE! This
bouncy ditty has the funkiest keyboard riff you've ever heard in seven lifetimes and a rap vocal that spits gold; I swear
-- if you can listen to this song without moving your head, you're a fucking vegetable and I'm very sorry you were paralyzed
in that tragic accident; you think you like Basement Jaxx and the Go! Team? Imagine those bands after a night on the town,
chilling out at the Korova or something, getting stoned and recording the best ideas they had before they went to sleep]
December,
2006
Be Your Own Pet, "October, First Account"
[Okay, after a couple months of mainstream wankery, I'm back to the indie hipster
stuff -- for punk rockers who like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bis, here's a blistery spark of awesome that has me punching the
roof of my car every time indie 103 plays it; I don't know what pool of Nashville, Tennessee these guys (and girl) came
from, but this is as good a pop song as anything released in 2006]
November,
2006
James Blunt, "Goodbye My Lover"
[I have no business liking this guy, since by all (admittedly accurate) accounts
he is a drippy cheeseball singing easy soft pop for soccer moms and sorority girls, but for some reason the Brits just have
this way of doing things right, no matter what the genre; with his hoarse falsetto, Blunt kind of reminds me of a pre-pubescent
Rod Stewart -- and on this track, which is nothing more than a naked piano solo, his performance is simply outstanding: relaxed
and confident with his unabashed emoting, Blunt cracks and croons his way through a requiem for love (there are rumors it's
about a girlfriend who died during childbirth, but that seems overdramatic) with words that might have come from the pen of
a less cynical/edgy Michael Stipe (e.g. "I know you well, I know your smell, I've been addicted to you"), especially considering
the fatalist, depressing English sensibility he brings to the atmosphere ("I saw the end before we'd begun"); I wouldn't be
surprised to see critics snark at the final lines as an approximation of his songwriting ("I'm so hollow"), but I think the
opposite is true. If you're gonna be a sappy balladeer, you'd be well off to have half the substance and charisma Blunt has
in this exceptional recording]
October,
2006
My Chemical Romance, "Welcome to the Black Parade"
[A big mainstream rock hit that I've latched onto; it probably comes partially from
the side of me that responds to blink-182 and Green Day (in fact MCR's producer, Rob Cavallo, helped the latter record some
of the cleanest, crispest pop-punk of the last 20 years -- especially on American Idiot), since the sound is some
weird hybrid of punk rock and Queen; indeed, this track is a huge, rigidly formalist opera about a dying father teaching his
son to be strong and positive before he dies. It's the anti-emo anthem, a gloriously loud and boisterous single with a ton
of hooks and some pretty rousing lyrics: "Paint it black and take it back, let's shout it loud and clear: defiant to the end
we hear the call to carry on. To carry on." I can see people thinking this is a pretty tasteless, arrogant, and hypermacho
song, but it's not stupid and actually pretty infectious once you get into it]
September,
2006
The Decemberists, "The Crane Wife Pt. 3"
[OK then, I didn't see this coming. Wow. Welcome to The Crane Wife, the
absolute best album of 2006 -- and if one better comes along, I would be in music heaven; every bit the ambitious epic Masterpiece
that OK Computer, Perfect From Now On, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot were for their respective bands, this major
leap forward for the Decemberists isn't so much a reinvention, more like growing maturity, a widening scope of storytelling,
and some really fascinating experiments with dynamics, instrumentation, production, and simple songwriting. This opening track
is a goose-bump inducing ballad of everlasting sadness, concerning a man who was rescued from poor loneliness by a wounded
bird he nursed back to life into a beautiful woman, but who left him again when he broke the rules of their union. The acoustic
guitar line wraps around a sturdy piano rhythm as Colin Meloy croons to his Jeff Mangum-est content; and it kicks off a record
of terrifying scope, impressive talent, brazen originality, and extraordinary depth.]
August,
2006
The Pipettes, "Pull Shapes"
[Ultra-catchy pop from a British girl group -- this isn't Spice Girls, this is Phil
Spector meets some weird fallout from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; maybe not the most original sound ever, but
it's about as infectious as any single you'll hear this year]
July, 2006
The Raconteurs, "Call It a Day"
[I'm not going to miss the White Stripes at all if Jack's gonna be doing music like
this; this Broken Boy Soldiers album is pretty great, and I think the melodic-pop mind of Brendan Benson has a lot
to do with it -- evidenced by this track, a woozy, molasses-paced ballad that sounds like something The Platters may have
done if they were white stoners; the high-stringed bass line brings the quiet hi-hat percussion along with just enough resonance
to underscore a mesmerizing vocal track and the occasional bursts of White's electric guitar coughs -- certainly not the most
rollicking tune on the album, but perhaps the best]
June,
2006
Pearl Jam, "Come Back"
[The best song this band has released since Yield is a sequel of sorts to "Last Kiss,"
their mega-hit cover song about a guy who watches his girlfriend die in his arms after a car crash; this one is just a slow,
bluesy, mournful plea for her return -- Eddie Vedder's vocal performance is vulnerable and singular, with just the right amount
of screaming anguish without putting it over the top; simple guitar chord progression doesn't detract from anything, but it's
powerful nevertheless]
May,
2006
Bishop Allen, "Things Are What You Make Of Them"
[This is a really interesting new indie rock band, which sort of trades on a Built
To Spill aesthetic but makes it really catchy and even more accessible; they're releasing one EP per month this year, but
they also have an older LP called Charm School, from which this song is taken -- it's pretty easy to embrace these
guys: likable, listenable, unpretentious, uncompromising... there's a good chance I'll soon be a gigantic obsessive fan]
April, 2006
Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers, "Funny Little Feeling"
[You can check out the song for free right here; I know this band name sucks, but the sound absolutely kills -- some group out of nowhere from Eugene, Oregon (where I grew
up!) releases this ass-kicking rocketship of energy, wallowing in the new-garage sound of The White Stripes, The Vines, and
The Hives; but the lyrics are where it really soars; what the hell do you have to smoke or drink to come up with "appeasing
bees knees easing g string season wheezing funny little feeling"?]
March,
2006
Rhinocerose, "Cubicle"
[A blast of electronic rock, sexed up, raunchy, and razor-sharp; enough to make you
shake it on the dance floor, but also fun to drive to and sing-along. This ain't the first time.]
February,
2006
Morrissey, "You Have Killed Me"
[It's going to be hard to unseat this as Single of the Year; Moz's songwriting simply
won't flag, even though at first listen his new record isn't up to Quarry standards; the chorus is insanely catchy,
and of course his lyrics combine delicious art-film references with sexual innuendos fit for the classic Smiths hits he's
known for: "Nothing entered me/ 'Til you came/ With the key..."; not to mention snarky sarcasm: "There is no point saying
this again/ No there's no point saying this again/ I forgive you/ I forgive you..."]
October
28-November 3, 2005
Vitalic, "My Friend Dario"
[It's a techno-dance rock song
that sounds sort of like Chemical Brothers remixed by Fatboy Slim but with a female robot singing. When the "refrain" kicks
in at the 1:01 mark, you will spit blood. This 2-note guitar loop driven by nothing but turbo jet fuel just burns through
your face and ears. It has to be blasted loudly for the effect to work, so use headphones if you're in a public
place. Otherwise, go nuts. Even computer speakers don't really do it justice. Burn it onto a CD and play it in your car while
going 70 MPH.]
October
21-27, 2005
Coldplay, "Fix You"
[I don't much care for Coldplay; supremely overrated, but it's clear to see why they're
the next U2, i.e. the biggest band in the world -- they make accessible mainstream pop-rock that never offends; the lead singer
is pretty and married to an American movie star, when they rock they never scream, and when they play soft they caress --
they are major label, undiscriminating, simple, and complacent, which means they will sell a gajillion records. Furthermore,
they don't have too many songs -- maybe like 3 or 4, just jumbled around in different formats. Case in point: "Fix You"
is really just "The Scientist" (both tunes are even track #4 on their respective albums), and I have the same problem with
both of them. "The Scientist," which had previously been my 'favorite' Coldplay song (that is, the one I had the most
grudging respect for as a pop single), has a quietly pretty chord structure and threatens to explode into a Spiritualized-esque
symphony of ballad rock. It never does. It shifts into like third gear at best, then ends before it moves up to
the heights it promises. Jason Pierce could teach Chris Martin a thing or two, me thinks. So now, with "Fix You,"
the band has crafted a similarly stripped down ballad, which unleashes a second half that almost rocks -- the electric guitar
wrestles the control away from the piano with a 1/16th note tremor, and we get the cheering "Tears stream/Down your face"
refrain. But the song seems content to have just tried to enter this second phase, and sits back for a few measures before
ending with a repeat of the first half's crooning chorus: "Lights will guide you home/And ignite your bones/And
I will try to fix you." What does that even mean? Anyway, the song had promise to be a gargantuan epic, if it
just had better lyrics and a third movement that really blew the doors off. But alas, Coldplay are not The Verve or
Spiritualized. So why is "Fix You" my Song of the Week? Because I can't get the fucking thing out of my goddam
head]
October
14-20, 2005
Bouncing Souls, "True Believers"
[Good ol' fashioned punk rock, in the vein of Rancid and Operation Ivy; these guys
have been around forever and are still tearing it up on stage -- this song is nothing ground-breaking, but it's anthemic,
rowdy, tight, and produced slickly enough to make Green Day jealous]
October
7-13, 2005
Rob Dickinson, "My Name Is Love"
[Catherine Wheel's insanely talented frontman has left his band behind in favor of
a solo outing, and his debut album Fresh Wine for the Horses is one of 2005's best records; I was tempted to list
his aching piano ballad "Mutineer" as the song of the week, but the catchy, unforgettable anthem-like melody of this opener's
chorus is an undeniable highlight of rock music this year; and if you don't get enough genius out of this mostly subdued album,
dust off Adam & Eve and Happy Days to remember just how brilliant a songwriter Dickinson has been for
a decade]
October
1-6, 2005
The Mamas and the Papas, "Make Your Own Kind of Music
[Okay, enough of this monthly crap -- back to the weekly, baby. Anyway, this
is a pretty awesome slice of old school pop made trendy this month thanks to Lost; don't let any opinions of TV drama
sway you, however, from enjoying the sunshine-dreamin' voice of Mama Cass floating like a kite over the lush instrumentation
on display here; but if you've seen the show, it may just have sinister undertones no matter what]
September,
2005
The New Pornographers, "The Bleeding Heart Show"
[An encore song of the week for the Canadian "supergroup," but they deserve it --
this new track off their underrated and exciting album Twin Cinema is a veritable opera of pop (shall I say, "popera?") that
builds into an exhilarating chorus of "Hey-la, hey-la!" with Neko's harmonizing never sounding a better fit with Carl Newman's
melodies; it's been stuck in my head for a while, and this time I don't want it to get out]
August,
2005
Imperial Teen, "Ivanka"
[From their incredible 2002 album On, this zippy pop-explosion introduces
an album that resonates with uber-tight songwriting and twee-meets-punk youthful sensibility; I could listen to this record
once a week and never need coffee]
July,
2005
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood"
[It sounds sort of like a young David Byrne singing a Magnetic Fields cover, but
it's actually this cool new band with the horrible name from Brooklyn. They'd fit into the Elephant 6 collective, what
with a slightly twee sensibility and a cool-for-school brand of nerd chic, but this fast-paced, melodic song encapsulates
what makes the music so appealing -- the simple 4-note keyboard riff and drooling vocals just slip along for four minutes
over a train-chugging acoustic guitar chord; nothing groundbreaking, but impossible not to like]
June,
2005
The National, "Mr. November"
[This is a weird little band whose album Alligator is one of the better
indie rock records this year -- they have a low-fi appeal with hi-fi production, sort of an Arcade Fire meets Silver Jews
spray bottle of instrumentation; heavy snare drum, windchime guitars, and a whole array of styles from contemplative ballads
to this closing rocker with the man-in-the-clutch refrain, "I won't fuck us over, I'm Mr. November, I won't fuck us over,
I won't fuck us over, I won't fuck us over, I'm Mr. November!" These guys will grow on you and stay there; I got no
problem with that]
May,
2005
Kasabian, "Club Foot"
[OK - until I catch up, Song of the Week is going to be Song of the Month... with
that out of the way, let's talk about Holy Shit, this song is cool. Following in the fire-blazed trail of Primal Scream,
this british rock outfit has propelled through the glut of new (and semi-new) Brit-rock acts that seem to be gaining in popularity
everywhere: Kaiser Chiefs, The Music, etc. They get a lot of mileage out of established sounds (witness the BRMC stylings
of "Reason Is Treason") and fairly dark lyrics for such a glam style, but this track is pure cocaine -- a threatening bass
riff maintains a steady pulse underneath the simple guitar melody and the ominous countdown vocals (that introduce each
chorus line with a "oooof!"); I think it's one of the most muscular rock songs I've heard since the first Raveonettes
EP or something from Girls Against Boys]
April
1-7, 2005
[I can't believe I haven't done NMH as a SotW yet. Anyway, there isn't anything
that isn't brilliant and perfect about this song -- one of my all time favorites on one of my all time favorite albums; it
starts off with a blast of distorted crunch and ends with trumpet-blaring zaniness; in between you get Jeff Mangum's crooning
howls, with those Anne Frank-inspired lyrics morphing into lines like "But then they buried her alive, one evening 1945, with
just her sister at her side, and only weeks before the guns all came and rained on everyone" -- just click on the song title
to download the song (before Apr. 10) and if you haven't heard this, you might have a heart attack]
March
25-31, 2005
[I've been pretty heavy on the indie rock, brit-pop, twee, and hipster music throughout
the weeks here, so I'm trying to branch out into different genres (cf. the Destiny's Child, Mr. Lif, etc.); you might know
this industrial dance band from their club hit "Join in the Chant" ("Books! Books! Burn! Burn! Fire! Fire!"), but you can
always count on the Germans to shoot out throbbing electrified beats for angry kids to slam their Doc Martens on the floor
to; this track lights up a club -- it's mean and it builds into a frenzy by the last two minutes. Something about the
hoarse, grunting vocals works because his tempo for singing is a bit slower than the pulse of the music, even though he always
comes down on the beat (no syncopation here); the dynamic between his "Don't be lazy... with the pleasure of sin" line and
the speed of the drum kit underneath makes the song a lot of fun to jump around during -- and now thanks to YSI you can hear
it yourself!]
March
18-24, 2005
Blur, "Tender"
[13 is a great album. And this song is one of the best recordings
the hit-and-miss near-genius/inconsistent boys from England have done -- it builds, it moves, the choral vocals mix very well
with the beat, and Albarn has never sounded more vulnerable and soulful than on this heartbreaking record]
March
11-17, 2005
Destiny's Child, "Survivor"
[Okay. Well, first off, it's not as good as the song (what!) it's ripping off,
Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," nor is it as good as Basement Jaxx's take (what!) on the subject of female kiss-off anthem,
"Good Luck." And although I'll never be mistaken for a pop/R&B fan (what!), nor will I be caught buying any Beyonce
CDs, there's something about this song I really dig -- the chord progression is hypnotic and driving, the vocals (what!) are
astonishingly refined, and the production is about as accomplished (without being overwrought) as any top 40 hit of the past
several years; I can't even complain about some of the admittedly simplistic lyrics -- the thing just never lets up; I guess
it's all about the tone and attitude]
March
4-10, 2005
Mr. Lif, "Return of the B-Boy"
[Okay, 2 rap songs in a row -- but this guy is the only thing the 21st century has
for good rap music; everything else is slow, boring, shallow "hip-hop." Mr. Life brings us back to the days of P.E.,
where amazing technical craftsmanship, production, pumping party beats, and creative samples mixed with intelligent, philosophical
and political rhymes -- Liffy's album I Phantom is one of the best records of the decade, an entire narrative to
itself, and loaded with tracks like this one, which boasts the lines:
They were half religous, and vicious, with dark wishes
Which
is to assure the core of hip hop which is snitches
I dropped dimes on how to travel back in time
So they can melt and
miss the nine pioneers patterns to rhyme
And I'm furious, seething at what I'm seeing
Soon those niggaz won't be breathing
I've
seen what I got so I'm leaving
Cause I wanna, set up to stop up for the evening
Niggaz hopped on my shitlist with a
swiftness
I'm about to rip this, come fear witness]
February
25-March 3, 2005
Cypress Hill, "Hand on the Pump"
[This is the one; Cypress Hill has a lot of great songs, and as I was listening to
both Black Sunday and Cypress Hill, I wondered if -- after all this time off -- I would reevaluate the band
and find some hidden great track. No. "Hand on the Pump" just soars from the very first beat following the "Duke
of Earl" sample; B-Real's first couple verses followed by Sen Dog's hypnotic follow-up are just rap at its finest; if ever
the band was totally in harmony with their music and attitude, it happened on this track; divine]
February
18-24, 2005
Pavement, "Here"
[While Scott Kannberg's glorious "Date With IKEA" ran through my head quite often, it's
actually Malkmus's masterpiece "Here that really defines Pavement for me; it's slow and hesitant, but it's absolutely perfect
and that's evidenced by several bands who have covered it since (most notably Grandaddy, who does a roaring live version);
who can forget "and your jokes are always bad, but they're not as bad as this"?]
February
11-17, 2005
Beck, "E-Pro"
[Groovy. Very groovy. Beck is back with that Odelay sound, and
it sounds like this new album Guero won't get old and annoying as fast as that one did; the days of the masterpiece
Sea Change are in the past, and now it's time for upbeat na-na-na vocals, some moments that sound supremely Beta
Band-ish, and chunky guitar loops -- damn, this is a cool song]
February
4-10, 2005
Haiducii, "Dragostea Din Tei"
(aka The Outlaws, "Love From the Linden Trees")
[The funniest song to grace this list since Pete Papageorge's "Everybody Loves Kickball,"
it's a cheesy Euro-trash disco pop hit from Romania; if you can find it, you will not find it less than hilarious -- but maybe
it's because I'm associating it with this random video]
January
28-February 3, 2005
Social Distortion, "Don't Take Me For Granted"
[I could have easily selected "Ball and Chain" as my song of the week, given that
I do like listening to it in large chunks at a time; it definitely sums up a certain part of the early-mid '90s for me, a
sort of classic alt-rock radio single, the kind of song you wouldn't brag about liking to the record store geeks in Athens,
Georgia, who were busy stacking Yo La Tengo vinyl and wearing Sonic Youth t-shirts, but that you would sing along to at a
party; in fact, it was a country-western song, really -- a cry-in-your-beer anthem with lyrics like "I'm lonely and I'm tired
and I can't take any more pain." But hey, Social D had a new album out last year, after a long break, and it rocks;
this track doesn't sound much like their early days as an '80s punk outfit, but easily slides into a library of post-grunge
rock classicism that gets by not on ingenuity but on songwriter Mike Ness's hungover mewl into the mic, a hoarse moan that's
distinctive and likable in its nasally toughness -- you wanna drive fast down a desert highway with the top down to this song,
wondering if you're in an MGD commercial or else just going to the Fiesta Bowl; even if you overlook the basic 4/4 rhythm,
backbeat drum pulse, and three-chord major-key guitar repetition, you can perk up at the lyrics, which use a personification
gimmick that Stipe made work in "Be Mine" and Neil Hannon made genius in "Gin-Soaked Boy;" here, Ness tells us he is "your
worn-in leather jacket, the volume in your fucked-up teenage band" and "the wave you caught back in 1975;" it's pretty lovely,
actually, and far less disturbing than the "born to lose and destined to fail" miserablism of that unforgettable time-defining
single we all secretly love]
January
21-27, 2005
Idlewild, "Love Steals Us From Loneliness"
[A true song of the week in that there was rarely a time this week when I didn't
listen to this song. From the first time I heard it, I robotically ran it back again, and again, and then in a loop
for 7 more runs; it never gets old, and it never doesn't rock; if this blistering single is any indication, the third Idlewild
LP is going to be their best work to date -- the production is finally up to par (not that the previous two efforts were poorly
made, just merely average), and on this single, the melodies are soaring, the guitar sound magnetic, and the vocals just as
Stipe-like but with as much vulnerability as wry cynicism: check out the choral line that will ease your fears of the silly
song title... "You say something, you say something stupid like/ 'Love steals us from loneliness';" the bass throbs in an
unrelenting pulse, giving the track a sheen reminiscent of Manic Street Preachers and Catherine Wheel, but these Scottish
rockers find their own sound somewhere between that and American southern roots from R.E.M. to Wilco; in this genre, I doubt
you'll hear a better song in all of 2005]
January
14-20, 2005
The Chemical Brothers, "Come Inside"
[Another great '90s band slipping into obscurity (a trend that's all the rage, evidently),
the Bros have put together a second disappointing album in a row; this track is the only one that even comes close to reaching
the best song on Come With Us, "The Test," with its hip-hop flavor and bass-sample groove, and will probably be the
song I skip to every time I pop in Push The Button -- if indeed I ever feel compelled to pop it in at all; I mean,
I do still own Dig Your Own Hole and Surrender]
January
7-13, 2005
Kylie Minogue, "I Believe In You"
[All of her songs sound pretty much the same, and she's probably at her best walking
through Michel Gondry videos, but this new downbeat dance single was produced by Scissor Sisters and boasts a glossy sheen that sticks in your
head]
December
31-January 6, 2005
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, "Rest Will Follow"
[Hopefully I don't have to tell you about this band, who jumped off the fringes of
screamo and led an original charge of operatic muscle indie rock; for all the energy and noise, I'm always surprised by how
catchy and memorable each individual song is, and the tracks on their new record Worlds Apart are no different; this
one has a melodic chorus preceded by a great marching-drum intro as the band finds a sweet balance between instrumentalism
and singalong growl]
December
24-30, 2004
Fan Modine, "The Back and Forth"
[A little-known outfit from a songwriter linked to the Pernice Brothers and
Essex Green, but whose soft keyboard-coated melodies recall Trash Can Sinatras and like-minded Brit-pop colleagues; if
this song had any less of a skeleton it would totally fall apart, but there's just enough there to exhale a puff of air that
sustains for almost five minutes of seductive lullaby]
December
17-23, 2004
The Ronettes, "Frosty the Snowman"
[I generally dislike Christmas songs (and this hyper-commercialized, tacky holiday
season overall), but Phil Spector's 1963 Christmas LP had some pretty good wall-of-sound renditions, the most enthusiastic
of this is Ronnie's belting out of the holiday classic; it adds some much-needed sex appeal to a pointless jingle]
December
10-16, 2004
Death In Vegas, "Dirt"
[So you know, 1997 was the best year for music in my lifetime; one of its best singles was this nuclear beat-driven anthem, a crackling guitar-and-bass riff with an incoherent
sample that sticks in your head; I really love this song and could hear it on a loop for 11 months straight]
December 3-9, 2004
Sam Cooke, "Another Saturday Night"
[Another terribly sad pop song with an upbeat jangle and brilliant-as-ever vocals
from Cooke; yet the chorus always resolves with the refrain "I'm in an awful way;" still manages to joke about a girl who
"instead of being my deliverance, she had a strange resemblance to a cat named Frankenstein"]
November 26-December 2, 2004
Billy Bragg (w/ Wilco), "California Stars"
[A Woody Guthrie cover from that classic Mermaid Avenue disc; this song
speaks for itself]
November 19-25, 2004
Beborn Beton, "Another World"
[Not that anything could follow The Go! Team, but here's a little dose of German
synth-pop in the Depeche Mode tradition, with suitably grave lyrics: "Don't you worry, you won't find my body/ I want you
to know I've found peace in another world/ Don't keep digging, I want you to leave/ Back away from the place where my ashes
are buried..."]
November 12-18, 2004
The Go! Team, "Junior Kickstart"
[Okay. So first of all, this whole review is in red because
it simply has to be. That's the only way that words written about The Go! Team can be expressed. If words can
do justice at all. These guys are just the most awesomely awesome band in existence; they've blown me away, and not
just after 100 listens of their nuclear debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike -- it happened about five seconds
into the second track the first time through. This thing really is a miracle to the ears; it's got the fervor and production
savvy of Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash, the retro adoration of the Kill Bill soundtrack, and a jumble of sounds
and energy that recall the best parts of Bran Van 3000, Belle & Sebastian, and PE's The Bomb Squad. Take the Phil
Spector vocals in "Ladyflash" or the driving cinematic rap of "The Power Is On" for a spin -- or better yet, roll on to this
incredible track, which begins with 32 measures of a fluttering guitar and a horn intro before the most incredibly satisfying
drum fill intro since blink-182's "First Date" propels the song into high gear; and wait, then a harmonica belches onto the
scene and by now you've forgotten that no one ever sings a lick. Don't worry, these Brighton wonderkids have background
girls punching lyrics in every now and then, but mainly the sound is one of instrumental mastery -- not a noise out of place
for all 11 songs on this unbelievably revolutionary album that instantly soars onto any reasonable list of best albums of
the decade. The more I listen to The Go! Team, the more I think it's
like what it would be like to see Pulp Fiction in 1943 in the midst of black and white films and creaky studio dramas;
The Go! Team is the future and the past all at
once; it's a revolution and a summation; it's the artistic apex of the visceral thrill of music for all mankind. It
bridges classes and cultures. It unites spirits. Did I mention that I recommend it?]
November 5-11, 2004
Tilly and the Wall, "Bessa"
[That they opened up for Rilo Kiley in concert and got signed to Conor Oberst's label
should tell you all you need to know about this band; slightly twee, partially alt-country indie pop with a tap-dancing percussionist.
This track boasts a nice mid-tempo beat underneath the folk rock vocals, combining with the piano and acoustic guitar to create
that "let's sing around the campfire, Brownies!" vibe]
October 29-November 4, 2004
Supertramp, "Give A Little Bit"
[Man, this song has had it rough! First, it gets co-opted by The Gap for a
series of smug Christmas commercials a couple years ago. Then the repugnant band Goo Goo Dolls record a cover of it
that has been barfing up through radio airwaves all month. But listen to the original, which is quite perfect; scrape
the scum off the song's bad associations, Sunshine, and let the melody take you home]
October 22-28, 2004
The Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
[My sad inability to accurately describe music reaches its nadir this week as I am
totally befuddled as how to get across the sound of The Arcade Fire -- a drawback made more absurd because they're not all
that groundbreaking or inacessible: this is simply cool indie rock, but it's a disservice to lazily just namecheck Modest
Mouse and Bright Eyes; just listen to their album Funeral a couple of times and you'll see what I mean -- this song
has a nice drive, a memorable hook, and a punchy little motif of octave-jumping percussive bells that serves as a tonic to
the muscular electric guitar and shouting vocals]
October 1-21, 2004
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
R.E.M., "I Wanted To Be Wrong"
The Delgados, "Everybody Come Down"
[Okay, three weeks, three songs. A broken rule, I know, but I'm also breaking
a more important rule this time -- for a year and a half I've managed to never repeat a band; I'm repeating R.E.M. this time
because, well, I guess they're a band worth repeating. I can't say for sure if I'll repeat any more after this, but I'll try
not to...
The Green Day album American Idiot is surprisingly my favorite of the year
so far; it's extremely ambitious, aggressive, and perfectly cohesive; the little three-minute pop punk songs are great and
the extended songsuites work amazingly (we're talking effortless shifts in time signature, key, and tempo -- never too much
at one time, but enough to catch your ear), all while appealing to their fan base and doing something far more intelligent;
my favorite track on it is this midtempo anthem, an atheist mantra that chants "My shadow's the only one who walks beside
me/ My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating/ Sometimes I wish someone up there will find me/ 'Til then I walk alone."
The production crackles and Billie Joe's vocals are nice and deep.
The Greatest Band Of All Time has finally released a bad album; well, at first I
was crushed by how much of an utter failure it is, a good three steps down from anything else they've ever approached; but
then after 50 listens, I decided Around the Sun is just a mediocre and forgettable waste of time, with a few pretty
good songs, a lot of lame ones, and a couple awful ones. That's bad news for R.E.M., a band who should never have become redundant.
"Make It All Okay" is a nice vulnerable moment for Stipe, pleading a refrain of "didn't you, now? didn't you?" and "Aftermath"
is an "Electrolite"-ish piano number that obviously should have closed the album instead of the risible title track; but I
chose to go with "I Wanted To Be Wrong," which is the one moment on the record when Stipe's lyrics reach the artistic heights
of his earlier masterpieces: it has all the characteristics, like specific local detail, abstract metaphors, and awkward phrasing
-- check out this verse: "the basket of America, the weevils and the wheat. the milk and honeyed congregation, scrubbed and
apple-cheeked, salute Apollo 13 from the rattle jewelry seats."
The Delgados record Universal Audio isn't quite the statement that Hate
was, but it's a collection of pretty cool pop singles, none more irresistible than this one, a sugar-blast of upbeat sweetness,
sounding almost like Mandy Moore hijacking a stereolab song; I dare you to not bop your head to it.
For further reference: please see Green Day's "Church On Sunday" and The
Delgados' "If This Is a Plan"]
September 24-30, 2004
Saturday Looks Good To Me, "Keep Walking"
[I can't exactly figure this band out, but they're pretty good; it's like they're
retro in some weird way where you can't figure out who they're ripping off]
September 17-23, 2004
The Libertines, "Can't Stand Me Now"
[This tumultuous British rock band has made, with their self-titled second album,
one of the best releases of 2004 -- it's fierce, inventive, exciting, varied, and it rocks; this lead-off track fuses ideas
from bands like The Wedding Present and The Clash, while some other sounds like Adam Ant and Space pop up now and then;
my favorite thing about the guitar work on this song -- and record overall -- is how the bass works against the rhythm guitar's
low chord grinds while the lead guitar is pitched a million octaves higher, slicing up the neck into a siren-like harmony;
who else uses this much range within a song, outside of maybe The Walkmen?]
September 10-16, 2004
The Trash Can Sinatras, "Got Carried Away"
[Do you know a good dermatologist? You may need to make an appointment in the
case that you listen to this song and do not get goose bumps; it's a sign that you have a serious skin condition, or else
you are an android living amongst humans]
September 3-9, 2004
Oasis, "Fade Away"
[Many of the B-sides spat out by the brothers Gallagher are as arresting as their
album tracks, so check out The Masterplan, especially for this snarling, fiery beast of a rock song -- during the
explosive, crackling-guitar chorus cranked to 11, Liam lets loose a remarkably sobering call to action: "While we're living/
The dreams we had as children fade away"; not that you can really notice the lyrics when the pace is this rapid and the
rock is so fierce; have a good time]
August 6-September 2, 2004
Morrissey, "You Know I Couldn't Last"
(by the way, after this I should stop doing song of the month and go back to
song of the week)
[I've grown to like most of You Are the Quarry, which at first put me off
because the first half is overloaded with watery, underwritten ballads that show off Morrissey's great performance voice but
come up short musically; but the record boasts strong lyrics all the way around, kicking off with two political tirades (first
he rips America, getting to include his characteristic anti-fat people platform, then has a go at the UK) and culminating
in this anthemic, big-arena ballad: the melody is monstrous, a huge bleeding power-chord rant that caps off an album which
has turned out to be as sustained, interesting, and intelligent as Morrissey's lengthy and memorable career]
July 9-August 5, 2004
The Killers, "Somebody Told Me"
[Maybe they're not the most original band in the world, but The Killers are the best
of the new brand of derivative alterna-rock because they seem to have little pretensions outside... rocking. If Interpol
were actually a good band and tried to sound like Pulp, it might resemble what this Las Vegas band does on their exciting
debut album Hot Fuss; especially on this hit single, an irresistible number that trades places with "Mr. Brightside"
as my favorite cut on an album mainly full of good songs (but with a few clangers of course) -- the chorus wails, the pace
propels, the production is glossy but not so slick it wipes out the rock; if it's hip to prefer Interpol to The Killers, then
please call me square]
July 2-8, 2004
Wilco, "Hell Is Chrome"
[A Ghost Is Born is getting a bad rap in some circles for being droney and
pretentious and self-indulgent, but while some tracks might warrant such criticism, this sleepy ballad is one of the best-written
and generous songs the band has ever done; it stumbles around a theme and an arrangement until the final minute, when the
"Come with me" chorus resolves with perfect beauty, the piano tucking Tweedy's vocals into bed, sending the song out with
a quiet kiss]
June 25-July 1, 2004
Elf Power, "Never Believe"
[Their new album Walking With the Beggar Boys is a step down from the brilliant
2002 career-high Creatures, but this lead-off track almost picks up where that one left off; it's upbeat, poppy,
effortlessly melodic and memorable, and almost smells like the early R.E.M. masterpieces that Creatures evoked so
powerfully]
June 18-24, 2004
Dwight Yoakam, "Bury Me (acoustic)"
[And I stress acoustic; his studio version, like most other country music,
sucks; but on his startling album dwightyoakamacoustic.net (don't ask, I don't get it either), he re-records it with
just his stark voice and an unplugged guitar; it's simultaneously comforting and disturbing, beautifully performed and admirably
sad]
June 11-17, 2004
Joy Zipper, "33x"
[Something sounds dated about this quiet lullaby, like a mid-'90s college pop melody
infiltrated this lush, slickly produced exercise in Zen-like calm; I can imagine warring nations laying down their weapons
and waltzing together in peace to something so benevolent]
June 4-10, 2004
Aberdeen, "Handsome Drink"
[Pouncing immediately through the speakers with a shimmering, sparkly guitar line
and groggy female vocals, this opening track of Aberdeen's full-length debut (after years of fits and starts) is an immediately
irresistible twee-pop charmer about the week-kneed stupor into which a girl falls upon seeing the object of her crush; the
chorus line "I can't wake up" is underlined by the sluggish pace, which is always a few beats slower than you expect, lazily
refusing to go anywhere, swinging back upon its head-nodding rhythm -- even the 4-triplet drum fill sounds shrugged off --
and the male backup vocals recall a number of other indie rock couples from The Delgados to Rilo Kiley to Yo La Tengo to The
New Pornographers to Belle & Sebastian; but make no mistake, the music is soft and twee (mark the obligatory handclaps
at the 2:30 mark), never too original and never too groundbreaking, but almost impossible to dislike. The Los Angeles-based
Aberdeen may have taken eight years to get around to recording the 2002 record Homesick and Happy To Be Here,
but it only takes three minutes to surrender to the sweetness of their sound]
May 28-June 3, 2004
Pretty Girls Make Graves, "The Grandmother Wolf"
[Here's a tough-as-nails rock group out of Seattle that, in my opinion, totally puts
the screws to Franz Ferdinand and Hot Hot Heat -- even to similar girl-fronted acts like Yeah Yeah Yeahs; their 2003 album
The New Romance is great; it's loaded with head-banging cuts like this sub-3-minute nugget of cool -- its opening
guitar riff is instantly memorable, backed by a stark downbeat snare drum pulse, and then it continues to go down an unpredictable
path, encompassing what this band does best: rocking out with freshness and originality, always keeping the listener on her
toes -- it even gets quiet at the end and refuses to satisfy you with a final bang]
May 21-27, 2004
Mr. Reds, "Can You Feel It" with DJ Scribble featuring Busta Rhymes, Rampage,
Spliff, Consequence & Ed Lover
[Burrowing deep into obscurity, my hep sister has turned me onto this supremely cool
2-step British garage track with a catchy hook, hilarious samples, an accelerated beat, and irresistible vocals that make
ya wanna go, "come-ohn!" Good luck finding it, however, unless you're into Artful Dodger mix CDs and hard-to-find 2-step compilations]
May 14-20, 2004
The Sounds, "Hope You're Happy Now"
[I'm a year late on this band, even though I'd been hearing the title track from
their 2003 album Living In America in the dance clubs for months; I finally gave the whole record a few spins this
week and I love the... well, the sound. Take this chick-fronted rock band as a poppier answer to fellow Swedes
Saraha Hot Nights, mixed with some throwback to Blondie, The Go-Go's, and The Cars, and you've got an ultra-catchy, spritely
group that, in this song in particular, takes the time to turn the spotlight democratically on the guitar riff, the manic
keyboard power chords, tight snare drums, and Maja Ivarsson's low-fi shouts and anthemic chorus; it's hard not to get up and
dance]
May 7-13, 2004
Beastie Boys, "Ch-Check It Out"
[Welcome to 1989, when Paul's Boutique was ruling the college radio airwaves
and high school sophomores were pegging their jeans, wearing high-tops, playing Nintendo, and still using tape recorders;
rap music was in its heydey -- loud, fast samples, The Bomb Squad raining sirens down on everyone grooving to Nation of
Millions, and everything was care-free; no P. Diddy, no Jay-Z, no Nas; it wasn't hip-hop, it was rap. Listening
to the upbeat insanity machine of "Ch-Check It Out" is to be thrown back to those days, and Beasties can drop the rhymes as
ill as ever -- Ad Rock even tosses in a Dizzee Rascal-style scream -- making this new single a nostalgiac jam that returns
Beastie Boys to my good side again, following the tragedy of that annoying, bloated disaster known as Hello Nasty]
April 30-May 6, 2004
Spiritualized, "Any Way That You Want Me"
[I've been thinking a lot about covers this week, and the thorny issue of originality
-- how much of a work of art does the original artist own, when creativity can be sampled and reproduced and appropriated
so easily? It's a question that intellectual property lawyers and philosophers can argue for years, but when Tarantino makes
a film like Kill Bill or Jason Pierce's legendary band records a song like this, you think less about authorship and more about interpretation;
one of many great Troggs covers (see also R.E.M.'s "Love Is All Around" and Jimi Hendrix's "Wild Thing"), this track maintains
the simple melodies and lyrics, but of course drowns in the cinematic storm of strings, electric guitars, and shimmering keyboards
that mark all of Spiritualized's best productions, capped by Pierce's smoothly understated vocals and retro-minimal snare
drum fills. It sounds every bit as good as an 'original' like "Stop Your Crying"]
April 23-29, 2004
Paloalto, "The Mayor and the Seizure Pills"
[An interesting story with Paloalto: they sprung out of SoCal with a sound borrowed
from Bends-era Radiohead and Catherine Wheel circa Happy Days; James Grundler perfected his soaring voice
and they blew away Rick Rubin to get a record deal with American; for some reason, they never caught on despite a rip-roaring
radio single in "Sonny" and the phenomenal ballad "Beauty Of Disaster," the greatest track off their self-tited
debut album; so then half the band left, the live shows -- which initially were inspired and sensational -- turned somber,
and they started selling songs to shitty movie soundtracks like Daredevil and Hellboy; their second album
is garbage, and I couldn't care less if they broke up; but man, the pop and sizzle of that first LP... exemplified in "The
Mayor and the Seizure Pills," a fairly trumphant rock song that doesn't make much lyrical sense but sounds terrific -- there's
room on the radio for mainstream rock like this, not too unusual but expressive and powerful enough to remind you of songs
like "High and Dry" and "Heal"]
April 16-22, 2004
Metric, "Soft Rock Star"
[A terrific little Canadian band (now located in L.A. I think) with a bit of the
ol' Cardigans and Lush vibe; fronted by quirky singer Emily Haines, they're unique and funny, but this song is their melodic
high point -- literally: Haines sings in a register that even most dogs couldn't hear; it's so high that your windows might
break... but it's gorgeous and poppy and almost totally senseless]
April 9-15, 2004
Modest Mouse, "Bury Me With It"
[Never been the biggest MM fan in the world -- they suffer when compared to
Built To Spill, and Brock's voice, especially on early albums like Lonesome Crowded West and Interstate 8,
can be irritating with those constant octave leaps -- but their career really kick-started with the terrific Moon & Antarctica and has stayed almost at a peak with the grower Good News For People Who Love Bad News
that just came out on Tuesday; this track is the best thing on it, a forceful guitar-jabbing rocker that sounds loose and
free but still quite thoughtful and artistic]
April 2-8, 2004
Scissor Sisters, "Filthy/Gorgeous"
[The self-titled debut from New York's Scissor Sisters is the album of the year so
far, a fantastically entertaining burst of retro-irony that displays a host of bizarre influences and blends it all into a
short and sweet record that has made Scissor Sisters the most exhilarating new band discovery I've encountered since The Raveonettes
a year and a half ago (their Whip It On EP being the last time something came out of left field and left me grinning
this much); only problem for me today was which terrific track to pick as SotW: should I highlight the shockingly unfaithful
cover of "Comfortably Numb" that hilariously skewers Pink Floyd and turns it into a Barry Gibb solo?; should I choose the
slow-Erasure vibe of "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" or the '70s-glam pop of "Music Is the Victim?"; I settled for this upbeat
disco-dance number that identifies Scissor Sisters as the pussy-fied version of Electric Six with this being their "Danger!
High Voltage;" the falsetto vocals, vulgar lyrics, and Basement Jaxx-ready beat means this thing is prepared to be the
gay club hit of the season -- but all listeners keen on cheeky-tongued dance music and a new take on what Elton John and the
Bee Gees did for T-Rex and Placebo will flip out over this riotous good time]
March 26-April 1, 2004
Zero 7, "Somersault"
[A breathy sigh of an electronic folk ballad, taken from the band's new album When
It Falls; comparisons to Air are inevitable and just, but there's just enough acoustic musicianship and luxurious female
vocals to turn this song into a highly recommended chill-out-or-get-stoned-or-make-out soundtrack]
March 19-25, 2004
Catherine Wheel, "Here Comes the Fat Controller"
[I spent much of the week relaxing with one of the greatest albums of all time, Adam
& Eve, a note-perfect, cohesive, epic rock & roll adventure; I also gained a mentor this week, who expressed
a plea for sincerity that sounded a lot like Rob Dickinson's best couplet in this track -- a triumphant symphony that works
as a two minute string-keyboard-guitar instrumental before the layered vocal explosions: "Don't you think the sarcasm's a
little hard to stomach?/ The cynicism's boring"]
March 12-18, 2004
Luscious Jackson, "Daughters of the Kaos"
[A forgotten '90s band out of the Beasties school of Grand Royal hip-rock, probably
because each album they made was successively worse; their first EP In Search of Manny boasts this bad-ass Western
groove, a tough-chick guitar-based rap song that's dated only because the genre has deteriorated; the song still rocks hard]
March 5-11, 2004
The Flaming Lips, "Fight Test"
[Yeah, I know this song doesn't need any more publicity, but personally I've ignored
the Lips thus far on the website, and that's probably because aside from The Soft Bulletin (which is one of my favorite
records of 1999), I think they're overexposed and overrated; Yoshimi in particular is a troubling album -- and not
just because it's heartless and self-absorbed, but also because it peaks in its first track: this casually, almost effortlessly
suave ballad -- a characteristic foreign to Wayne Coyne and his band of superachieving nerds who use Dave Fridmann's production
like a cure-all against slacker pretensions -- soars with keyboard tricks, mid-tempo percussion, and those vocal overdubs
that sing you to sleep]
February 27-March 4, 2004
Camera Obscura, "Suspended From Class"
[or: The Best Belle & Sebastian Song Released In 2 Years]
February 20-26, 2004
Hole, "Boys On the Radio"
[Ever since I got Courtney Love's pathetic solo debut last week, I've had stuck in
my head this track off the great Celebrity Skin from her defunct band Hole (underlining a very disturbing trend:
how come nobody from the '90s is getting better?). Slick, poppy, rollicking, and endlessly listenable, it showcases
an absolutely snarling guitar roar from Eric Erlandson over the glossy bridge and chorus; Love's simplistic vocals are produced
to a sparkly sheen and even the drum fills smile]
February 13-19, 2004
Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone"
[You can listen to this song a gazillion times for years and still find new things
that reveal its unparalleled brilliance; it's really incredible -- and people say Lennon & McCartney were the best songwriters
of the '60s? Please. It's hardly even a contest]
February 6-12, 2004
The Walkmen, "The Rat"
[This new record Bows And Arrows sounds like a solid improvement from their
debut, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone; it rocks like mad, but occasionally slips into some Dylan-like
ballads and the like. "The Rat," in particular, has a bit of a Wedding Present vibe, to blot out those Strokes comparisons
they're getting; but these guys are unique enough to merit their own category as well as many repeated listens -- check out
the layers of octave-climbing guitars that keep interlacing throughout this track]
January 30-February 5, 2004
Sweet, "Little Willy"
A kissing cousin to Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea," this bouncy glam-rock hit from 1973
is the kind of refreshingly simple, unforgettably joyous pop song you want to play in a loop until you pass out from the sugar
high; when, accompanied by fluttering guitar and hyper-active percussion, the triumphant key change bangs in at the 2:29
mark, it reminds you that this hoary old cliche can still sound brilliant once in a while]
January 23-29, 2004
Air, "Cherry Blossom Girl"
[You'd think the song I'd pick off of Air's cool new record Talkie Walkie
would be the one named after R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, but in fact this is the most memorable track -- a breathy, sweet
electro-beat song flavored with acoustic guitar; it just floats on... well, Air]
January 16-22, 2004
Powderfinger, "My Happiness"
[Before you lump these Aussies in with the likes of Nickelback and Bush based on
their modern rock aesthetic, check out this surprising hit that boasts a catchy groove, comfort-food drum fills, and
sing-along lyrics -- and notice how the cheery title is undercut by associating it with loneliness and phrases like "slowly
creeping back;" the track is a subtly complex meditation on the transience of infatuation]
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