Darlene Love

I'm not a fan of x-mas particularly. I especially hate being aurally assaulted over and over by Jose Feliciano's version of "Feliz Navidad" which seems to be the most popular x-mas song played in NYC. I'm not even sure I had ever heard his version before moving here. There is one x-mas song that I never tire of though. I just spent a few minutes thinking about why I love Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), aside from the fact that it's just fantastic, of course. Rather predictably I've come to the conclusion that I love it because it's sad. X-mas makes me sad so it's unsurprising that I like melancholy x-mas songs.

I will say that if you live in NYC I cannot recommend enough taking the M7 up from 6th Ave and 15th Street up to 72nd and Amsterdam. Even the scroogiest of scrooges (yours truly) felt in the x-mas spirit while doing so last weekend. You go by Macy's at Herald Square (Miracle on 34th Street, people) and Rockefeller Center. Trees on the street are lighted. Many businesses have big decorated trees out. Even I can recognize that x-mas time here is a pretty magical affair.

The Kinks

While on the subway yesterday my iPod shuffled to The Kinks and I was immediately put into a better mood when the distorted chords of All Day and All of the Night were ringing out into my ears. It occurred to me that this may be one of the best love songs ever written. It seems that most bands feel that to write a love song they have to slow down the tempo, get rid of the distortion, and be really sensitive and emotional. No. This song proves otherwise. Yes, we get that he wants to bone his lady. We also get that the only time he feels good is when he's with her and he believes that they'll last forever. It's actually kind of perfect. Romantic love can't exist without sexual attraction, can it? Not in my world! The dirtiness of the guitar with the nasty distortion only enhances the message of the song. You feel the sexual tension bubbling under the surface... it's just brilliant song crafting! I think that it's easy to forget how great some of the songs from the 60s are because we've heard them so many times. It was a nice 2 and a half minutes spent focusing on this song yesterday.

Let It Be Me

I wonder how many songs get their own wikipedia page? The song Let It Be Me has quite a history that I only learned of fairly recently. The internet is magical in that way! My own history with the song is simple - my mom had a cassette tape in her car that had the version I'm posting on it. I must have heard the Everly Brothers singing it and probably the Elvis rendition as well while growing up but I have no recollection of this. It was as a twenty-something that I first remember hearing it, not just hearing it but becoming obsessed with it. A few years back I thought of this song and did a search on iTunes for it. This version was not available. I ended up with the live version done by Elvis which was okay but I really felt like it was missing the emotion behind this cover. In fact, all of the other versions that I listened to were missing something for me. So I kept searching for this particular release. Since I only recently found it and am overjoyed I decided to share my joy with you! This is the Betty Everett and Jerry Butler version of Let It Be Me - in my opinion, the definitive version.

The Feelies

Over the last year and a half I happened to see The Feelies twice - once opening for Sonic Youth (way back on the 4th of July in 2008) and again opening for Yo La Tengo on New Years Eve. They've been getting the reissue treatment and rightfully so! I love many of their songs but lately this one has been hitting me in all the right places. While maybe not as interesting or exciting as some of their songs I think it's a straightforward enough song for even the casual listener to attach themselves to. Especially if said casual listener is feeling a little down...
It's Only Life

Ribbons

This post will only be meaningful to one other person on the planet but that's ok.

It's Bastille Day today. There was an uprising of emotions in a person on this day 4 years ago. Their emotions almost killed them. It was a coincidence that it happened on the French holiday. Though, in retrospect, seems fitting. I didn't know this little tidbit until a couple of days ago when it came through a text message. I didn't know about this song until just a bit ago. It all coalesces. Sometimes you owe people more than you'll ever be able to repay. Sometimes you have to let that go because the weight of that will do you in. The best is when you can let that go and find your way back to the beginning.

Ribbons are currently on tour across the U.S. right now. Check out their myspace page for dates.

Lord Cut Glass

On June 23 the debut album from former Delgado Alun Woodward (under the Lord Cut Glass moniker) will be released. I've been waiting for years for this date and can't believe that it is almost here! Look After Your Wife is the first single from the album. It may seem like an odd choice for the uninitiated but I think it's perfect. Enjoy!

In other news, this will quite possibly be my last post here for awhile. I've become overwhelmed by real life which you may have suspected due to the lack of regular posting. I've decided to do an easier blog - easier because I can write it while on the subway. I present to you i haiku, do you?

Yo La Tengo

I've been going to shows since I was 11 years old. My first show was the Beastie Boys/Run DMC "Together Forever" tour. I LOVED both groups and would spend hours spinning the vinyl on my record player in my room. The show was at Cal Expo in Sacramento - an outdoor ampitheater. Not a super loud concert experience. In fact, of all the shows I've ever seen the loudest show ever was this past New Year's Eve.

I had never seen Yo La Tengo before. My girlfriend had several times but didn't warn me of the sound levels they could achieve. When I think of Yo La Tengo I think of pretty, often sprawling, songs. I imagined a celebration with some pop songs, some love songs, and some stretched out numbers. What we got was the Ira guitar freak out set! It was awesome! By the end of the night I had my fingers jammed in my ears! Unbelievable! I usually wear earplugs but didn't think I'd need them for this show. Before I used to wear earplugs I was never forced to put my fingers in my ears because of noise. This was a first.

Now I will share a song with you that will make you think that I must be making the above up. Madeline is a great little mellow pop song. Quite enjoyable. No reason to think you'd be plugging your ears at a show by this band! However, have you heard the Condo Fucks record? Here's a sampling for you - What'cha Gonna Do About It? Yes, the members of Yo La Tengo covering some of their favorite garage rockers. You can see how I was deceived. You would be deceived as well, no? If only I had heard the Condo Fucks record before that show I would have had an inkling...

Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse are one of those bands that at one time meant a whole lot to me. I haven't heard their last 2 or 3 records. The last one I picked up was The Moon and Antarctica and I just kind of lost interest after that. To be fair, that record has such a strong association in my mind of a person, time, and place that it's maybe more due to that than anything that I moved on from the Mouse. After that record I actually stopped listening to them for many years and only recently did I rekindle my interest in them.

Many bands from that era were a joy to watch evolve from small club band to decent sized theater (and sometimes beyond) sized audiences. I was an avid show goer back then and have an enviable roster of bands I got to see. One of the only joys of being of a certain age! I first saw them at Bottom of the Hill and progressed with them to their multi-night stands at the Great American Music Hall. This was also the evolution of Sleater-Kinney, but i digress.

The appeal of the band is fairly clear in the same way that the Mountain Goats appeal is clear. Sad and angry songs for emotional misfits. People that have had rough lives, seen some shit, and use music as catharsis. In thinking back on Modest Mouse show going experiences I would say that it's similar to a Mountain Goats show going experience. The song Trailer Trash is a good example of the emotional side of Modest Mouse. This song always had a high level of crowd participation. A favorite of many, including me.

Horowitz

Rather embarrassingly I dropped the ball on a post I wanted to do. This post! Over a month ago I received an email from Darren who is behind
Filthy Little Angels. Very nice email exchange we had and he turned me onto some great stuff! So first up will be Horowitz who have put stuff out on various labels, including Filthy Little Angels.

Horowitz are an indie pop band from England. This song, Sweetness, I Could Die in Your Arms, has fuzzy guitar running throughout which really saves it from being too cute or twee. However, vocally and lyrically it is firmly in the twee camp. You like indie pop? You like twee? You will like this. Wonder if there's any chance of them playing with One Happy Island and the Smittens later this summer at the Indie Tracks festival in Derbyshire?

I encourage each of you to poke around the Filthy Little Angels site. There's some good stuff there.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Sorry for the lack of posts. I recently acquired not one but two computers to replace my incredibly slow older computer. It took me some time to get motivated to transfer music from my external hard drive to the new computers. Also, as you can probably tell, my motivation level varies and when I don't feel it, I don't feel it. I like to write about music when I feel super excited about it in hopes that my excitement is palpable and inspires those of you who read to give music you haven't heard or are curious about a shot.

I had a shocking realization recently. This song, Come Saturday, is my current favorite. Why the shock? Well, when I first heard The Pains of Being Pure at Heart around the time of their first release I thought that they were okay but nothing to write home about. When I learned that they got a drummer I decided to give them another chance. Then when I found out that Slumberland was making a comeback and releasing the record I became a bit excited. See, I was buying Slumberland releases when the label was in it's heyday. Definitely one of my favorite labels. Very happy they are on a roll!

Back to the song - this is one of those songs that I find to be perfect. Starting with a bit of feedback and going into a quick snare roll you know that the song is going somewhere quickly and with much exuberance! The chorus is pure pop perfection and refuses to leave my head. No complaints from me! The second verse does a fantastic job of capturing young love and the uncertainty of it all combined with the sheer joy of it. I anticipate that this song will make a lot of "Sprung in Spring" mixes this year... I'm not the only one who gets a little crazy in Spring, am I?