Thursday, May 29, 2008

5/29/08


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for all the trouble ozzy got in for "suicide solution", which, if you read the lyrics, is obviously anti-suicide, cheap trick didn't take any heat for their outright solute to those who would kill themselves. it's because it's sooooooo good. hey, this would make good ufc entrance music.

cheap trick "auf wiederseh'n"
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beach boys "lonely days" - unfinished studio outtake that finally saw release on the "hawthorne, california: birthplace of a legacy" collection. it would be nice to see some worthy band cover this and expand on what wilson started.
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van halen "could this be magic" - roth era van halen had musical depth. not only that, but they were a lot of fun too. this is one of those, "really, this is van?" songs.
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nick lowe "nutted by reality" as much as i can't get into elvis costello, i do like his contemporaries, nick lowe and joe jackson. this song reminds me of the beatles "ob-la-di, ob-la-da" (you have to wait for the change-up)
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while this one reminds me of david bowie's "sound and vision"


black mountain "wucan" - something from this year. makes me proud to be here in 2008.
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Monday, May 26, 2008

sparks + 2


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saw an article in the new arthur magazine about the sparks. while i didn't read it, just seeing that they reviewed their entire discography made me curious enough to check them check them out. they're like cheap trick raised on opera and musicals. and apparently todd rundgren discovered them.

sparks "achoo"
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sparks "don't leave me alone with her"
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sparks "amateur hour'
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i also finally got around to checking out the young marble giants after having been aware of them as being some sort of important early band for some time. i was surprised at how sparse and bedroom rock-y they were, but without sounding amateur and throw away.

young marble giants "final day"
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and here's belle and sebastian covering the above song:

belle and sebastian "finals day"
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

5/13/08


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like the star wars disco, here's another song from my childhood. i also remember this being used as a bribe in music class for good behavior. i still have the record, though it's scratched way beyond playable. the peanuts themed albums was pretty much all the royal guardsmen did.

the royal guardsmen "snoopy vs the red baron"
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quasi "(title unknown)" - off their contribution to the kill rock stars 7-inch club. no info is given outside of the band and label, so who know what they named this song. it's no throw-away either. it's sam coomes at his negative but catchy best
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silver apples "lovefingers" - listening to the silver apples it would seem that they would be hip hop legends through sampling, but i can't think of anyone sampling or interpolating them, aside from the folk implosion when they did they kids soundtrack.
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rev. gary davis "got on my travelin shoes" - i'm no fan of the blues, that's for sure, but the older, folkier stuff has it's moments for me. especially this track.
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i'm not going to tell you who this next song comes from. generally he sucks as bad as anyone ever has, but he's got a handful of songs that i absolutely love. just a handful, like maybe 5...that i know of. actually, i'll post who it is below, upside down, but make sure you listen before you look.
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ʇuǝƃnu pǝʇ
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Friday, May 9, 2008

5/9/08






while the beastie boys "hello nasty" doesn't quite stand up with their first three, there are some great moments (despite one of the worst album covers ever). one of the best being the los angeles negroes sample at the tail of "the move".

los angeles negroes "el rey y yo"
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i always said that the world would have been a better place had cyndi lauper had madonna's career longevity, rather than madonna. in making my argument i used to cite that cyndi lauper included a bad brains cover on her debut album "she's so unusual". pretty crazy right? so crazy that it's not true. in reality "money changes everything" is a cover of a band called the brains. i've been searching for the the original for awhile, and last night i finally found it.

the brains "money changes everything"
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i do still perefer cyndi's version:


since i posted nico's "afraid" earlier this week, and it's fresh in your mind, here's espers cover of the same song:

espers "afraid"
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pitchfork posted a radar bros. cover of superchunk's "slack motherfucker" last week. it was ok. nothing beats the original, but if you're looking for a cover where the vocals aren't almost completely buried in the mix, fIREHOSEs take is the one to go to:

fIREHOSE "slack motherfucker"
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after the apples in stereo turned into a chikdren's band after their power puff girls video, i find myself forgetting how much i used to love them, and how brilliant robert shneider's production work was. the man did produce "in the aeroplane over the sea". one of his most amazing recordings was this song he release under his solo name, the marbles. this was recorded on a 4-track, in his bedroom:

the marbles "grant me the day"
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and one last cover since i already uploaded it:

sloan "stove - smother" - sloan cover two eric's trip songs on the same track.
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

5/7/08


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keep in mind that, skip spence, the man you hear singing and playing guitar on the 2 tracks below, unsuccessfully tried to murder his bandmate with an axe, and was subsequently sent to bellevue and diagnosed with schizophrenia. knowing that definitely colors his request walk down the street naked. actually, and i don't want to ruin a great song here, but the whole thing sounds crazy when you listen to the lyrics knowing the man had schizophrenia. imagine a homeless man walking up to you and making all the requests skip makes. the song appears in two different forms on each of moby grape's first two albums. cat power covered "naked if i want to" on her "covers record" as well.

both tracks are under a minute.

moby grape "naked if i want to" (from "moby grape")
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moby grape "naked if i want to" (from "wow")
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daniel johnston "living life" - hey, guess what gave me the idea to post a daniel johnson track?
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migala "out times of disaster" - band from spain who put out one album on sub pop, pre-shins/postal service, back when sup pop was struggling for a direction.
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neon blonde "chandeliers and vines" - from the tracks i heard off the forthcoming jaguar love album, and the neon blonde album from a few years ago, maybe it's a good thing that blood brothers broke up. twice as much maybe.
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the austerity program "song 18" after only one album, and one ep, i think these guys have a masterpiece in them.
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

5/6/08


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so, if nico, jimmy page, and gordon lightfoot had a baby, what would it sound like?

nico "i'm not saying" - written by gordon lightfoot and featuring production and guitar by jimmy page
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nico "afraid" - also love this track off of nico's "desertshore" album, so i figured i'd post it as well.
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now in a match between nico and jackson browne i'd give it to nico,always, with one exception. as great as her interpretation of "these days" (you know, "royal tennenbaums", and that target commercial about socks) is, jackson browne's is even more so. not only did nico date the then 16 year old jackson browne, they lived together, anyways, here's his take on his own composition:

jackson browne "these days"
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and remember that live unreleased pavement song i was so badly needing to hear? thanks to jason, here it is:
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uuuuuumm, and here's a song from leonard cohen's phil spector produced album "death of a ladies man"

leonard cohen "fingerprints"
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Thursday, May 1, 2008

5 covers 5/1/08


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back in the 5th grade we had music class once a week. one week the teacher promised to play us some of the star wars score at the end of class if we were good and payed attention. what she ended up playing for us wasn't what i remembered. it was star wars, but it somehow wasn't. at the time it horrified me. now, i kinda like it.

meco "star wars disco"
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murder city devils "alcohol" (kinks cover)
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alex chilton "oogum boogum" (brenton wood cover)
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cheap trick "california man" (the move cover) - an early pre-elo jeff lynne song. despite my love of elo, it was this cover that led me to the move.
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further "isobel" (unrest cover) - the music director of my college radio station put this on a mix tape she sent me home with for the summer after finishing my freshman year.
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