Apple Muffins

Back when I lived in DC I went through a phase where I would bake cupcakes and muffins, and one of my favorite breakfasty things was a muffin that was mostly apple and just had a bit of batter to hold it together.

This is going to be mostly a bunch of embedded videos with some text thrown in to hold it together - yummies!

The Shocking Pinks

You know you've been an English teacher for too long when you see The Shocking Pinks as the name for a band and instead of flashes from the 80's you start wondering whether "Shocking" modifies "Pink" or "The Pinks" - ie, whether they are The Pinks, who happen to be Shocking, or whether they are named after more than one instance of Shocking Pink.

They also happen to be fairly good. Still a bit new in the ear, haven't gotten to the point where I can distinguish tracks from each other but it's been a very pleasant couple of subway rides - I remember thinking of The Velvet Underground and The Pixies and a bit of Sonic Youth. Plus English grammar.

I really need to stop thinking so much about English grammar.

The Shocking Pinks - "End of the World"




Vivian Girls

What I like about the Vivian Girls is that they really don't sound like they're trying to sound like anything in particular - there's really no message, no story, no information about how this is supposed to make you feel, it's just good, solid, drone-y sounds.

Though the video is a little confusing.

Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To"



The Dresden Dolls

The self-proclaimed "punk cabaret" - I like punk and I like cabaret and I like this, though I'm not entirely sure the label fits.

I've been listening to the new/old album No, Virginia, being outtakes and other things that didn't make it into Yes, Virginia. This track is from Yes, and I have to be honest: I like the video, I like the track, but I don't think they play together particularly well.

Incidentally, the mystique associated with California is kind of amusing if you've actually lived there.

Dresden Dolls - "Shores of California"



Air France

This is one of those tracks where you try not
to listen to the words, because the horns are so excellent and all the ambient frills and textures roll around so deliciously that the words are bound to disappoint, which tends to detract from the experience if you care about words.

I like words, and it would be a shame to spoil the sonic equivalent of a late 70's summer vacation in the south of France.

Air France - "June Evenings"



Bishop Allen

Happy music for happy times - those chimes are almost pre-schoolish while the guitar provides a gentle reminder of that time when you ended up in the country bar, with a lot of country music, but for some reason it didn't seem that bad that particular night, what with all the bourbon and beer and singing and whatnot, though the next day you felt a little silly about the whole thing.

So probably that was just me, but I'm sure everybody has had something similar happen at some point.

Bishop Allen - "Click, Click, Click, Click"



El Guincho

More happy music! More good times at tropical beaches! In Spanish, this time! Real Spanish-from-Spain-Spanish! Cos if you've got soul and good times, you don't really need to worry about pitch, or vocal control, or any of those technical details - not if you've got backing vocals and a DJ into tropicalia.

I like this music. It's makes me happy music.

El Guincho - "Palmitos Park"



Vampire Weekend

Slightly-less-happy-but-still-rather-upbeat music! The guitar is the most obvious part, but listen to the way the bass manages to keep time while being all over the place.

Doesn't the video make you want to watch Risky Business or Dirty Dancing or The Breakfast Club- something ridiculous and 80s?

Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"



Bon appetit.

Good fer whatever ails ya!

It's been a while. Every so often I would be listening to something, saying to myself, "My, this is good stuff, I should post something about this" and then get distracted and not.

Will try to stop doing that.

Anyway, diablodeazucar has been digging the following in '08:

Invincible

The best female rapper since...well, since Lauryn Hill was a rapper. And definitely the best white rapper since Princess Superstar...(ah, Princess Superstar...) This track wins Best Hip-Hop Track Featuring a Flute 2008, one of the few tracks that would be well worth a listen either for the vocals or the instrumentals. Rest of the album is pretty good walking-down-the-street-head-bopping music too.

Invincible - "Sledgehammer!"



We Are Wolves

Damned if the sound doesn't have a wolf-like savagery to it at least. Apparently they're from Montreal - who knew? Just about as loud and noisy as you can get with a very tight groove, also on the borderline between "serious" and "just kidding". Great walking-down-the-street-liquored-up-and-looking-for-trouble music.

We Are Wolves - "Musique"



Stars of the Lid

On the other end of the spectrum - very ambient-y without getting to the point where you say "You know what? This is pretty ambient-y. I wish it were less so." Excellent falling-to-sleep music.



The National

Yeah, I think I might have posted on them before but I'm too lazy to check it out and this video will do you good anyway...

The National - "Apartment Story"



The Hot Toddies

I like the Hot Toddies. Never actually got to see them live even though they're from effing Oakland, something always came up. But they're good not-so-clean fun. Not their best performance, I imagine.

The Hot Toddies - "Seattle"



The Gza

They're actually kind of like a real old-school Shaw Brothers kung fu movie - kind of silly, but still good stuff, nothing to be ashamed of, but not really anything to be proud of either...

The Gza - "Alphabets"