Wired

A simple song on a simple theme with slightly silly costumes and a solid garage feel.

I have a feeling this would be a great show to catch live.

The White Wires
"In My Bed"

Every house has its memories

Memoryhouse
"The Waves"

Subterranean beat-ing

I'm still not sure what the guy is saying at the beginning, but this is some nice, tight, on-the-fast-side jazz from the movie-based-on-a-Kerouac-novella.

Andre Previn is most known as a classical pianist and conductor, but he more than dabbled in jazz when he was young in the 60's.

Andre Previn
That bit where he appears in The Subterraneans

Booming

A bit distorted at the beginning, but it gets a little cleaner as it goes along. Not much, but enough to make it solidly listenable.

Kind of like that part in the movie where the hero (stoically, determinedly, heroically) is off to do something that Needs To Be Done, and is resting on the way there, thinking about the events that have led up to the present.

Except much better.

BoomSnake
"My Pretend Friends"

Cannibalism!

Dirty Projectors cover - if you don't know the original, dude, get that fixed first.

A stripped down, less jagged and warmer version of the song. Not much interesting in the video, but it almost works better that way.

Yellow Ostrich
"Cannibal Resource"

Daysed

Dreamy, lazy-day music for watching people go by to.
This is what it feels like to be ridiculously tired, but happy nonetheless.

Ned Collette + Wirewalker
"Aspect"

Orchestral beauty

Montreal-crafted instrumental beauty, this.

I live relatively close to Coney Island, and so am very much looking forward to the generalized carnival atmosphere of the summer. Won't be quite like this, but I'm sure a magician or two, some games and a couple of human oddities will be a part of every weekend.

Though it must be stressed that it's really a bad idea to wander off to a carnival alone when you're seven or so.

Bell Orchestre
"The Upwards March"

Cloudbusters!

Classic Kate Bush redone by lo-fi electronic guy/band Vitaminsforyou.

With huge fricking machines and 80's-style-come-back aesthetics from the original video as a bonus.

Vitaminsforyou
"Cloudbusting"

Clouds

It's finally spring in New York.

Almost.

It's raining today but here's to many more days like last weekend: clear skies, neither cold nor warm, and a patch of grass to enjoy it all on.

Savath & Savalas
"Child"



PS - The "are'nt" is an interesting comment on English. It's easy to see how it would make more sense to put the apostrophe between the words as a marker, instead of substituting it for the vowel.

Keynote

I want to be able to play upright bass like this. It gets lost in the tune later on, but the beginning is quite tasty indeed.

These are the sorts of songs that become standards - straightforward without being dull, easily understood yet containing a universal message, and a good fusion of melody and rhythm.

All delivered in a quite appealing, unconcerned fashion by the classic Carmen McRae.

Carmen McRae
"I'm Going to Lock My Heart and Throw Away The Key"

Fever pitch

This is the side project of Brent Knopf from Menomena, and you can hear them a bit in that rhythmic, distorted quality to the music.

The video, however, involving animation, that 1895 style and guns that shoot birds, is absolutely magnificent to my mind.

Ramona Falls
"I Say Fever"

Next stop: Fulton Street

I've never actually gotten out, but I pass by the Fulton St. stop all the time on my way to Manhattan from Brooklyn.

Yes, the video is British but the song/band is from Brooklyn - modern technology, no?

Fulton Lights
"Sideways Glances and Coded Speech"

Ave Felix

No video, and when there's no video that song had better be pretty bloody good.

Which this is.

You ever feel aggressive-yet-delicate, with massive destruction performed in a tasteful, light-handed way?

Of course you do.

Just now you have a theme song for it.

Felix
"Death to Everyone But Us"

Mindful

Now, I'm well aware that the whole "toys come alive in the middle of the night" thing has been done to death, most obviously and most recently by that marvelous bit of animated entertainment, Toy Story. The music in this video warms the heart, splitting the difference between haunting and endearing without going either melodramatic or sappy. Hard to do, so respect there. The production value of the video, alas, has less to recommend it.

But that's OK, because 1) it's cute as all hell, and 2) it manages to be a little less innocent and a lot wiser than the aforementioned Pixar, and so comes out a lot truer to life as a result. Or, at least, truer to my life.

Just the thing for sorting out some things in your head, I reckon, and so Che, this one's for you.

Complete with a touch of banjo.

Do Make Say Think
"In Mind"

All the single ladies

As long as we're on the old-school soul/funk vibe, you know what's better than a little soul in your life?

A little soul in your life and Fellini.

Lee Fields
"Ladies"

The Giving of Dap

Yesterday I noticed I hadn't posted anything about the Dap-Kings and figured it was about time that changed.

Straight out of Brooklyn, this is as close as you're going to get to that classic soul/funk sound live these days.

They have shows at the Apollo Theater March 30 and May 1, hopefully I can work that out...

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
"100 Days and 100 Nights"

Bear necessities

I always had a soft spot in my heart for The Jungle Book as a child, in part because I had a soft spot in my heart for Baloo.

Still do, actually.

The good Mr. Astatke is the Fela Kuti of Ethiopian jazz, and you can hear the influence of US soul in the sound; incidentally, the same sound groups such as the Budos Band and Dap Kings are tapping into these days.

Tasty.

Mulatu Astatke
"Yegelle Tezeta"

The beat goes on

It's Metric. Not sure if an introduction is really necessary.

Just sit back and absorb the awesome.


Metric
"Help I'm Alive"

Caribe

The funny thing is that there's a good chance one of these days I'll own a small one room hut by my mom's place-to-be in Puerto Rico and so actually have a house in the Caribbean.

No AC and with chickens running around, but still, right?

FM Belfast
"Por Avion"

After sunset

All sorts of shit goes down in the city at night, is all I have to say.

Coconut Records
"Nighttiming"

Back

This is not the official video for this track, but IMHO the classic black and white images work quite well with the nostalgic, regretful quality to the music and the chorus that exclaims, "I want you back."

You can't bring back the past.

All you can do is appreciate it.

Local Natives
"Airplanes"

The revolution will be a performance space

This melding of political protest and masked performance reminds me of Mexico City's Super Barrio.

The underlying track is solid house, but the video is all the more remarkable given that this is a Kenyan group obviously referencing the post-election unpleasantness in their country - quite effective despite the camp.

Just a Band
"Usinibore"

After holding steady

About a week ago I won tickets to see the good Mr. Nicolay at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Previously the keyboardist for The Hold Steady, he now lives in Brooklyn and finds himself more able to indulge his artistic whims.

Which is to say it was a most interesting show, the audience almost didn't know what to make of his half-comedian, half-entertainer; half-tragic, half indulgent attitude to the whole thing and the...we'll call it dignified pace to his music.

One of these days I will probably actually pay to see him.

And I will hopefully be in a position to sing along.

Franz Nicolay
"The Ballad of Hollis Wadsworth Mason, Jr."

Decidedly

Among the most influential jazz pianists you've never heard of, this is him playing "Undecided" in a most decisive fashion.

Teddy Wilson
"Undecided"

Brownbird holler in the Brooklyn night

Brownbird Rudy Relic is a friend of my friend Heidi, and a once upon a time last month a whole crew of VISTAs went to see him play a small bar in Brooklyn.

He's an old-school holler bluesman; there's no amplification of any type in his shows, instead it's all about playing hard and singing loud, jumping around the stage like a man possessed. (There's one part where he stood on a chair and hopped it forward, while still playing his guitar. Quite masterfully done, actually.)

This video doesn't come close to capturing the soul of the show, but it's a fun little trip through the NY subways and streets.

Brownbird Rudy Relic
"Lonely When You're Here"

Residential

So the first week I was in New York I won tickets to see The Residents with Heidi my coworker, a show that would have been much better had there been seating and had my bag been slightly less heavy (damn you, awesome selection of cheap books at The Strand!) All very cinematic, somewhat creepy and better thought of as a story than a show. Not a whole lot of dancing. This video is only about a minute, but it's a good representation of what the whole show was like.

The Residents
"Act of Being Polite"

Washed Out. Not clean.

So perfectly 80's there's no way it could actually have been from the 80's, the cheesiness is almost (almost) too much to handle.

Mellow track with something of an (ahem) suggestive video.

Washed Out
"Belong"

Marimbeando

Presenting the hypnotic sounds of a man and his marimba, a bit rough around the edges but with no shortage of soul.

(Incidentally, for some reason this kind of tune always reminds me of holler blues...)

Jose Antonio Torres Gualajo
"Torbellino Pacifico"

Empirical

I suppose if you're going to shamelessly appropriate somebody's style, you could do a lot worse than David Bowie. To be fair, a lot of their other music is not as Bowie-esque, but I think it's indicative that this is my favorite track from them.

Empire of the Sun
"Without You"

Win!

I won tickets to this show and will be going with my kind-of supervisor (I report directly to the person she reports to but will be working with her on some other things she has control over...)

She was extremely excited about this band, which I had never heard of.

But it looks like the show will be solid enough indeed...

Rogue Wave
"Like I Needed"

Polite swing song

Some smooth and swinging satisfaction for your Monday.

Almost a bit too smooth, I would prefer this to be a bit more rowdy - more hollering, notsomuch with the suits.

Although still well worth listening to.

Mills Brothers
"Swing It Sister"