Toxicity

This has made me seriously consider the work of Britney Spears - is it possible that this much beauty is hidden away in her other songs as well?

Or, The Whale
"Toxic"

Follows directions well

Brings a smile to my face every single time.

Freeway & Jake One
"Throw Your Hands Up"

Heaps good

"Heaps" is an underused intensifier 'round these parts, and I just might start using it and see if it catches on.

This video is so Australia I want to give it some vegemite and a VB...

Murph N Platonic
"Heaps Good"

As to war

If I ever get filthy rich, I'm going hire these people to make videos for me full-time.

SubAudible Hum
"Aaron's Western Assault"

Sartorial distincions

I actually can't tell whether this is a parody or legit...

Far East Movement
"Fetish"

Pass it along

Before there was Musical Youth, there were the Mighty Diamonds. A bit cheesy, but I kind of like it anyway.

Happy 4/20 y'alls!

The Mighty Diamonds
"Pass The Kutchie"

Vipers

Somehow, somewhere we seem to have lost the term "viper" for a gentleman (and, presumably, lady) that can hold their weed.

It's 4/20 tomorrow, and I'm sure Bob Howard would've been most down.

Bob Howard
"If You're a Viper"

Timing is everything

And with this we end Triple-J "Like a Version" week.

It's almost wrong that somebody so innocent-looking, wide-eyed and downright young be able to pull off this song so well.

And it's that "almost" that makes it glorious.

Lisa Mitchell
"Romeo and Juliet"

Problems

Right, so the Gourds version of Gin & Juice is classic and came first, but this is along the same lines but much more wry.

I like wry.

Philadelphia Grand Jury
"99 Problems"

Been trying to meet you

Every so often the greatness of The Pixies bears keeping in mind. I mean, they don't change much, but I found myself posting this against the objections logical-brain would surely have voiced were it allowed to speak while this song was playing.

Eskimo Joe
"Hey"

We'll be singing

So this is off of the similar BBC show "Live Lounge" but since Angus & Julia Stone are from Australia I figure we can let it slide.

I love how the audience just seems to not know what to do with this.

The answer, obviously, is to sing along, but everybody seems to be a bit shy until the very end.

Maybe if they'd included the "We'll be singing/When we're winning" intro?

Angus & Julia Stone
"Tubthumping"

"Kids" these days

Y'know, I had kind of written off The Kooks, then they come along with a cover of "Kids" that works with only two guitars and microphones.

The Kooks
"Kids"

You can dance if you want to

So I recently stumbled upon Australian awesome-radio Triple J's program Like a Version, and the awesome just keeps on coming. Consider:

1. Australia=awesome. Full stop. Taking-it-outside is available for those who disagree too enthusiastically.
2. Being unable to think of a better title for a program=awesome.
3. As somebody who likes mashups, odd covers and re-imagination of music in general, this program of different artists doing wicked interesting covers of other songs=awesome.

And so I will be posting choice selections this week.

This is Whitley doing the most haunting version of "Dancing Queen" you have ever heard.

Go ahead, laugh. Then listen.

Then admit I was right.

Whitley
"Dancing Queen"

Afro-jazz harp

No actual video, which means it's (again) that good.

Dorothy Ashby plays afro-jazz harp.

With so much soul it's almost painful.

Incidentally, here's Frank Sinatra's take on the same track - easier, less urgency, and a whole lot less soul.

Dorothy Ashby
"There's a Small Hotel"

It's what's for breakfast

It's The Pogues singing about whiskey, so there's no way this could be bad, but this is good stuff even by their very high standards.

Every so often, the day just calls for a bourbon breakfast, and a looooong nap after. Which is partially why I didn't get a haircut yesterday. (Aside from the fact that there were no Manhattan-bound trains where I live).

But, y'know, totally worth it.

The Pogues
"Streams of Whiskey"

On the road again

Sometimes you just want to listen to something pretty and heartfelt to take your mind off of everything.

As somebody who tends to wander a great deal, it helps if it's a song about living in many places.

Woodpigeon
"I Live a Lot of Places"

Optimum

Hip hop needs more in the wide-eyed optimism department, is all I'm saying.

P.O.S.
"Optimist"

Felt up

That's Murs AND Slug AND Aesop Rock, who produced last year's A Tribute to Rosie Perez.

Comes with a shiny, yet slightly creepy video.

Nice.

Real nice.

Murs & Aesop Rock & Slug
"Felt Chewed Up"

Fun with bunnies

Standard-sounding, solid garage rock, except that Nobunny performs in a huge bunny mask. Professionally formed to look like a rabbit. On his head. While he plays garage rock.

As one might expect, the video is somewhat...unorthodox...

And good, good fun.

Nobunny
"I Am a Girlfriend"

A ukelele and a microphone

You know when you have mad talented friends and you say to yourself, "Jesus, this singing-in-the-living-room is better than 95% of the stuff out there?"

This has got that feel to it, but the sound is too clean and precise to be them just hanging out, and the video is too silly to be anything but. Echoes of CocoRosie that way.

Sweet song too.

Anne Heaton ft. Rose Polenzani
"Where Your Scar Is"

The (original) Jazz Singer

It's hard to get more classic jazz than the first song Al Jolson played in The Jazz Singer, right after changing movie history by saying, "You ain't heard nothing yet!" - they don't make solos like this anymore, certainly.

Complete with slightly out-of-sync audio for that authentic old-school feel.

Al Jolson
"Toot Toot Tootsie"

This is my church

I have no idea where this is, but it's a shame there weren't more people to hear this haunting, earnest and almost-but-not-quite-jaded young lady sing a very lovely song.

There are obvious influences from Mazzy Star, but I hear a little Joanna Newsom in the rounding of the vowels (though definitely not the pitch) as well. It's also hard to make guitar playing so simple not boring.

But she does.

Quite, quite well.

Happy Easter, y'alls.

Bosque Brown
"White Dove"

Just the Factz

Day before yesterday I won tickets to check Mickey Factz live. I had never heard of Mickey Factz before, and was struck how he approached hip hop more like a writer rather than, say, a battle MC - more nuance and meaning and less posturing.

Then I stumble upon this video with him and The Cool Kids doing a whoooole lot of posturing.

Given that it's got a nice accordion-ed beat and actual videos of him are not particularly prevalent, away we go.

Mickey Factz ft. The Cool Kids
"Rockin N Rollin"

This post has been brought to you by the shape, "triangle"

The video is a bit rough, but the song is solid late night walking-to-a-party-in-a-rough-neighborhood electro.

That's actually a genre with me.

It sounds like this.

Hounds of Hate
"I Like Triangles"

Run!

The weather is improving and I keep thinking I should maybe get back into exercising. Running even, maybe.

You know what definitely doesn't go well with lungs on fire, a slight queasiness and unpleasant sensations in your knees?

A slow paced, waltz-time, slightly Doors-influenced, somewhat carnivalesque track about not being able to get the runner's high.

Though it's great for cooking, I've found.

The Marches
"Runner's High"