(image borrowed from Seizure Chicken)
This cover has been out for a while but we never wrote anything about it. We certainly are not always the first to post something, so if anyone feels like mentioning that we’re slow on it – we know, thanks. I think some of the snarkier blogs disliked this cover, but don’t hold me to that statement. On the other hand, I think it works. It’s much slower and more what you would expect from Grizzly Bear, but still fits the aesthetic of beautiful, simple tunes because of Ed Droste’s amazing vocals. It also doesn’t hurt that the original is pretty solid too.
Grizzly Bear – Boy From School (mp3)
Hot Chip – And I Was A Boy From School (mp3) from The Warning
This mp3 has been floating around for a while – in fact, since the Japandroids singles series was announced – but it’s come back into sharp focus for me since I received the 7-inch in the mail last week. It came not long after I received a turntable for my birthday last week, and I put it to good use immediately.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to do vinyl rips; the program apparently records it, exports it to iTunes – but after that I don’t see it in my iTunes, and I don’t know where the program puts the file. So far, I can’t find any answers. The vinyl rips are the least of my concerns, however. Whenever I figure that out will be cool – but until then, I’m enjoying the vinyl experience.
The song itself is typical Japandroids fare – fuzzy, post-garage rock. ”Here’s your money back. Here’s your punk rock back.” Frankly, they can keep my money if they keep turning out tracks like this.
Japandroids – Art Czars (mp3) from Art Czars 7″
The band will also be releasing a compilation of their pre-Post Nothing EPs from 2007 and 2008 (All Lies and Lullaby Death Jams) entitled No Singles. The compilation is set to mail on April 30, and you can pre-order it now in various formats through Polyvinyl.
Japandroids – Darkness on the Edge of Gastown (mp3) from the forthcoming No Singles
The Black Keys’ new album – entitled Brothers – will be released on May 18. There’s not much that they do that I think is wrong, and this new track from the album is no exception to that. ”Tighten Up” was produced by Danger Mouse, who was at the helm for Attack & Release as well. And while there’s not a big departure here from the normal Keys fare, it’s still a solid song. I particularly enjoy when it sounds like everything goes into an audio drain, although that could be because this is a web rip. You can listen to the track on the band’s MySpace for any differences.
This past weekend I purchased tickets to The Flaming Lips show at a venue close to Rochester, where it’s being reported that The Black Keys will be the opening act. I can’t find this information on their website however, so I’ll keep hope alive until I see some kind of confirmation.
The Black Keys – Tighten Up (mp3) from the forthcoming Brothers
I’ve reached the century mark as far as choices in this project – and have been working on this for over a year. Next time my girlfriend questions my commitment, I can point to this as proof otherwise. (She doesn’t really do that, honestly.) Catch up on my 98 other choices over here if you need to, and then read on:
99. Feist – Mushaboom (mp3) from Let It Die
(3:45) [Time Remaining: 538:33]
This is one of those choices that seems so painfully obvious now that I’m putting it on here – because it should have honestly been included far earlier. I’ve been in love with this song since I first heard it’s twee-handclaps and folk-style strumming. How could anyone not be? It’s honest, direct, and kitten-cute about the growing of a relationship. We should all aspire to be as happy with our significant others as this song is.
100. David Gray – Babylon (mp3) from White Ladder
(4:26) [Time Remaining: 534:07]
I read somewhere that the US Army used “Babylon” as a method of torture on suspected terrorists. (I can’t find the article right now, so if you can, please put the link in the comments.) And while that doesn’t diminish my personal enjoyment of the song, it certainly puts it into a weird perspective.
I remember the very first time I heard “Babylon;” it was late after work one summer night in July of 1999, and it came on the radio to carry me home. When I hear it now, I still get that same feeling of solitude – and the same swell of calm that I attribute to it. Staring the start of my twenties directly in the face, and not knowing what the fuck would become of me, I took a lot of comfort in this one – despite the fact that some consider it torturous.
Every once in a great while I listen to the radio while driving. (It’s been more recently for some reason, as observed by my hearing that Damien Jurado song sometime last month.) This song came on the other day just as I was getting home, and I raced inside to finish listening, and then – in a move reminiscent of my 13 year old self – I called the radio station to find out what it was.
Clem Snide now registers just two songs in my extensive iTunes library. (The other being “Moment In the Sun,” which was used as the intro to the TV show Ed for exactly one season. I liked that show a lot.) This one is a fuzzy, easygoing stunner. It meanders, wandering in and out of a lovesick daze – and subsequently in and out of my brain for the past few days with its dusty Americana.
Clem Snide – Forgive Me, Love (mp3) from The Meat of Life
