quicksilver messenger service, "shady grove"--poorly recorded, but strangely beautiful, with slow stately slightly trippy songs and gobs of nicky hopkins' piano. nirvana, "in utero"--always a tough one for me--half the songs are iconic, while the other half (depending on my mood) verge on unlistenable. "frances farmer" is godlike. wooden wand, "death seat"--not sure what to call this (maybe "freak folk") and it's pretty somber stuff, but it's weird and unpredictable, in the best way. |
@bslon, agree on wicked gravity-- not to be a downer but i did think the production on the record was kinda flat/compressed, which is really surprising since (i just learned) it was engineered by bob clearmountain, who usually makes things sound huge. my pick du jour--gillian welch/hell among the yearlings. like navin johnson says in "the jerk", there's something about those songs that depress me... |
@bslon i just re-listened to catholic boy--what stood out is that his poetry/posturing aside, the band actually rocks and the melodies are there. "day and night" and "i want the angel" as good as anything lou reed ever did. |
@slaw old ramon is the best thing mark kozolek has done....gorgeous intense record. Too bad he's such a stroke---god plays strange tricks when doling out genius. |
for the first time in a long time i actually sat in my living room w/o any distractions and listened to some randoms discs, specifically: jesus and mary chain, darklands--not sure if i like this poppier iteration more than the skronky debut, but it is unique joe jackson, night and day--this sorta sophisto-pop isn’t my cup of java, and i still think he’s a lousy singer, but he is a very good musician and this is a very well-engineered set green on red, gravity talks--best of the bunch
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@puptent interesting list...thanks for posting |
i hadn't listened to moon martin for a long while, so i cranked up his greatest hits last night. reminds me a lot of steve miller--sorta generic, w/throwaway lyrics, but a knack for the big pop hook--a lot of these songs stay embedded in your cranium. current faves: myracle brah, can you feel the myracle brah--not a paragon of depth or vision, but the guy is a melodic savant the church, a box of bees (their cover of the monkees' "porpoise song" is great) neil young, psychedelic pill--i always like his noisy, jammy stuff, of which there's plenty here. |
jacobites, robespierre's velvet basement--hadn't listened to this in a long while, but it's something of a classic, with that shambolic loose feel you can't fake graham parker, another gray area--he's a surly guy who screwed himself commercially and musically by abandoning the hard edge of "squeezing out sparks." that said, he remained an ace songwriter and this is better than i remember. the church, heyday--a lot of their records are more about the sonics than the songs, but this one is full of tight hooky tunes, including their best-ever, "tantalized" |
love tractor, this ain't no outer space ship--i remember them mostly as a sort of ambient guitar instrumental band, but this one is more songful than you'd expect swimming pool q's, s/t--another athens band; glossier and more new-wavy than my usual, but they had a great chick singer and some excellent songs hunters and collectors,collected works--docked one notch for using horns and another one for occasionally sounding like u2, but still vg, with a couple of classics like "back in the breadline" and "throw your arms" |
@slaw good call on the eyelids--in a parallel universe they’d be bigger than the beatles) @bslon ever notice how good the only ones’ guitarist is? today’s picks: corey hanson, pale horse rider--a bit more restrained than my usual, but he’s a vg singer and will occasionally let his freak flag show hoodoo gurus, magna cum louder--i’ve come around to thinking that this is actually their best record--less idiosyncratic and more radio-polished than their earlier, but the songs are consistently great come, don’t ask don’t tell--this is just as good as better-remembered contemporaries like pavement and sonic youth. noisy, but they can play their instruments.
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here's a record so obscure that even @bslon has (probably) never heard of it--the sponsors, "sponsors". angsty sorta power pop, with terse, fantastic songs. from the tiny bit i've found on the web, they were from nyc and made only this one album; their singer (who is incredible) was allegedly 14 years old. you can find this on discogs or youtube:
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@bslon i'm not a big joe jackson guy (he's a vg musician but a lousy singer), but "big world" is one of the best-sounding recordings you'll hear. also the rare live album which has only new songs (jackson browne's is the only other one to come to mind). my picks: pg six, starry mind--really good, richard thompsonish folkrocky/jammy stuff the neats, crash at crush--genuinely great singer + the songs are mostly there scenic, acquatica--guitar-instro music which sometimes drifts off into the ozone, but they always have beautiful album covers
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@willkimbrough, coincidentally i was listening to sandanista the other day--it’s a lot to wade through but i think it’s unfairly maligned, with fully 75% of it being close-to-genius, albeit in a drugged out way. you also prompted me to revisit "funky kingston"--he’s the only guy who can get me to listen to a john denver song. my random picks: roseanne carter, "interiors"--really frickin depressing record. "dance with the tiger" is a perfect pop song. salem 66, "a ripping spin"--they can just barely play their instruments, but they’re much smarter than your average riotgirls and the songs are there. swervedriver, "future ruins"--most of these reunion albums blow, but these guys were always more tuneful than the norm and this is as good as their early 90s stuff.
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@jeffstrick @bkeske just listened to lankum, which i’d never hear before--really dark, but hypnotizing stuff. @bslon the hitmen were pretty great--their first record especially. my hats off to your knowledge of obscure 80s guitar bands noone else remembers my picks for the day: cory hanson, pale horse rider--brooding nick drake-ish type with good songs and really beautiful, keening voice polvo, today’s active lifestyle--i knew i was a grownup when this started to sound melodic and structured instead of chaotic and dissonant
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the verlaines, live at windsor castle--more ramshackle and punkier than their studio records would suggest. great nz band. off broadway, on--sort of a cheap trick manque, with a charismatic singer and a really hot guitar player. not a ton of lyrical depth, but these songs stayed with me some 30 years after i first heard 'em. |
@curiousjim glad you're enjoying artful dodger--they have a third major label record, babes on broadway, which is terrible, but the first two and the aforesaid "rave on" are the bomb. further picks today: rage to live, s/t--very intelligent 80s altrock w/some country & r&b overtones--the principal has a lot of range as a songwriter and fully half these tunes are classic. robin lane & the chartbusters, s/t--jangly bar band sorta reminiscent of (and virtually as good as) the pretenders; i'm sorta surprised they never hit big. |
artful dodger, "rave on"-- swansong from a great, underappreciated guitar pop band somewhere between badfinger and the small faces (the singer sounds a lot like steve marriott). never on cd, afaik, but you can find it on youtube. grant lee buffalo, "mighty joe moon"--I've gone back and forth on him over they years, but "happiness" always makes me weep uncontrollably.
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mutton birds, rain steam & speed--plaintive jangly nz folkrock; closer in feel to the go-betweens than to the flying nun bands, but would appeal to fans of either. meat puppets, monsters--one of the great air guitar records dillard and clark, through the morning, through the night--not as good overall as the first record, but "polly" is a stone classic |
drivin n cryin, "fly me courageous"--kevn kinney's a folkie at heart, and i never fully bought into his hard rock moves, but this is one of the best-ever air guitar records nonetheless greg sage, "straight ahead" subdued psych-folk from the ex-wipers guy. very tuneful and oddly hypnotic--these songs have stuck in my head 30+ years after first hearing them.
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@bslon i agree wholeheartedly on "jack johnson"--it's his best work (tho i'm sometimes partial to bitches brew) and much more engaging than "kind of blue", which sounds oddly tame after all these years @bdp24 what i like about rusty young's pedal steel is that it doesn''t sound a pedal steel, especially live--at various times it sounds closer to a hammond organ or almost like heavy metal my pick for the day: greg sage, straight ahead--ex-wipers doing a freakyfolk thing, with simple, impressionistic tunes that stay oddly embedded in your brain
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@spiritofradio, we were talking fleetwood mac's "future games," which i'd rate as my second favorite behind "kiln house" and just ahead of "bare trees", though i'm occasionally persuaded that "then play on" is their pinnacle. @mammothguy54, i'm with you on "bridge of sighs"--it is one terribly-produced record. odd that no one rates james dewar among the great white soul singers, but he was pretty formidable. just been listening to the go-betweens "before hollywood." incredible record. |
@bslon, agree with you wholeheartedly on both "future games" and "catholic boy". i wasn't the biggest bob welch fan, but the title track is a classic + danny kirwan was a genius. as for "catholic boy," it's a lot more musical than you'd expect from someone who's basically a non-musician--"day and night" is a genuinely purty tune. my recent diversions: the kink kronicles--i'm convinced that as captured here ray was at least mccartney's equal as a composer and a much better lyricist. the dbs, "like this"--granted, peter holsapple's a lousy singe but he's a first rate songwriter and at least half of this great russian circles, "memorial"--postrock trio with a really good drummer. like really, really good. |
keith richard, "crosseyed heart"--he doesn’t overexert himself on the songwriting (the album sounds like it took him about an hour to write and record), but he’s become one of the great non-singers, with a real patina to his voice the feelies, "the good earth"--i’ve never met anyone who hasn’t been blown away by this on first listen. pete townsend, "who came first"--always thought he sounded best where (as here) he wasn’t trying so hard to make a Grand Statement. i wish he had used this version of "pure and easy" on "who’s next" instead of "going mobile," which i never much cared for. |
@reubent i can't get past the scene in "shaun of the dead" where they hurl "second coming" at the zombies. my pick for the week: andrew hill, "judgment"--not the flashiest or the most innovative, but in his own understated way he might be the best ever. |
frankie miller, high life-- overlooked white soul belter who clearly influenced rod stewart and bob seger, though i think he's a better singer than either. does pretty well with the songwriting, too. elvis costello, the delivery man--for my money his best post 80s record, mainly because he tries harder to be a rocker than a crooner willie dixon, i am the blues--it's curious he never shows up on the GOAT songwriter list. i generally prefer his takes on these classics to the heavyhanded doors/cream/zep covers. |
@reubent "camp pendleton" is a very well-constructed song which is so jangly-pretty you almost don't notice how dark and disturbing the lyrics are. "norcal girls" is very cracker-like and also hits you lyrically--i would played it straighter, without the ironic backing vocals and fiddle, but it's a good tune. |
@sbank @noromance et. al.--you guys are on a hot streak--two bit monsters, roy harper, pjharvey all classics. @slaw, i've tried to get into the mountain goats for years (i probably own more records of his than anyone i don't really like)--he's a very smart guy and an excellent writer, but he just ain't musical, even if the sonics on his 4ad stuff sound good. agree with you on goat's head soup, tho. my picks: cracker, kerosense hat--never loved camper van beethoven, which had too many jam band instincts, but i think cracker is kinda unfairly maligned--they're melodic as hell and capable of the odd classic like "movie star" swervedriver, future ruins--these guys haven't missed a beat in the 20 years since their debut--shoegaze without the wankery great unwashed, singles--i notice this 5-song 12" is going for $100-$500 on discogs--seems like a stretch but it is great stuff |
@slaw, @bslon, i also like kurt vile alot, particularly earlier stuff like "smoke ring" and "pretty daze"--he sounds like he smokes too much weed, but the guy is a natural. the country ep he did w/john prine (rip), "speed, sound, lonely" is alsosurprisingly great. for some reason, though, i can't get into war on drugs, who everybody else seems to rave about--too clean and soulless. @waltersalas, good to find another windbreakers fan (there's about 12 of us). check out bobby sutliff's covers album, allsorts--he does a killer nick drake. two quick picks for the bold: crippled pilgrims, under water dirk hamilton, meet me at the crux
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bobby sutliff, only ghosts remain--in a parallel universe this guy'd be a big star--he's a guitar hero and a very good singer with excellent, jangly songs + a killer cover of richard thompson's "small town romance" micronotz, 40 fingers--on first blush this is garden variety thrashy punk with a better-than-average singer. listen closer and you'll notice how hooky the songs are; most of them are still embedded in my cranium 30+ years after hearing 'em poco, cantamos--unfairly overshadowed, imo, by the likes of csn, eagles, etc., but they're better musicians and less cringeworthy overall |
thin white rope, "exploring the axis"--you hear a bit of velvet underground and krautrock influence, but this is mostly very unique-sounding fountains of wayne, s/t--this sort of clever-pop can sound smarmy in the wrong hands (i.e. weezer), but these guys do it really well, with big hooks and a great guitar sound. "radiation vibe" is incredible. roy loney, "out after dark"--ex flamin groovie runs out of steam a bit on side 2, but side 1 is as tough a rockabillyish set as you'll ever hear |
@tgilb, @slaw, i really liked ukelele songs, and i think the "into the wild" soundtrack is hugely underrated (though watching that kid tear up the $15k check makes me want to strangle him). "earthling", was a miss for me--like you say vedder's much better at the straight acoustic stuff than at the lavishly-arranged pop songs. today's picks:sonny rollins, saxophone colossus--he can play the horn, but the real revelation here is max roach's drums, which are incredible moby grape, s/t--apparently ongoing copyright disputes make much of these songs unavailable on spotify, but i'm still in awe of this album. bob mosley may have been the great white soul singer.
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lucy show, mania--something of an overlooked gem which has held up a lot better than most 80's new wave elliott easton, change no change--solo record from the cars' lefthanded guitarist is much better than you'd expect, with big production values and vg songs, all co-written with jules shear gone fishin, matt puicci and tim lee--obscure but really tuneful project from rain parade and windbreakers principals |
i was referring the the third album (released under dt's name alone, although i think i hear phil seymour in spots). as for the weird sound, it seems like he was channeling roy orbison (as opposed to the more primal elvis/everly bros. vibe of the first two), and the lavish strings on the key tracks might be off-putting to some, but i dig it. for my money it's better song-for-song than "twilley don't mind", although it can't touch the godlike debut. |
i gotta say that this definitely where the cool kids hang...hadn't heard of covet or kilbey kennedy before (tho i know steve kilbey from the church); both excellent. my picks de jour: dwight twilley, "twilley" (curiously unavailable on cd or spotify) michael guthrie band, "direct hits" red kross, "show world"
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midway still--i won't try--previously unknown to me, these guys sound exactly like the lemonheads. which, since i like the lemonheads, is a good thing. ed kuepper--electrical storm--dark, brooding and tuneful as hell matthew sweet--sunshine lies--much of this is generic m sweet, but "byrdgirl" and "feel fear" are as perfect a pop song as you'll hear |
reubent, i'd offer the following: 1. song for song, i'd say this year's model is the strongest, esp. the deluxe version, which has great obscurities like big tears and tiny steps. on a certain level, i think the playing's great, esp. the thomases on bass and drums, but as per bdps' remarks, it does sound a tad studied and restrained compared to, say, graham parker and the rumour. 2. my other go-to is imperial bedroom, which really is more of a chamber piece than a rock album; i think the songs are better matched to the band's more clinical virtuosity, although steve naive tends to overplay like a MF. 3. i also dig the odds and sods collection, taking liberties, which by and large rocks the hardest and is the least fussiest record in his canon. |
