July ’03 Mix
July 28, 2003
1) We’re So Cool – Sense and Sensuality – Au Pairs
More Au Pairs! I’ll admit that the Au Pairs have an unfair advantage as far as playing time goes. They’re one of the very first bands alphabetically on my music list, so I always end up listening to a little Au Pairs every other day or so. Cool staccato guitars and lyrics about promiscuous lesbian sex don’t hurt either, I guess.
2) Me and Jesus Don’t Talk Anymore – Yoko – Beulah
After lots of breakup talk, Beulah returns with their 4th studio album, with lots of flirting talk about it being their last. This track has that alt-country/indie pop combo that has served Beulah so well, but there’s a much darker feel here than normal. The trademark bomp bomp bomp only makes one appearance (and it’s not even punctuated with horns), during the “and though we are, a falling star” bit. I love the shambling piano line in the intro.
3) Slut – Columbia – Big Star
S…L…U…T… she may be a slut but she looks good to me. Big Star cover of a Todd Rundgren song, the chorus has my favorite cheer besides “That’s alright, that’s OK, you’re going to pump my gas someday.” Clever song, as the surface misogyny’s really just covering up that the singer is a sad and pathetic dude.
4) Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – This is Cinerama – Cinerama
I love, love, love this song. David Gedge has a way of making a guitar pop song slip and slide along, with an almost loungy groove instead of having all the music punctuate along with the beats. My favorite part is how the song builds to a chorus, and instead of bursting, the vocal just wilts and dies… kiss kiss bang bang.
5) The Dog In Me – 8AM All Day – Chisel
I love getting into an artist and being able to dig up the back catalog and discover all this new stuff that passed me by earlier. Chisel is Ted Leo’s old band, and it doesn’t sound much different, as he was still the main songwriter. The main differences are the stripped arrangements and the fact that it was recorded on really shitty equipment. This song transcends its lo-fi technology, and shows you just how early Leo was hitting on his trademark sound.
6) At Home He’s a Tourist – Peel Sessions – Gang of Four
There’s not a whole lot to say about Gang of Four, really. The only real thing to mention is that it’s worth it to find the Peel Sessions and avoid the 100 Flowers Bloom compilation. Gang of Four went through a really disgusting disco/dance phase and all compilations tend to include this. The Peel Sessions is the only one that has a variety of songs without dipping into anything from this skanky era.
7) Summer Babe (Winter Version) – Slanted and Enchanted – Pavement
The first song from arguably the most important indie album of the 90s. I’m not actually a huge Pavement fan, but Slanted and Enchanted is like a Rosetta Stone for the past ten years of college radio. Hell, there are still albums coming out today that are trying to sound like this one.
8) Grandmother Wolf – The New Romance - Pretty Girls Make Graves
A month after I talked about how I only liked one song off Good Health, I get my hands on The New Romance, a PGMG record where I like practically every song. The striking thing about “Grandmother Wolf,” and most of the other tracks really, is the stunning sense of composition and arrangement. With tight focus, “Grandmother Wolf” covers expansive ground while still clocking in with fierce economy: 2 minutes, 58 seconds.
9) Crazy – Dead Letter Office – R.E.M.
I’ll simply copy Peter Buck’s liner notes here: “A song by Pylon. I remember hearing their version on the radio the day that Chronic Town came out and being suddenly depressed at how much better it was than our record. Outtake from Fables of the Reconstruction.”
10) Tempted – 1000 Years of Popular Music – Richard Thompson
More covers! Richard Thompson doesn’t even really improve on this song, but the song’s just that damn good I think. It’s one of those songs that fits in pretty much any context, and is wonderful no matter what. For example, it was the only good part of “Reality Bites.”
11) Heart With No Companion – Ron Sexsmith – Ron Sexsmith
This month must be cover month. Ron Sexsmith does Leonard Cohen, and instead of deep and gravelly, Sexsmith does it high and fragile. It’s a beautiful cover with some lovely guitar work. This song has recording studio cliche #127: if you’re playing an acoustic solo part, fuck up the beginning and start off again. (See Elvis Costello’s “Big Boys” and Matthew Sweet’s “I Thought I Knew You).
12) Oceanside – Five Songs EP – The Decemberists
Here’s another pretty song. This jangly ballad has a very old country ballad feel to it. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought it was a Jimmy Webb song, along the lines of “Galveston” and “Wichita Lineman.” Probably would’ve been a huge hit if sung by Glen Campbell.
13) Seven Years Gone – Hot Shit – Quasi
Sam and Janet ditch their stripped sound and give us a song that’s so lushly pop orchestral that it may as well be Flaming Lips. It’s got Sam’s wryly witty lyrics though, and once his vocal kicks you know it’s still Quasi. Janet’s drums are disappointingly restrained in this track, but it’s all for the best, really.
14) Good Things – Call the Doctor – Sleater Kinney
For all the talk about how hard these ladies throw down, “Good Things” shows off how they can hit the right notes on a slower track with their emotional honesty and Corin’s raw delivery. “The hardest part is things already said / getting better words I cannot tell / why do good things never want to stay / some things you lose some things you give away.” This song makes me weepy.
Posted in Mixtape
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