March ’05 Mix

March 31, 2005

1) The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine – Gimme Fiction – Spoon

Leading off this month is some new Spoon, a track that kind of goofs around for a few seconds before settling into a serious groove. Like all Spoon songs, there doesn’t seem like a lot of meat to the arrangement but it slyly gets under your skin anyway. creepy-crawly.

2) Is She Really Going Out With Him – Look Sharp – Joe Jackson

I always tie Spoon and Joe Jackson together in my head, fairly orunfairly, I haven’t quite decided yet. I always laugh at the chorus, because honestly, who hasn’t seen some awful couple and mutter to themselves “That guy? Really?”

3) Television – 010 – ulysses

I keep coming back to this Bob Schneider side project. I’ve mentioned before how it’s his “divorce record,” but the raw honesty of it is remarkable. It’s not altogether eloquent, but the blunt force of its truth reads like love letters that had to be thrown away. When Schneider sings about how he’s “better off now,” its utterly unconvincing and heightens the already unbearable anguish.

4) Modern Girl – The Woods – Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney takes it down a notch with their ode to isolation in modern society (a recurring them for The Woods). Carrie Brownstein turns in her most vulnerable vocal yet while Janet Weiss once again plays drums and harmonica, simultaneously!

5) Friend to J.C. – Ex Hex – Mary Timony

Mary Timony returns from godknowswhere, ready to rock! No more gossamer cobweb guitar work here, but Townshendesque guitar windmills and pre-chorus that reminds me of Buffalo Springfield. The lyrics are hilarious, including a random “THAT’S WACK” smack dab in the middle of the song.

6) Loyal to My Sorrowful Country – Sharkbite Sessions – Ted Leo / Pharmacists

Ted Leo’s exclusive ITunes tracks includes this fully pharmaceutical workup of this track, which used to be just Ted all by his lonesome. This version still has that bizarre Xena call right before the bridge and the whooping holler right after it.

7) Since U Been Gone – UGO Sessions – Ted Leo

A copy of this finally popped up, courtesy of UGO online. Ted Leo’s version of this Kelly Clarkson “classic” is surprisingly straightforward, except that he drops the bridge and substitutes a segment of the YYY’s “Maps.” The beauty of it all lies in Leo’s unironic reading… he genuinely LOVES THIS SONG.

8) California – The Great Destroyer – Low

I’ve never been a big fan of Low, but this is the poppiest thing they’ve done. The ascending guitar riff that marks the opening and chorus is absolutely transcendent, a fog of noise that’s both tangible and fleeting.

9) Ode To LA – Pretty in Black – The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes seem like they’ve gone exclusively to being a Phil Spector tribute act, and they’re all the better for it. Ode to LA’s has got the “Be My Baby” drumbeat reworked, the jingle bells and then goes whole-hog by including Ronnie Spector herself doing vocals. When Ronnie does that “WHOA-OH-OH” bit, it’s like getting sucked into a time machine.

10) I Love LA – Live – Rilo Kiley

mmmmm, new song from Rilo Kiley. It has nothing to do with the Randy Newman track, but instead seems to borrow its melody from “Sea of Love.” The song remarks that LA is a forgiving, loving city, but I’m guessing that LA is just a big whore for Rilo Kiley.

11) Woman King – Woman King EP – Iron & Wine

I’m not folk-friendly enough to really describe Woman King. Are those spoons played in the background, or just planks of wood? For Sam Beam, this song is practically raucous, with a slide guitar bits running counterpoint to his whisperquiet vocals.

12) On the Bus Mall – Picaresque – The Decemberists

This track starts eerily like Modest Mouse’s “Gravity Rides Everything” but turns into a beautifully eloquent tale of male prostitutes hustling a living as they care for each other. When Meloy spins off “And here in our hovel we fuse like a family / but I will not mourn for you / So take off your makeup / and pocket your pills away / We’re kings among runaways,” I get a little weepy. Also, as someone who rides the bus often… I’ve NEVER heard of a “Bus Mall.”

13) Satellite – Bill Frisell & Petra Haden – Bill Frisell & Petra Haden

The newest Decemberist has a pretty huge body of work herself. Here with guitargenius Bill Frisell, Ms. Haden knocks out a too-pretty version of Elliott Smith’s “Satellite.”

14) Wuthering Heights – The Whole Story – Kate Bush

When I saw the Decemberists last week, Haden took the lead and they covered the Kate Bush classic. The chorus is one of the most mentally addicting things I’ve heard in a while, a breathless run of notes that’s a struggle to sing along to, much less actually be good at. Personally? I like the song better than the book. Sorry Bronte fans.

Posted in Mixtape