I know this is so *last year* but I hadn’t heard it. Dressy Bessy’s single Electrified is the first track to really stand out at me from the aforementioned SxSW free trove of mp3s .
I’ve heard the phrase “brusque female libido” bandied about, appropriately.
In a futile attempt to return this blog to respectability after the last post (it’s probably better if you never download that last song), here’s a classic:
The Small Faces – Itchycoo Park
That’s a lyric in this cool remix of the Strokes’ Ask Me Anything done by a friend of a friend.
Yesterday I read about this really good musician called Sea Wolf. And how cool is that name?
Black Dirt (mp3)
You’re a Wolf (mp3)
(via I Guess I’m Floating)
Raconteurs = Jack White + Brandon Benson + two of the Greenhornes. Be warned, this is an insanely catchy song. Also, please be sure to check out their retro web site.
Steady As She Goes (mp3, via Indie for Dummies)
They’re like a younger Belle & Sebastian but from Sweden and with raging hormones. And in the tradition of recent Scandinavian bands I’ve been listening to*, appear to have like a lot of peripheral members. Which, given the Strip Club’s obvious disposition, could mean a pretty kinky live experience. Or not. Maybe not. I don’t know.
Down and Out and Away (mp3)
*I guess I just mean Ske & Gus Gus
I can’t tell if the band’s just not all that tight, or whether there’s a dissonance-effect thing going on. But it hardly matters much, because WOW can Becky Stark sing or what?
You Broke My Heart (mp3)
I suppose it’s not a good time time to be Sony, particularly in San Francisco. Nevertheless, via AmericaBlog, I saw a beautiful new Sony ad (for a TV or whatever) that I wanted to pass along. As you can deduce from the picture above, it concerns bouncy-balls.
First, the Nick Drake-esque soundtrack is by the talented José González. The song is a cover of ‘Heartbeats’ by The Knife — a band I don’t understand at all.
The second thing I want to say about the Sony ad is that it’s another entry in what has become the ‘raw economic power’ genre of ads: big-budget TV spots that only tangentially relate to the product itself. For an even-more-remarkable example, see this spot for Microsoft’s XBOX 360 (needless to say, it’s hard to find a QuickTime version). All this is to say that I hope the “a million dollars can’t be wrong” model of advertising is making investors a little uncomfortable. After all, what happened to the “you won’t believe how incredible this product is… look!” model? When did you see that last?
José González – Heartbeats
Has anyone seen the new nickels? Apparently the ‘Bison’ nickel at left came out this spring (I just saw it) and the second is already out.
Anyway, on a related topic, the Phoenix recently drew my attention to this recording of the band Nickelback’s two top-10 hits. ‘How You Remind Me’ in the right channel, ‘Someday’ in the left. The fact that these songs fit together so perfectly, all the way through, is either evidence that these are the same song, or perhaps it’s an extremely sinister plot.
So take a listen–the song is way better than the sum of its parts. And hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In fact, I recommend they record three more hits and market the five-song set as an incentive to wire your system for 5.1 channel surround sound. Just a thought.
Listen: How You Remind Me of Somewhere
Update 7/1: I can’t find the mp3 anywhere, but this page gets the job done in terms of making the case. If, for some twisted reason, you must have the mp3, contact me.
The Sad Song from Fredo Viola on Vimeo.
This is a lovely, classic video that perfectly fits the song composition. My understanding is that he made it himself using a crappy cell phone camera. What he achieves here is remarkable.
Fredo Viola – The Sad Song
