Pulp – Common People

I think this is a pretty good review of Marina & the Diamonds’ debut album: it notes the Dresden Dolls influence (particularly evident in this song) and makes the following observation:

But it’s her taste for the bleeding obvious which, ultimately, holds her back from greatness. … It’s this kind of route-one thinking which reins in The Family Jewels … the song about being an outsider is called “The Outsider”. The song about being rootless is called “Rootless.” The song about feeling numb is called… OK, you’re ahead of me.

Indeed! (And that’s another similarity with Amanda Palmer.) But there’s something wonderfully, obscenely uncensored about this obviousness. Like the video for her single Hollywood. Because yep! There can be no doubt from the look on her face that she, Marina Diamandis, is indeed obsessed with the mess that is America.

I hope she’s looking forward to her upcoming dates in NYC. We are very much looking forward to seeing her.

Marina & the Diamonds – Are You Satisfied?

The song below is the B Side on her Obsessions single which appears only to be available on 7″ vinyl in the US. I think it is for sale on CD in the UK though, so I recommend you fly there and get it.

Anyway, I love this song—reminds me of Lene Lovich kinda—but I was reading her blog and was v disappointed to learn that she must be colorblind or something because how could she be so wrong about the colors of the numbers? I must set the record straight and prevent this misinformation from spreading.

Three- Green (SO fucking green) ORANGEY BROWN
Four- Purple [CORRECT]
Five- Red [CORRECT]
Six- Blue SILVER
Seven- Gold/ Yellow WHAT?! BLUE
Eight- Deep Purple BROWN
Nine- Brown GOLD
Ten- Black YELLOW
Eleven- Silver NO COLOR

Also, she didn’t cover these, but

One- BLACK
Two- WHITE

Marina & the Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road

(via Georgia)

I had to cut this song from my earlier post about The Grates. I think in my future pop song ranking algorithm, a track will get a bonus for each second under 2:45 it is. That’s going to put this song over the top. That and the subtle horn section (?) in the background?

The Grates – 19-20-20

So here’s an amazing song from The Wombats. At the top level, this is an off-the-chain pop song on performance-enhancing stimulants. (Its always a good sign when a song starts with a “woo!”-type exclamation. More on that in a future post.)

But there seems to be a lot more beneath the surface; like how it name-checks another artist / classic song, but then it appears to get the whole thing wrong while “celebrating the irony of it all.” After a few verses, it takes a right turn with early 80s drum machine and synth sounds, and starts brilliantly mis-quoting the song in question: “Love will tear us apart” has become “Let the love tear us apart.”

My theory is it relates to the apparent contradictions in the first verse; you’re supposed to “learn from his mistake.” Is it the advice you’re supposed to learn from or the breaking of it? Any why would he break the advice he just worked out? And if the advice is that dancing to depressing Joy Divison songs is a cure for heartbreak, then… well ok I’m confused. But perhaps that was the point?

(Woo!)
I’m back in Liverpool,
And everything seems the same,
But I worked something out last night,
That changed this little boy’s brain,
A small piece of advice,
That took 22 years in the make,
And I will break it for you now,
Please learn from my mistakes.

Let’s dance to Joy Division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But we’re so happy!
Let’s dance to Joy Division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
‘Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we’re so happy!

So if your ever feeling down,
Grab your purse and take a taxi,
To the darker side of town,
That’s where we’ll be,
And we will wait for you and lead
you through the dancefloor,
Up to the DJ booth,
You know what to ask for!

You’ll ask for Joy Division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But we’re so happy!

Let’s dance to Joy Division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
‘Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we’re so happy!

Let the love tear us apart,
I’ve found the cure for a broken heart,
Let it tear us apart,
(Let it tear us apart)

Let’s dance to Joy Division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But were so happy!

Let’s dance to Joy Division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
‘Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we’re so happy!

Thanks Sweets Lyrics

The Wombats – Let’s Dance to Joy Division

The Hussy’s (shouldn’t it be the Hussies?) is a six-piece pop/ska band from Glascow. I’m not sure if they have a proper full-length LP, but they do have a number of great singles (Tiger, Napoleon). This song, Sister Mary Jo, is from Necklace.

Some good lyric-writing here too—it tells a funny story without getting too bogged down in it, you know?

Sister Mary Jo, it’s time to let the whole world know
That you’re actually a bloke and you like to drink and smoke
Oh sister Mary Jo are you a gangster on the run?
And if I slipped into your bed will you tell the other nuns?

The Hussy’s – Sister Mary Jo

Update 8/16: An OAP is an old age pensioner. Also the bassline is really intense so turn up the sub!

Stop listening to this song! Especially you, Raz.

Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes

#1 blog reader Georgia has alerted me to an amazing new single from The Grates, which, although is linked below, you should still support the artist AND get the higher quality version from the store above.

Sailor hats above both cute and appropriate; photo is from their recent surprise show on a boat in Australia.  (They’re from Australia.)  Also, they all went to art school and make their own cute posters.

The song is really stunning.  They are so good at the under-2:30 pop song!  Lyrics here.  Video here.  Very conducive to listening to over and over and over.  Several of my top songs of all time are Grates songs, including #2!

The Grates – Burn Bridges
The Grates - 19-20-20

Update 8/16: Having multiple songs linked in the same post is interfering with the podcast—iTunes subscribers are seeing 19-20-20 instead of Burn Bridges. Unless I find a good solution, it’s going to be one song per post going forward!