Archive for March, 2002

Oh my... this is just awful. It's a website showcasing hideous, cartoonish, gaudy paintings inspired by U2 lyrics. Say what you will about U2, but I think we can all agree that they don't deserve having this sort of thing done to their songs....right?

I am heartbroken.

The two Wilco shows at the Bowery Ballroom have sold out, and I don't have a ticket for either.

I am very upset about this.

Anyway, I'm fairly certain my blog posting frequency will be very low the next week or so, since Flyboy will be in NYC, and I will be playing host. I might be able to get a few updates up here and there, but in the meantime you should probably keep your eye on Jim Treacher, Videodrome, Wolk and Suds for high quality bloggage - not to mention the other links I have off to the side.

I've been listening to The Best of Both Worlds all day... I am really happy with this record, it's far better than I would have ever expected, especially considering my bias against R. Kelly. After all, I wasn't too eager to listen to the guy who is responsible for "I Believe I Can Fly", which has got to be one of the worst hit songs in pop history. I wasn't at all skeptical about Jay-Z...the man has been on fire lately, and that fire continues to blaze on with this record.

The record isn't perfect - there's a few songs which veer off too far into obnoxious standard R. Kelly territory, but even those are pretty tolerable. The songs that work, REALLY WORK. I'm talking about some sleek, state-of-the-art sexy funk with R. Kelly crooning solid hooks and Jay-Z rhyming just as great if not better than on The Blueprint. The stand-out songs on this record aren't far off from "I Just Want 2 Love U" from Roc-La-Familia... "Honey" sounds like it was seperated at birth from that song in the best possible way, and "Take You Home With Me aka Body" even shares a verse with that song, though it's sung by R. Kelly instead of rapped by Jay-Z. The track with Lil Kim is another keeper ("Shake Your Body"), as is the closer "Pussy", which is far more clever than that Amazon.com review I linked to gives it credit for.

Lately, I've really fallen in love with the band Imperial Teen, but I find that it would be really hard for me to describe what I like about them without inadvertantly making them sound boring or ordinary. They are a pop rock band, nearly all of the songs have two or more members of the band singing... most of their songs just knock me over, they are so well-written and well-executed. I especially love when their lyrics take on a more sinister tone, or when they play up their queerness (all of the band members are gay or of ambiguous sexuality, and the band is two men, two women).

Their new record, On improves on their previous two records greatly...more subtlety, more harmonizing, more pianos and keyboards. The songs "Our Time", "Sugar", "Baby", "Teacher's Pet" and "Ivanka" are particularly wonderful, right up there with the best from their previous two records - "The Beginning", "Yoo Hoo", "Lipstick", "Open Season", "You're One", "Imperial Teen" and "Waterboy".

I just want to listen to "Sugar" all day long and think of one particular person...

It is a cold, dark, rainy day here in New York - I've been listening to one of my custom-made Sonic Youth cds, which to me is the ideal soundtrack to days like this. It feels perfect... this is the tracklisting, for those who may be curious.

Teenage Riot/ Bull in the Heather/ 100%/ Eric's Trip/ Dirty Boots/ Shadow of a Doubt/ Kotton Krown/ I Dreamed I Dream/ Brother James/ The Burning Spear/ Schizophrenia/ French Tickler/ Saucer-Like/ Candle/ Free City Rhymes/ White Kross/ Expressway To Yr Skull

In other news: The New Barbelith is here. Bask in the soft white glow...

"Cabbage Alley" by The Meters Soul funk euphoria. Happy good times. Happy glowy. Just a bunch of killer sunshine hooks, lyrics be damned (and fuck full sentences, too). One of the best piano riffs in the whole wide world. Grin from ear to ear.

"Number One" by Playgroup Sexy disco. "I'm the kind of cat who always gets his bird". Super simple bassline, like the Pixies gone all funky. When you dance to this song, you put yr hands up over yr head.

"Young Scene" by Keith Mansfield You can only do the most silly dances to this song - like, you know that one where you pretend you are a submarine? That would be perfect for this. Instrumental orchestral funk. Just over a minute long. Yes!

"Problemmes D'amour" by Alexander Robotnick His name is Alexander fucking ROBOTNICK!. It's electro disco, it has lots of shouted French lyrics, girls cooing along, and lots and lots of synth squiggles... and his name is Alexander ROBOTNICK!

"Let's Go Swimming (version 3)" by Arthur Russell It was written to be a "futuristic summer record" back in the early 80s, and it really does feel like it's from the future... It sounds like the song is simulating what swimming and being underwater is like, while remaining danceable. It's maybe a bit like dancing on the ocean floor...

Rizla has an in-depth report about his All Tomorrow's Parties LA adventure here on Barbelith. Lucky bastard. At least I can think "well, at least he missed The Jicks while he was there"...that's slightly comforting.

Oh yes, I do love that feeling, the one that comes when I hear a song for the first time and know immediately that I love it deeply - that I can't imagine how I ever went without it. I got this feeling listening to "Launderette" by Vivien Goldman today. I think it's still to soon for me to try to explain why I love this so much - it's not quite like anything else I've ever heard, but has echoes of many, many songs that I love...there's certainly a lot of The Slits in this song... It's got one of the best basslines that I've ever heard. No question about that... the lyrics, the vocal delivery, the guitars and light percussion - this song is ideal!

Anyone out there who would like to recommend similar songs, please do tell me about them in the guestbook...

In my travels today, I went to Other Music, and saw the new Disco Not Disco Volume 2 compilation from Strut... I just don't have the cash at the moment to buy a copy. It's painful. I want it so badly.

I wrote down the titles...I'm downloading a few tracks from it on Audiogalaxy but over half of it is unavailable, which is good, because I really do want to get a real copy. The original Disco Not Disco compilation is probably one of the finest compilation releases that I've ever heard. It changed my life. For real.

In today's Pitchfork: Jicks hit the studio. Obviously, I'm really quite excited about this.... "Crimson Alligator" and "Memory Pulls" are already two of my favorite Malk songs ever at this point, just in the unfinished live-version form that I know them... The silly Pitchfork journalist didn't consult his fact checking cuz, apparently..."The Oyster" and "Crimson Alligator" are the same song!