Knowing Makes Me Scared, But I’m Not Sure Why

Mathémathiques Modernes “Disco Rough” – This is a breathtaking bit of streamlined French new wave/”cold wave” circa 1981 from the French/American Celluloid label. Stereolab fans may note a striking similarity to the song “Emperor Tomato Ketchup,” which I am sure is not at all accidental given Stereolab’s history of rampant, tasteful appropriation.

Judys “Mental Obsession” – This is a lovely, minimal, guitar-free ode to some amazing dude that the singer doesn’t just want to get to know better, but also emulate completely. This song is taken from the Houston band’s 1981 LP Washarama.

Also: For those of you who may be interested, I did go to see the Clinic show on Saturday night, but I didn’t see Clinic because they were going on very late, and I would’ve risked missing the last train out of Manhattan if I were to stick around. It’s probably for the best that I left early anyway – I wasn’t feeling well at all, and my stamina was already starting to fade when the first opening act hit the stage. According to my friend who stayed and watched the show, I really didn’t miss anything special (just a pretty typical Clinic show with more or less the same setlist that they’ve been playing for two or three years now), so that’s good to know.

Elsewhere: Word In The Alleys is another new mp3 blog. They are primarily focused on Pitchfork-y indie fare at the moment, but they seem like nice lads and have a pleasant way with words. I appreciate that while a lot of people are just starting to get excited about the new Wilco album, they went and posted songs from the last one. You zig, they zag.