Gracefully Forgotten

Misha “Crystal In Love” – It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but it seems like falsetto vocals have been slowly colonized by a macho yet passive-aggressive element — your Chris Martins, your Dave Matthews — and as a result, it has become a signifier of THE NARCISSISTIC HURT THAT DUDES FEEL. It doesn’t exactly ruin the technique across the board — it’s not exactly difficult to differentiate the merits of Keane and Radiohead, you know? — but it does make me a bit suspicious of young guys who adopt the style.

Misha’s John Chao stays within my personal falsetto comfort zone on this song: Drag camp, disco glamor, ethereal crooning, and R&B affectation. When the chorus kicks in, Chao sounds as though he’s trying to transform himself into a woman through sheer force of will. Not just any woman, mind you: I think he’s specifically attempting to morph into Alison Goldfrapp! (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Karl Blau “Kill The Messenger” – Karl Blau’s latest project sets the lyrics of his former D+ bandmate Bret Lunsford to radically new arrangements, but to be honest, I can’t really appreciate whatever changes were made since I’ve only ever heard maybe three D+ songs tops, and only one of them appears on Blau’s record. I mean, it’s obvious enough — D+ was essentially a rock band, and the sound of Dance Positive is heavily indebted to funk and reggae. The way he altered his ex-partner’s songs is ultimately irrelevant to my enjoyment of the record, which mostly comes from its understated vocals, super mellow grooves, and the way the album’s slightly washed-out production leaves its bottom end feeling exceptionally cozy and warm. (Click here to buy it from Marriage Records.)

Elsewhere: Do you like broccoli? Do you like cool British cartoonists? How about t-shirts? If you said “yes” to all three questions, or even just the first and third, you ought to head over to Threadless and vote for this t-shirt designed by my pal John Cei Douglas.