Slip A Sable Under The Tree

Kylie Minogue “Santa Baby” – Kylie is so cute! This song is already a very kitschy tune, but good ol’ Kylie camps it up above and beyond the call of duty. So, as a result, it comes out being closer to the Eartha Kitt original than the fine but perhaps overly literal version that Madonna recorded back in the mid-80s at the height of her Material Girl shtick.

Aretha Franklin “Eleanor Rigby” – Now this is a peculiar cover. Musically, it’s a totally different song from the Beatles original in terms of arrangement, chords, melody, and overall tone. So I’m wondering, did Aretha just really love the lyrics and decided to turn it into an upbeat soul number because that’s, well, what she does? It’s a pretty great version though, even if it seems like a totally different song. In fact, I kinda prefer it this way, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the Beatles version to begin with. I’ll take the party tune over the dirge, thank you.

Stumbling Down The Staircase That I Built With My Own Hands

Yellow Note Vs. Pukka “Naked, Drunk, and Horny” – I posted this song about a year ago, but that shouldn’t make too much difference considering that there’s so many more people reading this blog now than back then. I’m not sure what breaks my heart more: The fact that this song is not and probably won’t ever be a massive hit in spite of the fact that there are probably millions of people out there who would love it, or that the Yellow Note album which contains it after its initial release as a one-off single is such a tremendous dud. Of course, the singer Pukka does not appear on the rest of the tracks from We Love Everybody…You’re Next!, but that’s only half of the problem – most of the album is nothing but tedious and painfully unimaginative beginner’s level retro-80s keyboard music, devoid of the kind of joyous pop hooks that “Naked, Drunk, and Horny” has in abundance. Nevermind the rest of that record, though. To borrow a phrase from Uncle Grambo of the Whatevs blog, “Naked, Drunk, and Horny” is SO FUCKING BEST. This is as good as modern electro pop gets – sexy come-ons, tweeness, self-deprecation, a keyboard bit that sounds a lot like Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough,” vocodered vocals, and inexplicable references to DIY carpentry all wrapped up in one bright and shiny pop package.

Also: Fans of mp3 blogging should check out the fairly new site Fruits Of Chaos // A Sampler, which hosts some rather obscure songs and is curated by two girls who are apparently students at NYU.

Oh look: There’s another Fluxblog.

Lock Yourself In Your Hotel Room

It’s covers day!

The Fiery Furnaces “One More Time” – At the risk of this blog becoming a part-time Fiery Furnaces fan site, here is yet another rarity of theirs. I’m sorry if this seems as though I’m trying to brow beat you all into loving them, but so be it. This was recorded exclusively for Uncut’s White Riot Vol. One: A Tribute To The Clash; and as with their cover of The Fall’s “The Winter” on a recent Rough Trade compilation, it a) shows that they have a knack for selecting a less-than-obvious song by a great band to cover and b) has a drastically different arrangement from the original but still manages to keep the spirit of the song intact. Listening to this, it just makes me so excited for the next Fiery Furnaces record, because I get the sense that it’s only going to get better with them. The keyboard textures and echo effects on this track are to die for, by the way.

The Kills “The Search For Cherry Red” – This cover of the Jonathan Fire Eater classic is the b-side of The Kills’ recent “Pull A U” single. It’s by no means better than the original (you just can’t improve on that, the Vox organ sounds are especially unique and perfect), but this slow, smoldering take plays to the Kills strengths and emphasizes a creepy sexiness that the Jonathan Fire Eater version only hinted at. I just love the girl’s singing on this song – she’s the best thing about the Kills by far.

Jonathan Fire Eater “The Search For Cherry Red” – It occurs to me now that given Jonathan Fire Eater’s relative obscurity (and the fact that all of their records are out-of-print), a majority of you may not be familiar with the song that The Kills covered. So here it is, one of the best songs by one of the most criminally underrated bands of the 90s.

Well Maybe Just A Half Drink More

George McCrea “I Get Lifted” – Oooh! Does anyone out there know if this song has been sampled? That opening groove is just begging to be looped and made into a hip hop song. This song has been sampled many times over. Top notch stuff. This is taken from Souljazz’s Miami Sound – Rare Funk and Soul from Miami 67-74 compilation.

Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – This comes to you via our friends at Antipopper, who have been posting some very interesting mp3s lately. This new version of the Christmas party classic was recently recorded for the soundtrack of Elf, and it’s just endlessly charming. Zooey Deschanel‘s singing voice is a revelation – this woman is quite simply living in the wrong era. Surely there must be a good old musical that can be remade for her to star in, right?

I Was Born Into Your Loving Arms

The Rapture “Sister Savior (DFA Vocal Mix)” – This new, almost guitar-free mix is taken from the brand new UK single. The full-on electro pop approach suits this song much better than the more rock-leaning arrangment from the Echoes LP. This new version sounds more confident and assured, whereas the album version seemed stuck in an uncomfortable halfway point between disco and punk, when it should have been a straight disco tune all along.

Jandek “I Went To Hell” – I hadn’t been keeping up on Jandek very much in 2003, and as it turns out, I missed FOUR Jandek records, and completely missed an entire phase in his long, strange career. It seems like only yesterday that I was feeling deeply creeped out by Worthless Recluse, the second of his three consecutive spoken word albums. After the third part of that trilogy, Jandek put out a couple of records which returned to his trademark guitar and harmonica, recalling the longer songs from his early albums like “First You Think Your Fortune’s Lovely” from Ready For The House.

“I Went To Hell” comes from Jandek’s newest record, The Gone Wait, on which Jandek’s pained voice is accompanied by thudding, arrhythmic and non-melodic bass, along with some occasional overdubs of his distinctive atonal guitar playing. I’ve never heard anything quite like this album (aside from maybe Jandek’s own Telegraph Melts-era recordings.) The rumbling bass on this recording seems random and arbitrary, but has a strange musicality to it. It is eerily remisiscent of the sounds that the furnace in my basement makes. It’s not hard to imagine this music as being the soundtrack to hell, actually.

Fasten Those Pants For The Lapdance

Scissor Sisters “Take Your Mama Out” – This is one of the three new Scissor Sisters songs which have leaked thanks to a promo EP containing songs from their forthcoming debut album on Polydor. Of the three new songs, “Take Your Mama Out” is the most surprising – it sounds like early Elton John doing a soul version of a Shania/country-pop kind of song. It probably sounds like it wouldn’t work in print, but it fits in rather well with their campy 70s pop aesthetic. Also available via our friends at Enthusiastic But Mediocre is an mp3 of the peculiar “Tits On The Radio.” There’s something vaguely creepy and unsettling about that song, particularly in the tempo and cadence of the female singer’s voice. It’s not far off from Beck’s “Get Real Paid,” but it’s far more sinister than sexy.

The Von Bondies “C’mon C’mon” – Though I cannot claim that this song has brought me to the same heights of ecstacy as it obviously has for others, I can say that I think this song is quite a lot of fun. Frankly, if this doesn’t become a hit in 2004, I will be very shocked. “C’mon C’mon,” like Blur’s “Song 2,” The White Stripes “Fell In Love With A Girl,” and The Hives “Hate To Say I Told You So” before it, is the kind of modern rock song that’s all about sweeping up the listener in its own momentum. The content of the song is almost totally irrelevant – it’s all about creating that ghost sensation of being pushed forwards at about a hundred miles per hour. It’s a rush; pop music as a theme park ride. (Or maybe x-treme sports, I don’t know. I’ve never really done anything very “x-treme” aside from drinking Gatorade. )

I See A Jolly Silhouette Of A Man

Dub Narcotic Sound System w/ Heather Dunn “Fuck Me Up” – I’m not sure what to make of the new Dub Narcotic album Degenerate Introduction. It’s a frustrating record, because while it has scattered moments of funky greatness, it rarely commits to any groove, and ends up being a record of songs that would clear most any good dancefloor. On the songs which do get a nice groove going, like “Blood Flow,” it’s just too anemic and slow to inspire any body movement other than some vague head nodding and half-hearted shoulder dancing. That’s such a shame, because I’d really love to have a powerful funk/dance song with lyrics that go “Cheney is a heartless corpse / Colin Powell is a corporate marionette wet dream.” It’s such a missed opportunity.

So many of these songs could reach greatness if only they lost some of their art-rock restlessness and sounded a bit more enthusiastic, like the best songs from previous Dub Narcotic releases. “Joint Joint” spends so much time meandering before finding a danceable groove that when they abandon it after only a few measures, it’s extremely frustrating. And then there’s the lyrics: “Are we searching for the perfect beat? Hell no! / We don’t need no perfection, just a knocking rhythm section” – it kind of says it all about the record. It’s as though they are willing to rest on their laurels simply because they do have a good rhythm section, and they aren’t interested in putting forth the effort to come up with something that would get a real, non-indie rock dance floor moving. Their new music is the victim of indie’s low expectations for dance music.

“Fuck Me Up” is a bit better than other songs on the record, but it still falls short. It’s part of what’s becoming a tradition on Dub Narcotic albums – adding female guest vocals to one of the best tunes on the record. The problem here is that unlike the charming vocal turn by Miranda July on “Out Of Your Mind,” or Lois Maffeo’s surprisingly soulful singing on the sublime “Ship To Shore,” “Fuck Me Up” is stuck with grating, tuneless vocals by the No No’s Heather Dunn. If only she put some effort into the vocals, or let someone else sing the part, this song could have been much more successful.

It’s not exactly a shocker to me that this album is being championed by the relentlessly borecore music writers of Free Williamsburg – this is exactly the kind of funk/dance music that would impress a group of critics who trash Outkast, The Rapture, and Jay-Z while rhapsodizing over some of the dullest indie rock committed to wax in the last year.

Pledge Drive w/ One Of Each “Christmas Rhapsody” – This is fascinating! It’s a note-for-note replica of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with re-written Christmas-themed lyrics, performed with utter sincerity and considerable skill. This was sent to my by reader and Pledge Drive member Tim Walters, who also co-wrote the new lyrics. The degree to which this recording is both straight-faced and accurate is astounding. Highlight: “Kris Kringle, No!” “Do Not Give Him Coal!” “Give him coal!” “Do not give him coal!” “Give him coal!”

Also: Sasha Frere-Jones has a new mp3 of a previously unreleased song of his which you really ought to go download now from his blog while it is still available. It’s pretty great low-key funk instrumental with some fantastic keyboard bass sounds and percussion breaks, and he says there are some alternate versions with vocals which may be posted if reaction to this track is positive. Please let him know if you like it, because I’d really like to hear the Destiny’s Child mash-up version of this.

My Favorite Songs Have Notes That Are Wrong

Electrelane “Windmill” – I’ve been playing this on repeat several times over the past few days – somehow it sounds better that way. This is taken from the forthcoming The Power Out, which I think is in general an improvement over the band’s entirely instrumental first record. I’m fine with the rest of the songs from the new album, but this song…it’s just sublime, you know? Those guitar melodies and chords are so beautiful and evocative to me; it sounds like quiet, modest, simple happiness. It feels like a lot of good memories that I have in music form, if that makes sense. Every time I hear certain chord changes in the song, or when her voice gets a little higher for emphasis, I want to let out a little sigh of recognition.

The most similar song that I can think of would be “Sweet Shine” by Sonic Youth, but I’m pretty sure there’s an old Fleetwood Mac song that I don’t know the title of which is along the same lines. I love the way Verity Susman sings on this, especially when she’s reaching for those high notes just out of her range. It’s one of those times when a more technically skilled singer wouldn’t quite nail the feeling as well.

Grandaddy “Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland” – This is the first of the holiday/Christmas/winter themed songs. It’s a weird one, too – “Winter Wonderland,” but riddled with several inexplicable references to The Alan Parsons Project. My personal favorite: “In the meadow we can build a snowman / and pretend that he is Alan Parsons.”

Love A Little Candy Girl

Raekwon w/ Method Man & Cappadonna “Ice Cream Part 2” – This must be the Empire Strikes Back of hip hop sequels; it blows the original from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx out of the water, which obviously isn’t the easiest thing to do. Oh my god! That chimey part! That bassline! It’s perfect! This is from the brand-new Lex Diamond Story LP, but unfortunately there’s nothing else on the record which is quite like this.

Missy Elliott “Pass That Dutch (Pistol Pete mix)” – This is a Fluxblog Exclusive! This track appears courtesy of the remixer, and it’s pretty damn amazing. It’s a major improvement over the original, which I find to be a little shapeless and dull. This version is far more dynamic and danceable, and Missy’s lyrics sound much better over this faster beat.

Also: The only year-end list of records that you ever need is out today (Sorry, P&J fans!) – The Onion A/V Club Least Essential Albums Of 2003.

Joe says that he wants a “sudden increase in readers.” So please go visit his blog, read his excellent recent posts about the Scissor Sisters, Michael Jackson, and The Empty Show, and make a boy’s dream come true.

Hear My Heart Getting Soft

Crossover “The Journey To Gröb” – I don’t know what it is about this girl’s voice, but I love the sound of it. This is from the recent 12″ of the same name, which also includes a remix of “Phostographt” by Tiga.

Gene Farris “This Is My Religion” – This is a nice mellow dubby down-tempo track from a guy best known for Chicago house music and filterdisco. Highly recommended if you like DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing LP.

So, anyway, there’s been a major spike in traffic since I posted the LCD Soundsystem song – this blog had over 1000 hits yesterday, and it looks like it should be just a little bit shy of the same number today. To the 400-500+ extra people: Please stick around! I post cool stuff here all the time.

I’m thinking of going vaguely conceptual for the last two weeks of this month. I’ll alternate between posting interesting/obscure holiday music, and some of the best slept-on music from 2003 in lieu of a best-of list. If I find anything exciting that doesn’t quite fit into either category, I’ll post that too, as per usual. How does that sound?

Everybody Keeps On Talking About It, Nobody’s Getting It Done

LCD Soundsystem “Yeah (Stupid Version)” – I bet you didn’t think that they would top “Losing My Edge” so soon, huh? DFA strikes again. Going on all of the stray unreleased LCD Soundsystem songs circulating online right now and the amazing opening set that I saw them play at Irving Plaza in support of The Rapture earlier in the year, it seems as though they are preparing to drop one hell of a debut album. If LCD Soundsystem comes to your town, go see them play live. You won’t regret it.

(Additional oooh-ing and ahhh-ing about this track can be found over on this ILM thread.)

The Walkmen “New Year’s Eve” – This song is a real grower, and I suspect that the rest of the new Bows And Arrows LP will be the same way. I haven’t heard the record enough to form any strong opinions, but my initial reaction to the album is that it’s not as immediately stunning/beautiful/catchy as the previous record, but I have enough goodwill built up for these guys that I’m willing to keep listening in hopes that I’ll get more into it over time. “New Year’s Eve” is one of my early favorites; it nails that wintery, romantic, nostalgic feeling that seems to be their specialty.

Came For My Body But Left With My Soul

Pram “The Owl Service” – Pram are kind of like an Earth 2 version of Stereolab – essentially quite similar, but with a very different personality as a result of changing only a few relatively minor variables. In this case, take away Stereolab’s French vocals, lefty politics, and taste for Krautrock and cocktail music, and replace it with an obsession with magic, children’s literature, gothic horror, and jazz. This track is taken from their 2000 album The Museum Of Imaginary Animals, and takes its title from the children’s horror novel by Alan Garner.

Junior Senior “Boy Meets Girl” – Listen, if this is “disposable” then so are the Rolling Stones and all of Motown and all of the great fun pop songs that you’ve ever heard in your life. There’s nothing wrong with fun, people! Don’t fight it. Joycore is good for your soul. Borecore is unhealthy for children and other living creatures!

I Thought You Were Going To Say “Evil”

Tom Scharpling & Jon Wurster “Tom’s Daddy 2” – This sketch from this past Tuesday’s episode of The Best Show On WFMU is the sequel to the original “Tom’s Daddy” bit which will very soon be released as part of the forthcoming New Hope For The Ape-Eared – The Best of Scharpling & Wurster Volume 2 compilation. You don’t really need to have heard the original to get the jokes in this one – unlike some other Best Show sequels, this sketch does not rely on recycling the best jokes from its predecessor, and may actually be funnier than the original. This time, Tom’s father Roger Scharpling calls in to talk to Tom about his new girlfriend, mufflers, Karen Carpenter, Little League, hotdiggitydog.com, and statues of limitations.

John Mayer = Turbodouche

Mayer, on Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet” in the new issue of SPIN:

This may be the future of music.

SPIN: How so?

It’s a song that you can learn before it’s over. It’s part of the continual blurbing of American culture – this skip-forward generation. “I don’t want to learn lyrics. Don’t give me a verse; just give me a chorus. And just chant some shit over the verse.” But nobody’s left out. The person who has heard this song twenty times is no closer to understanding it than the person who listens to it for the first time.

There is so much wrong-headed smugness, condescension, and misguided ideas about art and pop music packed into this brief quote that it makes my head spin! I mean, really, John! “The continual blurbing of American culture,” huh? Did you get that one from Adbusters, man? Or was it from No Logo? And you surely haven’t benefited from the “skip-forward generation”, with your flimsy little James Taylor-for-Dave Matthews fans pop tunes, right? Because you’re writing, um, more than one verse per song? WTF? Somebody needs to give this dink a chainsaw haircut.

Also

New York people: The Scissor Sisters are playing at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, January 10th. Tickets are on sale now. I’ll be there. What about you?

Now That You’ve Found Another Key, What Are You Going To Play?

Go Home Productions “How Does It Feel To Be Rich, Man?” – This comes from brilliant mashup mind of Go Home Productions, who has put together some of the finest bootlegs of the past few years and are showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. (See: “Christmas On The Block” and “God Save Madonna,” both currently on their downloads page.) “How Does It Feel To Be Rich, Man” is taken from their Beatleg Bootles set, and mixes my all-time favorite Beatles song “Baby, You’re A Rich Man” with the “Theme From Shaft” by Isaac Hayes.

The Homosexuals “Vociferous Slam” – I’ve been meaning to post this song for quite a while now, and I always seem to forget about it for some reason. I was reminded yesterday by this great thread about the Homosexuals from ILM. It’s sort of amazing how many turns this song takes in less than two minutes without ever being obnoxious or proggy. That thread I linked covers the strange history of the band far better than I could in a quick blurb here, so do read up on them if you’re interested. The rest of that Homosexuals Record compilation is well worth checking out.

My Street’s All Pop Music And Coke

Damon Albarn “Gotta Get Down With The Passing Of Time” – This is taken from the new super-limited edition record of Damon Albarn demos and song fragments, DemoCrazy. This particular song is sort of mediocre, but it is by far the most complete piece of music on the record. Most of the tracks are one minute doodles meant to capture a musical idea, but unlike, say, PJ Harvey’s Four Track Demos, almost nothing here is complete enough to even be successful on its own merits. This record gives Blur fanboys some vague insight into Damon Albarn’s songwriting process, and nothing more.

I’m not sure why Albarn would choose to release this particular set of demos – judging by this demo version of Blur’s “Sweet Song” from the Observer Music Monthly, Albarn certainly could put out far more realized demoes of previously released songs, which may give the listener a more linear idea of Albarn’s process since they could compare it to the finished product.

DemoCrazy is a curious record, mostly because it is mystifying to me why it even exists. Blur have been courting a cult audience since the beginning, mainly by releasing dozens of b-sides and Japanese-exclusive records for the obsessive fans to hunt down, but this record is the kind of barrel-scraping exploitation that usually only comes after an artist is long since dead and there’s nothing left to release. Why did Albarn think his fans needed to hear this? Is he embracing the Pollard Impulse?

Something You Really Ought To Read

If you have any interest in the process of manufacturing records, you should check out Woebot’s article about record mastering.

Here We Are Together On Your Hi Fi

Kelis w/ Andre 3000 “Millionaire” – Apparently returning the favor for Kelis’ guest shot on The Love Below‘s “Dracula’s Wedding,” this is Andre 3000’s contribution to Kelis’ brand new Tasty record. Fans of Outkast should not be let down by this track, which is produced and vocally dominated by Andre, enough so that it seems more than a little out of place on the Kelis record. As with most anything Andre 3000 does lately, it’s fabulous. I can’t really say the same of the rest of the Kelis album – it’s not bad, it’s just kind of average for the most part. Many of the tracks just sound like the Neptunes on autopilot, and Kelis’ voice never rises above being merely adequete and competant. She lacks the character and presense which would be necessary to make her so-so material compelling. I think that her talents are best suited to playing the melodic chorus-singing foil to flamboyant hip hop MCs like Andre and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. She’s no star, but she can be a gifted ensemble player, and there’s no shame in that.

Of course, the exception to all of this is the single “Milkshake” (which I trust most of you have heard by now, and if not, you will very soon), which is as inspired, catchy, and sexy as the best Neptunes singles of the past four years.

10CC “The Worst Band In The World” – Inspired by discussion on ILM of their biggest hit “I’m Not In Love,” I’ve started to investigate 10CC’s back catalog, which has been a fairly fruitful endeavor for me, if just because I discovered this song from their 1972 album Sheet Music. It reminds me a bit of the better Steely Dan songs, but with even more sarcasm and irony in the lyrics, and less meticulous lite-jazz gloss.

One of the questions which I’m frequently asked by new readers is if I know of any other blogs which share this blog’s format – ie, a semi-daily mp3 blog. Up until recently, I’ve only ever been able to recommend Gabba and a handful of other blogs like Do You Feel Loved which rotate their mp3s with a much slower turnover rate than the one I have established here. Well, no more. Tangmonkey is now offering daily mp3 downloads, and joining me as I straddle the fine line between music “piracy” and free promotion and publicity. Godspeed, Tangmonkey!

Getting To Know My Target Demo You

I’m not going to post anything new for another few days, til maybe Monday or Tuesday. Sorry.

In the meantime, out of curiosity, of all of the songs/mp3s that I’ve been posting over the past month or so, which ones have you enjoyed the most? What surprised you? What have you disliked?

Oh, What Can I Do?

The Aislers Set “Emotional Levy” – First off, thank you to my friend Jane who sent me a really ace cd of indie pop which I received in the mail yesterday. This song is taken from that disc, and is part of the reason why I haven’t listened to most of the other songs more than once so far. I keep playing this beautiful song over and over again, and I love it more every time. I’ve never heard an Aislers Set song which I didn’t like previous to hearing this tune, but now – this is love.

I’m not quite sure what it is about this song, but it makes me really wish that it was snowing right now.

Goat’s Head In The Deli Case

I’ve decided to just post the alternate studio versions of the Fiery Furnaces songs that I mentioned yesterday. Why not, right?

The Fiery Furnaces “Tropical Iceland” (acoustic version)

The Fiery Furnaces “Bright Blue Tie” aka “Sweden” (piano version)

It’s interesting how these songs have opposite differences from their album arrangements. This version of “Tropical Iceland” is nothing more than guitar and vocal without the layers of keyboards, sound effects, and light percussion of the finished version, whereas this version of “Bright Blue Tie” is lush and piano-driven while the album version is spare and acoustic.

In other news, the Barbelith Underground is being reopened to new members for a limited time starting today. I encourage anyone reading this blog who is not already a member to sign up. Barbelith can be a really amazing place full of very interesting, intelligent, and creative people, and discussion covers a wide range of topics including critical theory, politics/activism, art, music, pop, comics, film, science, collaborative projects, and um, goofing around. Due to some problems with trolling, we’ve been forced to close things off for a while until we figure out a way to deal with one person in particular who is apparently hell-bent on wrecking things for everyone else, but it’s time for us to get some new blood, and we’d love to have you.

Sometimes The Signs From Heaven Are Vague

The Fiery Furnaces @ Mercury Lounge, 11/22/2003

Up In The North/ Crystal Clear/ I’m Gonna Run/ Tropical Iceland/ Bow Wow/ I Broke My Mind/ Spaniolated -> Single Again/ We Got Back The Plague -> Straight Street/ South Is Only A Home/ Don’t Dance Her Down/ Chris Michaels / Leaky Tunnel / Blueberry Boat -> Asthma Attack/ I Lost My Dog/ Waiting To Know You

(Note: The new/unreleased songs in the set are listed here exactly as they appear on the setlist that I took from the stage after the show was over. The majority of the titles on the setlist were abbreviated, so it is unlikely that these are the proper titles.)

Wow. I really can’t emphasize enough how different The Fiery Furnaces are live than on their album. The songs are still there, and their aesthetic is more or less entirely intact, but the arrangements of nearly every song is either subtly or drastically different from what you hear on the record. For example, “Tropical Iceland” was played as a keyboard-heavy upbeat pop song instead of a mellow art-folk number, and “Bow Wow” was played with a totally different (and far more harsh) keyboard sound. “We Got Back The Plague” was based more around the keyboard than the guitar, and Matt sang the verses, leaving Eleanor to sing the choruses. All of the songs were played much faster, especially “I’m Gonna Run,” which was played nearly triple the speed of the album recording.

I enjoyed hearing the songs differently, and I appreciate that they treat their songs as living, changeable things. I’ve seen way too many artists who treat their studio arrangements with too much reverence and that can lead to rather dull and rote live performances. (I’m thinking specifically about Radiohead right now, who are certainly a great band to see live, but with few exceptions do everything they can to reproduce their album arrangements.) Playing the songs differently live also makes me think that they are more thoughtful and considered about how they make their albums, and that the consistency of quality and feeling on their album is no fluke. Everything about Gallowsbird’s Bark seems much more deliberate now, and I like that.

I wouldn’t say that the live versions were better than the album versions, though they were all quite good in their alternate arrangements. I’d love to get some live recordings of their shows so that I could get to know the songs this way, because when I was watching them last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the differences between the arrangements, particularly when they were so drastic that the music behind the vocal melodies were almost entirely different, as in “Leaky Tunnel” or “Asthma Attack.” Almost all of the songs lost some of their subtlety and charm in their looser, more rocking live arrangements. I wish that they would slow down and take their time, if just a little bit. I can appreciate that they up the energy for their live performance – that makes perfect sense – but in the case of “I’m Gonna Run,” it seemed like they were just a bit too frantic and shambolic for their own good.

The three opening acts were entertaining, which was a nice surprise for me. Franz Ferdinand were my least favorite of the bands on the bill, but they weren’t bad, just very repetitive. They seemed to exist as if to dare music writers to use the word “angular” to describe them. But that’s what they sound like! They sound like every English post-punk band which has ever been described as angular. Angles, angles, everywhere. The singer even had angular features!

Gary Dream & Gene Sincere were a cute novelty band who played twee, melodic pop songs about girls. Their schtick was that they announced that they had recently come out of the closet when they got out on stage, and that they were stuck with all of these yearning songs about girls and were going to play them anyway, even if they lacked conviction in the lyrics entirely. They made funny deadpan remarks in this vein throughout their set. I liked them.

I Love Lucy were very fun and endearing. They are unsigned band from Glasgow who played fun pop-punk songs which sounded like equal parts Elastica and Life Without Buildings. I’m hoping that they get to put out a record soon, because they sounded very promising.

(Oh, yeah…as far as I know, that song “Lost Dog” has not been officially released. I found that studio recording on soulseek, and I have no idea where it comes from. I found some alternate versions of “Bright Blue Tie” and “Tropical Iceland” too, and I may post them sometime in the near future. The version of “Tropical Iceland” isn’t anything like the live version, by the way. It’s a simple voice-and-acoustic guitar version, which may be a demo or from a radio session. If you know anything about these leaked songs (or have more of them) please let me know.)