Music, Music, Everywhere

It's been a long time since we talked music here, and a lot of musical water has passed under the bridge. A few of the notable discs that have stayed resolutely in our players include Feist's The Reminder, alternating as it does between dirgy tunes like "Brandy Alexander" and poppier masterpieces like "1234" (available on seemingly every Apple commercial). A rough and tumble live album, recorded by Tokyo Police Club at the Chicago Lollapalooza stopover, has sparked our enthusiasm for their Saddle Creek full-length, duo out early next year. Similarly, Bassano del Grappa gets voluably excited everytime Stars' In Our Bedroom After the War comes on, speaking passionately about some kind of Dr. Zhivago-esque grand romance movie script locked up inside his head. Apparently only Stars hold the key.

Other noteworthy releases include Radiohead's In Rainbows (see earlier post). We finally got around to listening to Bright Eyes' Casadegga to only lukewarm response, but the Broken Social Scene's Introducing Keven Drew has grown somewhat on us.

A charming little surprise came to us in the form of New York anti-folketeer Jeffrey Lewis' acoustic covers of Crass songs entitled, surprising, 12 Crass Songs. Stripped of the screaming vocals, and buzzing guitars, couched in softer tones for more suburban surrounds, Lewis helps us think of a time when we were better (and poorer and more radical) people. Generally we solve this problem by listening to Nico's Chelsea Girls, and just descending into a deeply morose spiral best counter-balanced by more uplifting fare, like Tokyo Police Club.

Music Update

Awhile ago we intimated that despite all of the music that has come our way lately, not a lot of it is any good. Or rather, since most music is suited for a particular time and place, with intended to be listened to with a specific mind set, we just haven't been there. Such lukewarmly received albums include Wax Mannequin, Oxbow, Hex Static, Klute, Cobblestone Jazz, Kings of Electro, and even, the latest from Winnipeg, The Details (let's be honest, we're all waiting for the Weakerthans to arrive). Truth be told, even the new Broken Social Scene left us a little non-plussed at first.

Instead, our attention has been captivated by the new Stars album, the digital reissue of Suicide's first album, a tribute to David Bowie released by French record label, Naive Records. The album is stellar, but then, we've been Bowie fans all along, which makes it easy, anyways. Devendra Banhart has also enjoyed relatively frequent plays, but also encouraged us to find a digitial version of the lone A Bullet For Fidel album - a record that we only had, once, on vinyl and since lost. Oddly, another blast from the past that has been spending much time in our player has been The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed. Finally, we've have been pleased and surprised by how much we've enjoyed the 1970s inspired retro pop of Saddle Creeek's Georgie James.