Extremities of Delight

Party In The USA

2010-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

Miley Cyrus's Party In The USA is my new favorite song. First off, I did not think that I would like a Miley Cyrus song because I just have this instant thought of Billy and his mullet and his disgustingly-phrased heartbreak. But whoever is creating Miley and her image has got me hooked... It is sick how much I am loving the video right now. She looks so fun and her teeth are so perfect and white... I like it so much that the American flag wagging in the background doesn't even bug me... It makes me want to party in the USA with teenage girls in denim mini-skirts and hot pants... and I like how digitized her voice sounds.

Thanks John

Watch the high quality version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA

Something about the video is very campy and almost tongue-in-cheek... and it makes me think about how people who work in very commercial media fields have to cheese everything up to simplify it for public consumption... and that must be kind of fun, because a lot of the artwork created becomes very nonsensical (with all the hilarious back-up dancers, flag flashing, and confetti) and not so much to the consumers or promoters or distributors... of course, I've never been in this sort of position so I don't really know.. but that's how I would feel if I was the director of a Miley Cyrus video. It's kind of sick that the song was made to promote her Wal-Mart clothing line... and the CD is only available at Wal-Mart.

Lori & The Chameleons

2010-02-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

Love love love this song: Lori & The Chameleons - "The Lonely Spy", 1980... it's just creepy and quirky enough to please most every bone in my body. Upon further research, I have found that this band only released two singles, both of which feature a desirable amount of male oohs and aahs... something I feel is lacking in the world of pop music. Below is a fabulously surreal video clip of 1908 Moscow that somebody geniusly paired with this song.... cuz there's no way out of Russia for the Lonely Spy and Me.

Health and Pale Saints

2009-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

I love the new Health album: Get Color. It's very dark and beautiful, and almost sounds as if it could have been a Curve album, however, this song appears to draw some inspiration from another very worthy source... especially in the intro.

Health - "Nice Girls", 2009

Pale Saints - "Way The World Is", 1990

Best Coast

2009-12-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

I am really appreciating this new crop of musicians (Wavves, Vivian Girls, etc) that are drawing inspiration from the early 90s music scenes by combining shoegaze with grunge, which is interesting because those two genres were so separate from each other in the 90s. Like shoegaze, there is also a lot of Phil Spector/60s girl group influence in the sound of these new bands. Here's a song by Best Coast, a former/current member of Pocahaunted, that I'm really enjoying at the moment:

Best Coast - "When I'm With You", 2009

Mazzy Star

2009-11-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

I was at an open studio event and someone was playing this familiar and beautiful song: "Into Dust"... and I just had to stop and listen. Mazzy Star is one of those very important bands that I feel had a huge influence on music and people in general. They were always doing their own thing. Very dream-poppy, but American, with a slight country tinge, and always beautiful. I think someday they will be one of those classic bands that all of the hip young folks talk about... in a Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine sort of way. There is a reason why the vinyl format of "So Tonight That I Might See" rarely goes for less than $500 on ebay.

Mazzy Star - "Into Dust", 1993
Mazzy Star - "Roseblood", 1996

The Poppy Family

2009-10-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

I love this band consisting of a married Canadian couple: Terry and Susan Jacks. They only released two albums, "Which Way You Goin' Billy" in 1969 and "Poppy Seeds" in 1971. The title track from their debut was a big hit. I really enjoy their simple melodies and lyrics with airy background vocals. There are certainly some Carpenters comparisons to be made. I first discovered them through Saint Etienne's "The Trip" compilation, one of the most consistently rewarding purchases of my life.

I am currently addicted to the following songs:

The Poppy Family - "Good Friends?", 1971
The Poppy Family - "Free From The City", 1969
The Poppy Family - "What Can The Matter Be?", 1969
The Poppy Family - "Where Evil Grows", 1971
Terry Jacks - "Concrete Sea", 1972

Mama Cass

2009-10-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Joselito

2009-10-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

Beautiful.

Fanfarlo

2009-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

This band sounds a lot like Beirut, using the same vocal inflections as Zachary Condon. Fanfarlo is a bit more upbeat though. I'm not sure who is copying who... or if the similarities are merely coincidental.

I really like this song with its flowing vocals and bursts of excitement. Also, the album cover is nice, at first glance, but then I noticed the crow mask thing, which seems like a "The Knife" rip-off and a bit overly dramatic. I'm such a bitch. The fact that their name possesses my name scores some points.

Fanfarlo - "Ghosts", 2009

Dodie Stevens

2009-09-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

This song rocks. A nice little wholesome pre-gay-realization ditty.

Dodie Stevens - "Pink Shoelaces", 1959

Ninotchka

2009-09-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

Ninotchka - "I've Got Wings", 1997

This is one of my most favorite songs ever. The song is very upbeat and shoegazey in a very poppy yet noisy way. The sound is different from other Shoegaze bands, and it was released at a time when sounding dream poppy was not very hip. The guitars or whatever that noise is is mesmerizing. This band only released one single and this link is the only other information I can find on them: http://www.grimsey.com/ninotchka.html

There is another band named Ninotchka that appears to be still together. I appreciate them also as they explore many genres with their music. There are many free downloads on their website: ninotchka.co.uk Cinderella, One Girl Rumba, and Capricorn are my favorites.
Ninotchka - "One Girl Rumba", 2004

Miranda Lee Richards

2009-09-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Miranda Lee Richards released an album this year, featuring "Early November" and its dreamy video.

Here's another dreamy, beautifully shot, 70s style video from her previous album. This song was big in Japan, according to wikipedia.

I really appreciate it when a performer has a consistent look and feel to all of the promotional materials and artwork that coincides with their albums. This cover artwork and video shoot are similar in thought. There is a really cohesive feel to her music and visual artwork, showing that they/she really cared about the presentation of her artform.

Miranda Lee Richards - "The Long Goodbye", 2001
Miranda Lee Richards - "Ella", 2001

Rainbow Toy Poodles

2009-09-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

I kept on seeing this Rainbow Poodle picture on friends' facebook pages and I didn't know where the picture was from or what it meant... and I still don't... so I googled "rainbow poodles" and found this equally hilarious photo. This website is real. note the american flag background in the picture. http://www.rainbowtoypoodles.com/

The Big Pink - Dominos

2009-09-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

The big single of the month. It's being heralded as the equivalent to 2009 as what MGMT's "Time to Pretend" was to 2008. This one is a bit more catchy though. I like this band.

see also The Big Pink - Too Young To Love

We Have Band

2009-09-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

We Have Band - You Came Out (Official Music Video) from We Have Band on Vimeo.

Great video for a great song. However, as expected, I still like the demo version better. This is my favorite new band... all of their songs are good (that I've heard). Their first ep is released this week on itunes only.
We Have Band - "You Came Out (demo)", 2008

Zalatnay Sarolta

2009-09-14T20:53:00.001-07:00

Hungarian Popstar with longevity. It's unclear to me whether she is Sarolta Zalatnay or Zalatnay Sarolta, as I cannot tell which is her first and last name and she seems to be mentioned in both manners without consistency all over the internet.

This song is a live version, and it's the only one I seem to be able to find. Really great hand claps. There's a pretty good video of it on youtube.
Zalatnay Sarolta - "Boogie Woogie Láz", 1982

To show her versatility, here's another one, from the 60s.
Zalatnay Sarolta - "Hol Jar Ás Ezem", 1966

...and one from the 70s, a bit more aggressive
Sarolta Zalatnay - "Sracok Oh Sracok", 1971

Thoughts for today. Glee, Education, and Myspace

2009-09-14T17:16:00.001-07:00

I just watched the season premiere episode of Glee. It's a good show. I would recommend it. It doesn't bury itself within the stigmas of either drama or comedy... so I guess it's a "dramedy". The show takes place at an American High School and the main character is a foxy Glee Club and Spanish teacher. There are many personal dilemmas amongst the cast of well-rounded characters. The best thing about the show is that it presumes intelligence upon the audience. The jokes are good and sometimes subtle and they made me laugh out loud. Hopefully, if the show is successful, there will be renewed interest in the Glee Clubs that seem to be dwindling from the curriculums of High Schools in this country.

Earlier today, my roommate informed me that she was the only art teacher at her high school, and she only teaches seniors... so there is absolutely no art education for any students from grades 9-11... and in grade 12 it is an elective. That's fucked up. The public school systems need to realize that art education is a core value and should be treated that way. I believe it should be mandatory at all schools. What is the purpose for people to go to school? To learn. Why do we have different courses? Because human brains are expansive and individual and in order to expand, they need to be shown a variety of ways of thinking. Math, Science, English, History, and the Arts are simply different ways of seeing the world. Art & Music lets people express themselves... it lets shine the basic, most important, lights of humanity. All of the answers are in art... and it's just a different way of thinking from math or science or english and should not be downplayed in our society. By shortening the level of art's priority in the educational system, people are being denied their rights to think the way that they think. It's as if we are being told that art is not important because it's already there in our heads. It's already in everyone's life. True. However, with the mind being clouded by all the other ways of thinking in schools, it is easy to forgot the core of human existence. We were created by formulas.. but people created the names and titles for them. We were created by cells but people created names. History is important, but once again, we, people, created our history. We need to bring it back to the center... and realize that art has the answers to human existence also... we just don't have the names for it. Art brings out the unexplainable. All courses are important in letting the mind explore the different realms of human existence and the means of explaining why we are here and how the world works.

Unrelated thoughts: Myspace has become a great historical archive for everyone's lives approximately 1 year ago when facebook somehow took over the social networking phenomenon. It's like a ghost town with all these unchanged remnants of what people were doing then: who they were talking to, who their "top friends" were, and their daily lives.

Furslide

2009-09-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I have always liked Furslide and have found myself listening to these two songs in particular lately:

Furslide - "Hawaii", 1998
Furslide - "Faith", 1998

This band is a bit more lyrically based than what I listen to usually, but I really love the string arrangements and the quiet, beautiful, yet slightly disturbing, undertones. Jennifer Turner also sings unlike anyone I can think of. Her style is clear and emotive but distant and restrained at the same time. Although these two songs are similar, their one album is really quite diverse and good... and its cd case is like a hardcover book... and it's produced by Nellee Hooper.

The Tears of A Clown

2009-08-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - "The Tears of A Clown", 1967

This song was in my head for the past three days and I could only remember the instrumental part... and it was driving me nuts... but now I've found it, so I'm ok.

Co-written by Stevie Wonder, The Tears of A Clown was released in 1967, but was not successful as a single until 1970 when it was released in the UK and it went to #1. The same year it was a #1 hit in the US on both Billboard's "Hot 100" and "Black Singles Chart".

Sealed With a Kiss

2009-08-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to this song quite consistently the past few weeks. It's a good one. I really enjoy the echoey production of his vocals. The video features some pretty bad lip-synching and some oddly mesmerizing choreography.

Brian Hyland - "Sealed With a Kiss", 1962

Acceptable in the Disco Era

2009-08-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

I heard this song by Calvin Harris the other day: Acceptable In The 80s, (2007) and it made me think of this song by Casino Music: Faites Le Proton, (1979).
I love them both.

Let's Dance!

2009-08-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

Chris Montez - "Let's Dance", 1962

This is one of my most favoritest songs ever... and probably the first US hit single sung by a Mexican-American. I heard an amazing live cover of it the other day and nobody in the audience seemed to recognize it. Astounding. This is why I need to pursue my museum project.

hang around baby, we'll be baking a cake for you

2009-08-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

I can't stop listening to this song, it's so catchy. The video is interesting.
They're also working on a "carefully-crafted mix-tape soon of all the songs and 'songs' that inspired See Mystery Lights," almost like the Late Night Tales series of albums.

Paris Hilton's My New BFF

2009-07-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this show. It's really quite genius... taking something as simple and everyday as friendship and making it a contest... which really makes the viewer think about the subconscious thoughts that go on between their own personal relationships... and the levels and statuses within.

Paris doesn't gloss things over with faux-intelligence. She just does it like it is... which is the most profound route of all. All aspects of life are interesting in their own right and don't need to be embellished in order to be entertaining. The emotion on this show is raw. Thanks Paris, for keeping it simple. Here's a really great clip:

Savage Garden

2009-07-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

"I Want You"

This song got better with age. I used to despise it

Veruca Salt

2009-07-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

Veruca Salt - "Benjamin"

Why can I not stop listening to this song? Nina Gordon's voice is just so pretty.

Upon finding an unopened 180 gram vinyl version of Veruca Salt's 1997 album, "Eight Arms To Hold You", a few months ago for only 5 dollars, I began to rediscover how amazing this album really is. The melodies are so pop and the production is so big, loud, brutal, melodic, light, and beautiful at the same time. It's really quite timeless. It is produced by Bob Rock who is best know for his work with Metallica and I really commend Nina & Louise for going with such an 80s metal producer when it was kind of un-hip to do so. It was the post-grunge era and they took a big step towards creating a new sound for alternative rock that, however, really didn't catch on. The 90s was all about sounding "raw" like it was the most important thing ever. whatever.

Veruca Salt was an important band in the history of rock and, like many bands from this era, I don't know if they will ever get the recognition they deserve as they were never very critically acclaimed. They were a bit too commercial for the indie crowd and too indie for the commercial crowd. Gays loved them though and as this album was so iconic to our generation, I think someone will bring some praise back to this band. Gays always know best.

They were also quite fashion-forward. Check out the Volcano Girls and Shutterbug videos.

Operator Please - "Leave It Alone"

2009-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Operator Please - "Leave It Alone"

Australian young'uns. Sounds like Dexy's Midnight Runners plus Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Say Hi

2009-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Say Hi - Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh

I like this song.

The Breeders - Fate To Fatal EP

2009-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Fate To Fatal! I love The Breeders, and, as they just released an amazing album last year, I was very surprised to find that they have recently released a limited edition vinyl EP entitled "Fate To Fatal".... and it's really great... all four tracks are very distinctive. The title track is a bit rock and roll and a little shouty, very traditional "Breeders" sounding. "The Last Time" features Mark Lanegan on lead vocals, already giving it a different sound than any other song they've recorded. There is something comforting in the way this track's consistent driving force contains itself, also the Deal backing vocals compliment Mr. Lanegan's voice wonderfully. "Chances Are" is a beautiful ballad, vaguely reminiscent of the Title TK era, but with more melody. The final track is my favorite. "Pinnacle Hollow" possesses a long instrumental intro with light vocals coming in at the 2:40 mark.

Kim Deal is such an under appreciated songwriter. This album really shows the diversity of this band while still being a very coherent album. I have not been able to personally procure a physical copy of this 1000 edition hand screen printed EP. It's now going for big bucks on ebay... want to buy me one?

They are also touring again. Yes.

The Breeders - "Pinnacle Hollow" Buy the album on iTunes

Hooverphonic - "In Bloom"

2009-06-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hooverphonic - "In Bloom"

Wow. Hooverphonic is soooo great. I love that they covered Nirvana and made it better. Alex Callier is an amazing producer.

Francoise Hardy

2009-05-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Francoise Hardy - "Et Meme", 1964
Francoise Hardy - "However Much", 1965

Francoise Hardy is one great lady. She recorded her own songs and there is a sincerity and assertiveness to her voice that separates her from other French female singers of this era.

This song is possibly the best thing on earth. It's difficult to say if the French or English version is better... both are great... but there is some real punchiness to "However Much"... which is quite enjoyable. "Et Meme" has a bit more background vocal.

Melody Club

2009-05-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Melody Club - "Electric" , 2002

Swedish greatness that may not be released in the US. Pure amazing pop. I'm electric and I was born to dance.

Dead Can Dance & The Virgin Spring

2009-05-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Dead Can Dance - "Windfall", 1987

Oh. My. God. Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's like a fairy tale, but not tamed down for children... so really quite frightening and traumatizing... but very well done. I have also been addicted to this Dead Can Dance song lately... and I feel like it kind of goes along with the mood of the movie.

Indians aka Native Americans

2009-05-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

So, I just watched "The New World" starring Colin Farrell and Jewel's cousin... and It was goodish. The love story was very cheesy... but I liked how quiet and disjunctured the movie was. There was a feeling of "I don't know what the hell is going on" which I feel would be very historically accurate. I am not sure why Colin Farrell's accent was so Irish sounding... but anyway... I like Indians and I found this really amazing website: www.old-picture.com They have a whole Native American section. Some of the photographs are done by Edward S. Curtis who was paid by JP Morgan to photograph these cultures before the nice whites killed them all.

Jacaszek

2009-05-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

Jacaszek - "Powoli"

I really like this guy and I have no idea how to properly say his name. It's Polish. I haven't listened to his whole album yet, but everything I've heard is amazing: very quiet, melancholy, and "gothic" maybe, with subtle lady voices that sometimes "ooh" and "aah". It's classical and electronic at the same time... a touch of Aphex Twin and a touch of Dead Can Dance. This record label, Miasmah, is beginning to remind me a lot of the early years of the 4AD label.

Crush

2009-05-17T20:40:00.001-07:00

Crush - "Jellyhead (Motiv8's Pumphouse Remix)"

Crush - "Jellyhead (British radio edit)"

This is one of my favorite 90s dance songs.... so good. I heard it in some tacky store today and it made me feel it is necessary to post this. I remember hearing this song as a young lad and being consistently fascinated by the instrumental bridge at aprroximately 2:50 that sounds like the song has ended... but wait... it's still there. This is actually a remix of the original version that was released in Britain. Weird that the dancier version (Motiv8's Pumphouse Remix) made it big in the US. I do think this version is better.

I remember really enjoying their album too. There's a "We Got the Beat" cover (the Go-Go's) and a few tracks co-written by Sarah Cracknell from Saint Etienne.

Crush originally consisted of Donna Air and Jayni Hoy, two British TV stars of some sort. Donna Air sometimes still shows up in the tabloids.

Mickey & Sylvia

2009-05-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

Mickey & Sylvia - Baby You're So Fine, 1961

This song has been in my head all day. I love these two... they had a big hit in 1957 with "Love is Strange", which is also featured in Dirty Dancing. This track was their first release on their own record label, "Willow"... and it's great.

Nick Noble

2009-04-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Nick Noble - "The Girl With The Long Red Hair"

This song is for Megan. I love the "do-da-dos". Upon its release in 1965, it went absolutely nowhere on the charts... but that means nothing. I can't seem to find any information about this artist other than the fact that he is best known for his recording of "The Bible Tells Me So" from 1955. The picture is from a much later album; I couldn't find any proper period photographs.

Beth Jeans Houghton

2009-04-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Beth Jeans Houghton - "Golden"
This song is really good. You'll love it. It reminds me a lot of Marissa Nadler... but more upbeat, with vocal harmonies and less talk about death. She definitely has a similar vocal quality to her: beautiful.

Cotton Candy & Fairy Floss

2009-04-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Cotton Candy. yum. Australians call it "Fairy Floss"... and Brits call it "Cotton Floss".... The word "floss" kind of makes me think of crotches. hmm.. take that where you will. According to wikipedia, Cotton Candy was first introduced at the World's Fair in St Louis, and this gives a great opportunity to bring up one of the best movies of all time, "Meet Me In St Louis". Go see it if you haven't. You are missing out.

McCarthy

2009-04-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

McCarthy - Red Sleeping Beauty, 1986

McCarthy was Tim Gane's band before Stereolab, and I feel like there are slight hints of what was to come with Stereolab's sounds; The intro is long, the background vocals and instrumentations are compelling, and the song is practically perfect... the instruments and voices are just different. I really don't know much about them, but upon stumbling across this track, I think I am in love. This was their second single and it's so jangly and progressive; Pale Saints sounded a lot like this 4 years later.

The sounds and fairytale lyrics mixed with the singer's dreamy voice produces romantic and beautiful feelings. I always like a bit of romance in what I listen to. Wikipedia says, "The song is believed to have been written as a protest to the Margaret Thatcher government." Interesting. I must own their records. It's a new mission in life.

Although this song came 20 years later, the wacky background vocals that go "ah uh ah uh ah uh ah uh" remind me of Stereolab's "Kyberneticka Babicka".

I love the album cover.

Ladyhawke

2009-03-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Ladyhawke - Morning Dreams

Wow. I am addicted to this song. Buy her album! Her sound has some definite elements of a variety of different 80s synthpop songs... but she borrows it so well! ...And she's cute... and from New Zealand. What more could one ask for?

Tini Puppini

2009-03-23T16:15:00.001-07:00

"I love my tail in these jeans!" I want one.

The Good, The Bad, and The Queen

2009-03-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today I heard Blur's "Song 2" randomly, and then, hours later, somehow found myself looking up "The Good, The Bad, and The Queen", completely unrelated in thought to listening to Blur. Damon Albarn is in the air... and so I will post my favorite song of his at the moment: The Good, The Bad, and The Queen: Herculean. This man is seriously going to be one of those musicians who is still making amazing music twenty years from now. He's like the "Bob Dylan" of the 90s.. except he can actually sing.. ooh! burn! I just offended a lot of people right there. I'm not really sure if that's the right comparison to make... but I think we all know what I'm getting at. He will be talked about highly forever.. but he's just a bit too left of mainstream to ever be as popularly revered as Mr. Dylan, or those Beatle guys... (at least in America... people are too closed here)... and he seems to hide behind his greatness by pursuing several different projects under different monikers (Blur; Gorillaz; The Good, The Bad, and The Queen; Mali Music; Monkey: Journey to the West). I think he's a bit publicity shy. He just wants to create... he doesn't want more fame or really care. I appreciate that.

I used to be a bit disenchanted with Damon Albarn, because I read somewhere that he and Justine Frischmann of Elastica broke up because he wanted her to be more like a housewife... but, hey, who doesn't want a housewife? That was probably a statement exaggerated by the press anyway... I don't think it was meant to be chauvinistically toned.

side note: Damon Albarn is really sexy.

Evelyn Knight

2009-03-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Probably best known for 1948's "A Little Bird Told Me", here's another great one from Evelyn Knight that I have just discovered. I'm not sure when it was recorded, but it sounds like the same era.
Evelyn Knight - Chocolate Ice Cream Cone

The Criterion Collection

2009-03-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh. my. god. You can watch all of the Criterion Collection movies on the Criterion Collection website, criterion.com. Wow. That's a lot of "criterion". ha! Although.. it's not free... but definitely cheaper than shelling out $30.00 or more for the actual dvd releases.

I would highly recommend Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's "Black Narcissus", as pictured above, starring Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons, among others.

Throwing Muses

2009-03-18T09:18:00.001-07:00

I love how dirty-American-80s-teenager they look in this photo. I saw Throwing Muses for the first time ever... and I cried of course... because I always cry at good performances of music that has been a part of my life for a really long time. Throwing Muses has been around forever... but they haven't released an album in 7 years... so I was, naturally, a little skeptical of what the performance was going to be like. I've seen Kristin Hersh solo three times... and 50 Foot Wave once. I don't really like 50 Foot Wave that much; I always wanted them to be more like Throwing Muses.

Luckily, one of the things that is so great about Kristin Hersh is that she maintains very separate sounds for all three of these projects. It was an amazing concert... even if Tanya Donnelly wasn't there... and the bass player is way more attractive than I could have ever expected.

Upon revisiting Throwing Muses, I've realized that there is an impeccable timelessness to their music. It's always been weird and it always will be weird. The song structures and sounds aren't particularly representative of any musical era or trend. Their songs could have been recorded yesterday and people would think it's new. So. For the love of Throwing Muses, here is a conglomeration of their songs that I particularly enjoy.

from Untitled, 1986
Green

from House Tornado, 1988
Marriage Tree

from The Real Ramona, 1991
Golden Thing
Graffiti
Not Too Soon

from Limbo, 1996
Serene
Tar Kissers

from wikipedia: "Throwing Muses are an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the group's songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hersh's hallucinatory, febrile songs occasionally touched on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships."

Bang Bang Machine

2009-03-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Bang Bang Machine - "Geek Love" radio edit
Bang Bang Machine - "Geek Love" 12" version

This song is so irresistibly nineties. It's one of those beautifully disturbing songs: kind of light and fluffy Cocteau Twinsy to start out with and then it builds to this intensity where they throw in some spoken word dialogue from a 1930s movie about Freaks. Very epic... and just a hair cheesy... but good nineties cheesy... and it doesn't seem cheesy until you've listened to it twenty times in a row like I have. For "indie credibilty", it was ranked #1 on John Peel's "festive 50" in 1992. Peel said about Bang Bang Machine, "Even if they never made another record, they'll have achieved more than most of us do in our entire lives". Ooh!

"never to be in love": like a geek. Geek Love is based on a novel by Katherine Dunn of the same title... it's supposed to be really good... all about freaks, like siamese twins and circus people and stuff.

The Big Pink

2009-03-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

The Big Pink - "Too Young To Love"

This nugaze band has recently been signed to 4AD, which is fitting seeing that 4AD was one of the first labels to release shoegae records. It's a bit like the guy from Animal Collective fronting Curve. The beats sound especially similar to Curve's "Chinese Burn", although "Too Young To Love" is a lot less intense.

There are some Cure and This Mortal Coil influence in there somewhere as well. Pretty great. Their new single: "Velvet" has a killer video.

The Joy Formidable

2009-03-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Joy Formidable - "Ostrich"

To continue my current "nugaze" kick, here is something from The Joy Formidable, a London group who have released their debut album for free on their website, to continue the Radiohead "in Rainbows" trend that Courtney Love has been talking about doing also. However the "free download" songs are all in wma format. bah. Also, their video for "Austere" was banned from youtube because it shows people's faces while they're masturbating... check it out at their website. That's pretty cool. Maybe they're a bit "nugrunge" as well. Has anyone coined that term yet?

Crystal Stilts

2009-03-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Crystal Stilts - "Converging In The Quiet"

I love that shoegaze has entirely returned to popularity... they call it "nu-gaze" now. Kind of like "Nu-metal" isn't that funny. Crystal Stilts aren't really creating any new sounds, but they're recreating the Jesus & Mary Chain with the most skillfullness. They're adding to the existence of "Psychocandy" rather than merely imitating it. I hate imitators. Should I go see them Saturday? hmm... yes.

Shout Out Out Out Out

2009-03-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Shout Out Out Out Out - "Guilt Trips Sink Ships"

Delightful. There's lots of man robot voicedness and an early 80s disco/punk feel. This is from their second album "Reintegration Time", available on triple gatefold vinyl! I am certain they are sampling something from The Human League's "Dare" album... but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what song it is... maybe "Things That Dreams Are Made Of"? The title, "Guilt Trips Sink Ships", is a pun on the popular WWII era American propaganda poster tagline "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships" to keep housewives from spilling info to commies about all the info in her sweet sailor-husband's love letters. Maybe it's not so much a pun, but more of a reversal on the meaning of the "loose lips" line. The ships are going to sink either way, because some lonely American housewife has been guilt tripped into thinking that if she were to have loose lips the ships will sink. Guilt trip, or loose lip, that ship is going down. Either way her sweet 18-year-old husband is doomed.

Another topic, for another day: "loose lips" doesn't exactly make me think of speaking... just saying. Oh, how terminology changes.

Human League - "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of"

Bang Bang Machine

2009-02-28T08:15:00.001-08:00

This band is so great!

Blythe for Target

2009-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

This kind of makes me happy. Gina Garan, the photographer/author of such amazing books as "This Is Blythe" has received, presumably, a hefty paycheck for her latest project: Blythe dolls modeling Alexander McQueen's new Target line. Fascinating. I'm not sure if I really like the design of the ads.... but I'm happy Gina Garan is getting some work. So weird. It makes me miss my Little Big Eyes Blythe ripoff doll from Walgreens.

Current Listening.

2009-02-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Marice Blane - What Does A Girl Do?, 1963
This song seems to be all about a teenage girl losing her virginity in the backseat of a car. Pretty great. Quite catchy. Almost as good as Bobby's Girl.

Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas - Little Children, 1964
Creepy. It's supposedly about getting his girlfriend's siblings out of the way so that he can get it on with his woman... but the first verse just sounds like he's a child molester.

Royksopp - Happy Up Here, 2009
New Royksopp! Me likes. Me likes.

Mandy More - Come With Me To Jesus, 1972
OMG. This song is good. If anybody can find the rest of her songs, please email them to me.

Lukas Moodysson

2009-01-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

omg omg omg... I am soooo excited. This movie is by the same director as Fucking Amal and Together... and it stars gael garcia and abbie's best friend michelle and features three Ladytron songs. it must be good.

Antony Hegarty

2009-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

He's kind of creepy in this picture. Bjork looks freaked out.

He looks like the pigeon lady in Home Alone 2.

Barbara Lynn

2009-01-28T10:17:00.001-08:00

I never new black women were allowed to play guitars in the 60s... this is great!

The Cake- You Can Have Him

2009-01-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. this video is hilarious... and it's not supposed to be.... and the song is terrible. It seems to be trying to sound like Phil Spector, but forgetting that you need a melody and good singers. I LOVE the outfits though.

Bonnie Jo Mason aka Cher

2009-01-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Cher loves Ringo. This song was produced and co-written by Phil Spector, and recorded by Cher's pseudonym, Bonnie Jo Mason, in 1964. This is her first recording ever! Supposedly it failed as a single because disc jockeys thought that she sounded too much like a man... and therefore made the song a little gay. I've been looking for an mp3 of this song for soooo long and i'm really excited to finally find it. Stereo Total covered this for their "My Melody" album. Cher is hot.

sample:
Ringo, I Love You

Credit In the Straight World

2009-01-22T14:13:00.001-08:00

I love this song. The original Young Marble Giants version is so nice and lo-fi and soothing and introspective. Then Hole mixed it up by adding an intro and speeding it up a bit, making it a much louder, more aggressive ditty. And NOW! the Hole obsessives, Ssion, one of the craziest greatest bands around, has covered it and made it a sleazy gay disco anthem. Ssion also made a video for it, as they do for nearly all their songs. I love it when bands cover songs and really change them and make them their own. There is no point in covering a song if it is just going to sound like the original. duh. just go listen to the original.

Here are the three versions to sample.

1980 - Young Marble Giants (the original)
1994 - Hole (with the Old Age intro)
2008 - Ssion (gay disco-fied version)

Diphallia

2009-01-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

wow. i never knew. check out more penis news.

Kashi: Good Friends

2009-01-19T12:27:00.001-08:00

The Smile on this woman's face pisses me off. The guy has a nice genuine smile... but this lady looks like she's trying so hard to smile big that she is going to have a brain aneurism.

The Exciters!!!!

2009-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

He's Got The Power. This video is amazing. Quality isn't that great, although on youtube there is one with the title "the power of love" with better video but worse sound... hmm.. i kind of like it a little fuzzy.

Tell Him. This video has some picture/vocal synching issues... but really great. I love bears. The lead singer and the man in this band were married and made a baby that would become LA Reid. I think he's kind of an asshole though... and responsible for bringing us such travesties as Pink, Mariah Carey, Fall Out Boy, and that bitch, Avril Lavigne.

Four Jacks and a Jill - "Master Jack"

2009-01-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

Four Jacks and a Jill are a South African band. This song made it to #18 on the american charts in 1968. sooo great!

Ali Mahdavi

2009-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

I really like this artist... I discoverd him/her when looking for new jobs due to my recent layoff. This is a similar aesthetic to what I like to do with my artwork. There are some other great artists at this gallery also. Cueto Project

Samwell- "What What (In The Butt)"

2009-01-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

This song is really really funny. I assume that it is a very well known youtube video because South Park has a spoof of it. What What (In The Butt)
I wonder if his name is ripping off Cazwell.

poop

2009-01-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

This entire wikipedia page made me giggle. The captions are funny. Feces
Here are some other interesting ones. Defecation Posture, Bristol Stool Scale

I think we should all start squatting.

Casino Music - "Faites Le Proton"

2008-12-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Ennio Morricone influenced pop music of the 70s... soooooooo gooooood!

We Five - "You Were On My Mind"

2008-12-23T21:12:00.001-08:00

I always thought a man was singing this song. hmm...

The Muppets have their own wiki

2008-12-20T17:16:00.001-08:00

The muppets are amazing, and therefore, they have their own wiki. http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_Wiki Who invented that word anyway? "wiki"? i suppose i should look it up on wikipedia.

The birds

2008-12-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

More birds. I want to see this in person.

Grouper - "dragging a dead dear up a hill"

2008-10-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

soooo goood. I discovered them on this blog: And So On... As It Was. There are some downloadable samples there.

André Benjamin

2008-10-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Andre 3000's new clothing line is great! Knickers are always a good idea.

The Catorialist / The Sartorialist

2008-10-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

The Sartorialist is a great fashion blog.

The The Catorialist is a great cat fashion blog.

Smegma

2008-10-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

smegma is a sebaceous secretion in the folds of the skin, esp. under a man's foreskin. in males, smegma helps keep the glans moist and facilitates sexual intercourse by acting as a lubricant. smegma is produced and accumulates under the foreskin. apparently, some people have issues with this definition. I wish i had some sebaceous fluid under my foreskin. oh, wait. somebody chopped that off a long time ago.

Hasidic Jews

2008-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Omg... they are just doing something different all the time. Today the men were gathering by the manhattan side of the williamsburg bridge... but these were different jews than the south williamsburg cultish ones... they had different hats and didn't have the curls and were obviously not quite as conservative. there was an additional group of them closer to my neighborhood carrying a big flag that said "moshiach", which is the jewish messiah. it must be messiah day or something. This is the group of jews i want to get in with. some of them seemed more than a little gay.

The Williamsburg Jews are becoming creepier and creepier to me. the children scare me the most. i still think some of the men are really hot.

"Kiryas Joel, an Orthodox Jewish enclave in southern Orange County, grew faster than any other community in New York State between 2000 and 2006, according to an analysis by The New York Times of Census Bureau data released this morning.

Kiryas Joel grew by 51 percent, to 20,071 residents from 13,273, over the six-period period. The village was incorporated in 1977 as an offshoot of a Satmar Hasidic sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As Fernanda Santos reported last August, the community has had a high rate of natural growth, in part because under their religious beliefs, birth control is banned and women get married young and stay in the village." - New York Times

and they were sending death threats to this cutie because he wanted to be in a movie with Natalie Portman.

The Left Banke

2008-10-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

I knew absolutely nothing about this band until two days ago. They can be found in Wikipedia's list of "two-hit-wonders" They sing "Don't Walk Away Renee" which I love... and "Pretty Ballerina" which is definitely my favorite song of the moment. the way he sings "brilliant" is all trilly and great. there is something really fabulous about their string arrangements and pretty harmonies. Both songs are about Renee, the bassist's girlfriend, who the 16 year old singer had a crush on. isn't that cute? wikipedia

Julie London

2008-10-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

she's a redhead. her voice is so sensual. if you are not familiar with her.... you should be. You may have heard her hit 1956 single, "Cry Me A River", in such films as "V for Vendetta" and "The Girl Can't Help It". The song was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald... who, by the way, is not as great as Julie... but the song contains the word "plebeian"... and it wasn't appropriate for a black woman of the day to be talking about herself as plebeian.

She is also known for her amazing album covers:

"Julie London emerged as the consummate cocktail siren. Movie star, club performer, recording artist, and occasional television personality, she was also the perfect physical type for conveying aerodynamic glamour in the new age of mass-produced Frididaires and televisions. She was a blend of Dionysian flesh and Detroit steel, streamlined car and cocktail shaker combined. Her cool, sleek supple contours, cobalt blue eyes, and high tech vocals satisfied America's fascination for what Marshall McLuhan called "the assembly line goddess."

Julie London's music also incited a fresh repertoire of amorous sexual responses, making romance more a matter of environment than emotion. Many of her songs are less about passion than about its accoutrements: the jewels, the satin sheets, the colognes, the after-office dinners, and, best of all, the cocktail interlude when many pecuniary deals are forged."
-Joseph Lanza

Cuttlefish

2008-10-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

No. not "cuddlefish"... but "cuttlefish" they are really quite cute... and they spray ink like squids n' stuff.... but they make Sepia ink. one of the best colors to grace this planet. and they are not even actually fish I guess... they are more closely related to slugs n' snails. thanks mimi.

Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)

2008-10-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

My Bloody Valentine. They were really great. I never realized the enjoyable sexual content of this song. it kind of makes me want to get it on. At the Tingel Tangel Club I saw this amazing and hot hula hoop guy perform to this song... and i haven't been able to erase the image of him in his little underpants spinning hula hoops on his arms and gyrating to the distorted guitars. The title does insinuate some hanky panky. here are the lyrics. enjoy.

Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)

Paula Cole.

2008-10-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

ok. so Paula Cole is not exactly my favorite singer or anything. i can't even call her a guilty pleasure because i don't really get that much pleasure from her music or anything... but i downloaded "where have all the cowboys gone?" today. I love that song. after listening, i looked her up on wikipedia and discovered that she is really quite a credible artist. she self produced and wrote all of the songs on that album (This Fire) and it's just nice to know that people with a vision and talent can still make it in the popular music world.... oh wait. that was 12 years ago. never mind.

Friends. Yes, the TV show.

2008-10-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

What is it that's so great about Friends? Why do I feel like it should be a guilty pleasure... even though i don't believe in that concept. Maybe it's because I grew up watching the show and it gives me a warm cuddly feeling. Or maybe it's because all of the cast members will "be there for you" as the title song suggests. It makes sense that it would make one feel warm and cuddly. The show obviously has good writers. It doesn't seem to be scared of making fun of itself. That's important in any artistic endeavor. My current favorite episode is "The One With The Yetti". I like Yettis.

This Blog: First Entry

2008-10-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what this blog will be about really. I guess it will find itself in its randomness. I'm sure there will be lots of randomness. For now, I will just be reporting what intrigues me in life and go from there. Of course. I can't think of anything right now. will post later. hmm... i've heard that before.