As most my friends know I’ve been a music junkie from my teenage years on. Never has there been more music out there and more ways to discover it than right now. I’m too “all over the place” musically, to be a sensible guide to finding pop music. But April finds me listening to these songs:
From Montreal, Land Of Talk (a band that is bound for much bigger things) [Seafoam]
and [Magnetic Hill]. Also from my fave Canadian city, The Besnard Lakes (who I saw two weeks ago here in LA) [For Agent 13] and [Disaster]. They take awhile to connect with, the sounds are kind of abstract but it certainly grows on one.
From Leslie Feist‘s “The Reminder” [I Feel It All]. She lives in Paris but someone much closer to home, in fact, HOME itself is the LA band Let’s Go Sailing who sound almost C86-y in ways, but just have a nice melancholy pop sound. I’ve about played their CD-R to death. I found it in a record bin for .25 cents and I’ve certainly made back my investment. [Sideways].
The new record from The National “Boxer” leaked this week. Here’s a track from it called [Mistaken For Strangers]. I really liked their last cd “Alligator” as any friend who has received a mix from me last year will testify to.
Changing the beat–it isn’t new but, there’s Lupe Fiasco (See WHO says I ain’t in touch with the mainstream…or is this really “mainstream”?) [American Terrorist]. Well, Nine Inch Nails is mainstream and Trent Reznor sings (in part) on Company Flow/Def Jux kingpin El-P‘s new record on a song called [Flyentology] which all you adultswim fans may already know about. Keeping the BPM running, is the silly but swingin LCD Soundsystem‘s new cd “Sound Of Silver” [Time To Get Away]. Amon Tobin has a new cd called “Foley Room” recorded with Kronos Quartet amongst others using samplings of live recordings [Ever Falling] which is close as anyone has gotten to bridging the gaps between, musique concret, avant-garde, bossa nova and drum and bass musics. Quite interesting.
Somehow, I ended up with 5 recordings from the next Art Brut record. I don’t know exactly what it’s called but the songs are quirky and fun. Here’s one called [Pump Up The Volume]. Even more quirky and more BRITISH are The Young Knives [She's Attracted To]. It seems that The Fall continue to influence, even today.
Moving more to a metal mode, I’m diggin’ The Fucking Champs new record. I know it’s all the same but “math metal”? It’s cool and I’m headbangin. Their wikipedia entry contains the amusing line “It is a well-known fact that they possess the greatest song titles in the industry”. Well said! [Spring Break]. Ummm, speaking of that Aqua Team Hunger Force film, Mastodon is on the soundtrack with [Cut You Up With A Linoleum Knife]. I’m not so crazy about them though. I’m much more copacetic listening to “stoner metal” rather than “hardcore-influened” metal. Gimme Sleep, Om, High On Fire (who’s wikipedia entry has this amusing/scary statement “Matt Pike has rotten teeth but slays on the guitar”. Agreed!!!), Jesu or Pelican (who have a new cd called “City Of Echoes” [Far From Fields] ) and I am told that they have relocated to Los Angeles (yay) meaning at least this city now has ONE awesome post-metal band. Perhaps there are others…and there are but I don’t know of them yet.
For pop in a weirder vein, there is a the new CocoRosie record “The Adventures Of Ghosthorse and Stillborn” and the song [Rainbowwarriors]. I’m sort of mixed on them, at times too ostentatiously arty. Who was it that said “the greatest art is that which disguises art”? Not sure. But anyhow, no one would confuse Future Of The Left with anything resembling art though I do admire their way with a line…a bass line [The Lord Hates A Coward].
For a lighter sound there is Electrelane‘s forthcoming “No Shouts, No Calls” [To The East] which I feel is somewhat of a conservative retrenchment from the interesting (if more impenetrable) direction they were heading on their “Axes” cd. Still pleasant enough.
And lastly, a band I am so sorry I missed here last week…the Japanese band OOIOO. They are the only Boredoms side-project that I like more than The Boredoms. OOIOO is tribal and danceable and loads of fun [Umo]. Their cd “Taiga” from last year was a highlight.
I could keep on going. This was kind of fun. Maybe I’ll look at contemporary classical next or perhaps free jazz. Hmmm…
Share on Facebook
