Picked up some used CDs. A couple of these folks I’d never heard of before.

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I’m not a huge fan of great voices in music–I’m much more about the lyrics, and if the musician croaks that’s just fine. But Neko Case is one of those performers whose voice hooks me in. I would probably be quite happy hearing her sing the phone book. But she also has killer lyrics, and a shifting country/pop/rock sensibility that means her CDs share certain commonalities but also have enough differences to make her consistently interesting. Also, some albums are performed with her Boyfriends back-up band, and some aren’t.

Her latest, “Middle Cyclone,” is mid-tempo for the most part, and reveals its secrets stealthily. Some songs like “Mother Earth” are never going to be for me, but on balance this is another fine CD, with lots of little subtle touches. It doesn’t hurt that the CD ends with ten-plus minutes of soothing tree frog croaking, titled “Marais La Nuit”.

One particular lyric that stood out:

“I love your long shadows
and your gunpowder eyes.”

And, this, which makes sense even though I can’t tell you what kind of sense:

“Humming helicopters through the blades of a fan.”

Anyway, I’d rank this in the middle of my Neko Case collection–it’s indeed a middle cyclone–but since I like all of her stuff, that’s not a bad thing.

(taken from here)

So I was exercising with my ipod on shuffle and a cool little Eels song came up. Oh, what a cool little Eels song, thought I with the innocence of an ex-marmot. Then I started actually listening to the lyrics. Not only is the song depressing in a casual, general way…it’s kind of gross. (See below.)

Curious as to what you’d describe as the most depressing songs ever? Examples of lyrics, please. (BTW–when searching for appropriate image, this is too funny.)

Jeff

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Anyone else a fan of the sadly defunct Pleasure Forever?

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The history of “The Very Best of Spaz Rock” is a long and rich one, extending as far back, by some accounts, as the pre-Christian era, when musician-priests performed elaborate, improvised musical fugues known as “spaz” for mobs of revelers during wine soaked bacchanals in tribute to the nameless god thought by many scholars to have been the forerunner of the Greek god Dionysus.

The Very Best of Spaz Rock, Vol. 1, Monsters of Spaz, has just been released . The tracks include “Killer Squid,” which I hereby claim in the name of Ambergris. But there’s more to delight collectors of the weird, including tracks like “Cerberus,” “Frankenspaz,” “Troll Under the Bridge,” “Baby Bigfoot,” and “Demon Clown”.

The rough geniuses behind The Monsters of Spaz are: Ben Armstrong, Michael Gunter, Mike Stephens, Steev Taylor, Dave Wasson, Will Woodberry. I have to admit to meeting most of them (worked with most of them, too).

What is Spaz? I’ll let their strange multi-dimensional messiah Gunter explain:

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The New York Times Papercuts Blog has posted a list with notes of the music Ann and I have been listening to recently. Everything from Ray Davies* to Willard Grant to The New Pornographers to Supersystem. Check it out.

What’ve you been listening to? And why do you like it or hate it? What’s the soundtrack to your life right now?

*JB’s gonna hate that one.

(The cover of the Shriek limited, art by Ben Templesmith, design by John Coulthart; extras include The Church’s Shriek CD, a DVD of the Shriek movie, and some other surprises; possibly, Ambergris stamps.)

I’ve got a mile-wide grin on my face right now. I just received the 45-minute CD of music The Church recorded as a soundtrack to my Shriek novel. It will accompany the limited edition of Shriek forthcoming from Wyrm Publishing.

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All I have to say about this one is that Sharon Jones has an amazing voice and I’d buy a CD of her singing the phone book to me. It’s just classic stuff. The richness of Jones’ voice, the strength of it, astounds me. Love these songs. I’m reduced to having nothing else to convey to you about the record except: go buy it.

Just a thumbnail review of the last solo CD from Evan Dando. The video above is actually one of the lesser songs from the CD, but still indicative of the overall quality. I’m very much impressed. The quality is great, and there’s a kind of hidden depth to the work. A lush yet restrained quality to the production. I almost feel like I’m listening to an Aimee Mann CD. Really great stuff. Infectious and rewarding repeated listening. Thanks to Matt Staggs for turning me on to it.

Now, with my beloved Gators losing to Auburn, it’s a good time to go smoke a cigar…

Jeff

I’ve been a huge fan of Robbers on High Street ever since their first CD, Fine Lines (which oddly enough is the perfect soundtrack whilst reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman). Fine Lines is a seriously cool CD of magically dark tracks with amazing riffs; it has the feel of something created spontaneously and perfectly on the first try.

Tree City by the Robbers, the follow-up, grew on me over time until I now listen to it almost as much as Fine Lines. In both cases, it’s like listening to a version of Spoon that isn’t about coiled tension but more about release. The lead singer even sounds a little like Spoon, although I’ve never found the band derivative.

However, now it’s 2007 and the release of the full-length Grand Animals finds me a bit nonplussed. Now I feel a bit like the band is working backwards. Grand Animals would’ve been an acceptable first effort, with Tree City a great sophomore leap forward. Fine Lines, as their third CD, would’ve seemed like a genius step up.

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