LISTEN UP:
The Hood Internet has mashed up Matt and Kim’s “Good Ol Fashion Nightmare” and the Beastie Boys’ “Shake Your Rump.” Listen + download here.
“I’m seeing double and triple. Does this ever happen to you?”
Absolutely looking forward to Yo La Tengo’s new album, Popular Songs.
The album is due for release September 8th, 2009. Mark your calendars.
Get a taste of what’s to come:
Hear their new song “Periodically Double or Triple” here.
I’m a new Elvis Perkins fan so I promise that I have no existing bias. With that said, I give Perkins’ new album, ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND, an A+ for its brilliance. It is pleasant throughout. While listening to the album I am reminded of Sondre Lerche, Sam Cooke, Tom Waits and of course, Bob Dylan.
*1. SHAMPOO: I glided through my kitchen dancing to this song. As indie and folk loving as I tend to be, this was only the second Elvis Perkins song I ever listened to. At one point I even sang a long, despite not knowing the words.
2. HEY: Upbeat and uplifting. I love the line: “I don’t mind if you dream out loud.”
*3. HOURS LET STAND: His voice in the first few lines gives me the chills. Some parts of this song remind me of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” which, in turn, reminds me of my grandpa.
Love you, baby
like mariners love the sea.
When I go to Heaven,
I swear you go with me.
4. I HEARD YOUR VOICE IN DRESDEN: I love Perkins’ voice. I love how this song ends:
Some have said our love is lost
but I swear I know my way from here.
Yes some have said our love is lost,
but I swear I know my way from here.
5. SEND MY FOND REGARDS TO LONELYVILLE: +++ for the title. So good!
*6. I’LL BE ARRIVING: A collage of beautiful sounds. Haunting almost. Dare I say it, perfection.
7. CHAINS, CHAINS, CHAINS: Love the horns! I doubt it will surprise anyone that my favorite part is when Perkins sings, “chains, chains, chains.”
8. DOOMSDAY: The ending of this song is spectacular.
I don’t plan to die,
nor should you plan to die.
9. 123 GOODBYE: I love the build up at the end.
10. HOW’S FOREVER BEEN BABY: A good contrast to Shampoo, the album opener. So mellow!
*11. STAY ZOMBIE (BONUS TRACK): Absolutely beautiful. This song sounds like an antique, but correct me if I’m wrong, Elvis Perkins’ old sound is part of his appeal.
* : ALBUM FAVORITES
I originally stumbled upon this video via VidMax and have been hooked to the song ever since. On VidMax the video is titled “A Babe Musician Creates A Looping Song From Violens And Drums Then Puts Her Unusual Voice Into The Mix.” YouTube spoils the suspense of who the “babe musician” is, but in case you didn’t notice, her name is:
So now you want to know:
Who is this Emily Wells lady and what’s she about?
I’m glad you asked.
HER: Emily Wells was born in Texas in a house filled with music. At a young age, Wells was exposed to all sorts of music. On her MySpace page she writes:
There was a lot of singing, french horn playing, and symphony listening, plus youth orchestras, church choirs and xylophones…
Wells has played the violin since she was a young girl and unlike many of us who had our stints as children musicians, Wells has hung onto her talent and incorporates her violin into the music she makes today. When Wells was a teen, she snuck into a jazz club almost every night, drank coffee and fell in love with the music she heard and the musicians who played it.
HER INFLUENCES: Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Biggie Smalls, Outkast, Aphex Twin, Billie Holiday, Beethoven, Raymond Carver and numerous others.
HER MUSIC: The style of Wells’ music isunique. In some songs I am reminded of Joanna Newsom, in others I am reminded of Andrew Bird. According to her MySpace, her music falls under the genres of folk, classical and experimental. Wells is currently signed to the record label Creative Control.
To date, she has released two albums – Beautiful SleepyHead and the Laughing Yaks (2006) and The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties (2008).
HER TOUR: Wells is currently on tour and will be appearing at SXSW. If you get the opportunity, attend one of her shows! She does a lot of live sampling and looping in her live shows. She’s just trying to bring the studio to the stage! As Wells puts it, “I could fall off the balance beam…which makes it all so much more exciting.”
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down is a California-based band consisting of Thao Nguyen (guitar, vocals), Willis Thompson (drums, percussion) and Adam “The OK BIRD” Thompson(bass). On their MySpace, the band describes themselves as sounding like: “tangles of guitar, knots of singing, threads of beat and thump make a rope fit for hauling the heavy machinery of your day.”
A relentless Creative Writing teacher squashed my dream of seeing the band live last year when they toured with Xiu Xiu (+). For a while I stopped listening to the band but never forgot about them. I BOUGHT their first album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, off of Itunes about a week ago and have been enjoying it to the fullest every since (my Last.fm stats are proof).
My favorites off of the album are at the top and bottom.
The intro song, “Beat (Health, Life and Fire),” is vibrant. In an interview with DayTrotter, Thao explains:
The song is about getting out before they do. “They” are important people in your life. There’s also a couple lines about my parents. Walking away and blaming your parents are both things that are pretty bad for adult interaction, I have come to find. I am new years resolving all over myself.
The album ends with a cover of the track written by Smokey Robinson and originally performed by The Miracles, “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me.” The song, no doubt, has been covered by many notable artists- The Beatles, Eddie Money, Cher and Greg Allman, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M.Ward). Still, I’ve found this cover to really have a hold on me (pun intended).
You can listen to and download one of the band’s new, unreleased songs “The New One” on DayTrotter’s website HERE.
One of my favorite low-budget music videos by any band (we can thank Lomography’s Oktomat Camera and the video’s director, Norman Foreman, for that):
