Month: March 2010

Here we go… a bit of an odd mix this week, but hey, that’s how I roll.

First up, a track that I heard while I was in Austin this past week, on KUT, which is easily the best NPR station I’ve ever heard. I originally thought that it was some kind of mid-to-late-80s art-wave stuff (in the same vein as Talking Heads). I was quite surprised to discover that it was from an album released in late 2009. YACHT – “The Afterlife.”

While I was at SXSW, I had the pleasure of meeting Damian Kulash, the lead singer of OK Go, who was attending the Interactive portion of the conference, talking about viral video and direct-to-fan delivery models. They just left their label, over arguments about spreading their videos and singles virally (the label didn’t approve). Here’s their latest single: OK Go – “This Too Shall Pass.”

Alright, you can take this ironically if you want, and revel in the cheese. But if I’m being honest, when I received this cassette for Christmas 1983, I played the hell out of this song, and absolutely *loved* it — even though it was far from my usual musical tastes (which at the time was solidly New Wave). I still love it. Def Leppard – “Rock Rock (‘Til You Drop).”

I’ve always been a big fan of Steve Earle’s alt-country/rock song, “Copperhead Road”, which tells the story of a son of a bootlegger, who serves in Vietnam and returns home to become a drug dealer. I got a chance to hear the rest of that album recently, and found myself really liking this song — not only for the historical-Western subject matter, but because of the traditional folk ballad rhyme structure. Steve Earle – “The Devil’s Right Hand.”

The first official single from Kate Nash’s forthcoming album, My Best Friend is You, which comes out next month. (I had posted another track, “I Just Love You More”, last month.) Kate Nash – “Do Wah Doo.”

I’ve always liked when songwriters produce love songs to the city they call home. I heard this track while shopping in Borders last night, and immediately fell in love with the cleverness of the lyrics (“I don’t know what I was on, but I think it’s grown in Oregon.”). Train – “Save Me, San Francisco.”

There you go kids, enjoy!

A bit late today — but we’re back!

First up – a brainworm I’ve had since the Gallifrey One convention in L.A.. This track was played by the DJ during the dance on Saturday night, so I’m always going to associate this with folks shaking their asses in front of a full-scale TARDIS. It’s a brilliant mash-up of the Ting Tings, The Knack, Toni Basil and Plastic Bertrand. Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name (DJ Justin Kayes mashup).”

I’ve also been listening a bunch to Adam Lambert’s debut album, For Your Entertainment. There’s nothing on there that blows me away like his version of “Ring of Fire” from last year’s American Idol season, but it’s a solid 80s-influenced electro-dance album. I especially like this track, written by the incomparable Lady Gaga (and absolutely *dripping* with Gaga-ness): Adam Lambert – “Fever.”

A little sci-fi surf rock, in celebration of attending my first L.A. convention: Man or Astroman? – “Interstellar Harddrive.”

Turning the clock back a fair bit, to listen to a track which has been bouncing around my inspiration soundtrack for FAR WEST — Allman Brothers Band – “Midnight Rider.”

Another older track — a song that I hadn’t heard for a while, but which popped up in Pandora, reminding me of how much I liked it: Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe.”

I’ve posted this one before, but it was a fair few years back. It’s really good, and I know that there are folks reading now who might not have been reading then. So, feast your ears on Knife – “Silent Shout.”

There you go, kids. Enjoy!