Category: Music

Here we go again….

First up, my current favorite song, from Lily Allen’s new album, It’s Not Me, It’s You, which is coming out next week. Originally, she posted this song on her MySpace page under the title “G.W.B.” — but for the album, she decided to go with the NSFW title of the refrain. I *love* this song — it’s adorable, biting and perfect. Lily Allen – “Fuck You.”

The UK fascination with retro revival continued this past summer, with the release of Sharleen Spiteri’s solo debut, Melody. The lead singer of the Scottish band Texas (best known over here for a few 90s alt-rock tracks) takes the neo-soul thing, winds the clock forward a few years to the big, lush sounds found in Nancy Sinatra and Dusty Springfield records, and absolutely nails it. Sharleen Spiteri – “All The Times I Cried.”

This song came up on my iPod the other day, and I thought about how it seemed appropriate for where the country is now. Especially the lyric: Guess who’s back in circulation? Now, I don’t know what you may have heard, but what we need right now is the original Goodtime Girl… The image of the country as a bad-ass chick doesn’t really fit with Bush’s era, does it… but now, she’s back! David Lee Roth – “Yankee Rose.”

More sounds from the UK – this time a remix of Blackpool-born electronica artist Little Boots by a couple of DJs (one from Brooklyn and one from L.A.): Little Boots – “Meddle (AC Slater and DJ Skeet Skeet remix, feat. Goldielocks).” (Copy and paste this link if you get an error)

As I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been watching a lot of older UK TV. This is the damn-near Bondian theme from the 1966 “Avengers-esque” adventure series, Adam Adamant Lives!, which was about a Victorian adventurer frozen by his evil nemesis, and revived in the Mod London of 1966! Kathy Kirby – “Adam Adamant Lives!”

One of my favorite trip-hop tracks of all time, from DJ Krush’s 1997 album, MiLight. The fact that it’s from Krush, I suppose, means that it straddles the line between trip-hop and acid jazz, but regardless of the genre label, it’s good stuff. DJ Krush – “Skin Against Skin (feat. Deborah Anderson).”

Lastly, in tribute to the passing of Lux Interior, who died this week of a heart condition, I give you one of my favorite Cramps songs: The Cramps – “I Was A Teenage Werewolf.”

Enjoy.

This week:

I wanted to track down the song used in the new Ford Flex commercials, as it sounded familiar to me. Sure enough, it’s a 2000 track from Poe, from her album Haunted: Poe – “Hey Pretty.”

…but wait! There’s more. Turns out that there was a remix of the song done in 2001, where most of her vocals are replaced by a recording of Poe’s brother, Mark Danielewski, reading from his brilliant novel House of Leaves. I’m not sure which version I liked more, so I’m posting both. Poe (feat. Mark Danielewski) – “Hey Pretty (Drive-By Remix).”

I haven’t posted any French hip-hop for in a long while. So, here we go. I discovered this via the excellent Yo La La French Hip-hop Podcast. Calogero et Passi – “Face à la mer.”

One of my favorite Cure tracks, which often gets forgotten amid their more well-known stuff. This was the lead track from 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, quickly overshadowed by the hit single “Just Like Heaven”, but I love the agonized guitar riff of this song far, far more — The Cure – “The Kiss.”

The brilliantly-named Austin band Ringo Deathstarr has an EP coming out this March. In the meantime, you can check them out on Myspace, or via this song: Ringo Deathstarr – “Some Kind of Sad.”

I posted this long ago, but it’s too brilliant to post only once. Jurassic 5 DJ Cut Chemist, before he ever released his solo work, cutting up some 30s jazz in a brilliant display of turntablism: Jurassic 5 (feat. Cut Chemist) – “Swing Set.”

This song will always make me think of Jonathan Rhys Meyers in purple glitter. Sometimes, you just need that mental image, and sometimes you just need to hear this: Brian Eno – “Needle In The Camel’s Eye.”

Enjoy.

Here we go:

First up — M.I.A. is nominated for an Oscar! She’s nominated (under her full name, Maya Arulpragasam) for a collaboration with A.R. Rahman on the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack. I’d love if this track won, but the statuette will probably go to the song from “WALL-E” (then again, I could be surprised — “Hard Out Here For a Pimp” won in 2005). A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam – “O Saya.”

Here’s a new Lily Allen track, introduced to me by . Love the lyrics on this (a bit of NSFW language, by the way). Not many folks do satire in song these days. Lily Allen – “The Fear.”

Forgive me — this song has been worming its way through my brain over the past week. It’s the psychedelic theme tune to an early-70s UK kid’s show, “Ace of Wands”, about a stage magician who uses genuine supernatural powers in his strange adventures. In finest UK kid-show tradition, the program was genuinely creepy at times. Check this youtube video of the opening credits, with a prominently-featured pentacle (yet another reason why you’d never have seen this show in the US). Here’s the full-length version of the very trippy (and extremely catchy) theme: Andrew Bown – “Tarot (theme from ‘Ace of Wands’)”

Lookbook is an unsigned Minneapolis duo — Grant Cutler (instrumentation) and Maggie Morrison (vocals). The vibe (especially on this particular track) is very Twin Peaks-y Julee Cruise. The band releases their own music, which you can get via the band’s myspace page, or via iTunes Music Store. Lookbook – “Believe The Hype.”

Lastly, U2 has released the first single from their forthcoming album No Line On The Horizon. I still wait (in vain, I know) for a return to the raw emotive power of their 80s output, but this is still pretty good. U2 – “Get On Your Boots.”

Enjoy.