Paul Young left a comment on my last 3hive entry — a Julie Doiron re-post — that said, “Yo JC! Paul Young wants to hear about the new Superchunk album.” While I don’t remember Paul speaking of himself in the third person while a student in my class, he is somewhat of a legend in the halls of a certain suburban Detroit public school. And so, it is with much pleasure that I comply with his wishes and dish up a track from what has been maybe the second most important band in my own life. Without Superchunk, I’d be a fraction of the poet I am, and way more boring too. So Paul, I’m glad you’re alive, and thanks for asking. “Misfits & Mistakes,” appropriately titled for both of us, I think, sounds like 1990 all over again, but instead of being the secret bonus track behind “Brand New Love,” it’s new. Leaves in the Gutter, an EP released this month, is the band’s first fresh spin since Paul was in 8th grade. So here you go; let me know what you think, and say hi to Laura for me.
New Masthead and Logo
Bliss
Guilty pleasure confession time. Culture Club. It was Chuck Davis in my Sophomore health class who told me that that one girl was actually a boy. Chuck knew these kinds of things. Chuck could draw the Adam and the Ants logo better than I ever could, so I trusted him, his judgment. So when he told me Boy George could sing I believed him. And he was right. While I rarely listen to Culture Club anymore and the thrill of freaking out my parents by listening to a band with a flamboyant homosexual singer has likewise faded, Boy George’s voice hasn’t. His soulfulness remains timeless. Props to these Danes for dragging him out of the tabloids and into this chilled out Morricone-esque duet.
Dan Deacon
Sean,
There is no way you haven’t heard of Dan Deacon. And if you haven’t, well, get on it! And if you have, well… get on it! For God’s sake!
–Geena (via email), College Station, TX
P.S. This video brings me so much joy I can’t comprehend it.
Geena,
Yes, I am familiar with Dan Deacon. We are failing in our mission to share the sharing for not having reviewed him sooner. Thanks for the swift kick to the head. A tragic wrong finally made right.
-Sean
William Fitzsimmons
I haven’t decided if William Fitzsimmons is a bastard with an irritating beard, or the undiscovered perfect boyfriend I missed sitting in the back of my most boring college class. Perhaps he’s both, and maybe I dated his evil angelic twin. Joseph, the boy who knew he’d never fight with his true love; the artist who was so sure he’d leave his young family in the dark of night.
Fitzsimmons’ most recent album, “The Sparrow and the Crow†is about divorce. His divorce, but I’m certain any divorcee could glean some ah-ha from listening. Call it music to listen to once you’ve accepted what has happened, comfortable with it or not. With a Master’s Degree in mental health you have to hope he’s got solid ideas about the delicacy of marriage. The joy that aches.
If You Would Come Back Home is officially on repeat in my head, rarely interrupted for a week. It’s a nice sunshine melancholy soundtrack to the spectacularly mundane everyday stuff. He understands what took me so long to see, good writing is not about the fanciest words, it’s about the perfect arrangement of the most simple words.
(by our friend Emily M.)
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron has one of the best resumes in indie rock, as well as one of the most versatile sounds and expressive voices. Listening to a dozen of her songs feels like working through a record label sampler. From rocking out to laying herself bare, Doiron does it all well. The first of the new tracks here, “Consolation Prize,” is from her most recent release, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, which came out about a month ago. The other two below it are from two different 2004 albums, and are tracks that weren’t posted in her original 3hive entry. All three serve well to express her endearing range and talent.
Consolation Prize [MP3, 2.8MB, 192kbps]
No More [MP3, 2.6MB, 160kbps]
Snow Falls In November [MP3, 6.2MB, 160kbps]
Original post: 03/09/06
Julie Doiron’s been on the indie scene since she was 18 years old, and it seems like she’s pretty much done it all: playing bass for Eric’s Trip, recording solo for SubPop and Jagjaguwar, starting her own label, winning a Juno Award, publishing books of her photography, singing in French, settling down in the hipster hub of Sackville, New Brunswick and performing with Shotgun and Jaybird. Paperheart Music even put out a tribute compilation in her honor. How 3hive overlooked Julie Doiron for so long is a mystery for sure. Start your tour of her work with the haunting “Dance All Night” off her most recent release, Goodnight Nobody, then try the comfort of “Sending the Photographs” from 2002’s Heart of Crime, then go for something in French maybe, or check out her book at Broken Jaw Press , or just sit back and drift in her gentle sounds (more of which are available at her website).
Obits
More rock ‘n’ roll ashes rise! This time the demise of Hot Snakes (itself touting an impressive ancestry) and D.C. underdogs Edsel gives way to Obits, a collision of East and West Coast post post punk. For a bunch of guys who’ve been there and done that Obits maintain a surprising freshness. Rick Froberg continues his sneering vocal attack—imagine Mick Jagger singing for The Germs. Musically, the band takes its cues from, well, wherever it wants to. Sped up surf riffs dominate “Pine On.” One sound remains constant throughout: good old-fashioned rhythm ‘n’ blues. Nowadays we call it rock ‘n’ roll. It never goes out of style.
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker. The man needs no introduction, does he?
21 Tandem Repeats
Here’s another post from my friend Tim Ortopan:
Listening to 21 Tandem Repeats is a bit of a schizophrenic experience. Each track has its own sound and feel, from the Yo La Tengo flavored “Heidi Stopover” to the female vocals on “Pebbles”. They have some tracks that sound like The Mountain Goats and others that recall Simon and Garfunkel’s harmonies. Make sure you check out “On Frozen Pond,” a nice tribute to growing up in Canada. Their album No Junk Mail Please has something for everyone, and they can really pull off the changes in tone well. Perhaps the more I think about it the thing which unites all of the tracks is not schizophrenia but rather that they are all crazy good.
Etienne de Crécy
A quick tip for the Coachella bound: Etienne De Crecy proves it’s dope to be square. De Crécy makes his U.S. debut this Sunday night at Coachella and he’s bringing his tricked out, larger than life Rubik’s Cube-Lite Brite. I won’t bore you with describing how the thing works. Watch the video to see this beautiful monster in action. The contraption was designed by fellow Frenchmen Exyst and when The Killers asked them to design a similar cube for their European MTV performance Exyst declined. The Killers ripped off the light show anyway. Of course, their version ended up looking like an, over-the-top, seizure inducing Hollywood Squares set. But that’s beside the point
Though not a household name, de Crécy was instrumental in developing the French house sound. He and Alex Gopher founded the Solid record label and he’s released a slew of singles and albums on his own and in collaboration with Cassius and Air. “Home” is an unreleased track that de Crécy plays during his live sets. Between the driving bass lines, the fuzzed out knob twiddles, and state-of-the-art light show, be sure to brace yourself for maximum tripping Sunday night in the Sahara Tent.