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.
Not Waving But Drowning
A few years ago I went to a political fundraiser where it was decided everyone would more likely hand over their pennies if all the begging was disguised as a hoe down. BBQ beef on rolls as big as your head, piles of potato salad and hay. Bales and bales of hay. Cowboy boots on hundreds of people with too much money who’d never even seen a cow in real life.
Not Waving But Dancing is not this type of hoe down. It is decidedly more hopeless. Like a drunken fest in a Romanian Gypsy camp. At this hoe down Peter the Great would show you his baby skeletons in his cabinet of curiosities; you’d see less teeth, more fishnet, more velvet. With or without alcohol you’d feel yourself moving slower.
(by our friend Emily M.)
Paper Moon
A few months ago (or more, I forget exactly), Paper Moon released an EP that made me pretty excited about the release of Only During Thunderstorms, the band’s third full-length release. Well, that release happened two days ago, and that smooth ’80s-ish Paper Moon pop is still there, with hooks and catches and everything you’d ever want in bountiful abundance. I’m already a fan, so there’s not much point in being objective; this album makes me happy.
Say It’s All Over [MP3, 4.1MB, 320kbps]
What Are You Going To Do With Me [MP3, 349MB, 192kbps]
Original post: 06/09/06
You gotta check out the opening keyboard lick on Paper Moon’s “Mercury is Clearly Opposing Neptune.” It fits right in with the popped collars all the high school kids are wearing these days — 1986? ’87? Even the little hitch in Allison Shevernoha’s voice about 30 seconds into the song reminds me of the old days. If you teenagers of the Reagan years seek a few minutes of nostalgia, or you modern reenactors are wondering what things sounded like back then, look no further than the catchy pop of Winnipeg’s Paper Moon.
Project Jenny, Project Jan
Project Jenny, Project Jan soften the downtime since their debut album two years ago with this new collaborative EP. Considering the topic, their ode to unrequited love, “Pins and Needles,” featuring Fujiya & Miyagi, settles into a smooth club groove, while their work with percussion wunderkinds and fellow Brooklynites So Percussion and Mixel Pixel stirs up darker, primordial feelings. The emotional range on this EP seems to span eons and reminds me of Shriekback’s dark tone on Oil and Gold. It’s unexpected (but not unwelcomed) from the usually playful PJPJ, but they return with their usual pluck on the final tracks with Adam Matta and Clack Singles Club. No matter their mood, Project Jenny, Project Jan has left me with a bout of paresthesia, eagerly anticipating their next album, due before year’s end.
Pins and Needles Feat. Fujiya & Miyagi [MP3, 5.6MB, 160kbps]
Original Post 6/23/07:
Mapquest Project Jenny, Project Jan. Go ahead. I dare you. You’ll have a hard time pinpointing the Brooklyn duo because they’re all over the proverbial map. When their debut EP opens up with the marching band sound of “Fight Song,” you know you’re in for a treat. On their first full-length, XOXOXOXOXO, they start the party again with a nice brass section, giving way to a bright samba number. The freestyle-stylee vocals of Jeremy Haines keeps the tracks loose and the whole album will get you shake, shake, shaking your caboose, dancing the duck-duck-goose. Feeling down lately? These boys are sure to get you up and out of your seat with a little bit of banjo, a little bit of swing, a little bit of hip hop, a little bit of reggae and lots and lots of fun. Philly, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Cleveland brace yourselves for this Brooklyn brand of electro-karaoke coming your way live next month with Fujiya & Miyagi. A match made in dancefloor heaven.
320 [MP3, 4.4MB, 192kbps]
Train Track [MP3, 3.9MB, 192kbps]
Javelins
Here’s a post from my friend Tim Ortopan:
I am not cool and as I write this I realize that it is pretty likely that I have never been cool, but I think I know what it looks like and I know this fact: Matt Rickle is cool. I first met him in the summer of 1998 when we both worked at the same movie theater; he was an usher and I worked behind the concession stand. We talked about music and he once even made me a mix cd; that was it for me — total man crush. Over the years I have seen Matt play drums in a variety of bands, some good, some not as good, but the coolest one was certainly the Javelins, for whom he also sings. They have a low fi talk-sing quality mixed with some pretty traditional indie rock instrumentation. The band might not be great but they’re pretty good and I’ll be damned if they aren’t cool.
Brian Evenson
Brian Evenson looms dark, haunting myths. His raw, unflinching language will not leave you alone. Not ever. A modern-day, literary Job, Evenson sacrificed religion and family for the Word. For his new novel, Last Days, he added, ironically, to a previous novella about a recently dismembered detective, Kline, whose services are being forcefully sought by a fundamentalist group, a sect that believes literally in the biblical exhortation to cut off or pluck out any offending member of the body, hand, eye, lip, whatever. They threaten to subtract from Kline again unless he agrees to help them solve a murder amongst their numbers.
H-Burns
H-Burns is French. H-Burns is Renaud Brustlein and friends. H-Burns has webpages that Google translates for me and that end up with funny little bits and pieces of English. H-Burns is about the best thing I’ve listened to in the last calendar year. Way back in November, “Horses With No Medals” was posted by Largehearted Boy (nice one!), and that song has occupied a little space in my head for a long time since. It’s a beautiful little piece of work, the kind of combination of lyrics and music that makes me want to learn how to play the guitar, the way that Neil Young’s “Thrasher” did the first time I heard it. Over at H’s Hinah session, you can pull a Dylan cover, a cover of Magnolia Electric Co.’s “Farewell Transmission,” and a few other covers besides the two originals available here. And at MySpace you can listen to How strange it is to be anything at all, Renaud’s latest full-length spin. I think I’ll go learn French next, in case there are any songs in the original; it’s that good.
Charlene
One of Charlene’s principal players also had his fingers in a sweet little pie called Sugar Free Records back in the ’90s. I credit that label for bringing Beulah to my consciousness, and for that I’ll be a long time grateful. So I had high hopes for this record when it showed up in the mail and I’m pleased to report I’m not disappointed. Their new single is simply thrilling: wailing, shimmering, jangling guitars create a warm wall of sound; vocals, unrushed, take their time sauntering in and out of the airy melody and just as I settle in, wishing the song never ends, it ends. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! And that’s just the first song. I’m always geeked to file another band between my Galaxie 500, Rain Parade, and Slowdive collections. For those of you in and around Boston, keep your eyes peeled since you’ll probably have the first chance at catching them live. No sign of upcoming shows yet. If Charlene were a tree and it fell in the woods, yes, it would make a sound. A big, beautiful, noisy sound.