Song: "I Hope It Rains On My Funeral"
Artist: Tom T. Hall
Album: Storyteller, Poet, Philosopher
Selected By: Jon Maples
Date: March 30, 2007
Of all the country music songwriters to pick up a pen, perhaps none reflected the humanity of daily life than Tom T. Hall during his 30 year career. "I Hope It Rains..." examplfies his everyman approach, telling the story of a roustabout dissecting his rumbling past, from farming on his daddy's land to working on the chain gang, with a Proustian sense of loss and resignation. "Ain't no sense in wantin my life to live over/I'd find different ways to make those mistakes again."
March 2007 Archives
Song: Keys to Your Heart
Album: Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited
Artist: The 101ers
Selected By: Tim Quirk
Date: March 29, 2007
Before he started hanging out in squats with dirty punks, Joe Strummer hung out in squats with dirty hippies, playing straightforward rock and roll with a group called the 101ers. This may just be a simple love song, but you can sense the brilliance to come when he sings lines like “the big blue policeman with his little black book” or starts improvising a story during the breakdown. Oh, yeah, and the song rocks, too.
Song: Boss On The Boat
Album:Suzuki
Artist: Tosca
Selected by: Nicholas Baker
Date: March 28, 2007
Suzuki is bursting with blissful dubby goodness, but this track particularly stands out as a classic of the Tosca oeuvre – multiple layers of beat upon beat, with whispers and breaths used as sexy half-heard percussion. It's enough to make other purveyors of downtempo bite their yoga mats in jealousy.
By Tim Quirk
For reasons that elude me, I am in Salzburg. It's where Julie Andrews danced around in the hills singing about the Sound of Music, but if you mention that to locals, they claim never to have seen the movie (most of them, anyway; if you find one who admits to having seen the thing, he will make a point of telling you that the hill on the left the pretend Von Trapps climbed to escape the Nazis actually leads straight into Germany, which is a lot like stuck up San Franciscans moaning that Dustin Hoffman is actually driving west, not east, at the end of The Graduate).
Song: Atlantis to Interzone
Album: Myths of the Near Future
Artist: Klaxons
Selected By: Stephanie Benson
Date: March 27, 2007
The newest darlings of the London rave scene, the Klaxons take gritty underground grooves and throbbing beats on an outer galactic magical mystery tour. Break out your best glow stick moves -- freaks, geeks, punks and rockers will all be bustin' up the dance floor to this one.
I love Guitar Hero, specifically Guitar Hero II. For those of you who don't know, GH2 is a video game for PlayStation with a guitar controller (pictured here), which challenges you to 'play' along to well-known songs, matching the colored buttons on the neck and the strum bar with the 'notes' displayed on-screen as the song plays through.
Now this probably isn't the first time you've read about this game, with magazines and blogs already having written tons about the GH2 phenomena, including the GH bar parties and real musicians playing GH for fun. In fact, I have to give props to Blender for pairing up one of the shredders from Mastodon with a teenager on a GH match - and the kid won.
Since that's already been written to death, I'd rather salute some of the songs on the game instead:
Anthrax - "Madhouse": A few months ago, I was stuck in the Nashville airport because of a weather delay and I realized that Anthrax'er Scott Ian was too. I wanted to tell him that his song on GH was kicking my ass, but this was right after I had gotten the game and couldn't remember the name of the song. So, to avoid a Chris Farley-esque "Dude! You're Scott Ian!" moment, I didn't talk to him. I still have a hard time with this song on GH.
Heart - "Crazy On You": I love Heart and - even though I'm not even playing it for real - this made me realize how much Nancy Wilson shreds on guitar, even if just because of how much I kept screwing it up. It took me many tries, but I finally mastered this one on 'medium' level - five stars, baby! Now I just have to rock it on 'hard'!
KISS - "Strutter": I'm a dork and love this above all other KISS songs, so this is probably my favorite track to play on GH2. On a completely different note, I also can't help but think about how this song could totally be Paul Stanley singing about having a drag queen alter ego. Just picture that context when he sings "I know a thing or two about her" and it changes everything. (This is even easier to picture if you listen to the "Strutter `78" version.)
ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man": Similarly, my favorite ZZ Top song and favorite song on Guitar Hero 1. The long, guitar-heavy ending part of the song makes this a lot of fun to play - I just wished the ZZ Top car would make an appearance in the game too!
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Freebird": Not a favorite song of mine, not to mention a rock concert cliche, but when you finally unlock this song, late in the GH2 gameplay, they do it with such over-the-top fanfare and theatrics that it almost breaks the cliche of playing the song in the first place.
I hear there's a GH3 coming later this year and I can only hope that it's true!
Song: Freight Train
Album: Carnivore (Soundtrack)
Artist: NITRO
Selected by: Mike McGuirk
Date: March 26, 2007
NITRO's "Freight Train" is hands down one of the wildest, far-out-est, hair metal songs you will ever come across. Check the backing vocals. The only stuff that approaches it is the rest of their debut album, O.F.R.
Before he disembarked to Asia to lead a quiet life studying flora and fauna, Rhapsody's own Mike McGuirk would sometimes walk around our palatial office park cursing out Donovan.
Mike would raise his fist in the air and say things like "I hate Donovan!" and "Donovan is stupid!" and "I don't care if Donovan fathered Ione Skye, he is still terrible!"
I've always liked Donovan myself. I even think he had some good kids.
That said, I saw the super-amazingly-great movie Zodiac recently and the filmmakers take Donovan's already ultra creepy "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and turn it into something that is beyond a nightmare.
On the other hand, you can tell who the good cop in the movie is because he enjoys listening to Miles Davis' "Solar" while relaxing at home. Boy, if only today's cops listened to more jazz we'd probably have less crime out on the streets. But, until Miles Davis becomes a course subject down at the Police Academy, at least Zodiac will help Mike see Donovan in a new light.
Song: Remember Rockefeller At Attica
Album: Changes One
Artist: Charles Mingus
Selected By: Nate Cavalieri
Date: March 23, 2007
Titled for the Attica prison riots of 1971, this brilliant track features young pianist Don Pullen, whose captivating solo single-handedly attempts to bridge cool '60s bop and fistfuls of '70s experimentalism. Pullen's short stint with Mingus, from 1973-1975, yielded the monumental Changes One and Changes Two sessions, which persuaded audiences that he was capable of much more than free jazz.
Song: All My Friends
Album: Sound of Silver
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Selected by: Garrett Kamps
Date: March 22, 2007
LCD is James Murphy. His debut was this arch send up of the very NYC hipsters he helped mold as one half of the DFA, a production unit that all but defined the sound of Williamsburg. On his new one, the wit remains, but its object is Murphy himself. The album is as ecstatic, brash, and bummed out as a wild night in Manhattan can possibly be. This centerpiece tune is as euphoric as the best New Order jammers.
Song: People Have the Power
Album: Dream of Life
Artist: Patti Smith
Selected by: Jaan Uhelszki
Date: March 21, 2007
Jesse Malin once said the best songs are the ones that make you want to take some kind of action. That's the way you feel when you listen to "People Have the Power." Probably more important now then when Patti Smith wrote it in 1986, the anthemic chorus and assurance that we have, "The power to dream, to rule, to wrestle the world from fools," makes you feel that there is a way out of the current darkness.
This week’s most important releases on Rhapsody.
Posted By Jon Maples
This week’s headlining release is the much anticipated Modest Mouse record, We
Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band added the Smiths’
guitarist Johnny Marr to the mix and Michele K-Tel writes that you can hear
his influence. “Marr’s uplifting jangle lends an optimism that reverberates
throughout.”
Here’s something you won’t be able to listen to anywhere else: a Rhapsody Premiere by soul superstar Macy Gray. Sam Chennault thinks Big,
Gray’s first record in four years “is perfectly polished, the glossy veneer
providing a nice juxtaposition to Gray's gravelly voice.” High praise indeed. Will.I.Am produced most of the tracks
on the record, including "Glad You're Here" which features Fergie. And did we mention that Justin
contributes on a track? ‘Nuff said.
Listen Now
Joss Stone’s
first record, Mind Body & Soul,
came out in 2003. So we’re a little confused why Introducing Joss Stone is
coming out now. Not to worry, says Linda Ryan.
“The first single, "Tell Me 'Bout It" could be Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" for a new generation, and
you can't get a better compliment than that.”
There are a lot of us on staff here that worship at the
altar of Andrew Bird (must be some
sort of whistling fetish).
Listen Now
I asked Sam Chennault what he liked this week and after mentioning a few popular releases he slipped in that
the new J Dilla is good. In the news business, that's what we call burying the lede, as we all know that Sam's a big fan of the late Detroit DJ. ""Reckless Driving" and "Make 'em NV" are jeep
music for college graduates, while the merely loony "Wild"
reinterprets the Quiet Riot classic
"Cum on Feel the Noize,"" Sam writes about Ruff Draft.
Listen Now
Want some political power pop? Listen to Ted Leo and the Pharmicists’ Living With The Living. Michele
K-Tel says: “Armed with polemics, Mr. Leo nevertheless lets loose with
straight up giddy anthems guaranteed to get the audience in a frenzy….” Sounds
like a good prescription. Just a little band name humor.
Listen Now
I'm From Barcelona
aren’t actually from
Listen Now
Flute anyone? Jethro Tull's full catalog goes live today. Now
can listen to "Thick As A Brick” and all the band’s hits. Don’t know where to
start? Try Aqualung. Jonathan Zwickel thinks the band’s “ubiquity on classic rock radio has
diminished the impact of Jethro Tull's music, but their 1971 breakout still
stands as a marvel.” Amen.
Listen Now
Prefab
Sprout’s Steve McQueen goes live in Rhapsody today. Nick Dedina contends that “songwriter Paddy McAloon employs clever wordplay and sly pop history quotes
while studying his own very human failings with humor and heart. "When Love Breaks Down" received plenty of alt rock radio play, but every track
is a wonder. This remastered set includes a discs worth of gorgeous acoustic
versions.”
Listen Now
In this monthly feature, the Rhapsody Editors nominate releases to highlight. The criteria: 1) the artist's release must by less than 6 months old and 2) it must be an artist that is "under the radar." The list of nominees for March was a long one (always a good sign) so it took a while to whittle this down to a mere five. But we did. Hey, everything we do, we do it for you. Um. Yeah.
So here are the winners for our Dig This! program for the month of March. Enjoy!
It's time to reach for those Beach Boys comparisons again. Dr. Dog's We All Belong layers '60s-inspired guitar pop over advanced song architecture. Under soulful Philly horns, perfect vocal harmonies cascade similarly to those in old Zombies records, while dusty analog tape hisses like some kind of sexy snake. Mere words can't describe what could be the Odessey & Oracle of the 21st century.
- Eric Shea
This West Texas band sets off a barrage of musical fireworks that is both majestic and heartbreaking. The album title alone (All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone) is the perfect setting for this lonesome roar -- with fitful phrasing that initiates a cloudburst of percussion and guitar that subsides to pin-drop hushed electricity. Explosions in the Sky vent enough moody instrumental drama that the idea of lyrics simply becomes irrelevant, proven by the spine-tingling "It's Natural To Be Afraid" and the beyond-words beauty of the closing track "So Long, Lonesome."
- Michele K-Tel
Hammock specialize in fuzzed-out, droney bits of bliss that harken back to the shoegaze era. With ethereal vocals and layered guitars that float from whisper-soft minimalism to driving, slow-burn intensity, Hammock have created a swirling, ambient masterpiece that's perfect company on winter nights. - Linda Ryan
Loney's (lone member) Emil Svanangen was in the habit of churning out his originals on CD-Rs and selling them online before Seattle's Sub Pop requested to be part of the process. Similar to the endearing accents and happy hand claps of fellow Swedes the Shout Out Louds, even despondently titled tracks like "No One Can Win" and "I Am The Odd One" end up sounding positive with a swell of woodwinds and high notes. This indie pop is personal and heartfelt, yet too bouncy and accessible to be trapped in the bedroom.
- Michele K-Tel
If you're looking for quick "soundbites" or clever pop hooks, the Twilight Sad are not the band for you. With pummelling rhythms and a visceral wall of noise behind them, this Scottish band wage war on conventional music, opting instead for roomy, majestic sounds that aren't as much songs as they are outpourings of woe and hope. This is a band that will pay you back in spades if you stick with them for a while. - Linda Ryan
Song: The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Album: Supa Dupa Fly
Artist: Missy Elliott feat. Timbaland
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: March 20, 2007
In honor of Timbaland's impending new solo disc and his commendable efforts to bring sexy back, we return to his illustrious early years. We tried to pick a lesser hit, something like the also strange and fantastic "Izzy Izzy Aah," but the alien weirdness of this one (not to mention that choice Ann Peebles sample and, well, Missy) is irresistible.
Hey everybody. I'm Rhapsody's resident World/Latin/Reggae/Children editor, but I reserve the right to write about whatever I like! (Put that in your pipe but don't smoke it, as it may be a controlled substance.)
Of course "like" may not be the word for the experience I had tonight as I finished watching Spike Lee's documentary on Hurricane Katrina. To call it a masterwork demeans it; I am, right now, haunted...not just by the stories, but also by New Orleans jazz musician Terrence Blanchard's incredible score, which will be pulsing and drowning in my dreams tonight. It becomes another character in a documentary filled with 
characters, not so much telling you how to feel as explaining to you what you're feeling as you absorb images and stories that seem to belong to another America, a hidden America, an America last seen perhaps in the photo montage at the end of the Lars Von Trier film "Dogville." Sadly, we don't have Blanchard's incredible score but you can hear his latest album, the appropriately titled Flow, on Rhapsody.
The first time I noticed Clive Owen was in a British detective series called "Second Sight." In it, the ever dour actor played a homicide cop who hides the fact that he's going blind and experiencing visual hallucinations.
The character was suffering from a disease that ate away at his eyes.Besides blindness, this disease only led him to brood, drink, smoke, and bed female coworkers even more than before (we all handle the loss of vision in our own way). It sounded very much like what Paddy McAloon had been suffering from. A brilliant songwriter, McAloon led a band called Prefab Sprout. His career was derailed for years because of increased blindness. Once he got used to the vision problems, McAloon developed Maniere's Disease and lost the hearing in one ear. And you thought you had it rough!
I first heard of Prefab Sprout in high school. Every British artist, from Morrissey and Robert Smith to Mick Fleetwood and Phil Collins were raving about the band's Steve McQueen album. I figured if you could get all those people to agree on something, it must be pretty good. If you're wondering about the album title, the record sleeve features a visual quote from the resistance epic The Great Escape.
It is a fantastic record, probably Prefab Sprout's only real classic. album is well produced by Thomas Dolby but it's lasting power stems from Paddy's songwriting, which is all about subtlety-- a turn of a phrase or a little musical quote or an ever shifting moral conflict. Obviously, this is the kind of album that other musicians and songwriters would celebrate...more so than the American public, who ignored the record... in droves.
Paddy's gone on to write other albums under the band's name (of which, Jordon: The Comeback is the best -- in Europe it was widely considered the best album of 1990) but after Steve McQueen Prefab Sprout went from sounding polished in a good way to being a little too smooth.
Steve McQueen has been released in the States for the first time under its original name (it was retitled Two Wheels Good over here for legal reasons). It's completely remastered and includes beautiful acoustic version of every song on the album. The acoustic renditions of songs like "When Love Breaks Down"and "Bonny" don't really reveal anything new (the album versions are perfect, I tell ya!) but they sound lovely all the same.
Many great mainstream records came out of the early 1980s. Not too many have come out of the mid '80s (or any time after that, come to think of it). It may take a few listens to sink in, but 1985's Steve McQueen is a truly great record.
Song: Dark Was The Night
Album: Dark Was The Night
Artist: Blind Willie Johnson
Selected By: Sarah Bardeen
Date: March 19, 2007
He's inspired Dylan, Zep and countless others, but like so
many blues musicians, Blind Willie Johnson lived and died poor. Hear the man in
all his wordless vocal glory on what is easily one of the most haunting songs
recorded in the 20th century.
Song: Acid 2004/5
Album: Phinally Phamous
Artist: Lil Wyte
Selected by: Sam Chennault
Date: March 18, 2007
White-trash rapper Lil Wyte trips out in this tale of trailer park dementia. There's a "million spiders" after him while he gets "chased around the car by some midgets in the parking lot." This dumb-funny song chronicles the dangers of idiots eating LSD.
By Jon Maples
It's official: Rhapsody Rocked Austin. Our first day party held during the SXSW music conference was a rousing success in many ways. First, the weather cooperated. After days of rain and thunderstorms across Texas, a hazy morning burned off to display a chamber of commerce quality spring day, rare around these parts in March.
Garrett and I emceed the event, which pretty much means we made fools of ourselves in front of a couple hundred people. Garrett made us some super sweet tee-shirts to get eveyone in the mood (mine is pictured to the right--thanks ALV). Thanks to our gracious hardware manufacturing partners, We also gave away a bunch of sweet Rhapsody enabled products from the stage and did our best to make the fire marshals happy.
Song: Sorrow, Tears and Blood
Album: The Best of the Black President
Artist: Fela Kuti
Selected By: Nick Dedina
Date: March 15, 2007
Remember during the
late 1980s when every hip-hop song had police sirens in it? Boy, that got old
quick. Dubbed the Black President, Nigeria's Fela Kuti made chilling
siren sounds with his voice, played a mean saxophone and led an incredible
Pan-African jazz-funk collective. Not only is Fela's peaceful message more
relevant than ever, the stature of his amazing music has only grown over the
years.
Posted By Jon Maples
If you know anything about me, you probably are aware that I have a little Chicago thing going on. That's why I was pretty content to hang out during the day at the Emo's complex for the Caberet Metro's 25 Anniversary party. There were more Chicago bands and Metro faves than you could shake a stick at. Some of my faves were the Hush Sounds, the Sounds and the M's. There were also a couple that were not so great including "Ryan Adams in a coma" as I described one dude. The lead singer sharpied "this guitar kills hipsters" on his acoustic guitar. That should probably be the first warning sign that something is wrong. But as I've said before, what's great about SXSW is that if you hate a band, there's always another one warming up and within 200 feet, there are probably four more options.
Does the world need another wolf band? You've already got hundreds. But after checking out Sea Wolf last night, this one could be interesting. They're like a cross between Rhapsody house favorite Margot and the Nuclear So And So's and Devotcka. With a little more humor, maybe. Singer and songwriter Alex Brown Church (to your left) actually name checked all the wolf bands on the band's myspace page. Nice touch.
I stood in a long line with my pal Krinksy trying to get into Beruit at Emo's. It took about a half hour and there were many disappointed people that were left outside. We got in. Kinda. i think we were at least the River Jordan away from the band. And this isn't a band that's gonna get their sound to the back of the room. Part of it is Emo's PA, but Beruit's multi-instrumental mix doesn't go that far. Interesting stuff, though, and I can see why the kids love them.
By Tim Quirk
Pete Townshend didn't just talk about music at SXSW; he actually played some.
He was the not-particularly-surprising-but-still-kinda-thrilling "special guest" at Ian MacLagen's tribute to Ronnie Lane. Pete joined Ian's band for two Ronnie Lane tunes: one from the Pete/Ronnie collaboration Rough Mix that is frustratingly not licensed in Rhapsody, and one old Small Faces tune: "Whatcha Gonna Do About It?"
By Tim Quirk
Pete Townshend likes and admires journalists. But he thinks the sub-editors who take his comments our of context and turn them into salacious headlines should be shot.
He is very right.
By Tim Quirk
Pete Townshend just admitted he was a little jealous that the Sex Pistols had fans like Siouxsie Sioux who would get half naked at their shows. He says the Who "never had anything like that. Although we had mod boys who may have striped off their shirts now and again."
Best. Keynote. Ever.
By Tim Quirk
"The Method" is apparently a website Pete is launching that will write music just for you. Here's his own explanation from petetownshend.com:
"After more than 25 years of patient research Pete is launching the website he first described in the science fiction story behind the Who's legendary Who's Next album of 1971.
The Method - designed by Lawrence Ball - offers subscribers the opportunity to create their own unique musical composition by 'sitting' for the Method software composer, just as you would sit for a painter making your portrait.
The first example of this process can be heard, elaborated into a song by Pete, on Fragments the opening track of the Who's latest album Endless Wire."
I invited the jackass sitting next to me to insert another online child pornography joke here. He declined.
By Tim Quirk
Pete is saying far too many funny and interesting things to keep track of them all, but here's another one that stood out: when he's blogging or chatting online, he will sometimes turn on his microphone and play (or even write) a song for a single person.
An uncharitable person next to me asked if that single person was a confused little girl who wondered why she had to take her shirt off to hear the song.
But I love Pete, so I would never say anything like that.
By Tim Quirk
Explaining who the original Franz Ferdinand was, Pete Townshend just informed the audience that the man who shot Archduke Ferdinand "started a war that lasted for centuries."
Have I mentioned how much I love this man and his work?
By Tim Quirk
Pete Townshend just admitted he got the Who back together a while ago for no better reason than to help John Entwhistle with his money problems. But he's pretty sure John spent all the money on cocaine.
It got a sad kind of laugh.
By Tim Quirk
The thing about SXSW is that there's so damn much music, if you see the wrong 3 bands in a row you wind up incredibly depressed and wondering what it was about music that made you think you should devote your life to listening, playing and writing about it.
But if you see the *right* 3 bands in a row, there's no better feeling.
And if you see one of those bands totally by accident and wind up falling in love with them as they peel your brain layer by layer with walls of glorious noise, well, you just kind of float a couple feet off the ground for a bit.
Song: Wellsville
Album: Heyday 1979-83
Artist: The Embarrassment
Selected By: Michele K-tel
Date: March 14, 2007
Once upon a time, when Midwestern indie rock nerds had a snowball's chance of being tagged as hipsters, there was a shoulda-coulda-woulda been blogworthy band from Wichita, Kansas, called The Embarrassment. Their re-issue of early singles (recorded from 1979-1983) gives us all a second chance to not pass by "Wellsville."
Song: Friendly Man
Album: One By One
Artist: Free Design
Selected By: Eric Shea
Date: March 13, 2007
The Free Design made the Carpenters sound like Black Sabbath. The true genius of this tune lies in the lyrics of the chorus: "Friendly man! Friendly man! Friendly man! Friendly man! Friendly man! Friendly person." All songs should rule this hard.
Well, I gotta say: I'm excited for this year's SXSW -- excited for beer and BBQ, excited to see friends from various remote locales, excited to shake it like a jug of o.j. Also: I'm excited that Rhapsody is gonna be rockin' Austin. We didn't screw around this year. These bands shred, and that's no lie. The proof is in the pudding pop. Check it...
Peter, Bjorn & John. I've had folks ask me, "What's up with this band?" Well, they're a hip, cool, indie-kid approved crew of Swedes, sort of a flavor-of-the-month, but I think they'll be more than that. Why do I think that? Simple: This song, "Young Folks."
I'll admit that I'm not a huge Robyn Hitchcock fan -- but who cares 'cause it's Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck. These guys were indie rock literally before the term was even invented (they used to call it college rock, kiddies). I have no idea what kind of jammers they're gonna kick out, but rest assured they're gonna jam and be kicked. Of this I have no doubt. My co-workers suggested some classic Hitchcock, but I'm suggesting this tune "Television." Robyn Hitchcock is weird!
Oakley Hall -- this band is so good I'm just gonna do an adjective dump: delightfully scuzzy; schooled and steeped in cosmic hot sauce; face-melting; fiddle-sporting; hay-ride-soundtracking, especially if said hay ride is down an Appalachian rock face. How happy does it make you when a band does so many things so totally right. Oh, and I gotta drop this lyric: "What's up with Sadie/ Every time I'm lovin' her/ She wants to be first lady/ Expects me to be governor." Huzzah! Listen to this song, "Confidence Man," and tell me it didn't just melt your face off. Did it melt your face off? I bet it did.
There's still three more bands!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (read: the Pacific Northwest in the early '90s) bands were making awesomely raw music and shaping the sound that would become indie rock (oh, and those bands were influenced by Robyn Hitchcock and REM, so that's how that worked). These bands had names like Lync and Built to Spill and Sunny Day Real Estate. Oxford Collapse sound like these bands did, and that's a wonderful thing. If you don't like this song, then guess what -- you're dumb! It's "Please Visit Your National Parks," and it's got this totally cute lyric, "You should be standing right next to me/ Instead of two feet in front of me/ Oh-we-oh-we-oh/ Go learn your geography."
Loney, Dear are also Swedish! That's what you get when you have socialized medecine and a government that supports the arts -- you get art! Loney's brand new debut is about as fey as you can get without tattooing "Belle & Sebastian" on your ankle, but if you appreciate a good cry and some really pretty songwriting from a sweet little dude who just wants "a state of hope" (awwwww -- who among you can not relate, lest ye have cold, cold hearts), then this is your bag. This song is called "Saturday Waits" and listen to it -- it's all buildy-uppy and charming and stuff. Hooray!
Last but not remotely least is the Broken West. These guys rule, both as musicians and as dudes. They were the first blokes to sign on to our little shindig back when we still weren't sure if we could hook up the free beer (we did, along with a ton of other stuff). And so it's really just convenient that their jams rule, too. Take "Big City," which features hand-claps (good), some jalopy piano (better), and a part that totally sounds like the theme song to Scooby Doo (hell yeah!). May the West remain forever Broken.
Song: Head First
Album: Anthology
Artist: The Babys
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: March 12, 2007
How come the Babys never made it the way Cheap Trick did? They had driving songs with big hooks, sharp riffs and a singer with a hefty cleft chin – why didn't it click? An under-appreciated classic rock nugget, "Head First" finds the Babys in all their fist-pumping glory.
Song: The Birth And Death Of The Day
Album: All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
Artist: Explosions In The Sky
Selected by: Jon Maples
Date: March 8, 2007
Some
may pick Holst's The Planets as their soundtrack to the range
of human emotions. I’ll see your “Mars, Bringer of War” and raise you Explosions
in the Sky's cinemascope-wide and Grand Canyon-deep breathtaking first track
from All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone. As violent as a
thunderstorm and winsome as the wreckage it leaves in its wake. A Rhapsody Dig This
selection for March, 2007.
Song: Chase Halt
Album: Oblivion and Points Beyond
Artist: Sideways
Selected by: Tim Quirk
Date: March 7, 2007
Who'd a thunk this nifty instrumental was recorded in the 21st century? It's the perfect soundtrack for pilled-up scooter rides to Brighton Beach or dreams of same by folks who never actually got to do that.
Song: Intensify
Album: Intensify
Artist: Way Out West
Selected by: Nicholas Baker
Date: March 6, 2007
Most dance music is fleeting, but every so often one track rises to classic status. "Intensify" is such a beast. It's a massive progressive house stormer, and will provoke much nostalgic raising of the arm hairs from those who were there at the time.
Song: You Don't
Album: Maxinquaye
Artist: Tricky
Selected By: Stephanie Benson
Date: March 5, 2007
Trip-hopper
Tricky digs into the psyche's shadow and strikes a rise in the libido with this
sultry song from his debut album. Rippling breakbeats guide Tricky's female
complement, Martina, as she vocally escorts a timid Tricky throughout his own
song.
Song: The Night We Called It A Day
Album: Natural
Artist: Celso Fonseca
Selected By: Sarah Bardeen
Date: March 2, 2007
All right,
people -- enough of the booty clapping and emo screams. Can we not choose a
little class for once? Frank Sinatra made this song timeless, but Celso Fonseca
brings it into the 21st century. Respect!
Song: Like a Rolling Stone (rehearsal version)
Album: Bootleg Series Vol.1-3
Artist: Bob Dylan
Selected By: Nate Cavalieri
Date: March 1, 2007
As Uncle Bob hammers out chords on a tacked piano to show the band the changes, his voice brings to mind tearing cardboard. The rehearsal, recorded during the Highway 61 session, prompts him to confess, "My voice is gone, man," right before asking, "Wanna try it again?" At a mere minute and a half, this is a rare peek into Dylan's disheveled genius as a studio band leader.
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