Hear, hear: NP

[davy]

That is a killer album. "Song from Under the Floorboards" is one of the great post-punk songs ever recorded.

[jm]

How's the Sly Stone cover?  I love the original.

it's OK, but not one of my favorite songs on the album.

"Song from Under the Floorboards" is one of the great post-punk songs ever recorded.

Absolutely.  I was thinking about the "I got tired of counting all these blessings; and then I just got tired" line this morning, so I had to put this on on the way to work.  And then remembered that basically almost all of the lines in that song are just fucking great.

[davy]

One of the best EPs I've purchased in years:



I haven't had much desire to listen to Blitzen Trapper lately, but with the news of an impending new album this summer, I've been feeling the itch. This is a good place to start.

[jm]

I just downloaded twelve disks-worth of female-fronted punk.  NP: Penetration - "Money Talks"

snag this shit here: http://kangnave.blogspot.com/2010/02/reference-of-female-fronted-punk-rock.html

Hey man, I forgot to say thanks for the link!  The lady and I dig it.

[monkeypants]

Happy Hate Me Nots - Out

Anyone else ever heard of these guys?  They were (are?) Australian I think.  This disc came out in 1988 and I've probably owned it nearly as long.  Never heard anything else by them and to tell you the truth I don't think I've ever read or heard anything else *about* them either.  Hell, I can't even remember how I got turned on to this in the first place, but right now it's sounding pretty damn good.  It's funny how listening to it from a 2010 perspective is bringing Ted Leo to mind.  I'm guessing that's due to the Jam influence on both of them but who knows?   Anyway, can't remember the last time I pulled this one out but on this particular evening I'm pleased to have rediscovered it.

[narlus]

Happy Hate Me Nots - Out

Anyone else ever heard of these guys?  They were (are?) Australian I think.  This disc came out in 1988 and I've probably owned it nearly as long.  Never heard anything else by them and to tell you the truth I don't think I've ever read or heard anything else *about* them either.  Hell, I can't even remember how I got turned on to this in the first place, but right now it's sounding pretty damn good.  It's funny how listening to it from a 2010 perspective is bringing Ted Leo to mind.  I'm guessing that's due to the Jam influence on both of them but who knows?   Anyway, can't remember the last time I pulled this one out but on this particular evening I'm pleased to have rediscovered it.

yeah, i had that cd back in the day, and ended up finding a 12" from them as well.  there was a recent 2cd reissue w/ all of their stuff.

definitely a good high energy band...maybe the aussie equivalent of Moving Targets?

[monkeypants]

there was a recent 2cd reissue w/ all of their stuff.

Huh, how about that.  I guess everything really does get reissued these days.

[Benmont Tench]

I loathed this when I first heard it, but have become quite fond of it in subsequent years.

[davy]

Holy shit, this Chairmen of the Board cover of Clarence Carter's "Patches" is one of the worst things I've ever heard!

And I mean, I really like Chairmen of the Board. (Their one hit was "Give Me Just a Little More Time," in case you're drawing a justified blank.)

[Maaik]

Mclusky - "No Covers"

IFFAH CAN'T KILL KENNY THAN I CAN'T DOWANNYTHING RIGHT

[Benmont Tench]

The buzz down here is that this is the make-or-break record for them. The marketing push has been enormous (i.e. gift cards at Borders with their logo printed on them!).

Incidentally, Night Nurses practices across the street from The Whigs. When we head out onto the porch for a break, we can occasionally hear them banging away.

The reviews are in and pretty dismal on this one, so I think I'll pass. Maybe next time, guys.

[davy]

Yep. I'm not touching it. I mean, their first album was a solid 3 stars outta 5, which ain't stupendous, and by all accounts, it's been downhill from there. They were pretty excellent live, though. I'll give 'em that.

But still, as far as mainstream success goes, there were (and are) much more deserving bands in Athens.

[YojimboMonkey]

Anybody else been listening to The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night?  I've really been liking it the last week or two, it's got this shimmery shoegazy dreampop kinda thing going on but with some vocal harmonies that bring to mind ELO or the Beach Boys and the occasional more muscular guitar bits. It's a pretty easy album to get lost in for an hour or so.  Definitely has the potential to be high on my year-end list.

[auto-da-fey]

after playing the new DBT album twice, I was inspired to dig up my burned copy of the Allman Brothers Band's At Fillmore East. I've never been able to get into this band; once dogmatic teenage-punk sneering gave way to a more open-minded approach (to southern and classic rock in general), it's always still been a rather abstract "ah, yes, I can appreciate why some people love this."

which is pretty much how I'm still responding to it today, but I guess it's just a diff't strokes/diff't folks thing; with the possible exception of Thurston Moore/Lee Ranaldo spazzfests, prolonged guitar workouts are just not my thing, and never will be. I need a singer with a nasally voice bleating out verbosely heartfelt lyrics over chords that require no more than three fingers to really feel it.   

[narlus]

not even 'in memory of elizabeth reed'?

[ellaguru]

Anybody else been listening to The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night?  I've really been liking it the last week or two, it's got this shimmery shoegazy dreampop kinda thing going on but with some vocal harmonies that bring to mind ELO or the Beach Boys and the occasional more muscular guitar bits. It's a pretty easy album to get lost in for an hour or so.  Definitely has the potential to be high on my year-end list.

Yet again I have so failed to listen to a local band that plays around here all the time.

[Benmont Tench]

Something about this feels very appropriate for spring, though I can't say exactly what.

[ellaguru]

I listened to this band called The Silent League today, on Popmatters' recommendation. The curmudgeon crowd isn't going to like it, it's got a sort of a seventies prog pop feel so it's not going to count as anything "new", but I think it's pretty durned good on first listen. I will give it a second.

[Good Intentions]

Pulp - Babies

Anne the Man asked me what tracks I'd consider essential for a Pulp mix, and that reminded me that I should listen to His 'n' Hers more, on account of it being so awesome.

I mean, just look at the video. I understand why they look at that. This song also makes me want to stand up and do janky dancing.

[ellaguru]

J Church - Nostalgic For Nothing. Thanks, LPTJ, without you I wouldn't know about J Church at all.

[auto-da-fey]

love that album sooo much. back before the internet era and its google-fu, I had no idea what Lance was referencing in the first verse of "Ivy League College" until I randomly came across a copy of The Hundredth Monkey in a used bookstore.

and yes, I sat it prominently on my bookshelf made of milkcrates, knowing full well that I was missing the point but thinking I would nonetheless not object to meeting the girl in the song. never resorted to burning incense, though; did later have a three-year relationship with the girl in the song, and it was the worst of my life. I should have known.

[davy]

Joe Jackson's 2008 album, Rain.

It's better than I originally gave it credit for! The songs are longish and heavily piano-based, but it's the first album since 1980's Beat Crazy to feature the original Joe Jackson Band line-up (including a personal favorite of mine, David Houghton on drums). The superior musicianship is immediately apparent, and if these songs aren't quite as catchy as their ancestors, they add up to a pleasing, engaging listen.

[auto-da-fey]

Randy Newman, Good Old Boys. Even when you know what's coming, "Rednecks" never fails to prove a bit jolting.

[auto-da-fey]

oh, and

not even 'in memory of elizabeth reed'?

actually, yeah, that is a thing of beauty; I wouldn't want to overstate my indifference to all things Allman and/or guitary, but that's definitely an exception rather than a signifier of greater possibility.

[davy]

First time in a while! Such good stuff.

I just heard that bit where they play the phone message in "Pretty Girl from Chile"--How are you? I heard that song you write...you're silly...I guess people do whatever they need to to get going, you know...but I'm fine, and just that, I hope you're fine too, and everything's great...so, bye...--and then scream the count-off--1, 2, 3, 4!--and blast into all this heavy riffing and screaming until the song's over.

Man, I love that. That's good record-making.