'The Message'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
From browsing at the newstand, however, I saw they had an article on Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden. Anybody a fan? They had an intriguing sidebar on other ambitiious 80s epics including Kate's The Dreaming and OMD's Dazzleships (which we wrote about in LitG).
I've always heard great things about it, and I really like the album the main songwriter Rustin Parr (?) did with Beth Gibbons of Portishead, but I've never actually heard it.
While I'm fishing for opinions, who's got one on the Arctic Monkeys?
With a name like that, I think they could sell to a Buffista demographic.
With a name like that, I think they could sell to a Buffista demographic.
Especially when you consider Arctic Monkeys would have a good chance of encountering penguins....
I really like Broken Social Scene, but I have no idea why they need 5 guitarists.
I have no idea why they need 5 guitarists.
One or two are spares?
It would make sense if they unplugged at least 2 of them.
While I'm fishing for opinions, who's got one on the Arctic Monkeys?
The New Big Thing in England. Guitar-based rock, by U.S. standards.
Not my thing, but many her would appreciate them.
Jack White. Brendan Benson. New Band. Annoying Website: [link]
If you want to avoid throwing your computer at a wall after that site angers you to the point of violence against inanimate but expensive objects, you can read about it here: [link] ______
In other news:
I love the new Pollard disc.
So I've been trying to expand my musical horizons lately, and I've always taken a dim view of country. If I like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Neko Case, who else should I be listening to?
If I like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Neko Case, who else should I be listening to?
Johnny Cash is sui generis, so it's hard to really compare him to anyone else. Though you could probably break it out into country baritones, dark themed country, folk-country and country/rockabilly.
Steve Earle might be his nearest contemporary in spirit. Steve has gone to some pretty fucking dark places himself. I think "CCKMP" (that's Cocaine Cannot Kill My Pain) is one of the more harrowing songs recorded in the last 20 years.
I made a honkytonk mix for Rio, and also an early country mix with lots of songs about smoking and drinking and fucking around and cutting up. Early country has stuff that swings hard and celebrates the rowdy life.
You'd probably like Kelly Hogan - Neko's labelmate, but a stronger singer.
I'm a big fan of Townes Van Zandt, which is part of the 70s insurgent country stuff. He wrote some gorgeous, very dark songs. My favorite is one of his least country/most produced records Our Mother the Mountain. It's really pretty goth in a lot of ways. Particularly the title song and "Kathleen" and "St. John the Gambler." Very deathy.
Right now you're cherry picking the country musicians that are most palatable to rock and roll ears. Whether you want to go full on Hank Williams / Lefty Frizzell /Bob Wills / Tammy Wynette / George Jones would require another big adjustment in mindset.
I could email you some songs by various musicians as a sampler if you like.