The Look Back

I went a week or two without a true country song so now you get four that at least have country influence/symbolism.

Smog - I Break Horses

I’ve been delving into Bill Callahans back catalog a fair amount as of late. I also am a sucker for anything involving the west/horses/cowboys. Top that off with a nice dose of breakup music and you have a song right up my alley and this is one such song. While not totally about breaking up it speaks to a person who has a number of one night stands/can’t keep a relationship. While I do not relate to this mentality in any regard I love the symbolic nature of a horse trainer here. You can also tell how well Callahan’s voice has aged over the last 10+ years.

Deer Tick - Little White Lies

This is a good song to follow up “I Break Horses” with. More heartbreak. While the last song might not have been heartbreak from the narrator’s perspective it was definitely there on some level with what was happening in the song. This is direct from the well worn pipes of the narrator, John McCauley. While still under 25 you can tell McCauley has really potential and fits well with the new breed of alt-country/indie-country stars such as Ryan Bingham. Alright, so that might just be for the voice and bad liver but so be it.

Heartland - I Loved Her First

My mom requested this song so that makes it the first official “mom selection” on the Friday Mix. I am still debating on if this is a good choice to post up here and be in the wedding. It’s very obviously a wedding song and one that they were intending to be a father/daughter dance. It’s very sappy and yet does have some level of sincerity from what I can gather on the first 30 listens I’ve given it this weekend. Listen objectively and tell me if this is something that I should have in there or if it is just waaaaay too much on the manufactured, pre-packaged crap side of music that proliferates modern country radio.

Clint Black - Summer’s Comin’

Speaking of modern country radio, I’m sure this song is being played on some radio station right now. Still, it was released prior to the current influx of crap on the radio and thus holds a level of nostalgia for me which is ultimately how I select most of the songs to round out my mix and fit in the “country” check box. Summer is coming and listening to Clint Black describe it I almost want to buy in and think about how great things will be the next two months. Ok, ok, they will be great but still, I want it a little cooler and can’t wait till the fall. (Maybe I should re-label this the song that lets me vent about my disdain for summer.)

Apparently most of Orange and Los Angeles County has been getting rain today, not Laguna Beach sadly. I was hoping for at least a nice dreary day before God kicks in and decides to increase the heat by 30 degrees for the next 3 months. Summer can’t end soon enough, mostly for the weather but also because of college football. Come on college football.

YACHT - Psychic City

Go ahead and download this since Jona Bechtolt (YACHT) likely used pirated software in creating it. (Ok, he’s likely fixed that problem now but it is still a good read on how not everyone is rolling in money in the software development industry.) Very summery hit on this one and one that has had me thinking of creating my annual summer mix cd. Sadly, this summer mix cd usually just gets played at the 4th of July and by the time I remember it again it is September. Still, since I mostly hate summer that isn’t such a bad thing as it means we are almost done with these next dreaded three months.

Portland Cello Project - Seeds May Fall (Featuring Justin Power)

8-16 cellos at any one time make up this ensemble. It’s a unique sound that I was initially curious about due to my roommate’s instrument of choice. The pop elements are there and I’ve found myself listening to this track specifically over and over the last week. The album it is from is also much more diverse than this song would tend to make you think. While I don’t hear all the various sounds one can make on a cello on this album there is enough to make it not just a novelty item. The album is out now digitally. The Thao and Justin Power Session.

Yann Tiersen - Guilty

From the Amelie soundtrack and this week’s wedding track. This sound just sounds like the ideal wedding song for what we are trying to do. The recorded static and old hi-fi sound is there and the “vintage” (for lack of a better word) sound of it is very much fitting.

I was home in Paso Robles over the Memorial Day holiday for my bi-monthly nostalgia fix. It’s like a drug, I swear. Seeing all the places, people, things that have changed but yet haven’t. I find that I want to take photos and samples of everything I come in contact with. Maybe that is just the inner pack rat in me finally coming out. See my country song below for a longer explanation.

Wilco - Wilco the Song

I’ve never gotten into Wilco. I saw the movie. I’ve listened to a number of their albums but nothing has really stuck until this new album and the first track. We’ll see how it goes.

Jay Reatard - It Ain’t Gonna Save Me

From his upcoming full length, “Watch Me Fail”. Great name to what I hope is a great album come August.

Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

Wedding song of the week. In other Animal Collective news I received my copy of Animal Crack Box late last week. Still haven’t decided what I will do with it but I have a hard time listening to it. I guess I really am not a true fan.

Toby Keith - Should’ve Been A Cowboy

Admittedly, this might be the worst artist I’ve ever posted on here. Yes, he really does have a restaurant he started called “Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill”. That said, this song is another nostalgia trip for me having heard it from 8th grade on and it really reminds me of summer for some odd reason. (Probably the Mid-State Fair which I’ve mentioned several times.) This is one of his first songs to be a real hit and thus before he became the epitome of NASCAR country music.

Without a doubt this was the movie I anticipated the most in 2009.  How could it go wrong with Christian Bale and Terminators?  Oh yes, I should preface this with the fact that I did not see Terminator 3 and thus still look at the series through the eyes of a naive and vulnerable 12 year old who saw T2 on VHS as one of his first Rated R movies.  That said I was truly expecting a Terminator 2 type movie and thus was very disappointed when I learned a month or more ago that the film would be rated PG-13.

Before starting anything else out, the rating doesn’t make a difference in this movie.  The sense of humor the first two movies had has been erased which can be seen as a good or a bad thing.  For me, I missed it and missed the subtle things the second movie was able to do with the addition of gore and tasteless humor.  (Seriously, aren’t males aged 18-35 the target demographic for this film?) I can’t say I didn’t like the movie as it was not in and of itself a bad movie experience.  I’ve come to define a movie I enjoy as being one that: 1) I don’t look down at my watch half way through to see if it is nearing its finish 2) I don’t groan too many times over idiotic dialog and 3) Well, I’m not sure what three is but Terminator Salvation didn’t violate it.

What I ultimately think about this movie is that it plays like one of those Star Wars novels that take place in between the events in the six movies.  They always appear to be great stories and full of rad adventure but then you realize that unless it is AFTER the events in the last movie nothing even remotely earth shattering can happen.  Terminator Salvation felt like that to me.  A one off movie that while ultimately entertaining it did nothing to toke the fire of Terminator deep down in me.  The ending didn’t give us the typical “things are done for good…..or are they?!” that has become so common place. No, they flat out say “there will be other Terminator movies!”

Damn it! Wrong blog! I completely forgot for a second no one gives a rat’s @$$ what I think about movies.  Well, I do like music and to keep this relevant (outside of the outstanding Danny Elfman soundtrack) here is a nice track about the lack of a future by Titus Andronicus.
Titus Andronicus - No Future

Predicting a 9.4 from PFork tomorrow for Veckatimest.

New Wolf Eyes and a three day weekend, need I say more?!

The Lonely Island - Motherlover

I really didn’t get the big deal over their debut CD back in February but this one off from SNL two weeks ago is classic. Justin Timberlake was superb on this song and is a good follow up to that other track about something being in a box.

Wolf Eyes - Always Wrong

Yes, I like this band and I’m not afraid to admit that. This is from their new album of the same name, Always Wrong. I’ve downloaded or purchased a number of their CD-R and 7” releases over the years in-between true “studio” releases and they are always rather aloof and hard to comprehend. There is a lot of silence between the noise. Not on this album. It is pulsing and pounding from the start. One of the other changes you will notice is the fact that there is a human voice; I won’t go so far as to say lyrics but ALMOST! Dare I say this is Wolf Eyes “selling out”?!

The Clipse ft. Kanye West - Kinda Like a Big Deal

I first heard this track about a month ago when it was just a radio rip from a Baltimore Hip Hop station that debuted the new single off of Clipse soon to be released new album. The radio rip was HORRIBLE and reminds me why I don’t listen to anything besides the ever classy and intellectually stimulating AM sports talk. The DJ was a typical hip hop morning drive guy who likely was overweight and had a number of dumb women in the studio praising him nonstop. All through the song there were numerous interruptions that kept announcing how this was the first time this song was every played to an audience. Ok, we get it; you got it first because you know someone. Great. Now let us hear the f’ing song! And on top of that the radio station kept interjecting as well saying, “HOT JAMZZ!” and the radio call letters. Does anyone really care? The song is good though when you get to hear it here in all its unedited glory.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - The Man Who Played God (Suzanne Vega)

This will have to do for country this week. From the, as of now, never to be released because of legal BS CD “Dark Night of the Soul” this is the stand out track from my first listen. A great concept album and I haven’t even looked at the David Lynch photo book to go along with it.

I managed to be one of the luck 1,000 or so who snagged a copy of the new Animal Collective boxed set Animal Crack Box on Wednesday afternoon. Talk about good timing on checking my RSS feeds. Now the debate between keeping it, making it a giveaway on this site or giving in to the corporate machine and sell it on eBay. I’m leaning towards option number one but I really need to hear it first.

Woods - Rain On

A great buzz band that gets lumped in with WAAVES etc these days. They are on board with the new to the mainstream-ish tape culture phenomenon. I always thought tapes were confined to noise bands anymore but Woods has a number of tape records. This got me to thinking and I realized I don’t even own a tape player anymore yet we have two record players.

The Cool Kids - Summer Vacations

From their new mix tape. I realized how worthless these can be but yet there are almost always some good pieces mixed in such as this number. Nothing amazing but worth a listen and worth downloading the whole thing.

My Brightest Diamond - Feeling Good

Wedding song of the week. This was H’s pick a while back from the Dark is the Night soundtrack. We managed to catch the last 3 songs of her set back in November up in San Francisco. I’ve never known a show to start on time, have no openers and end by 9:15pm on a SATURDAY night before. This was the first.

Sorry, no country song this week.  Had to jet early for the weekend in La Jolla.

H and I got out to see a show at the OC Tavern in San Clemente last weekend. William Elliot Whitmore played a set to one of the worst crowd’s I’ve seen at a venue in a long time. It’s the second show I’ve seen here and while the acoustics are top notch, the audience never is. Since I’ve seen two starkly different bands play I can’t say it is the same crowd so I’ll just broadly say South OC patrons are horrible. There will always be people that pay the ticket price to sit and talk through the entire set but I would say half to three quarters of the people in the room were talking throughout the set. I’ll stop it there but needless to say it did not make for the best show. Whitmore did put on a great show for being a one man band though I wonder how much of that accent is real and how much of it is just shtick. I’ll post some music in the coming weeks. Go support local artists and venues!

Wavves - Friends Were Gone

From a Fader digital 7” release. (Aren’t those all the rage now) You can actually hear some singing behind all that noise. If you haven’t checked out the Pitchfork.tv Daytripping segment on Wavves, check it out now for some SXSW fun.

The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice - Sudden Oak Death

I couldn’t think of a better collaboration in indie rock. Their EP “Moon Colony Bloodbath” came out as a tour only record earlier this year. Sadly, I missed their tour and thus my chance to purchase the vinyl only release. Having tracked it down online I now have the task of also tracking down someone willing to sell said record. Please pass me a note if you know of someone. The album is a concept album but this track stands out. While none of the songs feature both performers in harmony together it very much feels like a cohesive effort. Sudden Oak Death references a very real disease effecting Oregon and Northern California quercus lobatas.

Band of Horses - Part One

Wedding song for the week. I have also been listening to both of their albums a lot this week. They really are the kind of albums I will rarely NOT want to hear but yet I don’t always think of them.

Keith Whitley - When You Say Nothin At All

Whitley was a rising country star in the late 80’s. I don’t remember when I first heard him as a kid but a number of his songs got to be very popular after his death in 1989. The man had his demons which never seemingly appear in his music. His wife, Lorrie Morgan a country star herself, would actually tie his feet together when they went to bed so he couldn’t get up in the middle of the night to drink. He was also known to drink perfume and nail polish remover later on in hopes of getting drunk. He died at 33 from alcohol poisoning but not before leaving several stand out singles such as this song which is going in the wedding playlist as well.

Making this short and sweet to keep up my streak for 2009. A lot of older stuff this week.

Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon

Heard it again at a going away party and always think back to Donnie Darko and thus to Halloween 2006 when I put together my best costume ever. Handmade Frank bunny mask.

Phoenix - 1901 (The Tremulance Remix)

A great blip remix of this great song. See them in June at the Wiltern

Islands - Jogging Gorgeous Summer

Wedding song of the week. Great upbeat song by Islands. They still haven’t been able to duplicate the sheer fun of this album and song since.

Dwight Yoakam - My Heart Skips a Beat

Just because I can always come to Dwight for a Country Song of the Mix. Here he is covering Buck Owens.