The Look Back

It took two years but I’m finally reaching my breaking point with posting even just four songs once a week, every week. As you can see I’ve missed a couple weeks this summer and I’m thinking of just putting this on every other week for the foreseeable future. I know this is going to disappoint the .2938 readers who follow the site but I’m getting tired of going through my media library at 10:45am on Friday morning trying to throw together four songs that meet my fancy at that time. This could also be because of the sheer lack of new music that has been catching my ear in the last month and could pick up in the fall when some new releases start picking up again. Enough about this stuff that no one but me cares about.

Girls – Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker

Scuzzy Beach Boys. Summer. 60’s beach rock with much more overt drug references. (Yeah, just listen to the first 15 seconds) Their self titled album comes out September 22nd and I highly recommend it if you want to put it on the shelf until next summer.

Destroyer – Bay of Pigs

Epic Destroyer song. Coming from his latest EP, of the same name. At nearly 14 minutes in length this is something you should only attempt to enjoy if you are familiar with his back catalog and ready for the culmination of all things Dan Bejar, at least to date. The number of witty references would be tarnished by listing any independent of the music so I’ll use that lazy excuse and just make you take my smarmy word for it. And yes, I do realize how pretentious and snotty these last few sentences have sounded. Relax, I could be posting more Wolf Eyes.

Marion Harris – Look for the Silver Lining

The wedding playlist is going in a number of different directions now. H and I talked with my roommate Steve who is a professional cello player and who is going to be playing the wedding ceremony. He informed us that typically you have four songs played during a normal wedding ceremony. 1) Before the bride comes out. 2) Bridal march when bride comes down the aisle. 3) Something else, forgot what the third song is 4) Bride and Groom go back down the aisle. The music I have been posting on here for several months was never meant to be played during the ceremony. At this point it is looking more likely that the pop/country/rock music I’ve been posting the past few months will be played before the ceremony when people are milling around and getting seated. During the reception dinner time music such as this song will be played. 20’s-50’s pop/country as if played through an old hifi. From that point it will segue into the dancing music which we are still finalizing. Needless to say, don’t expect any 80’s butt rock to be played. I’d rather have 8 people dancing that understand good music than 40 who can’t wait for “Jungle Boogie” to be played. Save the cliché crap for the next cliché wedding reception you attend at the beach, in a mid-west community center or on a golf course.

Faron Young – Hello Walls

The Hillbilly Heartthrob. Hello Walls was another classic country song I heard as a kid through commercials for one of those “Best of Country Music” tape compilations that were aimed at, I guess, parents as they happened to walk by the screen when their kids were watching cartoons. Faron’s success lasted until the late 70’s when his music started to appear dated and lost much of its core audience. He would unfortunately commit suicide in 1996 at only 64 years old having thought the country music industry had turned its back on him. He was inducted into the country music hall of fame in 2000 in large part to songs such as Hello Walls which still sound great to this day.

I missed a week, sorry.

Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer

Making the rounds on all your favorite blogs comes Neon Indian. YABB (Yet Another Brooklyn Band) but are worthy of the hype upon the first listening to the overall album and this single.

The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (Architecture in Helsinki Remix)

Architecture in Helsinki did a great job turning this into a true remix in their own vein. Anyone who has ever listened to AiH will pick up on this right away with the trumpet parts and mix of whimsical percussion. The vocals are almost completely stripped out and make this a unique take on the original.

William Elliott Whitmore – Hell or High Water

It’s taken me a while to post anything by William Elliott Whitmore as I’m not sure I buy into his who shtick. He’s from Iowa and I just keep getting this feeling that his voice etc is a big act. His live performance is over the top with his between song banter usually playing up his hard drinking, tough yet sentimental exterior. I enjoy his music in small doses but it all seems to start to run together if you listen to too much of it. Apparently I don’t get the subtleties of it.

Barton Carroll – Those Days Are Gone, And My Heart is Breaking

I’m not sure where I picked up Carroll’s “The Lost One” release but I just rediscovered it this week. He’s got a fairly run of the mill voice but his story telling hooked me with this song in particular. It’s the matter of fact nature in which he delivers these lyrics make it seem as if he is trying to distance his real emotions. This might seem insincere/fake but the way he sings and plays it really makes me want to believe this is a true story, sad as it may be.