the musics

...so faithful readers...of which I am sure there are but a few...

I come to you asking to make music recommendations for me, especially if you have a hankering for my opinion on anything. 'Cos I'm jonesing for some new music to listen to, but I am dry on ideas and new music. I know the responsible thing to do would be to actually read a music website for once (like would it kill me to peruse pitchfork?) but that's really not my style. For one, I only like reading really scathing record reviews. One of my favorites was their review of the Bravery album the Bravery, which I will excerpt here:

"The Bravery will tell you they don't know of any nu-rock revival. They just happen to like wearing leather jackets and having their gaunt faces photographed in elevators. Their idea to combine new wave, garage rock, and dance music just popped into their head, because, hey, what if rock bands started doing that?" (Adam Moerder, April 18, 2005)

But, on the other hand, I've decided to own up shamelessly to the fact that I don't always aspire to intelligent reading on the web. After all, I just finished scouring One D at a Time and have been lovingly gazing at the bellismo photos on the Sartorialist (if you're interested in either of these blogs, I refer you to my blog list sidebar, as well as the links above).

But since I can't expect to receive without giving, I will let you all into my iPod playlist of the day and my thoughts about each respective song/artist combo.

On-the-Go from August 19, 2009:

Zero & Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
One can argue a lot about which song is the better song (or better dance song) from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album "It's Blitz" (or one could also argue about the fact that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound a heckuva lot different now--duh) but I still like Heads will Roll best. Perhaps it's my love of the straight up macabre dance hook "Off with your head. Dance til your dead."
[For the record, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have done a pretty good job of making sure you can't embed their videos...hella lame...I guess they're too corporate for us]



L.E.S. Artistes, Creator, & Lights Out by Santogold (Santigold? I don't think I can ever fully acknowledge that name as it's simply not as cool)
I went with the three-hit trifecta from Santogold's debut album because I'm.still.not.over.her. This music reflects a pretty specific time in my life (summer 2008) when she was all over New York and T.V. and all of that. Even today I'm surprised to find people who haven't actually listened to her much. I think this is great pop music--what pop could really be if we expected more from it--and I love every inch, even a year later.



Modern Art by Art Brut
Listen for the spoken word diatribe in the middle during which he "SEES A MATISSE AND...RUNS AT IT"



Hell Yes by Beck
Strangely enough I got my first real exposure to this song because my dad liked the video. He wanted me to watch all of the little robots. A couple years later, I found myself absently adding this song to every playlist I had going, thinking "Hell yes" every time the girls told me to "Please Enjoy."



Pretty Baby by Blondie
Oh yeah, Blondie rules. I feel like anybody who typically likes my favorite genre of music (Indie rock--if that still means anything anymore) is all about the Blondie so it almost feels redundant to list this song, but it was the one Blondie song I wanted to hear today.



Julie With... by Brian Eno
My aunt put this song on a mix tape for me when I was in high school. Needless to say, this song is very evocative for me, but I think it would still be evocative without the pervasive "oh I remember how it was to feel like an adolescent" B.S. that typically taints music you REALLY REALLY liked in high school. There's something otherworldly about the song, and dare I say, Brian Eno's music in general.



The Next Time Around by Little Joy
Little Joy is Fabrizio Moretti's solo project (For those who don't know, the drummer from the Strokes). I picked this up at an Amoeba Music, and I find it utterly charming. Charming is a pretty damning word to use for music I suppose, as I don't think I would ever buy an album based on that description. But the album as a whole, as evidenced by the music video, is sprinkled liberally with ukelele and French and the kinds of sounds and cadences that make you feel good just by listening. Like, maybe someday I too can chill out in Hawaii with a vintage Botex camera.


So hit me up with your recent music listenings and desires!