"Songs for Dustmites" by Steve Burns
Better known as "that guy from Blues Clues," Steve Burns quit his gig with Nickelodeon around 2002 to write an eccentrically lovely indie pop album - featuring the Flaming Lips as both contributing musicians and producers. For obvious reasons, there was no way I could pass up a chance to hear this. I bought this disc for full price as soon as I learned that it existed.
I watched Blues Clues obsessively when I was five; I listened to this album obsessively when I was fifteen. For that reason, I can definitively say that Steve Burns has had more of a lasting effect on my life than any other musician. Pretentiously cute album art, irresistibly catchy melodies, and some genius lyrics make "Songs for Dustmites" one of the best pop albums I've ever heard. It's one of those records that I forget about and come back to every few months; every time I do, I'm happy that I bought it.
Monday, July 11, 2011
"Young Americans" by David Bowie
As a relatively new Bowie fan, so much of his discography is still a maze to me - buying this album was my clueless initiation into the world of trying to collect each of David Bowie's forty thousand records, which I expect will take much of my life to accomplish. And while I tend to prefer the experimental prog rock that later boggled so many of his fans to the bouncy mid-70s adventures in soul that one is prone to hearing on "Young Americans," this album is still a lot of fun.
I bought "Young Americans" on vinyl a few weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to listen to it because my record player is broken, but I've already heard much of it via the Internet, and (embarrassingly) the Beatles cover may be my favorite track. Hearing "Across the Universe" sung by Bowie gives it this opulent, almost theatrical quality that it didn't have before. Other highlights for me are "Fascination" and "Fame," though the title track is- surprisingly enough - the only one I find myself skipping when I play through "Young Americans."
As a relatively new Bowie fan, so much of his discography is still a maze to me - buying this album was my clueless initiation into the world of trying to collect each of David Bowie's forty thousand records, which I expect will take much of my life to accomplish. And while I tend to prefer the experimental prog rock that later boggled so many of his fans to the bouncy mid-70s adventures in soul that one is prone to hearing on "Young Americans," this album is still a lot of fun.
I bought "Young Americans" on vinyl a few weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to listen to it because my record player is broken, but I've already heard much of it via the Internet, and (embarrassingly) the Beatles cover may be my favorite track. Hearing "Across the Universe" sung by Bowie gives it this opulent, almost theatrical quality that it didn't have before. Other highlights for me are "Fascination" and "Fame," though the title track is- surprisingly enough - the only one I find myself skipping when I play through "Young Americans."
"Blind Melon" by Blind Melon
Like everyone else, I heard "No Rain" some summer afternoon and found myself in love with its mellow, stripped-down sound and charmingly depressive lyrics.Unlike most everyone else, I also got into the rest of this one-hit wonder's stuff, slowly but surely, and finally bought this album a couple of months ago when I found it on disc and cheap. It's one of those albums I've been meaning to pick up forever, but always forgot about.
"Blind Melon" is a good album, but it's not my thing. For that reason, I haven't played it all that many times, though there are a few striking tracks that are among my favorite summer songs - "Change" and "Sleepy-house" being two of them. Folksy guitar work, a country twang, and occasional lapses into Vedder-esque wailing allow "Blind Melon" to straddle the line between commercial "grunge" and folk rather gracefully, but there's a fine line between graceful and boring. For me, this album straddles that line, too.
Like everyone else, I heard "No Rain" some summer afternoon and found myself in love with its mellow, stripped-down sound and charmingly depressive lyrics.Unlike most everyone else, I also got into the rest of this one-hit wonder's stuff, slowly but surely, and finally bought this album a couple of months ago when I found it on disc and cheap. It's one of those albums I've been meaning to pick up forever, but always forgot about.
"Blind Melon" is a good album, but it's not my thing. For that reason, I haven't played it all that many times, though there are a few striking tracks that are among my favorite summer songs - "Change" and "Sleepy-house" being two of them. Folksy guitar work, a country twang, and occasional lapses into Vedder-esque wailing allow "Blind Melon" to straddle the line between commercial "grunge" and folk rather gracefully, but there's a fine line between graceful and boring. For me, this album straddles that line, too.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
"Walking with Strangers" by the Birthday Massacre
Most great albums are more than sequences of songs: they're a single piece of artwork, with multiple, inter-related chapters. "Walking with Strangers" is one of my favorite albums ever because it is, more than anything else, a piece of art - not a sequence of unrelated chapters. The way that the songs flow into each other makes it seem like a cohesive narrative, even though it isn't really a concept album. Also, it has these creepy, dark fairy / serial killer / twilight haunting vibes that always spark inspiration. It takes the best of the 1980s' new Romantic scene and the worst of the 1980s' synth-pop scene and somehow makes them work together. Imagine Depeche Mode meets Tiffani, and you have "Walking with Strangers."
I could go on and on, but I'll simply say that buying this disc - even though it was one of the very few full price purchases that I've made for myself - was worth ten times what I paid for it.
Most great albums are more than sequences of songs: they're a single piece of artwork, with multiple, inter-related chapters. "Walking with Strangers" is one of my favorite albums ever because it is, more than anything else, a piece of art - not a sequence of unrelated chapters. The way that the songs flow into each other makes it seem like a cohesive narrative, even though it isn't really a concept album. Also, it has these creepy, dark fairy / serial killer / twilight haunting vibes that always spark inspiration. It takes the best of the 1980s' new Romantic scene and the worst of the 1980s' synth-pop scene and somehow makes them work together. Imagine Depeche Mode meets Tiffani, and you have "Walking with Strangers."
I could go on and on, but I'll simply say that buying this disc - even though it was one of the very few full price purchases that I've made for myself - was worth ten times what I paid for it.
"Violet" by the Birthday Massacre
Everyone listens to one band that makes absolutely zero sense with the rest of their favorite stuff - the Birthday Massacre is mine. Most of their fans are into the new wave of gothiness (which died before it was ever born, truly) and I'm not and never have been. But I'd like to think that I can recognize especially good music when I hear it, and the Birthday Massacre is especially good at what they do. They write these masterfully artistic, whimsically dark, sonically vibrant songs about murdering their friends and they have trippy purple cover art. What's not to like?
"Violet" isn't my favorite TBM record, but I've still given it a pretty vast number of plays since I got it as a gift around a year and a half ago; "Horror Show" and "Lover's End" are two of my favorite Birthday Massacre compositions.
Everyone listens to one band that makes absolutely zero sense with the rest of their favorite stuff - the Birthday Massacre is mine. Most of their fans are into the new wave of gothiness (which died before it was ever born, truly) and I'm not and never have been. But I'd like to think that I can recognize especially good music when I hear it, and the Birthday Massacre is especially good at what they do. They write these masterfully artistic, whimsically dark, sonically vibrant songs about murdering their friends and they have trippy purple cover art. What's not to like?
"Violet" isn't my favorite TBM record, but I've still given it a pretty vast number of plays since I got it as a gift around a year and a half ago; "Horror Show" and "Lover's End" are two of my favorite Birthday Massacre compositions.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
"Reject All-American" by Bikini Kill
This was the first riot grrrl album to become part of my collection; it was a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. Being anti-social and obsessed with riot grrrl feminism at the time, I spent much of my winter vacation carrying it around the house and listening to "Bloody Ice Cream" over and over again (to be a girl poet / means you have to die). Since then, this record has seen more than its share of loving abuse - the cover art has been missing for a while (after it was cut up and taped to the wall in several incarnations) while the plastic case is a wreck of scratches and smudges.
I love this record. In fact, if I had any punk cred (which I don't), I might make the bold assertion that this is one of the ten most important punk records of the past century. Instead, I'll recommend that anyone and everyone hear "Reject All-American." It's beautiful and smart and challenging and it has some of the best lyrics ever written.
This was the first riot grrrl album to become part of my collection; it was a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. Being anti-social and obsessed with riot grrrl feminism at the time, I spent much of my winter vacation carrying it around the house and listening to "Bloody Ice Cream" over and over again (to be a girl poet / means you have to die). Since then, this record has seen more than its share of loving abuse - the cover art has been missing for a while (after it was cut up and taped to the wall in several incarnations) while the plastic case is a wreck of scratches and smudges.
I love this record. In fact, if I had any punk cred (which I don't), I might make the bold assertion that this is one of the ten most important punk records of the past century. Instead, I'll recommend that anyone and everyone hear "Reject All-American." It's beautiful and smart and challenging and it has some of the best lyrics ever written.
"New Radio" by Bikini Kill
A devout Bikini Kill fan with a passion for anything riot grrrl, I pretty much had an aneurysm when I found this EP at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. I don't know why it was there, but I don't care to question it. It was only seven dollars, which sounded wonderful until I found out that you can buy it for 5.99 online. The Internet rains on my parade every time.
Happily, "New Radio" was worth the seven dollars I paid for it, and much more. Between the glitter-glue cover art (which has hung on my wall since the day I came home), the inclusion of my favorite Bikini Kill track, "Demi-Rep," and the inclusion of the always-iconic "Rebel Girl," there's nothing that isn't beautiful about this EP. And if those attributes aren't enough to convince you, Joan Jett produced the entire EP and contributed backing vocals to at least one of the songs. Yeah, having this on vinyl is definitely worth it.
A devout Bikini Kill fan with a passion for anything riot grrrl, I pretty much had an aneurysm when I found this EP at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. I don't know why it was there, but I don't care to question it. It was only seven dollars, which sounded wonderful until I found out that you can buy it for 5.99 online. The Internet rains on my parade every time.
Happily, "New Radio" was worth the seven dollars I paid for it, and much more. Between the glitter-glue cover art (which has hung on my wall since the day I came home), the inclusion of my favorite Bikini Kill track, "Demi-Rep," and the inclusion of the always-iconic "Rebel Girl," there's nothing that isn't beautiful about this EP. And if those attributes aren't enough to convince you, Joan Jett produced the entire EP and contributed backing vocals to at least one of the songs. Yeah, having this on vinyl is definitely worth it.
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