I thought there was a virtue in always being cool - 11/9 show

Jamie Lidell caught my ear with the loose and easy "In a Minor Key" version of his soul tune "Multiply", from his album Multiply Additions (an album of redone versions of songs from his album Multiply. I saw him at Pitchfork this year, and while he did play "Multiply", I discovered him to be a broader, more interesting artist than the oe song might imply. In concert he does a lot of free-form scat on top of oversample grooves (which he samples on the fly, up on stage). The song I played today is one that turned up on my iPod Shuffle (which picks a random selection of MP3s out of my collection). I didn't recognize him, and I had to look on the computer later to figure out who it was. This song is a bit wild, with rough, shouting lyrics; I haven't heard the original, but this Four Tet mix is an electronic dance groove with odd chirping bits. The whole effect is highly reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, and couldn't be more different from "Multiply (In a Minor Key)".

More on Jens Lekman another day... but he really has a voice that makes you want to be friends with him. It's a little different from Kimya Dawson, whose voice makes you feel like you are already friends with her. Lots of people have voices that are fun to listen to, or highly emotive, or what have you, but it unusual for a voice to feel so personal.

A couple of years ago I went to see a sort of reunion show of the Ocean Blue at Schuba's. There opening band was a quartet from the Twin Cities call the Owls. They traded off vocal duties, and were very earnest and cute. They were also slightly off-key; maybe it was a bad night for them. Still, I thought the songwriting was strong, and I kept them in mind, in particular one song called "Peppermint Patty". In the intervening time, the Owls have been regrouping and learning the art of production. They took a good couple of years to put together their new album, Daughters and Suns. I reviewed it for the station last week, and found them much improved, but still charming. The album is well-produced, but not overproduced (and not off-key, either, for what it's worth). And, it contains the song "Peppermint Patty", which is as good as I remember it.

I got pretty into the the JudyBats in the nineties, and bought all of their albums. I went to one show at the Metro... a last minute idea to go on my own, back when we lived on Clarendon and the Metro was a short walk away. (Actually, it's probably just as far away now.) The band was never very popular, but they had their fans, and the concert was pretty full. Fast forward to about three years ago: the JudyBats were broken up, and the last album (around 2000) had seen the band reformulated without the lead guitarist. My friend Lynn informs me that they will be playing the Halsted Street Market Days. Have they reunited? No, not really — the somebody in the Market Days organization knows them and invited them up, and they are reuniting specially for this concert. The lead singer/songwriter and the lead guitarist are back together, albeit with a new backing band. The concert stage is set up in the 7/11 parking lot; we get their early and are near the front. There are not that many people, but those who are there and really hard core fans. I know all the lyrics to all the songs they play, and so does everyone around me. They play every single song I'd hoped to hear, including the quirky "Convalescing in Spain". It was a very good concert, and I felt lucky to be there; it was all the more special knowing this was it — there was no tour, no future plans, and no other concerts, not even in their hometown in Tennessee.

Later on I got into a yelling fight with someone at the Duncan Sheik concert that followed, which kind of marred the day. Those of you who know me will understand how unusual it is for me to get into an altercation with a stranger, or really, anyone.

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
The Flaming Lips	Fight Test	Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots	Warner Brothers
Jamie Lidell	The City (Fout Tet Mix)	Multiply Additions	WARP
Meryn Cadell	Janet Clark	Bombazine	Sire/Reprise
*Let's Get Out of this Terrible Sandwich Shop	Larlie	Listening	Roydale
*Miss Alex White & the Red Orchestra	I Dig History	Space & Time	In the Red
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists	Parallel or Together?	The Tyranny of Distance	Lookout!
The Eternals	Silhouette	High Anxiety EP	Aesthetics
Oneida	Busy Little Bee	Happy New Year	Jagjaguwar/Brah
*Jens Lekman	Sipping on the Sweet Nectar	Night Falls over Kortedala	Secretly Canadian
Les Negresses Vertes	I Love Paris	Red Hot + Blue	Chrysalis
Stevie Wonder	Golden Lady	Innervisions	Motown
*The Owls	Peppermint Patty	Daughters and Suns	Magic Marker
*The Fiery Furnaces	Cabaret of the Seven Devils	Widow City	Thrill Jockey
Laurie Anderson	Example #22	Big Science	Warner Brothers
Rufus Wainwright	Greek Song	Poses	Dreamworks
Violent Femmes	Gone Daddy Gone	Violent Femmes	Slash
Elliott Smith	Sweet Adeline	XO	Dreamworks
This Mortal Coil	Help Me Lift You Up	Blood	4AD
The Velvet Underground and Nico	I'll Be Your Mirror	The Velvet Underground and Nico	Polygram
*Beirut	Forks & Knives {La Fête}	The Flying Club Cup	Ba Da Bing!
*Extra Golden	Brothers Gone Away	Hera Ma Nona	Thrill Jockey
The Rapture	The Devil	Pieces of the People We Love	Universal
Deee-Lite	Deep Ending	World Clique	Elektra
*Siouxsie	About the Happen	Mantaray	Decca
*Rogue Wave	Lake Michigan	Asleep at Heaven's Gate	Brushfire
Wilco	Jesus, Etc.	Yankee Hotel Foxtrot	Nonesuch
*The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	I Never Thought I Could Feel This Way for a Boy	The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Bloodshot
Dax Riggs	Radiation Blues
Sleeper Car	Eugene's Lament	Shy Me	Self-release
The JudyBats	Scarlett	Pain Makes You Beautiful	Sire

Labels: music, playlists

posted by Tony at 11:32 PM