Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Lindsay Katt, "Is It You" (mp3 available for download on her Myspace)

I love the sound of marching drums. There's something stately about the sound of them--confident, as if the drums are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. That's comforting to someone like me, who often doesn't know approximately what she's doing, much less "exactly". This song, though it uses the stately marching drums, is not comforting. The emotions are familiar, but not comfortable. The singer seems both distressed by and slightly removed from the situation. The drums pound out a sense of urgency, ripping into the other instruments' territory and seeming to fray the singer's already-stressed voice. The guitar is slow enough to layer the song with sadness and soften the rawness a bit. Her lovely voice embodies both the sadness and the roughness equally, giving the impression of a whole person who both accepts her own flaws with humor (she looks for her pride in the mailbox but can't find it) but is still perplexed by the direction her life is taking--she "does what she does and doesn't understand" (paraphrased). In short, she sounds like me on a Saturday night.

Website
Sonic Bids site
*Awesome video for her song "My Happy" is at the end of the post



Lindsay Katt looks neither distressed nor detached here


Bitch, "Highway"

*Caveat: I realize the below isn't about the music; it's more about the impact of the musician--the musician's name, to be exact. Roll with it, people--the music is so great it doesn't need any blah-blah from me to support it.

I'm trying to think of when I've blushed and stuttered when saying a band or musician's name. Pretty much, never, I think. I don't have a problem saying "Sex Pistols". I can think of a few other band names that would've made a modest person blush, but not me. Why is it that I have a hard time saying this musicians name? It can't be the musician herself, because I think she's made of teh awesome. Is it her music? When I first heard her song "Unstick" a year or so ago I played it over and over and over again. I would hum it to myself even when I wasn't listening to it. I absolutely love her music. So why do I have a hard time saying or writing her name? I think it's because it's a personally difficult word. It's the gender orientation of the song--if it were a male-oriented word, I'd have no problem--like the name of another of my favorite bands. In my case, I think her name is just a charged word. There are other women who have no problem with the word and use it gleefully. Is it her problem? No. Is it my problem? Obviously.

The question is: would I prefer she use another name? Absolutely not. I never realized until I heard this musician that I had a problem with the word. It wasn't a word I used, but I always considered myself mostly immune to the psychological connotations of words. I always followed the ancient philosophical doctrine of "Sticks and Stones". Words can't hurt me, but actions can. So why was I stinging every time I told someone this musician's name? Why did I instinctively shield my mp3 player when someone looked over my shoulder and it was playing? The urge is really strong when the other person is a woman, so maybe I thought they would think I was implying they were one, or that I was one.

I would not want her to change her name. I don't want to give in to my base fears. Her music is exceptional and I would never want someone I respect to compromise. I respect her for choosing that name--she confronts people's pre-judgments, insecurities and misconceptions on a daily basis, courtesy of the name she's chosen. It would take several acts of extreme bravery for me to do that. For her, though, it's probably natural, no extra ingredients required.

If you haven't listened to "Highway" or any of her other music, please do. She's one of the best musicians and songwriters I've heard.

Website
Myspace


Bitch in Green, The Sparkling Queen


Birds and Batteries, "Ocarina"

I like how they list "laptop" as an instrument on their Myspace page. It fits, though. The space-age-y disparate keyboard notes are the introduction to the song, slipping into the listener's consciousness like a weird dream you might have after watching 2001: A Space Odyssey too many times in a row. Then the instruments come in, the vocals start and a song is born, much like a new star: shimmering, warm and bright. It envelopes you wholly, swarthing you in smoothness. It reminds me of the sheer pop suaveness of XTC songs like "Mayor of Simpleton" and "Senses Working Overtime". The singer's voice is clear and even, rolling with the aquatic images he's invoking. The music and the vocals collaborate to form something resembling a memory...a memory of something that makes me feel hopeful and content, but is so removed from my consciousness that's it's become more of a feeling than an actual event. Sidenote: the ocarina is an instrument, but I'm not instrument-savvy enough to know if they use it. It's not listed on any of their sites as an instrument they use, so I'm guessing not.

Website
Myspace


I think Birds and Batteries got at least one of their members from the 70's TV show "Chips"

Bonus:

I was all set to include the song "Dan Gilbert" by Organ Beats, which I'd found at On the Download; however, the link's messed up. The song won't download (at least not for me), though if you click on the mp3 link you can hear the song. I even tried cleaning up the URL and putting it in my blogger software--it still didn't work. It just took me to a blank page. I really like the song, though, so hopefully you'll be able to hear it from On the Download's site.

Also, Lindsay Katt's video for her song "My Happy" is teh awesome:

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

(The podcast was posted yesterday)

Devotchka, "Transliterator"

Devotchka was one of the first bands I wrote about in this blog--before I realized that blogging actually included writing. My favorite Devotchka songs from that period aren't even mentioned on their Myspace anymore--I guess that's 'cause they are five and more years old. I would listen to those songs over and over. I worry that when I love a band that much--or more accurately, when I love a group of songs so much--that nothing the band will do after that will recapture that devotion for me. Hearing this song, though, I feel giddy all over again. If I'd never heard of Devotchka before, I would be absolultely swayed by this song. It conjurs its power through pleading, demanding vocals and swirling, orchestral instrumentation that swells and breaks with the torrent of the singer's emotions. The music is as diverse as any I've heard: the band employs violin, guitar, trumpet, piano, sax and many others. I'm not savvy enough to be able to tell you which instruments are in this particular song, but I can recognize a few. The coy piano is a delicate undercurrent to the sweeping, curling violin. The guitar thrashes in time to the singer's angst, challenging and roughening the already aggravated climate. Devotchka's songs are worthy of repeat listening because each moment is uniquely crafted, but with an eye to forming a complete experience. The experience is raw, dense, commanding and exhausting. Exhausting, but so intense and fulfilling that you want to go through it over and over.

Website
Myspace


Devotchka are just relaxin' until inspiration seizes them once more, catupulting them into the dark recesses of creativity...or something. I'm trying to be dramatic too, okay? (Photo from the LA Times blog)

Sunset Rubdown, "Winged, Wicked Things"

If David Bowie fronted a cabaret band, it might sound something like this. Come to think of it, Bowie was cabaret. Ostentatious, audacious, melodramatic, and larger-than-life--all qualities I love in a musician. I don't want to trivialize this sort of grand experience by labeling it simply "cabaret", but like the previous band Devotchka (and other bands like Dresden Dolls and Beirut), Sunset Rubdown infuse their music with intensity and regale you with a clashing array of music and emotion. You feel like you've spent a night in the movie Velvet Goldmine. You come out of it dazed, with a somewhat altered view of the world. It's the kind of experience you remember with fondness and a healthy dose of fogginess.

Website
Myspace (Fan Created)


Bad pun alert: Sunset Rubdown are waiting for their...wait for it...wait for it...sunset rubdown. Yes, I grabbed on to the first lame pun I thought of. Photo is from this site, but the pun is all mine.

Brazos, "Mary Jo"

Musically, this song is a little lighter in spirit than the previous songs, but no less effective at energizing the listener. Buoyant and optimistic, in sound at least, the guitars pluck a soft underpinning then rise to compliment the increasingly full sound of the vocals, keyboards and marching drum. Lyrically, the song isn't as carefree. It's not so much a lament for Mary Jo as it is a lament to leave a painful situation. He doesn't want to be alone anymore, but he doesn't want to go back. He tells her he's been "crawling in the leaves", waiting for her touch, but he "never wants to come to [her] again". It seems he's ready to let go of the "broken bottles and scratches on the walls" that she seems to signify. The choice is between a painful companionship and a lonely, but less bruised existence. If you look closer, though, the lyrics--like the music-- are optimistic. They're coated with the wish for release, for a new life.

Website
Myspace (More MP3s are available on their Myspace, directly above their Friends list)


It's a little-known fact, but a small drum can channel light into a fine point, creating a conduit into another world. At least I think that's what Brazos is doing. (Photo by Ashley Cherry)

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Theme Music! Dust Rhinos, "Victoria"
Website
Myspace

State of Radio, "Gang of Thieves"
Website
Myspace

The OaKs, "Masood" (Thanks to Fanatic Promotions)
Website
Myspace

Hayden, "Where and When" (The label gave me permission to play the song but they asked me not to post the .mp3)
Label Site
Myspace

The Cyanide Valentine, "Nosferatu" (Download the entire EP from their website--just click on the picture on the right when the website comes up)
Myspace

Gileah and the Ghost Train, "Emergency" (The Label gave me permission to play the song but not to post the .mp3)
Website
Myspace

Brooke Waggoner, "Hush If You Must" (I got permission from the artist to use the song, but in lieu of posting the mp3, she asked me to direct people to her website where you can download the entire EP for free--just click on the "music" link at the bottom of her website)
Myspace

Water Fai, "Kaiyon" (I did get the name right in the podcast!) (Thanks to Team Clermont for the .mp3)
Website
Myspace

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

She & Him, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here"

I first heard this song several weeks ago, but I didn't post it because I didn't want to be the 1,001st blogger to post it. But dangit, it's Zooey Deschanel,the chick from Almost Famous, Hitchiker's Guide and Tin Man! It's Bones' sister! It's an awesome song! It's M. Ward! I love M. Ward. So yeah, few people can capture the warm scratchiness of some of the earlier pop/country vocalists like Tanya Tucker (Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?), Dusty Springfield (The only one who could ever reach me was the son of a preacher man) and Lulu (Those school girl days of telling tales and biting nails have gone...). Where are our Loretta Lynns? Our Patsy Clines? Okay, now I'm just sounding like a drunk rambler recounting the good ole days for the fiftieth time. Zooey Deschanel's voice calls to mind those classic, rich voices dripping with coyness and not playing into the female stereotype that to be "feminine" is to be bland and to blend. Deschanel, like the best vocalists, only blends when the song calls for it.

Label Site
Myspace


Zooey Deschanel even looks like she could be from the era of the great female country singer.

The Notwist, "Good Lies"

"Let's just imitate the real until we find a better one," sings lead singer Markus Acher. This is an ode to replacing unfavorable reality with a reality of our making: the "good lies" that help us get through the bad periods. He doesn't specify what his good lies are--whether they are about finances, relationships, or something deeper that he can't articulate. Is it something as seemingly innocuous as talking himself out of being annoyed at traffic or is it full on self-delusion? Whatever it is, hopefully the reality will become favorable enough for him to emerge sometime soon.

Website
Myspace


The Notwist reminisce about the best good lies

Dyjecinski, Artur "In Greed" (mp3 available on his Myspace)

This is the song I should listen to when my nerves are so edge they're fraying each other. The vocals crackle out of the headphones, intimate and immediate. The guitars slide through, making Jack Johnson's music seem rushed (I rely on Jack Johnson to fill the role of "laid-back guy" too much...the only other musician who would fit would be Jimmy Buffet, though...). This song quells even my most neurotic impulses, though the lyrics aren't so comforting: "...what have you given me but emptiness that fills my life, pursuits grounded in greed". I have a deep seated ability to block out depressing lyrics (I used to listen to bands like Bauhaus, The Cure and The Smiths almost exclusively--I developed coping mechanisms), so to me this is a song born out of a peaceful morning on the beach, watching the sunrise and thinking about not much of anything. The guy has The Dude as his top Myspace friend, afterall--appropriate since this song could be the soundtrack to one of Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski's crazy dreams--trippy, but not dangerous.

Website


The Dude abides...

Bonus:

Video:

Vampire Weekend, "A Punk"

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Condor Moment, "I Hope Raymond (Is Still Alive)" (Thanks to Fanatic Promotion)

I'm not sure what my favorite part of this song is. It might be the beautiful, longing piano introduction. It might be when the piano hastily morphs into an electric rock opera. I'm also taken with the vocals--the voice slows and slurs into a deliberate exaggeration--very Cabaret-like. The end of the song? I'm not sure what style that is. I think it's performance art that turns into an electro version of Modest Mouse. If you don't like songs that morph from style to style, you may not appreciate this song's style. I could count the different turns this song takes, but that would take too long, and I have a post to write. Needless to say, I love it when a song changes dramatically within itself, as long as the pieces match. This song switches styles more often than Bowie has changed styles of makeup, but I still recognize the song even throughout its manifestations.

Website
Myspace


If one of these guys is Raymond, then Raymond is definitely having some problems.

Trolleyvox, "I Call On You" (.mp3 from their Myspace)

If I didn't know any better (well, actually, some days I don't know any better), I'd think it was the early 90's, I still had most of my life ahead of me and one of my favorite types of music was known as "college rock". It didn't have any other name--no "alternative" label. Just cool music you only found on the bottom of the radio dial, if you were lucky enough to live near a cool college (I really wasn't, so I had to depend on magazine reviews and the occasional mix tape to find out about music). This song has the clarity and the pop sensibility of some of the best 80s/early 90's bands--Throwing Muses, The Breeders, The Pixies, 10,000 Maniacs, Voice of the Beehive (I know you don't know them, but they're awesome) R.E.M, and a few others. I'm not disparaging the music of this decade--I spend a lot of my time listening to and writing about it--I love it. But there's something fresh about a straightforward pop song with clear, sharp female vocals and very little electronica, but with lots of guitar. I like loud guitars.

Amazon Page
Myspace
(The URL listed for their website redirects to their Myspace)


The Trolleyvox offer these toasters, as thanks for opening an account at their branch.

Camphor, "The Sweetest Tooth"

I played this band a few months ago, but when a song is good (and legal), I can't pass it up. I have a soft spot for torchy ballads--you know, the kind that make you want to climb on a piano and start bellowing in a deep, rich voice. Preferably with a scotch in your hand, even if you don't drink scotch (which I don't). So, yeah, this song makes me want to be a torch singer. All good torch singers bear a burden, and this guy obviously has something on his mind because the refrain is "give me something for the pain" (hey--I suggested scotch). The lyrics are definitely torchy--morose, actually: "American beauty withering on the vine, saccharin smile rotting at the root..." That could be taken as a reference to the vanity and shallowness that seems to have crept in and strangled much of what is beautiful and worthy in my culture. The rest of the lyrics would seem to bear that out: "Self-Indulgent, cultivated to consume". Yep, that would be us. The lyrics don't specify what or who he's referring to, but I do take it as a general commentary on this culture. It's a depressing reminder of what our fascination with the Britneys, the Lindsays and the Hiltons of this country has landed us: a lot of piddling knowledge of nothing important. I need a scotch (though I don't drink scotch).

Website
Myspace


Camphor look at the viewer with curiosity, as though they might recognize the viewer but they can't quite place them. Or perhaps they've started in on the scotch.

PODCAST!

Episode 40: Lola Will Not Get Confused

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Theme Music! Dust Rhinos, "Victoria"

Website
Myspace

Red Romance, "Breakaway"

Website
Myspace

A Faulty Chromosome, "Them Pleasures of the Flesh"

Myspace (No website listed)

New London Fire, "We Don't Bleed" (I can't offer the .mp3 because I got the file from Podshow and they don't want podcasters to post the .mp3)

Podshow Site
Website
Myspace

Pomegranites, "The Children's Progress"

Label Website
Myspace

The Trolleyvox, "Is Vic There?"

More mp3s from this band
Myspace

Tilly & The Wall, The Freest Man (CSS Remix)

Website
Myspace

The Big Sleep, "Pinkies" (Thanks to Filter)

Website
Myspace

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

These United States, "First Sight"

According to a blog post on the band's Myspace, These United States is "scoring the film" of founding member Jesse Elliot's "clap-trap brain". I like clap-trap ramblings, and this song fits that description well. My first thought when I heard the tiny keyboard punches trickling into my left ear was "What the hell is this? Is it Hal 9000?" Then as the music varied and expanded into both ears, I started to appreciate its intricacy. The song reaches cohesion with the addition of the vocals, steering the song from a minimalist electro-ditty into a full-fledged rush of story-telling. The singer barely pauses half a second between phrases, impressing the listener with a sense of accelerated time. The lyrics add to the sense of fleeting time: within the span of the three-minute song, the singer sees the entire life of a relationship he will form with a girl he seems to have just met--love and lust morph into a lifetime together. He sees this all happen in "one grand epic sweep", but though the story seems to be over at the end of the song, the anticipation in the singer's voice makes the song seem new over and over.

Website
Myspace
Blog
Band member Paleo's song-a-day project can be found here (scroll down to song diary--each song is identified by the date)


These United States are fervant for the music

School of Language, "Rockist, Part One"

This is another song that kind of may me go "uh...?" at the beginning. A succession of the syllables "ooh ahh eehh" bounce from one speaker over to another. If the song had just been that, it would've stayed in the "interesting" category and not graduated to the must-share department. However, like the last song, the vocals and music cohere to form a full musical experience. The bass line rumbles beneath the tense layer of rhythmically truncated vocals, guitars that clash and crash into the song unexpectedly and the steady flow of "oohs, ahhs and eehs". The experience leaves the listener feeling tread on and stomped upon (in the most flattering sense of the phrases), as one might feel under the weight of something forceful and unreckonable.

Website
Myspace


David Brewis of School of Language says "Hey! I've learned to whittle! Can I practice on your arm?" (photo by Ian West)

The Knife and Fork Band, "Crazy"

If Aimee Mann got really dejected one day, it might sound like this song (oh wait--my favorite 'Til Tuesday album was Aimee being really, really dejected). The vocalist has the same smooth, creamy delivery as Aimee--coating you with sadness, but comforting you at the same time. But wait--just when you think this is strictly a ballad, the singer breaks into a searing interlude that's more Baker Act than Bacharach. I love the juxtaposition of sharp, insistent chorus and lackadaisical, fluid verses--it's the same clash of style I love about the Prog-Rock bands of the 70's--particularly Queen. You never know what kind of song you're going to get, even in the middle of the song.

Website
Label Site
Myspace


The Knife and Fork Band are smiling because they didn't have to use both the knife and the fork on the guy slumped over the table.