Have a Heart

I made it back in one piece from my family reunion in Las Vegas. This is my musical mix ode to 2010. Not necessarily the best, just what I like. Click on for more.

for auld lang syne, my friends..

2010 draws to a close, and although it's been said time and again, this year has moved faster than I've seemed to live it.. I've tried, completely tried, but once again another year leaves with a sense that maybe you could have done a bit more and lived even more.. So, I'm approaching 2011 with a renewed sense to simply slow down a bit.. Travel? oh, yes.. Enjoy the company of my friends? everyday, i hope.. but, I also hope to 'stop' a bit more and just be aware that the year is moving more rapidly than we want it to, and that everything we need to know about it is happening NOW. It's something I've tried to do the past couple of years, and those are the moments I really remember at this point of December..

So, a glass raised to 2011, friends.. I leave you with this festive version of Robbie Burns poem, played by the always fun Pink Martini..

Have a Happy New Year.. Cheers.. :)

Pink Martini - Auld Lang Syne

Exorcising 'Demons'

The Cowboy Junkies offer a lovely tribute to the late Vic Chesnutt, who died a year ago Christmas Day.. The second in their Nomad Series, it will be available for purchase at the beginning of the year from their website.. Pre-order info here:

http://latentrecordings.com/cowboyjunkies/2010/12/16/demons-now-available-for-pre-order/

Vic, you are missed.. thanks again for the music, and thank-you to the Junkies who always have a song for the bleak winter days.. x

Cowboy Junkies - When the Bottom Fell Out

Spacemoth

Cyborg holiday love from Jun Togawa.

Chillin' and coolin' just like a snowman

Christmas eve with a classic.

Run DMC > Christmas in Hollis

A Christmas lesson for us all, from Johnny Cash.

I do wonder exactly why this exists. But you should still heed Johnny's advice, kids.

Merry Christmas everyone.

a cut-and-paste christmas..

PASTE magazine offers free 50 Christmas downloads just in time for your holiday happenings.. loads of good stuff on here.. Happy Christmas, all.. :)

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/12/50-free-christmas-mp3s.html?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Paste_Lifeline%2012-23-10_12_23_110


isobel campbell and mark lanegan - 'time of the season'

My heart is as cold as ice

A Xmas gift to you, from Tracey Thorn and her ice cold heart. Sister Winter is a free track that you can grab over at her website. I think it's just hit me that Xmas is right around the corner. The last of the presents I bought arrived in the post yesterday, and I don't have to work for a couple weeks. And then, I ran into this lovely little tune. Pretty sweet.

Tracey Thorn > Sister Winter

Soulful Christmas

From James Brown's Funky Christmas, wishing you a Soulful Christmas. James Brown loves you.

James Brown > Soulful Christmas

Dashing through the snow.

It's 7am here in snowy Slough (yup, that place where The Office was filmed), and I've just driven to work; it's my last commute of the year as I'm gonna be at various parents and in-laws between now and January.

I put my usual Christmas mix on, and London sparkled as I drove through. Most of the songs on the mix are well known, but for some reason I think this seasonal 2007 offering from Belle & Sebastian entitled Are You Coming Over For Christmas? is repeatedly overlooked. Guest vocals by Celia Garcia (who went on to sing on God Help The Girl) and a nice brass arrangement make it better than most of their last two LPs. Enjoy.

Merry Christmas, baby!

From the great Otis Redding! What a terrific pic of Otis Redding Jr. & Otis Redding III.

Otis Redding > Merry Christmas Baby

I'm not that drugged

We're not quite done with 2010, and I already want to revise my top ten list... just heard the debut album from The Limiñanas and am reminded once again why listmaking is a futile exercise. Laid back, cool garagey fuzz from Perpignan, France. Consider "Je ne suis pas très drogué" addendum #1 to my 2010 mix tape.

Well, it'd be memorable.

I'd feel bad if this was my only Pop Molecule entry. But it has to be shared.

Hey baby, I've got something for you

 

Recorded for a Target Xmas compilation, Best Coast and Wavves throw their hat into the holiday pop songs circle with Got Something For You. It looks like you can download the rest of the album here, for free.

Best Coast / Wavves > Got Something For You

25 for 2010

Your Pop Molecule mixtape service continues with New Pop 2010, comprised of 25 pop songs to remember the year by, whether you're a human relaxing on the couch, a bear lounging in the forest, or, erm, a sentient creature who likes good tunes. You'll be surprised, charmed, seduced. We promise. Download by clicking here (.zip).

Tracklisting:

1. Kemialliset Ystävät - Kajastusmuseo

2. Shugo Tokumaru - Drive-Thru

3. TV-Resistori - Voi ei, ei voi olla totta

4. El Guincho & Julieta Venegas - Mientes

5. The Go! Team - T.O.R.N.A.D.O.

6. Stereo Total - I Wanna Be A Mama

7. Katerine - Le Banane

8. The Chap - We'll See To Your Breakdown

9. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Stick

10. Sun Kil Moon - Tomorrow Is Already Here

11. Girls - The Oh So Protective One

12. Eux Autres - Jamais

13. Northern Portrait - What Happens Next?

14. Sambassadeur - I Can Try

15. Hauschka - Sunny Mission

16. Gil Scott-Heron - Parents (Interlude)

17. Museum Of Bellas Artes - Days Ahead

18. High Places - On A Hill In A Bed On A Road In A House

19. Liars - The Overachievers

20. Yona - Syyssävelmä

21. Boris Kovač - Adagio

22. Islaja - Dadahuulet

23. Owen Pallett - Keep The Dog Quiet (Simon Bookish Remix)

24. Serena Maneesh - I Just Want To See Your Face

25. Minamo & Lawrence English - Fireworks

Le Cantique de Noël

Here comes Röyksopp's take on Le Cantique de Noël. It sounds like a lost Jean-Michel Jarre Xmas track or something.

Röyksopp > Le Cantique de Noël

Santa Baby

The belles of Oakland, The Hot Toddies, give us their twisted version of Santa Baby.

21st Century Christmas

Christmas with all of the modern conveniences. It can't be that bad, especially if it involves Saint Etienne.

Saint Etienne > 21st Century Christmas

Top 3 album covers of 2010

3. The Chap - Well Done Europe

2. Klaxons - Surfing the Void

1. The Divine Comedy - Bang Goes the Knighthood

Christmas is the Saddest Day of the Year

It's statistically proven.

Jill Sobule > (Christmas is) The Saddest Day of the Year

Cold, cold winter

I love this song. It's not specifically about Xmas but it's got great girl group action, sleigh bells and a whole lot more! And that's good enough for me. A classic in my book.

Pixies Three > Cold, Cold Winter

Museum of Bellas Artes

From the debut EP by Sweden's Museum of Bellas Artes. Soft, earthy disco, very lovely.

Computer Games

Hanging out with cousin tonight. Hadn't seen her in a while, so we were catching up on our latest obsessions. Roundabout conversation led to a discussion of David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto (she had just purchased a movie called Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence) and Yellow Magic Orchestra. I remember the first time I had heard Computer Games, I was in junior high school at the time. Back then, this is what the future sounded like.

Yellow Magic Orchestra > Computer Games

Red, Green, White, Green, Red, Red, White

Today, I discovered that a new Puffy single, R.G.W., is out, and it's an Xmas song, to boot. I'm liking this much more than some of the recent stuff they've done with Butch Walker. From what I've read, they worked with Tamio Okuda on this, which is a nice change. I really love the Beatles moment when they sing "Love, love, love." The video is kinda cute, too.

Twenty oh ten

Though we haven't even finished with November yet, a certain online magazine has asked me for a ballot of my favourite records of 2010 by today. They won't publish the results of their writer poll for a couple weeks, but I thought I'd share my list right now. Here's what I've dug so far this year the most.

1. Kemialliset Ystävät - Ullakkopalo

2. The Chap - Well Done Europe

3. Islaja - Keraaminen Pää

4. Shugo Tokumaru - Port Entropy

5. Sambassadeur - European

6. Minamo & Lawrence English - A Path Less Travelled

7. Hauschka - Foreign Landscapes

8. Yona - Pilvet Liikkuu, Minä En

9. Owen Pallett - Heartland

10. Northern Portrait - Criminal Art Lovers

Something from each of these will be on the forthcoming 2010 mixtape. Meanwhile, all the caveats about the utter subjectivity of these sorts of lists apply. Undoubtedly, there were at least a few really amazing records this year that I won't discover until next week, or 2011, or 2012, or never. That's life.

That said, that album by Kemialliset Ystävät (or "Chemical Friends") is a playful but meditative joy from start to finish. Follow that link, listen to the samples, order the CD, be happy.

Christmas Wish

Usually when I listen to something by Takako Minekawa, I expect something quirky, fun and perhaps even a bit bizarre. Christmas Wish plays it straight and is pretty much a winner in my book. It's from her difficult-to-find Baroque In The Winter EP. I think I paid around $30 for those four tracks, and it was worth it.

Takako Minekawa > Christmas Wish

R2, we love you

Alright, peeps, you may say it's too early or whatever, but I've got my Christmas lights going because I felt like it. And with that, the Christmas music begins. I give you, R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas, from Christmas In The Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album. What's amusing about this track is that it features a then-unknown 17 year old Jon Bon Jovi (listed as Jon Bongiovi). According to Wikipedia, Jon's cousin, Tony Bongiovi, "co-produced the album and ran the recording studio at which it was recorded, where Jon was working sweeping floors at the time." And the rest is history.

Star Wars Singers > R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas

I don't wanna be stuck on the bottom shelf

I always feel weird when I say I like some band or song that I heard for the first time on, say, Pitchfork or whatever. If you know me at all, you know I'm pretty far from hipster-indie-snob. But, if you're looking for new music, you have to hear it first somewhere. Sometimes it's your friends who point you in the right direction, sometimes it's a snooty music site (like this one!). And while I'm on this subject; yeah, it's easy to dislike Pitchfork and call them pretentious or snooty, but the fact is they cover a lot of the music I enjoy and that's why I continue to read them and other music sites. I don't have to agree with their opinions, I just want information, to know what's going on and what's coming out.

So, with my dull dialog out of the way; I really like this song, Dreaming, by Seapony, whom I've never ever heard of before catching a blurb about them on Pitchfork. It's hazy and dreamy, complete with fetching 60s girl-pop vocals. Easily worth the 2+mb of space on your hard drive. If you like this, they also have a free 3-track EP if you click here.

Seapony > Dreaming

How come you treat me like a worn out shoe?

Another late year discovery for me is The Secret Sisters' self titled debut album. I don't really know a lot about country music, but these girls seem old school, to me. It sounds genuine, earnest and timeless. Short and sweet, the album clocks in at just under half an hour. And while the album may have been recorded in the past year or two, it's heart seems to be at least four or five decades old.

A lot of these songs are covers, from what I've read, and you can hear the love and respect for the material. They don't try to outdo anyone with overwrought histrionics, the not-so-secret Rogers sisters (Laura and Lydia) inhabit the songs and create their own space within them. I love their voices and harmonies, they totally transport me to somewhere else. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these lovely ladies.

The Secret Sisters > Why Don't You Love Me?

The way you shine so bright

I just stumbled onto Sweden's Sad Day For Puppets last week, and I'm completely hooked. Kinda jangly dreampop, ethereal female vocals, an endless supply of hooks and maybe even a little shoegaze thrown in. Reminiscent of Lush, in a way. Little Light is from their 2008 album, Unknown Colours. They also have a new album, Pale Silver and Shiny Gold that just hit about a month or so ago.

Sad Day For Puppets > Little Light

OCTOMIX

A little mix for the waning days of summer. For some reason, it's a little heavy on covers (8 outta the 27), but there's no real rhyme or reason for the tracks. They just sounded good at the time. So stick this in your iPod, turn it up and go. Feel free to praise or clown me in the comments section. Click on for the tracklist and link. Enjoy!

Light from a dead star

Stereolab, the band who gave this blog its name, have pretty much broken up, but that hasn't stopped them from releasing a new album this year anyway. Not Music, recorded at the same time as 2008's Chemical Chords, comes out 15 November.

Download 'Sun Demon' from Not Music via RCRDLBL below.

Who are the trusted?

Two of the greats, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe, played two shows in one night here in San Francisco last week. I wish I could have gone, but it was so damn expensive. Thanks to the interwebs, I can have a little taste of how it went. Video isn't the best, but the sound is good. No complaints from me. Enjoy!

Bombay

Video (pretty NSFW) of the first track from the fine new El Guincho LP, Pop Negro. More verbiage on the album here.

Ave Lúcifer

Pop Molecule mixtape service continues with Le Sacre, 25 songs, 71 minutes. Get it here. Freaky pagan sex rituals optional, but encouraged.

1. Os Mutantes - Ave Lúcifer
2. Jeanette - Porque te vas
3. Chiyo Okumura - Koi no dorei
4. Kishore Kumar - Koi haseena
5. Kronos Quartet - Ya habibi ta'ala
6. Jane Birkin & Mickey 3D - Je m'appelle Jane
7. Brigitte Fontaine - Déclaration de sinistre
8. Fausto Cigliano - Cantata basilisca (The lizard song)
9. Piero Piccioni - Eros
10. Serge Gainsbourg - Flash forward
11. Charles Wilp - Bunny
12. 101 Strings - Karma sitar
13. Dara Puspita - Musafir cinta
14. The Ramrods - Bright lit blue skies
15. Scott Walker - The church of the apostles
16. Georg Ots - Muuttuvat laulut
17. Annikki Tähti - Mustalainen
18. Teruko Akatsuki - Koi no gypsy
19. Pauli Granfelt - Itämaista rakkautta
20. Boris Kovač - Lonely on the rock
21. Filipinki - Dlaczego płaczesz mały
22. Francis Lai - Les deux nudités
23. The Focus Group - Pan calling
24. Broadcast - Valerie
25. Luboš Fišer - Sacrifice

(Cover image taken from Jaromil Jires' 1970 film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders)

You adore me

I suspect The Raveonettes' cover of The Stone Roses' classic, I Wanna Be Adored, will likely place a lot of peeps squarely in the "hate it" category, but I really like it. It's straight ahead and doesn't really change anything save for the vocals, Sharin Foo's icy femme voice as opposed to Ian Brown's original male vocal. Don't get me wrong, I love the original, but I definitely have room for this version as well.

This was done in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Doc Marten's. There are a handful of other cover songs for this project, and you can listen and download the rest of the tracks here.

I have faith in all you do

On the heels of Sun Kil Moon's latest album, Admiral Fell Promises, comes a 4-track EP called I'll Be There. The Jackson Five's I'll Be There is already a great song, and this is just a guy and a guitar, but Mark Kozelek is able to channel the essence of the song in a way that not many others can. Also, check out the Stereolab and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone covers on the EP, they're equally excellent. I picked this one because I'm hoping Madcat Joe writes about the Stereolab one.

Sun Kil Moon > I'll Be There

Keep the Dog Bookish

I've been keeping a pretty low profile around here these days, partly because I'm busy rewiring my brain for Finnish, partly because the glory of the Finnish summer itself argues against spending much time with the old laptop.

But I did want to stop by and register enthusiasm for Owen Pallett's extraordinary album Heartland, a dazzling chamber pop gem in the vein of Van Dyke Parks' 1968 Song Cycle or Simon Bookish's more recent masterpiece Everything/Everything. Indeed it is the Simon Bookish remix of "Keep the Dog Quiet" I want to draw attention to right now. Bookish and Pallett, both classically trained performers and composers with a flare for wicked and highly literate pop, are a natural fit for each other. One wonders if they'd collaborate well together on an album, or if each of their songwriting personae are too stubbornly eccentric to play well with others. All the same this remix is pretty thrilling.

Owen Pallett - Keep the Dog Quiet (Simon Bookish Remix)

Wear your inside out

Fever Ray have covered Mercy Street, which is one of my all-time favorite Peter Gabriel songs. Apparently, Fever Ray have been playing it live from time to time, but I sadly did not get to witness it when I saw them in San Francisco last year. In any case, we have the tune now. I love it and it's going to drop on 7" before the end of the year.

Fever Ray > Mercy Street

Just One Wish

Well, hello! It's been a while. We're still here, just not...here. Well, not as much. In any case, I've been meaning to post this but I've been deathly ill due to excessive drinking and carousing. You know how it goes.

This band is Still Corners and this song, Wish, will drop in about a week. All I can say is, wow. This song is so perfect, short and sweet. It's like a hazy memory of a summer you dreamt about in the future. And if you want more like I do, you can listen here.


Wish from Still Corners on Vimeo.

No means no!

Has anybody else been listening to Katzenjammer? I recently got a hold of their debut album, Le Pop. Originally released in EU over a year ago, it just dropped here in the States last month. My initial encounter wasn't positive, I think you definitely need to be in the mood for a listen, at least the first time. My repeat listens got much, much better. This album is like a vaudeville show, or the soundtrack to a  maniacally dark carnival, whirling out of control. These girls are a lot of fun, and that's a great promo pic up there.

Check out this title track, it's pretty inspired and infectious.

Katzenjammer > Le Pop

Don't get me wrong

Independence Day has passed and summer is in full swing here in San Francisco, which means it's cold as fuck. Today, I spent a good part of the day at work with my space heater on full blast. In any case, if you're needing something to complete your annual badass summer mixtape, you can drop this one in your tracklist. I'm hazy on the details, but I'm pretty sure the Vivian Girls recorded this as a contribution to an upcoming David Bowie tribute album. It's jangly and pretty faithful to the original. I've road-tested it many times and I can assure you, this song sounds great when you turn it up in the car. Hear for yourself.

Vivian Girls > John, I'm Only Dancing

Grinderman 2

The new Grinderman, Grinderman 2, is coming soon (September 13). I've found these amusing promos for the new album. Apparently, John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road) directed the one with the snarling wolf.

Also, the first single, Heathen Child, will drop on August 30. The cover cracks me up. I cannot wait for this. The first Grinderman album was on constant rotation when I got my hands on it, and the gig was brilliant, my favorite of that year. Check out the boys killing Honey Bee on the Letterman show.

Let Me In

Like most peeps, I was down on it when it was announced there would be a Hollywood remake of the excellent Swedish film, Let The Right One In. Somehow, I doubt this remake will even come close to the original, but this trailer doesn't look half bad.

The Smiths Project

 I stumbled onto Janice Whaley's Smiths Project last week (via Slicing Up Eyeballs, which is a cool 80s sorta alternative music blog). She's basically trying to cover every Smiths song by the end of this year, and it looks like she's on track to hit that goal. You can go to the blog and listen, and you also can download tracks here. As of this writing, there are 32 tracks for your downloading pleasure. I also grabbed her widget thingy (man, that sounds dirty) from which you can listen here, as well. That is, if you're lazy and don't want to navigate away from Pop Molecule. Anyway, I think her endeavor is very cool and anyone who is a fan of The Smiths should give it a listen. And really, who doesn't like The Smiths?

Trying to scrounge a dime

I've been listening quite a bit lately to Karen Elson's debut album, The Ghost Who Walks. The album has a kinda alt-country noir vibe to it which, for me, recalls Neko Case's classic album, Blacklisted (except without The Voice). Spare, haunting, eerie, dark and brooding. And I'm not saying they're equals, just that Elson is pointing in this direction. Mouths to Feed is one of my favorite tracks (so far) on the album. It seems to be a depression-era dust bowl story about the rich getting richer while the poor are left standing beside the road. I particularly love her voice on this track and the violins, for me, really round out the feel of the music. I could lose myself for days in a song like this.

Karen Elson > Mouths To Feed

The Haunting of Ariel Pink

When my turn came to chime in on Before Today, the much-discussed but perhaps not very well understood new album by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, I thought I'd try digging a little deeper than usual. Results at The Line of Best Fit here.

Here's the video for his/their cover of the Rockin' Ramrods' 1966 single "Bright Lit Blue Skies":

Dock Ellis

Forty years ago today in 1970, Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres while under the influence of LSD.

Keven McAlester's excellent story about the incident and Ellis' life is here; the Baseball Reliquary's entry on the pitcher is here. Ellis died in 2008 at age 63.

In 1993, Barbara Manning's S.F. Seals (taking their name from San Francisco's legendary old Pacific Coast League team) released The Baseball Trilogy EP, from which this pretty kickass song is taken.

S.F. Seals - Dock Ellis



Image: Got Me Floating (2008) by Jay Kaplan.

I don't know how to stop

I convinced D, the other day, to listen to some of the earlier Peter Gabriel albums. She was checking his new album, Scratch My Back, which is on my playlist. She had told me her dad used to listen to Genesis and Gabriel in the car when she was young, but she wasn't overly familiar with it. So I brought in a few albums for her to peruse. My favorite is the one with Peter Gabriel's melting face, which is his third self-titled solo album.

In any case, the point of this is that I listened to this album again, and it brought back a flood of memories. Lying on the bed and reading while listening. Studying the personnel list, which eventually and inevitably led to other exciting musical discoveries.Tony Levin and Robert Fripp pointed the way to King Crimson. Paul Weller opened the door to The Jam. In addition to producing this album, Steve Lillywhite produced U2, Big Country (laugh if you must, but I loved those first couple albums), and XTC, who were other bands I was getting into around that time.

Although I vaguely knew her name from singing backup on Gabriel's melty face album, a few years would pass before I discovered who Kate Bush really was. We didn't have cable television back then, my dad refused to pay for TV. I used to go over to Peter's, his mom was pretty cool and she worked nights which meant she was generally asleep during the day and we could watch whatever we wanted, usually some retarded horror flick or a baseball game. This one particular day, I think Peter was distracted by something. Maybe a girl on the phone, or whatever. I was flipping through the channels when I stumbled upon this gorgeous girl wearing chain mail and brandishing a sword. I was captivated, and when Peter was done with his distraction, I wouldn't let him change the channel until I found out the name of this warrior woman. The song was Babooshka, the name of the program was The Single File (which was a compilation of her videos), and the singer turned out to be Kate Bush. Amazing. I rushed out as soon as I could and picked up Hounds of Love, which was her current release at the time.

Strange how the mind works, this started out as an ode to Peter Gabriel, and I end up gushing over Kate Bush. Complete lack of discipline. I'm gonna leave it as it is, however, and I'll leave with these tunes. Peter Gabriel's No Self Control, on which you can hear Kate Bush singing backup. Kate Bush's Babooshka, which pretty much is the starting point of my lifelong Kate Bush odyssey. I actually have to belatedly thank the USA Network for airing that video. Who would have thought that one could see obscure Kate Bush videos on American network television?

And sometime soon, I will have to write up a little post on my favorite duet ever, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush singing Don't Give Up, which appears on Gabriel's 1986 album, So. I'll save that one for later.

Peter Gabriel > No Self Control


Kate Bush > Babooshka


Lastly, as a little bonus, here is the video for Kate Bush's spellbinding Babooshka:

I'd make wine from your tears

I can't say I was ever a huge fan of INXS' Never Tear Us Apart when it originally dropped. At the time, thought it was too melodramatic, too bombastic and, worst of all, overplayed. I hear the original every now and then and it's really a decent song. I think my dislike for it stemmed from the fact that it was just a product of its time coupled with my distaste for chart music. That said, I really dig this cover by Beck's Record Club. The Record Club appears to be a rotating cast of whomever he can gather to come hang out in his studio to cover random albums. They've already done Skip Spence, The Velvet Underground and Nico, and Leonard Cohen. Right now, they're in the middle of INXS. You can check out the rest of the Record Club entries by clicking here.


Record Club: INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Jukebox il topo

It's mixtape time again, kids!

Something of a linguistically confused blind mole's grapple in the dazzling spring sun for cultural sure footing, calling to mind this fucked up Jodorowsky film, but without the Wild West and more sex and art-damaged Italian shoes instead? A still from Antonioni's La Notte provides the cover image, and a few shots of cachaça, euro politico-financial anxiety, and a helping of Kubrickian ultraviolence spike the punch bowl of my melted mental topography map, pop-musically speaking, circa May 2010.

Download here; tracklisting after the jump.

I was not sitting with the gargoyles

I don't know where it came from or how, but I am completely obsessed with Hiding All Away by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It's got this menacing lurch, like a monster looming in the distance, its shadow cast upon you as it slowly moves in your direction. I'm not sure what to make of the lyrics, it seems sorta like a stream-of-consciousness rant. Maybe about God, and how he is everywhere no matter what is going on? Nick Cave has never shied away from religious imagery, so I wouldn't doubt it. I like the part where the backup singers sorta lose it and start laughing. Finally, when there is no more tension to build, the climax of the song hits. The band practically explodes and all of the voices are shouting "THERE IS A WAR COMING!", and it makes me either want to take shelter or run out in the streets, screaming along with them.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds > Hiding All Away

Happy Mother's Day

For all you mothers and mothers-to-be, here's an amusing little story from the legendary Tom Waits.

Tom Waits > Untitled #2

Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays

Happy (belated) birthday to Willie Mays (May 6, 1931), one of the best ever to play the game.

Grab The Baseball Project's underrated Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails album, on which you can find this track. Thanks to Madmadcat, die hard San Francisco Giants fan, for steering me to this album.

The Baseball Project > Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays

Funeral for Churchill

In honour of Britain's freshly hung parliament, I pass along a fine mixtape made by my brother a couple weeks ago: "An admittedly tenuous blend of old British imperialism and full-on freakout psychadelia," he writes. "Preferably listened to while wearing a Victorian military jacket of some sort (and, uh, lined with acid.) Good times."

It is worth noting that Churchill himself was never once elected prime minister with a popular vote greater than 50 percent. David Cameron, carrying on the peculiar tradition of British politics, thinks he should now be PM with 36 percent. Proportional representation in parliament, with all the messy coalition-building that entails, is the core demand being made by the monkeywrench in this election, the Liberal Democrats. Seems to be an idea whose time has definitively come...