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...

I'm in the middle of a picture

It's been quiet around here, lately, and it's about to get even more quiet. I'm hitting the road for a couple weeks and it is doubtful that I'll have much of a connection. I'll leave you with this, however. A video of Bat For Lashes covering Radiohead's All I Need was floating around the internets a little while back, and I am guessing that this file was ripped straight from the video. It sounds a bit tinny or thin, but that doesn't detract from the performance. If you know me, you probably know that I love Natasha Khan, so her plus Radiohead is a winning combination in my book. She'd have to go to great lengths, really, to fuck up this song. Enjoy, and see you soon.

 Bat For Lashes > All I Need

Looking back, it seems so strange

I was having lunch, yesterday, in this place across the street from where I work. I like going in there late because it's usually empty and they usually have some anonymous classic rock radio station going. The cool thing about the music is it's not always the usual suspects that come to mind when you hear the phrase, "classic rock". Sometimes they're deeper cuts, and perhaps bands that you might have to go out of your way to find. I think you know what I mean.

So I'm sitting there and they bust out with Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song, which I haven't heard in ages. It totally took me back to when I was a kid and I walked over to The Wherehouse (does anybody remember that chain of record stores?) to buy Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town b/w Jailbreak on 7". I played that 45 to death, and I eventually picked up that Jailbreak album, which I loved. And those three tracks; The Boys Are Back In Town, Jailbreak and Cowboy Song were probably my favorites. I was slow to recognize the song at first, but I think I got a little emotional when I realized I was listening to Cowboy Song. Good thing the joint was empty.

Thin Lizzy > Cowboy Song

Let's stay awake tonight

The very cool new Lali Puna video for That Day. Find this song on their new album, Our Inventions, which officially drops next week.

Fuzishen na Girl

I'm digging the new Perfume track, Fushizen na Girl. It's no Puppy Love or Dream Fighter, but I do like it more than last summer's One Room Disco. I haven't really been keeping up with the Perfume news, but it looks like the single is gonna drop this month. I might just wait for the next album, however, as it seems like their singles and b-sides end up on their albums anyways. In any case, you can check out about a minute and a half of the PV here, and listen to the whole thing below. Also, the girls look splendid in red ruffles.

Perfume > Fushizen na Girl

Polaroid Piano

A couple years ago, someone from the old Bowlie board hipped me to Akira Kosemura via a mixtape trade. I liked the track and I grabbed the album, but only recently have I begun to further investigate Kosemura. Last month, I ran into his album, Polaroid Piano, which is quite lovely. It's like the sound of a lazy spring day lying in the sun; dreamy, quiet and warm. With that in mind, you can just look at the album cover above and imagine you're lying somewhere in there while listening to the album. I also quite like the fact that you can hear the creak of the piano pedals, as if you might be sitting in the same room in which he's playing. Also, the album is very short (the longest song is 4 minutes and change) which makes it a pleasant listen, and leaves you wanting a little bit more. Sorta like that nap in the sun, you wish it would go on and on but it always ends too soon and is never enough.

After you listen to April, you can stream more Akira Kosemura here, if you're so inclined.

Akira Kosemura > April

Unloveable

I just caught this Babybird video (via Popmatters), Unloveable. The video is directed by Johnny Depp, who also apparently plays guitar on the track. The track is from a new Babybird album, Ex-Maniac, which dropped earlier this month. Nice to see Babybird is still going, I haven't really kept up with them. Listen to more Babybird here and check out the official site here.

I got the wanderin' blues

There are a couple things that remind me of springtime. One thing is an allergy attack. I had a particularly nasty one this past weekend. Suffice it to say that my entire body was sore from sneezing, not to mention the headaches afterward. Another reminder of springtime is The Be Good Tanyas' song, The Littlest Birds, which I happened to hear the other day. This song may not be specifically about spring, but it sure sounds like something you'd hear on a lovely March day. Give it a listen and pass me a box of tissues, please.

Banksy

A collection of Banksy images, see more over here.

Yusaku Kamekura

A poster by Yusaku Kamekura (1915-1997), visionary graphic designer from Japan. See more here.

RIP Alex Chilton

Like many other people, my introduction to Alex Chilton came through The Replacements song that is famously named after him. I remember borrowing the Mats' Pleased To Meet Me from a guy at work. Later I asked and he told me about Alex Chilton, and I finally understood the line where Paul Westerberg sings, "I never travel far without a little Big Star". And from there, I went backwards into the Big Star catalog and realized how a lot of indie bands followed their example, and many are still following to this day. So many people have already said so much, and more eloquently, so I'll just say RIP to a legend, more people should know his name but the music will live.

Big Star > Don't Lie To Me

The Replacements > Alex Chilton


And just as an aside, another of my first exposures to world of Big Star, oddly enough, was (and laugh, if you must) The Bangles' cover of September Gurls.
The Bangles > September Gurls

Everybody wants to rule the world

The first entry in the AV Club's Undercover series, it's the great Ted Leo & The Pharmacists with their take on Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

In honour of the late, great Mark Linkous, I wanted to share this live show as posted on Bradley's Almanac.. I have listened a lot to 'It's a Wonderful Life' this week, and, honestly, I can't say I've remotely come to terms with him not being here making music anymore.. If you have ever seen Sparklehorse live, you know what I mean.. If you haven't, here's a small sampling of a greater hole now missing from us.. Enjoy (and, thank you, Bradley's Almanac!).

http://www.bradleysalmanac.com/2010/03/mp3s-in-memory-of-mark-linkous.htm

RIP Mark Linkous

 

Sparklehorse > Come On In

Long is the way...

 

I made a mix for myself for fun, so I thought I'd post it here in case anybody else might be interested. It's mostly new-ish stuff, with a few older tunes. It's long, so beware. You might want to digest it in little chunks, or maybe just put it on at work and let it roll. Tracklist and link after the jump!