SOUNDTRACK: THE DOUBLECLICKS-Pirates! The PPDXYAR EP (2012).
I wanted to explore more of The Doubleclicks’ music, and their site showed off this EP. It was made for Talk Like a Pirate Day (you’re already sold, right?) and EP is a tribute to the Portland Pirate crew of PDXYAR (whatever that is). The first song is “The Pirates of PDXYAR highlights what I’ve come to understand is the real Doubleclicks sound: ukulele and cello. But this one also has a host of backing vocals (make and female). The song is all about the pirates of PDXYAR and how they came to be and how the represent Portland.
The second song “How Not to Touch a Pirate” is a simpler song which insists that, tempting as it may seem, you should NOT be touching any of the pirates (this seems like a real inside joke). Its amusing and would probably be funnier if I knew more about PDXYAR. And oops, this song even has an F-bomb at the end–watch out!
The final track is a remix of “The Pirates of PDXYAR, ” And mostly it allows more funny backing vocals. It’s a better, funnier track because of it.
I’m not sold on The Doubleclicks yet. I like them, but I think more in small doses.
So it turns out that PDXYAR is a Portland-based pirate crew, which you can read about on their website. The lyrics to the song seem to explain the origins of the pirates (kickstarter). Frankly, I don’t know why the pirates (and the Doubleclicks) haven’t appeared on Portlandia yet.
[READ: February 7, 2013] Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures 2
Volume 2 of Alison Dare is just as fun as Volume 1. Although I admit the first story was a little confusing (I was never really sure exactly how these books were published originally, so it wasn’t clear that the first few stories were connected. Although in retrospect it seems obvious enough.
In the first story, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” it’s obvious that Alison doesn’t have much in the way of the excitement that girls expect from her. So she makes up an elaborate story which all of the girls (except her two close friends) find wonderful In “The Unbelievable Truth” we see what really happened (and we see that Alison’s story wasn’t far off, but that details make all the difference).
In “The Perfect Gift” the Blue Scarab (aka Alison’s dad) searches for the perfect gift for his daughter. But that proves harder than he thought, especially when she accidentally takes a precious jewel that he has recovered in a mission. In “A Day at the Museum” the girls open something they shouldn’t and unleash a plague. This ties to the previous story in an unexpected way. And in “The Gift Exchange” the previous two stories come together for a satisfying conclusion. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT-That Disc (2009).
The second disc in this set is a somewhat more raucous affair than the first (which was pretty much all acoustic performances). On the surface, this seemed like the better disc of the two. I like so many bands on this disc: Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers, Stuart Murdoch, Blonde Redhead.
SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT: This Disc (2009).
This compilation was released to benefit the Red Hot organization, who raises money to fight AIDS. I’ve gotten about a half dozen or so of their compilations over the years (and was surprised to see that they have released about 2o of them!).