SOUNDTRACK: THE HOUSEMARTINS-Live at the BBC (2006).
I found out about the Housemartins after enjoying the Beautiful South, and since they only released two albums, it was easy to get into them quickly. This is a collection of live tracks from the BBC, some have an audience and some do not. What is most striking about the record are the amount of acapella works that are on here, and the, surprisingly religious aspect of many of the songs (especially for a bunch of guys who on the latest Beautiful South album say “No thanks to God, he did fuck all.”)
They sound great, and can totally pull off the acapella, and when they do break out the instrumentation it sounds even better. I would have resequenced it so that the acapellas were sprinkled throughout but hey, what can you do. My only sad moment was that “Happy Hour” was done acappella, and as I said, the acapellas are great, but that song just screams for full instrumentation. Anyhow, this collection will definitely get me listening to the Housemartins again.
[READ: October 21, 2007]: The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming.
What better way to get back into reading books than with a 20 page book full of illustrations! This is a holiday story of a latke who, because of his inherent religious beliefs, feels left out at Christmastime. As it is written by Lemony Snicket, it is twisted and even more twisted.
SOUNDTRACK: THE GO! TEAM-Thunder, Lightning , Strike (2004).
The Go! Team have a new album out and so I dug out their first to see if I liked it enough to check out the new one. This first one is such a weird album. It feels intensely like what I would call a joke album. There are cheesy horns, crazy samples of cheerleaders cheering, and hooks hooks hooks! It all sounds like the soundtrack to the best 70s action TV show that never existed. And yet the whole thing works so well. It is just so damned catchy. I listened to it about 3 times today and never got sick of it.
SOUNDTRACK: SWANS-Omniscience (1992).
When I was in college, I really liked the Swans. They were noisy as all get out, and were at the forefront of an industrial style that has since become mainstream. But at the time they were pretty scary.
SOUNDTRACK: THE CARS-Greatest Hits (2002).
SOUNDTRACK: NED SUBLETTE: Cowboy Rumba (1999).
Typically I’m the one who introduces our house to new music. My wife has great taste, but she doesn’t typically seek out new stuff like I do. So, it was a nice surprise when she found this record. I think she heard about it on NPR. I was trying to figure out how best to describe the record, but really the title says it all. It is a country-tinged record that is primarily backed by horns in a “rumba” style (although Sublette admits in the liner notes that it’s not really a rumba). I’m not a big fan of country music, and I’m not a huge fan of South of the Border horn music (sambas, rumbas etc). However, Sarah and I took some ballroom dance classes, and my appreciation for these styles has really grown. We even requested one of these songs (“Feelin’ No Pain”) for our wedding reception.
SOUNDTRACK: HÜSKER DÜ-Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987).
My friend Al, who introduced me to Marillion, also introduced me to Hüsker Dü (go figure). And he did so with this album. I think for big time Hüsker fans, this is something of a sellout, but for me, it is such a great poppy punk record. And it is clearly a lead-in to Bob Mould’s far more commercial solo stuff. I guess what is amazing to me is how it’s a pretty noisy album, and yet it was considered a sellout. By today’s standards, sure, it’s pretty commercial, but back in 1987, it was still cutting edge.
SOUNDTRACK: GUIDED BY VOICES-Universal Truths and Cycles (2002).
SOUNDTRACK: MARILLION-Fugazi (1984).
Ah, the delights of Marillion. My best friend in high school, Al, got me into Marillion. And he started me off with this record. As such, I can’t imagine how I could realistically critique it. I must have listened to this thing hundreds of times at this point. I also got into the other Marillion albums (until the theatrical madman and lead singer, Fish, departed). I did get one post-Fish album, Season’s End, but didn’t think too much of it. Although I still regard them highly, and anyone who names an album Anoraknaphobia is still alright in my book, I haven’t heard a note of anything post-Season’s End.
SOUNDTRACK: THE KINKS are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968).
This record seems to be a very important record in the history of British pop rock and in the history of The Kinks. I feel that I had always heard about it in practically hushed tones (much like the hushed tones of the record), and yet I had never heard it. Finally, my friend Carrie gave me a copy of it and I listened and was surprised that I didn’t know one single song on it. You can look here and see that I have two Kinks greatest hits records, and not one song from this record is on any either of them.
On the 
I Just Read About That... 