SOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-Middle Cyclone (2009).
I first learned of Neko Case through The New Pornographers. Their song “Letter from an Occupant” blew me away. But when I’d investigated her solo work, I learned she was more of a country singer than anything else. Reviewers said that Middle Cyclone broke from that mold a little into more rock territory.
I don’t know her early stuff, but I can attest that these songs are mildly rocking. However, it’s hard to take the country out of the singer. There’s something about Neko’s voice on this disc that screams country (even as her songs get faster and more furious). But, much like k.d. lang who won me over when she broke away from her country roots, so did Neko Case.
Rather than explicit country, Neko case seems to be filling in the shoes of the sorely missed Kirsty MacColl, another great singer-songwriter who melded genres like so much fondue.
Case never hits the manic intensity of “Letter from an Occupant” (she admitted on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me that her vocals were sped up for that song), but she proves to be a powerhouse singer. And once I got over the fact that this album didn’t ROCK, I accepted that it was very good. I don’t know if I have a favorite track, although I do like her cover of Sparks’ “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth.”
I finally managed to listen to the last track, “Marais la Nuit” all the way through on my lunch the other day. It is, literally, 30 minutes of frogs and bugs chirping away. It’s quite relaxing, but not really worth listening to all 30 minutes.
[READ: October 8, 2009] “Summer of the Flesh Eater”
The title is not misleading exactly, but it may make you think zombies are afoot. But they are not. (I debated about revealing this, but figured it would win more fans of people who don’t like zombies than lose people who do). (more…)

SOUNDTRACK: FEIST-Let It Die (2004).
I’ve recently discovered Feist through Broken Social Scene. I know that she is huge (and “1,2,3,4” is a really great song that we used for our son’s 4th birthday video), but it took me a while to catch on.
It’s seductive and very pretty. In many ways the disc reminds me of Fiona Apple (although I think Fiona has a stronger more interesting voice and a better selection of background instrumentation).
Amelia tries to make friends in the new neighborhood. And the boys she hangs out with are Reggie (whose goal is to become a superhero) and Pajamaman (the one unrealistic character in the story, although he does achieve more depth than just the “weirdo who wears pajamas all the time” as the comic continues). Amelia also gains a nemesis, Rhonda, who has a thing for Reggie but who is generally too cranky to do anything but snark about everything).
I found out about 
This is another of my favorite recent Constellation Records CDs. Clues remind me of Mercury Rev, if they had remained a more indie/underpolished band instead of their more recent orchestrated pop. The lead singer sounds a but like Jonathan Donahue (and sometimes Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips) and the band in general plays the sort of unusual pop that these bands have made common.
SOUNDTRACK: LAND OF KUSH-Against the Day [CST058] (2008).
Land of Kush is a huge orchestra created by Sam Shalibi. Shalibi is a maniac of independent releases, creating everything from orchestral pieces to solo records all with his unique blend of middle eastern tinged music (featuring his oud playing).
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 5: Sonic Youth Featuring Kim Gordon/DJ Olive/Ikue Mori (2000).
The fifth SYR disc is rather different from the others in that the only SY member is Kim. This is a sort of side project for Kim,
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Silver Session for Jason Knuth (1998).
This record came about for two reasons. One was the suicide of longtime Sonic Youth fan (whom the band didn’t know) Jason Knuth. And the second was because when they tried to record vocal tracks for One Thousand Leaves, the band upstairs was so loud, it kept interfering with their recording.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 3: Invito Al Ĉielo (1998).
This SYR release adds Jim O’Rourke to the mix (O’Rourke played with with them on A Thousand Leaves too). I’ve always been aware of O’Rourke but I’ve never really listened to any of the bands that he’s been associated with (and there’s a lot). So, I’m not sure what his actual contributions are, but he seems to be pushing the SY members into a much more noisy/abstract direction. (A few samples of Gastr Del Sol shows them to be pretty out there, so perhaps pushing SY in a direction that was not too far from where they’d go on their own. And, I rather liked the Gastr stuff, too).
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom (1997).
The second SYR release is like the other side of the coin from SYR1. The premise is the same, the players are the same, but the result is rather different.
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH -SYR 1 Anagrama (1997).