Pears, Plums, Books, Peaches

Even though it was released almost three years ago, I just recently heard the Final Fantasy cover of Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear." It's one of my favorite Joanna Newsom tunes and I really enjoy the cover too. Pallet's strings offer a pleasant parallel to the sounds of Newsom's harp and his voice is well suited to the song's delicate vocals.

"Peach, Plum, Pear" by Final Fantasy

"Peach, Plum, Pear" by Joanna Newsom

I've also been really getting into the books lately. Ive had their first album for quite some time, but it never garnered anything more than passing interest; something I wouldn't skip in shuffle, but probably wasn't seeking out otherwise. Last week though, a friend showed me a video from their 2007 dvd, Playall. This is "Smells Like Content."

At first I was drawn in by how wonderful the video is, but immediately after watching, I wanted to hear the song again. Initially I heard similarities to Broken Social Scene's "I'm Still Your Fag" (another great video and fantastic song) but the more I listened, the more I could hear Paul Simon in the melodies and harmonies of the vocals. I don't offer these comparisons to detract from the duo's originality, but rather to trace the development of my appreciation for the song. Since then, I've been listening to Lost and Safe near constantly and while "Smells like Content" stands out as my favorite, it is a solid album of experimental balladry.

"Smells Like Content" by the Books
"Be Good to Them Always" by the Books

Wallowing

When you're in the mood for a good wallowing session, you need just the right music. Just in case any of you readers out there were planning on a life questioning depression kick, here's my quick list of

5 Great Songs for Wallowing, Despair, etc.

As is usually the case, these are in no real specific order.

5. "Wasted Days" by the Slackers

Take the repeated line "what have I done wrong" tossed in with some mournful hornfuls and you've got yourself a self-pity pie.


4. "Autumn Sweater" by Yo La Tengo

The organ melody here is key. If you take out the organ, there's a lot of really rocking percussion going on with nothing to counterbalance it. Ira Kaplan's bashful vocal delivery helps too.


3. "I'm Still Your Fag" by Broken Social Scene

Gentle quiet vocals, meandering instrumentals, spaced out drums. All the elements are there.


2. "Walking On A Wire" by the Get Up Kids

A lot of Get Up Kids songs rely on the lyrics to convey the emotion of the song. The lyrics relate to the mood here, but the slow winding guitar tells much more of a story than anything that's sung. This was the first get up kids song I ever heard and not one other song by them sounds anything like it, which to me is a shame.


1. "If You're Feeling Sinister" by Belle & Sebastian

The second song on this list that was my introduction to a band. This song is like "Autumn Sweater" in a sense; elements of the song are very upbeat, but the overall package is certainly not. When I saw this song played live, it was an upbeat show, and they delivered a dancy/rocking tune, more evidence of the power of delivery.


Now, I believe that wallowing is a good thing to do every now and again. It's a good way to get that built up sadness out of your system. But while it might be a fine place to visit, it's certainly no place to live. If you find yourself staying too long, maybe you need to remember that you don't have to be so sad.

This Video is Awesome.

"I'm Still Your Fag" - Broken Social Scene

12 Rock and Roll Songs to make you shake that ass.

This started out as a top ten list, but I ended up with twelve songs, and I can't really say that it's an all inclusive list, since even I'm not pretentious enough to think I've heard enough music to cover every base possible. Plus I'll probably think of ten better songs the next time I read over this. I will say, however, that if you put on any one of the following twelve songs, you'd have even the stiffest of the living dead moving their hips like a snake.

1. Almost Crimes by Broken Social Scene -




even the video is all about ass shaking. I don't mind admitting that during my sophomore year of college, I would lock my door, put on this song, and dance like a madman. My life won't be complete until I hear this song while I'm actually out on the town, on the floor.


2. Crocodile Rock by Elton John -
Now say what you will about Sir Elton John, say what you will about this song, I don't wanna hear it. This song posesses one of the best kinds of danceability. The kind where you move to the groove whilst singing along in an absurd falsetto.


3. Damaged Goods by Gang of Four -
The dueling guitar and bass come at you so strong right from the get go. It's like a sonic invitation to get down. These guys may have played punk rock, but there is something undeniably funk about Andy Gill's guitar.


4. Me and Guiliani down by the Schoolyard (A True Story) by !!! -
Most level headed folk will agree that the only thing better than a protest song is a protest song that you can shake your ass to. Well how about a protest song, that you can shake your ass to, that's about being denied the right to shake one's ass??? Brilliant! Even outside the world of body movin', this song is a classic. The song actually builds in different movements, taking you to each and every corner of the dancefloor. That's right. it's so good it gets a travel metaphor.


5. Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash -
The moment after Strummer utters that titular phrase, "Should I stay or should I go, now?" the ensuing dance explosion is among the most fun and frenetic dance breaks you're going to hear on Classic Rock Radio, Adult Contemporary Radio, Alternative Rock Radio, AND College Rock Radio.


6. Give It Up by LCD Soundsystem -
If I wanted to, I could've just put "LCD Soundsystem - Every song they ever thought of recording" and had that be the whole list, but I figured that might be a little too quick of a read, so I picked this song. It's easily one of the more rocking LCD songs, and the frantic drums tell you exactly how to move that butt. Soon you'll get to swingin those tight little fists along with that fuzzed out bassline, and screaming along, even though you don't know the words, and everything will be just fine.


7. Last Caress by the Misfits -
The combination of chugging guitars and Danzig's sultry croon basically begs teenagers, "Gel your hair down in a silly manner. Now do the twist," and it's really near impossible to tell them no. On "Last Caress", Danzig's voice hits a point where he goes from sounding like a silly Elvis knockoff to a silly Elvis knockoff with some serious vocal chops. Combine that with metronome instrumentals and you're ready to dance. Throw this on at a party, I guarantee all your punk friends will dance and sing like it was 1962 on speed.


8. Hooray for Humans by Q and Not U -
Here's another one that it's real hard to look good dancing to. The piercing, dueling guitars tend to inspire limb movements that would definitely be considered outside the realm of cool dance moves, but the rhythm section is just to strong to be ignored. With drums and bass that register just outside of 9.1 on the Richter, this song will make you move.


9. This Charming Man by The Smiths -
This is a cool one because with most of the songs on this list, it's really the rhythm section that puts that movement in your pants. This tune really is all about that pretty, jangly, guitar. The way the melody moves so quickly and so all over the place, the fingers just start snapping on their own and then it's on. Time to dance like Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink.


10. Timorous Me by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists -
I saw Ted Leo in 2003 at a lookout! records showcase at CBGBs. For hours, my associate and I stood in the motionless hipster crowd, waiting through shitty band after shitty band. Finally at some point after midnight, Mr. Ted Leo and his wiley band of Pharmacists took the stage and started to rock for us. The crowd had been standing in place for quite a while though, so it really looked like Ted's set was going to stay danceless for a while. Until the bass and drums kicked in on this song. Then came the dancing and Oh! did we dance.


11. Not Witherspoon, but Silverstone by Thunderbirds are now! -
It starts off with great staccato keyboards to get you moving right from the start. Then the drums kick in and take over, plus they throw in some wildly incomprehensible lyrics to make it the perfect package for a dance party sing along.


12. Time of The Season by The Zombies
The hook of this song is just so damn infectious. With those couple bass notes, then the "ch", "ahhh", it's just impossible to put this on and sit still. This is another one where the likelihood of you looking cool while you dance to it is slim to none. It's just too damn easy to sing along and move to.