the connection between Bob Dylan and Dirt McGirt

So I barely ever post anymore because it's been the craziest semester of my life, and I have 2 weeks of straight library time ahead of me with ridiculous piles of work to do. But I've been listening to some cool stuff lately. First I'll start with something for Sean.



Secondary Modern - Elvis Costello
Watch Your Step - Elvis Costello
These songs were released one year apart on two fantastic albums. They sound really really similar. Still good stuff though.


Tainted Love - Gloria Jones
I just found out one of my least favorite songs ever is a cover from the mid-60s. This original is great. Interesting note about Gloria Jones: she has a kid with Marc Bolan from T. Rex, and she was the driver of the car that crashed and killed Bolan in 1977. (note: pic is of Bolan)


The Chills - Peter Bjorn and John
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
Apparently high schools in Sweden have classes such as History, Math, and Perfect Pop Writing 101. Three words: drums sound awesome. Amazing production.


Kickapoo - Tenacious D
Like the man said: listen to this if you don't mind some cream in your jeans. I have always been a big fan of the D and I am psyched to see the movie. This song features cameos from Meat Loaf and Ronnie James Dio, so the awesomeness is baked right in.

100th POST!!!

This is the 100 post here at Cigarbox Guitars, and it's been a while since I posted, so I decided to bum everyone out. It's what I do.



Well, the new Mountain Goats album Get Lonely (with some of my favorite cover art in a long time) came out a week ago. I can officially declare it a success. John Darnielle finally sounds comfortable in a studio, and the atmosphere of his songs reflect it. Also, as the album focuses on a breakup, this is one of the most depressing albums I have ever heard.

Get Lonely - The Mountain Goats
The titular track from the album is one of the most heartbreaking. As Darnielle describes the difficulties of finding comfort in life after a breakup, it sounds as if he could break down at any second. The chorus is that break down, as he breaks from life to "get lonely". The strings in the chorus are devastating. They add weight to his words and truly make this a more accomplished composition than alot of his other studio work.

New Monster Avenue - The Mountain Goats
If anything negative can be said about this album, it's that too many of the songs are too slow moving. This is not one of those songs. In the same way that the strings were the driving force behind the song "Dilaudid" on last year's album The Sunset Tree, here the drums give this song a nice propulsion. The drums are constant, and the drama in the lyrics seems to rise and fall with them.

also...


New Amsterdam - Elvis Costello
Not to be completely depressing, I will add this. I took the title of the Mountain Goats album Get Lonely to be a call up to the great Elvis Costello album Get Happy. The cooler Elvis made this an album of quick squirts of amazing songwriting, and his vocals melodies have never been better. Also, I was in Amsterdam earlier this year, so any song with that place in the title I will enjoy right now.

(as a quick aside, Elvis Costello's recent cameo in The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where he has no lines and just sits next to Mos Def is freaking fantastic)