Playlist From 2/2/10

Move To California – Times New Viking
Swim – Surfer Blood

AZ 238 – Tokyo Electron
Half Asleep – School Of Seven Bells
Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts – Wolf Parade
Florida – Modest Mouse
Mongoloid – Devo
Cool – Pylon
Damaged Goods – Gang Of Four
Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Heart Of Glass – Blondie
FM – The Slits
No Love Lost – Joy Division
Christine – Siouxsie & The Banshees
Wicked Wiggler – Delaney Davidson
Back To Me – The Dutchess and the Duke
Misery Is The River Of The Word – Tom Waits
Can’t Stay Awake – Cloud Nothings
Into The Groovey – Ciccone Youth
Let’s Go Surfing – The Drums

Take Time – The Books
She Moves She – Four Tet
Flooded – Von Sudenfed
Hole In My Head – Box Elder
Only One I Want – The Fresh & Onlys
Bowie Knives – Mazes
Voodoo – Ganglians
Daydream – Beach Fossils
Crystal Stilts – Crystal Stilts
Number One – Teenage Lovers
Schools Out – The Spits
Good Times Crowd – Nodzzz
Flirting – Spencey Dude & The Doodles

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter – Nirvana

Last Week

Sorry for the lack of new posts, we’ve been busy going out to shows nearly every night for the past week or two. Saw some great bands too, The Dodos, Neko Case, The Books, Camera Obscura, Surf Friends, Dial Square, Orchestra Of Spheres, The Handsome Family and likely some other cool shit that’s escaped my mind for the minute, it’s already been a great summer. Last week’s playlist is after the jump, but Yo La Tengo are playing Feb 9 in Wellington at San Fransisco Bathhouse, so here’s a video to tempt you along:

Tickets are on sale from Slowboat Records and undertheradar, it’ll be so, so worth it!

Norman Dolph Acetate

You may or may not have heard the story of this, the rare acetate of an alternate version of The Velvet Underground’s classic debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Bought for a mere 75 cents in a Chelsea, New York flea market by collector Warren Hill and sold for over US$25,000 on an eBay auction a few years later. It’s likely out of most people’s price range. I thought I’d stream some of the different versions of the songs that appear on the acetate for comparisons sake below. And if you like it, dig around a little, a ripped version was leaked in 2007 and is worth the effort for the diehards…

The version of I’m Waiting For The Man is markedly different to the one that eventually appeared on the final cut, featuring different lyrics and intro amongst other details

The Acetate features a different mix of All Tomorrows Parties with the keys higher up and the drums seeming to have more punch.

The different take on Venus In Furs included is about 30 seconds shorter than the version used on the final record and features a slightly different vocal from Lou and the cello is higher in the mix.

There we go, my nerdiness indulged for the day.

Playlist For Jan 12 2010

Have I The Right – The Honeycombs
I Know What Boys Like – The Waitresses
Took My Lady To Dinner – King Khan & The Shrines
And You Lied To Me – The Besnard Lakes
The First Vietnamese War – The Black Angels
Losing Feeling – No Age

Jack The Ripper [Live] – Link Wray & His Wray Men
Jesus Christ Twist – Reverend Beat-Man

Human Fly – The Cramps
Angels – Black Mountain
Fake Blues – Real Estate
Dead Alive – Kurt Vile
Girl (You Captivate Me) – ? And The Mysterians
Bad Little Woman – Wheel-A-Ways
Only Good For Conversation – Rodriguez
The Number – Woods
Back To Me – The Dutchess and the Duke
Undeclared – The Dodos
Can’t Seem to Make You Mine – The Seeds
Green Onions – Booker T. & The MG’s
Crosstown Traffic – Jimi Hendrix
Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) – The Beach Boys
If Looks Could Kill – Camera Obscura
Lost Coastlines – Okkervil River
Ghost Rider – Suicide
Down On The Street – The Stooges
Let’s Talk About Girls – The Undertones
Back Door Man – The Doors
Fatalist Palmistry – Why?
(White City) – Handsome Furs
Chinese Rocks – Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers
A Song From Under The Floorboards – Magazine
Third Uncle – Bauhaus
The Magic Postition – Patrick Wolf
Dominos – The Big Pink

Grounds For Divorce – Wolf Parade

My Dadi Can Beat Up Your Dad

What You Should All Do This Weekend

First Show Of The Decade

Here’s what we played last night, plus some mp3s

The Goo Goo Muck – Ronnie Cook And The Gaylads
El Telecote – Calvin Cool
Chicken Rock – Scott Wood

La Bamba – Ritchie Valens
Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley & The Comets
Sunglasses After Dark – Dwight Pullen
Duke Of Earl – Gene Chandler
Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone – Johnnie Taylor
I’m A Man – Manuel Gas
The Girl Can’t Help It – Little Richard
Bo Diddley – Buddy Holly
Brown Eyed Handsome Man – Chuck Berry
Kiss Kiss Kiss – The Dirtbombs
Joelleen – The White Stripes
There Is An End – The Greenhornes
P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) – Parliament
Pusherman – Curtis Mayfield
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Gil Scott-Heron
All I Want Is A Fighting Chance – Millie Jackson
Tell Her It’s Over – Millie Jackson
Time to Get It Together – Marvin Gaye
My Way Home – Kanye West

Provider – N*E*R*D
Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love) – Jay-Z
You Can’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover – Bo Diddley
Oh, How To Do Now – The Monks
The Witch – The Sonics
So Much In Love – McGough & McGear
(Baby) I’m Your Fool – The Black Hollies
Sex Beat – The Gun Club
Baby Please Don’t Go – Muddy Waters

I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) – Howlin’ Wolf
John The Revelator – Son House
Bullet (live) – Frank Black
Death And The Maiden – Stephen Malkmus
Mighty Little Man – Steve Burns

Albums of 2009, Deanna Edition

Pardon my tardiness- I’ve been working hard, partying too hard and agonizing over what to include in my top ten of 2009. Now with that disclaimer- I present to you, in no particular order, the year what was in albums.

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

Their most commercial effort yet- but still brilliant in their own unique way. Uplifting, strange pop music that looks forward while harking back.

Favorite Song: My Girls

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Lush pop music built carefully, beautiful vocal harmonies,  obtuse lyrics and videos of exploding heads. Finest follow-up album of the year.

Favorite Song: While You Wait For The Others

The XX – Self Titled

My favorite debut of the year- ridiculously hyped London youngsters release a brilliant, sparse, sensuous record. I swear I can hear the space between the notes…

Favorite Song: Basic Space

Bill Callahan – Sometimes I WIsh We Were An Eagle

I’ve been a fan of Mr Callahan since his days as Smog- and he’s still releasing darkly wonderful folk records meditating on nature and death in his trademark baritone. A return to form after the slight misstep of Woke On A Whaleheart.

Favorite Song: Too Many Birds

Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

The sound of Miss Khan disappearing into her own fantasy world. Haunting vocals, tribal percussion, an ethereal feel and Scott Walker. She’s my favorite hippy.

Favorite Song: Siren Song

Girls – Album

Pedro said it all. Great rock ‘n’ roll.

Favorite Song: Lust For Life

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

I’ve written about them here before- great, difficult songs that defy the listeners wants and expectations.

Favorite Song: Stillness Is The Move

The Antlers – Hospice

Claustrophobic, intense, emotionally demanding and depressing- but amazing nonetheless. A concept album based around a loved on dying of cancer. Simple, but devastating.

Favorite Song: Epilogue

Antony and The Johnsons – The Crying Light

Operatic, dramatic, soulful. Just gorgeous. Hegarty’s voice tugs my heart-strings like no other.

Favorite Song: Aeon

Woods – Songs Of Shame

From my favorite label this year (Woodsist!) comes this little gem. Distorted vocal harmonies and everything else- a grower as well as one of the stranger permutations of the lo-fi resurgence that has been gathering in 2009.

Favorite Song: The Number

Back Soon…

We’ll be back on Tuesday the 5th for our first show of the decade. Listen to it, as always, here, or on 88.1 if’n yr near Kelburn

Albums Of The Year, Pedro Edition

2009 was, in my opinion, the best year for music this decade. The sheer number of quality albums released this year are staggering. So much great music that these bands didn’t even make my top ten; Dinosaur Jr, Memory Tapes, HEALTH, Atlas Sound, Dirty Projectors, Raekwon, Metric, The Love Language, The xx and Yacht, all of which I loved. And even that doesn’t include the excellent pile of eps 2009 produced.

Anyway, here’s my top 10 …

10. Kurt Vile Childish Prodigy

Just take my word for it that a lo-fi update of CBGB’s New York by way of the son of a Philadelphian banjo player is the business. This kid is good, as is Childish Prodigy.

Kurt Vile – Freak Train

9. Circulatory System Signal Morning

A welcome return for Olivia Tremor Control frontman, Will Cullen Hart, and and even more welcome return to form for Elephant 6. Jeff Mangum appears, so, you know, it’s awesome and all that.

Circulatory System – Overjoyed

8. Cold Cave Love Comes Close

Cold Cave are a side project for Wes Eisold, but perhaps it should become a full time gig. Dark, cold synth stabs punctuate perfectly the detatched vocals and Cure at the disco songs.

Cold Cave – Cebe And Me

7. Times New Viking Born Again Revisited

A slightly cleaned up sound just meant Times New Viking’s talents were made even more obvious to first time listeners. It gave the songs a new immediacy, while still remaining the same kind of fucking killer lo-fi burst of noise they’ve always been.

Times New Viking – Martin Luther King Day

6. Grizzly Bear Veckatimest

Aside from maybe Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear were the indie-crossover darling of the year. An intimately expansive, brilliant step forward and deserving of all the praise heaped upon it.

Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

5. The Flaming Lips Embryonic

I’ll admit to not being overly excited for a Flaming Lips double album, thinking after At War With The Mystics they’d settled into a comfortable middle age of good, but not great music. How foolish of me. There were enough ideas packed into single songs, that lesser bands could’ve made an entire album out of them. I shan’t be anything less than chomping at the bit ever again.

The Flaming Lips – Watching The Planets (featuring Karen O)

4. Girls Album

Girls’ debut was one of the most emotionally complex albums of the year, yet it never dragged because of this. Instead it just added more layers to the incredibly strong songs that arrived fully formed as they leaked, building the anticipation for an indie rock band with real substance.

Girls – Morning Light

3. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion

Released just a few days into January, lesser albums might have been forgotten by December, Merriweather not only endured, but grew ever stronger with each spin. The upsurge in Animal Collective’s popularity and ubiquity this year (I saw this album reviewed in Woman’s Weekly of all places) had nothing to do with any compromise or watering down on their part, more to do with a great band finally getting mainstream recognition.

Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes

2. The Horrors Primary Colours

When your band is constantly prefixed with “NME favourite – ” it is both a gift and a curse, the exposure is nice, but it does tend to stamp an expiry date on ones’ foreheads. With album number two The Horrors ditched the schtick for substance, and did it ever produce results. By fleshing out their sound with influences as diverse as Shoegaze, Nuggets era Psychedelia and 60’s Girl Groups, The Horrors overcame the NME hypemachine and became a mature, rewarding band in their own right. Nowhere were their wings spread wider than on seven minute epic and first single Sea Within A Sea.

The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea

1. Smith Westerns Smith Westerns

The first time I listened to the Smith Westerns’ Be My Girl I fell in love. It was the perfect pop song, teenage lust set atop a sunny, fuzzed-out, T-Rex recalling gem of a track. The first time I listened to their debut record I knew I’d found the number one for this list. It’s a charming, immediate, lo-fi, hormonal overload..Buy it here.

Smith Westerns – Be My Girl