she*had*a*thirst*for*knowledge

Black Affair - “It Goes Like This”

S E X Y.

From the band who “now live in a remote corner of Japan in the 1980’s and work only on music.”
Apparently.

(No really, it’s Steve Mason from the Beta Band and King Biscuit Time, and maybe some other dudes or something.)

Heard on their/his myspace page. Go listen to it, maybe make your weekend a little brighter. Well, a little sexier, maybe.

the Flaming Lips - “Do You Realize?”

Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realize we’re floating in space?
Do you realize that happiness makes you cry?
Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die?

I have nothing to say about this song other than YES. Wow.

(Hat tip to Jason, again.)

Tullycraft - “Pink Lemonade (4-track version)”

Well I swear,
You’re so cute, you could be an angel.
You’re as pretty as pink lemonade.
Well I swear.

I received a copy of this compilation in the mail last week, and I don’t recall exactly how come, but I’m glad it showed up in the mailbox. A little searching on the internet tells me it was originally released in 1996, and there are a bunch of lions of indiepop on the thing. About half the songs are great. This is a very rough version of “Pink Lemonade.” I like songs like this, that kind of straddle the line between pop and punk. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where one genre stops and the other begins. (OK, don’t laugh at me for saying that.) Anyway, this is a fast guitar song sort of in the vein of the more upbeat Unrest songs. I could totally see myself jumping up and down to this song at a Tullycraft show…that is, if Tullycraft ever, ever, ever managed to play in Chapel Hill, ahem.

El Perro del Mar - “I Can’t Talk About It”

Baby, there’s been a lot going on.
Baby, there’s been a lot going on.
I can’t really talk about it.
I can’t really talk about it…

Baby, oh baby. Baby, oh baby.
Lately, I’ve made a life of my own.
Lately, I’ve made a life of my own.
I can’t really talk about it.
I can’t really talk about it…

At times it feels like this album is my life right now, and this song especially so. This song oozes hurt and conflict-avoidance. The song should be sweet, hey it’s got handclaps and girl-group backing vocals, but it’s played off somehow in a way that makes it sound tired and sad, and her voice enhances those feelings.

Two songs of the day, one new, one old, both new to me!

Midlake - “Young Bride”

My young bride,
why aren’t you moving at all?
Helps to make the day seem shorter.

I went to see this band play a show in town the other night, at Jason’s urging, and I’m really glad I did. They were very impressive - great songs, great skill, great showmanship. It was a fantastic set. And this was the best song. The chorus just soars is one way to describe it…

the Gerbils - “Crayon Box”

Look what you’ve done. How could you
Go out and watch the show without me?
You know that Portastatic is still my favorite band.

Now I see what I was missing out on in the mid-late 90s, not having any knowledge at all of the Athens, GA music scene. It’s fun playing catch-up, especially for coming across gems like the Gerbils. This is really great fuzzy-guitared, lo-fi, head-bopping pop. Well, and the words in this song crack me up. I’ve felt this way before, but with different band name substituted for Portastatic!

Katie the Pest - “Sober”

You’re unstoppable.
I’m unstoppable.
I’m on top of you now.

Many thanks to the indiepop listserv for bringing this band to my attention this morning, because I LOVE this song. It’s very catchy, and very demo-sounding (I like that towards the beginning you can hear one of the women coughing in the backgroud, after the music has started), and, well, it sounds a lot like a rougher Aislers Set. Which is how they were described when I read about them this morning, and honestly that really is the best description.

They have a myspace page of course:
http://www.myspace.com/katiethepest

John D. Loudermilk - “More Than He’ll Have To Give”

I’m in the middle of digitizing this album Encores at work, and this first song on the album made my jaw drop. God, it’s good - like country music meets the Beach Boys. Or Donovan. Or something. Wow.

Neutral Milk Hotel - “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1″

And your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking,
And dad would dream of all the different ways to die -
Each one a little more than he could dare to try.

No, I really don’t stop loving this album.

It’s been a few weeks since the last song o’ the day, hasn’t it? Well, these are the songs that I would have posted if I’d been more proactive about communicating with the world. Two dancey tracks, and two introspective head music sort of tracks:

Of Montreal - “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse”

C’mon chemicals!

This is, I think, the most catchy song on this catchiest of albums. I’m dying to see them play a show again, I can’t wait. This song has the perfect head-bopping-from-side-to-side sound in it.

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(OK, that’s not a record cover, but it’s a really cute poster, and I want it.)

The Skatalites - “Lucky Seven”

I love the mouth noises (huh! hee! hee-bop!) and the clacking, choo choo train sound in this song, not to mention the horns that make me want to jump up and down with my knees held high like those boys in the club did near Stanford U. back in the day.

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The Radio Dept. - “The City Limit”

Don’t drop me off just yet, it’s too safe.
… just drive, the city limit’s fine.

This is the final track on the “Pulling Our Weight” EP, and it sounds EXACTLY like driving in a car with someone, and it’s somewhat sad, and you don’t want the night to end, but it’s going to end, and you feel a little panicky, and you can’t talk anymore, but you just bliss out on the music playing on the stereo. Like being in high school, I guess….
Well, more accurately, it’s a very fuzzed out shoegazey sort of song.

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The Microphones - “The Moon”

We just lied on the roof and watched the moon, the moon,
the blue light of the moon.
We didn’t talk, and silently we both felt powerful.

This album sounds incredible on headphones. I’ve been listening to it while walking home from work. This song is my favorite - it starts off with three (?) acoustic guitars playing different things all at once, and then shortly after the one minute mark, BOOM! lyrics and drums and more fuzzy shoegazey (yes, more of that stuff) kicks in. It’s frantic and gorgeous.

The Decemberists - “The Crane Wife, Pt. 3″

And I will hang my head, hang my head low.