thanks to the positive response to my year end music wrap up last month, let's see if we can make it something of a regular thing...
January is usually the month I find myself playing catch up with things I missed the previous year...or giving a second chance to stuff I chose to ignore...that's where most of the items on this list come from...
Cool Calm Pete, Lost The Album- One of those mechanical recommendations from Last.fm or emusic. They got this one right. Pete's got that old New York style flow and a sense of humor. Read more here.
Facing New York, Get Hot- Read about this one over on the AV Club. Sort of a garagey take on the Steeley Dan sensibility. It's not as retarded as I'm describing it.
Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck- Found this digging around on emusic. An instrumental band out of Canada. They make a joyful, raucous, noise. Here, they did a remix of Radiohead's Nude.
Jim White, Transnormal Skiperoo- One afternoon cruising the cable wasteland, I found this crazy movie about Southern music called Wrong Eyed Jesus. Our guide was Mr Jim White. I try to keep up with whatever he does now.
Melvins, Nude With Boots- I saw these guys years ago open for Primus. This was around the time Cobain name dropped them as an influence. I thought, "Really?" It was nothing but noise to me. Maybe I was distracted by the lead singer's hair. It made him look like an angler fish. Their new album is growing on me though.
Nellie McKay, Obligatory Villagers- I heard her perform If I had You on NPR, and I decided I needed to know more. I still haven't found that performance anywhere else, but her latest album makes me smile.
Tilly And The Wall, Wild Like Children- Team Love is a small NYC based label that opens the vault every month and just gives away a full album of one of their artists. This allowed me to finally catch up and check out Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. Also, I found that I love this band that I never heard of.
TV On The Radio, Dear Science- Another band that I just did not get. The critics and the cool kids raved about them, and all I heard was noise. (I'm old) Every time they released a new album, I gave them a shot to win me over. Nothing stuck. This one reminds me of early Talking Heads. (if only in spirit) I think they finally got me. What changed, them or me?
