Mp3 of the Week: “Can’t Believe It” by the very busy spider

The very busy spider is terry xiao out of San Leandro, California and continues the trend of cute girls playing ukulele who love hip hop.

BUT, what I really love about Terry and especially her cover of T-Pain and Lil Wayne’s “Can’t Believe It” is the level of earnestness on display here. There is no irony when she sings mournfully about the all the things she wants to do for the lover in question and as she hits the “ooh oohs” of the chorus everything falls wonderfully into place. The ukulele is especially breezy here and really sets a melancholy tone that is merely hinted at in the original.

Terry’s rendition is definitely one of my favorite covers of 2008. Check out the rest of the very busy spider’s stuff too; it’s as equally feisty and genuine.

Mp3:
the very busy spider-"Can't Believe It"

Link:
the very busy spider on Myspace!

Mp3 Of The Week: “A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology” by Riverboat Gamblers

foto by Sam Holden

Last week I was lucky to come upon the new single by Austin, Texas natives Riverboat Gamblers. The song, “A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology,” will be on their new album, Underneath The Owl.

The song at first came off as a slightly generic rock song, but what makes me ultimately want to write about here is its deepening sense of surreal underneath the pumping licks and strong sense of melody.

If you listen closely to the song (without looking at the lyrics, that’s cheating!) all these weird images pop up. The refrain repeats, “Like a pick in a hollow-body,” and I swear I heard something about tentacles. Its overall effect is pretty cool and has that “double-take” thing going for it.

Look out for these kids, Riverboat Gamblers I’m pretty sure will be big and I hope they keep things this weird. I mean their new album is going to be called Underneath The Owl! How cool is that?

Mp3:
Riverboat Gamblers-"A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology"

Links
Riverboat Gamblers on Myspace!
Volcolm Entertainment

MIX FIVE: Mp3 of the Week, Catching Up!

As this site has progressed over the year or so I am disappointed that some of the weekly smaller segments have completely dropped off. That’s why in the midst of everything I need to do I bring to you all, this “catch up” mix of some of the single songs that have caught my ear in the last month or two.

Tinyfolk-“Bubble Guns”
A cover of a Hello Shark song, this song kind of picks up for Sic Semper Equis left off. It’s marvelous and downtrodden; the darkest techno song ever. I used it in a short film I made over the summer.

Jon Crocker-“Lap Dog”
I’ve had the pleasure of spending more time with Jon Crocker as of late and I think I understand his music a lot more. On this tune from the recent The Dust Will Settle the cynicism strangely fits the style and this soaring sing along has just enough vitriol to almost taste sweet.

Jellybean!-“Love In This Club”
Featuring a bit of auto-tune vocals and keyboard on this Usher cover, Kelly adds a touch of melancholy to make this silly song into something romantic.

Pomona City Rydaz-“T.R.U.E. Crimes (Ft. Tray-Dee)”
A slightly unknown rap group featured in the True Crime: Streets Of LA videogame soundtrack, the MCs here display unique forms of flow that are downright astonishing. Straight up gangsta.

They Might Be Giants-“They’ll Need A Crane”
I’m kind of embarrassed for just discovering They Might Be Giants, but on Lincoln, this song continually floors me over and over again. The video is hilariously sad as well. John Linell’s hair and dance moves reinforce the sort of awkward confidence on display here.

Withershins-“Pygmalion”
More Smashing Pumpkins than The Smittens, J Isaac Gadient (formally the man behind Lo-Fi Twee sensation Blanketarms) has started a new, more rocking band. This is just an acoustic demo, but it tears me apart inside. It’s a downer in the best possible sense.

Dustin And The Furniture-“Falling Apart”
This song is a rerecorded version, sparser and more intimate, on Dustin’s new album No Living In The Living Room. I suggest you buy a hard copy because the album comes with a book featuring commentary, footnotes and all kinds of important information and resources on how to prepare for the paradigm shift in our world that’s coming sooner than you think.

The Bad Spellers-“The Ungrateful Sojourn Of Nomadic Follicles”
The keyboard line, handclaps and the earnest vocals kill me every time. This album, Keep On Shining, was the house music for a show I played in Hachoji City, Japan and I desperately needed to find a copy. I suggest you track it down too.

Watercolor Paintings-“Shower”
A solo number by Rebecca, the lyrics are boldly frank but equally mysterious. More than anything the effect is more than the sum of its parts. The ending is quite sweet, but really sad and over before you want to be.

M.I.A.-“Paper Planes”
I discovered Kala in a vacuum and immediately became fixated on this startling song. I had no idea how popular it was until I heard it blaring from the frat house across the street a week or two ago. It doesn’t matter; this song is too good to let them have it.

Links:
Tinyfolk on Myspace!
Jon Crocker on Myspace!
Jellybean! on Myspace!
Pomona City Rydaz on Myspace!
They Might Be Giants on Myspace!
Withershins on Myspace!
The Bad Spellers on Myspace!
Watercolor Paintings on Myspace!
M.I.A. on Myspace!
Until The Very Last Moment: Ground Zero featuring "Bubble Guns"

Mp3 of the Week: "This (old) House" by Linguistic Banter

Hey folks still in Tokyo and amongst all the J-Pop and Hip Hop my new friend Grace, musically known as Linguistic Banner, has put up her first song on Myspace and let me tell you kids it's pretty darn fantastic.

Simply a soprano ukulele and rough, soulful (but young) voice, Grace sings a song that drips with a lot of nostalgia for someone who's fifteen.

I hate bringing in the age thing because unlike a lot of young musicians who play the ukulele or guitar she isn't angsty or "cute." I like "This (old) House" because it avoids all of the stereotypes that you could possibly tag her as being.

It isn't to say she is purposely avoiding these categories and feelings, but "This (old) House" is simply breezy without being cutesy, unassuming yet fueled with purpose, and melancholy without being heavy or angsty.

It's startling how original it sounds after a couple of listens, but I've listened to it more than that and you should too.

I can't wait for more.

Mp3:
Linguistic Banter-"This (old) House"

Link:
Linguistic Banter on Myspace!

Mp3 of the Week: "I Hope..." by James Eric

James Eric is the kind of guy who still sings about things I wish I could, but sadly do not have to the spirit to.

And despite all the things James has gone through he always sings with a level of energy and passion that startles me from time to time. On his much overlooked Fire In The Mountains from this year the song "I Hope..." is an anthem that has a great marching rhythm, stomping piano and is full of that classic James Eric sincerity that I so dearly adore.

This song's message is simple, but born out of a life of complications. It is so steadfast I can't help but wish to sing it aloud. And it's the kind of song that must be sung that way and even if you don't believe its message, the more and more you sing it you will eventually.

Mp3:
James Eric-"I Hope..."

Link:
James Eric on Myspace!
Download Fire In The Mountains on CLLCT!

Mp3 of the Week: “I Will Not Apologize (Feat. Porn and Dice Raw)” by The Roots

“I Will Not Apologize” is a primary example of the grimy, dirty, enthralling and engaging sound on The Roots new album Rising Down.

Featuring taught and stuttered drumming from ?uestlove, an ultra-addicting bassline, sputtering horns and analog synth lines that frighten and soar, MC Black Thought and guests P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw let loose and get fierce.

I’ll just copy my favorite verse here that focuses mostly on suburban peoples’ absurdly warped perceptions of African-Americans and how this view is perpetrated:

For the statements I’m about to make I will not apologize niggaz talk a lot of shit really need to stop the lies jewels rented cars rented homie that aint authentic
actin tough on TV but to me you seem a little timid
don’t blame the nigga blame America its all business
actin like a monkey is the only way to sell tickets shit I can dig it, niggas gossip silly digits
white kids buy it its a riot When we talking about pimpin
or sippin on old English brew or whatever they think we do Spraying double Uzis cause you know they think we live in zoos
the problem is with this everyone seems to be real confused the niggaz on the streets to the old people that watch the news
and watch BET and the crazy shit they see
they associate with you do the same shit to me
when you look at me you see just a nigga from the projects but cant understand this niggaz mind set still

The hook, "I will not apologize its is for all of my peoples who understand and truly recognize/Some wont get it for that I wont apologize," is simple and addictive, but it’s the intensity of the music and lyrical dexterity and focus of MCs Black Thought, P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw that makes “I Will Not Apologize” one of my favorite rap songs in a long time.

Mp3:
The Roots-“I Will Not Apologize (Feat. Porn and Dice Raw)”

Links:
The Roots on Myspace!
Pitchfork review of Rising Down

Mp3 of the Week: "Stuck With Me" by Marc With A C

So I recently rediscovered this gem off of Marc With A C's greatest hits compilation, What The Hell Is Wrong With Marc With A C? (Originally off of This World Is Scary As Fuck).

it kind of captures how I feel right now and that when you have someone it makes anything difficult much easier to bear and not only that, but you want to bear it because you love that special someone so much.

It's classic Marc With A C and the hook couldn't be more effing perfect, "This world is scary as fuck/It's big and it's really mean/Yeah, I don't like this world/But it looks like I'm stuck/And I'm glad that you're stuck with me."

Mp3:
Marc With A C-"Stuck With Me"

Links:
MarcWithAC.com!
Marc With A C on Myspace!

Mp3 of the Week: “You Geranium, You Potato” by Shelby Sifers

Shelby Sifers, if you haven’t heard of her, is amazing writer and singer making minimalist musings and sweet songs. Her voice is often called “childlike” even in the most loving circles, but I would say it reflects the melancholy of an individual who tries to be hopeful in every circumstance.

“You Geranium, You Potato,” is taken off her overlooked first album Yeah And I’m In Love Too and it is particularly striking. Like my favorite Shelby songs, a lone acoustic guitar plays allowing her voice to shine. She has some lovely harmonies courtesy of Joshua Fu, of The Lonesome Architects if I’m not mistaken.

Basically my take on this song is that it’s about caring for someone who is really depressed and I wish people would sing this to me when I’m feeling down. It’s about seeing someone’s sadness and falling in love with the inherent wisdom/beauty that often (I feel) comes with depression. It is seen quite clearly in the last lines, “There’s never a time/when you don’t feel like dyin’/But somehow/I just love you more…”

Mp3:
Shelby Sifers-"You Geranium, You Potato"

Links:
Shelby Sifers on myspace, she is on tour right now!
Buy her records at Oh Map! Records

Mp3 of the Week: “Two-Headed Boy” by Neutral Milk Hotel

So my Mp3 of the Week segment is very late, almost next week, but I had trouble choosing one, but I did and so I’m going to do it.



I recently started listening (obsessing) about Neutral Milk Hotel, specifically In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. And I think it is one of the greatest albums of all time. Filled with wild, childlike surrealism and sheer physicality and emotion, I feel this album in some ways more than I actually listen to it.

Every song is flawless, but this week I am going to talk about “Two-Headed Boy.” This song makes me weep; there is something so fragile, so fucking beautiful about it. The popular line in the song, “And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine,” is one of the many perfect lines that say twenty different things at once without any pretension.

Just download it already.

Neutral Milk Hotel-“Two-Headed Boy”

Two-headed boy
All floating in glass
The sun it has passed
Now it's blacker than black
I can hear as you tap on your jar
I am listening to hear where you are
I am listening to hear where you are

Two-headed boy
Put on Sunday shoes
And dance round the room to accordion keys
With the needle that sings in your heart
Catching signals that sound in the dark
Catching signals that sound in the dark
We will take off our clothes
And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain't moving now
They just lay there in their clouds

Two-headed boy
With pulleys and weights
Creating a radio played just for two
In the parlor with a moon across her face
And through the music he sweetly displays
Silver speakers that sparkle all day
Made for his lover who's floating and choking with her hands across her face
And in the dark we will take off our clothes
And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain't moving now
They just lay there in their clouds

Two-headed boy
There is no reason to grieve
The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves
Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow
And I will take you and leave you alone
Watching spirals of white softly flow
Over your eyelids and all you did
Will wait until the point when you let go

Mp3:
Neutral Milk Hotel-"Two-Headed Boy"

Links:
Neutral Milk Hotel site
Pitchfork review of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Mp3 of the Week-“Southern Comfort “ By Arrah and The Ferns

So I have to rant about this more. I day after I fall in love with Arrah and The Ferns they announce they’re breaking up. Totally tragic for me right? Well it’s more about how wonderfully talented this band is and that it’s sad to see them fall apart in their prime. Their record Evan Is A Vegan is simply stunning, filled with infectious harmonies, compelling instrumentation, and beautifully sweet sentiment.

I choose the song “Southern Comfort” because it’s melancholy, has a great sing-along ending and it’s one of their many songs to put the banjo upfront. Structurally it is reminiscent to the recently popular “Anyone Else But You,” by The Moldy Peaches, but its more emotionally satisfying and less silly.

The members of Arrah and The Ferns are all going on to make more music and I wish them the best of luck.

Mp3:
Arrah And The Ferns-"Southern Comfort"

Link:
Arrah and The Ferns on myspace

Mp3 of the Week: “So Many Stars” by Watercolor Paintings

Over the past year Watercolor Paintings output is admittedly less prolific than her early days, but every month or so when she releases a new song I have to listen. “So Many Stars” is the newest one and I think may be one of my favorite songs of hers in recent memory. Mostly acapella, it reminds me of when I first met Rebecca. We were freshman and she would record songs onto cassette using headphones as the mic. She is inventive and has a keen ear for wondrous melodies and “So Many Stars” is a culmination of the things I like a lot about Watercolor Paintings. It bounces along the edge of sweet and melancholy à la the early version of “Happyships” or “Get Out of the Way or a Whale Will Swallow You.” The difference here is that there is an incredible sense of ambiguity and wonder that’ll have you scratching your head at first, but humming along in no time.

Mp3:
Watercolor Paintings-"So Many Stars"

Link:
Watercolor Paintings on myspace

Mp3 of the Week: “All You Get From Love Is A Love Song” by The Carpenters

The Carpenters were a brother & sister duo from the late 70s/early 80s who made a name for themselves doing soft-rock/easy listening music. Karen Carpenter, the lead singer, had an extremely unique voice that carried listeners, “smoothly into the 80s”. Unlike many popular groups at the time, The Carpenters were considered very wholesome. However, everything was not right with Karen and she was the first person to die of Anorexia Nervosa. I first discovered The Carpenters music after watching Todd Haynes first film, Superstar The Karen Carpenter Story (1987). It is a startling and tragic look at the life of a beautiful woman destroyed by familial and social pressures.

“All You Get From Love Is A Love Song” was the first single off their 1977 album Passage and is a phenomenally clever and sad song disguised as a pop hit. I mean just look at the hook; “Oh it's a dirty old shame/When all you get from love is a love song/That's got you layin' up nights/Just waitin' for the music to start//It's such a dirty old shame/When you got to take the blame for a love song/Because the best love songs are written/With a broken heart.” I believe most writers and creative types in general can relate to this on an instinctive level and this song is so rewarding, but so dark. It is as if Kurt Vonnegut himself couldn’t come up with something so perfect.

Mp3:
The Carpenters-“All You Get From Love Is A Love Song”

Music Video:


Links:
The Carpenters on wikipedia
The Entire short film, Superstar The Karen Carpenter Story

Mp3 of the Week: “S” by Happy Memory Is Not Happy

I love Japan (Tokyo is the greatest city on the planet) and it’s no secret that I love Lo-Fi music so when I discovered May Records I was in heaven. It is a small label run by Shogo from Odawara, Japan. The label is pretty awesome because they distribute artists like Tinyfolk, The Just Joans and IJI in Japan, but they also have their own artists. One of them is Happy Memory Is Not Happy. The song this week “S” is a simple, melancholy pop gem. An intricate drum sample and a slow flute tone pave their way into your mind until it won’t come out again. As much as the Japanese 1 class I took two years ago helped (note: I’ve forgotten it all except "sumimasen") I wish I could understand what he’s saying because it’s a lovely song that won’t leave me anytime soon.

Mp3:
Happy Memory Is Not Happy-"S"

Links:
Happy Memory Is Not Happy on myspace
May Records

Mp3 of the Week: “330” by Pocketful.

Lauren Barth under the moniker Pocketful. is a local Santa Barbara native I first saw perform at a show I was also playing at. Her voice will immediately cut you off guard by its “time-travel-like” ability to transport you back to the folk heyday of the 60s without sounding like it’s someone who wishes to imagine they were in the 60s (in other words genuine). She would fit perfectly with the likes of all those old folkies maybe playing a workshop or two at Newport. However, the output of her songs is few and far between, but I was lucky to see that she put up this fine new original “330.” Just minimal acoustic guitar and her playful but confident voice she doesn’t try and make the words too clear, they wash over you instead. The song sits in a haze of distances and memories and the chorus gets more and more satisfying every time it comes around. The song needn’t have a proper ending, like life it just keeps spiraling around and around jettisoning us off through time and space.

Mp3:
Pocketful.-"330"

Links:
Pocketful. on myspace

Mp3 of the Week-“Cocaine (Live)” by Bob Dylan

I recently (yesterday) found Live At The Gaslight 1962, an album released a few years ago (at Starbucks exclusively for awhile). It is a small sample of songs Bob Dylan sang pre-Freewheelin’ days at The Gaslight Café in New York before he exploded into the spotlight. The track “Cocaine” is a song written by Luke Jordan in 1929 and what's remarkable about Dylan is that even in 1962 he could take many blues and folk standards like this song and brand them with his own sensibilities. There is simplicity and plasticity of Dylan’s version of "Cocaine." The refrain, “Cocaine all around my brain,” is so morbidly catchy that he lets it swirl over and over again until his voice cracks and he mumbles the ending; enhancing the effect of a man falling apart due to this “delicious” (err) drug.

Mp3:
Bob Dylan-“Cocaine (Live)”

Links:
album info on Wikipedia

Mp3 of the Week-“God Only Knows” by Isto

Who is Isto? Some say he is more beard than man, a lumberjack, half a bee, a living legend not only in the You Tube world but throughout. Some even say he is a real-life version of Tom Bombadil, but even more musically inclined. Whoever he really is, Chris “Isto” White has over a 100 songs on You Tube (and more on his site) of him playing songs on classical guitar. Some are originals and some are covers, but no matter what he plays it is exceptional and I would even say magical. I have never been head over heels for The Beach Boys, but who doesn’t love “God Only Knows”? I discovered Isto’s version and fell even more in love with the song. The lyrics really penetrate deeper with the simplicity of a classical guitar and Isto’s voice rises and falls perfectly. The stellar ending extenuated by his desperate and rough delivery gives us the true feeling of “What I’d be without you”. Did I say that he is a fucking amazing guitar player?

Mp3:
Isto-"God Only Knows"

Links:
Lumberjackisto.com
You Tube Page
Isto on myspace
The video of him playing "God Only Knows"

Mp3 of the Week: “No Regrets” by Real Live Tigers

I played a show with Tony Presley a few months back and I was unexpectedly drawn into his deep soulful voice from some other world. This song comes off of the out of print EP Hospital Songs released by Pop Monster Collective. This first track has minimal acoustic guitar and a quiet, deep bluesy vocal from Tony that creeps up on you as you listen. Slowly you realize the songs meaning and by the end you are left stunned. Immediately you’ll put it on repeat to make sure what you just heard was real. The words, “I’ll be damned, they were right…” will obsessively haunt you at night.

Mp3:
Real Live Tigers-"No Regrets"

Links:
Real Live Tigers on myspace
Reallivetigers.com
Pop Monster Collective

Mp3 of the Week: “Only This and Nothing More” by Rambling Nicholas Heron

I first heard of him through the Pop Monster Collective sampler cd I received when I bought Tinyfolk’s Bill. Only now did I find that sampler again and the first song to play was Rambling Nicholas Heron’s “Only This and Nothing More.” It starts up with a very simple bass line then jumps into a very sweet song. His voice is smooth and soulful with an adorable Swedish (I believe) accent. I don’t know what it is about this song, but I feel safe and happy. An accordion/melodica adds to the foreign pop vibe that I am really digging right now. The song is more importantly available on his new record Snug And Cozy Like Before off of Pop Monster Collective. I just ordered it a few days ago and I can’t wait to fall in love with it.

For now enjoy the song and as a bonus watch this cute music of the song as well.



Mp3:
Rambling Nicholas Heron-"Only This and Nothing More"

Links:
Rambling Nicholas Heron on myspace
Pop Monster Collective

Mp3 of the Week: "You And Me" by Penny & The Quarters

I’ve always wanted to do an Mp3 of the week, but I haven’t hustled myself enough to do it. I’m going to try now and we’ll see how it goes.

Yeah yeah it's a lame picture, but come on!

What better way to kick this off than with a group whose only song ever recorded is the one I have here. Released on Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label, "You And Me" is a “is a random rehearsal by a group no one can remember (Dante Carfagna and Rob Sevier).” What a random rehearsal! This song is quite the classic fifties-sounding pop standard. But there is something much more enthralling and exciting about it. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s the only song they ever recorded (to our knowledge) or maybe it’s the humorously sweet name they picked or maybe it’s just because the song is so damn good. Whatever the reason this song is pure soul and it’ll drive itself straight into your heart.

Mp3:
Penny & The Quarters-"You And Me"

Links:
Numero Group
The Linear Notes from Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label