Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs (Matador, 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick: I’ve heard of them alright.

but I’m not sure where.

{seven songs pass}

well….

far too….

sweet for my liking, not just sweet but sugary.

I can imagine this being played very successfully in the old people’s home while they’re having their tea and biscuits.

chocolate box music.

rose petals.

well you complain that a band like BATS couldn’t play their auntie’s birthday and then you…

and I don’t have the right to?!

well, I guess you do.

this is Manhattan Transfer again.

it’s just me, I’ve always liked music with guts.

but not too much?

well it all depends, I’ve absolutely nothing against lots of guts.

but I do have something against sugar….and little angels sitting on rainbows.

let’s be fair, your man from Donegal….

Daniel O’Donnell?

yeah! he has more guts than these guys.

they play this in posh hotels at tea time and the old ladies in their pearls say ‘oh wow isn’t the music here so up to date!’

actually that last one was ok. bit drawn out but it wasn’t bad.

Yo La Tengo are from Hoboken, New Jersey. Say it with me. Hoboken. Hoboken. Hoboken. Come play count the cardigans at their show tonight in Tripod.

http://www.myspace.com/yolatengo

 

 

The Roundtable – Spinning Wheel (Jay Boy, 1970)

Nick: Well….

so far….

I love it!

it’s strangely eclectic music.

parts of it sound almost middle ages, madrigal melodies.

and then you combine that with jazz, chamber music.

but it works.

aha! there’s some Beatles in it as well.

I have a strange feeling I’ve heard this before.

sounds extremely familiar to me.

I love it.

absolutely riddled with influences!

they’ve dragged it from everywhere.

beautifully done.

hmmm sounds like a crumhorn?

I think you may be right.

only shows you that it can be done, very often when you mix styles and influences it ends up, you know, a nothing sort of hodge podge.

but this works extremely well.

I’m going to play this quite a bit.

it kind of reminds me of Gill Evans as well.

the things he did with Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain and the other one.

it’s also done with a sense of humour.

sense of fun more really, it’s not ‘funny’ per se.

yeah I guess your right.

and some great musicians.

{track 8: Spinning Wheel}

THAT’S HUMOUROUS!

that’s not just a sense of fun, it’s the sort of thing Thelonious Monk would do.

that’s a sense of humour.

it’s good to hear people making music like that.

you wonder, where does that go?

it’s a pity that it’s a once off…or maybe not, maybe stuff like this should be a rarity.

it’s amazin’ what raisins can do!

you can tell this guy, I like his taste.

‘This guy’ is Paul over at the wonderful treasure trove that is Spiral. I asked Paul to recommend ’something relatively crazy’ for Nick to review and he certainly came up with the goods. Get it here.

 

 

Do Make Say Think – Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn (Constellation, 2003)

Nick: WHAT??!!

do make…

do

do make

do make

say think

say think

do make say think.

where are they from?

Canada.

they strangely remind me of the Dublin band…jimmy….

Jimmy Cake? that’s not too strange.

yeah, and as a result I quite like it.

is Canada the only country producing bands these days?

or are they all from Lithuania and Mozambique, and just saying they are from Canada?

what do you see when you look at the cover?

what cover?

the cover for this album.

oh ok, I ehh….I see a man in a boat?

or someone looking out a window, by a chair.

I see the Grim Reaper looking out the top window of a bus.

no, I don’t see that.

there’s not much emotional impact is there?

too much of it is what I call decorative.

it’s a bit of a musical mish-mash, like they throw everything into it.

and it’s a bit mechanical.

as far as I’m concerned, if you’re into that kinda thing, The Jimmy Cake is much much better, considerably better.

it’s not unpleasant, it’s just not exactly fascinating.

occasionally it gets very close to wallpaper.

Remember when Ireland had more Post Rock bands then half-built apartment complexes?

http://www.myspace.com/domakesaythink

 

 

 

Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska (Columbia, 1982)

Nick: is this a recent album?

nope, it’s from 1982, it was his sixth.

well, I don’t know if all his albums are like that because I haven’t listened to him a lot…

well you must know some of his albums, cause the first ones I ever heard were the two you own.

heh, ok I guess I do know that they don’t all sound like this.

this is extremely dreary, and all the song’s are the same.

lyrically, melodically, they’re all the same.

it’s pretty boring.

when you hear the first number you think, ‘oh that’s nice’.

but then it just gets…..on you.

I’d never buy this, maybe if he spread the songs out over a number of albums.

they should put a health warning on the cover.

or at least give away free antidepressants with it.

I’ve heard a lot of negative and depressive music, but this is the ultimate.

well these were originally intended to just be demos, versions were recorded with the E Street Band, but everyone agreed the demos had a feel that couldn’t be bettered.

well then everyone messed up.

Phah! I’m not even gonna bother defending this one. You know.

http://www.myspace.com/brucespringsteen

 

 

I [heart] The Monster Hero – Love Heart EP (Self Released, 2009)

Nick: Well……

they have their own sound.

it’s not a very nice sound bit it’s somewhat distinctive.

I’m afraid the music comes across as kind of childish.

there’s nothing developed or sophisticated about it.

they could be very talented 12 year olds.

maybe they’re trying to get that effect.

the unsophisticated effect.

it’s extremely simple.

I don’t think I would buy it.

maybe bands should try something else.

they should try…you know the traditional attitude, the Japanese attitude to art?

which is completely different from the European tradition.

the European tradition is ‘be like nobody else’.

but in Japan you see the master, you try to be like the master and then you try to be better than the master, and from that your own style develops.

it’s better than being different but crap.

if I combine the sound of a food mixer with a dog barking and a few explosions and then synthesize all that, I’d be making original music but it’d just be crap.

listen to track two again, tell me that’s not a brilliant song.

yyyyyyyyes, I guess I can hear something in that.

maybe I should listen to stuff twice, instead of going on first impressions.

it would make sense wouldn’t it?

but it might be a bit painful with longer albums.

I’m not so sure all yr responses should be….reasonable.

yes but they should be honest.

Jeez Louise. This is a pretty awesome record, Toni Baliey especially. Hear it all for free on myspace and then send him money.

http://www.myspace.com/themonsterherolovesyou

Richard Heene’s Theme Songs (No Label)

we’re gonna do something a little different today.

Nick: this sounds pretty dramatic.

so…..

balloon boy.

yeah.

balloon boy……..yeah.

oh! is that the boy in the balloon?

is there music about that?

well you know that way it was all a big hoax?

yeah

the father, Richard Heene has been trying to get on telly for quite a while.

does the father want to be famous?

he’s one of those?

those what?

extremely silly people.

well, yeah.

he had pitched some reality show ideas starring him and his family to various networks, they passed.

what’s more is that he already had theme songs.

really?

yeah, so here’s his theme for The Psyience Detectives.

I guess you should imagine you’re sitting down to watch telly and the show has just started.

would you keep watching after hearing this?

Richard Heene – The Psyience Detective

hahaha.

was that it?

it sounds extremely amateurish.

totally derivative of every other cheapy TV thing.

nothing original about it.

but it’s memorable in its awfulness.

would I watch it?

depending on my mood.

I might have a look to see if it’s as bad as the music.

and now the next one.

Richard Heene – The Contractor

strangely enough, that one has something kinda charming, because it’s kind of naive, it’s unprofessional and quite fun.

no professional person would ever write something like that.

I think that one is closer to the jingles you usually hear on these crappy shows.

like The Simple Life. starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

I don’t know that.

so you’d watch The Contractor over The Psyience Deyective?

I certainly would.

the psyience detective one sounds like a schoolboy skit.

This story just keeps getting weirder and better. Songs / story nicked from HERE.

Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador, 1994)

Nick: is this punk? is it post-punk?

hmmm

when people talk about ‘indie’ music as a style rather than music that is ‘independent’, this is what I think of.

white dudes with guitars in the nineties.

ok.

I sort of like it.

despite the fact that there are bits where they have this problem I always find with band these days, they sound like they don’t want to be there.

but they have a lot going for them.

memorable melodies.

provides a bit of interest.

{track 8 – 5-4=Unity}

oooh, that was beginning to sound like The Beatles wasn’t it.

what Beatles song is that?

ehhhmm…it’s from Abbey Road.

‘because the world is round’…

Because.

yes, very much Because.

it’s the sort of thing that grows on you.

well, it grows on me.

I like it.

Imagine Pavement reunited! Wouldn’t that be amazing? Every year someone says, ‘Hey, I heard Pavement are reuniting!’ but I’ve learnt to ignore it, it just depresses me greatly when they inevitably don’t. But still, IMAGINE IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED!

http://www.myspace.com/miscsoundsforme

BATS – Red In Tooth and Claw (Richter Collective, 2009)

Nick: Bats, as in the nasty things that…

I find it hard to say anything about this..

I mean, it’s not music I would enjoy.

it’s ehh… aggressive, musically speaking it’s not…

well, it’s interesting but not melodic at all, or at least the melodics aren’t interesting.

if you know what I mean.

the lyrics seem to be interesting but certainly not understandable to me.

it’s just random phrases.

well you can read along.

yeah but I want to listen to it.

it’s a bit relentless, listening to it makes you short of breath.

that’d make a good line for the sticker on the front.

‘listening to it makes you short of breath’ and people would be like ‘oh cool’, and then – ‘NO STARS’.

wasn’t there a time when this sort of stuff was much more popular?

you think they’re out of time?

yeah, like this is headbanging music.

I can see them flinging their long hair around, their razorblade neck chains swinging into the face of the person beside them.

maybe I’m wrong but this kinda music always sounds so easy to play.

you know?

like, as long as you can play loud and fast you can play this.

I could play this.

I reckon their mums didn’t let them practice at home.

and they couldn’t play at their aunties 60th birthday.

I know that this is their attitude, but there isn’t even an attempt at melodics, it’s just chord sequences.

but if that’s what they want…

I think it’s pretty melodic throughout.

well you’re wrong.

here’s a melody.

that’s just notes.

if that’s a melody, every single person walking the earth is a melodic genius.

so what, to you, is a melody?

you know it when you hear it.

of course, I’m being unfair, but in this day and age when you are exposed to absolutely everything produced…

there’s incredibly good stuff in the minority, mediocre stuff in the majority, and some really really bad stuff.

this is in the mediocre area.

The return of the first band we ever reviewed on here (although Nick didn’t know he was reviewing them at the time.) At least they escaped without being labeled ‘Mama’s Boy Metal’ again.

www.myspace.com/leatherbeatsfeather

Florence and The Machine – Lungs (Island, 2009)

Nick: I’ve actually heard of them!

she’s big.

yeah I can see why it’s popular.

easy melodies, danceable rhythms.

but the old story, not enough variety.

and the first number sort of seems to promise variety.

{track 5 – Kiss With A Fist}

oh, that’s different.

she sounds like someone.

who is it?

Speedy Gonzales?

certainly not.

it’s good.

but not great.

you tire of it quite rapidly.

yeah it’s very full on.

too full on.

and I keep expecting it to go somewhere else.

but it doesn’t.

I guess the producer isn’t the most subtle.

three producers.

really? all with the same attitude?

maybe she’s just a natural shouter?

she sounds like someone very well known.

who is it!?

“I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe.”

well…{shrugs}

when she sings rather then yells, she has quite a good voice.

you know who I heard this morning?

Boy George! what’s he up to these days?

you don’t want to know.

On Flo’s website you can find some tantalising recipe ideas with Knorr Ready-to-Serve sauces. Which is great.

http://www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachine

Islands – Return To The Sea (Rough Trade, 2006)

Nick: it’s nice, nice music.

nothing new, nothing interesting.

maybe a few bits.

a little Beatle-y in the way they use occasional orchestral bits.

I like it.

if you listen to it carefully, there’s lots of interesting musical inventions in it.

but the way it’s handled…it doesn’t add up to anything new.

presumably it’s the melodics and rhythms being like everything you’ve heard before.

it’s what’s within them that’s interesting.

it’s very likable, it’s not anything anybody could ever hate.

lot’s of invention, interest.

it’s full of little ideas.

actually, I like it a lot.

are they new?

well this is from 2006, it’s their first, they’ve released two since, the second one was rubbish, haven’t heard the latest. probably never will.

why not?

I just don’t feel any great need to hear it, I’m happy with this one.

I guess I can understand that.

do you want to listen to the 4 or 5 minutes of rain before the final song, or do you want me to skip it?

4 or 5 minutes!?

I’ve heard better rain than this.

Sonic Seasonings.

oh by…

Carlos…

Wendy…the ladyboy.

he’s not a ladyboy! he had a sex change!

Walter Carlos who became Wendy Carlos, amazing story.

I wish I still had that record.

you do, it’s in my room.

oh I must get that later.

I’m still trying my best to not compile a list of favorite albums of the noughties (jesus I hate that word, can’t believe ten years passed without anyone thinking up something better). But this is almost as good as the Unicorns record, and that would certainly be in my top ten. If I had one. Which I don’t.

http://www.myspace.com/islands