SONG OF THE DAY (#157)

'the operation' by charlotte gainsbourg

so what do you do when you're the daughter of two of france's biggest music icons? if you're charlotte gainsbourg (daughter of jane birkin and serge gainsbourg) you release an terrific album, '5:55,' when you're taking a break from your day job as an actress.

now, even if you didn't know it was jane's and serge's daughter, upon first listen you'd probably find yourself thinking, 'sounds like it could be a serge gainsbourg song.' it's introspective, sexy, jazzy, smoky, breathy and sultry. but since dear old dad left us in 1991, you do what any self-respecting french singer should do if you want to write an album: you get hometown heroes, air, to write your album. in fact, when i first 'the operation,' i thought to myself, 'self, this sounds like an air song!' my predictive powers are astonishing (i'm kidding, of course). and if that weren't enough, you get jarvis cocker (pulp) to help out, too.

here's hoping charlotte takes more breaks from her acting career and makes more records. if they're as good as '5:55,' they well be more than welcome additions to the gainsbourg canon.

��� charlotte gainsbourg: the operation
��� charlotte gainsbourg: the songs we sing
��� charlotte gainsbourg: jamais

SONG OF THE DAY (#156)

'everybody's changing,' by lily allen
'stop in the name of love,' by bang gang

here's a coupla covers for you to begin your week!

the first is lily allen's cover of keane's 'everybody's changing' from the japanese release of the 'alfie' e.p. it wasn't until i actually listened to the song that i realized it was a cover. it's quite a fun little version with just lily, an acoustic guitar, and a casio (or some sort of keyboard or other). regardless of your opinion of the pint-sized, potty-mouthed allen, this is a great version of an already great song. and why do the japanese always get the ubercool releases? it's maddening sometimes.

the second is a cover of the diana ross & the supremes classic, 'stop in the name of love,' by icelandic bang gang (aka bardi johannsson) and taken from the album, 'something wrong.' it was originally released back in 2003, but was just recently re-released. and something for you gee whiz collection, bardi johannsson teamed up with the fabulous keren ann to form the equally fabulous 'lady & bird,' which, i'm sure, will make an appearance here sooner or later. but i digress. it's fun to hear the song with a male vocal. granted, bardi's falsetto registers up there in pretty rarified air, but it still works beautifully. i can't recommend 'something wrong' enough. it's a tremendous album that seems to be gaining a lot of traction right now, and for good reason.

��� lily allen: everybody's changing (keane cover)
��� bang gang: stop in the name of love (diane ross cover)

SONG OF THE DAY (#155)

'on and on,' by the longpigs

the britpop explosion of 1997 had, unfortunately, more than a few casualties as the suedes, blurs, pulps, oasis', and radioheads of the world marched across the pond. a few managed to break free from the small circle of devout fans to reach a broader audience, but a lot of them only managed to release a couple of albums before drifting off to relative obscurity and finding permanent housing in cut-out bins in record stores across the country.

the longpigs debut album, 'the sun is often out,' was one of the album i thought for sure would make it big. the songs were simply too great not to reach a wider audience. i remember seeing at them @ the casbah in san diego playing before about 20 people and thinking, 'why is this band not huge?' i saw them again open for echo & the bunnymen and again for another band (whose name escapes me at the moment). they even opened for u2 on a handful of dates. they seemed to have everything going for them: a charismatic, good-looking vocalist in crispian hunt, a tremendous and gifted guitarist in richard hawley, and a more than competent rhythm section that blasted out tunes with gusto, verve, enthusiasm, and hooks 'o plenty. they managed to release one more album after 'the sun is often out,' and then they were gone...

'on and on' was the only ballad on the album and in my opinion was the clear standout in an album chocked full of terrific songs. i don't think i made a single mix tape from 1997-2000 that didn't include 'on and on.' if you've not heard it before, i'm sure it'll be on every mix tape you make from here on out. check out the video here.

r.i.p. longpigs.

→ the longpigs: on and on
→ album: the sun is often out

don't try this at home

for the longest time i didn't really care for bleu cheese. as a teenaged boy it seemed inherently wrong to eat something moldy. sure, lots of teenaged boys would gladly pick up a month old dorito from under the sofa cushions and it without a second thought. i wasn't one of those kids, thankfully. it's only been in the last few years that i've come to appreciate bleu cheese's taste and allure (which i can probably trace back to the two years i spent in spain eating the best sharp cheeses in the world.) i like to crumble it on a salad, or even just eat a spoonful. i even enjoy it in its salad dressing form. i enjoy the combination of creamy and crumbly, the saltiness, the slight sharpness, and the unique taste. and it's extra delicious when spread upon a heap of lettuce. i am a fan.

unlike bleu cheese, however, i've always loved imitation crab meet. i don't care if it's made from another fish entirely. it's still tasty-riffic. and not only is it tasty, it's very versatile and easy to prepare. shoot, it comes pre-cooked. you could have crab cakes, crab sandwich, or any other number of crab-based edibles in a matter of minutes. no shell to crack, no pincers/claws to slurp meat out of or to rip off. and it's slighly sweet flavor is refreshing on a hot summer day. imitation crab meat is definitely people-friendly!

so, the other day i decided to make a salad. hey, i like bleu cheese dressing! hey, i like imitation crab meat! let's try them together in a salad. the results can only be delectable. i chopped my lettuce, peeled and grated my carrots, diced my tomatoes, sliced my cucumbers and tossed in some imitation crab meat on the top. i got the bleu cheese dressing out of the fridge, applied a little, and tossed that bad boy for all it was worth. boy, was i excited to partake of my culinary genius!

i excitedly sat down to eat, but after i took one bite it immediately just about involuntarily purged itself from my digestive track. i sat and looked at it in complete horror. how could it be? two tasty foods coming together should be harmonious and agreeable to the pallet (or, 'pallette,' for you frenchies). it was, in a word, sick. i took the bowl of salad back upstairs and washed it down the garbage disposal.

take it from me, kids: bleu cheese + imitation crab meet = no good.

SONG OF THE DAY (#154)

'edward, had you ever thought that the end of the world would come on 20.9.01?', by my little airport.

ten seconds into this song you might think you're taking a nice little gondola ride down the canals of venice whilst the fashionistas walk the sidewalks in sleek black dresses, fancy shoes, and snooty looks. accordians tend to have that effect. but, honey, you ain't in italy anymore...

my little airport are from, believe it, china. wow! this is amazing. listening to their album 'zoo is sad, people are cruel' (talk about charming album titles), it's pretty obvious they grew up worshipping at the altar of sarah records, early 90s 4AD bands, the magnetic fields, and glasweigan greats, belle & sebastian and camera obscura. they even have a song titled, 'when i listen to the field mice.'

true fact: the band consists of of P (lam pang) on guitar and nicole (nicole au kin-ying) on vocals. they met while in college and made a splash by cracking the 'cantopop obsessed top ten' chart. and good for them.

something i just love about the band, aside from the great songs (which all come in well under three minutes), are the song titles, which, i've read, are dedicated to their friends. to wit:

victor, fly me to stafford
faye wong, about your eyebrows (brilliant)
leo, are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes? (brillianter)
dee, it may all end tomorrow
you don't want to be my girlfriend, phoebe

it's more than enough to bring a smile to your face. the music scene needs more of my little airports brand of upbeat, homemade, sunshiny, casio-twee pop. we'd all be better off for it.

my little airport: edward, had you ever thought that the end of the world would come on 20.9.01?

my little airport: you don't want to be my girlfriend, phoebe

SONG OF THE DAY (#153)

'hanging on,' by marsheaux

greece! the acropolis! baklava! souvlaki! socrates! gyros! olives! plato! yanni! yanni's moustache! wait.... not so much with the yanni. or his moustache.

the latest in the long and excellent line of greek exports is marsheaux, the thessolonikian, electro-pop goddess duo blessing the world with their korgs, minimoogs, rolands, and snappy tunes. fact: they take the band's name from the combination of the first syllables of each of their first names: marianthi and sophie (and aren't they just lovely?). greece?! synthpop?! who knew!

they're just released their second album, 'peek a boo,' (though if you buy the import, you'll get their first album, 'ebay queen,' too. gotta love two-fers) on july 17 and recently supported OMD during their UK comeback tour. in fact, they draw pretty heavily on early OMD (think 'organization,' and 'omd,'), depeche mode ('speak and spell'), erasure, kreftwerk, human league, and gary numan, and latter-day bands like ladytron and saint etienne. but they remain distinctly their own band. part of this is due to the heavenly vocals and harmonies (and the fact they're significantly better looking then their male counterparts) and partly to the synths, which instead of sounding icy and detached, bring a lot of warmth to the songs. it was also smart move to avoid the incessant minor-key misery typical of the genre and just have fun. and fun they have. the songs are just supergreat, catchy and hummable. there's not a dud to be found on either album. solid stuff top to bottom. and if that weren't enough, they even pay homage to their heroes by covering the lightning seeds ('pure'), when in rome ('the promise') and new order ('regret'). even yanni would be impressed.

both albums are terrific and i highly recommend them. i've been listening to them nonstop the last coupla days. yeah, you might have to pay the steep import price, buy hey, no one ever said heavenly recordings like this would come cheap.

--> marsheaux: hanging on
--> marsheaux: regret (new order cover)

!m.

rachel, rachel, rachel

welcome to spit cake, your source for useful, but ultimately worthless stuff--just like the spit cake.

to kick things off, please allow me to present ms. rachel stevens, pop starlet extraordinaire! the s club 7 alumnus released her sensational sophomore album, 'come and get it,' in 2005. unfortunately, it flopped in the UK and consequently never saw a US release. it's too bad because it's the best pop album i've heard in the last six or seven years--easily. it's easily as good (if not better) than anything the spice girls and kylie minogue ever released, and puts US poptarts (who shall remain nameless, but their initials are LL, PH, BS, and CA) to shame. and not only did she release a great record, she is, as you can see, a stone cold fox. in a world of pop princesses, rachel stevens is the queen.

rachel stevens: nothing good about this goodbye (right mouse click, 'save as')

my marriage proposals are yet unanswered, but i'm willing to wait...