SONG OF THE DAY [#330]

'six different ways' [the cure cover] | the postmarks

from the get go the postmarks drew comparisons to saint etienne. this, of course, made me notice them because depending on the day, my favorite bands of all-time are depeche mode and saint etienne.

after hearing the postmarks debut album a year or two ago, however, i wasn't really buying the comparison. sure, the two bands were fairly similar, but the postmarks sounded more like a couple of saint etienne songs rather saint etienne the band.

that all changed, however, when i heard the postmarks' cover of the cure's classic, 'six different ways.' it's 110% saint etienne. [that's not a slight, but a good, old-fashioned pat on the back. good on ya, postmarks]. their version of 'six different ways' sounds like it belongs with those absolutely classic 'he's on the phone' b-sides 'groveley road,' 'the process,' and 'is it true.' those three songs are three of my fav saint etienne songs, so, you know...

aside from the fact that the postmarks' version of 'six different ways' sound terrific, it bears not a single resemblance to the original. in fact, were it not for the lyrics, i might not of known it was the cure they were covering. it's refreshing because in this day and age of vapid and banal cover songs [which usually consist of some dood or chick with willowy, wispy vocals and a guitar basically just playing an acoustic version of the song. in my opinion that's not really a cover, but rather a gimmick and an attention-grabber], the postmarks manage to make 'six different ways' completely their own. it's no small feat and it's gutsy because they didn't take the easy way out like so many bands do.

so enjoy some postmarks, some cure, and some mighty saint etienne... and have a great weekend!

→ the postmarks: six different ways
→ the postmarks: goodbye [tahiti 80 remix]
→ the cure: six different ways
→ saint etienne: groveley road
→ saint etienne: the process
→ saint etienne: is it true

SONG OF THE DAY [#329]

'forever' | walter meego

i remember the time i heard 'way you walk' by papas fritas on that dentyne ice commercial about four or five years ago. i loved the song the second i heard it, but i didn't know who sang it. thanks heavens for the internet. after a cursory search, i found that it was the papas fritas. 'hey, i'm just gonna check my itunes and see what i gots.' sure enough, i had it. i didn't even know i had it! that's just crazy sauce.

well, last week while i was down visiting the holy land, er, los angeles, i heard this killer song on a heinekin commercial. it was highly groovy and ridiculously catchy. 'i gotta have this song!' i said. when i got home on sunday i started searching and discovered it was walter meego. 'hey, i'm gonna check my itunes and see what i gots.' yep. paydirt. i really should have a better knowledge of what i have.

'forever' is about as kick a** a summer song as there can possibly be. like i said, it's so catchy it's stupid. and i just love that squealing guitar lick. highly, highly awesome. trust me, kids, one listen and you'll have it in your head for days.

you can check out walter meego here and here. so go do it.

→ walter meego: forever
→ walter meego: girls
→ papas fritas: way you walk | video [just to, you know, stay with the theme.]

SONG OF THE DAY [#328]

'repetition kills you' | the black ghosts

this has to be one of the most awkward band promo shots ever taken. something just doesn't look right. i don't really know what it is or why it's mildly creeping me out. maybe 'cos they look like they belong in a wax museum? i dunno. i can say this, though: 'the black ghosts' is perhaps the most accurately self-reflexive band name in the history of band names. i can hear the conversation now: 'hey, we're a couple of pasty white doods wearing black. let's call ourselves the black ghosts.' genius. pure genius.

'repetition ' i believe, will be the first single, or already is the first single, from black ghosts debut album, 'the black ghosts' [i wonder how long it took to come up with that one.] which drops july 8. at first listen, 'repetition' sounds like something hot chip recorded about three years ago. but it's a pretty cool song. i've had it on repeat all day. it's even got erstwhile head gorilla[z] and blur frontman damon albarn doing some guesty vocals. sometimes i wish damon would ditch the side projects and just get on that next blur album.

→ the black ghosts: repetition kills you | video
→ the black ghosts: something new [galactic version feat. i feel space]
→ the black ghosts: let's get physical [yes, you read that correctly.]

SONG OF THE DAY [#327]

'heartbreak make me a dancer' sophie ellis-bextor

any day i can do a sophie ellis-bextor post is a very good day, indeed.

turns out sophie has released a couple of new tracks to her myspace page [can a new album be too terribly far behind? i've got my fingers, toes and eyes crossed--maybe that's why i'm not seeing so well today]. all i can say is god bless her for it. we all need more sophie in our lives. and if you don't, i'll gladly take yours.

the first, and the superior track in my opinion, is 'heartbreak make me a dancer.' it's another glammed up, silky, seductive dance track. the other, 'off and on,' was originally recorded by roisin murphy, but never officially released.

ok, excuse me while end this post and stare at sophie's picture. :::swoon:::

→ sophie ellis-bextor: heartbreak make me a dancer
→ sophie ellis-bextor: off and on

p.s. i'm leaving for the motherland tonight and i'll be out of town all next week, so no songs for bit...

SONG OF THE DAY [#326]

'never never' | the warm jets

the warm jets were one of the more unfortunate casualties of the britpop explosion of the mid-90s. though if you were a fan of music back then, it's really pretty easy to see why: three words in their name. in the age of suede, pulp, blur, oasis, sleeper, echobelly, elastica, gene, supergrass, radiohead, and countless others one-named bands, a band with two words in their name, much less three, really didn't stand a chance. what a shame.

in all seriousness, the warm jets were a really fantastic band. ten years on since their first--and only--album, 'future signs,' hardly a month goes by where i don't listen to 'never never' or 'hurricane.' they're still great songs and stick rock just as mightily back then as they do today. the album is long since out of print [i'm sure you could find it used on amazon], but if you want to give it a listen, you can download it here. [and i highly suggest you do!] there, you can't say i never did anything for you.

→ the warm jets: never never | video
→ the warm jets: hurricane

SONG OF THE DAY [#325]

'bitchin' camaro' | the dead milkmen

during today's 'mandatory fun/work lunch' at sugarhouse park in salt lake city, my friend dustin and i shared a couple of fond laughs over the dead milkmen. one look at the picture to your left tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the band: men-children/frat boys who probably think flatulence jokes are still uproariously hilarious even when you're twenty five years old--and probably even more so.

the milkmen enjoyed their three months of fame in the late 80s when 'punk rock girl' became a staple on late-night MTV the dead milkmen harnessed all that silliness and wrote some really snappy tunes and made fun of everyone in sight. the dead milkmen's very un-p.c. deliveries skewered anyone and everyone. and good for them. among the many salvos: 'you'll dance to anything by any bunch of stupid europeans who come over here with their big hairdos intent on taking our money instead of giving your cash where it belongs to a decent american artist like myself.' comedy gold.

for me, the milkmen's magnum opus is 'bitchin' camaro.' it's probably one of the funniest songs every written. don't believe me? listen to joe jack talcum explains to rodney anonymous that his parents drove his new car up from the bahamas. when rodney, in disbelief states, 'you're kidding!' joe jack talcum quickly responds, 'i must be. the bahamas are islands.' comedy gold redux.

but you know, the next time someone asks me what i'm going to do, i dunno, ever, i'm going to utter rodney's immortal words: 'uh, i dunno. play some video games, buy some def leppard t-shirts.'

man, that is just an awesome way to spend an afternoon.

→ the dead milkmen: bitchin' camaro
→ the dead milkmen: instant club hit [you'll dance to anything]

SONG OF THE DAY [#324]

'no more running away' | air traffic

funny story: these guys opened for elbow. i had never heard a single thing by them before they took the stage at the depot a few weeks back. opening bands generally stink [that's why they're opening], so my expectations were, needless to say and as they usually are, slim to none.

when they finally did take the stage, my initial thought was 'wow, isn't a school night?' they look like they're about fourteen years old and should be on their way to math class with a book under their arms instead of guitars and basses. yes, that's my envy shining through...

at any rate, after a couple of songs into their forty minute set, i leaned over to my friends barbie and cassandra and said, 'say, don't they kind of sound like keane, and muse, starsailor, supergrass, and coldplay?' they both nodded in the affirmative. about five minutes later i got a text from my sister who was also at the show: 'matt, don't they sound like keane, muse, stairsailor, supergrass, and coldplay?' yep. they do. though it's not necessarily a bad thing. [i like/love all those bands, even coldplay--the exception being the craptacular turdfest that was 'x&y']. and if you like any of those aforementioned bands, you're bound to dig air traffic, too.

the highlight of the set was 'never even told me her name' in which bassist jim maddock and guitarist tom pritchard each got to pound of their own snare drums for the duration of the song. it's a nice counter point to chris wall's high-flying vocals and lilting piano. for as good as it sounds on the album, it was definitely shiver-inducing live. so here's hoping they swing by utah again in the future. in the meantime, enjoy 'no more running away' and 'never even told me her name.' good times, noodle salad...

→ air traffic: no more running away | video
→ air traffic: never even told me her name | video

SONG OF THE DAY [#323]

'making music' | chungking

i listened to these guys today for the first time in a couple of months and i was immediately reminded of 1) how awesome they are, and 2) i'm an idiot for going that long without listening to them.

i'm sure you've heard of the great chungking before, but in case you haven't, as you can see they are a hot chick and a bloke. i think there used to be an additional bloke, but he seems to have disappeared. too bad for him. i stay in the band solely for the eye candy, er, artistic expression.

their first album was called 'we travel fast.' it was later cleaned up, remastered, resequenced, and re-released as 'the hungry years.' some folks prefer the former. i prefer the latter. in 2006 they released 'stay up forever,' which was like a intravenous shot of jolt cola after the pastoral 'hungry years.' 'stay up forever' was all glam, all the time. here a couple tracks from those albums. enjoy!

→ chungking: making music | video
→ chungking: come with me
→ chungking: love is here to stay | video
→ chungking: slow it down

SONG OF THE DAY [#322]

'antique bull' | brendan canning

ok people. brendan canning's [broken social scene] debut album, 'something for all of us,' [a.k.a. 'the album death cab would kill to record'] is massive. i've listened to it twice tonight already and all i can say is wow. the songs are so uniformly solid that it almost plays as a greatest hits album, not a solo debut. it's pretty obvious mr. canning knows how to write a song. there's something interesting and damned-near revelatory in every track. sure, they styles vary from acousticky ballads, to some shoegazy dronings, to straight up pop/rock; yet despite the disparate sounds, the album is definitely a cohesive whole. and i'm just now getting that album's title refers to that very fact. you can't slip anything past me. [actually, i'm the most gullible person alive.]

i'm sure when this hits record stores next month everyone's going to batsh*t crazy over it--and they should. you should, too. so add it to your list of july purchases. you'll be glad you did.

→ brendan canning: antique bull
→ brendan canning: hit the wall

SONG OF THE DAY [#321]

'dirty dancing' | parker lewis

how many of year remember fox's tv show, 'parker lewis can't lose?' i think i was a high school junior or senior when it aired. i remember it getting moderate amounts of hype, but i don't remember actually ever watching it. maybe it was something to do with the the lead's real name: corky nemec. corky is never a good name. ever.

at any rate, the reclusive parker lewis [the musician] adopted the name and then released a song named after a movie in which patrick swayze dances. as far as i'm concerned, it's all marketing genius. thankfully the song is super great and i'm sure you'll totally dig it. oh yeah, he swedish. shocking.

→ parker lewis: dirty dancing
→ parker lewis: wasting time