Category Archives: Tunes

In Concert: Meg Hutchinson and Girlyman

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We bought the tickets because AW is a huge fan of Girlyman; finding out that Meg Hutchinson was the opener was an added bonus!

Meg Hutchinson: Gorgeous set. Just her and a guitar. Mostly stuff from her new album which has such great lyrics, I really can’t get enough of it. Lovely. On the folky side of pop. LOVE.

Girlyman: Three very unique voices, used quite well together. Reminds me of early Indigo Girls with their harmonies although AW was a little snippy about me having that viewpoint. They seem to switch back and forth between joke-y and serious (in a BNL kind of way), but the vocals/mike were mixed way too low(quiet) for the soprano, they need to amp her up a bit (a big bit). Despite that, really enjoyable, fun show.

February Album Reviews

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Absolutely Love & Adore:

Missy Higgins “On a Clear Night” – Such an awesome husky voice. (JenG., a huskier Meg Nathanson? I hope you are listening to this album! You would love it!) Uncomplicated arrangements, quietly emotional. Particularly lovin’ “Angela”.

Nada Surf “Lucky” – Lovelovelove “See These Bones”. And “Ice on the Wing”. And… Yeah. The whole album kicks ass.

Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” – If you aren’t already sick of hearing me talk about Bon Iver, then you must be here for the first time. This album takes my breath away, shreds my heart into tiny little pieces, and leaves me wanting more.

The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir – So Much Frakkin Fun. Various vocalists. Different styles to many of the songs. “I Never Thought I Could Feel This Way for a Boy” is their breakout but I love “Then and Not a Moment Before” and “Aspidistra” just as much.

Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):

  • “Forever Song” Josh Pyke
  • “Gravedigger” Willie Nelson
  • “Sing Along” Virginia Coalition
  • “Goodnight” Zox
  • “Grounds for Divorce” Elbow

Other Albums I Liked:

  • Clare Bowditch & the Feeding Set “The Moon Looked On” – Not sure why I had to email Australia to get someone to send me this album. She SHOULD be hitting it much bigger than she is.
  • The Magnetic Fields “Distortion” – Loud and buzzy and layered. Some really great lyrics on this album.
  • Mike Doughty “Golden Delicious” – Big fan of this album. (“I wrote about a song about your car”! Yay!) Subtract a few songs from it (another version of “27 Jennifers”. Really?) and add the one that’s missing and I’d be all over it. 😉 Still, do like a lot of it.
  • The Raveonettes “Lust Lust Lust” – Makes a good pair with the Magnetic Fields. Thick and dark and pulsing.
  • Coastal Chill 08 – Random (primarily Aussie) singles. Sweet.

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:
Huh. Looks like I didn’t buy any albums I didn’t like in February. Woot, score one for me!

Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:

  • The Mountain Goats “Heretic Pride” – Bought it toward the end of the month, just haven’t really wound up listening to it.

A lot of the songs mentioned here wound up on this mix.

Album: Jesse Malin “Glitter in the Gutter”

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I’ve mentioned this album a few times (here, here, and the single here) but in case you weren’t paying attention…

Great lyrics, insistent rhythms. Sometimes plaintive, sometimes demanding. A little Springsteen feelin’ (he even sings on a track). A little Eagles soundin’ (particularly the chorus of “Aftermath”: “Standing on the corner, watching people walk on…”) and he definitely has a little Southern Rock twinge to him (listen to his pronunciation when he sings “From the desert to this love-stained town, I still find comfort in the underground…” in “NY Nights”). He’s a bit more rockin’ than the average dude on my “melancholy boys” playlist…sometimes a bit more mad. 😉

Two to three months later (March purchase) and it’s still in pretty constant rotation. It’ll take something seriously magical to knock this out of my 2008 Top 10.

In Concert: Crowded House

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Dear Neil Finn,
I honestly thought this night would never happen. I mean, first the band either broke up or just stopped playing together, whichever. Then one of the members died (committed suicide, if I recall?). And sure, I went to see you do a solo show in New York, and that was fine, I can dig your solo stuff. But honestly? Hearing “Weather With You”? Live and in person? (Preceded by “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and followed by “7 Worlds Collide”)
Seriously,
I can die happy now,
Smooches, CMS

Lyrics of the Afternoon

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Not only does it have an awesome beeboppy ’60s feelin’ to it, but also there are a LOT of good lines in The Magnetic Fields “Too Drunk to Dream” (from Distortion, a pretty kickin’ album that sonically certainly lives up to its name) but here are three of my faves:

I’ve got to get too drunk to dream because I only dream of you.
I’ve got to get too pissed to miss you or I’ll never get to sleep.
I’ve got to get too fried to cry or I’ll be crying all night long.

Mmmm, making me thirsty.

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…

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Eating: Loads of crap-ass horrible-for-you but oh-so-good-tasting food.

Making: Not a motherfucking thing.

Reading: Finishing up “Slam” by Nick Hornby so I can move on to the May challenge book before Dad gets too far ahead of me!!! (Finished April in the nick of time but haven’t written it up yet.)

Watching: This week’s episodes of: Bros & Sis (middling); Bones (eh, stupid babies); Gossip Girl (hmm OK); How I Met Your Mother (awesome); CSI NY (lame); CSI (awesome); Lost (motherfucking awesomely awesome!!!!!!!!!!!); The Office (pretty good); 30 Rock (eh); Grey’s (sucked ass). Did I watch anything else this week? I just can’t remember.

Listening: New albums from The Weepies (yes!); Madonna (some!); Fleet Foxes (LOVE!); and lots of other stuff (check several recent Tunes posts).

Cover of the Day…and Some Other Recommendations

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“I Should Have Known Better” – She & Him (Zoey Deschanel & M. Ward)
Beatles done alt-country style. Sweet. Zoey D = the next June Carter Cash?
Other singles (but not covers) I’m diggin’:

  • “She Loves Everybody” Chester French
  • “Tick of Time” The Kooks
  • “Roadway Hymn” La Rocca
  • “Heart of Mine” Peter Salett*

*So I’ve been rewatching Keeping the Faith lately. So what. You SHOULD be too.