Dec 312013
Sounds of the hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
Something entertaining for your evening if, like LMKR and myself, you’re gonna have 2 or 3 beers and hit the sack to read a book by 10 tonight.
RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, Episode 123
[Note: You can add Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your iTunes by clicking here. The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player.]
The List (after the jump):
- Yo La Tengo – Ohm
- Mikal Cronin – Shout It Out
- James Blake – Retrograde
- Rhye – The Fall
- DIIV – Doused
- Savages – I Am Here
- Tricky – Nothing’s Changed
- King Krule – Easy Easy
- Mazzy Star – Flying Low
- My Bloody Valentine – Only Tomorrow
Cool show, Slim and Ladymiss! This was a perfect way to ease back into the work week. I need to go back and figure out who was who, but on initial listen, the YLT song; the mellow song with the piano, the woman singer, and the skipping drums; and the song with the guy with the singer with the thick British accent (King Krule?) were the standout tracks. On the other hand, I disliked Mazzy Star as much as ever. They take too many liberties with a decent, bluesy-psych riff and a lot of reverb. I don’t get where their songs are supposed to be headed. Luckily they are slow enough that I can open the door and roll out when the driver slows down for tumbleweed, suffering only a few scratches.
Thanks for listening, Mod. I’ve decided to add some information to further describe the bands/music:
1. Yo La Tengo, “Ohm.” First track from their excellent album this year, “Fade.” A mellow album for them, quite mature, retrospective lyrics, possibly referring to health difficulties Ira Kaplan recently experienced. We went to see them live this year (YLT is a band I never tire of live), and the first half of their show was acoustic – I big surprise compared to their previous shows.
2. Mikal Cronin, “Shout It Out.” (at 7:14) Fun power pop, RTH-friendly music from the occasional bassist of Ty Segal’s band. Other Music’s review suggested this album was the best to keep permanently stuck in your car stereo.
3. James Blake, “Retrograde.” (at 10:05) I like his soulful voice – it reminds me of Bill Withers. The futuristic synth accompaniment makes the song interesting. My favorite part is the building, intense feeling behind the lyrics, “Suddenly, I’m hit!”
4. Rhye, “The Fall.” (13:38) Ok, I’ll admit, I cheated. This single is from 2012, but the album, “Woman” was released in 2013. It’s still my favorite track from this nice, well-produced, jazz-touched album. These 2 men are pretty good at plumbing the depths of Sade, an 80’s sound I still miss.
5. DIIV, “Doused.” (17:17) Despite the lead singer being one of Slim’s former students (and was an ass then), we like this band. Nice to see that some recent bands are inspired by Post Punk/Wire.
6. Savages, “I Am Here.” (20:50). I appreciate the music more than the vocalist, who sounds like a blatant Siouxsie rip-off. However, this band has been all over the critics best-of lists and they do have a great energy.
7. Tricky, “Nothing’s Changed.” (24:06 ). When I heard this single, I ran out and got the album – my other favorite album of early 2013. A great, dark, reflective comeback album for Tricky, although I still miss Martina as his partner. The album makes clear references to his earlier songs, and others’ music (for example, Patti Smith).
8. King Krule, “Easy, Easy.” (27:20). Best ginger singer-songwriter out of Britain right now. For such a young pup, his lyrics are pretty worldly. I look forward to how he will move out of the Billy Bragg shadow supporting role. Also check out his earlier recordings, under the name Zoo Kid.
9. Mazzy Star, “Flying Low.” (30:00). Mod, I’m in agreement – I can’t stand Mazzy Star, but as Slim worships at the altar of Hope Sandoval and Dave Roback, the song made it in to the mix.
10. My Bloody Valentine, “Only Tomorrow.” (37:32) The critics are right – this is not a perfect album, and parts do sound like out-takes from “Loveless.” BUT, it’s the first stuff MBV has put out in 18-ish years, so we’ll take it! And it’s GOOD! We also saw them live this year, and managed to survive, eardrums intact. Despite the rehashed sound, there are several more minimal tracks that suggest where their sound may go, if they can get it together and keep recording. Slim likes the airplane whoosh of the chorus which could be a kinder, gentler reference to their “Loveless” track, “You Made Me Realise,” which in live shows ends with an earsplitting jet sound.
After Cliff’s excellent review of this year in pop, we left out a couple of big-selling songs, such as Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie,” and Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor.” I purposefully left out anything from the new Vampire Weekend because I think I’m the only fan of their earlier stuff who HATED this album.
Recent entries to the Best list, thanks to a trip to Amoeba records:
– MIA, “Matangi.” Wow! Smart, vibrant, sexy rap with interesting global music samples.
– Jagwar Ma, “Howlin.” The 90’s baggy sound and more from this well-produced Aussie duo.
Thanks — I enjoyed the playlist — some of the stuff from 2013 that ended up on my “most played’ list according to iTunes.
Junip — “Line of Fire”
Laura Veirs — “That Alice”
Veronica Falls “Waiting for Something to Happen”
Stars – “Wishful”
The Strokes (!) — “Tap Out” — I forgot they even put out a new album!
Kim Richey — “Breakaway Speed”
Kurt Vile “Walking On A Sunny Daze”
Weird Visions — “Too Hot””
The Olms — “Wanna Feel It”
Old timers division: I must have listened to the new Bowie more than I thought — “Valentines Day” shows up as does “Any Rain’ by Garland Jeffreys.
I agree on Vampire Weekend – their first album was good, but this one takes itself way too seriously and has some songs that are just bad (“Step”, “Hannah Hunt”, “Diane Young”). That said, I like “Don’t Lie” and “Unbelievers”.
“How the West Was Won” by John Vanderslice was one of my favorite songs of the year, and I really liked the whole album, but I haven’t seen it show up on any lists, unfortunately.
This could be a whole separate post – about how that album is so bad. I mean, any album that adds Alvin and the Chipmunk-style vocals is pushing it. I was very, very disappointed, and even more so when I saw how many critics thought the album was amazing. Hmmmph. That said, “Unbelievers” is passable because it’s sonically different for them. And I personally like “Hannah Hunt” (I think it’s that one) because of the mentions of Providence, Phoenix and Santa Barbara, 3 places I’ve lived and loved.