No major theme today – just some cool new discoveries. Let’s start with the latest from Chvrches – folks, end to end this is one of the absolute best pop CDs I have ever heard. “Leave a Trace” is the lead single and it’s the earworm from hell, but I’m not sure it’s one of the five best songs on the disc.
So, I wake up this morning to find that Frank Balsinger has uncovered an a capella take on Rammstein’s “Du Hast.” Because of course somebody would have to do that, and of course Frank would find it. So for SVR today, let’s enjoy some a capella abomination. I guess that would be a bomination, huh?
First, Viva Vox, and if you don’t get why this is so great, by all means click the link above and review the original.
Okay, the verdict is in. I’ve spun the eponymous Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats at least 20 times now and it’s a legit CD of the year candidate. I’m hearing influences ranging from Sam Cooke to Van Morrison to old Appalachian gospel. Let’s check a couple vids, shall we? Here’s the one people seem to be raving about, “SOB.”
Haven’t done these in awhile. Ah, the perverse creative juices pumping through the intertubes….
Hey, remember that time The Beatles and Metallica did that collaboration?
Here’s fellow scrogue Frank B’s favorite. Read more
Sometimes bands we love break up. Or someone dies. Or … maybe they just slide from relevance. If you’re like me, there are a lot of acts who fit this description. I miss Space Team Electra so bad it hurts, for instance. REM faded away more or less gracefully, but still I long for 1984.
Here are some bands and solo artists I miss. Feel free to chime in with your own in the comments.
First, Lush.
Oh look, Till Lindemann from Rammstein has a new side project with Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy and Pain. What are the critics saying?
Pigs, blood, phlegm and characters right out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting alternatively play in morbid grime or on a virginal white stage. Heavy guitar sounds, dark choirs and driving drum beats surge in the background. The lyrics are laced with hatred: “I hate my life, and I hate you / … / I hate my kids, never thought / That I’d praise abort.”
Yeah, that sounds about right. So for SVR let’s watch the first video, and then celebrate Till’s genius with a couple of the high spots from his work with Rammstein. Strap in, bitches.
Anybody wants to know why I can’t wait for the new Jason Isbell disc to drop, here you go. This ought to answer any questions you might have. Is there a better songwriter alive today?
I hope you’re enjoying a gorgeous spring day wherever you are, but i’s been raining here in the 5280 for a week now, and the weather report promises more for the weekend, except for the period when the rain stops and the snow starts. But we need the moisture. And some music to celebrate it.
Let’s start with the definitive rainy day song.
Good night, Ben.
Our friend Anda Volley is back, and her latest music exploration leans into the sort of ambient I have always been intrigued by. Also, great video. Tune in, turn on, happy Saturday.
It was a big week for Japanese Pop. Turns out SONY has signed Metal/GirlPop fusioneers BabyMetal, with designs on taking over America. And earlier in the week I discovered Band-Maid. It only seemed right that I’d share all this, plus a little bonus, with our readers.
Let’s start here.
It’s a beautiful spring day out there. Let’s get it started with Jeff Shelton and The Well Wishers, shall we?
Greetings from the Pop Underground – here’s a track from one of my best CDs of the year…Those who follow along know that I have a weakness for “Power Pop” – that retro, guitar-driven genre originally practiced by the likes of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, Big Star, The Who, The Raspberries, and others of that ilk. You don’t hear it much on the radio, sadly (although Foo Fighters have been on a roll of late) – we’re talking about a largely underground movement here – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as dynamic as ever.
One of my favorite practitioners of the craft, The Well Wishers, released a new CD this year. It’s called A Shattering Sky, and like everything else Jeff Shelton has done in his various incarnations (WW, The Spinning Jennies, Hot Nun), it’s packed to the rafters with ringing guitars and melodic hooks and positively viral earworms – if you’re like me this disc will be buzzing around in your head for days. Read more
Snake Rattle Rattle Snake had the release show for their new CD, Totem, last night at the Gothic in Denver. Jeez, I wish I could have been there. I think the disc officially drops this week, and thanks to a free preview the other day, I can say without reservation that this is one of the top releases of the year – and it’s been a hellacious good year.
Here’s the first video.
Happy Saturday, yo.
lullaby pit 