The Oedipus Project
With one of the best names in all of music, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, this four man band from Springfield, Missouri, has just released their 3rd album, Let It Sway. Produced in part by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, the title track, “Sink/Let It Sway” is the Song of the Day.
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“Sink It/Let It Sway” by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Although their album was released in England in 2009 and in the US earlier this year, Mumford & Sons are garnering deserved newfound attention here in the States. Part of the new folk rock movement growing in the Britain, the band is fronted by Marcus Mumford, thus the name. From their debut album Sigh No More, “Little Lion Man” is the Song of the Day.
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“Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons
Mine was a driving vacation, a chance to listen to music uninterrupted, enveloped in my moving audio bubble, along miles and miles of highways. I discovered numerous compelling songs that will be presented here in the weeks to come, but it was the album, The Suburbs, by Arcade Fire that I continually returned too. The disc explores the environs where many of us grew up in–and what much of this and many countries have become–the homogenized beige living space with little connection to space and time. The endless boredom, hours wandering, wasted time, a longing to escape and the realization that there will be nothing to return to.
“Now our loves are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last.”
There are so many good songs of differing styles that my faves change from day to day. Here is a punk rave-up called “Month of May” and a song of suburban sprawl (“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”). The title track “The Suburbs” was heard here on this site in June, so I’ve included the beautiful coda to that song that ends the album. One of the albums of the year, these are the Songs of the Day.
“Month of May”
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“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
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“The Suburbs (Continued)”
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Yes, my summer vacation. See you on Monday, August 23, with more new music and assorted devious entries…
Into the future,
Oedipus
Magic Kids-“Summer”
Blonde Redhead-“Here Sometimes”
School of Seven Bells-“Bye Bye Bye”
Wolf People-“Tiny Circle”
of Montreal-“Coquet Coquette”
Menomena-“Five Little Rooms”
The Like-“”Fair Game”
Les Savy Fav-“Let’s Get Out of Here”
Jesse Woods-“Ugly Dress”
Black Mountain-“The Hair Song”
Stars-“Wasted Daylight”
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The spirit of punk rock lives in SoCal’s Bad Religion. The album The Dissent of Man scheduled for September will be an incredible 15th release. Punk rock with harmonies and still relevant after 30 years, “The Devil in Stitches” is the Song of the Day.
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“The Devil In Stitches” by Bad Religion
In 2007 the British band Klaxons won the coveted Mercury Music Prize (an award for the best album from the UK or Ireland) for their debut album Myths of the Near Future. This month these four lads follow it up with Surfing the Void. From the forthcoming album, “Echoes” is the Song of the Day.
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“Echoes” by Klaxons
Jens Lekman, the idiosyncratic Swedish musician currently residing in Australia, has recorded very little music since 2007. Suffering through a broken heart, he was inspired by the Obama victory in 2008 and emerged from his pain. Reminiscent of the melancholy sound of Morrissey, “The End of the World is Bigger Than Love” is available as a free download and is the Song of the Day.
“The End of World is Bigger Than Love” by Jens Lekman
The Rhythms del Mundo compilations fuse and reinterpret popular western artists and songs with Afro-Cuban sounds and international musicians. All proceeds from this project benefit Artists Project Earth, an organization to aid victims suffering from natural disasters, particularly in Haiti, Chile and the Tibetan Plateau. The 3rd such collaboration is entitled Rhythms del Mundo Revival. Artists include Green Day, Coldplay, Bob Dylan, Gorillaz, and Dizzee Rascal among others. Spanish musician and actress Bebe rearranges “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which becomes the Song of the Day.
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“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Bebe
The Los Angeles trio called Best Coast, fronted by singer/songwriter Bethany Cosentino, evokes the Girl pop sound of the 60’s. From their just released debut album Crazy For You, “Boyfriend” is available as a free download and is the Song of the Day.
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“Boyfriend” by Best Coast
Pete Yorn will be releasing his 5th solo album in September. Produced by Frank Black of the Pixies, it is simply entitled Pete Yorn. This self-title gives us pause to re-appreciate and to rediscover this unique artist. His career has taken some unusually interesting turns, from recording with actress Scarlett Johansson to his haunting version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. (I personally had the privilege of a live Pete Yorn performance in my home with other music aficionados a number of year back.) His generous spirit extends to us all with a free download of “Precious Stone” from his forthcoming album and is the Song of the Day.
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“Precious Stone” by Pete Yorn
The rapper Big B has teamed up with Everlast with this song from the trenches-a song of desperation, a song of resignation-with the unforgettable epitaph:
Before I leave this place
Y’all will remember this face
The good, the bad, the happy, the sad
Y’all will remember this face.
“Before I Leave This Place” is the Song of the Day.
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“Before I Leave This Place” by Big B featuring Everlast
As we have previously discussed, cover songs continue to gush forth in the internet age. Earlier this week we heard Amanda Palmer playing Radiohead. Today we return to She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) whose album, Volume Two, was previewed here a few months ago and has proven to be one of the delights of the year. With a free download we now hear their version of a classic. Originally written in 1940, Frank Sinatra sang it as did Elvis Presley. Brook Benton, Etta James and Rick Nelson all had hits with it, the latter in 1963 when it reached #12 on the Billboard charts. Bow Wow Wow covered it in 1980 and here we have She & Him’s interpretation of “Fools Rush In” as the Song of the Day.
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“Fools Rush In” by She & Him
This song came out last fall but it’s perfect for this time of year. Neon Indian is primarily one guy, Alan Palomo, but becomes a four-piece band when he performs live. From the debut album Psychic Chasms, “Deadbeat Summer” is the Song of the Day.
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“Deadbeat Summer” by Neon Indian
