The Oedipus Project
A charming summer song incongruously from this Brooklyn band. It’s doubtful that The Drums do much surfing, but this song is perfect for this time of year (and with a whistle no less!). From their self-titled debut album, “Let’s Go Surfing” is the Song of the Day.
(And if you want to see the band running down the beach to their song, click on the YouTube button in the upper right.)
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“Let’s Go Surfing” by The Drums
Wavves, the band with two “v”s, is a trio out of San Diego led by brain-child Nathan Williams. Post-punk with a lo-fi feel, “Post Acid” is a free download from their current King of the Beach disc and is the Song of the Day.
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“Post Acid” by The Wavves
The alternative rock band Anberlin, hailing from the center of Florida, has just released a new song from their forthcoming Dark is the Way, Light is a Place produced by Brendan O’Brien. The title of the album comes from a poem by Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953). Bob Dylan took his name from this great Welsh poet, and if you have never heard Dylan Thomas’ voice you are in for a treat. “Impossible” by Anberlin is the Song of the Day and from the archives, Dylan Thomas reading my favorite poem of his, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”.
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Yesterday we featured another track from the Smashing Pumpkins forthcoming album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, the 44 songs of which are being released individually over the next year or so and for free. Eventually there will be a special box set of the entire album. In 1996, the Pumpkins issued a limited edition box set The Aeroplane Flies High, which included the 5 singles from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 28 B-sides, plus a booklet of photos, lyrics and writings by Billy Corgan. From my library, here is a photo of the box set signed by Billy and D’Arcy. Included here from the box set is the Smashing Pumpkins’ cover of The Cars classic “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”.
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“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins
The new Smashing Pumpkins album is entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and all of the songs from the album are being released periodically for free from the Pumpkins’ website. There will be 44 songs in all. Each time 4 songs have been made available, they will be packaged and sold over the net and in physical form as an EP. Eventually all 11 discs will be available as one box set. In February on this site we featured “Widow Wake My Mind” from the first EP. “Freak” is the first song from the 2nd volume available now as a free download and is the Song of the Day.
Post 4th of July and Brendan Benson (singer, songwriter, producer and member of The Raconteurs) offers up a free download, perfect in the aftermath of the holiday. “Red White and Blues” is the Song of the Day.
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“Red White and Blues” by Brendan Benson
Fireworks of the imagination. (Use the menu tab to view in full screen.) The vision of Erik Johannson. Freedom rocks!
Of late there has been a slew of cover songs. And there are more to come. We’ve featured a few here in the past and will continue to present the best. A song takes on new import when reinterpreted rather than merely duplicated. Passion Pit does just that with Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight” as it becomes the Song of the Day.
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“Tonight, Tonight” by Passion Pit
Richard Ashcroft’s new band is RPA & the United Nations of Sound. (The “P” is for Paul.) We’ve admired him for his solo work and for his original band The Verve. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” is one of the greatest songs ever. (Ironically the royalties for that song belong to the Rolling Stones’ record company, ABKCO, as a sample in the song was taken from “The Last Time” by the Stones.) Richard has continued to write majestic music and “Born Again” is no exception and is the Song of the Day.
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“Born Again” by Richard Ashcroft
The married duo Mates of State (Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel) from Lawrence, Kansas, have released Crushes (The Covers Mixtape), songs of an eclectic group of artists including Belle & Sebastian, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Fleetwood Mac and The Mars Volta among others. On their website Mates of State are offering a free download of “Laura” by Girls. We feature it here along with the original as the Song of the Day.
Mates of State-“Laura”
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Girls-“Laura”
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Blonde Redhead, the trio from New York, (consisting of Italian-born, Montreal-raised and Boston- musically educated twin brothers, Simone and Amedeo Pace, and Japanese musician Kazu Makino) offer a free download of their first new music since 2007. “Here Sometimes” is the Song of the Day.
Dr. Dog is a 5 member band hailing from Philadelphia and the city is embedded in their music. As guitarist/singer/songwriter Scott McMicken writes on their website:
“This one apartment I was living in, I felt like I was stuck in the insane heart of West Philly. It’s a weird, insular little community, and there’s a lot going on and a lot of crazy, flamboyant characters and a lot of porch life and coffee shops. But for me, it was kind of overwhelming, and I had overextended myself into the lives of a lot of wacky people, because those are the type of people that I gravitate towards the most. But sometimes I bite off more than I can chew and get taken advantage of. I was exhausted with my neighborhood and I let it into me a little too much. That night, I wrote “Shadow People,” which is a full-on West Philly diary. Philly has been such a big part of our lives, and I feel like on this record it finally took over and made its way into our music. There’s a line that says, ‘I stole a bike from the Second Mile and saw a band play in the basement.’ The Second Mile is this thrift around the corner from my house, and there’s so many basement shows in West Philly, like noisy, artsy bands. I wanted to write something about the people and places around me.”
From the album Shame, Shame “Shadow People” is the Song of the Day.
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“Shadow People” by Dr. Dog
It just arrived in the mail today. “Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan from his Troubadour album was chosen by Coca-Cola as the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Numerous bilingual versions of this politically-charged wildly infectious joyous song have been released. This international remix version features Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and French producer David Guetta. K’naan was born in Somalia and resides in Canada. “Wavin’ Flag” is the Song of the Day.
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“Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan
If there is a new New Jersey sound, The Gaslight Anthem are the purveyors. A cross between Springsteen and the Clash, the melodic title track of American Slang is the Song of the Day.
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“American Slang” by The Gaslight Anthem
