There are so many ways to go with this post… Let’s list them:
1. The original post ran on the weekend of our friend Serge’s wedding in NYC, and it was awesome. Old friends from all over came in (I hadn’t seen Pei or Kent in years!), and the DJ-fest at the reception was a blast. We also had our first 3hive get-together (minus Jon, which was a bummer). It was so good to see Sean and Clay again, and to meet Shan.
2. I remember writing this post late, late, late at night in the hotel room Sam and I were sharing. Sean and Pei had just left, and the room was pretty dark, and I had trouble seeing the keys on Sam’s computer. Good times.
And 3. Page France is one of the best bands I’ve posted here, probably in my personal top five, and “Chariot,” (now with a dead link) is one of my favorite songs, period. Enjoy the others, everybody, as they may have short lifespans. I especially like “Hat and Rabbit,” off the band’s latest release …and the Family Telephone.
Hat and Rabbit [MP3, 3.5MB, 160kbps]
Original post: 02/24/06
Seeing as I’m probably the least religious of the 3hive crew — I’m not Mormon, I never served on a mission, I never lived in Utah (that covers everyone else) — it feels a little out of character to post a Christian band. Then again, I loved U2 when I was in high school, and if Bono wasn’t a soldier for the Lord back in the day then I wasn’t a pudgy, insecure teenager. Ah, whatever. Anyway, the term soldier fits nicely with the steady march-beat drumming of “Chariot” by Baltimore’s Page France, and, if the end of their war is the ascencion of a happy ending, their victory certainly seems to be won.
A few weeks ago, Paul dropped Minus the Bear in our Suggestion Box, describing the Seattle outfit as “catchy and upbeat.” We all need a little catchy and upbeat now and again, and most of the time MTB works it in a fresh, complex way. Check out the pop hooks on “Pachuca Sunrise,” my favorite among these, off the 2005 release Menos el Oso. You can practically see the rays of sunshine filling your room. If you’re looking for something a bit heavier, though, “Dr. L’Ling” and “Drilling” (featuring Minneapolis rapper P.O.S.) the former off the upcoming Planet Of Ice, due in August, give you plenty of noise, thick guitars and heavy drums. Either way, heavy or light, thank Paul for the Minus the Bear tip.
A few years ago, I had this great Creative Writing class, with Ross and Tommy and a bunch of other kids. They did some of the best work I’ve seen yet, and I loved them. It was good. For his final project, Tommy brought in a doll’s head, decapitated and with the top of the skull — which had been shorn off — held on tight with a large square silver hinge. Inside, of course, were “Poems and Prose from a Deranged Boy’s Head.” Fantastic. Awesome. I keep that project in a cabinet, and now and again take it out to freak out my classes. Anyway, Tommy was a big, big fan of Rasputina, and though I couldn’t get into the heavy, theatrical cello-based chamber rock at the time, I’m just loving “Cage in a Cave” off of the upcoming Oh Perilous World, to be released in late June. Maybe it’s the Pitcairn Island theme, maybe it’s the pop-rock vibe; either way, I’m ready to talk to Tommy again about Rasputina, and see what kind of crazy things he’s up to.
According to Mill Pond Records, “the creative force behind Blessed Light, singer/songwriter/guitarist Toby Gordon, came into this world on June 17, 1977.” It kind of sounds like he’s still there. I was even thinking of adding a “disco” genre tag for the last track below, “Something More.” In general, though, we’re looking at thick, grand, majestic pop heavily inspired by the Pacific Northwest and the 1970s. So iinstead of wondering when “Suzanne Sunshine” will ever end, imagine it playing on the radio as you drive off with Woodesron to buy Aerosmith tickets (a la Dazed and Confused).
Though the season isn’t quite right, these gentle tunes from The Autumn Defense sound just fine on our cool, sunny southeast Michigan mornings. Breezy easy-listening pop pleasure from Pat Sansone and Wilco’s John Stirratt, complete with whispered vocals, organ, strings, horns, and the the spirits of Cat Stevens or maybe Nick Drake. Two of these tracks — and there are plenty more available for free on their website — are from their 2003 release Circles, but a new, self-titled album looks promising. I know I’m a sucker for things that sound this pretty. Are you, too?
My friend Neal just bought a satellite radio receiver on eBay, and my guess is he’s listening to as much Canadian radio as he can. That’s really his thing, along with snowboarding, long-distance bicycling, vacuum tube stereos, new albums on vinyl and the benzodiazepine-induced superoxide signalling of B cell apoptosis. (I’m not kidding! PhD scientists! My wife is the same way…) Anyway, he sent an e-mail suggesting Oh Bijou, and let me tell you there’s no apoptosis (that is, cell death) here, just nice, quiet, hazy pop songs with a 70s flavor. I mean, really, “Misty Eyes” is just about perfect. Oh Bijou! Oh Canada! Keep it up!
Tim O. and I went to see Ted Leo/Pharmacists last night, which was loud enough to blow out the new amp Ted bought earlier in the day, and so as ear therapy on the way home we listened to God Save The Clientele, due out next Tuesday. It’s so awesomely mellow, psychedelic and spacy that I’ve been using it at home in a similar manner, like when my 4-year old daughter repeatedly “sings” a joked-up version of the alphabet (X, T, G, R, B, V, J, J, J, etc.) at the top of her lungs. While the single “Bookshop Casanova” is fine, I’d drop a dollar on the whispers of “The Queen of Seville” or the Lawrence Welk-inspired “From Brighton Beach to Santa Monica” for a better feel for the new album, or for straightforward, drug-free headache relief.
Jake from SLC tossed us a bunch of suggestions about a month ago, and Dustin and the Furniture on Oh! Map Records seemed like an interesting choice. According to the label website, this Georgian “sings songs about trees, birds, nothing, everything, and not knowing anything.” And this he does so delicately as to be concerned that Dustin might break if these songs are downloaded too many times. Maybe he just needs someone to buy him lunch. Anyone got some change to throw into the open guitar case?
Really, it’s not that I’m lazy. It’s that Phil can talk about Bill Coleman much more effectively than I can, so let’s let him: “Essentially, Bill Coleman is a finger-picking-guitar-style singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland. He released his debut album I’ll Tear My Own Walls Down in February, and has some free downloads on his website. I go to his live show every chance I get. The guy knows how to put on a show, especially when he has his full band (at times, reviewers try to compare his live shows to The Flaming Lips, for the sheer zanyness, and positive, uplifting vibes to come from the music and the persona of Bill himself. Some songs may dredge you through the darkest areas of the mind at times, but somehow, Bill always manages to find some light at the end. His quiet/sad songs are simply sublime and majestic. His upbeat songs leave you with a smile on your face, and the feeling everything will be alright.” See?
We’ve had so many requests to post CocoRosie that I don’t even know who to thank for the suggestion. What do these fans dig so much about CocoRosie? How about: cool beats & fractured rhythms, sonorous atonality & coherent dissonance, pageantry & experimentation, mythology & realism. Sierra and Bianca Casady — Rosie and Coco — do their own thing (that is, that thing that good artists do). This can be heard on their latest album, The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn, out now on Touch and Go Records.