Yes, it was 70+ degrees yesterday in southeast Michigan, and yes, my daughter was playing in the sandbox in the park in short sleeves and no shoes or socks. Yes, the crocuses are in crazy bloom, and yes, the daffodils are ready to break free at any moment. The melancholy trio of songs below are for all of you who know, like me, that it will surely snow one more time this year. (Hayden is Canadian, after all. He knows this to be true, too.)
Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves
Anyone remember The Housemartins? Musically, Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves are the various children they left scattered across England in the hedonistic ’80s, united to resurrect the pleasantly pointless pop of their parents. Nothing too complex here, just cleanly written songs with straightforward guitar hooks and smooth backing vocals, mostly about cars (and most songs barely making it past two minutes).
John Vanderslice
When she graduated last year, Martha gave me a mix CD without a track list. For some people, this would be considered a form of psychological abuse as opposed to a kind gesture. For others, like me, it’s a pleasant excuse for wasting an hour playing on Google. Investigating “Me and My 424” (one of my favorite songs on what turned out to be a great road trip mix, with the likes of Iron and Wine and Nick Drake) led me to John Vanderslice and about a dozen MP3s, half of which are provided for you below. The marriage of his macabre narratives and nasal vocal whine is infinitely better than the description sounds — trust me. Also, if you’ve got the time, check out Tiny Telephone, his SF recording studio. Thanks, Martha!
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Some kid was walking by singing “Knock on Wood” the other day, and it got me thinking about the Bosstones. In 1989, I played trombone in a ska band that opened for for them in Toronto. Nineteen eighty-nine! That kid probably wasn’t even born yet! And although the words “now defunct” are commonly associated with the band, I like to think they’re aging nicely, still dressed in plaid from head to toe.
Album
Sean’s not the only one talking about South by Southwest. The New York Times — one of the hippest, most progressive indie-friendly rags out there — mentioned Album in its coverage of SXSW. What a score! On the Monterrey (Mexico) band’s website, everything they’ve ever recorded is available in MP3 form, and a lot of it is wildly fresh and inventive. The sampling below starts with a suggested listening sequence supplied by the band, as well as a few more selected tracks that aren’t half bad either. Enjoy!
Below the Sea
If you’re looking for bright, pretty, upbeat ambient sounds, choose song #1, “Let It Happen.” If you’re looking for dark, pretty, slow ambient sounds, choose song #2, “Accord Final.” If you’re looking for more of the ambient sounds mentioned above, choose from the substantial discography of Quebec trio Below the Sea.
Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel
So, my wife and I are taking our daughter on her second trip to Chicago (or “Ka-goh,” as she likes to say) a week AFTER Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel plays at Schuba’s, one of the greatest bars in the whole world. I bet the kid would love Anna’s clear vocals and rootsy country-rock (in fact, she’d probably say “better,” in comparison to something else that wasn’t as good). I’m not sure if they’d let almost-two-year-olds in, though.
Imaginary Baseball League
If the kids in suburban Detroit are talking about an obscure indie band from Tennessee, it means: a) Imaginary Baseball League is going to be the Next Big Thing, b) someone here has a cousin in Murfreesboro whose best friend is dating IBL’s drummer, or c) the Internet really does work as a way for people with like interests to connect, thus overcoming the boundaries of distance, culture, etc. Whichever answer works for you, go with it, you know? And if you like what you hear of Imaginary Baseball League, first thank Megan and then check out their website for a bunch more downloadable tracks.
The Dears
On a recent day off, I took my wife’s truck in for a transmission flush. While checking in, the service guy neglected to mention that the entire staff took a whole hour off for lunch, which started about ten minutes after I arrived. In other words, I had serious time on my hands. I flipped through an issue of Spin, then Scientific American, People, Jet, Field and Stream and Redbook before returning to the single copy of Spin because, why not? What else was I going to do? Upon this closer, maybe even desperate inspection of the issue, I noticed a blurb on Montreal that mentioned The Dears, and they sounded pretty cool. Little did I know that a random collection of their MP3s, gathered off a smattering of label websites, would reflect my experiences at the auto shop so perfectly. There’s the smoldering righteous indignation of “Summer of Protest,” the hope and determination of “We Can Have It,” the bitter loss of said hope in “Heartless Romantic,” and finally, the goofy, bouncy happiness of “Corduroy Boy,” also known (in my mind) as “Yeah, I Got the Damn Truck Back!”
The Killingtons
My friend Neal, an extreme-snowboarding pediatrician who also has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, is a big fan of The Killingtons. I can imagine him jumping off a helicopter somewhere in the Cascades or Rockies and carving heroically down the face of a mountain in order to set a broken bone or maybe perform a needed kidney transplant on a young child, who also happens to be snowboarding on the mountain, or maybe he’d just take some tissue samples so he could do some sciencey thing with them like look at them through a microscope. Whatever. Anyway, on his way down, Neal would surely listen to the steady adrenaline of “Weekend Drive” off The Killingtons’ California Life EP. Wait, in that case, maybe it should be Mammoth or Mt. Shasta…