Magic Arm -- People Need Order

Here's what I know about one-man-band Magic Arm: 1.) he's from dance-rave crazy Manchester, England and 2.) He makes albums like incredibly slowly. In the past couple years, his output is all of two songs, both of which are excellent: "Outdoor Games" and "People Need Order." I totally dig this song. Check it out.

Magic Arm -- People Need Order

People Need Order

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A Mountain of One (Studio Remix)

Last year, Studio's Yearbook 1 was one of my favorites. Amazon described their music "Balearic-dub-disco" which seems apt, I guess...I'll confess I didn't really know what the hell "Balearic" music was...wikipedia defines it as:

Balearic Beat or Balearic House is an eclectic blend of DJed dance music that originally emerged in the mid-1980s.^[1][2] It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance music that was popular into the mid-1990s. Balearic Beat was named for its popularity among European nightclub and beach rave patrons on the Balearic island of Ibiza, a popular tourist destination. Some dance music compilations referred to it as "the sound of Ibiza," even though many other, more aggressive and upbeat forms of dance music could be heard on the island.....

So for a follow-up to Yearbook 1, Studio on Yearbook 2 made the bold choice of remixing other artists like A Mountain of One, the Shout Out Louds and Kylie Minogue. That sounds like an awful concept on paper, but it remains supremely listenable.

A Mountain of One -- Brown Piano (Studio remix)

Brown Piano

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Phantom Planet (Revisited)

I've got this feeling that the recent Phantom Planet album Raise the Dead isn't gonna get any love from the blogosphere or mainstream rock press, which is a shame. I posted "Dropped" about a month ago. My current favorite is "Too Much Too Often." Los Angeles has so many shitty emo/pop/glam rock bands--the Phantom Planet isn't one of them. They deserve to be known as more than just the band that actor, Jason Schwartzman, used to be in. This song is one of the best songs I've heard this year so far (can you believe 2008 is half-over?!?)

Phantom Planet -- Too Much too Often

Too Much Too Often

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Michelob Ultra presents the Kooks

Ya know how I got those advertising banners occasionally on my blog. Well, believe it or not, I haven't received one penny. So this is my shameless ploy of currying favor with the fine folks at Michelob.

I got introduced to the Kooks via a Michelob Ultra television commercial. What a world we live in where better music can found on tv commercials and Gossip Girl than on fm radio. In truth, the commercial is pretty lame-0 (the concept: urban fitness-oriented yuppies running through the city in search of full flavored and low carb Michelob Ultra) but the Kooks provide a pretty nice jingle.

The Kooks -- Shine On

Shine On

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She & Him -- Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

A couple of friends of mine had urged me to post some Lil Wayne, but truth be told due to excessive whiteness or a slight aversion of the overhyping of hip hop albums I'm not quite feeling The Carter III, yet anyways. Speaking of hype, the blogosphere had been talking up She & Him quite a bit. For the uninitiated, She being actress Zooey Deschanel (remember she was Will Ferrell's love interest in Elf??) and He being indie rock guitarist, M. Ward, have come together to make a pretty mediocre album. I'll be totally honest--most of this album is pretty damn cloying and way short of actual good songs--BUT "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" is the exception. This song is classic; I just wish the rest of the album sounded this good.

She & Him -- Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

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The Checkmates, Ltd.

I don't know a heck of a lot about the Checkmates Ltd, but their latin rhythms and doo-wop vocal stylings on "Got to See 'U' soon" still sounds pretty damn fresh after 34 years.

The Checkmates -- Got to see U Soon

Got to see "U" Soon

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Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man

If you, faithful blog reader, recall, I had a Supergrass post a month or so ago. After what seems like a long delay, the album is finally available on iTunes and Amazon. The title track "Diamond Hoo Ha Man" has been floating in cyberspace for awhile now. I'm at a loss for explaining why I like this tune except to say Supergrass continues to be a reliable source of britpop and glam-rock tunes over the past 15 years. Supergrass is so underappreciated stateside that I'm actually glad that they have a greatest hits album.

Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man

Diamond Hoo Ha Man

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The Stills New Album comes out....in August (so be patient)

Back in 2005-6, a slew of good-to-excellent bands came out of Montreal--Arcade Fire, The Dears, Stars and, lastly, the Stills. Their debut, Logic Will Break Your Heart, was well received and sold relatively well despite zero radio exposure, but the band didn't blow up the way Arcade Fire did. The verdict on their follow-up, Without Feathers, was mixed, but I really loved that album (the drummer proved himself to be a more than capable pianist). Their new album, Oceans Will Rise (oh yeah? says who, Al Gore?? (yes)), is set to be released on August 8. My initial impression of "Being Here" was slightly negative but the song has grown on me. This band deserves a larger audience.

The Stills -- Being Here

Being Here

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Teitur -- Catherine the Waitress

Catherine the Waitress

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Teitur

Hailing from the remote Faroe Islands of Denmark (pictured above), Teitur sounds like a combination of Sondre Lerche's vocals and Aloha's vibes. Maybe these reference points are a lil' obscure, but that's what he sounds like to these ears on "Catherine the Waitress." For the most part, Teitur relies on spare production, his voice and the aforementioned xylophone. From what I've heard on The Singer, "Catherine the Waitress" is by far the most accessible tune on the album.

Quicksilver Messenger Service (my Bo Diddley tribute post)

I'll admit it. I don't much (diddley) about Bo Diddley, except that he was one of the fathers of rock 'n roll, he made his own guitar and that he just died yesterday. "Who Do You Love" was one of his best known tunes, and Quicksilver's first album is almost entirely dedicated to the song. Interesting choice for a debut album by one of the best San Francisco bands of the late 1960's and a wise one--"Who Do You Love" provides an incredible jumping off point for guitarists, John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, to transform Diddley's tune into one of the defining moments of the San Francisco-psychedelic era of the late '60's. Quicksilver never followed this album up with anything nearly as significant.

Quicksilver Messenger Service -- Who Do You Love

Who Do You Love

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Quicksilver Messenger Service -- Where Do You Love

Where do you love

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Quicksilver Messenger Service -- How Do You Love

How Do You Love

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All Things Must Pass (R.I.P. Bo Diddley)

Without question, the best solo album by any of the Beatles is All Things Must Pass, and there's couple of good reasons why. For one thing, his songwriting was almost as good as McCartney and Lennon, but with that kind of talent there wasn't nearly enough space to allow Harrison any more than a couple of songs per record so he was sitting on backlog of strong material (All Things spreads out over 3 LP's). For another, Clapton and his proto-Dominoes are the backing band, and they rip shit up. And lastly, Harrison definitely had something to prove on this album (this was the first post-Beatles album to be released). "Out of the Blue" is one of the extended jams that appears on the final side of the album, and for anyone who needed further evidence of how rock-solid the Dominoes were in the early 1970's this proves it. For anyone expecting a post on Bo Diddley, sorry for the confusion, I got one coming (sort of).

George Harrison -- Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue

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Weezer -- Song Title = Dick Joke

Guess what, "Pork and Beans" the new Weezer single doesn't suck. I was surprised. I was pretty sure front man, Rivers Cuomo, had jumped the shark about 6 years ago when he dueted with Kermit. But, maybe, I'm being a lil' harsh but I'm probably not the only one who's lost interest in Weezer since the Green Album. But I'm digging "Pork and Beans." 'Nuff said, check it out.

Weezer -- Pork and Beans

Pork and Beans

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