Poe. Her music is a bit of rock, some electronic elements, and, especially with the second album, a bit of spookyness thrown into the mix.
Angry Johnny was the first song from Poe that caught my ears. It's a good song with an obvious gimmick. The lyrics talk about wanting to kill a guy named Johnny. The gimmick comes in when she says, "i wanna blow you" then pauses before saying "away." The obvious blowjob implication, followed by lyrics explaining where and how she wants to do it, make the whole song an elaborate sexual implication without going too far and making it corny.
Hello would have to be favorite song off of the first album. It references the internet and "cyberspace" as well as a hacker group named MOD (Masters of Deception.)
Her second album, Haunted, was released in conjunction with her brother Mark Z. Danielewski's book House of Leaves. There is a remix of the song Hey Pretty has just the chorus of the original song with the main content being a passage read from House of Leaves; the most memorable section for me being:
Pinch it, she said, which i did, lightly, until she also said pull it,
Which i also did, gently parting the teeth, one at a time, down under
And beneath, the longest unzipping of my life..
Control is another awesome song off of the second album. It talks about slowly taking control from and gaining power over someone who's exerted control over you.
Take a listen and tell me what you think. If you're already a Poe fan, what's your favorite song(s)?
Here's a one-hit-wonder for your wonderful snow-filled Saturday. This is Frente doing a cover of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order. I remember this being popular in the US for a while in the mid 90s, but never heard anything else of her/them. I think Frente may have been more popular and not a "one-hit-wonder" in Australia and/or other countries. Hope you enjoy this musical moment. Who's your favorite one-hit-wonder from any era?
Heathers is an acoustic indie folk duo from Dublin Ireland. They started making music in 2007 and have since released one album and had a few songs in commercials and movies. As far as I know they haven't had any air play in the US. Hopefully that changes soon. I discovered a couple of their songs a while ago on youtube and listen to them almost every day. Have a listen to these songs and tell me what you think.
That Dog was a quirky punk/alternative band that started in 1994. The first song I heard of theres was a weird song called Old Timer ( <- Bevis and Butthead version). This song seems to be mocking an old man taking advantage of the senior special at a buffet. The harmony of their voices is what makes the song unique and pleasant though.
The second song I heard of theirs, and, from what I can tell, the only one to make it onto any radio airplay charts, was from their third and final album named Retreat from the Sun. The song is named Never Say Never. The lyrics aren't anything special. They seem to be implying a devotion to some guy. The song is a lot more pop sounding than their earlier song(s). It doesn't hurt that the lead singer, Anna Waronker, looked quite hot. Give these two songs a listen and tell me what you think. If you like them, search out some other That Dog songs on youtube. There seem to be a few other good ones, but I hadn't heard anything of them until recently. It also seems Anna Waronker has a solo album out, though, from the few seconds of it I've listened to, it seems a bit Adult Contemporary for my tastes.
Lets step back into this millennium for a moment and take a look at a perpetually up-and-coming group of hip-hop violinists known as Nuttin' But Stringz. They blend amazing violin playing with just the right amount of melody and rhythm to keep you bobbing your head and feeling classy all at once.
I first heard Nuttin' But Stringz while watching an episode of the kids show Jacks Big Music Show. NBS performed their song Thunder and I was amazed that I was hearing something so interesting from a kids show. I didn't hear or see anything about them again until they appeared on Americas Got Talent a couple of years ago. They should have easily won the show, but America seemed to want an American version of Paul Potts from Britain's Got Talent. Take a listen below and tell me what you think.
Shorter post today. Perhaps I'll make weekends one-hit-wonder days.
The Caulfields - Devils Diary
This song stuck with me back in the mid 90s. I wasn't ever able to find their cd in a store and never heard of them again. The song talks from the perspective of the devil. He's no longer satisfied with the girls who have already lost their souls and has become infatuated with a more wholesome girl. He wishes that she'd fall in love with him and choose him over Jesus. It's probably especially catchy with those who can sympathize with rebelling against the attitude of "holier than thou."
Belly was an awesome early 90s 'alternative' band. They were headed by lead singer and guitar player Tanya Donelly and they had a few other people I never cared to remember the names of. I first heard of Belly when I heard their song Feed the Tree, from their first album 'Star', on the radio. It caught my attention because it was composed of mostly nonsensical lyrics that seemed like they should mean something. Maybe they did/do, but I can't figure it out. Maybe one of you can figure it out:
This little squirrel I used to be
Slammed her bike down the stairs
They put silver where her teeth had been
Baby silver tooth, she grins and grins.
Two other notable songs from that album were Gepetto and Full Moon Empty Heart. The lyrics for Gepetto are a bit less gibberish, but not much meaning still. They talk about a boy from a bad home coming over and decapitating her dolls, and if you bore him you lose your sole to him. At least I can think of some ideas of what this might mean, as dirty/disturbing as they may be... I'm not even going to look up the lyrics for Full Moon Empty Heart. I only mention it because I remember it being featured in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets (Watch this, awesome clip, unrelated to the music.) They used the buildup at the beginning of the song as a buildup to a raid on a house. At the time it seemed perfect, and I was probably a bit suprised to hear an old, non-single, belly song on a current tv show.
Belly's second album, King, was actually the first album of theirs I purchased. Ok, I didn't purchase it. I got "12 cds for one penny" from columbia house and never purchased my 6 full priced ones. The whole album is good. One memorable song was the single Super Connected. Here's a lyrics snippit:
So You're Super-connected now?
All the freaks gather around,
and the crowd in your bedroom waits,
for a piece of your personal space.
Are their heartstrings connected
to the wings you've got slapped on your back?
I doubt the lyrics are meant to be interpreted in the way I have interpreted them, but my thoughts were that she was describing a girl on IRC or IM late at night with random people who (truthfully or not) seemed to be infatuated with her. All the freaks gathering around her, crowded (virtually) in her bedroom, trying to get a piece of her personal space. Were they really only infatuated with the girl they imagined her to be?
Anyway, after King, Tanya Donelly broke up the band. She was the band after all. No one cared about those other people, whomever they were (though the female guitarist did join L7 which weren't too bad.) She's released a few solo albums since then. The only one I've listened to is her first one, Lovesongs for Underdogs. Most of the songs are good, but the album is full of gibberish lyrics, par for the course. Pretty Deep was the first single with video to come out. It wasn't bad. Had some gibberish about a camera and a dead body on the beach that was only a tire. Manna, though is a very good song. It's mellow, yet builds up into a calm excitement.
To conclude, Belly and Tanya Donelly's music is mostly a light, happy listen, with a few really good songs. Give these two songs below a listen and, if you have time, check out the ones linked above.
Portishead is mellow, depressing, sometimes creepy, and always awesome. I heard their song Sour Times on the radio quite a few years ago and it was catchy. When I say catchy I mean it makes you think of killing yourself yet is still enjoyable. There's nothing better at boosting morale than singing "nobody loves me" over and over in the saddest voice possible, but that is why Portishead is awesome. All of the songs have emotion and feeling behind them that you can feel in the singing and words. Their song All Mine from their 2nd album is one of my favorites. It starts out being happy and in love (though still depressing) and devolves into creepy stalker mode towards the end, yet keeps a level of class that makes you want to feel the same way about someone.
Bjork is awesome. I like most of her older stuff. I became a fan when I first heard her song Isobel on the radio around 1994 I think. Isobel is from her second album, named Post. If you've heard anything of Bjork, you've probably heard her song It's Oh So Quiet, from the same album. It's video ran on MTV quite often when it came out. Obviously this is old music if I'm talking about actual music videos running on MTV.
After finding the song Isobel and her 2nd album, I went back and listened to her first album, Debut, and realized I'd heard her song Human Behavior from her first album on the radio before. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me as did the rest of the album.
After Post, Bjork released a remix album named Telegram. I think I've listened to this album the most out of any of her albums. Telegram is composed of remixes and b-sides from her album Post. Without trying to figure out the specific types of music they are remixed into, I'd have to say the best description is 'noise.' It may sound like noise at first, but if you give it a chance, most of the remixes are quite well developed and very nice to listen to.
Her next album, Homogenic, was ok. I liked Joga and a few of the other songs were ok, but this is pretty much where I stopped following Bjork. She hasn't released anything since this that I've really cared to listen to. Maybe I've grown out of it. I still come back to her songs now and again though, especially Isobel and anything on Telegram.
Here are a couple videos I've picked as favorites:
Cibo Matto; I discovered them from watching some tv show on comedy central back in 97, 'Viva Variety' I believe. They were performing the song 'Birthday Cake' from their album 'Viva! La Woman'. Cute girls singing barely coherent lyrics about a birthday was just so kooky that it stuck with me. I noticed that all of the song titles on their first album referred to food. I didn't realize until recently that 'Cibo Matto' means 'crazy food' in Italian. Very fun.
Their second album, 'Stereo * Type A' is a bit less food based and a bit more trippy in parts. 'SciFi Wasabi' is awesome as is 'Sunday Part I'.
I found the video of the live performance I saw back in 97. Have a watch:
Welcome to my varied and strange musical tastes. This blog will be dedicated to anything I have or will find pleasant musically. My tastes range from 90s "college radio" to dubstep and most things in between. Come back often to find something you haven't heard before or remember something you have.
