Ben Gibbard - "To Sing For You" (live)
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - "Honey Hush" (live)
That's two very eclectic live covers back-to-back. Gibbard is, of course, the very talented singer-songwriter of Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service. But this is a Donovan song that led off a solo set recorded at the 9:30 Club in D.C. (I think I downloaded it from NPR...jeez, sometimes I feel like I'm straight from central casting: Thirtysomething, corduroy blazer-wearing Brooklyn dad anyone...) The interesting thing is this song highlights how good a songwriter Donovan is. I know what you're thinking, and yes "Mellow Yellow" is a stupid song. But do yourself a favor and take a listen to "Season of the Witch." (Unfortunately I only have the Luna cover on me right now, but you can still get the idea.) Great tune. Meanwhile, Elvis (another remarkable singer-songwriter) shows his appreciation of American roots music knows no bounds with this cover of a 1953 Big Joe Turner song. "The title of the song reveals Turner's typical attitude toward a woman who won't do what he tells her to do," writes everybody's best fact-checking pal Wikipedia. Nice.
Wilco - "More Like the Moon"
Franz Ferdinand - "Auf Achse"
KT Tunstall - "Silent Sea"
XTC - "Roads Girdle the Globe"
Johnny Cash - "Flesh & Blood"
The Replacements - "We'll Inherit The Earth"
Sounds like it's time for a classic tale: When Great Artists Go Bad. Now I'm not talking about a whiny statement like, "Arcade Fire's Neon Bible is not as good as Funeral." Or even, "How can the Pavement of Slanted & Enchanted fame tumble to Terror Twilight?" This is the same motherfucking Replacements that recorded Let It Be! Could the band that farted out the weak, toothless Don't Tell A Soul really be one and the same. Sadly, yes. Even more sadly, Paul Westerberg's farts are still music to my ears.
Tapes 'n Tapes - "Omaha"
Miles Davis - "Flamenco Sketches"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 46
Song with the most previous plays: "Omaha" - 8
As you can see, I've decided to name each post after the song with the most previous plays. I'm not sure I love this idea yet, but we'll see how it plays out. Also, that's 2 days in a row that a Tapes 'n Tapes song was the SWTMPP. That's proof positive that I like their debut album The Loon. (Definitely a sort of Pixies, Pavement, Talking Heads rip-off. But, those are some nice bands to rip off, no?) Anxious to hear the follow-up which I think comes out soon. (Yup, just checked it's April 8.)
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Not really a factoid, but I would like to take a moment to sing the praises of my coffee cart guy. In my life I've never had a "usual" order. In other words, I've never been able to go to a bar plop myself down Cheers-style and be given my drink of choice. It's really my fault, I usually don't order the same drink every time. (Although if it's liquor I'm craving it will probably be a Jamesons on the rocks. But most often I go for a beer, and I'm always looking to try new beers.) Plus, I don't really frequent the same bar. (Sadly, I don't have a great neighborhood bar where I live now. At least not one that's right nearby that I reliably visit.) But, coffee cart guy gives me the satisfaction of being able to walk up to him, say absolutely nothing and be handed my order. (Medium coffee, milk, no sugar, FYI.) He's pretty much been able to do this since the second time I visited the cart. Brilliant. Plus, he looks a lot like retired NY Mets pitcher John Franco. Here, see for yourself:
Actually, it's tough to tell in this picture. But take my word for it, he's a splitting image of Franco (but with better command of the strike zone).
3 comments:
The Mats certainly plummeted after Pleased To Meet Me. I was a big fan back in the day, but I sold off Don't Tell A Soul and All Shook Down years ago and barely miss either one.
I have to admit, Pete, I do enjoy All Shook Down. I think the difference between that album and Don't Tell A Soul is that ASD is basically a Westerberg solo record. It doesn't pretend to be a 'Mats-style rock & roll record the way that (I think) Don't Tell A Soul does. If you close your eyes and pretend it's Westerberg's first solo record it starts to sound a whole lot better.
I've always thought of All Shook Down as his first solo record. (If I recall correctly, there's only one song on the album with the full band lineup - so it was mostly Paul playing everything, or bringing in hired guns. Solo, in other words.) But calling that his first solo is hardly a compliment, given the hit-and-mostly-miss quality of post-Mats career.
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