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McAlmont & Butler

Speaking of Duffy, Bernard Butler produced a couple of the songs on her album Rockferry. Not only that, but David McAlmont provided backing vocals on two of the songs.

This pleases me greatly, as one of my favorite albums from the 1990s is the album Butler and McAlmont made together, The Sound of McAlmont & Butler. A couple of months ago I was inspired to dig it out of a box and rip it, and I've been listening to it obsessively ever since.

While the two of them created some incredible music separately (Butler in Suede, and McAlmont both solo and with Saul Freeman as Thieves, whose "Unworthy" is one of my favorite songs of all time), I like them best together, where they created two of the best pop songs of the 90s: "Yes" and "You Do".

Here's "Yes" in all its soulful, operatic glory:

Duffy's "Warwick Avenue"

My favorite video of the moment? Duffy's "Warwick Avenue", which is one of the most gorgeous and intimate videos I've seen in a long time. And, of course, the song is lovely as well.

(And if those tears aren't real, she should be an actress.)

You, sir, are no Prince.

I love Lil' Wayne, but, well, this is kind of ridiculous:

But I guess everyone has to start somewhere! (Via Idolator.)

Dirty Projectors: Rise Above

Out of laziness, I missed the Dirty Projectors show last week in San Francisco. I'm pretty disappointed, because I'm sure I missed an amazing show, and Rise Above--their most recent album--is one of my current favorites.

If you're not familiar with the concept of Rise Above, here's how I described it around eight months ago:

[it's] a reinterpretation of Black Flag's Damaged, made without listening to the original album, recorded on a four-track that Dave Longstreth picked up mid-inspiration at the local music shop (apparently), but with merely a 25-year-old memory of said album and its songs & lyrics ...

I love this because--yes, taking the story with a grain of salt--Rise Above is what Damaged sounds like inside of Dave Longstreth's head! This is how his twenty-five-year-old memory of the album has evolved, and that's pretty neat. Frankly, it sounds better than Black Flag ever did, to me, and probably a lot worse to people who grew up listening to Black Flag.

The best thing about Rise Above--and what makes it all work--is the sense of urgency in Longstreth's voice; "Police Story" may start with Getty Address-style strings, but then he wails:

This fucking city
is run by pigs!
They take away the rights
from all the kids.

As a reference point, Longsteth's take on punk sounds very much like early Scritti Politti: scratchy, nervous guitars combined with a mix of anxious yelps and R&B crooning.

And, perhaps despite itself, some moments of really intense beauty. The album closes with "Rise Above", one of the most conventionally pretty songs the Dirty Projectors have ever recorded, and a gorgeous end to a truly brilliant album.

Pop in 2008

2008 started with a glut of indie pop, for me: Magnetic Fields, Raveonettes, Nicole Atkins, Vampire Weekend. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But, well, it all started to feel like I was in a bit of a rut.

Which is why I'm so happy that the last month or so has brought some real honest-to-goodness pop and R&B: Duffy's "Mercy" and Estelle's "American Boy"; new Usher, new Erykah Badu, new Lil Wayne; a rediscovery of Girls Aloud's "Can't Speak French"; and perhaps most unexpected, an incredible track from Mariah Carey!

It's a good year.

Dignity, thy name is Rick Astley

I love Rick Astley even more after reading his thoughts on Rickrolling in this LA Times interview.

“Listen, I just think it’s bizarre and funny. My main consideration is that my daughter doesn’t get embarrassed about it.”

The thing is, I actually really enjoy "Never Gonna Give You Up", and honestly, I'd rather watch its video than most of the things people link to on the web. So there.

"... A new sheriff in town, in the world of hair" [1]

Okay, so American Idol tonight? The contestants can choose from any song in the 2000s—and what do these connoisseurs of fine modern pop choose? Creed, Tim McGraw, & a boring Beyoncé song. [2]

Now, so: I understand there are licensing issues, &c.

But seriously, what the fuck?

So, dear future—or current—Idol contestants, should this particular challenge week ever again rear its ugly head, here are some suggestions [3].

Annie, “Chewing Gum” (Listen)

(Or the Hey Willpower + Annie version thereof.) Perhaps not a particularly tough vocal, but still a nice combination of a sort of charm & sexuality. Kellie, perhaps, but it may be too far out of her country comfort zone.

Backstreet Boys, “Shape of my Heart” (Listen)

So, I know that Backstreet Boys specifically—& boy pop in general—aren’t exactly in vogue, but seriously: this is brilliant pop music, and I’d expect someone like Ace to be able to pull this off, synchronized camera pouts & all.

Eamon, “Fuck It” (Listen)

Now this: I could see Elliot just eating this up. It’s a novelty song, sure, but it’s got that wannabe-Stevie-but-angry-&-nasty thing going on.

Girls Aloud, “Biology” [4] (Listen)

It’s not a competition without Girls Aloud! Honestly, I don’t know who could do this justice. Maybe it’d have to be a group thing, like those strange group performances they do from time to time.

Jamie Lidell, “When I Come Back Around”

Taylor, I’m looking at you, you symbol of prematurely gray neo-soul! Plus, miming the keyboard solo would win anyone total points in my book.

Ms. Dynamite, “Dy-Na-Mi-Tee” (Listen)

Paris!

She’s my favorite, and while some of these picks are motivated by a sort of morbid curiosity, I would really, really like to hear Paris sing this.

Scissor Sisters, “Return to Oz” (Listen)

Now, this just might have the right sense of melodrama & bombast to win the crowd ever. If someone like Chris Daughtry were to sing it, it might elevate him from the sub-Stone Temple Pilots rut he’s got himself into now.

Will Young, “Leave Right Now”

Perhaps a bit of an obvious pick, considering his start in the pop business, but this is a top pop song.

& there’s so much more! Justin Timberlake; Shakira; Hey Willpower; Gwen Stefani; Robbie Williams; &c.

And I’ll just say this: if any contestant were to ever sing a chapter of R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet”, he/she would be my favorite vote forever, and I would probably be compelled to write some silly application that would vote a million times for that contestant. Or something.

[1] “But who wants to shoot the sheriff?” Oh, Blow Out.

[2] The only inspired choice was Katherine’s choice of Christina Aguilera’s “The Voice Within,” which was just okay in terms of her performance, but it’s hard to ruin that song.

[3] Though if last’s season’s butchering of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘em Up Style (Oops)” is any indication, the idols-in-training aren’t exactly stellar w/ good pop songs, either.

[4] Well, really, part of the reason I included this song is just so I had an excuse to listen to it, again.

“... in honor of the void.”

I’ve discovered, after a difficult period of mostly fruitless analysis [1], that when I love a song’s lyrics, I love those lyrics for two very particular reasons:

1. because they use Proper Nouns;

2. because they use dialogue in an interesting way.

(&, well, also, because they’re funny.)

To wit: [2]

A Dangerous Woman Up To A Point once said —
“I’ve never read ‘so-and-so’ so why mention him here, in this square
where culprits axe me, my dear.
Tried to enjoy myself at the Society Ball, really I did.
Froze on Union Street, it was springtime, I was just a kid lost in a map
of the stars others called ‘your eyes.’
It was a trap!
It was a good time!
It was a hard to realize! ...

This is from Destroyer’s “A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point,” from Destroyer’s Rubies, which album is quickly becoming my favorite of 2006, by the way. [3] There are so many fucking brilliant sounds & words on this album, & it just gets better for me every time I listen.

Listen to “A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point”.

[1] Read, sitting around on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, quite happily lazy.

[2] See also: the Fiery Furnaces.

[3] Prior to the release—but after the inevitable leaks—I wrote about “Rubies” (i.e., the song, not the album).

I've got so much to say ("tell us about it Green")

• SO disappointed! I feel as if I've wasted so many hours, now, for it all to have come down to Chloe. I would've been happy with either Santino or Daniel (as strange & bitchy as Daniel got towards the end of the show, I still liked him), but Chloe? I have nothing more to say.


• But through the despair... a ray of hope, coming March 21. How can they possibly follow up the amazing Season 2? Who will be this season's Scott/Brandon-level villain? How will Jonathan adjust to domestic life & parenthood? Are Jonathan and Sescie married yet? [1] Is Jonathan still in therapy? So many questions!


• God, I fucking love Front Row. I love it most for its music-playing abilities, while hooked up to a television, & the way it shows off the album covers. I've been playing a playlist from a party a couple of months ago, & watching the beautiful album covers come across the screen is just mesmerizing.


• I finally bought Scritti Politti's Provision—the only Scritti album I didn't yet have—and am loving "Overnite". I can't get enough of Green Gartside ballads!

[1] The other night, Mena, who didn't watch Season 2, asked something about Jonathan's girlfriend, and both Krissy & I were like, "Sescie!" I didn't know whether to feel proud or dismayed that I've used up part of my memory for that knowledge.

But I settled on proud!

Airplane shuffle!

Few things are as enjoyable as a long plane ride with an iPod on Shuffle mode. [1] Here's some of what I heard during my flight yesterday.

The Go-Betweens, "Clouds" (from 16 Lovers Lane)

This is the version from 16 Lovers Lane, but last weekend I bought the new Go-Betweens live DVD/CD, That Striped Sunlight Sound, and I actually watched the DVD. I don't generally watch concert performances, because I don't find them all that interesting to watch from home. But this show is just so amazing, & warm, & fun, that I watched it, and loved it.

The Fiery Furnaces, "Black-hearted Boy" (from Bitter Tea)

Now that almost all of Bitter Tea has leaked, I'm just even more excited than ever about the new album. This is a fairly typical song from what I've heard of the album—quite poppy, but still with some crazy keyboard action. And backwards-singing.

Guns 'n' Roses, "Mr. Brownstone" (from Appetite for Destruction)

Listening to this all I can think of is just how much the Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists sounds like Guns 'n' Roses. It's really quite amazing: it's the exact same guitar sound, which I suppose is exactly what the Manics were going for.

Busted, "Thunderbirds" (from Thunderbirds / 3AM)

I can't easily explain why I like Busted. Under many other circumstances, I just really can't stand their brand of aggressively sterile post-punk. But this song is just so fun!

Kelley Stoltz, "Ever Thought of Coming Back" (from Below the Branches)

I love this song. Love love love it, & in all of its Beach Boys-sounding self. [2]

Clay Aiken, "Solitaire" (from The Way / Solitaire)

Oh dear, oh dear. I've written about this before, I'm quite ashamed to say. And I still love it. [3]

Celebration, "Diamonds" (from Celebration)

Celebration sounds like a scary carnival ride, with howling, and wild animals, and creepy keyboard-playing carnies, and drunks lurching towards you out of shadows.

But in a good way!

Dusty Springfield, "Breakfast in Bed" (from Dusty in Memphis)

I think this may be one of my favorite songs of all time. "She's hurt you again, I can tell—oh, I know that look so well."—you can almost hear a sly grin on Dusty's face.

[1] Not to mention that plane flights just make me so productive—in part, it's the fact that I have my computer, but I don't have a network connection, so I can actually get things done without getting swamped and/or overwhelmed with incoming email.

[2] And, since I now appreciate Pet Sounds, I'm equipped to make that judgment.

[3] BTW, I am just so fucking sad that Bobby Bennett was voted out this week! His "Copacabana" made me so happy. He was just so awesome.