Fiona Apple, "Red Red Red"
After listening to the Jon Brion version of Extraordinary Machine over & over, I was at first pretty wary of the Mike Elizondo production on the released version of the album. But after listening to it a number of times, I think it's even better than the Brion version: more nuanced, and less of a samey feel between the tracks.
The released version of "Red Red Red", in particular, sounds completely different from the earlier version. Where the latter was angry, this is resigned. Both versions are fantastic and work well together, but I think I prefer the released version. Or so I'm saying, today. [1]
The Clientele, "Since K Got Over Me"
I wish I'd listened/read more carefully when I first read about The Clientele 5 years ago on Freaky Trigger (in this review). I guess I'm just stubborn, really. It finally took a random visit to MySpace yesterday morning [2], where I clicked through to the Music section of the site, and happened to see a promotion for the new Clientele album at the bottom.
Anyway, this is wonderful, wonderful stuff, and it's off of their new album Strange Geometry. Reminds me a lot of my beloved Go-Betweens & their 60s-inspired jangle pop, but with a much more atmospheric/airy touch. So good!
Listen to "Since K Got Over Me" (and a bunch of other Clientele songs). Or, a direct link to the MP3, if you prefer.
Hey Willpower, "Uh-Uh-Uh"
I just read about Hey Willpower last week on Fluxblog. And then, after loving "Hundredaire," I started reading more, and realized that I had actually seen Hey Willpower open for the Scissor Sisters back in January of this year. This is the only song I remember from their set, but I distinctly remember at the time being, like, WTF is this? [3]
But now, after hearing them again, and buying the EP, I just love these songs. They remind me of a cross between Justin Timberlake, Phoenix, and Scritti Politti, and that just == brilliance.
[1] Matthew from Fluxblog has a great review here, along with an MP3 of "Red Red Red".
[2] Like, seriously random. I think this is the first time I've gone to MySpace in months, and the reason I went was to check out a track from the new Darkness album.
[3] The show was at the Warfield, and we were up in the seated area, and so we couldn't see the stage incredibly close-up or anything. So we could just see some people in shiny clothes dancing about onstage to a weirdly sexual pop song (some photos here). And seeing a band when you don't know their songs beforehand is always a bit odd, even if the songs are, admittedly, crazily catchy—but this was more odd than usual.
Comments