My 8/06 Playlist: Some Perfectly Charming Songs
Many Released Recently (But Not All); Suitable for Afternoon Listening or During Transport in Flat Territory; May Be Used To Lull Baby or Small Animal to Sleep; Avoid If Allergic to La La La-ing, or Love Songs That Whisper in Your Ear; Do Not Re-Distribute
1. "I Me You I'm Your" Jim Noir Tower Of Love
2005 debut album by Manchester-born Noir, who plays all the instruments on the CD and often wears a bowler hat. Infectious pop psychedelia with dreamy double-tracked vocals and slow, slow fade out.
2. "Rise Up With Fists!!!" Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat
("You can't change things/We're all stuck in our ways") Single from Rilo Kiley lead singer (and former child star) Jenny Lewis, featuring backup vocals by Chandra and Leigh Watson, identical twins who released a CD of their own, Southern Manners
this year--both CDs released by Conor Oberst's Team Love label. The video for this lovely Memphis Sound pastiche lampoons "Hee Haw" and features a cameo by Sara Silverman.
3."Isolation" Matthew Sweet Girlfriend
Cover of John Lennon song from the rare "Good Friend" CD which accompanies the recent reissue of Sweet's 1991 indie classic.
4. "The Simple Story" Feist with Jane Birkin Open Season (Remixes And Collabs)
'60s chanteuse Birkin duets with Canadian Leslie Feist. From a collection of Feist collaborations and remixes of songs from her much-acclaimed 2004 Let It Die.
5. "Ever Fallen in Love" Nouvelle Vague Band A Part
From their second album of bossa nova-ish covers of new wave songs. First recorded by Manchester UK's The Buzzcocks in 1978 and a later hit for the Fine Young Cannibals.
6. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" Camera Obscura Let's Get Out of This Country
Glasgow, Scotland band's first single from their third album (released this year) refers to Lloyd Cole's 1984 hit "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?"
7. "Oceanside" The Decemberists 5 Songs
From 2001 debut release by Portland, Oregon band, whose name alludes to the Russian Decembrist Revolt. (Note: CD actually has 6 songs, not 5.)
8. "Nearer Than Heaven" Delays Faded Seaside Glamour
Southampton, UK band's 2004 singles features astonishing vocal by Greg Gilbert. ("You are nearer than heaven/I get the feeling I get nearer by the day/I've seen the people go forever descending/It's when we're all inside/That summer's on the Way")
9. "Poor Side Of Town" Eels Eels with Strings: Live At Town Hall
From a 2005 live performance at New York's Town Hall. Mark Oliver Everett covers the 1966 Johnny Rivers #1 hit. (Unfortunately not included on the DVD recording of the concert, though the DVD includes songs not on the CD.)
10. "Everyday Is A Holiday (With You)" Esthero (featuring Sean Lennon) Wikked Lil' Grrrls
From her second album (released in 2005, seven years after her acclaimed debut) Canadian Esthero (born Jen-Bea Englishman) co-wrote this with Sean Lennon. First released on the soundtrack to 2003's "Down With Love" (but not used in the film.) Beautiful orchestration and delicious multi-tracked vocals.
11. "Please Please Please" Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine
("I'm so tired of crying/You'd think I was a siren!") You may have heard that Sony shelved her third album for three years ("Give us something familiar/Something similar/To what we know already") and that it went on to chart higher than her previous two. And that it went Gold* even though early versions had been leaked on the internet for two years? (Explain that RIAA!) "My method is uncertain/It's a mess, but it is working!" Ha! But did you know that Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is obsessively afraid of insects and won't perform outdoors? That she reveres Peter Falk and Columbo? Note use of theremin late in song. *Admittedly it didn't go 3X Platinum like her first--but that one was hyped with unproblematic fervor.
12. "Mon Ami la Rose" Françoise Hardy The Vogue Years
"Ou bien si peu de chose/C'est mon amie la rose/Qui l'a dit hier matin" A classic.
13. "I Never Knew You From The Sun" The Innocence Mission Befriended
14. "G.P.T." Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright
Daughter of Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, and sister to Rufus Wainwright.
15. "GLADD" Nellie McKay Pretty Little Head
From her unreleased CD.
16. "Everybody is a Star" The Pastels The Last Great Wilderness
The British press coined the phrase "shambling" to refer to bands like The Pastels.
17. "Fortress" Pinback Summer In Abandon
18. "Summerland" Sugarplum Fairies Country International Records
19. "Good Hearted Man" Tift Merritt Tambourine
Any country song that mentions subway trains is less provincial than usual so it's no surprise that Merritt is from Chapel Hill, NC. (Hey I used to live there!)
20. "Here Before" Vashti Bunyan Lookaftering
("Once I had a child/he was wilder than moonlight/he could do it all/like he'd been here before") A direct descendant of author John Bunyan, London-born Vashti has only released two albums. The first, 1970's Just Another Diamond Day had poor sales and a critical reception so mean-spirited that she retreated to the country to raise her children and didn't return to music until 35 years later, inspired by her recent devotees Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom to release 2005's Lookaftering. Instruments/sounds heard on this song: guitar, glockenspiel, backwards glock, wine glasses, harmonium. A lovely two minute lullaby.
