Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Bloody Hands That Hold Drumsticks

Been listening to this song repeatedly (my recent introduction to Two Gallants), happy to be at a place in my life and marriage where we have time alone to stay up all night and listen to songs repeatedly without disturbing each other.

Watching this live performance of it made me recognize how much of what I love is the THE PERCUSSION. And watching two people who've been friends and playing together for so long, working together on a stage is potent. I hope they come to Seattle soon.



I love drummers, and love the layers of noisy heart-wrenching magic this duo creates. I like the faster tempo of the live version, which is more bitterly resentful-sounding, but disguises some of the emo drama of the studio version (not that I want that disguised, but it's an interesting effect).

Looking forward to beating myself up with all of the rest of their music.

Friday, December 20, 2013

December Moonday

A drive over salt waters and winding roads on one of the darkest Monday evenings of the year. Perfect amounts of fog with a cold ghostly moon rising in the grainy dark grey five o'clock sky. Heading to my boyfriend and his wife's isolated RV home to pick him up and take him to our house. Later to be joined by her for hours upon hours of hazy-yet-intense flame-lit fucking.

Most of this is stuff I heard on KEXP while I was alone in the car driving along with the moon and thin swaths of fog, but a few songs were actually playing during the "action". Not "Western" music . . . but it all kind of is:


1. Palma Violets - STEP UP FOR THE COOL CATS

Breaking free from long chains of headlights and brake lights, heading for hairpin turns and FUN LOVE!


2. Futurebirds - TAN LINES:

The title and surf sound somehow made the fog and cold and moon and almost-winter even more hauntingly evocative, speaking of skin I was heading towards, warmed by propane-fueled flames at night instead of sun. The music conjures up old eroded beaches . . . which is almost like Washington in December when you add a steel guitar.


3. Mutual Benefit - ADVANCED FALCONRY:

Gentle banjo and hand-clappy sounds. Sweet and wistful . . . with a cool name.


4. Mac DeMarco: ODE TO VICEROY:

I love the bass line. Lazy unhealthy addiction.


5. Red House Painters - MISTRESS:
I always love Red House Painters' sound. The snare in this and Cure-y guitar against the fuzzy one . . . layers of texture and rhythm. With a much better voice than the songs above.


6. Two Gallants - THE HAND THAT HELD ME DOWN:
BEAUTIFUL. There's a harmonica . . . but don't let that bother you. BECAUSE IT'S BEAUTIFUL. And makes me feel like shit. Which is what beautiful music should do.

7. Wooden Shjips - THESE SHADOWS:
More foggy, faded, road-surfing atmosphere.


8. The Kills - BABY SAYS:
Okay, it's time to start fucking.


9. The Black Hollies - LUNATIC INFLUENZA PT II: TAKE ME AS I AM:
Slow. Hypnotized. Sex Zombies.


10. Futurebirds - DEATH AWAITS:
Put this in your "songs to fuck like a slow dance to" binder. Or your "stoned and find yourself with your hand asleep under your butt and finger inexplicably crooked in your asshole" folder. Whatever.


11. Red House Painters - SHOCK ME:
This was the first RHP song Delia ever played for me, and I fell in love. I think all of my favorite musicians do expertly haunting covers.


12. Phosphorescent - SONG FOR ZULA:
It's long. And when you're stoned and horny it's super nice to have extra-long songs in your sexy-time playlist. And it starts out sounding like The Rose with less expertly-crappy vocals and some sounds that resonate with Don't Come Around Here No More. Maybe the words are sad, but whatever . . . just let the sounds vibrate in you.
13. Neil Young - DOWN BY THE RIVER:
I don't know why I like coming to songs where someone's baby gets shot dead. Do you?



14. Red House Painters - MAKE LIKE PAPER:
Okay, now we're in the right season. And I have had so many orgasms to the guitar solo in this . . . you don't even know. I guess I just don't listen to any words that are problematic or off-topic to my situation at hand.



15. Solange - CASH IN:

Maybe it sounds way different than the rest of these songs, but I'm still intrigued by the sounds and the lyrics.

But SOLANGE!

Everyone's talking about Beyonce right now, but let's not forget her sister:


Monday, December 03, 2012

Swimmin'(g) and Dancin'(g)

A couple of favorites of mine: The title track of Morphine's "Like Swimming":
Along with "Like Swimming", "Hanging on a Curtain" and "Swing it Low" make up my fave three to fuck (myself or others) to on that album, and rank really high in my music collection in general.

Perhaps dorkier to some than sexy, but I *LOVE* Chris Isaak's first album, especially Dancin', Funeral in the Rain, Unhappiness, and Gone Ridin':
I did drive around a lot listening to that. On cassette.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those albums. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

New Music on My Station

I uploaded a bunch of different music to my station today and put it on shuffle; I've had the same stuff rotating for over a year, so obviously . . . overdue. ;)

Hope you enjoy listening to some of the music I have fun hearing. And someday that I'll have more time to play with the "radio" thing!

Note: it seems like live365 forces some pop-up ads on you because I don't have a pro account; I'm sorry about that. I think if you do the vip thing it won't do that to you. I think.

Monday, August 06, 2012

5/10/12

1. Obsession - Animotion
2. You Owe Me Some Kind of Love - Chris Isaak (I *love* this older self-titled album - totally wore out my cassette as a teenager driving around listening to it)
3. Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band
4. Hesitation Blues -Earl Hines
5. Fix Up, Look Sharp - Dizzee Rascal
6. Strange Brew - Cream
7. Hesitation Blues - Nathaniel Street West (from Light out for the Territory)
8. Repeat of above BECAUSE IT'S SO SEXY
9. Time of the Season - The Zombies
10. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
11. Spin Spin Sugar - Sneaker Pimps

A note about Walk on the Wild Side: I first heard it (and my fave, Coney Island Baby) on The Best of Lou Reed - I didn't really know anything about Transformer when I bought that tape, I just wanted to hear where Cowboy Junkies got Sweet Jane. So it was news to me to watch this classic albums documentary and find out:
  • the true hero of Walk on the Wild Side was the bassist who needed to make twice as much money so suggested laying down TWO bass tracks
  • everything I love about Satellite of Love is actually David Bowie (FYI: my fave Bowie song is Sound and Vision)

A Very Purple Playlist

In order, the songs that inspired my very purple camshow 7/12/12:

1. The Beautiful Ones - Prince (from Purple Rain)
2. Computer Blue - Of Montreal (from Spin Presents "Purplish Rain")
3. Purple Rain - Lavender Diamond (from Spin Presents "Purplish Rain")
4. I Would Die 4 U - Prince (from Purple Rain)
5. The Beautiful Ones - Fol Chen (from Spin Presents "Purplish Rain")
6. Take Me With U - Prince (from Purple Rain)
7. Darling Nikki - Prince and the Revolution (from Purple Rain)
8. When Doves Cry - Prince (from Purple Rain)
9. (When Doves Cry AGAIN! Because it brings back dirty memories/ confused longings)

It's really saaaaad that you can't buy the covers off of Spin's "Purplish Rain". I am particularly fond of Lavender Diamond's version of Purple Rain (and when I was looking for it on Amazon I discovered Etta James covered that song too), and glad I was reminded of Fol Chen via the Spin album:



Purple Rain will always be one of my favorite albums; aside from the big classic hits on it, the sounds of I "Would Die 4 U" and "Take Me With U" are uniquely shiver-making. Nothing sounds like them or makes me feel like those songs do: because they're so 80's Prince and because of the age I was when they came out.