Monday Roundup: Tuesday New Year Edition

Wherein I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar.



I've been listening to my massive, 650+ song Christmas playlist for a few weeks and now Spotify is going to recommend holiday music until April.

"Let's Cozy Up (Put Your Hands In My Muff)" - Barbara Dixon
I didn't know who Barbara Dixon was (now I do - is this like when Maeby pretended to be a Annette Austero but on Broadway instead?) or where this song came from, but now it's on the Christmas playlist, a veritable melting pot of the sacred and profane. A++++++++ selection, Spotify!

"X-MAS TIME! - Live version" - ShitKid
This doesn't grab me enough to go on The Playlist, but it's interesting enough for me to want to listen to their other releases. Can't fault Spotify then, I guess.

"Red River Rock" - Metronomy
This is... "Red River Valley"? But it sounds like a Christmas song? And The Oregon Trail at the same time? I don't know what to do with this one.

"Read My Mind" - Rebecca Black feat. Slayyyter
I love Rebecca Black. I'm not sure if I love this song, but I certainly like it well enough. The cover is wild, and I feel like I should watch the music video for context at some point.

"Last Night on Northgate" - The Long Blondes
That gorgeous anniversary vinyl has been released, and Spotify will also be adding all the b-sides to this playlist for ever and anon. That's not necessarily a complaint, and while I've certainly heard a lot of them, I don't recall this one. This is classic Long Blondes, on the less cinematic, dramatic side; it sounds more lighthearted, more DIY, more fun. Recommended.

"Buzzed" - BENNETT
This reminds me of "Playground" and other songs I was listening to in the summer of 2019, but those ones were... better. I know why Spotify added this - the remixes include one by Icona Pop. Sometimes the lyrics are interesting anthems ("Good girls don't go bad, they go back") but overall, it just feels like an incoherent message of depression and drugs from a(nother) white R&B artist.

"Landed on My Head" - Barenaked Ladies
I've noticed a few high-quality cuts from BNL over the past couple of years. This is no exception, turning well-worn lines and clichés on their head and throwing in a catchy chorus with just the right chord progression to boot.

"Leading" - Best Coast
I like a good '90s / early eughts throwback. This is a band I've meant to listen to for nearly a decade - they debut came out my personal wasteland of the early 2010s - but have never made the time for.

"Listen, The Snow Is Falling" - Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band
This is gorgeous.

"Let's Go" - The Beaches, Lights
Another band I've meant to dig into. This feels a little more early aughts, like an early iPod commercial, and I love it.

"We Are Children of the Light" - Black Dresses
I'm so delighted when Spotify gives me a band with an absolute bare bones bio. I'm dead serious here. Who the hell are they? A mystery! This is great.

"Featured Singer" - Cheekface
Someone wants to be the Talking Heads! This is fun and yet, I can't decide if the lyrics are also fun or depressing? THIS REMINDS ME OF A SONG I USED TO LISTEN TO CA. 2006 (it's not a Talking Heads song) AND I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT.

"Stepped On A Bee" - MisterWives
I was deeply into 2014's "Reflections," rolling in the throes of one of the crushiest crushes I've ever crushed, one of my handful of Guys I Know Because They Opened for OK Go That One Time, the best catalyst for getting away from a toxic ex but a situation which never panned out the way I wanted. And while I suppose that's always for the best, "Reflections" captured me in that moment perfectly - desperate, sad, sparkly, and dancing.
I was excited to hear them again so many years later, and yet, this feels so... generic. Sure, despite the fact that break-ups are universal, they still allow for "intensely personal reflection," but where the hell is it here? "We're all the clichés I swore would never come true" indeed.

"Spud Infinity" - Big Thief
This is a refreshing to follow up with - pared down, playful, nonsensical and yet makes all the sense in the world. I'm even willing to sit through this 1:00+ outro. I guess our elbows really are on their own.

"Walker" - Animal Collective
I'm 99% sure that it was Animal Collective which a friend dragged a bunch of us to go see at Hampshire College in like, 2004 or 2005, and we all complained so much that we subsequently dragged her away, and then Merriweather Post Pavillion came out and suddenly they were all over, and I thought, "Oh, maybe I should've paid more attention?" I can see the appeal here, but honestly, I was bored af at that show.

"sleeping with a frend - revisited version" - Neon Trees
Are "revisited versions" the new "record anniversary show"? I was never big on this particular single, and stripped down like this, "Ooh ooh, we're in danger / Sleeping with a friend" feels like the point is just too painfully obvious.

"Yellow Venus" - The Cribs
I got to see the Cribs early in their career, opening for Franz Ferdinand and playing at Siren '06, and then I just... stopped following around Men's Needs..., to my own detriment. They've put out a series of singles over the last year, and I'm grateful to Spotify for continually reminding me they exist. That ending tho.

"Favorite Person" - The Sunshine State, Hayley Gene Penner
Is this a Christmas song? Does it count as a Christmas song? The Sunshine State had a few releases last year that I got into, and I'm glad to see another, though this one vibes more melancholy than ones like "Dating a Drug Dealer." Those last few lines, though.

"My Weight" - Lady Pills
Is this a love song? This is a long song! It feels like a modern version of "Head over Feet," and friends, I've always loved that song. Another song that sticks the landing, too.

"Just For Love" - Bully
The kind of song that makes me feel like I should be at a divey rock club, holding a beer and bopping along without really knowing what's going on. That's a thing we used to do in the Before Times, right?

"Walking in the Air" - Gemma Cullingford
"Tis The Season" - Big Freedia
I told you - this will keep going until April.

Monday Roundup: NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

Where I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar. 

New John Rutter?  New Handel recordings? Early English Polyphony? I guess this is a reminder to clean up my massive Yuletide playlist. I’ll have to come back to the John Rutter EP - no holiday music yet! 

"No" - Little Mix 

Me, looking at the cover of this greatest hits collection: Weren’t there, like, four of them? What happened to the one with the lip fillers? 

 This led me down a rabbit hole of googling pictures of Jesy Nelson back in 2011 and hoooo boy she went full Ari, like... even more Ari than Ari. (Listen, I love Ari and I enjoy Little Mix, but people ain't wrong here.) Anyway, this is standard Little Mix, but nothing to write home about. 

"Sunrise/Sunset" - The Dodos 

Do I like the Dodos? I think I heard some of their stuff, liked it, then tried to get into their early aughts stuff and was like “meh.” I like this. It sounds, well, “early aughts indie” enough to evoke a certain nostalgia in me. The drive of it reminds me of Matt and Kim, the outro of the '60s, very generally. It’s repetitive, but not in a bad way; not quite earworm catchy but enough for your brain to latch onto.

"Never To Be Repeated" - The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes!!! It’s hard to tell if I’ve heard this before - Google says it was released in 2006, so very probably? This is classic Someone to Drive You Home-era Long Blondes, before "Couples", which felt more contrived. I started reading this interview in The Quietus, and it's fascinating. I miss this band, deeply, and their aesthetic. And that vinyl reissue looks gorgeous. 

"Barely Reason for a Smile" - NNAMDÏ, Lynyn

Every now and then, NNAMDÏ comes up in a playlist and I think, “I know that name…” and then I remember the absolute gem that is “let gO Of my egO.” I feel like this would go well on the alternative radio station out of Philly I used to listen to, and yet it feels cinematic and classical, a piece rediscovered and reinterpreted in the 21st century. 

"tend the garden" - Gang of Youths 

I overlistened to "the angel of 8th avenue" over the summer, and everything on this track is sweeping and lovely and somehow feels very New York and very Tom Waits at the same time. But maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. 

"Mr. Fix It" - Darlene Love 

Why does this make me think of New Year’s Eve? (It came on and I thought, "No, no holiday music yet!") (This is Barry's fault.) Doesn’t mean this isn’t great. 

"Pumpkin Spice Heaven" - Parry Gripp 

SPOTIFY. SPOTIFY, STOP. I. LISTENED. TO. ONE. ALBUM. A YEAR AGO. 

"Good As What You Give" - I Know Leopard 

Is this distorted or purposely out of tune? (Shows what I know, don't hire me for your next record.) I think I might’ve liked this when I was younger - it feels like a synthy, distorted DCFC with a dash of the ‘70s in the bridge - but it’s a bit too plodding for post-pandemic me. 

"Try a Little Act of Kindness" - OK Go 

Confession: I haven’t paid attention to any of OK Go’s more recent single releases. But my god, this sounds like their earlier stuff - squeaky clean, bright powerpop with just tinges of their fourth record. It’s for a soundtrack, so it sounds just a little contrived. I wish it was a little longer and given the opportunity to end a little more organically. A-, more like this, and a tour, please. 

"Billy Goodbye" - Franz Ferdinand 

FF’s releasing a greatest hits record and going on tour and Paul’s left the band and I’m not sure how I feel about all of those things together. But FF’s fourth record is absolutely my favorite, followed by their first, and this feels like a straight-up rock effort that mixes both of those eras with a little stadium rock feel and I love it. The bridge gets wonderfully weird. It’s catchy, fun, and wonderfully classic FF, keeping the energy going right up to the very end. 

"Fearless" - Hanson 

This is so dramatic! I keep seeing poll tweets from them about Against the World, and I honestly have no idea what it’s about. Is it a new record? A tour? This is not my favorite release from them, but it’s sort of like what Imagine Dragons might sound like if they were actually good. I’m still stuck on this summer's “Don’t Ever Change,” a ‘70s powerpop song that was magically transported and released in the Year of Our Lord 2021. 

"Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels (Just Dance Version)" - Todrick Hall
How many versions of this song can he release and get away with it?? 

"Teletron for the Populace" - The Apples in Stereo 

The Apples in Stereo? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time, a long time. But this is a hard “nope” from me. 

"Lonely Boy - BBC Session" - Black Keys 

I was not expecting to listen to this all the way through, since I usually skip over remixes and live versions in this playlist, but this recording is wonderfully unpolished. 

"Wake Me Up" - Foals 

And now for something different! So ‘80s! Reminds me of VHS or Beta, who were very derivatively ‘80s! (And whom I loved!) Reminds me of all the ‘80s stuff I just listened to on the Monster Jams playlist! Parts remind me of FF, which also shows how they tapped into the ‘80s too! I like the lyrics, too! This is great! 

"Love in New York" - HalfNoise 

After the bop that is “Wake Me Up,” I was ready to dismiss this, but it’s really lovely. It reminds me of Summer Fiction, about whom I got really worked up about a few years ago, but then I just... could not stand that guy live. This feels both sweeping and intimate. If this had come out in 2003, it might have been on the Garden State soundtrack; I don’t feel that’s a bad thing, because that record was the thing my first semester of college. The last line lingers: I’ll keep dreaming if you keep dreaming about us. 

"If U Can't Dance - Demo Version" - Spice Girls 

Normally, if you throw a demo version at me, I will automatically declare that it is the best thing ever and why did they even bother going into the studio and re-recording it because they just ruined it, but this is... hoo boy, this is not good. 

"Run Me Down" - Carla Prata 

I swear to the Universe, this did not show up on my playlist on Friday. I adore Prata, and this is exactly what I want and need right now.

"Holiday Rock" - Neon Trees 

NO, NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

Monday Roundup: You feel like a holiday.

I'll acknowledge that my blog title is somewhat a misnomer. "That One Indie Rock Powerpop Gem" really doesn't work and it's not the name of a song, anyway. Still, I've been diving hard into mainstream pop bangers of late. I also need to stop relying on Spotify's Release Radar for recommendations, because everything this week was rubbish, except for Little Mix's latest pop gem. #sorrynotsorry, I put it in my blog title.

Show on the Road: The Aquadolls are touring the US this fall.

Uh, hi world.

I wrote about The Aquadolls four years ago when their LP Stoked on You wound up in my inbox.

Has it really been four years already?? Man, time flies when you're... in relationships and also doing a grad degree.

Anyway, they released another LP, the dream and the deception, late last year, and now three-woman mermaid rock band is hitting the road starting in September:

Dates include 10/22 at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn. Please go for me, because guess what, I'm not living in the US right now. 😢 (Why does this always happen??)

Here's their latest cut, "suck on this":

Stuck In My Head: Summer Fiction, "Perfume Paper"

Generally, all it takes is a descriptor of "power pop" attached to a band to get me to come running. Enter Summer Fiction: when I an email drawing comparison between sophomore record Himalaya, released 16 June, and Big Star landed in my inbox, I was game. My love usually lies with the '90s alternative ilk, but Bill Ricchini's style feels older, too, more of the '60s and '70s; other comparisons rely heavily on Brian Wilson.

Essentially, lead single "Perfume Paper" has been stuck in my head - literally, it just kind of pops up throughout the day - since earlier in this month. It's been a long time since I've asked for a record in advance, but this jangly little 3:00 track tugged hard enough at my sentimentality that I really couldn't resist the rest.



If you're like me and want to hear the rest, SPIN has the full record available for streaming.

Two upcoming shows in NYC and Philly are slated for this week:
18JUN - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
20JUN - Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA

I'll be at the Philly show; hopefully, some of you will be there, too, and I'll be able to pull together my thoughts enough to post about the show and the whole record sometime next week.

Here's some French music for you. (Surprise!)

No, not much has changed in the past five years, even if I haven't written consistently (or at all): I still miss my adopted hometown of Paris as much as ever (although I get to go back in August - whee!) and I still try to keep an ear out for what's going on over there, or who will make their way over here. (Stuck in the Sound, I'm still waiting.)

These two landed in my inbox today:

AIR BAG ONE (it's capatilised everywhere, so I'll continue the trend) is a Francophone trio who seriously the channel '80s with their catchy synth-pop. It's not clear where they're from - their social media lists Cameroon, but they record and play in Paris, including opening for Brandon Flowers recently. (Except they write "support" instead of "open," since the French use the verb "supporter." So cute.)

They only have two songs listed so far - "1992," release a few months ago, and today's "You've Got Something." When I first started listening, I thought, "No, not really" and then my brain went, "SHUT UP you like this." It's like when I got into Pony Pony Run Run's, like, two songs, but better.

Both tracks from this (apparently digital) 45 are below. LP Rich Kids and US tour dates are forthcoming.

...

France Rocks noted that Paris Loves L.A., created by French actress Adele Jacques as a tribute to and in the vein of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot and the like, are playing a free show called "Paris Loves N.Y.C. Me Neither" - a nod to "Je t'aime moi non plus" - tomorrow, 04 June at Le Baron, New York. I'm not sure I'll make this one, but I'd sure like to; it certainly sounds interesting, even if I'm not the biggest fan of Gainsbourg.

Nothing's on Telly: Teen Men have a party, tour with CYHSY, who are apparently still A Thing.

Oh, the mid-to-late-2000s. Listen, I sort of wax nostalgic for this golden period, when I was discovering new music right and left and actually dedicating time to writing about it. The age of Blog Rock. And speaking of Blog Rock, apparently Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are still a thing? I listened to their debut in 2005 or 2006 sometime and tried really, really hard to like it, but despite that perfect-for-Pitchfork 9.0 rating they got, I just couldn't get past the vocals. Sorry. Apparently they're still popular enough today that they booked two shows in Philly and two in New York for their 10th anniversary tour. Huh.

This post isn't about CYHSY. Although I went to Philly show one of two, my boyfriend and I didn't stay for the main act. (Not trying again 10 years later, not sorry.) We were there to see opener Teen Men, who released this video for "Adventure Kids" less than two weeks ago, and who are releasing their s/t record next week.



Rachel called it one of the weirdest videos she's ever seen. I don't really agree with her, but then again, she didn't see the visuals they show during their set, either.

Upcoming shows w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah:
02 JUN - Radio Radio, Indianapolis, IN
03 JUN - Exit / In, Nashville, TN
05 JUN - Club Dada, Dallas, TX
06 JUN - The Mohawk, Austin, TX
08 JUN - Lowbrow, El Paso, TX
09 JUN - The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
11 JUN - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
12 JUN - Casbah, San Diego, CA
13 JUN - Constellation Room, Santa Ana, CA
14 JUN - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
17 JUN - The Independent, San Francisco, CA
19 JUN - Mississipi Studios, Portland, OR
26 JUN - Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE *

17 JUL - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
18 JUL - Electric Owl, Vancouver, BC
19 JUL - The Bartlett, Spokane, WA
22 JUL - The Aquarium, Fargo, ND
23 JUL - Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
24 JUL - Majestic Theater, Madison, WI
25 JUL - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
26 JUL - Thompson House, Newport, KY
28 JUL - Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
29 JUL - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
31 JUL - Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA

01 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
02 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
* w/ Sin City Band

Stuck In My Head: The Aquadolls' Stoked On You

All right, listen. It's been a long time, but I've got the Aquadolls stuck in my head, okay?

I'm pretty rubbish about listening to Insound's featured tracks of the week, but since I was cleaning out my email the other day (lol, you guys, you should see my email account for this blog), I actually managed to give "Sinus Infection" a listen. And then the rest of the record.

They sound exactly like a band called the Aquadolls should - surfy pop rock. Occasionally, Melissa Brooks's vocals remind me of  Arrah Fisher of Arrah and the Ferns (at least what I know of them, which is admittedly one record), but the songs are nowhere near as twee. While I'm digging the whole album, I particularly like "Wander," below:



But really, none of the tracks make me want to skip ahead, and that's a good thing, since I usually get into a rut with an album after a while.

Upcoming shows:
13MAR - The Yard, San Diego
28MAR - Burgerama @ The Observatory, Santa Ana

Hey, maybe I'll write again sometime soon, like I always say I will, right?

Stuck In My Head : Young the Giant, "My Body"

I'm pretty out of the loop. (That's the understatement of the year, and it's only January.)

For instance : I know next to nothing about this band Young the Giant, other than that they've recently released a record, and that their song "My Body" keeps getting stuck in my head.



And that that's not a proper video. I know that. Here's a more proper video.



And I now know that making "quesadillas" in the microwave is not the best idea I've ever had. My lunch is a gooey, chewy mess.

Hello, world. It's been a while. Here's what I've been listening to.

The title says it all. I always want to get back to writing on a regular basis, but I just haven't been in-tune enough with what has been going on, music-wise, for the past eleven months for me to write something, or anything, decent. This is probably a bad time to get back into things; every music outlet on the Interwebs is going to be flooded with top 10 lists for the next two months, and this time, it's not just top 10 of the year but top 10 of the decade. Ugh.

Well, in the meantime, here's a small smattering of what I've been listening to lately. None of it is new, but it's all good.



I came across this when somebody posted a comment along the lines of "here's some real talent and body paint" in response to this. (Why is Kim Kardashian even noteworthy, and why is she naked?) Weird, huh? Anyway, "I Am Not A Robot" and "Mowgli's Road" have been getting stuck in my head over the past few weeks.



Speaking of getting stuck in your head, how catchy is that one? I swear I heard this, in its entirety, in a dream last night. Is that normal? Um, they also have videos with the lyrics in Spanish and German.



And now for something completely different. This is the fifth of six videos made for their latest effort, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, which came out in January and I meant to write about and don't think I actually did. I'm not sure how much I like this new batch of videos. This is animated toast, which is either really awesome or really...weird. The animation is certainly pretty, but it reminds me of this, for some reason. They've also done a video with dogs, which I guess goes well with this lot.



Yeah, seriously. Fucking earworm.



Why didn't anyone introduce me to the Posies like, five years ago? I took it upon myself to watch the entirety of Daria and finished up, I dunno', a few months ago. The original version of this song played over the original TV broadcast of Is It Fall Yet?, and luckily that was the version that I came across. It's all I've wanted to listen to since then.