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.

Look, Ma, I made a mixlist!: "Get On Your Dancing Shoes (You Sexy Little Swine)"

I made this dance mix a while ago, with the intention of making some "cover" art (so to speak) to go with it, but I never got around to that. I didn't actually get a chance to test it out on a live crowd of dancing people, though, until Saturday night (Sunday morning, actually), when I was dubbed the official DJ of the after party, mainly by default. (Seriously, how some of Boston's finest pop rockers and their closest friends and family(?) wound up at a house party, and none of them stopped to think, "Hey, maybe I should bring my iPod along, ya' know, for the tunes and dancing and such," is sort of beyond me.) At one point, someone told me, "You are the party right now."

Regardless, everyone (or at least those who were dancing) seemed to like my choice in dance tunes (though maybe I was too drunk to notice otherwise), which included this mix. I skipped over tracks three (great remix, but a little long) and five (because I wasn't sure how they'd respond to the Spice Girls), but it went well overall, I think.

1) "Dancing Shoes" - Arctic Monkeys
The boys from Baker kept demanding more Arctic Monkeys. When I finally wandered away from my iPod around 4:30 am, that's what they put on.

2) "Loser" - The Plasticines (Les Petits Pilous remix)
Wow, this song makes me want to dance. Also, I like when indie rock kids want to know what I'm playing, because it gives me some confidence in my faux DJ-ing ability.

3) "Sci Fi Kids" - Blitzen Trapper (Principal Participant 'Kingswood' Remix)
I think I stole this from Stereogum over the summer. A little slower, a little longer, but still danceable.

4) "The Love Cats" - The Cure
Somebody asked me what song this was. I just stared at him.

5) "Who Do You Think You Are?" - Spice Girls
Say what you want, this is great for the dancefloor.

6) "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" - CSS
I mean, CSS is great for a dance party. I don't know if I like this one more than "Hot Hot Sex" (also played that night), which I love mainly for the Portuguese rap at the end.

7) "Don't Start" - Franz Ferdinand
A lovely FF b-side that starts out quieter and then blasts in on the refrain.

8) "It's A Hit" - We Are Scientists
I think I've listened to this song too many times.

9) "Tits & Acid" - Simian Mobile Disco
The title says it all.

10) "Heart of Glass" - Blondie
Classic. My copy is a little quiet, though.


Mix with LCD Soundsystem, Peaches, some more CSS, and maybe a little Britney, add some indie rock boys and too much champagne, and call it a party. Just don't be like me and try to get to bed before you crash at 6:30 am.

Holiday song project: 3 and 4 December

So I was lazy yesterday and didn't feel like choosing a song and writing about it. Isn't sloth a deadly sin? And does it apply to, you know, updating your blog? Hm.

Okay, so you're getting two songs today to make up for that. (Maybe I'll stick to updating this every other day...)

Yesterday, The Black Arts released a new Christmas single. This begs two questions:

1) Who are The Black Arts?: The Black Arts would be Black Box Recorder and Art Brut's Eddie Argos, along with some other friends, who decided to get together and write a tongue-in-cheek parody of the Christmas #1 tradition.

2) What the hell is the Christmas #1 tradition?: Well, apparently, in the UK, it's a pretty big deal to have a song on the top of the charts come 25 December. Don't ask me why, I'm not British.

Anyway, the Black Arts have unleashed their own "Christmas Number One" into the fray, a song about- you guessed it- a holiday song that goes terribly awry and takes over and starts insisting it's Father Christmas and other such things. It's pretty funny, and doesn't come off as campy or over-the-top, which would be pretty easy to do considering the topic.

So will "Christmas Number One" be this year's Christmas number one? I think that would be pretty great. Until then, you can hear part of the song over here on their MySpace. Or you can check out the video:



It's also currently available for download, and will soon be available on a limited edition 7" from Fantastic Plastic Records.

(I would link you guys up with a downloadable copy, but I haven't got it on my comp, and besides, would it kill you to spent the 99 cents this time around?)


(Thanks to Stereogum for a lot of that info.)




Speaking of Christmas number ones, did you know that The Beatles and the Spice Girls are the only acts to have had three consecutive Christmas number one singles? Bet you didn't.

In honour of that and the fact that they just kicked off their reunion tour last night, here's the Spice Girls' version of "Christmas Wrapping."

Spice Girls - Christmas Wrapping

Video Throwback: Devo, Dead Milkmen, Adam Ant (plus the Spice Girls)

Because I'm too tired and lazy to write something intelligent-sounding, y'all are getting some videos tonight. (I like how I only ever update this thing around midnight.)

The last time I was up in Massachusetts, Erica, Will, and I somehow got on the subject of covers of The Stones' "Satisfaction." One thing led to another, and we wound up watching, amongst others, this video by Devo. Will then said I should post this in my blog. So this is mainly for Will's, er, satisfaction.

Anyway, there's a guy in skinny red pants dancing in front of some sort of paisley-esque background, and well, we all know what that reminds me of. (Ouch, ending with a preposition. Too lazy to change!)



As I was rewatching this video pre-post, it inexplicably reminded me of the Dead Milkmen's video for "Punk Rock Girl." Maybe it's because...nope, I don't really know why. But isn't Rodney adorable? I think he is. Also, zombies!



And then I wound up watching Adam and the Ants' "Antmusic." The first time I heard the original version of this song was when I saw this video on Vh1 Classic (also where I'd seen "Punk Rock Girl" for the first time); prior to that, I'd only heard this version. My mom came upstairs while it was on and exclaimed, "Adam and the Ants! I have this record downstairs!"

Which then prompted me to get my dad to set up the turntable, and my parents came up from the basement, clutching old Beatles and Adam Ants records. It was pretty amazing.

And now my dad's stashed the turntable away somewhere, and I've been too lazy to go find it.



Loves it.

Finally, is anyone else as mad as I am about Mel B. NOT winning Dancing With the Stars?? Other than my mom? (Not that I pay attention to this sort of thing! Please don't think that I do!)

Placate your anger by watching the Spice Girls' Tesco Christmas advert. It's funny, I promise.




New goal for next time: write a post without some sort of OK Go-reference, however thinly veiled.

New video: Spice Girls, "Headlines (Friendship Last Forever)"

The video for the new Spice Girls song, "Headlines," is out. It starts with them walking into a room, and doesn't really get better from there:



The self-stroking! The crazy S&M bathing suit that Posh is wearing! And I think Geri is attempting to bellydance...? (Ginger, I heart you, but no. No bellydancing for you when you don't actually know what you're doing.) Oh, so very very terrible.

The Spice Girls have a new song out.

Okay, this may kill any kind of indie cred that I have, but I don't care- I have been a fan of the Spice Girls from about the age of 12, and I am so SUPER EXCITED about this reunion tour and about the fact that I am ACTUALLY going to the Meadowlands gig. One of my biggest regrets in life was never having seen the Spice Girls in concert when they came through with the Spiceworld tour, so now (or as of 14 February 2008) I can scratch that off my list.

Anyway, one of the new songs, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" on their upcoming Greatest Hits record was leaked. (Um, I guess it makes sense to release a greatest hits record for a reunion tour, although really, the only had two records. Okay, three, and I really like Forever- I think it's a more mature pop record than the first two- but really, at least over here in the US, most people stopped paying attention after Spiceworld. Though I guess if The Killers can release a b-sides record after two albums, the Spice Girls are entitled to a greatest hits record.)



Buh. No like. I mean, it's obviously a "look at us we've reunited and you're allllll going to pay attention to us and pay us loads of money to come to our shows and buy our stuff and of course we're going to make headlines I mean we're the Spice Girls" sort of thing, which I guess is to be expected. I just think it's super boring. And to be fair, they did the same sort of thing with "Right Back At Ya" on Forever, and I didn't like it then, either.

There's a clip for another song, "Voodoo," on YouTube as well:



Err. Not feeling that one so much, either. "Get up and use your voodoo,/Get your booty to the floor"? Hmm. Maybe not. I think they need to fire whomever's writing their lyrics.

Ah, well, here's to hoping for some more interesting stuff down the road! In the meantime, my favourite SG song:



I'm off to dig up some old b-sides...

Edit: BAHAHA apparently the Spices are now Tesco's new holiday season spokeswomen. That amuses me to no end.