NOTE: Today's contribution comes from blah Matt Giordano, blah blah blah. Blah blah? Fuck blah!
The always gangster Mark Oliver Everett released a new Eels album earlier this year, and he is a track for you. "My Timing Is Off" is a great little pop ditty not too dissimilar from the more uptempo numbers on Shootenanny with the more intimate production quality of Blinking Lights. A pleasant, somber walk through a field at dusk.
NOTE: Now, with the work week over, we enjoy the weekend with a look at the records we can all count on enjoying. The ones that both got and are worthy of the hype. Fuck yeah!
Yes, it's true, you probably didn't miss "Stay Positive" by the Hold Steady, but since the Summer air has cleared and it's gotten cold as all hell, it's no longer the outdoor party record it once was. So does the story of the aging hipster hold up inside the apartment or the heated car hold up? Of course it does. Because in the end, the Hold Steady brings the quality before the gimmick, and despite the season, quality keeps warm. Fuck yeah!
I've had the Anniversary's "Devil On Our Side: Rarities & B-Sides" 2 disc collection for nearly a week now and I can't stop listening to it. Sure, they're one of my favourite bands and all of their current projects (White Flight, Dri, The Only Children) are making some of my current favourite jams, I'll always look back fondly at the Anniversary and am thankful that I FINALLY have a b-sides collection from them.
Even the biggest fan will find something new on this collection: disc one is full of 7 inch tracks, unreleased sessions when they were still the Broadcast, Untitled #1 & #2 with titles and demos of songs everyone fell in love with from "Designing A Nervous Breakdown". For those of us who really really liked "Your Majesty" and were excited about a new record, demos from those sessions are here. It's a shame that they broke up too, because as is evident on here, LP3 would have been fucking phenomenal.
I do have some questions. Where is "Tu-Whitt Tu-Whoo" from the Sub Pop single? The a-side is there. Why include "O' Lady Butterfly"? Yes, it's probably one of the best Berwanger songs written, but as far as I know the split with Superdrag it appeared on is still very much in print. And if it's not, why not include the other 2 songs that were on it? Where is "Death of the Season", a demo posted on fan site Anniversary Access from LP3 ages ago? Did they lose it? I have it if you'd like guys. And a minor question, why did "Lonesome Road" get retitled as "Lover"?
Still, none of those are that big a deal, especially to the casual listener. And I will do Vagrant one better in promoting this in posting a song from BOTH cds. "Hold Me Tonight" is a way old song that appeared on a tour 7 inch in the day, and "Let It Slip" is an LP3 demo. Maybe you'll dig on them, but if not, more for me!
MP3:Koufax - Loveless Meredith I ventured into Bloomington, Indiana last night to see my friend Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band play at Rhino's. While I was excited to see Mr. Devine again, I was very much giddy about seeing the Koufax band rock out. I've been a fan since "It Had to Do With Love" and they've come by me a couple of times but something always came up.
They certainly delivered. To my surprise they played material mostly from 2002's brilliant "Social Life". But myself and my roommate threw in a request for "Going to Happen" and "Colour Us Canadian" and both were fulfilled. Got a chance to chat and host the gentlemen and they were all stand up lads. See this band if they're in your town. Good times are promised.
I picked up an import vinyl edition of "Hard Times Are In Fashion" and the import cd/ep "Why Bother At All", which is where today's mp3 comes from. It's a lovely little b-side I remember hearing about when the band first started recording their last lp. It features the brothers Pope (who were in the band for a quick second) as the rhythm section.
