Filed under: Music, Uncategorized | Tags: AC/DC, Be Your Own Pet, Boston Spaceships, Elvis Costello, Fucked Up, Ghostface Killah, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, Katy Perry, No Age, Robert Pollard, Santogold, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Hold Steady, Times New Viking, Wilco, Wire
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AC/DC – “Rock ‘N’ Roll Train”
Come on. It’s amazing they can keep doing this.
Be Your Own Pet – “Becky”
A lot of Get Awkward, BYOP’s second and last album, apparently sucked. The lead single, “The Kelly Affair,” definitely did. But not “Becky,” a smart, funny punk pop song that exists somewhere between Mean Girls and “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell.” The song was stricken from the US version of Get Awkward because of concerns over subject matter (it’s about school violence like a Roadrunner cartoon is about animal abuse).
Boston Spaceships – “You Satisfy Me”
It’s a relief and surprise that Robert Pollard is aging so gracefully. In 2008, Fantagraphics put out a book of his collages, and his album with Boston Spaceships is thought to be his best since dissolving Guided By Voices. On “You Satisfy Me” he sings like a big shaggy dog. How do you make “seven in the morning” sound like that?
Fucked Up – “Son The Father”
People keep calling Fucked Up’s The Chemistry of Common Life a post-hardcore album, which doesn’t really mean anything (wouldn’t we at least be at post-post-hardcore by this point?). Some reviewers are also saying it transcends the hardcore punk idiom, but didn’t half the bands on SST already do that 25 years ago? (The only real innovation here is flutists.) There’s nothing revolutionary about the album, contrary to the critical party line. But that doesn’t mean it’s not really good. Just call it a rock record? A pretty awesome rock record? “Son The Father,” particularly, DESTROYS.
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Ghostface Killah (feat. Kid Capri) – “We Celebrate”
This one’s tricky. The single was released in ’08, but the album came out in December ’07. Just listen to it, though – it insists on being included. Ghostface is not gonna be cut from the theatrical release of Iron Man and excluded from a mix on the Carl blog the same year.
The Hold Steady – “Slapped Actress”
The opening riff here is the sound of a ten-story building collapsing. “Slapped Actress” makes a bunch of John Cassavetes references, but it makes me think of Leonard Cohen – this is a tower of song.
Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello – “Carpetbaggers”
Enjoying a Jenny Lewis song always makes me feel a little like a high school girl, but there’s a lot to like about “Carpetbaggers.” The lyrics are corny, yeah, but it’s like everybody’s in on the joke. And it sounds like someone forgot to tell Elvis Costello he was doing a faux-country duet – those vocals could be from a This Year’s Model outtake.
No Age – “Miner”
“Miner” is a great song from a great album, but No Age don’t fuck around live, either. This show at Death By Audio was like, everything I want from a rock concert, and someone’s nicely captured it:
Santogold – “Lights Out”
The Bud Light with Lime remix is also gorgeous. No joke.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Glue Girls”
When Fuctape opened for SSLYBY in spring ’07, they were extremely friendly and gracious. In spring ’08, Phillip Dickey, one of the band’s lead songwriters, agreed to an email interview with me and then never answered my questions. It’s paradoxes like these that make such already fun power pop even more compelling. I hope these big douchebags keep making such great songs.
Times New Viking – “The Early ‘80s”
Yep!
Wilco – “Wilco The Song (Live on The Colbert Report”
A while ago in The Carl I called Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky album “retirement rock,” and that’s still pretty much how I feel about it – don’t like it and don’t want to like it. But this gem, played live on The Colbert Report, still makes me really curious about whatever Jeff Tweedy’s gonna put out next. It’s Summerteeth-style pop plus Nels Cline’s weird ass jazz guitar heroics, and the sum is enough to keep me interested in Wilco The Future.
Wire – “One Of Us”
See: description, AC/DC’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Train.”
– Greg Hunter
The Carl Online 