Here’s another mix, no theme this time, just songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately. When I moved the blog over to wordpress, I had to put the playlist on Spotify, so a couple of the songs aren’t available.
1) Zoom!- Super Furry Animals
See my entry about Gruff Rhys’ Separado film)
2) What Is Not But Could be If- Silver Jews
I’m so glad I caught their final tour
3) I’m On Standby- Grandaddy
About sums up the last few weeks
4) Dry The Rain- Beta Band
I’ve been listening to the Beta Band a lot recently, makes me think of being in 6th form. Scary to think that was well over a decade ago.
5) Like New- Deerhunter
Would love to go to their ATP this year, but looks very unlikely
6) Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling From the Sky!- A Silver Mt. Zion
I didn’t get to see them last time they played over here, a pity
7) Romantic Rights- Death From Above 1979
More Canadians. Pure testosterone and sweat. Again missed them in 2011. This is turning into a regret list of gigs I’ve missed in the last few years)
8) Rhoda- Slint
On the other hand, I didn’t want to go to their reunion in case I was too disappointed
9) Paint it Black- Fennesz
Austria’s finest. I don’t think you’d know this was Paint it Black if you didn’t know already
10) Taschenrechner- Kraftwerk
Auf Deutsch. Übrigens, sie sind besser auf seine Muttersprache meiner Meinung nach, und mit Wortspiele/Witzen die englische Version mangelt (when I switched the playlist to Spotify recently I had to use the English version)
11) No More Workhouse Blues- Bonnie “Prince” Billy
It’s always good to be someone’s favourite horse- this is also not on Spotify)
12) Dymuniadau Da- Datblygu
Best Welsh language goodness
13) Gyroscope- Boards of Canada
Not Canadians
14) Chappel Hill- Sonic Youth
Again, glad I caught one of Sonic Youth’s final shows
15) Independence Day- Elliott Smith
Never saw Elliott Smith either. Another pity
16) Mushroom- Can
I like songs about nuclear war.
17) Frozen Warnings- Nico
I don’t know why people call The Marble Index “unlistenable”. I think it’s a lovely album. Nico herself was a pretty horrible person though
18) All is Full of Love- Björk
I should make a playlist about robot love
Very good to see a reference to Tweez. Ron is still my favorite Slint song ever.
Good call on the reunion. I don't have the stomach for those. I've never seen them either but, somewhere on my blog there's a post that details my interaction with the bands off shoots. I think I've seen nearly every spin off or related act (up until 1997 or so)…except Squirrel Bait.
It's actually the version off the Glenn/Rhoda EP, they're a bit different in tempo and sound.
I loved the Pavement reunion, liked but didn't feel strongly about the Pixies one. I recently went to see Jeff Mangum, which was a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion in all but name, and loved that too. I don't know why I was so full of trepidation about the Slint one, but I think it was some kind of fear that it would be too precise and precious and not intense enough or something.
The thing about having spent most of your life in the vicinity of London is there is as much music as you can afford the money and time to see, and so there's constantly fantastic stuff that someone who's always broke like me can't always afford to go to.
I'll take it either way.
Pavement was the very reunion I had in mind. I couldn't even contemplate it. Granted I saw 'em at different times when they were still together. The last time they played in New Orleans was the best show I've ever been to.
Pavement are the 90's to me. They set tone for that whole era…especially for my own memories. Me and my liver, and the brain cells I have left are happy to leave the 90's where they belong…in the past :).
The biggest problem is that I grew up in the 80's surrounded by baby-boomers from the 60's who refused to grow up and stop talking about how awesome they were. Made me allergic to nostalgia for youth.