Song of the Day: "Believe"

CANT/Dreams Come True

The song is not a cover of the Cher mega-hit (song of the day, pff; song of the decade is more like it!), and the duplication of the title is the least confusing of the things about this song that are confusing to me (these things aren't necessarily confusing, but somehow early associations between 2 things, however spurious, are difficult to erase... and also projects that are one dude but have a moniker that isn't that dude's name can also be confusing to me).

CANT is Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear (it might help you know that I think Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear are the same band, much the same way Blur and Pulp are [which is to say "they're not"]). It just seemed weird that a member of Fleet Foxes would release a side project album within such a short time as the band's Helplessness Blues (that's because Chris Taylor isn't IN Fleet Foxes--is it weird that I'm writing all this out?).

Then there's the fact that he's recording as CANT and not Chris Taylor. And while, from a branding perspective, it's entirely possible that there are 15 other Chris Taylors with albums out (oh, turns out that IS a very common name, including 2 notable video game creators, but only 4 musicians in Wikipedia's disambiguation listing). Okay, maybe it makes some sense to craft a unique identity if only to avoid disappointing fans of Love Coma.

I also went off on a tangent in which I wondered to myself whether or not Grizzly Bear was Animal Collectivizing (that's not an actual verb, by the way), but other dude from Bon Iver has done a similar solo outing recently, so it might be a more general trend (NOTE: dude from Bon Iver is Justin Vernon, other dude from Bon Iver is Sean Carey who also goes by SCarey or some similar conversion of his actual name in to a common word, just like Chris Taylor/CANT... strangely this isn't confusing to me at all).

Rather than try to put a label on the music, I'll simply say that, based on what I've heard, this would be a good album to listen to if you're hung over. CANT's Dreams Come True is released September 13th, and the first stop on the CANT concert tour is here in Portland, October 1 at Doug Fir.



Song: "Believe"
Artist: CANT

Song of the Day: "John Taylor's Month Away"

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins/Diamond Mine

I was so taken with the tracks I heard from the King Creosote/Jon Hopkins collaboration, Diamond Mine, when I featured it as part of the Mercury Prize shortlist review that I actually bought the whole album.

Hopkins says the album represents a romanticized version of Fife in Scotland, akin to the way Amélie presents Paris. Fife is about the size of Tulsa OK, just to give you a little context. Because I'm sure you all know exactly how large Tulsa is.

Right?


  King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - John Taylor's Month Away by MiguelMoura

Song: "John Taylor's Month Away"
Artist: King Creosote/Jon Hopkins

Like being the funniest Melendez brother

(h/t Towleroad)

I have a new best friend!

Song of the Day: "Time Spent in Los Angeles"

Among the ways in which J-Rod's departure creates a gaping hole in my life, a nice batch of pristine new CDs no longer make their way onto my desk every few weeks.

He's introduced me to several bands; none of which is Daughtry (again, sorry dude). In fact, I find myself in the unenviable position of defending blatantly cheesy pop music artists to him. And he is rather polite when he tells me he's going to pass on Rhianna (just, you know, replace Rhianna with something w-a-y cheesier, like Katy Perry [NOTE: that wasn't my Katy Perry CD]).

Which is a lengthy way to say J-rod gets credit for the intro to Dawes, and after hearing a few tracks from this year's Nothing is Wrong, I'm wishing he were around with that disc. I'd like to listen to more of it. I guess I could actually pay for it. Oh look, I just did (I had a store credit and I can't just let it sit there--I also got that Diamond Mine thing from the Mercury Prize shortlist; book reports on both soon).

Okay J-rod, you're off the hook for Dawes, but what's up with the new Wilco?

Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles by MMMusic

Song: "Time Spent in Los Angeles"
Artist: Dawes

Song of the Day: "First Light"

My Morning Jacket/Circuital

My Morning Jacket is a band that I know I like, but I can't tell you much about.

Circuital is their 6th album.

Rock on!
First Light by My MORNING JACKET

9/11 Let us never forget 9/11

I believe I will spend the day watching a marathon of That's My Bush. And drinking a box of wine.


Oh, and happy birthday to Timothy Bottoms.

Song of the Day: "When I Start To (Break It All Down)"

Another from the "oh, I didn't realize they were still together file"; next up, Erasure. Tomorrow's World is their 14th studio album (fuck, seriously? 14? shit, I am old and they deserve better than this post) and is out the day before my birthday.

The time between 2007's Light at the End of the World and this album is the longest break they have taken between albums in their 25 years as a band.

The lengthy break coincides with Vince Clarke's reunion with Alison Moyet for a Yaz tour.

All of the songs were written using old analog synthesizers.

I have no idea the extent to which any of these influenced what I call "a more mature sound" for the band.

Since I've been oblivious of the last 15 years of their recordings that would be really stupid and naive of me. This could be the Erasure standard and I just stopped paying attention.

I have no idea what's up with the parentheses in the song title. That does seem random, and I don't think I need to listen to 8 recent albums to confirm that...

They really do deserve better than this post.


Song: "When I Start To (Break It All Down)"
Artist: Erasure

Today's yum: Urban Farmer

Work lunch, Urban Farmer's summer sampler thing, plus Yelp check-in got us some kind of free chocolate chip cookie thing. Et voila (click to embiggen, you know you want to):

Something something chowder and chanterelles

Salmon which was good, but like cheese which is weird, right?

Something something lemon verbena something (yum!)

Hot chocolate chip cookie with ice cream and like Crunch & Munch (weird, right)

Brutally honest recap: meh. I've had better there and I feel like carts within 4 blocks in any direction would be as good if not better. But if the company's paying, I'll tag along... at least a few more times.

Happy Belated Birthday Maxwell Murphy Parker

Maxwell and new best friend Sophie

MMP arrived 2 weeks early, last Friday afternoon, clocking in at a respectable 6 lbs, 14 oz./20 inches long. And with plenty of time to get to Burning Man, if you ask me.

Maxwell joins the Parker extravaganza already in progress.

"Here we are now going to the east side/I pick up my friends and we start to ride"

Nice work everyone. Congratulations all around!!!

36 hours to Janet

Mrs. Jackson-DeBarge-Elizando if you're accurate.

"And I just know we'll have a good time"

"They said it wouldn't last" (which ex-husband is this about?)

"Diamonds!"

"I wonder why in L.A./To live and die in L.A."

It's also William Friedkin's birthday. To Live and Die in L.A. is not his most acclaimed movie, but it's one that I have a strange fondness for, and I love the soundtrack/score by Wang Chung.

YES I SAID WANG CHUNG!!!

Fans enthuse wildly about the soundtrack! Of course fans of everything enthuse wildly about that thing of which they are fans, so that's just recursive, but also SHUT UP IT IS EARLY.

And, WANG CHUNG TONIGHT!


I think maybe it is time for a shower.

Happy Birthday Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is the greatest of all time! The greatest what you ask? Hmm, let's check the list: singer (no), dancer (no), performer (no), entertainer (no), child singer (no), child entertainer (no), child molester (hmm... no), video entertainer (no), abuser of plastic surgery (possibly, although Jocelyn Wildenstein really holds that crown).

Michael Jackson is the greatest self-deluded, self-aggrandized public figure of all time!

And, AND, Michael Jackson's fans are some of the most willing to overlook glaringly obvious personality defects to stay loyal, of all time! (Well, SO FAR.) That is an ideal pairing, you've got to admit.

Gay? Totally. Into kids? I'm pretty much willing to bet. Happily married? Not even for a second. Father of 3? Not biologically. The greatest musician of ever, EVER?! Not so much; certainly he coasted on the laurels of Thriller for a long time. Also, Thriller = yawn for me. Sorry. And something tells me this random post in my nothing blog will invoke the ire of Michael fans which will be really amusing since I'm probably w-a-y closer to the MJ legacy that they will ever be.

Now, all that being said, Michael Jackson was a great musician and a great entertainer and certainly a great child molester (I don't know how good he was, be I'm sure he applied himself). I am just turned off by people who declare themselves the "king of" things. So here are some songs I like that Michael had something to do with:










This dude makes it all look so easy. Maybe that's because it really isn't that hard to grab one's crotch and shriek.




Happy birthday dude! Rest in peace, if you are, in fact dead, and not just avoiding contractual obligations for those performances while enjoying the tremendous boost to your sales that "death" brings.

Song of the Day: "Starlite"

New from Paul Weller with no associated album release that I can find. Take that, early Monday morning before coffee... I mean, me. Yawn.

I keep waiting for him to break-up with himself and start a new band. Hard to do as a solo artist (although if anyone can do it, I'm sure Weller can!).



Song: "Starlite"
Artist: Paul Weller

Less than 48 hours to Janet

Ms. Jackson if you're nasty.

"Not to say that I'm in love with you/But who's to say that I'm not"

"What I thought was happiness was only part time bliss/You can take a bow"

"When I feel that I don't belong/Draw my strength
From the words when you said/Hey it's about you baby"

Happy Birthday Rick Rossovich

Jon Stewart on Marcus Bachmann: "He's so gay he calls Top Gun 'that volleyball movie.'"



In addition to the volleyball movie, Rick is wonderful in Roxanne (clips not embeddable), so there's that.

Happy birthday dude! Rock on!

OpBART

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco area has been cutting off wireless phone and data service to its customers.

This has pissed a few people off.

They are protesting.

You probably haven't heard a thing about it.

Follow the fun here.

Song of the Day: "Money"

The Drums/Portamento

New music from The Drums' second album, Portamento, due out next month.

And if you're new to the blog, I dubbed The Drums the official heir to all the background music of John Hughes movies from the 80s.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

Seriously.



Song: "Money"
Artist: The Drums