Heartstrings

This song just came up whilst my ipod was busy shuffling away. It starts slowly, raising your anticipation levels, then along comes a pretty average verse so you kind of drop them again. It's the kind of verse that sounds like any old band could probably knock out, but then comes the chorus which soars as high as any other chorus i can think of. It all seems so simple. Maybe I should start a band and try this.

Do You Remember The First Time?

I stumbled on one of those 'Myspace quiz' style things on last.fm the other day. For the most part it was fairly pointless but I found myself enjoying trying to remember the details when it asked me 'When did you first hear artist x?'. Here are some answers recorded for posterity.

Super Furry Animals. I'm pretty sure I heard them first circa 1996 via the God! Show Me Magic single on a listening post in the big Our Price that used to sit on Culver Square. I didn't buy the single. I think I told myself I didn't like it, but was probably just justifying spending my lunch money on some actual food for a change. I have an oddly vivid memory of this, but it seems such a random thing to recall that I'm not entirely sure it's real.

The Apples in Stereo. A similar tale, but this time is was hearing The Bird That You Can't See over the instore sound system in the old Virgin in Cardiff. this time I bought the single immediately. It must have been about 2002

Pavement. I rented Brighten the Corners from Colchester library in the late 90s to check out this band I kept reading about. I didn't think much of it as first, except for Stereo, which was oddly familiar and also amazing. The familiarity makes me think I may have heard them somewhere before, but I can't be sure.

I found bands I've got into more recently don't hold the same strong memories of that first experience. It's all downloaded from a blog on a whim and blends into a weird musical nothingness with everything else I've downloaded that week. Songs I love these days are kind of growers that worm their way out of the otherwise averageness of my hard drive. I kind of miss that old feeling of being blown away from the very first listen. I guess it does still happen, but there's never a story behind it anymore.

Certain Fantasies

Thought I'd ease myself back in with a fairly lightweight, and perhaps rambling post.

The liner notes of Donald Fagen's 1982 album, The Nightfly, read:

"The songs on this album represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late fifties and early sixties i.e. one of my general weight, height and build."

Despite this sentiment being one which we may take for granted on many albums, the explicit autobiographical aspect (along with the unsurpassed cover and general excellence) gives The Nightfly a place amongst my favourite albums of the era.

Listening to the new Julian Casablancas record, I keep recalling aspects of the Nightfly. There's something about the lyrics that seem more real than they ever did on a Strokes record, the production is meticulous (like The Nightfly), and whereas Fagen marries his 50s dreams with an 80s aesthetic, Casablancas strides a gap between the 80s of his youth and the present.

I've only given it a few listens so far, but it seems a a strangely naive yet also gloriously realised album.

Contradiction

Rivers Cuomo- Can't Stop Partying

The new Rivers Cuomo demos album is a pleasant surprise. Can't Stop Partying comes on like a strange, more mature cousin of Tired of Sex. Although he is in the lyrical territory of the Red album, musically, as the background vocals wail their way through the final chorus, he sounds like the Rivers of old, and although he's talking the talk of the big million-selling rockstar I don't believe he's enjoying it for one second.

Also:

Coming Up...

Now She's All I See

The Lemonheads- Alison's starting to happen.

I really like both the phrase and concept of Alison starting to happen. I imagine a girl that's so unique she actually qualifies as an event. Someone who you don't quite get at first but slowly come to appreciate as the best thing there is. The trouble is, on the DVD that comes with the It's a Shame About Ray Collectors Edition, Evan Dando points out the real life Alison; It's the girlfriend of one of his friends and they all seem oblivious that he's written a song where he pretty much declares he's falling for her.

Nothing Better To Do

I have been stuck by an urge to update this blog, so for no particular reason I'm going to write about a couple of songs I've been enjoying. No mp3s for the time being I'm afraid, but i may change that when i get a moment.

The Sixths with Sarah Cracknell- Kissing Things

I have very little idea what this song is actually about. I have always just assumed it was sung by a hopeless romantic about her lost love, and certainly when Cracknell sings "I've been kissing the bottle wishing it was you", it's about as perfect as you can get in summarising a certain kind of heartbreak. The trouble is I have incredible difficulty in relating to the verses, so I'm left to guess her exact predicament. Against my better judgement I'm hoping she's singing about an unobtainable current love, because if it's about a lost love I suspect the story won't finish with a happy ending.

Hefner- Mary Lee

A lot of people dislike Darren Hayman's solo stuff and the most common theory is that since he's settled down with a wife he's less inclined to lay his heart on the line. My current theory, since his reunion with Jack Hayter last month is that the other members of Hefner had more influence than they're generally given credit for. I like to think this song illustrates both arguments.
"What's the sound?" the band calls
"It's the sound of Mary Lee's heart breaking" replies Darren as he carries on cheating on her.

Different, but the same.