The finale to The Sopranos is on tonight. I wonder who is going to be whacked. On this peaceful Sunday though, the rotation is as follows:
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/xiu-sav.mp3]This gem is fresh off of Xiu Xiu’s new album, The Air Force. Don’t be surprised if the ultra hipster Xiu Xiu fans frown on this one because it is actually catchy and accessible to people who don’t know about Jamie Stewart’s “horse incident”. Yeah, it’s rare when a Xiu Xiu song has a structure that repeats with an actual chorus, but as usual, Xiu Xiu has charmed us with another fantastic album that I will review shortly.
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Off of Blur’s Leisure, it is probably known best for its appearance on the Trainspotting Soundtrack, this Blur epic utilizes a simple piano chord progression that is extremely effective in its dramatic display. Albarn shows his vocal range, without it being known he would go on to perform such happy-go-lucky hits such as ‘Parklife’ or ‘Charmless Man’. This one is very beautiful and atmospheric though, and you’ll probably want to listen to it more than once.
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/bor-whi.mp3]You’ll either love this or hate it. Either way, Boredoms have a cult following all over the world from their native Japan to the United States. Yeah, it is pretty weird but you have to give them credit either way. The sounds involved in this song and the majority of their songs are unique and can range anywhere from cute to creepy. This is off their very good album, Pop Tatari.
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/cri-mar.mp3]The Cribs’ sophomore album, New Fellas, really was an example of a talented band looking for their sound. The cover image on the album of a young dude drinking beer really is the perfect image of their sound: party hard, have fun, and hang loose. ‘Martell Miniatures’ is really an example of fun and youth, providing great enjoyment. While the album had some bumps along the road, if they follow the sounds that made this song successful, The Cribs’ next album could have potential to be very special.
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The Human League – The Sound Of The Crowd
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/hum-sou.mp3]Whether you know it or not, The Human League had several songs that were actually as good (if not better) than ‘Don’t You Want Me’. In my opinion, ‘Sound Of The Crowd’ is one of them. Off of the classic Dare!, if you love music from the 80s, you’re almost guaranteed to love this one.
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Paul Weller – Blink And You’ll Miss It
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/pau-bli.mp3]As the former frontman of the legendary The Jam, Paul Weller’s solo career has been nothing short of exciting and fulfilling. His newest album, As Is Now, was released last year. It was a pretty good album, in which I wrote a review of here. ‘Blink And You’ll Miss It’ was the first track of the album, and it opened it in grand fashion. Weller takes a Clapton-like approach in his catchiest song in quite some time.
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The Pyschedelic Furs – Dumb Waiters
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p4/psy-dum.mp3]Besides their recent exposure in that car commercial with ‘Pretty In Pink’, The Psychedelic Furs are a band that have made so many great songs and never have gotten the proper attention they deserve. For a nice introduction, I would recommend either Talk Talk Talk, or for a more immediate approach, try their Greatest Hits.
Could not agree more with you about Furs. I got to see them three times. First time was when they hauled along Hawkwind’s Atomhenge light show.
Second time they had a cello player.
Third time was in a bigger hall.
First time was best. The Atomhenge light show was made for these psychedelic motherfuckers.
btw the horse incident is fake…
“The New Fellas” is actually the Cribs’ sophomore album, not their debut. The debut was a self-titled. The song is also just “Martell”. “Martell Miniatures” was the title kicking around on some early versions before the album was released but it got shortened in the final version.
thanks for the info.