Howe Gelb, 'Sno Angel Like You (2006)

I have to admit that I haven't really listened to much Giant Sand, Gelb's Tucson-based low-key Americana outfit that's been around for, like, a billion or so years. But I picked up his 2006 solo album awhile back on a lark, and, while it's pretty far afield from what I generally imagine myself enjoying, it's really grown into a personal joy for me. Gelb lays down a pretty dry, Lou Reed/Leonard Cohen-esque spoken-word sing-speak, backs it up with some sparse finger-picking and an occasional gospel choir, and manages to cobble together a handful of truly moving pieces that make you feel like you're hanging out on the deck of some backwoods shack down the street from the church with a headful of tequila. Or something like that. Doesn't make me want to run out and buy a lot of Tom Waits or anything like that, but I may have to give Giant Sand (who released an album earlier this year) another shot. Check it out.

Oh, and here's a little solo acoustic stuff...

Bye, Butch

Very sad news about Paul Newman. Personally, I prefer to think that it went down a bit more like this...

Mandatory Clash Break

Sorry, but after spending a buncha time on the Ted Stevens U-tubes, watching multiple melancholy Fleet Foxes and Kingsbury Manx clips, I needed a pick-me-up.

Forunately, when I need a pick-me-up, there's really very little choice in the matter.

"Safe European Home." End of story.



...though, actually, in a pinch, I'll go for Husker Du's "Terms of Psychic Warfare" and "Books About UFO's"... both handily combined in a single nifty clip!

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes

I held off for a few months before buying this... I dunno, maybe just a knee-jerk reaction to the hype or something. But I finally relented, and, sure enough, the damn thing's pretty good. As I've been in something of a retro/Brian Wilson kinda kick lately, this fit in pretty well with my mindset, though I found myself enjoying it on its own merits. For a debut album (not counting the brief EP that preceded it by a few months), it's surprisingly mature and gutsy, willing to meander and build on you, though there are hooks to be found as well. Yes, it's chock full of spine-tingling harmonies, equal parts Beach Boys and CSN, and does mine that familiar early 70s Brian Wilson eccentric vibe. But there's also a heavy dose of mellow, pastoral folkie Americana, making it equally reminiscent of, say, the Kingsbury Manx and early My Morning Jacket. (Why this got the big-time indie rock press hype but the Kingsbury Manx have not I just can't figure out.) Anyway, sounds particularly swell with headphones, though some of the more melodic, denser tracks fill a room pretty well over big-ass speakers, too. Check it out.

Here's the obligatory video:


And, hey, if I'm gonna keep namedropping the (fabulous) Kingsbury Manx, here's a bit of some random dude's home movies set to a KM tune:

Hot-Off

Ok, I'm gonna be a bit neanderthal for a moment (but, I swear, I won't accuse anyone of putting lipstick on a pig), and go with my baser instincts for a video hot-off. You be the judge.

In this corner, Liz Phair with "Divorce Song":


... and in this corner we have Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley with "Portions for Foxes":


Tough call, no?

Golden Smog

Though the term "supergroup" tends to conjure up images of the very worst excesses in rock (think Asia, etc.), Americana/alt.rock pick-up band Golden Smog is the rare exception. This on-again off-again band of midwesterners -- Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Dave Murphy of Soul Asylum, a couple Jayhawks, assorted others -- has issued three albums and a few EP's over the past decade and a half. And somehow all the albums manage to be pretty damn good. (The EP's, not so much.) Anyway, for those who've missed out, Rykodisc is issuing Stay Golden, Smog: The Best of Golden Smog next week. It's a bit misnamed, as it only compiles tracks from the first two albums and the debut EP (recorded on Ryko). As the third album, 2006's Another Fine Day*, is my personal favorite, this falls short of being a true compilation, but they definitely did a fine job handpicking tracks from the earlier albums.

Still, if you don't have those first albums, by all means treat yourself to this. A fine blend of the Jayhawks' middle-of-the-road alt. country, Murphy's punchy power pop, and Tweedy's rustic Americana (this predates Wilco's more experimental, varied later work), most these tunes do a great job of avoiding the perception that the artists are just recording some throwaway tracks held back from their other bands. Indeed, "Jennifer Save Me," "Until You Came Along," "Looking Forward to Seeing You," "Radio King," and "To Call My Own" are some of my favorite tunes of the 90's.

Of course, I prefer my own homemade comp, which collects all their best tunes in one place. Meanwhile, here's the band playing at an Obama rally in February, which is cool in so many ways...

*Note: As of today, you can pick up Another Fine Day on Amazon.com, used, for $0.84. That's obscene. Also means you have no excuse not to own this. Hell, buy one for a friend.

The Red Button, She's About To Cross My Mind

The 2007 debut from this L.A. duo is yet another super-cool retro-pop album I picked up on a recent shopping spree, guided only by Amazon.com's intermittently helpful "Customers who bought this item also bought..." links. Another self-conscious throwback to the '60's, this one taps into an unambiguous British Invasion sound, fitting in easily with the Zombies, Kinks, early Beatles, Herman's Hermits, etc. It's consistent across the board, with nearly every song checking in with two minutes of solid hummable hooks. They get the sound just right (though it does have a bit of a mid-fi home-produced quality to it). Pretty impossible not to like.

Interestingly, only on reading the liner notes did I realize that the band includes Mike Ruekberg, nice guy a few years behind me in high school back in suburban Chicago. I'd heard on and off through the years about his various musical ventures (through my brother, who was in his class), so it was great to see him in such a cool combo. Go check it out.

Oh, and here's the video:

The Dark Side Of Shuffle Play Mode

Belated (or possibly premature -- let's not completely give up hope) condolences for Art Of The Mix, for many years one of the finest interactive sites on the Web, where music lovers of all stripes could post track lists from mixes. For those of us who are truly obsessive about making mixes (we're a few years past calling them "mix tapes," and, alas, "mix discs" or "mix cdr's" just doesn't have that same, John Cusacky vibe to it, so I guess we're stuck with the wholly less satisfying "mixes"), it was a great little community. Alas, some [insert selected profanity here], for reasons unknown, hijacked the site this summer, riddling it with viruses and trojan horses. The site admin (who runs the site as a non-profit, with no advertising or revenue streams) did his best to cleanse the site, but the damage was done, with enough recurring problems that most of us longtime AOTM community members have packed up and hightailed it out of town.

Oddly enough, I'm finding myself making a lot fewer mixes ever since AOTM was stolen out from under us. Now, to be honest, I'm finding mixes of diminishing interest these days; while I used to bring them in the car, nowadays I just plug my iPod into to the car stereo and let 'er rip. While I still burn mix cdr's on a regular basis, I simply take the mix, rip it back onto my PC, and upload it to my iPod (yes, I could accomplish the same thing by creating a playlist, but I still have a residual old-fashioned need to create a real, tangible "mix" -- call me an old-timer). But technology aside, I'm far less inclined to make mixes now without the prospect of sharing them via AOTM. It's a damn shame.

Anyway, here's the most recent mix I burned, just last week. While I typically prefer single-artist compilations or themed mixes, every now and then I just grab whatever happens to be lying around -- recent purchases, cd's in rotation on my stereo, songs that happened to be on my mind -- and contruct a random (yet still painstakingly arranged) mix.

And just a few thoughts on this volume's selections:

Had a few Madness vinyl lp’s back in high school that I haven’t listened to in some 25 years, but only recently bothered picking up a cd compilation…The Sails' self-titled debut is one of my favorite purchases in years, home-produced retro-psychedelic-power pop for lovers of, say, Rain Parade or Apples in Stereo [see full review below] …Picked up an Ambulance Ltd. ep for the wholly inessential note-for-note Floyd cover, but, hey, great song, great band… Big Dipper's a long-forgotten late 80s college radio band, recently treated to a deluxe reissue, and damned if “Ron Klaus” isn’t the greatest Pixies-sounding song in. the. universe!... New Matthew Sweet album, like all his work since the mid-90s, is so-so, nothing great, but some fine pop tunes… Been watching Velvet Goldmine on late night cable recently -- great soundtrack… Red Button’s recent debut is fantastic British Invasion kitsch for lovers of mid-60’s Zombies, Beatles, etc… Green Pajamas with yet another reliable collection of low-key psychedelic pop…Not a huge Vaselines fan, but had the disc out by the computer and, hey, short enough song… Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool reissue can’t be beat, and “Nutted” is an odd little ditty with a great Jackson 5 rip-off… Been in a Beach Boys-pastische mindset recently, and Linus gets the job done…Read a book on punk history recently which had kind words for Ian Dury, whom I’ve never loved, but his campy work with Kilburn was nifty… Raveonettes just totally rip off the Jesus & Mary Chain, but they do it well… “Breakdown” is a guilty pleasure from a 70s act I otherwise despise… Eddie & The Hot Rods were also written about in that fore-mentioned punk history book… Explorers Club’s recent debut is a wonderful, joyous Beach Boys rip-off [see full review below]… Another week, another great Hitchcock box set full of useless but fun rarities… Saw this Groovies tune name-checked in an article recently and dug the cd out of a drawer… Hard to watch the GOP convention without thinking about “Kill The Poor.”… I'm a sucker for obscure 60s UK psychedelia, and Skip Bifferty is a personal fave… Never paid any attention to the Eels, but recently picked up a greatest hits comp and absolutely love it; I definitely need to start checking out their back-catlogue… Surprisingly great song from Ray Davies. Has Paul McCartney written anything this great in 20 years? Mick Jagger? Pete Townshend? Outrageous… Not sure why, but been listening to some campy comps of French female singers from the mid-60s lately… Just felt like some Oranger… and, really, what more needs to be said about a joyously twisted cover of the Terry Jacks classic?

Richard Wright, R.I.P.

Sad to read today that Pink Floyd keyboardist and co-founder Richard Wright died of cancer at 65. About a million personal stories immediately flooded the 'net, so no need to post my own. But of course, like most teens in the 70s, I grew up on Floyd, cut my teeth on Dark Side of the Moon, spent hours holed up in my room with headphones on and The Wall on the turntable, etc. And while Wright was hardly the flashy musician like prog keyboardists of the day (and thank God for that), and he was always a minor contributor to the band (both in the initial Barrett era and the later Water/Gilmour era), he was an integral part of their sound for the first decade or so. A few underrated compositions (including my personal fave, the hugely overlooked "Summer '68" from 1970's otherwise weak Atom Heart Mother -- see below), nice keyboard flourishes, and some wonderful backing vox (particularly throughout DSOTM) all make up key parts of the Floyd legacy. Sad to see him go.

Explorers Club, Freedom Wind

As should be evident, I've been in something of a retro mood of late. And another one of my fave purchases is Explorers Club's 2007 debut, Freedom Wind. Like a lot of bands, these guys (from South Carolina, rather than Southern California) drink heavily from the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys well (see also, e.g., Linus of Hollywood, High Llamas, Heavy Blinkers, Wondermints, etc.). Though, as the cover art alone should illustrate, this is more than just a Wilson-influenced album; it's a total, deliberate rip-off. For all practical purposes, this is a proper Beach Boys album, circa 1968 (hewing a bit more closely to the late 60's, early 70's pastoral sound than strictly to the mid-60's Pet Sounds (or Smile) style favored by most imitators. Slightly updated production values, perhaps, but this is a straight-out BB pastische. Which doesn't mean it isn't good, 'cuz it is. Originality can be highly overrated. For previews, check out their obligatory MySpace page.


Incidentally, should you be interested in buying this (which, if you like any of those afore-referenced bands, you really should), be careful you're getting the right Explorers Club. Apparently there's a current prog supergroup of the same name which, at least according to their album reviews, has recorded what sounds like the most God-awful cd in the history of the universe.

P.S. Here's a (brief) snippet of the band rehearsing (there are a few live tracks to be found on YouTube, but, let's be honest, this is a band best captured in the studio):

Pop Kulcher Radio

The Pop Kulcher Radio playlist (see right) has been updated. Some songs may not load instantaneously (kinda hit & miss, as the playlist is composed of links to various spots around the 'net), but as of today (9/13/08), they're all valid audio links, so pop that puppy open if you need a little background music.

Video Flashback

And, hey, as long as I'm here...

Admit it, coolest video ever. The long-forgotten Stump, with "Charlton Heston."

So... Whatcha been listenin' to?...

Yep, been a year since I posted. Took a bit of a break. And, who knows, could be another year before I post again. But somehow I just keep buying more and more music, and still feel the obsessive need to pass along recommendations to friends and fellow travelers, and this is still the easiest way to get the word out on what's been in steady rotation on the ol' Pop Kulcher iPod lately. So I'm hoping to throw out a few posts, more or less haphazardly, on what I'm listening to these days.

First off...



The Sails, The Sails (self titled). 2006.


Don't know much about this band; I suppose I should check out their MySpace page or something. But, in any event, this is probably the best album I've picked up in some time. Oddly enough, I totally stumbled across it, following one of those sometimes useless, sometimes wonderful Amazon.com "People who bought this album also bought..." links. I don't even remember what I was buying at the time, but followed the link to this cd, liked the preview samples, and ordered it on a lark. Big win for me.

Retro-psychedelic power pop, but, however deliberately derivative it may be, it's got a freshness lacking from most self-consciously retro-poppers. At times it reminds me of 80s Paisley Underground bands like Rain Parade; at others, the more "modern" retro-pop of the Apples in Stereo. Shades of the Byrds, Small Faces, Beatles, etc. More melodious than most, and far more consistent than you'd expect. Check it out.