half step
When I was making my first podcast at the beginning of the week, I accidentally made it wayyyy longer than most podcasts are, and thus, I couldn't get it to upload to the server because it was so massive. So I just split it down the middle, and the first half is what you heard on Monday. Still, I think of the two halves as belonging together so I decided to post them both this week, partly as a celebration of my newly birthed podcast. Here it is.
00:00-04:48...Regina Spektor - Us
Brittany, trying to help me out in my musicless situation (my CD collection is sitting in New Orleans), sent me a bunch of MP3s by this woman Regina Spektor. I'd never heard of her before, but she's one of the artists from New York's Antifolk scene. Of all the music scenes that have been around, I think this is one of the coolest because it's so much about ideas rather than achieving a specific sound. Every band I've heard that calls itself antifolk sounds completely different, and that is just awesome. Anyway, pianist Regina Spektor was born in Moscow and moved to the Bronx when she was 9. This song is from her album Soviet Kitsch which is way more singer-songwriter-y than I've been into lately, but it's lovely, fun, and quite good. Spektor's sweet voice combined with her intospective lyrics provide a nice breezy feeling that is captivating.
04:49-06:52...Katherine Dohan - Morphine Sister
Ahem. In fact, this song is about my own dear sister Morgan. In fact, I wrote most of these lyrics and the lovely Katherine just recently tweaked them about and put them to music. This was recorded in her dorm room at Oberlin in Ohio where she is having a lovely time taking all kinds of religion and music technology classes. What a gal! If you recognize her voice, you are obviously a Scandaliz Vandalistz fan. You can count on seeing some of the songs from the new album on this podcast in the coming weeks, I can guarantee it. I know I'm tooting my own horn, but how else is anybody gonna hear this stuff? Come on.
06:53-08:25...Hamn - What I'm Doing
Ahem. Again. What's the point in being a DJ (sort of) if I don't play my boyfriend's band? For those of you who haven't heard, Hamn is Action! They are a crazy party band who like to wear costumes, throw ham sandwiches at their fans, and break things. Only two of the band members (the bassist and the drummer) really know how to play. Everyone else just picks a couple chords to play over and over while Brandon screams crazy lyrics. As in this song, you can kind of make out the words, "I'm not angry! I'm just screaming! I don't know how to sing! I don't know what I'm doing! Why am I in this band? Why am I in Hamn?" This is the first song on the EP Hamn the Man, which was recorded in somebody's bedroom, and if I may say so, it's wonderfully sexy.
08:26-09:47...The Thermals - Everything Thermals
I believe this was the first song I ever heard by The Thermals, a lovely little band on Sub Pop Records. The line up features members of All Girl Summer Fun Band, Operacycle, Kind of Like Spitting, and both members of Hutch and Kathy. This song specifically can only be found on the "No Culture Icons" single, The Thermals' first release. The first full length album, More Parts Per Million, was recorded in a kitchen, and this song has that same blasting lo-fi sound. The Thermals' latest release, Fuckin A, was actually recorded in a studio and is a bit clearer, but it's still amazing. Luckily, this is not just a band that loses all their energy when put into a more professional setting, thank god. We need more bands like The Thermals, who are ready to sing those classic four-word lines until the cows come home. Somehow, they manage to say everything in under two minutes. Utterly perfect.
09:48-12:08...The Breeders - Hellbound
I bought Last Splash as soon as I heard Kim Deal had her own band, which, of course, was a decade late. I was probably in the ninth grade, four years ago, as opposed to 12 years ago when the album was first released. Although I liked the album, I never really looked into Pod, the band's first release, until this summer. I was fucking blown away. Throwing Muses's Tanya Donnelly was in the band before she moved on to start Belly, and her presence is definitely felt. Although she only sings once on the entire album, I believe, her guitar parts and Muses mentality can be heard throughout. The Breeders were, in part, a coming together of two underdogs, who felt they weren't given enough vocal parts or chances to write, and unfortunately, Tanya's Breeders experience seems to be another of the same. Still, we're lucky to have this one perfect album (yes, I said it) before she finally went to find her own place in the sun. This song is a good example of one of the album's most rock and roll moments, and I definitely recommend that you hear the rest.
12:09-14:36...The Beatles - Got To Get You Into My Life
I can't help it. Who doesn't love The Beatles? I'm sure you've all heard this song, so I don't really know what to say about it. It's a McCartney song from Revolver, which I can pretty safely say is my favorite Beatles album, at least in theory. Of course my favorite usually becomes whichever one I'm listening to at the time, but this one holds a special place in my heart because it's the first one I heard and really loved. On those opening chords of "Taxman," my mouth sort of dropped open, at the age of 8, and I just went, "What IS this?!?!?!" Anyway, hopefully hearing a Beatles song amongst these others will sort of put it into perspective everything they have done for rock and roll. Amazing.
14:37-20:11...Throwing Muses - City of the Dead
I've been listening to this song kind of nonstop lately because it kind of reminds me of Hurricane Katrina. If you don't see it, you should maybe read the lyrics to the demo version because they're a lot more fleshed out. Kristin Hersh, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Throwing Muses, for some reason always removes some of her lyrics in the final versions of songs, so it's a real treat to hear the demos (I think) to see what the original thoughts were behind the song. I can't say enough times that this is one of my favorite bands of all time, and that they don't get half the respect they deserve. You'll definitely be hearing a lot more of Hersh and her bands in the future, and I hope you see what I mean. I think a lot of music fans dismiss her because her style is usually pretty difficult, but just because it's thinking music doesn't mean it's bad for you! Anyway, this song has only been released on the first Firepile EP in 1992 and the demo was on Works in Progress 1. It's sort of eerie that something written over ten years ago reminds me so much of what's happening today. "I think of all the dead girls..."
20:12-23:23...Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie - When the Levee Breaks
If this sounds familiar, you have probably heard the Led Zeppelin tribute to it. I wouldn't necessarily call it a cover since they change the music itself and only keep a few of the lyrics, but it's definitely very similar. Again, this is has been stuck in my head a lot lately because of the recent situation with the hurricanes. It was originally written about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Isn't it strange how happy the blues sound? Southerners are so weird. Even with lines like "Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan," there's something playful about the music itself. That's Memphis Minnie on guitar, by the way, one of the greatest female blues artists of all time. She and Kansas Joe were married and played music together until they broke up in 1935.
MP3 version
00:00-04:48...Regina Spektor - Us
Brittany, trying to help me out in my musicless situation (my CD collection is sitting in New Orleans), sent me a bunch of MP3s by this woman Regina Spektor. I'd never heard of her before, but she's one of the artists from New York's Antifolk scene. Of all the music scenes that have been around, I think this is one of the coolest because it's so much about ideas rather than achieving a specific sound. Every band I've heard that calls itself antifolk sounds completely different, and that is just awesome. Anyway, pianist Regina Spektor was born in Moscow and moved to the Bronx when she was 9. This song is from her album Soviet Kitsch which is way more singer-songwriter-y than I've been into lately, but it's lovely, fun, and quite good. Spektor's sweet voice combined with her intospective lyrics provide a nice breezy feeling that is captivating.
04:49-06:52...Katherine Dohan - Morphine Sister
Ahem. In fact, this song is about my own dear sister Morgan. In fact, I wrote most of these lyrics and the lovely Katherine just recently tweaked them about and put them to music. This was recorded in her dorm room at Oberlin in Ohio where she is having a lovely time taking all kinds of religion and music technology classes. What a gal! If you recognize her voice, you are obviously a Scandaliz Vandalistz fan. You can count on seeing some of the songs from the new album on this podcast in the coming weeks, I can guarantee it. I know I'm tooting my own horn, but how else is anybody gonna hear this stuff? Come on.
06:53-08:25...Hamn - What I'm Doing
Ahem. Again. What's the point in being a DJ (sort of) if I don't play my boyfriend's band? For those of you who haven't heard, Hamn is Action! They are a crazy party band who like to wear costumes, throw ham sandwiches at their fans, and break things. Only two of the band members (the bassist and the drummer) really know how to play. Everyone else just picks a couple chords to play over and over while Brandon screams crazy lyrics. As in this song, you can kind of make out the words, "I'm not angry! I'm just screaming! I don't know how to sing! I don't know what I'm doing! Why am I in this band? Why am I in Hamn?" This is the first song on the EP Hamn the Man, which was recorded in somebody's bedroom, and if I may say so, it's wonderfully sexy.
08:26-09:47...The Thermals - Everything Thermals
I believe this was the first song I ever heard by The Thermals, a lovely little band on Sub Pop Records. The line up features members of All Girl Summer Fun Band, Operacycle, Kind of Like Spitting, and both members of Hutch and Kathy. This song specifically can only be found on the "No Culture Icons" single, The Thermals' first release. The first full length album, More Parts Per Million, was recorded in a kitchen, and this song has that same blasting lo-fi sound. The Thermals' latest release, Fuckin A, was actually recorded in a studio and is a bit clearer, but it's still amazing. Luckily, this is not just a band that loses all their energy when put into a more professional setting, thank god. We need more bands like The Thermals, who are ready to sing those classic four-word lines until the cows come home. Somehow, they manage to say everything in under two minutes. Utterly perfect.
09:48-12:08...The Breeders - Hellbound
I bought Last Splash as soon as I heard Kim Deal had her own band, which, of course, was a decade late. I was probably in the ninth grade, four years ago, as opposed to 12 years ago when the album was first released. Although I liked the album, I never really looked into Pod, the band's first release, until this summer. I was fucking blown away. Throwing Muses's Tanya Donnelly was in the band before she moved on to start Belly, and her presence is definitely felt. Although she only sings once on the entire album, I believe, her guitar parts and Muses mentality can be heard throughout. The Breeders were, in part, a coming together of two underdogs, who felt they weren't given enough vocal parts or chances to write, and unfortunately, Tanya's Breeders experience seems to be another of the same. Still, we're lucky to have this one perfect album (yes, I said it) before she finally went to find her own place in the sun. This song is a good example of one of the album's most rock and roll moments, and I definitely recommend that you hear the rest.
12:09-14:36...The Beatles - Got To Get You Into My Life
I can't help it. Who doesn't love The Beatles? I'm sure you've all heard this song, so I don't really know what to say about it. It's a McCartney song from Revolver, which I can pretty safely say is my favorite Beatles album, at least in theory. Of course my favorite usually becomes whichever one I'm listening to at the time, but this one holds a special place in my heart because it's the first one I heard and really loved. On those opening chords of "Taxman," my mouth sort of dropped open, at the age of 8, and I just went, "What IS this?!?!?!" Anyway, hopefully hearing a Beatles song amongst these others will sort of put it into perspective everything they have done for rock and roll. Amazing.
14:37-20:11...Throwing Muses - City of the Dead
I've been listening to this song kind of nonstop lately because it kind of reminds me of Hurricane Katrina. If you don't see it, you should maybe read the lyrics to the demo version because they're a lot more fleshed out. Kristin Hersh, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Throwing Muses, for some reason always removes some of her lyrics in the final versions of songs, so it's a real treat to hear the demos (I think) to see what the original thoughts were behind the song. I can't say enough times that this is one of my favorite bands of all time, and that they don't get half the respect they deserve. You'll definitely be hearing a lot more of Hersh and her bands in the future, and I hope you see what I mean. I think a lot of music fans dismiss her because her style is usually pretty difficult, but just because it's thinking music doesn't mean it's bad for you! Anyway, this song has only been released on the first Firepile EP in 1992 and the demo was on Works in Progress 1. It's sort of eerie that something written over ten years ago reminds me so much of what's happening today. "I think of all the dead girls..."
20:12-23:23...Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie - When the Levee Breaks
If this sounds familiar, you have probably heard the Led Zeppelin tribute to it. I wouldn't necessarily call it a cover since they change the music itself and only keep a few of the lyrics, but it's definitely very similar. Again, this is has been stuck in my head a lot lately because of the recent situation with the hurricanes. It was originally written about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Isn't it strange how happy the blues sound? Southerners are so weird. Even with lines like "Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan," there's something playful about the music itself. That's Memphis Minnie on guitar, by the way, one of the greatest female blues artists of all time. She and Kansas Joe were married and played music together until they broke up in 1935.
MP3 version
posted by the admiral | 7:54 PM
2 Comments:
Amazing. Listening to your podcast brightened my day. Then, when morphine sister came on, I was like, "that sounds like me. Wait a second..." I enjoyed the Hamn by the King of Hamn and Rolls. --Katherine
thanks! too bad i don't really have time to update anymore....
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