Following fast in the relative footsteps of groups like The Coral, whom I quite liked from last summer, The Kooks are 4 young guys from scenic beachtown of Brighton, England. My friend Chris from Manchester included them on a recent mix for me and they caught my ear.
Sportin’ that same fancy-pants accent that regularly propels British bands (especially ones whose names start with “The” lately) to moderate success stateside, The Kooks are fun jump-around listening for summer, with a bit more acoustic pop sound than some of the punk/new-wave bands preceding them of late. Pitchfork likens them to “the straightforward dynamism of I Should Coco-era Supergrass,” and Drowned in Sound says, “What they do is take girls and seaside and . . . well, that’s all you need really isn’t it?”
As my friend Massi (from San Sepolcro, Italy) texted me during the match, “Vinca il migliore!” – May the best team win.
That’d be a heck of a lot easier to do if the ref wasn’t so busy reaching into his breast pocket that he couldn’t actually *see* what was happening in the game.
I believe that there are a handful of truly flawless, perfect songs in this world. One of those songs which I love front to back and throughout each note and lyrical turn is R.E.M.’s “You Are The Everything” (from Green, 1988).
I love the feelings and senses that this song conjures up. From the lush sounds of crickets that start the song, you can almost feel the Georgia humidity on your skin. Whereas the song ‘Nightswimming’ conjures up summer from a teenage crush standpoint for me, ‘You Are The Everything’ is a collection of pure childhood memories, pristine and sad, confused and filled with hope all at once. I know of no other song that preserves so pitch-perfectly what it feels like to be a kid asleep in the backseat of your parents’ car, secure with the “peace in absolutes,” watching the stars through the windows (or, in my case, stargazing out the sunroof of the VW bus).
Sometimes I feel like I can’t even sing I’m very scared for this world I’m very scared for me Eviscerate your memory
Here’s a scene You’re in the back seat laying down The windows wrap around To sound of the travel and the engine All you hear is time stand still in travel and feel such peace in absolutes The stillness still that doesn’t end But slowly drifts into sleep The stars are the greatest thing you’ve ever seen And they’re there for you For you alone you are the everything
I think about this world a lot and I cry And I’ve seen the films and the eyes But I’m in this kitchen Everything is beautiful And she is so beautiful She is so young and old I look at her and I see the beauty Of the light of music Voices talking somewhere in the house Late spring and you’re drifting off to sleep With your teeth in your mouth You are here with me You are here with me You have been here and you are everything
For you alone you are the everything For you alone you are the everything
This song contains a few of my favorite lyrics ever, including: “I look at her and I see the beauty of the light of music,” and “Voices talking somewhere in the house, late spring and you’re drifting off to sleep,” as well as the whole aforementioned verse about being in the back seat laying down. Sheer loveliness, lyrical perfection.
Over the years I have heard a few covers of this song, mostly tags in concerts, but just yesterday Fuel reader/fellow chronicler John (http://kingseyeland.livejournal.com/) sent me a copy of this song covered by Redbird. Within the first ten seconds I was blown away – this is an excellent cover. Whereas R.E.M.’s is sublimely sweet & dulcet, this is an aching and honest version with a touch more twang, and a female vocalist (Kris Delmhorst) harmonizing earnestly. I like it, a worthy effort.
I thought I didn’t know Redbird, but in researching them I saw that one of the members is Jeffrey Foucault, whom I recently posted about and whose rich voice I love. This was from Redbird’s eponymous 2005 album, which is a folk-Americana songwriter’s gem full of acoustic originals as well as a few other good covers. Recommended.
Thanks to Eric over at Marathonpacks for this link to Dave Eggers‘ (author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) reflections on the World Cup over on Slate:
“It was, by most accounts, 1986 when the residents of the United States became aware of the thing called the World Cup. Isolated reports came from foreign correspondents, and we were frightened by these reports, worried about domino effects, and wondered aloud if the trend was something we could stop by placing a certain number of military advisers in Cologne or Marseilles. Then, in 1990, we realized that the World Cup might happen every four years, with or without us.”
Plus, Eggers assigns one fictional character in his essay the name of Fakey McChumpland, which alone is reason enough to read it. This piece comes from The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup, an anthology edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey and published this month. It also includes a piece from Nick Hornby, so you know it’s good.
I LOVE Dave Eggers; A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was one of the best books I read last year (and it has gone missing from me, I think I’d best just buy a replacement). I welcome any links that you wish to send me from other Dave Eggers articles on the web that you find funny. The man is comic genius.
By the way, I am still rocking the suburbs on the World Cup bloggers pool, which is surprising even to me. Don’t worry guys, I am sure to lose soon! (but in the meantime, call me Prognosticator of Prognosticators)
The new Colorado quarter is being released today (finally). I know some of you have had quarters for years, but this is the official unveiling of the Centennial State’s kopeck and we are excited. Although for some inexplicable reason, it features Long’s Peak (where? what?) instead of Pikes Peak. Maybe I’m just proprietary of my own city’s beautiful geographic behemoths.
But doesn’t it make you wanna come to Colorful Colorado? C’mon. It’s better here.
“Baby I Got Yo’ Money” – ODB (cuz nothing says, “Sexy, sexy” like a shiny quarter)
One of my favorite “ultimate package” movies –creative camera work, smoking soundtrack, clever script– is the Stephen Soderbergh-directed Out of Sight (1998), based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. I always enjoy watching this one, with George Clooney’s perfectly charming bank robber role, Jennifer Lopez’s badass federal marshall chasing him down, and the variety of characters that intersect the hunt (Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn). Mix in a heavy dose of sexual tension, crime sprees, greasy trunk rides, “short little Latin fellas,” and magician’s assistants, alongside the signature jumpy cinematography, chronology leaps, and quick edits that are typical Soderbergh (Oceans 11, Traffic). You’ve got a stylish winner.
Coming as a precursor to the retro-influenced high stakes sounds of the Oceans 11 series, here David Holmes has crafted a hot Miami-laced soundtrack that has received more spins on my player than any other soundtrack I own, especially in the summertime. Here are a few samples — the soundtrack is a feisty blending of old-school soul, funk, and R&B mixed with tension-filled instrumental mood music (and nary a J. Lo song in sight).
I’ll leave you with a quote that always gets me: even though it’s really just Dr. Doug Ross and Jenny From The Block, the story from Leonard and the direction by Soderbergh captures such a great sense of kismet in the doomed connection between their characters.
Clooney’s character says:
“It’s something that just happens. It’s like seeing a person you never saw before – you could be passing on the street – you look at each other and for a few seconds, there’s a kind of recognition. Like you both know something.
But then the next moment the person’s gone, and it’s too late to do anything about it, but you remember it because it was right there and you let it go, and you think, ‘What if I had stopped and said something?’ It might happen only a few times in your life.”
J-Lo: “Or once.”
Clooney: (long pause) “Why don’t we get out of here.”
Occasionally you open the old CD cabinet (which heart-breakingly gathers dust due to the prominence of your iPod with its sleek digital casing and nyah-nyah ability to hold thousands of CDs) and find an old cracked case containing a gem of a disc.
You can probably find the Sweet Relief benefit CD at any number of used record store bargain bins (or on Amazon for a blessed PENNY) – for reasons unknown to me because this is a GREAT album.
Released in 1993, this was a fundraiser for musician Victoria Williams, stricken with degenerative neurological disorder multiple sclerosis. All of the songs on this album are Victoria’s songs. In most cases (may God strike me dead), I prefer the covers to the original because Victoria has a voice that can best be described as unusual (although quite haunting as background atmosphere in “Crazy Mary” with Pearl Jam). But she is a phenomenal songwriter, and this album shows the beauty she is capable of.
There is a lovely alt-country vibe to this disc, featuring Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, Lou Reed, Pearl Jam, Buffalo Tom, among others – and these two favorites:
Frying Pan – Evan Dando I love this song dearly, and found myself singing it the other day on a late golden afternoon (which inspired this post). Evan Dando was meant from Day One to sing this song. I love the simple imagery of the opening: “One laugh in the middle of a struggle A diamond at the bottom of a puddle Did you ever stare at the moon ’til you saw double?”
This Moment – Matthew Sweet Fabulous to have in your pocket for all those goodbyes, all those *moments* that you want to capture, appreciate, and pin down in your memory before they vanish.
1) Dodge has a Boyz II Men cover (there should be more of that cooleyhighharmony. Admit it, you love it). How *DO* I say goodbye to yesterday? It’s 8th grade graduation all over again, baby.
3) Make like Jackson Pollock here (crazy mad relaxing, and energizing all at once). Release your inner artist right there in your cubicle. No one will know. Click your mouse to change colors.
Pimpong could be the best last name ever. Maybe even better than Pujols. Wait, no, if you go to the ESPN site on Pujols, it actuallysays “Pronounced: POO-holes.” DANGIT why is that so funny.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
Following fast in the relative footsteps of groups like The Coral, whom I quite liked from last summer, The Kooks are 4 young guys from scenic beachtown of Brighton, England. My friend Chris from Manchester included them on a recent mix for me and they caught my ear.
One of my favorite “ultimate package” movies –creative camera work, smoking soundtrack, clever script– is the 
Name: Heather Browne
