Monday Music Roundup

I don’t know if you are a fan of the comic strip Dilbert, but three strips last week made me laugh out loud over my morning coffee, and I thought I’d share that smile to start this Monday (which is a rainy Monday in Colorado). Plus, I absolutely want that design to the right on a t-shirt.
Dilbert 10/2
Dilbert 10/3
Dilbert 10/4

Then you also, of course, get your musical dose for the week of fresh tunes that I am enjoying:

“The Start Of Something“
Voxtrot
If The Smiths ever decided to get happy and land in mid-’60s Britain, the sound of Voxtrot might be the result. I’ve seen the name of this band all over the blogs but for whatever reason I never listened until I got a rather anonymous tip last night to listen to this song on their MySpace page, from the 2005 EP Raised By Wolves. I liked it immediately. You’d never guess these guys are out of Austin, Texas, would you?

“New England“
Tanya Donelly
It’s raining new songs from girl bands I liked in the ’90s. Belly rocked; I listened to their 1993 Star album more times than was likely healthy. Alongside Hole, Luscious Jackson, Veruca Salt and Juliana Hatfield, this was a little mini-pantheon of rocking women whom I could admire for their ferocious riffs and fearless lyrics. Tanya Donelly was the lead singer of Belly (and also co-founded both The Breeders with ex-Pixie Kim Deal & Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh) and is releasing a solo album, This Hungry Life, on October 17th through Eleven Thirty Records. I found it to be very amenable listening, and I am liking the George Harrison cover she does on the album of “Long, Long, Long.”

“Me and The Radio“
Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club
Here’s another recommendation to me (it only took me 4 months to get to it). My friend Jason writes for The Daily Vault and absolutely loved this roots-rock artist’s 2006 CD Faithful. Chris Cubeta is my age, a 27-year-old songwriter from New York, with a knack for rich, warm songs that belie his age and remind me some of Marah or Centro-Matic. This is the first track off Faithful and has a slight alt-country feel with a driving beat and earthy lyrics. Check out more tunes on his MySpace.

“Remember Me” (Otis Redding cover)
Cat Power
The lovely Chan Marshall (Cat Power) released a nice little 4-song EP over on eMusic recently, and it included this stunning Otis Redding cover where she channels his anguished vocal dramatic in a perfectly stylish way. Because we love Otis Redding and Cat’s impeccable taste in covers (I have yet to hear one that I don’t like from this gal), I thought I’d give a mention and encourage you to get the whole EP, which includes a version of “The Greatest,” from her 2006 album of the same name, a melancholy Hank Williams cover (“Ramblin’ Man”) and “Good Woman.”

“It Was You“
Lindsey Buckingham
I’ve met guys named Shannon and girls named Kendall, but I remember being thrown for a loop the first time I learned that this Lindsey is clearly NOT a girl. Guitar-picking mastermind Mr. Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac fame) has had a steady solo career which encompasses the last 25 years, and his newest album is called Under The Skin. I am seriously loving the odd reggae beat to this song (Stereogum hearts Lindsey Buckingham and tells me that some of the percussion on this comes from him drumming on furniture in his hotel room where the album was recorded). The sound production is quirky and layered and looped, blending with a catchy melody. The album also includes the song that he contributed to the Elizabethtown soundtrack, “Shut Us Down,” and overall it is a superb, intelligent, heartfelt effort.

UPDATE: I wrote about Locksley last week and at the time, didn’t know where you could buy the new LP I mentioned. This retro garage-rock outfit now has their full-length album available for pre-order on their website, and you can stream the whole thing on AltSounds — see what I was going on about. Good stuff.