Monday Music Roundup

This weekend was an unexpectedly gorgeous Indian summer weekend in Colorado, with temps in the 70s and me completely loving the feeling of the sunshine soaking into my skin for what could be the last time in a while. On Saturday I made it up to the top of Castle Rock which gave amazing panoramic views of the whole Front Range area. I’ve driven past it a million times (every time I see a show in Denver or Boulder) but never thought to see what it looked like from the top.

In order to tackle the easy hike up (2 miles or so) I had to face my icy-grip-of-death fear of mountain lions and other large carnivores with big teeth and claws that sometimes eat people. I despise being afraid of anything, really, so I get hotly mad at myself for flinching at underbrush crackles. But after seeing pawprints in the mud, it took some serious steeling of the will to overcome my natural inclination to go somewhere indoors. So as lame as it sounds to you rugged types, I was proud of my little mini-feat in overcoming fear — and the view from the top of the rock formation was worth it.

Delivery (demo) – Babyshambles
This song could have easily flowed from Ray Davies’ pen + guitar. Pete Doherty lays off the smack and blatant self-destruction long enough to record one of the catchiest tunes of recent memory. This is an ’06 demo version from the Stookie + Jim Bumfest sessions available on French Dog Blues (Doherty’s site), while the finished version is even snappier and out now on the new album Shotter’s Nation (Astralwerks). And as Pete says in the song, the vibe of this is your basic “make pretend it’s 1969 forever, find a girl, have a drink, have a dance and play.” Okay Pete. You convinced me. [photo]

I Just Want The Girl In The Blue Dress To Keep Dancing
Mike Doughty
This is my new favorite song. Mike Doughty was the lead singer for Soul Coughing, and his uniquely gravely voice and badass sense of killer rhythm always gets me. He’s announced a new album called Golden Delicious, out on ATO Records in 2008. This preview tune manages to combine indie-rock sensibilities with a retro feel, using some fun little vocal repetitions imitating the band that he wants this girl to keep dancing to — “Ba-rumpa-doh-bum-bum.” It’s like the little drummer Boy, but significantly less annoying. Love it.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
(Neil Young cover)
Lions In The Street
This scorching cover of Neil Young’s 1969 classic comes from fellow Canadians Lions In The Street when they visited the XM Radio studios recently. Here’s a band that has the crazy idea that music should be shared and loved freely, so to that effect, they give away quite a bit of it on their website, despite some disagreements with their label. When I wrote about these guys last summer, I cited the obvious swagger and strut of the Stones in the vocals and the boozy riffs, but in this song I can also hear a bit of the warm tone of some of my favorite Adam Duritz vocal moments. So if you like those bands, you should check out LITS, go download some free tunes on their site — my favorite is still probably “Mine Ain’t Yours.” New full-length from these guys is expected in 2008.

The Future Is Nothing New (the toolbox song)
The Alternate Routes
This was one of the coolest tunes that Connecticut’s Alternate Routes did when I saw them live in concert last month, using an amplified toolbox to provide the uniquely crashing hurrumph beats throughout. There’s also a Latin-tinged feisty feel to this that reminds me of Justin Timberlake’s “Senorita,” and so I am pleased to finally have an mp3 of this (courtesy Andrew). The Alternate Routes are finalists in this ‘lil Hennessey/Rolling Stone contest so you can go over and vote for them. Matt Nathanson is also listed and I felt guilty for not voting for him, but the Alternate Routes asked me to go out with them first.

My Favorite Mutiny
(feat. Talib Kweli)
The Coup
This past February when I saw Oakland, CA band The Coup as part of the Noise Pop Music Fest (now accepting apps for 2008) I was completely and totally blown away. It was one of the best and most thoroughly fun shows that I have seen in a long time. They made those dusty historic floorboards at the Fillmore shake up and down. Therefore, news of their 2002 live double album being available on eMusic is welcome (although, really, you just need to go see Boots Riley & Co in concert for yourself). So Much Silence has ripped an mp3 “Shipment” from that live album for your listening pleasure, but this particular song from their 2006 album Pick A Bigger Weapon still kills it as one of my favorite tunes I discovered in this past year; I am not yet weary of listening to it. I doubt I ever will be.

Check the video I took at the show in San Francisco, I’ll use any excuse to post this again:

THE COUP: Laugh/Love/F*ck (live 3/1/07)