Monday Music Roundup

Today is slushy and grey and cold, and twenty degrees or so. In four days I will be on Kauai and I just keep telling myself that when the wind smacks me in the face and takes my breath away (and not in a Top Gun soundtrack kind of way). I am so very tired of having cold hands all the time.

Here are two links worth a click today:
–I heart Nick Hornby and the way he writes about music, this is a documented fact. Check his list of favorite songs from 2007. I hope he writes another Songbook someday.

–Stereogum posted this Celine Dion video last week, and good heavens I think she’s IN-sane, but I laughed relentlessly. Amazing indeed.

Music for the frosty week:

Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
The Black Crowes
Here’s our first listen to the sounds of the brand new Black Crowes album Warpaint (March 4, Silver Arrow Records). You got your down-home noodling on the steel guitar, the emotive wails of Chris Robinson and some stylistically-appropriate Civil War lyrics about daughters of an unnamed revolution. It just feels good, what with them singing about how we can join the jubilee, running for the gates of the city. And when he sings about coming ’round midnight to her back door, some part of me just really doesn’t think he’s singing about her porch. The Black Crowes will be playing their full new album in seven lucky cities this March, tour dates just announced for those.

Honey Come Home
Murder Mystery
This quartet isn’t sinister as they sound; Murder Mystery is a scruffy group of indie kids out of NYC whose debut album Are You Ready For The Heartache Cause Here It Comes was produced by JP Bowersock (Ryan Adams, The Strokes). With the pleasing jangle and reverb of surf guitar and Buddy Holly, with more than a Stroke of Casablancas’ croon and edge, this song tells the story of an unsure young man who puts his hands on the small of her back, because “you told me you like that” (but he sure doesn’t sound like he ever would have thought to do it himself). Simultaneously evoking school dances and Lower East Side bars, this album charmed me — plus they have a girl drummer so come on, I’m in.

Aubrey
Jake Troth
First the fabulous Mr. Troth made me kinda wish my name was “Caroline,” and now I am thinking maybe Aubrey would be a nice name so that I could claim this song as my own. No such luck. This is a new demo from Jake Troth, I love the way the bluesy opening notes take their time blossoming, hanging sweet in anticipation. And is it just me or do you want to sing the opening lines to Augie March’s “One Crowded Hour” when this cues up? Different songs, but both superb. Oh, and you hipster fashionista, here’s one musician who can also deck you out in finery since he’s studying that business – check out jacob-rogers.com, a collaborative clothing line project that he contributes the artwork to, and each item ordered comes with a free EP of original music.

Balloons
Foals
Their MySpace profile lists Foals as “snotty art school dropouts hungry for the dollar,” and okay, sure I can cop that. I mean, they’re barely 20 and signed to Sub Pop, and we love art school dropouts from Oxford here. The music coming from this dance-punk 5-piece is aloof and cool, but with with a underlying flashes of multilayered musical originality. There are touches of Talking Heads and Devo, as well as more modern nods like Franz Ferdinand. This song is all herky-jerky with an apocalyptic breakdown halfway through, and splashes of a bright pigment accent the rhythmic chaos. I also like how relentless the tune “Hummer” is, listen over on their MySpace. Their full length album Antidotes is due in Spring 2008.

You Cross My Path
The Charlatans
Does anyone really confuse these guys with The Charlatans from the ’60s? Calling them The Charlatans UK seems superfluous to me, the same way my wonderful beloved nubbin of an NYC friend Jenn always says “Airfrenchband” as if it was one breathless word, instead of just Air. ANYWAYS. These Charlatans are winding up their second decade of making music as kings of their own Britpop/alternative fifedom. Managed by Oasis guru/Creation Records head Alan McGee, they’ve decided to digitally give away their first single from their upcoming 2008 album. Thom says everyone is doing it, and when he speaks, people follow. Good.