Shop our Big Takeover store for back issues, t-shirts & CDs
Follow The Big Takeover
Bob Mould – Silver Age (Merge)
Where did this one come from? Clearly inspired by the recent Sugar reissues, this is perhaps Bob’s best work since 1994’s File Under: Easy Listening, the album this reminds me of the most. Sure, 2005’s Body of Song and 2008’s District Line hinted at this, but this album is a pure pummeling, a distillation of Mould’s strengths all in one package. Wow! Check out the video for “Descent” here.
Phonic Culture Club – Day by Day EP (self-released)
File this under “discovery of the week”. This new band from Italy reminds me of Lambchop, ’60s Scott Walker, The Feelies circa The Good Earth and most of all, The Clientele. This is perfect music for the fall. Dare I say, a few selections on this wouldn’t be out of place on Coldplay‘s early singles or debut Parachutes as well. I want to sit in a cafe smoking Gitanes and sipping coffee all day on an overcast day while listening to this beautiful EP. You can stream it here and it’s available for free download on their website (link on the page linked to within) as well. I recommend it!
Rodriguez – Searching for Sugarman soundtrack (Legacy/Light in the Attic)
The soundtrack to the wonderful movie of the same name combines songs from his 2 studio Lps (1970 masterpiece Cold Fact and 1971’s lesser but still compelling Coming from Reality) as well as previously unheard and unreleased material. It’s a great introduction!
Andrew Earles – Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock (Voyageur Press, 2010)
Though this book is essential for Hüsker Dü diehards who want Grant Hart and Greg Norton‘s side of the story, its strengths (it’s very well-researched though there are a few glaring errors) are sometimes outweighed by a propensity to repeat information ad nauseam and by his stereotypes of the ’80s hardcore scene that he insists Hüsker Dü were separate from (this part is really annoying). Also, towards the end Earles uses segments of an interview we did with Bob Mould back in 2009 for Big Takeover #64, but he doesn’t credit us by name. I was glad to see it in there, but what’s up with that?
Japandroids – “The House that Heaven Built”
There’s a cool new video for this Celebration Rock single and it can be found here.
Pitchfork People’s List
Just to see how many of my own picks would match up with the picks of their readers, I decided to vote. I picked 40 albums from 1996-2011 and went with what I’ve played the most and what still resonates with me. You can see my ballot here. As you can see if you look at the Top 200 vote getters, only 2 of my picks even made the Top 50 and only 8 others were in the rest of the list (many in the lower reaches).
I’m still not sure how I feel about this one after a few listens. I have a feeling it would work better in the context of an album or EP. It’s definitely a new direction for them. It’s more piano-based and nowhere near as heavy as most of their previous material. What do you think? Watch the video here.
Dinosaur Jr – “Watch the Corners”
This is the first released track from their forthcoming I Bet On Sky, their 2nd Lp on Jagjaguwar and 3rd since their 2005 reunion. It’s great and sounds like a Green Mind outtake. The new Lp should be another great set of songs from a band that is approaching Mission of Burma in terms of the consistency of their reunion Lps.
Graham Parker and The Rumour – “Coathangers”
The first released track from their forthcoming album Three Chords Good (the first GP & The Rumour record in 32 years!!!) is admittedly a bit of a disappointment. On paper, the mix of T Rex glam boogie and the pub rock of their 1st 2 Lps should work well, but in practice it’s a bit weak. I do hope the rest of the Lp is better. I do like the lyrics, though, especially in light of the current election season. You can stream it here. All I’ll say is that the title leaves little to the imagination.
Elvis Costello – “Human Hands”
Last but definitely not least, since Elvis Costello just turned 58 yesterday, I’ll leave you all with this.
