10 songs both new and old
I have some new songs to intro and other favorites to keep things retro.
Summer Camp – Ghost Train
Summer Camp is like all things from 70s AM-radio, bubblegum 8-track cassettes, and sparkles in avocado green and harvest gold. It’s all a bit spooky, isn’t it? But with all the chillwave in the air, I love how this band stands out and is as addictive as a Bomb Pop.
Via Stereogum:
Ghost Train
Summer Camp – Veronica Sawyer
Another amazing track (presumably) about the Heathers anti-hero. Best nostalgic line “A boy dressed like Teen Wolf is pouring beer down a girls back / His friends take photos with Polaroid cameras”
Via Pitchfork:
Veronica Sawyer
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Nothing But Our Love
I’ve been listening to Horse Power EP as much as I have been listening to Summer Camp, somehow they are linked in my mind and could be part of a split 12”. Both are beachy, dreamy, sweet and full of instant nostalgia. You can download it with the fee of an email address.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Vocal Chords
The second track of the Horse Power EP reveals some Beach Boys and/or The Beatles influences. The song reminds me of Born Ruffians and it’s the direction I wish they’d explore: more electronics and harmonies.
Via Stereogum:
Vocal Chords
Chuck Person – Lightning Strikes
There are songs that shouldn’t work and you shouldn’t like but are the product of crazy-genius. The remix of Fleetwood Mac‘s “Lightning Strikes” is a syncopated and layered slowdown of the original that hooks you under your chest cavity and pulls quietly on your heartstrings.
Minks – Funeral Song
Sometimes when I’m looking for links for this list I bump into a song that jumps right into the Top 10.
Imagine a dusty old theater where a Sofia Coppola film fest plays her movies and out of the shadows comes the shoegaze of Echo & The Bunnymen come to throwdown the wimsy of The Cure, somewhere in that brawl you’ll find Minks.
Via Stereogum:
Funeral Song
Nine Inch Nails – Down In It (2010 Remaster)
After all the legal hoopla, we have the glorious remastering of Trent Reznor‘s debut Pretty Hate Machine. All the dust and muddle have been wiped off of each song in a meticulous fashion and the songs sound new, clear, and enormous.
Here’s how most of our friends discovered NiN back when MTV played music videos. What always struck me is how this collection of songs captivated my friends whose music interests spanned across all genres of Goth, Alternative, Pop, Christian Rock — it didn’t matter because Reznor sang no truer words.
The Wolfgang Press – Birmingham
It took me awhile to getting around to buying to original UK pressing of Queer which has some differences in both song lineup (3 less) and samples (they didn’t clear the original samples for the US pressing).
On Birmingham there are samples from The Velvet Underground‘s “I’m Waiting for the Man” and “I’ll Be Your Mirror” and listening to the album it makes me feel like I’m in an alternate Fringe-like universe.
Belle & Sebastian – Seeing Other People (Live at the Barbican)
If You Are Feeling Sinister was many US fan’s introduction to Belle & Sebastian and could be their best album in terms of lyric writing and themes.
Having just discovered the If You Are Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican digital-only album that was released to make up for the shortcomings of the fidelity of the original album, I’ve fallen in love again. Because the full band’s instrumentation and richer sound, my old favorites (“Stars of Track and Field” and the title track) are usurped by new favorites.
“Seeing Other People” most often reminds listeners of Vince Guaraldi Trio and their Charlie Brown fame because of the jazz piano and brush drumming. The enigmatic song warns a (perhaps gay) protagonist the best song lyrical advice: “You’re going to have to change or you’re going to have to go with girls / You’d be better off at least they know where to put it”.
Listen to the original:
Pizzicato Five – Baby Love Child
Second song that came off the Five by Five EP most known for the “Twiggy Twiggy / Twiggy vs. James Bond” song, it complements the twee and stereophonic sweetness of B&S.
