November 2006 Playlist

Ok, for those who are new around here, this is what's going on, each month this year since Feb I have been creating a iTunes play list of stuff that has caught my ear this past month... somewhere along the way I started posting a commentary on each track.. this month rather than wait until the end of the month to look back and write about each track I have tried to write about each track as I added it to the playlist.... I have also tried to keep them short and readable... so enjoy.Walking Through the Desert with a Crow by Ghoutown:Perfection of the southwest desert gothic tune, classic western music motifs of being alone, forsaken and damned, and then you throw in the dark overtones of murder and the supernatural elements of the symbolism of the crow. This is the kind of thing that Willie and Merle should consider covering.Little Boxes by Jenny Lewis & Johnathan RiceI liked the first season of the show weeds a whole lot, even though I have never ingested and never will ingest weed. This is a cover of the theme song, which is perfect with its homey quaint feel…. Which in no way gets you ready for the biting lyrics about conformity and standard issue upper middle class life.Jack Pepsi by TadTad was one of the most overlooked grunge bands, and that’s a shame cause they were filled with fuzzy pop tunes. This one tells the story of drinking and driving a 4x4 on a frozen lake when things go wrong.. it’s greatArchitect by The Dark FantasticI’ve written about Mark Pickerel so many times this year, that I don’t really have much else to say other than I like this song, it’s kinda haunting and has a mechanical like pulse that gives it energy and a life.Murder on my Mind by The HellacoptersThe opening of this tune is a riff on the Max Frost and the Trooper’s ‘Shape of things to come’ (which target is using in it’s ads these days), but the real magic here is the lyrics which can only be directed at the owner of a US record label who has screwed over the ‘Copters and a few of their brother and sister bands…Punk Rocker by The Teddybears Feat. Iggy PopThis is the closest that Iggy has come to his classic late 70’s albums, it’s a drifting, drone of a song that never drags, and just moves along and tells it’s story with classic Iggy vocal delivery.Nightrider by Vegas V.I.P.This is a very Johnny Rivers feeling dark surf tune with a trumpet part that feels like it would have part of an early 60’s production. The whole thing is dreamy and noirish rave worth tracking downNothing Left Hide by Johnny Casino And The SecretsYou know that song Vehicle, the 70’s soul rocker, this song has the same feel and something else that I just can’t seem to put my finger on…Skeleton Key by The Forbidden DimensionI just love this tune, it came out on a 7” that I put out back in the late 1990’s and this is the version that is up on the FD’s Myspace page. It’s a driving march of a tune, with cursed farmhouses and eerie shadows and Phibes trademark vocal howling.1000 Dollar Car by The Bottle RocketsThis song is what country music is all about… only it’s got cursing, and fuzzy guitars to go along with melody, plain vocals and a huge metaphor about hopes and dreams or something like that… buyer’s remorse, maybe… I can’t stop listening to this song, it just struts along at it’s own pace with it’s own power and insightTop Down by The CharmsSpeaking of strut this tune kicks off with exactly that, glammy power pop strutting that recalls the best of blues rock and roll…. Only then the organ comes in and the repeated verses that make me think of the Modern Lovers. The Vocals are from Ellie Vee who projects a bit of Joan Jett roar, but is softer, and has to be the sexist woman I have met in Rock’n’Roll in the last year (which is saying a lot as I have crossed paths with several Rock’n’Roll sex goddesses in 2006). Generation Landslide by Cretin 66Yes this is a cover of the Alice Cooper tune from the Billion Dollar Babies album. It’s part of that early 70’s Hi Energy Rock and Roll cannon that Alice was part of, and this version is right on, true to the spirit of the original, but up dating it for the current day. When you think of Classic Alice songs this on is not often mentioned but it’s as good as Schools out, Eighteen or Under My Wheels.Black Diamond by The ReplacementsThis one came out of nowhere, I have been flirting with the ‘Mats for a year or two and love tunes like Bastards of Young and He comes a Regular, this song seems to be a little more remote and wishful than those tunes. It’s almost like they were trying to push past their classic tunes and reach out for some sound, or some place where they might be a little more safe?Noodles by Frontier TrustBouncy Cowpunk that sounds like an auctioneer is delivering the vocals over a more country influenced Minutemen record. Short fast and full of energy….