Evening voices

Funny how there's so much piano + voice music out there occupying such a narrow spectrum of what those instruments can do. Which makes this kind of improvisation such a breath of fresh air. And a tender one given that it comes from a married couple in the studio just doing what comes naturally (musically, that is). It's all sweetness to me, and even more sublime for its wordlessness.

Keith and Julie Tippett — Evening Psalm

Sunrise sunset

It's said that sunrises and sunsets are often indistinguishable. I guess that depends on the kind of schedule you keep. When I do see the sun come up, it's either a grumpy early call or I've had a night that doesn't lend itself to a serene melting away. Which make this one a curious title. I can absolutely put my mind in a place where the sunset feels like a blissful passage. But almost never does the morning arrive with such calm. Maybe I need to work on that. As for the hint of moaning at 4:07, well, hey, to each his own. Meanwhile, hope this helps put a mellowness in your day.

Software - Island Sunrise

Genetic sequencing

Why do I love sequenced synth patterns so much? The way they've been deployed since mid-70s Tangerine Dream, they're basically a tacky form of the warm, interlocking melodic rhythms of the Steve Reich school. They're also so central to the sounds of film music I grew up hearing that they feel like a part of myself. Some say we live in a culture of chintzy illusions, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm attracted to cheap knockoffs like a moth to light. Here's a fine example of such a dinky pleasure. Plus, a synth fretless bass solo!

Frederic Rousseau - ADSR

Bruisin' Susans

How has this band eluded me for so long? A rock band merging Rhys Chatham's multi-guitar intensities, punk drive, and rock n' roll heart. An muscular American update of shimmering endless Neu!-isms. And with three members named Susan to boot! One of those bands I'd heard many times as reference points but never explored. Now an overdue obsession. This one features their more tuneful side, making you want to pump fists and stomp the accelerator.

Band Of Susans - Learning To Sin

Let it shine through

Aww man, an earthquake and a hurricane in the same damn week here in the city?! What is nature trying to say? I hate to get religious about this, but I'm a little concerned about the state of my soul. My Soul Glo, that is! If indeed we're all shuttered in this weekend, let's rally around this nugget of inspirational music. And I don't think we need FEMA to remind us to stock up an emergency supply of the Glo.

Down we go

Maybe it's the Indian-giving weather, but some days you just can't bring yourself to feel much empathy for your fellow man. And when the devil doesn't seem like such a bad neighbor, it's often a Nick Cave song that comes into your head.

I'm gonna hedge on my earlier preference for his later albums, most of which are actually boring. But today's track is classic stuff — the "devil made me bad" tension wrapped in imagery that deftly works the bad seed mythic archetypes. I like that it feels genuinely literary almost as much as I do the funhouse piano and the bass that grinds like rusted gears.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Up Jumped The Devil

86ed

I sure love me a good compilation, which is no big news if you're a regular around here. There are a couple ways at it — some lovingly dig deep and serve up forgotten music in particular styles (like anything by the Numero Group); others go broader and synthesize many different aspects of a place or time (i.e. any of the sprawling Nuggets editions). One that does both and is rarely far from my mind is the C86 cassette (now available as the CD86 disc; I don't think they're calling it mp386 yet). If you're already familiar, I'll spare all the talk about "jangly," "shambling" pop and just say it's an embarrassment of Anglo pop riches, one after another.

The title is kinda apt. It comes from its release year of 1986. And while many of the bands clearly took inspiration from early to mid '60s guitar pop, it's all filtered through a very mid '80s Smiths-esque sensibility, deftly eliding the '70s. See. 80s. 60s. Fun. But I digress.

Most of these bands had little career to speak of, so each tune feels like an especially noteworthy moment in the sun. You could throw a dart at a board and pick a winner. But I'm especially fond of this one, with its strummy, rainy day dreaminess. A rainy moment in the sun? Hmm...

The Raw Herbs - He Blows In

Mercy me

Songblague of course always has love for the unheralded. Even more for bands that had the bum luck to share song titles with superior contemporaries. And in the same year, no less. That aside, these guys were pretty good at Jesus and Mary Chain-esque pop. And as far as songs with loaded biblical imagery go, this one's got some good character. Mostly courtesy of that stinging guitar. Vocally, the dude is nowhere near Nick Cave, but then, who is?

Ultra Vivid Scene - Mercy Seat

Two of these days

Last Friday's little experiment has inspired me to go full-on with musical homonyms — two songs with the same title that couldn't be more different. On the A-side, a tasty live nugget of chug-chugging, delay-fueled space groovery from the Floyd's pre-stadium days.

These guys were one of my first musical obsessions (pre-drugs, no less!) and it took a while for me to overcome an internal punk-snooty backlash that lasted most of my adult life. I think this one goes to show that there really were some good post-Barrett years. This is what you sound like before you ever hear of tax exile.

Pink Floyd - One Of These Days (live)

Again, chance matches up beardo '70s-ness with a treasure from my tender/prickly youth. I've often made the weird decision to put this on mix tapes for girls. It's a great song of course, just totally wrong for suitoring purposes.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with this homonym business, but I've got an idea for tomorrow that I'm rather psyched about. Be sure to swing by.

Camper Van Beethoven - One Of These Days

Cuckoldry, late-'80s style

In answer to the impressive escape velocity of Flynn's track yesterday, I offer one about a sad fool whose girl is running around on him and yet wraps his bewilderment in a sweet groove and a triumphantly dumb lyrical conceit. He's family man alright. But you know, there's loving your family and then there's putting your naked child on your album cover. An Awkward Family Photo, to be sure.

Womack & Womack - MPB (Missin' Persons Bureau)

Postpunk Sunday drive (on a Wednesday)

Another one from the Imaginary John Hughes Soundtrack files. This song deserves a better anecdote than my tired self can muster. Hard to believe that this is the same Wire from the late-'70s. Elastica ripped off this melody once. I don't think anyone cared. There, discuss.

Wire - Kidney Bingos