Queasy twilight

Just as actually getting a Halloween costume together got away from me, so did posting a song specific to the holiday. I'll try to catch up. While a Nick Cave-type creeper might've been more obvious, I find the pretty/slinky/spooky vibe of this one more in line with that queasy feeling as evening light gives away to more sinister possibilities in the night. Courtesy of Wayne Horvitz and his erstwhile gang of sonic sorcerers. 

Wayne Horvitz/The President — The Front

Gawk rock

Take experimental/improv musicians, whisper some proggy suggestions in their ears, and sit back to enjoy the weird fun. No one ever said rock instruments have to sound anything like rock n' roll, and bands like this demonstrate the point. 2-fer Tuesday...just because.

No Safety - Sad

No Safety - Happy For Now

May I sing with me

The Sparks obsession has segued to a tender look-back thru my Yo La Tengo collection. I maintain my collegiate perspective that they were one of those rare bands that could try anything without looking stupid. (Something about humility and not worrying too much about your career, I guess.) And yet, every song of theirs I put on the 'blague is a rocker. Hmmm.

Yo La Tengo - Upside-Down

Lift me into your mouth

I've documented my longstanding XTC fandom in this space before, and I thought I'd rung that bell enough. But like all my favorite bands, they keep finding ways to nudge themselves to the forefront of my attention. For a bunch of years, I favored their post-punk peak period, but the lush pop craftsmanship of late albums like Nonsuch has been steadily unfolding its charms. Andy Partridge has always been a great—if usually understated—lyricist, and this one is deliriously appropriate for these days when the air itself seems villainous. For a few minutes at least, an ocean wave overtakes a heatwave.

XTC - That Wave

A transparent home of my own

So nice to enjoy rainy day blue notes without being weighed down by actual blues. I'm gonna take this as a sign of a healthy mental state. This one features the blue-eyed croon of an '80s also-ran, set in an even more obscure '90s project. Some tasty popcraft for dark corners of the bar that only you know about.

Because - A Glass Room

Dream doppelgänger

A nightmare that hopefully won't recur — I'm dressed like a teenage girl, mascara smeared on my face, holes in my jeans and on the soles of my Doc Martens. I'm alienated from all the other campers, but perhaps most alarmingly, I'm playing air bass and making corresponding faces at the mirror in my bunk. I don't think I like this dream, but I kinda dig this part of the soundtrack.

Curve - Horror Head

Don't seek the blood from the panther

Moving right along...from the aphoristically-minded Fripp to the equally meditative "brothers" Ween. This is about as perfect a send-up of proggish lyrical muck as you're likely to find, made all the more fun because it comes from a place of genuine affection. It's awfully bonged-out, but it wisely reminds you how necessary it often is to embrace both love and cringing mockery of a musical style at the same time. Somehow, both impulses feel richer in tandem. I'd say a fair bit of SB's aesthetic these days is a result of that dual consciousness. Mang.

Ween - The Stallion, Pt. 3

The wolves are not hungry

So many Wolf bands out there, we were bound to get to two of them in one week. Los Lobos's parade has been marching for a good bunch of years by now. If anyone's paid their dues as a solid bar band, it's these fine Angelinos. That said, I find their craft a little on the boring side, except for the couple albums they cut with producer Mitchell Froom, who makes critically respected types like Elvis Costello and Richard Thompson sound weirder than they probably expected to. Usually, he gets slammed for the effort, but he nailed it with these guys.

This tune has a moodiness that feels old, but not attached to any actual time. It's psychedelic without a hint of bombast. Weird without straining. Pretty like a lavender moon, though I don't know about this Kiko character.

Los Lobos - Kiko and the Lavender Moon

Cover me (Ukrainian edition)

If you're gonna cover the Smiths, you'd better bring your A-game. (Cue mental picture of the Mozzer going one-on-one with Kobe Bryant.) By the high standard we demand for anyone taking up the challenge, these boys come at it from left field and absolutely nail it. They've got a 4-song EP of Smiths adaptations. It's well worth seeking out, but I think this is the best of the batch. Makes me want to down my beer in one gulp and flail around the hinterlands.

Does anyone speak Ukrainian? Have these Ukrainians changed the lyrics to address Eastern concerns? I will barter for a translation.

The Ukrainians - Batyar (Bigmouth Strikes Again)