Pop Rocks!: Episode 3.4
September 8th
This was another random show. Nothing much to say, other than a couple of the entries here are annotated.
Jens Lekman - Shirin (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Beirut - Le Banlieu (The Flying Cup Club)
Scrabbel - Last Train (1909)
Built to Spill - Now and Then (Center of the Universe single)
The Driscolls - She Said She Said (Revolution No. 9) *Beatles Cover
The Halo Benders - Virginia Reel Around the Fountain (The Rebels Not In)
The Favourites - SOS (Note: I heard this song playing at the grocery store the other day. Except not this version, the only version I've heard. Long story short, I had no idea this was an ABBA cover, which makes this song even more amazing because I fucking hate ABBA and I fucking love this song. Thanks Little Hits!)
Superchunk - Say My Name (Guilt by Association comp) *Destiny's Child cover lolz
Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong (One Chord to Another)
Belle & Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown (Books EP)
Voxtrot - Your Biggest Fan (Your Biggest Fan EP)
Tullycraft - Polaroids From Mars (Disenchanted Hearts Unite)
Los Campesinos! - Don't Tell Me How to Do the Math(s) (Sticking Fingers Into Sockets)
Velocity Girl - Pop Loser (Copacetic)
The Boy Dandy and June Moon - The Happy Ambulance
#Poundsign# - Starry Night (Pop American Style comp)
The Clean - Anything Could Happen (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives comp)
The Lucksmiths - Off With His Cardigan! (Spring a Leak)
The 3Ds - Hey Seuss (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives comp)
Kleenex Girl Wonder - Don't Wait Up (Ponyoak)
Guided by Voices - Alright (Alien Lanes)
Boyracer - Area 51 Revisited (We Are Made of the Same Wood)
Jens Lekman - You Are the Light (by Which I Travel into This and That) (When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog) (I know, I played Jens Lekman already but as I was doing the show, I was reading through David Berman's (of the Silver Jews) book of poetry called "Actual Air" and I realized that Jens lekman totally stole not only the line "the light by which i travel into this and that...," but the first paragraph is a paraphrase of one of the stanzas! Not only does this guy sample music, he samples good writers!)
The Pastels - Something's Going On (Creation Soup vol. 1)
The Loft - Why Does the Rain (Creation Soup vol. 1)
The Galactic Heroes - Bus Stop (Every Sidewalk)
The Pearly Gatecrashers - I'm Dreaming (New! Fluffy! Delicious!)
The Pooh Sticks - Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution (Alan McGee EP)
Able Tasmans - What Was the Thing (In Love With These Times)
The Chills - Rain (In Love With These Times)
Destroyer - Song for Acualera
Red Sleeping Beauty - Pop Song (Beauty)
The Someloves - It's My Time
The Aislers Set - California (Terrible Things Happen)
Reviews
The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Epitaph)
Review: 8/10
To be honest, this album really disappointed me the first time I listened to it. It’s a natural thing, something that’s bound to happen when one of your favorite bands takes four years to make their next record. The expectations get built up to the point where no matter what; you’re likely to be disappointed. Thirty listens later, I really like this record and I think it fits into the Weakerthans’ discography exceptionally well. The production is a little crappy, and they kind of ruined one of their best songs (“Utilities”) with a lot of synthesized-noodling, but the songs themselves are very strong. I’ll go ahead and say it, John K. Samson is my favorite songwriter (besting the likes of John Darnielle, David Berman, and even Dan Bejar) and his words and inflections are what make the Weakerthans sort of timeless. With Reunion Tour, Samson has constructed an intimate portrait of his hometown, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The songs are inhabited by both real and fictional characters from Winnipeg. The opening (and best) track, “Civil Twilight” is about a bus driver who has to drive past a house where a relationship ended. “Tournament of Hearts” is about a lady curling player whose life has been consumed by the sport and sees it as a metaphor for her life (“Why can’t I ever stop where I want to stay?”). “Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure” is a sequel to Reconstruction Site’s “Plea From a Cat Named Virtute,” in which the title cat runs away from home and is gone so long she forgets her own name. “Hymn of the Medical Oddity” is the tragic true story of David Reimer, whose botched circumcision as a baby led his parents to raise him as a girl and became a big deal with gender studies psychologists before committing suicide. This is just a lovely album, one that slowly reveals itself one song at a time. Not as many rockers as usual, but that’s okay. It doesn’t matter. This album is really good. It has two Edward Hopper references! Ok I love it. I’m going to stop talking before I don’t make any sense.
Suggested: 1, 7, 4, 5, 3, 8, 2, 10, 11
DNP: None.
-Ian Hrabe, September 10th, 2007
Adrian Orange and Her Band – Adrian Orange and Her Band (K)
Review: 6.5/10
New release from the artist formerly (or currently) known as Thanksgiving, and despite the title, Adrian Orange is a dude. A dude who writes, sings, and plays music a LOT like Phil Elverum (The Microphones, Mount Eerie). Elverum is outspokenly in love with the songs that Adrian Orange writes and I’m pretty sure he has produced all of Orange’s records. This one included. While Adrian Orange’s music is more colorful (har har) than Elverums, but at times it sounds like he’s just doing a Phil Elverum impression (listen to “Fire Dream”). Does it seem like I’m hating? I’m not, not really. I actually think that Adrian Orange is really cool and does a lot of stuff that Phil E. doesn’t usually do…like use horns…and a lot of dub influence.
RIYL: The Microphones, Mt. Eerie, Dub Narcotic Sound System
Suggested: 5, 1, 4, 7
DNP: 2, 8
-Ian Hrabe, September 10th, 2007
This was another random show. Nothing much to say, other than a couple of the entries here are annotated.
Jens Lekman - Shirin (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Beirut - Le Banlieu (The Flying Cup Club)
Scrabbel - Last Train (1909)
Built to Spill - Now and Then (Center of the Universe single)
The Driscolls - She Said She Said (Revolution No. 9) *Beatles Cover
The Halo Benders - Virginia Reel Around the Fountain (The Rebels Not In)
The Favourites - SOS (Note: I heard this song playing at the grocery store the other day. Except not this version, the only version I've heard. Long story short, I had no idea this was an ABBA cover, which makes this song even more amazing because I fucking hate ABBA and I fucking love this song. Thanks Little Hits!)
Superchunk - Say My Name (Guilt by Association comp) *Destiny's Child cover lolz
Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong (One Chord to Another)
Belle & Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown (Books EP)
Voxtrot - Your Biggest Fan (Your Biggest Fan EP)
Tullycraft - Polaroids From Mars (Disenchanted Hearts Unite)
Los Campesinos! - Don't Tell Me How to Do the Math(s) (Sticking Fingers Into Sockets)
Velocity Girl - Pop Loser (Copacetic)
The Boy Dandy and June Moon - The Happy Ambulance
#Poundsign# - Starry Night (Pop American Style comp)
The Clean - Anything Could Happen (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives comp)
The Lucksmiths - Off With His Cardigan! (Spring a Leak)
The 3Ds - Hey Seuss (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives comp)
Kleenex Girl Wonder - Don't Wait Up (Ponyoak)
Guided by Voices - Alright (Alien Lanes)
Boyracer - Area 51 Revisited (We Are Made of the Same Wood)
Jens Lekman - You Are the Light (by Which I Travel into This and That) (When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog) (I know, I played Jens Lekman already but as I was doing the show, I was reading through David Berman's (of the Silver Jews) book of poetry called "Actual Air" and I realized that Jens lekman totally stole not only the line "the light by which i travel into this and that...," but the first paragraph is a paraphrase of one of the stanzas! Not only does this guy sample music, he samples good writers!)
The Pastels - Something's Going On (Creation Soup vol. 1)
The Loft - Why Does the Rain (Creation Soup vol. 1)
The Galactic Heroes - Bus Stop (Every Sidewalk)
The Pearly Gatecrashers - I'm Dreaming (New! Fluffy! Delicious!)
The Pooh Sticks - Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution (Alan McGee EP)
Able Tasmans - What Was the Thing (In Love With These Times)
The Chills - Rain (In Love With These Times)
Destroyer - Song for Acualera
Red Sleeping Beauty - Pop Song (Beauty)
The Someloves - It's My Time
The Aislers Set - California (Terrible Things Happen)
Reviews
The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Epitaph)
Review: 8/10
To be honest, this album really disappointed me the first time I listened to it. It’s a natural thing, something that’s bound to happen when one of your favorite bands takes four years to make their next record. The expectations get built up to the point where no matter what; you’re likely to be disappointed. Thirty listens later, I really like this record and I think it fits into the Weakerthans’ discography exceptionally well. The production is a little crappy, and they kind of ruined one of their best songs (“Utilities”) with a lot of synthesized-noodling, but the songs themselves are very strong. I’ll go ahead and say it, John K. Samson is my favorite songwriter (besting the likes of John Darnielle, David Berman, and even Dan Bejar) and his words and inflections are what make the Weakerthans sort of timeless. With Reunion Tour, Samson has constructed an intimate portrait of his hometown, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The songs are inhabited by both real and fictional characters from Winnipeg. The opening (and best) track, “Civil Twilight” is about a bus driver who has to drive past a house where a relationship ended. “Tournament of Hearts” is about a lady curling player whose life has been consumed by the sport and sees it as a metaphor for her life (“Why can’t I ever stop where I want to stay?”). “Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure” is a sequel to Reconstruction Site’s “Plea From a Cat Named Virtute,” in which the title cat runs away from home and is gone so long she forgets her own name. “Hymn of the Medical Oddity” is the tragic true story of David Reimer, whose botched circumcision as a baby led his parents to raise him as a girl and became a big deal with gender studies psychologists before committing suicide. This is just a lovely album, one that slowly reveals itself one song at a time. Not as many rockers as usual, but that’s okay. It doesn’t matter. This album is really good. It has two Edward Hopper references! Ok I love it. I’m going to stop talking before I don’t make any sense.
Suggested: 1, 7, 4, 5, 3, 8, 2, 10, 11
DNP: None.
-Ian Hrabe, September 10th, 2007
Adrian Orange and Her Band – Adrian Orange and Her Band (K)
Review: 6.5/10
New release from the artist formerly (or currently) known as Thanksgiving, and despite the title, Adrian Orange is a dude. A dude who writes, sings, and plays music a LOT like Phil Elverum (The Microphones, Mount Eerie). Elverum is outspokenly in love with the songs that Adrian Orange writes and I’m pretty sure he has produced all of Orange’s records. This one included. While Adrian Orange’s music is more colorful (har har) than Elverums, but at times it sounds like he’s just doing a Phil Elverum impression (listen to “Fire Dream”). Does it seem like I’m hating? I’m not, not really. I actually think that Adrian Orange is really cool and does a lot of stuff that Phil E. doesn’t usually do…like use horns…and a lot of dub influence.
RIYL: The Microphones, Mt. Eerie, Dub Narcotic Sound System
Suggested: 5, 1, 4, 7
DNP: 2, 8
-Ian Hrabe, September 10th, 2007
posted by Ian at 4:01 PM
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