the finest kiss

Photo from Laura Mussleman’s flickr.

If you live in Seattle, and even if you don’t, this week has been Sub Pop overload. It seems like everywhere you turn there’s something being written about the label in the newspaper, magazine, blogs, or something on the radio, or TV. Hell, they’ve even taken over the Space Needle with a Sub Pop flag and had it painted like a record. Will they not stop? Probably they will, but it won’t be at least until this weekend is over. The grand finale to Sub Pop’s 20th birthday party is a two day music fest extravaganza over in Redmond at Marymoor Park. If you haven’t heard, (you haven’t heard?!?) it’s two days of music with a lineup that includes the reunited Vaselines, Beachwood Sparks, Green River Les Thugs and Eric’s Trip as well as current label powerhouses Fleet Foxes, Foals, Wolf Parade and No Age.

I was not one that really started off loving a lot of the music Sub Pop put out, but I always had respect for the label. They put out records of bands they liked, and as the label grew, the diversity of it’s roster also grew. Both Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt were rabid music fans and it definitely shows through in their label’s catalog with everything from Combustible Edison to the Fastbacks to Mudhoney to Iron and Wine to Foals. It seems like I was more of a fan of their more left field releases, at least early on. Some of my favorites include:
Pernice Brothers - Overcome by Happiness
Eric Mathews - It’s Heavy in Here
The Spinanes - Manos
Velocity Girl - Simpatico
Zumpano - Look What the Rookie Did
Fastbacks - Zucker

One of the coolest things the label ever did was start a singles club where you paid up front and got records mailed to you each month. They just recently announced they were starting up the club again. Records start shipping in August, you can sign up here, but better do it quickly, each release is limited to 1500. To tempt you into signing up and to celebrate the label’s 20 years, here are few singles from the Sub Pop catalog that are now out of print. Happy birthday, and see ya at SP20!

sp295
mp3: Tindersticks - Here (Pavement cover)

mp3: Tindersticks - Harry’s Dilemma

sp137
mp3: Velocity Girl - Warm/Crawl

mp3: Tsunami - Left Behind

sp302
mp3: Piper Cub - Chance

mp3: Piper Cub - Number One Sound

Long Winters, the Cops and Boat at Showbox, Seattle | 5 July 2008

The Cops singer Mike Jaworski was ribbing John Roderick throughout their set, and in between songs he says, “John Roderick, I’ve got three words: Off the Grid” He did kind of look a bit mountain man like with his fully fuzzy beard, long hair, and erm…horn rimmed glasses? On second thought, he’s more part the Dude from the Big Lebowski and part tenured college professor. Roderick is kind of the tenured indie rock prof around town and something of a renaissance man, as evidenced in the column he writes for the Seattle Weekly, but music is his strong suite. He’s been around, put his time in with Harvey Danger and fronting a number of his own bands. He’s finally come into his own with the Long Winters and now he and his band are reaping the rewards. After the Long Winters‘ 2006 release Putting the Days to Bed, they seem to be on the verge of something big. The only problem is recording a new record, something they are about to do. But before going into the studio, the band have scheduled a handful of dates on the West Coast and one in New York. Saturday night’s show was a stellar Seattle line up featuring Boat and the Cops opening for them.

The night started off with Boat, and their first time ever playing the Showbox. It’s likely the biggest room they’ve ever played, and they seemed pretty chuffed to be playing. The regular four piece Boat were augmented by a fifth member this night who provided a third guitar and saxophone. The additional fifth guy really seemed to flesh out their sound. It gave them a little more polish, and I don’t think they’ve ever sounded better. They plucked songs from both albums, played all three songs from their new single Topps and even threw in a brand spankin’ new song at the end of their set that seemed like it was written especially for the night, name checking the afore mentioned man of the evening.

Second of this Seattle trilogy line up were the Cops. I wasn’t sure what to expect from these tightly wound post punkers. Their second album Free Electricity which came out last year is good. It’s Gang of Four crossed with Jawbox, loads of attitude and lots of hooks, if a bit same-y sounding at times. After seeing them I can tell you that the Cops totally bring it, and they leave nothing. From the first chord, these guys where whirling, jumping, posing and just totally rocking out for their entire set. I thought there was now way they would be able to keep up their energy for the entire set, but I was wrong. Guitarist John Randolph made me dizzy with his constant whirling and jumping, and singer Mike Jaworski punished the mic with his intense delivery. Their showmanship was made easy buy the super tight rhythm section of David Weeks and Drew Church. This band have the songs and the chops to go beyond their obvious post punk roots and to the next level, I’m looking forward to what comes next from them.
mp3: The Cops - N. 99 (from Free Electricity)

The Long Winters are Roderick’s show, this is very clear when you see them live. Roderick is the guy everyone is there to see. Numerous women around me could be heard squealing such things as he’s soo cute, and I just want to squeeze him, and I’m in love with him. That’s not to say his band are just session guys. Even though there seems to be a revolving door with band members, the Long Winters are truly a band who tour and play on the records. The band seemed to be having as good a time as the rest of the Showbox, laughing at Roderick’s banter. And why not, he is a gregarious fellow, engaging the audience between every song with bon mots a la Billy Bragg. In fact like Bragg, I would say he enjoys the between song part of shows just as much as playing the songs. He had some funny one liners like, ‘look at all these beards. What, is Ballard closed tonight?’ And he wasn’t afraid to put his hair into pony tails or break into classic rock songs from Pink Floyd and Van Halen. He had the place singing Wish You Were Here without even trying. As for the songs, I was expecting to hear some new ones, but they stuck mostly with stuff from the last two albums. There were many shouted requests, that didn’t get played, but I was happy to hear the hits from the last two albums, since it was my inaugural Long Winters show.

mp3: Long Winters - Fire Island, AK (from Putting the Days to Bed)

Three Imaginary Girls were there and have a set list, though somewhat out of order, and I have more pictures from the evening over at my flickr.

It’s weird how you listen to something in one context, and it doesn’t click, but in another context and kablam! it hits you. That is the case with Slow Club. I have this Moshi Moshi Singles Club cd that collects a bunch of singles the label has recently put out, and on it is Slow Club’s Because We’re Dead. I’ve listened to the cd a handful of times but nothing has really stood out, even the Wave Pictures‘ We Dress Up Like Snowmen failed to grab me. So the other day I came across the video for Because We’re Dead and for some reason, it totally hits home. Maybe because it was out of the context of the all over the place Moshi Moshi sampler and in it’s own little place, maybe it was because the sun has been shining for days and I’m in the mood for bounce around happy music, or maybe it was the chair dancing choreography in the video. Who knows?

Whatever the case, this duo (Charles and Rebecca) have such an upbeat sound that at first I thought they were Australians. Charles’ voice has a lot in common with Darren Hanlon, and their stripped down folk sound and dexterous lyrics remind me a little of the Lucksmiths. It turns out they’re not Australians at all, but the north of England. Sheffield to be exact. The vocal interplay, the harmonies and the big shouted choruses of their two singles currently available form Moshi Moshi will make you weak in the knees if you are a Los Campesinos or a Talking with the Taxman era Billy Bragg fan. I am really looking forward to the album this duo have in store and ready for release later this summer.

mp3: Slow Club - Because We’re Dead

mp3: Slow Club - Summer Shakedown

Both of their singles can be ordered direct from Moshi Moshi. And here’s that video…

It was a beautiful 85 degree day Saturday and 90 and sunny today in Seattle, so what does one do on such a perfect weekend? If you’re me, you paint your basement. Yeah, I’m an idiot. So in order to finish the painting, I had to move all of my cd’s out of the space they usually occupy. For most people this wouldn’t be a problem, but for me and I’m sure most music obsessed people it can be an endeavor. I got my son to help me out, and he was totally into grabbing stacks of plastic jewel cases out of shelves from one side of the basement and putting them in piles on the other side. In the midst of moving all this plastic, it was funny to hear his thoughts. Things like:

Dad, you have a lot of cd’s.
Dad, you have a thousand cds.
Dad, how many cd’s do you have?
Dad, you have too many cd’s.
Dad, you’ve gotta quit buying cd’s.

My wife came to the conclusion of those last two many years ago. I admit it, I am an obsessed collector, and I love sitting down there, with music going, just going through them, and remembering back to where I was and what I was doing when I bought or was totally into a certain album. The only time I hate the cds is when I have to actually move them. That’s when I see the absurdity of it all. What in the hell am I doing with all of these, and what exactly is the point in having all of this music. So right now in the corner of my basement there is a cube of cd’s sitting there looking pretty absurd, but once the painting is done and the move is over that silly nonsense of questioning myself goes away and I’m back to my obsession. Ahhh, I can’t wait until the relief of that, right now I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable wondering if I should get help for my problem.

mp3: Strangelove - Freak (from Strangelove)

mp3: Let’s Wrestle - I Won’t Lie to You (single)

Did powerpop ever really go out of style, or come to think of it, was it ever in style? It seems like music history is littered with great bands and songwriters too numerous to mention, that wrote short catchy juiced-up songs that should have been hits. The two bands with killer singles this week are both named after two other great bands. So they’ve not only got great songs buy great pedigree too. I’m partial to bands naming themselves after songs of their favorite bands, as you might have guessed based on this blog’s name.

Single of the week number one comes from Shake Some Action who are named after a Flamin’ Groovies song. The Seattle band have just released their second album entitled Sunny Days Ahead, and it’s a corker. Especially the lead track Get It Together, James Hall’s voice booms over crunching, screaming guitars urging someone to get it together, and with a song this convincing how you not Get It Together?!

mp3: Shake Some Action - Get It Together (buy: Sunny Days Ahead)

Single of the week number two is by a band named for an Undertones song. Washington, DC’s Julie Ocean is fronted by Jim Spellman of Velocity Girl/High Back Chairs/Piper Cub fame and Terry Banks of Tree Fort Angst/Saturday People/Glo-Worm fame. All of those bands knew their way around a good song and Julie Ocean is no different. Teenage Fanclub and the afore mentioned Undertones have got nothing on these guys with their jangly Rickenbackers and ooh-ooh and ahh-ahh choruses, it’s saccharine sweet. Half the songs on their debut album could be hits in that powerpop netherworld, but #1 Song is the standout. And yes, it should be a number one song, Casey Kasem, Rick Dees, et al be damned!

mp3: Julie Ocean - #1 Song (buy: Long Gone and Nearly There)

The Purrs at Neumos, Seattle | 21 June 2008
Green Pajamas at King Cobra, Seattle | 21 June 2005

Saturday night up on Capitol Hill the Paisley Underground came to life again for a brief fantastic moment. Not that any of those seminal Los Angeles bands like the Rain Parade, Three O’Clock, or the Long Ryders had reformed and were visiting, it was in fact two of Seattle’s very own in the Purrs and Green Pajamas. They weren’t playing together, that would have been nice, but they were playing across the street from one another. Both band’s websites said that they were on at 10:00 pm, poetentially making for a logistical impossibility to see them both. As I walked by King Cobra I spied on the door that the Green Pajamas wouldn’t be on until 11, so I hurried across the street to Neumos to see the Purrs who were in an opening slot for Tacoma’s Mono in VCF.

I walked in to the jangling buzz of She’s Got Chemicals from their latest self-released album the Chemistry That Keeps Us Together. The Purrs have a new rhythm guitarist who goes by Dr. Robert, and they seem all the better for it. Their short set really popped with ripping bass and vocals from Jima and shimmering beautiful lead guitar from Jason Milne. Go Cindy go and Miles Away were both just about perfect and hit that soft spot between Rain Parade and early Church, but it was the inclusion of a couple new songs especially the Fear of Flying, that have me anxiously awaiting a new release from one of Seattle’s best kept secrets.

The Purrs set was over in plenty of time to make it back across the street for the Green Pajamas who I had never seen before. They don’t play out too much and their website states that this date and one later this summer at the West Seattle Fair will likely be the only two live dates for them this year. The Green Pajamas are a band that for a newcomer, seem a bit daunting to get into. It’s not that their albums are spotty, on the contrary, most of them are pretty strong, it’s that they have so many of them. It’s like discovering the Fall or Robyn Hitchcock, where the hell do you start when you go to buy one of their albums? They have two best of cds, Indian Winter that focuses on their early career of releasing singles and cassettes and Through Glass Colored Roses which focuses on their later career, both are worth getting. If you want to start with an album I would recommend All Clues Lead to Meagan’s Bed. It’s from the late 90’s after they reformed, and is a solid album with good songs slathered in garagey psychedlia any of which would fit in nicely on the Children of Nuggets box set.

Since I am one of those newcomers. I wasn’t sure if I’d be familiar with everything they would play. At least I was pretty sure that I would like whatever they decided on, because of the quality of their albums. They ended up playing a good cross section of their later career. It seem like they picked something from nearly every one of their albums from the late 90’s and 00’s. She’s Still Bewitching Me from Seven Fathoms Down and Falling was a real highlight of the set with it’s Byrds sounding chorus and jangly guitar lead from Jeff Kelly. Joe Ross took his only lead vocal of the night on his song Dying to Love You from Strung Behind the Sun. Their wasn’t much dialog between songs, with the band preferring to play. They brought up a friend to play clarinet for Graduation Day which seemed to add a livelier dynamic to the stage. The biggest surprise of the night was Kim the Waitress as their final song. I figured that they’d never play it, since I’m use to jaded bands shying away from their old hit (especially since it was Material Issue that made it a hit). But that was certainly not the case with the band playing it without any irony whatsoever, and the small crowd totally lit instantly recognizing within it’s first chords. It was icing on the cake, especially for this newcomer to this prolific unsung Seattle band.

mp3: Green Pajamas - The Secret of Her Smile (from All Clues Lead to Meagan’s Closet)

mp3: Green Pajamas - Peppermint Stick (from Indian Winter)

Green Pajamas Set list:

BOAT return with a slab of vinyl and it’s just about the perfect thing to start your summer. It’s got songs, baseball cards and bubblegum, and I bet if you buy it from them at one of their shows they’ll autograph it too. When D. Crane sings I’ve got a wife, I’ve got a job, a record store that knows my name, I can’t help but love him. Plus the fact that BOAT are pop geeks that learned to read from Baseball Cards and Comic Books, well it just hits a little too close to home. Are they singing about me? No, they don’t even know me! This is the catchiest BOAT has ever sounded, starting off with echoey keyboard, and ahh-ahhs, and then comes the killer guitar hook that really clinches it. Easy, single of the week!

mp3: BOAT - Topps(buy the record)

You can buy the record from Magic Marker or directly from them on their upcoming tour. It really does come with bubblegum and baseball cards, hand drawn ones at that! I wonder if the gum is hard, crunchy and stale like the sticks that came in packs of baseball cards? And if you want autographs, they’ll be making their way across the country to a town near you. Here are the dates for the ‘We Jam Super Econo and a Bit Cramped’ Tour:

July 5th–Showbox w/ Long Winters and Cops–Seattle, WA
July 12th–Sunset Tavern w/Tullycraft and Fishboy–Seattle, WA
July 13th–Club POW–Sacramento, CA
July 14th–Sue’s Java Lounge–Redding, CA
July 15th–The Knockout–San Francisco, CA
July 16th–Mr. T’s Bowl–Los Angeles, CA
July 18th–Biko’s Garage (All Ages)–Santa Barbara, CA
July 19th–TBA–Oakland, CA
July 20th–The Someday Lounge–Portland, OR
July 31st–Neumo’s–Seattle, WA
August 15th–Johnny Brenda’s–Philadelphia, PA
August 17th–The Cake Shop–Brooklyn, NY
August 18th–PA’s Lounge–Boston, MA
August 20th–Union Hall–New York, NY
August 21st–The Lantern–Blacksburg, VA
August 22nd–TBA–Pittsburgh, PA
August 23rd–TBA–Chicago, IL

Lightspeed Champion @ Chop Suey, Seattle | 17 June 2008

I walked into Chop Suey last night expecting to hear the summery beach (boys) sounds of South Carolina’s Explorers Club, but instead it was the unknown sounds of the Train Chronicles. Apparently the Explorers Club were exploring Billings, Montana where they were awaiting the repair of their van after hitting a deer. The Train Chronicles is the endeavor of Lightspeed Champion bassist Martin and he was accompanied by Lightspeed violinist Mike Siddell. He only played a very short 15 minutes, but it was one of those times where you walk into a place and even though you have no idea who’s up on stage playing, you stop in your tracks because it’s so good. His songs reminded me a little of the Wave Pictures but Martin’s voice is not as reedy as David Tattersall’s. In talking to him in between sets I found out he plans on recording some songs with a full band and putting out an ep when he gets back from touring with Lightspeed Champion. It’s not often that I’m so blown away by the random opening act, what a pleasant surprise.

mySpace: Train Chronicles
mp3: Lightspeed Champion - Devil Inside Your Soul (Train Chronicles cover)

Dev Hynes, who is the mastermind behind Lightspeed Champion, is an interesting character, with his big black rimmed glasses, furry Russian hats, and love of Star Wars. He’s come up with a winner of album in his debut Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. It’s got gorgeous country-esque pedal steel guitar, beautiful harmonies from Emmy the Great and best of all, songs that are tinged in country and folk styles meshed with a theatrical flair. The album is subtle and often sublime, so I was curious how the sound would get rendered in a live setting. For starters there was no Emmy the Great, no surprise there, but drummer Anna Prior ably provided backing vocals. Vocals aside, this incarnation Lightspeed Champion is much different from the album, it rocks out a bit more with a more straightforward guitar-bass-drums complemented by violin. So I was a tad disappointed by the delivery, but the songs and Dev’s gregariousness more than made up for it.

A talkative fellow, he had something to say between each song, covering the Euro football tournament, and asking where the ‘original’ Starbuck’s was and then telling everyone to meet him there in the morning. Humor wasn’t only in his stage banter, the Star Wars theme was tacked on to the beginning of No Surprise/Midnight Surprise as kind of a send up. Though with the Star Wars sticker on his acoustic it could have been serious. He also played a handfull of new songs which sounded just as good as the stuff they did from Lavender Bridge, but like everything else a bit more rocking. The highlight of the set for me was the the rendition of Devil Tricks for a Bitch, with it’s plucked guitar and violin accompaniement. It started out with just Dev and his acoustic guitar, but built up with the violin and then slowly adding bass and finally the full ensemble for the finale. It was the perfect combination of the subtle that is indicative of the record and the more rock direction he seems to be taking on this tour.

mp3: Lightspeed Champion - Devil Tricks for a Bitch (from Falling Off Lavender Bridge)

And because I need very little excuse to bring up Jason Falkner, how much does Devil Tricks sound like this Jason Falkner song from his first album Author Unknown?
mp3: Jason Falkner - Before My Heart Attacks (from Author Unknown)

As for Flowers Forever, the second band of the night, I endured their set. I’m not a Bright Eyes fan to begin with, and so their unimaginative immitation of that band didn’t do much for me.

Getting this in just under the um…wire. It’s been kicking around in zeros and ones for a few weeks, so if you’ve heard it already, then here, listen to it again because it is worth the repeat listening that I’ve been giving it. Wire are gearing up for their 47th release, it’s a full album and is called Object 47. Guess why. So in order to get you excited about release number 47, the song One of Us has been posted to their site as the first single/teaser to the record. Continuing in the a similar vein as last year’s Read and Burn 03, One of Us has an Ideal Copy feel to it, an excellent slithery bass line, a few flourishes of synthesizers and Colin Newman singing in his icy voice about ruing the day he met someone. Wire is back again, be amazed and be thankful!

mp3: Wire - One of Us (from Object 47 out 15 July)

Now for the other stuff: If you haven’t checked out the Slumberland podcasts, you really should get on over to the pod cast section and check out June’s edition. It’s done by this collective called I Smiled Yesterday and it’s nothing short of amazing. Not only do they include some current favorites of mine like the Vivian Girls and Let’s Wrestle, and old favorites like the Bodines, but there’s a whole bunch of other stuff that I’ve never heard of that is so totally ace. It’s like a treasures trove of favorite music you’ve never heard. I’m already ordering a whole bunch of stuff from that mix, and number one is Antoine et Les Problemes, if you like Jacques Dutronc, Antoine is like his long lost cousin!

Podcast: Slumberland/I Smiled Yesterday
mp3: Antoine et Les Problems - Il Suffirait d’un Rien (from Antoine Recontre Les Problemes)

Popfest NYC was this weekend. I missed it on the count of I live on the wrong side of the country to go, but my friend Bill who happens to live in the NYC environs has been attending and posting over at his blog about the many fine bands that are playing. Do Cats on Fire, Cannanes, Hermit Crabs, Oh Custer! and the Orchides get you excited? Then click over to Sound Bites to hear about it and to get the latest about the mysterious Pelle Carlberg guitar that seems to keep appearing at every single PopFest local.

mp3: Thee Headcoatees - Have Love Will Travel (from What Do You Want a Japanese To Do Again?)

Times New Viking with Psychedelic Horseshit & the Annuals at Neumos, Seattle | 10 June 2008

I think the number one reason I went to this show last night was to see if one of the band would catch fire from the sparks that surely must come off of their guitars and amps when they play. I had this crazy image of Times New Viking playing as sparks fly everywhere from the sheets of white noise that result from playing their insturements, like sharpening axes on a grindstone. On record, the songs seem to be recorded in an blatantly unproduced, treble heavy way. They probably have this super elaborate production thing going on to get that sound, or maybe not. It could be as simple as not having a bass player.

Live, they come across less white noise and more pop. The singing and the melodies normally buried under the noise show thier faces. The songs were only dressed down with a little noise instead of nearly being obliterated. With Beth’s keyboards more prominent, their sound was more nuanced, like an early Stereolab with choruses that have a Superchunk feel to them, instead of straight Boyracer, Flying Saucer Attack or Guided by Voices. I don’t think the band would argue with that assessment, drummer and songwriter Adam Elliot introducing all of the songs as ‘This is pop song #4′, ‘Here is pop song #27″. They still kept the songs short and they came one after the other in at a quick pace, only briefly conferring around the drums to hear what the next song would be. Since they didn’t play off a setlist, the band would kind of conference around the drums between songs to hear what the next song Adam wanted to play. Guitarist, Jared Phillips played most of the set with his back to the audience, more to keep in time with the drums than a shyness thing. It was his guitar playing that surprised me the most, because it wasn’t so covered up in effects or distortion, you could actually hear chords.

Times New Viking is probably not for everyone and the small turnout Tuesday night was evidence of that. Their songs don’t immediately reveal themselves, but the pop is under there, and live it’s a little more obvious…a little.

I got there for the end of Psychedlic Horseshit’s set. They are fellow Ohioians and friends with Times New Viking, and their sound is bassed in the same love of noise but Psychelic Horseshit like to go off on tangeants in their songs making them into long jams. They like to kneel down and play with buttons and knobs, and nearly every song digressed into one or more of them on their knees. After Psychedlic Horseshit, came the Annuals. I’m not sure who’s bright idea it was to book the Annuals with TNV, but it made for a very strange bill. It seemed like both bands brought totally different audiences. It seemed likd people there for the Annuals left after their set, and the TNV fans came in from drinking over at the Mo Bar after the Annuals set. I hung out for half of the Annuals, but their bombastic pop just didn’t really do much for me.

How pop are TNV? Well check out TNV’s reworking of the riff to Billy Bragg’s This Guitar Says Sorry.
mp3: Times New Viking - Come Together (from Rip it Off)

mp3: Billy Bragg - This Guitar Says Sorry (from Back to Basics)