face-off: lotta love

she & him (actress zooey deschanel and m. ward) just dropped their second album, cleverly titled volume two. i came across their cover of neil young's "lotta love," which was a b-side to their single "why do you let me stay here," from their first album, also cleverly titled, volume one. it got me thinking of the hit 1979 version by nicolette larson, which has always been a favorite of mine. it's a slice of '70s AM soft rock.

she & him slow it down considerably for their version and the harmonies are great. but their vocals lack the power of larson's when she slides down the scale at the end of the first and second verses. that's the best part of the song, in my opinion. what do you think?







she & him:


nicolette larson:

look on up at the bottom

oh, how i wish the carrie nations were a real band! in the history of fake rock groups, they're at the top. (right up there with zack attack!) i revisited beyond the valley of the dolls last weekend and was struck, yet again, by how good the music is. the whole film is a surreal, drug-induced mindfuck, and i highly recommend it.

having an all-girl rock group in 1970 was pretty progressive, and we have director russ meyer and screenwriter roger ebert (yes, that roger ebert) to thank for that. the band is fronted by kelly mcnamara (center, played by dolly read), with casey anderson (right, played by cynthia myers) on bass, and petronella danforth (left, played by marcia mcbroom) on drums. i won't give away the plot, but it's the same old story you've heard a thousand times: a girl rock group heads out to hollywood to make it big, hook up with their rich fashion-maven aunt, meet a transsexual record producer who owns the band the strawberry alarm clock and speaks in shakespearean iambic pentameter, and has parties with lots of big-breasted women, homosexuals, pot smoking and impromptu performances by unknown, unsigned bands. then the girls fall prey to the perils of life: drugs, sex, and lesbianism. i mean, we grew up on stories like this, right? but surprisingly, there isn't a hint of cliche in its telling. such is great filmmaking.

the songs were written by stu phillips and kelly's vocals were provided by lynn carey, best known as the lead vocalist of mama lion. one of the carrie nations's hits included the below track, "look on up at the bottom." do you dig? hang cool, teddy bear.

 

one less bell to answer

totally random, but i got this 5th dimension song stuck in my head the other day, so i had to download it. before i discovered the 5th dimension years and years ago, there were two things i knew about lead singer marilyn mccoo. one: she used to host the tv show solid gold (hot!); and two: she made a guest spot on punky brewster playing cherie's aunt who tries to steal her away from her grandma (even hotter!).


 

(i'm now using soundcloud as my file hosting site. now you can listen to the entire track before you download it. and, if you like it, just click the black arrow and you're set! word.)

two door cinema club

northern irish electrorock band two door cinema club landed on my top songs of 2009 list with their ditty "something good can work." it was one of those songs that lasted a short time -- clocking in at only 2:23 -- but was so well written and tightly arranged that it felt a lot longer, like many of the great pop songs of the '50s and '60s. plus lead singer alex trimble's falsetto hook made it irresistable. their debut album, tourist history, was just released in ireland and the u.k. and is already getting stellar reviews. (it should be released in the u.s. in the late spring.) not bad for a band that looks like they don't even shave yet. and the best news for all us 2DCC fans in sf: they're coming to popscene on thursday, may 6!

something good can work

i can talk

what you know

balls to the wall: spring break version

honestly, the only thing i knew about cisco adler was that a couple of naked pics surfaced a few years back, and that he has huge a sack and balls. seriously huge. man must've used a ball stretcher at some point. i also knew that he's been romantically linked to several celebutantes and starlets (i.e. paris hilton). i had no idea he was a musician, that he fronted whitestarr and has worked extensively with shwayze. which just goes to show you that nude pictures trump everything.

well, cisco has released a solo effort featuring lil jon and dirt nasty called "spring break lover." this track would fall into the disposable pop, so-bad-it's-good category. it's dripping-ball-sweat-hot. just ask cisco.

spring break lover

decent exposure

the best thing about this blog is exposing new music to my fellow man. there's something so incredibly sexy and magical about finding a song you love and turning someone you love onto it. hell, it doesn't even have to be someone you love because the end result is the same. it's orgasmic, really. but even if that special someone doesn't enjoy it as much as you -- it's disappointing, true, but we've all been there -- there's still an ultimate, mind-shattering satisfaction when you find a song you adore.

such is the case with danish rock band kiss kiss kiss. there isn't too much info about them available on the interwebs other than that they sound a lot like franz ferdinand. kiss kiss kiss mixes rock and electronica with a hook so damn catchy it's like swine flu.

miss meredith 

new mgmt!

mgmt released their first song, "flash delirium," from their upcoming album congratulations. thoughts? (and yes, that is the official album cover.)

flash delirium

lonely creatures

i'm in a rather somber mood this week. it might have to do with all the stress at work, or the fact that this past weekend was an unexpected whirlwind of activity as my friend, michael, made a last-minute trip to sf from ny. we hardly slept, but man was it fun! (p.s. i have 27 days left on my 30-day pass to steamworks if anyone wants it.) these songs seem to sum up my feelings nicely, not so much for the lyrics as the sounds.

lonely creatures - kashka

toronto-based singer kat burns, who fronts forest city lovers, describes her solo efforts as "songs that might just float away unless they are tied down, like ribbons around oak trees." that's the perfect way to characterize "lonely creatures," from her debut ep orinoco.

 

take care - beach house

beach house is blowing up the interwebs lately. i was slow to jump on the bandwagon, but was turned on to this incessantly catchy, dreamy number, and now can't get enough.

midnight sun - the sounds

a track from the swedes' latest crossing the rubicon. again, late to the party with these guys but now ready to get down forever. (man, can they write a hook!)

kiss this

had i not known the song "bermuda" was by la-based duo kisses, i would have thought jens lekman released his new single. jesse kivel (of the band princeton) and his gf zinzi edmundson have taken a page right out of lekman's book with their first single, and that's not a bad thing. i adore jens lekman. and the song is dreamy, synth-pop goodness.

bermuda

playlist: ring, ring

call me anytime - the cops

call me - blondie

talking on the phone - elkland

always on the telephone - ladybug transistor

pick up the phone (daisy dell remix) - dragonette

pick up the phone - ciara

ring ring - abba

call me - nancy sinatra

all alone - judy garland

yea or nay?

i'm not exactly sure if i like yeasayer or not. i downloaded a track from their new album odd blood and it was just so-so. then i came across another track, "o.n.e.," from the same album. it's catchy, and i like it, but there's still something about their sound that doesn't sit well with me. is it the lead singer's voice? the '80s nintendo-sounding blips and beeps having a seizure in the background? hmmmm....

o.n.e. - yeasayer

willing spring, pt. ii

i was going to include this in yesterday's post, but this song is so fucking good, i wanted to give it its own post. i wasn't a huge fan of the sounds (aside from last year's "dorchester hotel" off their album crossing the rubicon), but this tommie sunshine remix is making me reconsider. true, it's a few years old, but who the fuck cares?! if this doesn't get you movin' and make you feel good, i don't know what will.

tony the beat [tommie sunshine radio edit] - the sounds

willing spring

spring is almost here but it's not coming fast enough [insert dirty joke here]. however, by the sheer force of will power, i am making spring arrive sooner. it's my favorite time of year. maybe it's because i grew up in boston. the bitter cold, wicked winters seemed endless. there was something magical at the first sign of spring, when the sun would start to warm the frozen ground, and the blades of grass would begin to break from their icy cocoons. things once dead came to life again. it meant school was almost over, and that, along with the sign of clement climates meant freedom, warmth, and serenity. there are certain songs that evoke those same feelings -- that punxsutawney phil can kiss my motherfucking ass and that spring arrives today. enjoy!

killing moon - nouvelle vague

sea of love - cat power

stars come out - calvin harris

suburban knights - hard-fi

major tom - shiny toy guns

citizen - broken bells (removed by request)

love me to pieces - erik hassle

talking in your sleep (studio brussels remix) - space cowboy

one of these days - camper van beethoven

crazy talk - space cowboy feat. carmac

  

reach out of the darkness

step into the way back machine, kids. this was a top 10 hit in 1968. and although friend & lover never had another major hit, this one has stood the test of time. stupidly brilliant.

 reach out of the darkness

kasper bjørke

kasper bjørke was a dj and star producer in the copenhagen club scene before he released his first solo album, in gumbo, in 2007. his new album, standing on top of utopia, dropped a couple weeks ago. vocalist jacob bellens, sounding a bit like david bowie, brings to life bjørke's dark electronic club beats in the first single "young again." while tomas höffding, of whomadewho, drives the thumping disco pop of the extremely catchy but foreboding "efficient machine."

young again (radio edit) · efficient machine