marty/ghost et al;
peter holsapple in particular is one of the greatest under-recognized songwriters ever; cursed, unfortunately, by bad lungs--he's a non-singer. if you can, find his "out my way", a remarkably strong set of tunes which probably sold about 75 copies (i assume marty was one of the purchasers). for the uninitiated, the dbs first two records are stone, time-capsule quality classics; among the best 80s records. goddamn.
|
re: peter holsapple--i forgot about the continental drifters (his project with the girl from the cowsills!). "vermillion" was the one i remember as being noteworty. as for chris stamey, i useta wear the hell out of "wonderful life", "it's alright ( a slicker major label lp) and the "instant excitement" ep--none of these are on spotify, but very well worth tracking down on ebay or wherever--in contrast to his later, wispier stuff, i still remember these songs 30+ years later.
speaking of great songwriters with bad voices, i've been listening to steve earle's latest, terraplane. the guy's obviously made a pact with the devil--all that heroin and hard living and he still hasn't lost the knack. "go go boots are back" may be the best song he's written.
likewise, game theory's "lolita nation" (just reissued). the late scott miller's reedy voice is an acquired taste (i dig it), but he was a great, smart pop writer and anyone into big star/dbs/posies will worship this.
|
one more holsapple reference, then i'll shut up forever---marty, you're probably onto golden palaminos "blast of silence"---for the unitiated it's a sorta supersession featuring among others, a very young matthew sweet and tbone burnett. the great syd straw covers an obscure holsapple song, diamond; the little feat songs which begin and end the record are also great. the earlier "visions of excess" is artier and features michael stipe (doing moby grape), jack bruce and johnny rotten
|
really good picks, maxnewid--i like all of them except (unheard) suede, which isn't on spotify. real estate in particular reminds me of the feelies and is one of the few new bands of the past five years that stick to your ribs.
|
flamin groovies, jumpin in the night--recorded after the departure of their main man, roy loney (whose "out after dark" is fantastic and on spotify). more of a jangle pop direction. lots of covers (including a version of "werewolves of london" that cuts the original), but it's the originals that really stick with you.
wooden shjps,
west--trancey, garagey psychedlia; something like an overdriven velvet underground. oddly hypnotic.
|
kevn kinney, macdougall blues--his drivin n cryin has always registered as a bit too desperate-for-arena-rock-success, but this is something of a folky masterpiece.
guided by voices, do the collapse--this was their ric ocasek-produced foray into high fidelity, and was much maligned critically, but i dig it--it's tuneful and weird in all the right ways.
|
ghost, that arboretum is a very interesting disc--oddly melodic; the vocals are haunting. unique.
|
ghost--i do like. he might be a major artist--will explore further. in the meantime, check out bowery electric--not a far cry from where you referred me
|
i do know ivy--they're adam schlessinger's breathy-pop band--always thought they were overpraised, though they do do what do well. massive attack, otoh, are awesome.
since you dug bowery electric, you might check out "still in a dream" on spotify--a big palylist of virtually every shoegaze band of note
|
badfinger, ass--their resident genius, pete ham is oddly subordinate on this one, with only two songs, but i think it's their most listenable overall
matthew sweet, in reverse--i've sorta overlooked this one but it impresses on close listen; ambitious, kitchen sink arrangements (horns, choruses, etc.), kind of like a power-pop "pet sounds" |
paul kelly, comedy--very smart melodic folk/rock on the order of neil finn or freedy johnson, but with the punky verve of early kinks. huge in australia, fwiw
chris stapleton, from a room--a country record for people (like myself) that don't always crave country--lots of 60s soul feel to it. i've had this one on repeat for awhile now.
|
ryan adams, prisoner--not a great record, but you gotta admire his ability to crank out quality songs at such a prolific rate (this is something like his 20th record since 2000 + he has a trove of unreleased stuff, b-sides, etc.). saw him live not too long ago and he's grown up alot--he's not a snarky punk anymore, for which i give just due.
bowie, blackstar--i'd sorta tuned out bowie since low, but gave this a spin out of respect for the departed and was surprised at how good it was--droney, progy, uncommerical--not that far removed from radiohead or early roxy music.
|
paul mccartney, no other baby--an absolutely killer cover from the otherwise so-so run devil run.
centro-matic, love you just the same--very melodic, smart pop vaguely on the order of jayhawks or richard buckner; the principal one of the great unsung songwriters in this americana-ish genre
|
lets active, "badger"--transcendentally gorgeous sad love song. mitch easter's nasal yowl isn't the greatest, but it fits the song + his end solo just burns.
|
if you can find it, read "without you: the tragic story of badfinger", which is one of the best (and certainly the saddest) band bio you'll ever come across. as written, the guys (esp. resident genius pete ham) come across as sweet souls in a mild drunken stupor who obliviously played on while getting mercilessly raped and exploited by their handlers. i've always loved their music, though.
|
nutty, i just looked on amazon and ebay for the badfinger book and it's being sold used for crazy prices ($150 and up)---i suppose that'll only make you want to read it more. maybe you can find it in your library?
|
