Monday , November 16, 2009
Heavy Rotation: The Horrors, The Hobbits, The White Stripes, and more!
The Horrors, "Scarlet Fields"
I kind of wrote off the Horrors as part of that whole electroclash bullcrap from a few years ago, although I thought their Chris Cunningham-directed vid for "Sheena Was a Parasite" was frightfully, awesomely wicked and riveting. I just assumed they were fashion before passion, an attitude which I'm amused by but easily forget about after about a week. But their latest record Primary Colours came out, and like a lot of other people, I was super-floored by how rich, beautiful and amazing it is. It is full of epic shoegaze-y sound, expansive emotion and song structure to match, drugtastic mood and a sheen of dark glamour that warms the cockles of this Goth heart. This is not tame pop music -- this is big in every way, with a genuine artistic ambition and a kind of emotional decadence that is way more Symbolist than the stupidity that passes for decadence these days. If you loved the great British rock bands of the late 80s and early 90s, if you ever loved Peter Murphy, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Ride, Chapterhouse, early Verve, Swervedriver, Slowdive, all of that: THIS WHOLE RECORD IS SO UP YOUR ALLEY AND YOU NEED TO EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW YOU EXIST SO I CAN LOVE YOU FROM AFAR. (Kat)
Peter Murphy, "Cuts You Up"
Speaking of Peter Murphy, this song always makes me think of eighth grade biology class and sitting with my friends writing Cure lyrics on our folders instead of learning about progesterone or frog innards or whatever. It was in eighth grade bio where the coolest girl in my junior high dubbed me a tape of Peter Murphy's solo record Deep, from which "Cuts You Up" comes from. I'm ashamed to say that I got into Peter Murphy before I discovered he used to sing in a band called Bauhaus, but cut me some slack, dudes -- I was only 12. We all have to begin somewhere. (Kat)
Radiohead, "Nobody Does It Better" (Live)
I think it's a grand idea to set the last dance at your wedding reception to a song that's ostensibly sweet but actually totally dirty. I've just got the track for that, and I'm not going to tell you what it is, but the runner-up would definitely be this Radiohead cover of the theme to The Spy Who Loved Me. Thom Yorke does a halfway decent Carly Simon; it's probably the only time Radiohead's ever given me the chills. (Liz)
The White Stripes, "Party of Special Things to Do"
You know how some weddings have an after-party, a superchill friends-and-cool-family-members-only kinda hang that's about 87 times more party than the actual reception? I want my wedding to have not only an after-party, but an after-after-party. And at the after-after-after-party, we'll probably just play The White Stripes' cover of "Party of Special Things to Do" by Captain Beefheart over and over and try to dance on the couch, which never works cuz you usually just sink into the cushions or fall over onto the floor. So Much Fun! (Liz)
The Hobbits, "Daffodil Days"
What a terrible song this is. Songs so staggeringly embarrassing as this one really help debunk the myth that everything was perfect in the 1960s, which is a myth worth debunking indeed. Remembering that the 1960s weren't just a perfect John Lennon Utopia helps me navigate my way through trashy Two Thousand "The Shittiest Year Yet!" And Nine with a bit less of a grudge. The hilarious thing about "Daffodil Days" is that it is on an LP called Down to Middle Earth (COOL, HUH!?!?!) that is very rare and kind of pricey. Therefore, Dudes Who Care About Rekkids project value onto the music of the Hobbits, and actually bother sitting around listening to this garbage. Actions so embarrassing as that one really help debunk the myth that 99% of dudes aren't idiots 99% of the time, which is a myth worth debunking indeed. (Laura Jane)
Lee Mallory, "The Love Song"
I am a really big fan of empty, unromantic love songs. This one is particularly cool to me because the title positions it as being the love song: the Ultimate. Thought Lee Mallory, once, maybe: "You did it, Lee (Mallory)! You wrote the superlative love song! There has never been, and never will be, a love song that is more of a love song than this song! I shall call it, 'The Love Song.'" Poor, dumb Lee Mallory. If I were ever to actually fall in love, the last song I would ever want to listen to as an expression of my bliss would be "The Love Song" by Lee Mallory. So there is one good thing about not being in love- I listen to "The Love Song" by Lee Mallory every day! It's great listening for when you are walking down the street, not thinking about love at all. (Laura Jane)
Tags: 2009: The Shittiest Year Yet!, 60s bubblegum, after-after-after-parties, bubblegum, Carly Simon, couch-dancing, dudes are stupid, love, low-concept, parties, partying hard, Peter Murphy, rekkids, sexiness, some man named Lee Mallory, spies, The Hobbits, the Horrors, The White Stripes, weddings
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Posted by Kat in Heavy Rotation |
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Got something to say? We'd love to hear it! Name, email and "type in the weirdo drunken text" thingie are all required to comment; don't worry, we won't email you or anything, we just want to make sure you're not an evil spambot. Keeping in mind the good-times mentality we like to keep going here, we've worked hard to keep NOGOODFORME.COM as fun as possible. We welcome all kinds of comments, but insults/abuse/general bitchery are not tolerated. In other words, we put the smackdown on evil troll posts. If you want to be a hater, please go elsewhere. Now, as Salt 'N Pepa say, "Only the sexy people..."
kat, you put 'cuts you up' on the first mixtape you ever made me! oh the nostalgia...
By Liz
on June 18, 2009 4:04 PM
Kat, the new Horrors are tops! They played a fantastic show at the Phoenix in May in Toronto and I will never tire of this album. It is gratifying to see their progress and I cannot wait to see what they do next. God, they're such babies, too!!
By brixton on June 19, 2009 1:48 PM
wow, that Horrors song is really good. who knew? perfect for headphones at work on a sleepy friday afternoon.
p.s. will you love me from afar now?
By lisa on June 19, 2009 4:04 PM
brixton: the new album is fantastic! one of my favorites so far this year. they're playing in NYC in the fall, and will definitely try to catch them when they do...glad to hear their live show is great!
lisa: i am happy to have helped you wile away a sleepy Friday afternoon! and i already love you from afar! (btw: we need to hang out soon, i have a DVD to give you of my film!)
xo kat
By Kat
on June 19, 2009 9:05 PM
ach, liz! that tape must be so ancient!
By Kat
on June 19, 2009 9:08 PM