Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
24 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: essex green, penny & jack
The Essex Green: “Penny & Jack” (2006)
Indie pop (whatever that is) band from Brooklyn, who might call to mind contemporaries like Camera Obscura or New Pornographers. But the cleanly arranged, Fender Rhodes-centered folk-pop sound also has a late 60’s/early 70’s feel. Emphasizing melody and harmony, Essex Green make an irresistible brand of pop.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2020/02/22/recommended-albums-77/
22 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: feels like heaven, fiction factory
Fiction Factory: “(Feels Like) Heaven” (1984)
“(Feels like) Heaven” was Scottish band Fiction Factory’s classic contribution to 80’s new wave, but it never actually charted in America–which is why you may have missed it. It was Top 10 in England, however, and was featured in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups TV commercial. The band never followed up with another hit and became one of the many new wave one-hit (or no-hit) wonders.
I’ve always thought it was just bad business to start a song title with parenthetical words…wonder if that’s part of the reason this song wasn’t more successful.
22 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: like a spoke on a wheel, the little ones
The Little Ones: “Like a Spoke On a Wheel” (2008)
Bright, tuneful, celebratory indie pop that will resonate with fans of the Shins. This is a standout track from the California band’s 2008 Morning Tide album. This band hasn’t found it easy to keep a label deal. I hope we get a chance to hear a follow-up someday.
22 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: billy bragg, walk away renee
Billy Bragg: “Walk Away Renee” (1986)
“…and then one day it happened: she cut her hair and I stopped loving her.”
Not a cover exactly, this version of the Left Banke’s 1966 baroque pop hit borrows the song’s melody to underlay for Bragg’s whimsically sad musings on a doomed love affair.
As a yet-undiscovered artist, Bragg got creative about finding ways to break through. According to his Wikipedia page:
His demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records‘ A&R man Peter Jenner. Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for music publisher Chappell & Co., so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy (credited to Billy Bragg) was released in July 1983 by Charisma’s new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy albeit at the wrong speed (since the 12″ LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/03/05/songs-you-may-have-missed-350/
22 Mar 2012 2 Comments
Joe Walsh is set to release his first solo album in two decades on June 5th.
Here’s a preview of the album’s title track, “Analog Man”, courtesy of Rolling Stone:
22 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: bee gees, this is where i came in
Bee Gees: “This is Where I Came In” (2001)
The Bee Gees continued making good music for many years after America mostly stopped listening. If you can only think of falsetto vocals and disco when you think of them, give this one a listen.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2017/02/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-612/
Every Moment Has A Song 