Recommended Albums #20

02 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Recommended Albums Tags: ,

Loveless Unbeliever

The School: Loveless Unbeliever (2010)

File under: All the best band names are taken. Right next to The Shore, The Bills, Air and other extremely un-Googlable musical collectives. Remember when bands went to the trouble of naming themselves with a combination of words you’d never heard in any other context–Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Procol Harum, Mott the Hoople?

Well, that’s a myth too, because back in the day we also had The Cars, The Doors, The Police, Kiss, Queen, Camel, Spirit, and of course Chicago, Boston, Kansas, Asia and America. But at least those bands had the excuse of not anticipating online searches.

Anyway, unfortunately-named British pop band The School have nailed the 60’s girl group sound of the Ronettes, Little Peggy March, etc. They’re clearly steeped in early Motown and Phil Spector arrangement. But other acts have accomplished as much in recent years–imitation is relatively easy. What sets The School apart is that they’ve written some really catchy original songs, raising their act above mere homage. Their sound captures that teen melodrama, their lyrics put across that wide-eyed innocence. But the surprise is that their hooks nearly match those of their source material. And they know, as Brian Wilson did, the value of the nonsense syllable–the “Ba-ba-ba-ooo” and the “Wa-ah-oh-ho” the backup singers coo in harmony. This stuff really does feel 1963.

Fresh songs with nostalgia built-in. It makes for great summer road trip music. Now that school’s out, head for the beach with…The School.

Listen to: “Let it Slip”

Listen to: “Is He Really Coming Home?”

Listen to: “Hoping and Praying”

See also: https://edcyphers.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/songs-you-may-have-missed-79/

I Got a Kick Out of This, Frankly

02 Jul 2012 2 Comments

by Ed Cyphers in On a Lighter Note

funny graphs

Songs You May Have Missed #141

02 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

gilbert

Kevin Gilbert: “Suit Fugue (Dance of the A&R Men)” (2000)

Talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Gilbert fronted such household name bands as Giraffe and Toy Matinee. He was a member of the songwriting collective known as the Tuesday Night Music Club–the very same referred to in the title of Sheryl Crow’s breakout debut album. Gilbert co-wrote much of that record, including the 1995 Grammy Record of the Year “All I Wanna Do”.

Gilbert died at age 29 and his second solo LP, The Shaming of the True, released posthumously, yielded this mind-blowing arrangement–a perhaps semi-autobiographical skewering of record execs and their treatment of up-and-coming acts.

The dizzying vocal collage can be hard to follow. If you wish to discern all the layers of lyric, here’s a mix that isolates the individual parts

p.s. Gilbert was briefly under consideration by Genesis when they were in search of a front man to replace Phil Collins.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2022/07/03/video-of-the-week-the-story-of-toy-matinee/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2022/07/16/songs-you-may-have-missed-734/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2024/11/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-757/

Songs You May Have Missed #140

02 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

kiss

Kiss: “Hard Luck Woman” (1978)

This is one you may not have missed, actually, considering it was a top twenty hit. But listen again if you will and make sure you don’t miss the sound of a band “out of their element” that I described in song #138 (https://edcyphers.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/songs-you-may-have-missed-138/).

Ragged vocals, un-subtle drumming, a sort of love song that lands just this side of too much sentimentality…power ballad hallmarks all. And a bit of the “power” comes from the fact that it’s sung by a band who’s avowed intent was to rock and roll all nite and party every day. Nothing in their mission statement about “letting feelings show” or “wiping tears from…eyes”.

I deliberately sourced the rarer Double Platinum version of the song because I prefer its slower-building arrangement at the beginning (drums and bass come in only after the first verse).

Another power ballad prototype would be the Rolling Stones’ “Angie”. When it came out I’d heard nothing of the kind from the Stones. Had they put one heart-wrenching ballad on each album, “Angie” would never have carried such weight.

Songs You May Have Missed #139

27 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

redwells

The Redwalls: “Thank You” (2005)

Another song which possesses a degree of that power ballad magic, the Redwalls’ soulful “Thank You”. You can hear the muscles they aren’t flexing here.

I really like this band’s look, and was surprised to see they were from Chicago. Their Stones-inflected licks and snarled, Lennonesque vocals had me assuming they were British.

To Paris Hilton: Don’t Quit Your Day Job (…What IS Your Day Job?)

26 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

(Source: Spinner)

Everyone’s favorite socialite screw-up, Paris Hilton, has conquered reality television, acting and homemade porn — now she’s trying her hand at DJing. And boy, is it going so well! (I kid! I kid!)

In the words of Mixmag, the auditory “car crash” took place at the Pop Music Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil where Hilton blasted an unsuspecting audience with juiced-up top ten’ers.

Let’s be honest here: Several mistakes were made. To start, during Gotye’s “Somebody I Used to Know,” the DJ-in-training accidentally shifts the pitch of the song, giving the mix a warble like a warped vinyl record.

Secondly, you’ll notice that the show’s smoke machine and pyrotechnics seem louder than the, erm, performer’s set. Despite her onstage “help,” it looks like Hilton could’ve turned up the volume.

But the best part of the evening is Paris’ failed attempt at playing her new single “Last Night.” Instead of blasting Brazil with her Afrojack cut, the “DJ” mistakenly cues Rihanna’s “We Found Love.” To make matters worse, she tries to sing her track over the top.

Video by Ed Cyphers

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