...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - The Secret of Elena's Tomb

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – The Secret of Elena's Tomb EP
Interscope, 2003
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $3

I've never really understood what the big fucking deal about this band was, other than that their band name is fucking amazing. I mean, some bands take the “let's have a really overlong band name” thing too far (to the point where it ends up with some stupid abbreviation or sounds more like an album title than a band name) but I've always liked And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, although mostly because I can just call them Trail of Dead and it's still cool. But otherwise, they just sound like every other band that was trying to get popular but NOT be the Strokes or the Whatevers in the early 00s. There's a certain artfulness to it, this EP followed their breakthrough LP Source Tags & Codes and it's got a reverence for Slint and all those wonderful mid-90s post-rock/math rock bands. But at the same time, it's hard to find anything really TOO original about it. Sure, the band is tight, they're on their game but their game has never clicked with me. I said that already. Maybe I just tried too hard to like them and this was the consequence. I mean, I REALLY like a couple of tracks on this record, but I know I only like them because they're capturing the tone of Spiderland and not because they're real testaments to originality. Like opener “Mach Schau,” which just sounds like Slint blended together with like, Iggy Pop or something. But Source Tags is one of those albums that is SO highly acclaimed, that I'm surely missing something and it's only a matter of time before I like it. I mean, I'm not saying I'm gonna LOVE it or anything like that, but my judgment feels a little bit premature at the moment. However, in terms of judging The Secret of Elena's Tomb, I can say that while it doesn't sound dated yet, it probably will in five years or so. To end on a positive note, I will say that I've always appreciated the musicianship. It's the same way I appreciate what Broken Social Scene do, despite not really liking their music.


"All Saints Day" is a jam, though, in a sort of hazy mid-90s alternative rock radio way.

Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy

Eels – Daisies of the Galaxy
Bong Load Records,
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $4

Working at HPB has taught me the value of discovering music. I never really got to do it the old fashioned way, as I reached the age where I realized music was cool and exciting right as Napster was taking off. Occasionally in high school, I would buy CDs, I'd even avoid leaks on Kazaa! But after that, I never much saw the point in buying CDs, only vinyl. But the internet had ruined me. Everything I bought had to be test driven before I could pony up the cash and actually own it. I read all the blogs, followed all the trends, tried to separate the wheat from the chaff on my own but there was just too much! I worked at KJ for three years, two of which I was running or assistant running the music department. This created a sort of detachment between me and music. There was always a criteria, a report card, whatever. Something I would go through to deduce whether or not an album was any good. I had to, I was reviewing 8 or more records a week and while gut instinct was a huge part of it, a lot of it involved trying to please promoters by getting stuff added (which basically just involved developing a mentality of say, listening to your friend's band). Anyway, there was a point. Oh yeah, the point was that when I graduated and couldn't work at KJHK anymore, I started to love music again. It became less of a job and I remembered why I joined in the first place. Not to say that the time I spent there was bad. It was pretty much the only real education I got in college and it's what ended up landing me a job doing music writing for money. But now I love music again! I am aloof about what's hip and hot and new and it's fucking amazing. I've spent the summer listening to nothing but records I actually own, pick up at the store, or CDs I pick up at the store to listen to in the car. It's the summer of Teenage Fanclub, the Replacements, Husker Du, Pavement and Fugazi. Five bands I should have been obsessed with in college and am only now seeing their inner truth or whatever.

But this isn't about those bands, this is about Eels and Daisies of the Galaxy, which is a record I'd never heard and because I like Eels and Electro-Shock Blues, and knew this was supposed to be good from someone who told me that, I grabbed it. And I'm listening to it right now and it's really fucking good. Mark Everett's voice is one of those rare things in modern American music. That is, he's got so much soul. It's raspy, deep, exhausted. It's the kind of voice that made me check to see if he'd committed suicide because it was so solemn (see also: Nick Drake, Elliott Smith). But then again, that tragedy is all over Electro-Shock Blues and this is well, still a pretty sad record. It sounds like he's getting better, it's a little brighter. It's all kind of summed up on the excellent “It's a Motherfucker.” “It's a motherfucker/ Getting through Sunday,” he sings. That's it, right there. In my head right now, this is like what Why?'s Alopecia is to Elephant Eyelash (or even what Alopecia is to Eskimo Snow). The step back and the analysis of the situation, opposed to being trapped in the middle of it. There's a certain clarity present here, one you don't get on those really intense masterpiece albums, although that would be taking this one out of masterpiece running (assuming one artist can have more than one). But E got his right off the bat, but goddamn, this is a great record. OK, definitely not a masterpiece but a great record, it's settled. Beautiful and sad, full of really beautifully placed strings and sad horns (see the two perfectly combined in “Wooden Nickels”). The only thing that really puzzles me is WHY the single is a hidden track? I mean, I was like “Ok, I've heard 'It's a Motherfucker'” and then at the very end it's like “OH THERE'S THAT SONG I'VE HEARD IN A MILLION MOVIES OR WHATEVER.” Interesting move, Mr. E. Interesting move. Also, Adrian Tomine art all over this thing, so there's another win there.

"Wooden Nickels"


Wooden Eels


Just...Eels

Autoclave - Go Far 7"

Autoclave – Go Far 7”
Dischord/K (Diskord), 1991
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2010
Price: $3

This 7” had everything going for it when I picked it up. All girl group from on Dischord AND K ft/ the totally awesome Mary Timony. It's a perfect storm of things that I love. On the music front, it's a surprisingly angular mix of mathy yet pop tinged post-punk. Me likey. The short lived group only put out one LP that features all three songs on this 7”. “Go Far” and “It's Not Real Life” are both good, but the real winner here is the B-side “I'll Take You Down.” There's something they're doing with the guitars on that one that wins my thumbs up. It sounds raw, bedroom style. The sort of song you would hear on the radio and say “this sounds like great early 90s alternative rock!”


Here's "I'll Take You Down."

Buckingham Nicks - Buckingham Nicks

Buckingham Nicks – Buckingham Nicks
Polydor, 1973
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $7.50

I don't listen to Fleetwood Mac. I never have, and the only reason I've ever considered giving them a chance is because Jenny is obsessed with Stevie Nicks. I saw this, Stevie and Lindsey Buckingham's first album PRE-Fleetwood Mac at the store and I was like “Yes, Jenny will like this.” And it's not bad! I'm surprised at how much I like Stevie Nicks' voice. Lindsey Buckingham mostly just sounds like a Cat Stevens knock off, but Stevie's songs are fucking great! “Long Distance Winner” and “Crying in the Night” are great and I can see Neko Case listening to these songs as a young lass and picking up a thing or two. Granted, Neko's voice is a bit heartier, a bit more soulful, but there's something emotionally devastating about Nicks' vocals. Apparently this album is a bit hard to track down and never had a proper CD release, so I'm pretty glad I picked it up (thanks to the kind of weird cover featuring a naked Nicks w/ side boob looking all mysterious beautiful and Buckingham with...a fucking incredible mane and moustache/chesthair combo). Plus it's in fantastic shape, so it's a whim that paid off! It is a bit “generic 70s rock” but I think you can clearly tell that these two are bound for greatness, or at least epic fame.

Astropop 3 - Light Years Away

Astropop 3 – Light Years Away 7”
Asian Man Records, 2000
Acquired: Asian Man Records Mailorder, New, 2003
Price: ~$.25

Oh man! This is an awesome little understated bedroom pop record a la the Softies and Harriet Records' Tokidoki. This sounds like a band Transmittens would like. There's the alternating boy-girl vocals. The sweet hooks, the reverb wash of the fuzzy guitars, the terrific chorus, “Light Years Away” is a lovable little jam that I'm excited to have stumbled upon and, more so, excited that I didn't sell it on the grounds of having not listened to it. The b-side “Agatha” finds songwriter Dan Villaneuva on lead vocals and he's just got that excellent male indie-pop voice that's hard to find. I'm thinking of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, who are constantly trying to get that Sarah Records male vocal sound (a la the Field Mice, St. Christopher, Brighter, etc) and while vocalist Kip Berman does a great job, and while I like the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, it just doesn't sound nearly as honest and real as Villaneuva. Or maybe it's just the lo-fi production. He's got a little Stewart Copeland in him, which adds a little edge and keeps him from sounding like a wimp, which is nice in a world where wimpy music has found its own little home in the mainstream (I'm looking at you, Coldplay).

Here's a live video of their song "Nothing Without You."

The Amps - Bragging Party 7"

The Amps – Bragging Party 7”
4AD, 1995
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2006
Price: $.25

The Amps are Kim Deal's Breeders side project that sounds pretty much just like the Breeders to the point where the Breeders play Amps songs live. Rightly so, because the Amps one LP, Pacer, is fucking great, and the single “Bragging Party” is the fucking jam. It's a slow burn with a gorgeous, subtle little melody that tends to stick in my head. It's one of those songs I used as a touchstone of mid-90s college rock when I hosted Alternative Flashback on KJ, despite never being able to play this song on the radio. Actually, this 7” is an ex-radio copy, judging by the plain white cover with the hand scrawled “THE AMPS – BRAGGING PARTY DNP.” Why 4AD would have sent out a radio single that was strictly a DNP is beyond me, but I'm not complaining. Actually, the only thing I will complain about is that there's not a sick b-side, but having a righteous jam like “Bragging Party” on two sides of wax ain't nothing to be sad about, either!

Harry Nilsson - Son of Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson – Son of Schmilsson
RCA, 1972
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $2

It's funny how a guy who sings about singing his balls off in the chorus of the first song on this record achieved any sort of acclaim. I mean, I get his version of “Without You,” and every time I hear it I think it's some cheesy power ballad before realzing it's Nilsson and it's really endearing and heartbreaking, but “Coconut,” really? How is that popular! IT IS SO WEIRD! Anyway, speaking of weird, SON OF SCHMILSSON, which features Nilsson dressed as a vampire on the cover, which is why I bought it, because that is awesome. It's an incredibly indulgent record, but masterfully pulled off by one of the few people who can do indulgent because, goddamnit, the man is just plain gifted. Just look at the country twang of “Joy.” This should sound hokey but he delivers it with a faux-Johnny Cash drawl and great wit and somehow this works. Some day I will tell Jenny that “I want to make her feel all clammy inside,” which is both weird and kind of sweet...in a weird way. And then BAM the 70s soft rock greatness of “Turn on Your Radio.” It just hits. Nilsson's vocals are so smooth, warm, etc, and Richard Perry's production encapsulates it in a neat little sonic package, picking out the finger picked guitar and layering the woodwinds just right. Are there even woodwinds on that song? It sounds like there are. And then, another fucking amazing transition into “You're Breaking My Heart.” It's jarring as hell but again, it works because this off the cuff shit is Nilsson's great talent. “You're breakin' my heart/ You're tearin' it apart/ So fuck you,” he sings. Dig it. Sweet record.

I think this video is highly appropriate:

Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark

The Fiery Furnaces – Gallowsbird's Bark
Rough Trade, 2003
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $4

Man, this was such a huge record my senior year of high school, just not for me. I was just making my transition from punk to indie rock and this was on the docket. A big, highly acclaimed, apparently innovative indie rock record...that I thought was half awesome and half a couple of rich white kids messing around. And, seven years later, that's what it sounds like, but when taking the records the Fiery Furnaces have released in that time, well, this sounds refreshing. They seem to have dove head first into being weird for weirdness' sake and lost all the heart and joy that's on display on this album. Tunes like the carnivalesque opener “South is Only a Home” and the slow-burn lilt of “Up in the North” caught me, but the middle part of the album always feels way too long and way too unfocused. The siblings Friedberger most certainly know how to pen terrific pop songs, but it often feels like they're overloading their songs with too many ideas, weird or otherwise. Fortunately, the trio of songs that close the album--“Tropical Ice-Land,” “Rub Alcohol Blues,” and the woozy blues of “We Got Back the Plague”--are a masterful mini-suite. In the scheme of the Fiery Furnaces, this is still one of their best records. I never quite made sense of Blueberry Boat, and the EP that followed that album was pretty much their pop-peak for me. However, I didn't hate their grandma album, Rehearsing my Choir, as much as everyone else because it was at least endearing, but every album from 2005 on has had about 2 or 3 great songs and a mess of tangled weirdo blah. However, I say all this without having given a listen to their latest, I'm Going Away, so maybe all of this is wrong.

Not the album version, but love the video for Tropical Iceland"

The Ampersands - Annabel Bleach 7"

The Ampersands – Annabel Bleach 7”
Harriet Records, 1996
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007
Price: $.25

So, this is my favorite 7” and it cost me as much as a handful of Chewy Spree at the grocery store. Well, mostly just for the title track. It's hard to describe why I love it though. It's kind of like my platonic ideal of indie-pop. It sounds like a wimpy Australian guy putting together a brilliant pop song in his bedroom and then getting a few of his friends to help out and form a “band.” There's this organ thing that comes in on the last verse that just destroys me, every single time. Jenny just came home as I was putting this on and I was like “OH WAIT! Listen to this weird organ thing that comes in!” I'm obsessed with that organ part! It's carnival-esque, and you would think it was totally ill-fitting in this sweet little ramshackle pop song but it works so well. The titular Annabel Bleach was a member of the Ampersands fellow Aussies the Cannanes, which appeals to my love of bands who are friends referencing each other. The lyrics are weird and awesome and perfect. Someday, I will be able to share this people in the virtual world, but until then, it remains a secret treasure resigned to mixtapes and guests.

Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes 7"

Alkaline Trio – Hell Yes 7”
Lookout, 2001
Acquired: Hot Topic, New, 2002
Price: $1

Man, gotta love the Hot Topic bargain bin! This was at the heart of my Alkaline Trio obsession which lasted all throughout the last years of high school. I still love them, despite their latter day sins, all missteps were forgiven after catching their live show. Granted, they played almost exclusively old stuff, so I was easy to please. Anyway, this is one of those songs I can listen to ten times in a row, and that's no small feat! It dates back to the From Here to Infirmary sessions which featured ex-Smoking Pope Mike Felumlee on drums and really, it's still my favorite line-up. “Hell Yes” is Matt Skiba pulling off another brilliant bitter love song. I had this on repeat a lot during 2008, and I was usually sitting alone on my bedroom floor drunk. Perfect drunk heartbreak music, that's what this is! Dan's b-side, “My Standard Break From Life” is another pretty great track. Like “Hell Yes,” it's an awesome b-side that didn't quite fit in on the LP but seems perfectly at home on this 7”. Anyway, it's the bitterness in Skiba's voice and and the sweetness in Adriano's that gets me. That and how Skiba is my hopelessness yin and Adriano is my hopefullness yang. Something like that, if that makes sense...even though "My Standard Break From Life" isn't that hopeful, it's pretty sad, but you know...


Hell Yes.


AND! "My Standard Break From Life" solo!