I ended up listening to no music last night, but I figure it’s best to leave open the possibility.
Sound Opinions Podcast – Early Dylan and Lykke Li
Threw this on to background breakfast and my first cups of coffee. Almost always worth a listen, if only for the usual head shaking at Dero’s point of view, but this week was a dud. Nothing more needs be said about Dylan’s pre-electric years yet that doesn’t keep these two from following the well-paved roads of others. They both liked the new Lykke Li quite a bit, as do I.
The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
My first listen – I picked it up last week but didn’t find myself the right time and mindset to give it a spin. I liked it, and think there are enough high points that I might grow to love it. I’m not sure about the running order; felt it didn’t flow particularly well, and the second track, “Birth Of Serpents”, was the one song that I didn’t care for much at all. High points: the run from “Age of Kings” to “High Hawk Season”, and from “For Charles Bronson” till the end. It ends with an instant classic; “Liza Forever Minnelli”, with Darnielle’s jazzy vocal phrasing, got an immediate replay. I look forward to living with this for a while, but my first impression isn’t as favorable as it was for their last album, The Life Of The World To Come.
Britney Spears – “I Wanna Go”
After I finished with The Mountain Goats around 9:30am, I was reading a thread on ILX that is all about Metal Mike Saunder’s thoughts on the new Britney album. This was embeded in it, so gave it a go. It’s a good song. She makes good pop, for the most part, so I wasn’t exactly surprised.
Lea Anna – “Kisses”
Another youtube from some thread on ILX. Nice pop dancehall, wish it wasn’t autotuned for no good reason.
Twisted Sister – “Under The Blade”
Back to iTunes. I needed a palate cleanser and to get in the mood for another first listen in a more hard rocking vein. I enjoy the first tow Twisted Sister albums a good deal, and “Under The Blade” is one of the great lost early 80s metal songs. Shoulda been huge, but the world wasn’t ready.
Wight – Wight Weedy Wight
Another German stoner metal band. Correction: another great German stoner metal band. Not sure what’s in the beer over there, but it seems year after year another band pops up from the soil of the Rhineland to swirl, bludgeon and groove into my ears. Six songs in 45 minutes of Sabbath-loving heavy metal. I just wish they had a North American distribution deal, but self-released records rarely do. Maybe All That Is Heavy will pick it up down the road.
Peter Wolf - Sleepless
A change of pace and sound after that glorious murk. I somehow slept on Peter Wolf’s move into laid-back country blues rocker (I’m not sure how to peg it; gracefully aging rock?), and this album is all killer and no filler. In the short time I’ve had it I’ve listened to it over and over, in many settings and following some rather diverse artists, and it never disappoints. I always knew he had impecable and eclectic taste but didn’t expect this from him after all this time. Apparently the followup to this 2002 album, last year’s Midnight Souvenirs, is nearly it’s equal. Guess I got to hear that one, too.
