Any Several Sundays - Lilys - Selected EP - 2000

As I think I've mentioned previously there is a yuppie-fied new ice cream shop/coffee shop around the corner from my apartment in my slightly ghetto neighborhood. So, I was in there Friday morning and basically saw a scene that made me miss the days when the whole block was covered in chicken bones and broken glass.

When I first arrived there was only one other customer in the store, a middle aged, probably single woman, and she was boring the tubby goth barrista with talks of the yarn festival she had attended the previous weekend and the things she'd be knitting this fall. Fortunately, she cleared out fairly quickly before I bit through my cheeks to keep from laughing at her...but she was replaced by a stern looking woman in her mid thirties and her 5-ish daughter. The little girl was adorable, all blonde curls and little pink plastic rain coat...and the girl just wanted a bagel with cream cheese. But her mother proceeded to berate her for not doing her choirs (this is a five year old here) and then told her that "papa didn't even want to let you have dress down Friday because of the way you've been acting".

This of course made me wonder what exactly the girl would be forced to wear on days of the week that were not Friday...and more to the point, what kind of sad messed up life this little girl was going to have growing up under Hester Prynne there.

The yuppiefication of my neighborhood continues to problematic.

This is another track by Lilys during their 60's psychedelia phase. Worth a listen.

Another The Letter - Wire - Chairs Missing - 1978

I went to go see TV on the Radio at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple last night. First of all, it was a venue I'd never been to before and it had many things to recommend it. Most importantly, it was a mere 10 minute walk from my apartment, but more to the point it was surprisingly small for a TVotR show, about the same size (and feel) as Bowery with more balcony space, but possibly less floor space. It made the show unexpectedly intimate.

There were of course downsides. They insisted on doing that annoying "buy a ticket, to buy a beer" system that they do at all ages shows here...cause god forbid a teenager get a beer. And the size and newness of the venue combined with the popularity of the band made their crowd control efforts somewhat clumsy and futile.

But all in all it was a positive experience and TVotR is a deceptively interesting live band. They are probably at their best when re-interpreting material, which is why their best songs can sometimes be disappointing. I don't want "Wolf Like Me" or "Staring at the Sun" re-interpreted...they are basically note perfect pop songs with elaborate and involved orchestration...but a less noteworthy song like "Dirtywhirl", "Young Liars" or "Love Dogs" can seem revelatory...like you didn't even know the song was that good no matter how many times you'd heard it previously....

They also welcomed a 4 piece horn section (Brooklyn's Finest Horns) onto the stage for about 2/3's of the show. Which was somewhat of a mixed blessing, on some songs they were amazing...on others they were over powering or out of place. Additionally, they blocked my view of Dave Sitek who is easily the most technically gifted member of the band. But if nothing else they were a site to see. 3 of the 4 were ordinary Brooklyn dudes, but the fourth, the tenor sax player, appeared to have been lifted straight of out The Revolution (Prince's old backing band, not, you know, some Che Guevara thing...cause that wouldn't really be out of place at all)...she wore Ray Bans, a black cocktail dress and big hair like nobody's business. My ladyfriend asked if she was Wendy or Lisa.

I've seen them twice before, in two drastically different situations...once at the beginnings of their fame in a tiny loft in South Williamsburg and once right before the release of Cookie Mountain at the Prospect Park Bandshell...but despite the cool points for the first show (and the way it turned out) the smallish midsize club is definitely the way to go with these guys.

Anyway, this is Wire, which really has nothing to do with TVotR...but I don't have one of their TVotR's songs coming up, and this song is only 1:06 long...what the hell was I supposed to talk about?

Another Morning Stoner - And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes - 2002

In the long and sordid history of wake-and-bakes the story that stands out the most is probably about my ex-roommates girlfriend...who is now his wife. I lived out on the Bed-Stuy/East Williamsburg border in a desolate little block where they brought the chinatown buses at night to wash down.

Anyway, my roommate was hanging out with this social circle that had a regular friday night hang out at a bar in the village. He'd frequently come home late from this, and often with a friend to crash on our couch...but one showed up more than others. When she was first introduced to me, it was as a lesbian who was going through a particularly bad break up...as such she had moved back in with her folks in Long Island, but would crash on our couch when she had a late night in the city.

So it was sort of a ritual over the next few months for me to wake up and come out to the living room to find her on our couch on a saturday morning smoking up. Eventually, she stopped crashing on the couch and started crashing in my roommates bed, which eventually became more frequent than Friday nights. But our saturday morning ritual was pretty firmly in place. I'd go to Duncan Donuts (well, actually to the knock off Dunkin Donuts in our hood called the Donut Connection, which was just an abandoned Dunkin Donuts that had been reopened indepenedently...also, remember in your 20's when donuts for breakfast was totally acceptable...those were the days)...anyway...I'd go to the Donut Connection and come back with donuts and coffee for all of us and she'd be there with the bong.

It's so odd the way NYC forces you to form such unconventional families...but it's also one of the cities great charms. I type this as I head out to a dinner with one of my current unconventional families...a fact that makes me happy indeed.

Also, remember how excited everyone was when this album came out? Shame that it's the only trick Trail of the Dead had in their play book.

Another Girl - The Beatles - Help! - 1965

So I was hanging with my friend Shani on Thursday night. We went to check out this new bar in her hood called The Richardson. Decent place, definitely knocking back the Rat Pack vibe with it's faux-loungey decor and jukebox that ends at 1962. It's the kind of place where you are going to spend $9 on an old fashioned, but the old fashioned will have real Agostino bitters and a freshly muddled cherry at the bottom.

Sadly, what Shani ensured me was a quiet bar on other nights was on that particular night swarmed with a party for Urban Outfitters, and it was at that moment that I remembered that I detest humanity. What exactly goes through people's brains that they think that working in the ad design department for a mildly trendy clothing chain in some way makes you the coolest person in the world? The level of pretention in the place was just ridiculous. Shani and I made it through about two drinks, during which time we had to shout most of our conversation, before we just grabbed her roommate and went back to her place, where the drinks were cheap, the music controlable, and the conversation could be had at a managible level.

This is the Beatles, so I'm not obligated to say anything at all. But I will say, this is the rare Beatles song that isn't simply etched into my brain. I actually don't even know the words to this one. How refreshing.

Another Day - Times New Viking - Rip It Off - 2008

The other night I was looking for dinner in my hood. I wasn't really feeling like cooking, but all of my usual neighborhood options were not appealing to me. I was sort of wandering around aimlessly when I remembered that my ex-girlfriend (who still lives in the hood) had pointed out to me that there was a deli on her block that makes really good sandwiches. I decided to investigate.

The deli was small, and clearly existed only for it's sandwich counter, as there weren't many groceries on display. And behind the counter was a small Dominican kid with wire rimmed glasses. After a few seconds of watching me consider my sandwich options, he asked if I'd like a recommendation. I said "sure" and the kid went into his schpiel.

"First, you gotta go with the honey roasted turkey" He held up the turkey breast as evidence. "Then...you like swiss cheese."

"Sure"

"Then...I've got just the thing for you...we've got this Guryere...aged 9 months. This is the Swiss Cheese of swiss cheeses. You gotta try this....a little tomato, a little onion, maybe some deli mustard."

I told the kid to make it happen. He even gave me samples as he was slicing. In this city it's so easy to get used to people being churlish or curt with you. You become custom to everyone having a "what the fuck do you want?" attitude. Sometimes it's nice to be surprised by legitimate enthusiasm, and honest conneisuership.

And honestly, it was a great fucking sandwich.

Sadly, this song isn't as good...it's mostly just loud. But thankfully it's less than 2 minutes long.

Angelita - Jon Auer - Songs from the Year of Our Demise - 2006

So I hosted a party at my apartment this weekend, and made the cardinal mistake of any party host. I got drunk too fast.

See, I had started early, giving myself a little boost while I cooked and cleaned. Then my roommate was trying to perfect his Mojito recipe...and obviously that required some taste tests and few different variations. Then there was the shot of whiskey that had to be done when the party started. Then I started drinking the communal punch (the Grape Drink, the alleged purpose for the party) when the first guest arrived. Next thing I know, I realize that I'm kinda woozy and there was a very real chance that I would in fact be that drunk guy stumbling over furniture, spilling drinks, grabbing boobs that I really shouldn't grab...fortunately I was able to pull up my Irish powers to keep my shit together long enough to find my bearings, and fortunately only my closest friends noticed that I kept going to the bathroom to splash water on my face. The lesson has been learned....next time, I will be better prepared.

Anyway, this is Jon Auer doing his post-Posies thing....which is surprisingly AOR, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The Angel With Good News - Zumpano - Goin' Through Changes - 1996

I was coming home from a birthday dinner at a Mexican place in my hood last night, when I saw something that basically proved that humanity lives for Schadenfreude. Walking down Union St. I saw a middle aged balding man in sweat pants and a t-shirt awkwardly carrying a deli bag in one hand and a granny cart in the other. As he was walking it was clear that he was either crazy, drunk, or having an exceptional bad day that was effecting his public composure. He seemed to have trouble carrying his two belongings, and he was continually muttering in an angry whisper at whatever boogie monsters he was seeing.

As he walked, he was attempting to unfold the granny cart and the handle got snagged on his pants. All the sudden the baggy sweat pants were around his ankles. Thankfully he was wearing boxers. But instead of the obliviousness you usually get from the half naked crazies in the city, he was totally mortified. He immediately dropped everything and started struggling to pull up his pants, but whatever condition he was suffering some made this extremely difficult. He pulled at his sweats while the angry mutters of "Ohhh geez, ohhhh man" got louder.

We were probably less than 10 feet behind him when it happened, and 3 of the 5 people in our party were lovely young women, which probably did not help his extreme embarrasment. We did our best to make it to the other side of before we burst out into laughter...but I had to think he heard us.

Anyway, due to the coincidences of song titles, I've already had plenty of opportunity to complain about what I a disappointingly limp album I find The New Pornographer's Challengers to be...but it was not completely unprecedented. The second Zumpano album was something of a disappointment to those that loved the bouyancy of the first. Songs like The Angel With Good News might have pleased the fans who wanted Zumpano to persue its more Harry Nilson/Burt Bacharach vibes...but for those of us who loved the power pop drive of the first album, it was, with a few exceptions, something of a snooze fest. This song is a prime example of said snooze fest.

Do

Alpha and Omega - Boards of Canada - Geogaddi - 2002

I had something of hellish Saturday night. My British friend and former co-worker Pip turned 40 and we took him out for a good time. After a lovely dinner and a pleasant time at the first couple of bars things began to take a turn for the worse...

Pip, like many of his countrymen, simply doesn't have an off switch when it comes to booze. Now, I'm sure you've noticed by now that I like the occasional drink or two...but I'm rarely out of control. Pip will keep driving right into the wall. Soon it became messy...and worse still, I had volunteered to let the man crash on my couch.

Shortly after he got us thrown out of O'Connor's (A feat I never thought was possible) I had to basically carry him home down Flatbush. What would normally be a 15 minute walk became a 45 minute walk...but the true nadir came when he insisted on trying to walk himself and then almost immediately fell backwards and head first down a flight of stairs. There was honestly 5-10 seconds in which I thought he was actually dead. And I was going to have to tell his wife that his son was an orphan...it was ugly.

Fortunately Pip was a bit banged up, but otherwise fine...I had to endure a fair amount of anti-Irish sentiment, but I can take that.

Anyway, Boards of Canada making blippy music. Perfectly acceptable

All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed - Spoon - Telephono - 1996

So this new ice cream place opened up on my block this weekend. Okay, you're thinking...ice cream memorial day weekend, nice weather, ice cream...what could be better? But the issue is a touch more complicated than all that. My once predominately west indian block is facing the ever present Brooklynite threat of "Gentrification"...and to make matters worse, the ice cream shop was marketed explicitly to children, including providing a "play space" for children in the back room. All day long on Saturday (literally all day long...) there were lines of strollers coming out the store.

For those that haven't followed such items as this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/fashion/18slope.html?ex=1368676800&en=2d86b649d544b327&ei=5124&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook
...the stroller is something of a symbol for everything a certain contingent of us do not want to see Brooklyn become. So seeing this line of strollers, all day long, ignoring the countless chicken wing-bones and broken glass on the sidewalk...just to access a glorified McDonald land park did not sit well with me.

I do have to say though...the ice cream was pretty decent.

Anyway, this is from Spoon's first album, before they had really figured out their own identity and were still trying to be a Texan Pixies clone. This is one of the better songs off of Telephono though.

Abel - The National - Alligator - 2005

Prior to the release of The Boxer, I used to wish that The National always sounded like this. I wanted more aggressive rock and less brooding. But with their last album, they proved that the moody atmospheric thing is kinda their forte. Now, these more propulsive songs can seem a bit forced. Like they're wearing a suit that doesn't really fit them...feigning agitation when really resignation is more their style.

Still, some quality yelling in this one.

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend-2008

For all the talk about this band making a new twist on indie-rock by adding the afro-pop elements...this doesn't seem to be anything The Clash wasn't doing in their reggae mode. Plus they seem to have lifted Johnny Marr's guitar tone straight from "This Charming Man". Not that any of this is a bad thing...just further proof that there really is nothing new under the sun.