Never in Years

Alright. I'm going to give this another shot. And if Safari crashes again and I lose this post before it goes live, I swear to you: this fucking computer is going out the window. For the sake of whoever owns the little silver Forester in the parking lot below, let's hope that doesn't happen.

So.

12 songs for 12 months:

JANUARY
January's Little Joke -- Trashcan Sinatras
It's hard to believe it's been 18 years since the Trash Can Sinatras released their wonderful debut album Cake -- and honestly, I can think of few albums that have held up nearly as well. This song captures their appeal in a neat 4:48... chiming guitars, heavenly harmonies, playful lyrics ("I knew what argue meant/and I knew what punish meant/and I knew what embarrass meant/but I never found out what achieve meant"), and a touch of melancholy underlying music that can otherwise be described only as a pure expression of joy.

FEBRUARY
Sometimes -- My Bloody Valentine
I had to cheat here, as my iPod is bereft of songs with the word "February" in them. That being said, is there ever a bad reason to listen to a little My Bloody Valentine? As I've noted before, the first time I ever heard Loveless I thought my stereo was melting. I love that.

MARCH
March of the Chogokin -- Ee
D'ja ever wonder what happened to Sooyoung Park from Seam? I did. The Pace is Glacial and Are You Driving Me Crazy? are two longtime slowcore favorites of mine, and after waiting years for something new to pop up under that band name, I finally googled Mr. Park. The answer: he moved to San Francisco and joined Ee just in time for their big hit smash album For 100 We Try Harder. The vaguely Avis-esque title is appropriate, as the band comes off as something of a second-tier follow-up to Seam. This particular song isn't the best representation of their sound, as it's a 7:41 instrumental (and not a terribly interesting one at that), but if you're a Seam fan... it's worth a coupla bucks to hunt down a cheap used copy of the album. (Avoid their first album Ramadan, btw -- which is 100% Sooyoung-free, and sucks more than a little.)

APRIL
April 5th -- Talk Talk
This song, taken from The Colour of Spring, captures a band in transition. There are still elements of the Talk Talk most people recognize - in particular, the fragile, reedy vocals of Mark Hollis you know and love from "It's My Life" and "Life's What You Make It" - but you also begin to see glimmers of what was to come on their genre-defying follow-ups, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock: a profound sense of atmospherics, an almost jazz-like (or Van Morrison circa Astral Weeks-like) willingness to experiment with song structure, unexpected juxtapositions of unexpected instruments, the trademark organ of frequent collaborator (and frequent Catherine Wheel guy) Tim Friese-Greene... in short, the birth of something truly new.

Which is appropriate for springtime.

MAY
Sluttering (May 4th) -- Jawbreaker
I already said pretty much everything I wanted to say about Jawbreaker and their tremendous swan song Dear You, but that doesn't make this song - a caustically funny diatribe against the girl who chose someone else - any less fun an exercise in tuneful post-punk bitterness.

JUNE
A Death in June -- Stephenhero
D'ja ever wonder what happened to Patrick Fitzgerald, the phenomenally talented singer and lyricist from beloved 90s shoegazers Kitchens of Distinction? The answer is a number of things, but most recently he assumed the nom du band Stephenhero (a Joycean homage) and released several albums, culminating in last year's wonderful 57 Stars of the Air Almanac. This brief piano ballad gives you a taste, but if you were ever a fan of KOD's remarkable sound, imagine it with piano replacing Julian Swales' soaring wall-of-guitars... and then hunt down a copy of the album for yourself.

JULY
1000 Julys -- Third Eye Blind
A guilty pleasure confession: I love - and allow me to bold and capitalize that to suggest added emphasis, LOVE - Third Eye Blind's second album, Blue. Yeah, yeah, I know -- they basically came up with one guitar riff and then repeated it across every other song they ever recorded (including this one), but what can I say? It works for me. There's something about this album that feels like summer to me... something energized and buoyant that makes me think of driving somewhere - anywhere - with the windows open and the sun shining down, hot and brilliant and blinding with possibility.

AUGUST
Light in August -- Early Day Miners
Early Day Miners are one of the best bands you've never heard of. From their 2002 debut Let Us Garlands Bring - featuring this song, apparently not inspired by the Faulkner novel of the same name - to 2006's wonderful Offshore, they've created a remarkable blend of atmospherics, whispered but thoughtful lyrics ("The light in august hides/the distance in our lives"), and slow-building dynamics to create something pretty remarkable. Well worth seeking out.

SEPTEMBER
September Gurls -- Big Star
Yeah, if you're an indie music buff this is probably pretty obvious. So shoot me. In any case... a great song.

OCTOBER
3rd of October -- Matthew Ryan
Ha! You thought I was gonna be obvious here, too, didn't you? Suckers. Yes, I know and love that U2 song/album as much as you do, but there was no way I was gonna pass up what may be my favorite Matthew Ryan song for my October entry. And yes, I realize that some of you have expressed skepticism about Ryan in the past, but if something this anthemic doesn't move you... well, you probably wouldn't have been happy with U2, either.

NOVEMBER
November/December -- The Brother Kite
Yeah, I'm not giving you a direct link to this song, if only because it's a 0:34 instrumental that largely serves as a segue to their insanely catchy Get On, Me. Instead, I'll just take this opportunity to once again implore you - for the love of God - to find a little room for The Brother Kite in your life. You'll be a happier and better person for it, I promise you.

DECEMBER
Saviours of Jazz Ballet (Fear Me, December) -- Mew
I have absolutely no idea what this song - or this album, for that matter - is about. "Fearless heroes of kick and spin?" Uh... yeah. But honestly, it doesn't matter. This album - the equally strangely titled ...And The Glass Handed Kites - somehow manages to overcome what is without question the worst cover of any album released on either side of the Atlantic since (at least) the 1970s (no, I won't post it... you'll have to follow the link to see) It's... well, it's like nothing else I've ever heard. I think I love it, and I think you'll love it too. Plus, they're Swedes! Just like ABBA! And Ingmar Bergman! That's it exactly: they're the post-rock equivalent of ABBA-meets-Ingmar Bergman. If there's a surer formula for commercial success, I can't imagine what it might be.

(Please join me in praying - for the sake of my sanity, this computer and the Subaru awaiting below - that this posts successfully.)

Comments

[mr. big dubya]

Yeah - there's no post here. I don't know what the hell you wrote about or anything.

Oh - nevermind - I just wanted to see a pic of a computer embedded in the windshield of a Forrester.

[claire]

Whenever i read one of your music posts, it makes me feel incredibly lame and out of touch because i've never heard of a single band. Oh, except for Third Eye Blind, which makes me feel even more lame.

Thank you.

However, i heard a song on the radio the other day (on my trusty XM) that i recognized and couldn't figure out why.
Until - it got to the chorus.
In my head i heard, "I could poo.... I could pooo-ooo". Oh, right.

[TwoBusy]

Dubs -- In the short term, that would probably be very amusing. Longer term - esp. considering that there are a slew of attorneys who work in my building - it might be a bad idea.

Claire -- First off, all three of my kids' arms are raised in triumph right now. Thank you for validating their musical vision. Secondly, I don't intend to make you feel lame... if anything, I'd only hope to open your eyes to something you might like that you might never otherwise encounter. Consider me your friendly neighborhood indie music dealer: the first hit is always free...

[Jim/The Velvet Blog]

I'll poke through the others later, but I really like that Trash Can Sinatras song.

[foradifferentkindofgirl]

My kids are coming home soon and tonight, my music stylings include the smooth sounds of a fifth grade band/chorus concert (rockstar!), so I'm going to come back here and paw through some of these songs. Some of my favorites are the result of songs or acts people suggest to me.

Additionally, good job on getting this posted. Beats puke in the hands!

[jonniker]

HAAAA. Claire's comment was one of the best parts.

Also, that album cover of Mew's IS the worst thing ever. AWFUL. THE EATING HEADS with the mysterious 1970s-style lips (did you know lips had a style then? They totally did.)