103: The Top Ten Records That Came Out Yesterday

Ah, good old Wednesday. The old humparoo. The time when we bust out the dusty old time machines and look back on a classic day in music history. We dig up the treasure chest of jewels and trinkets. We shammy the dustbunnies off of the Wurlitzer Wayback Machine. We set the flux capacitor on Doc's Delorean to a time when Samuel Alito was still being questioned as a Supreme Court nominee. When the media world was abuzz with Howard Stern's debut on satellite radio. When Best Picture winner Hostel wowed audiences in its opening week and Durmot Mulroney was busy cementing his position as the worst actor in the movie business. I take you now to January 10, 2006. Walk with me, talk with me...


*** The Top Ten Records Released on January 10, 2006 ***

10 Morningwood - Morningwood

I have no idea who this band is or where they came from (New York), but I do know that somehow they got a record deal, this record was produced by Gil Norton (best known for his work with Pixies) and well, look at the name of the band. It's Morningwood. I can't really say anything more without unintentionally dropping sexual innuendos. I was going to say it had a nice ring to it, or was easy on the tongue, but that's just dumb and we're all dumber now that i even mentioned it. Allmusic describes it as "calculated fluff" but the songs i heard weren't terrible. The singer, Chantal Claret sorta overdoes it with the sexual imagery, but i guess it's catchy. It's as if Noelle from Damone was singing for Weezer but in an obnoxiously flirtatious way. The cover isn't very exciting. The big WM logo. The "nerd berd" argyle. Yeah...

Speaking of things with the initals MW, you can find Mike Watt's debut solo album Ballhog or Tugboat in any cutout bin in America. It was such a grand undertaking. The album was full of supergroups! And for some reason it sank like a holey dinghy. The first half of that record is truly incredible, though. Even after I was done and done with Pearl Jam, I still thought this song was awesome the first time i heard it. Still is. Hey, isn't that Dave Grohl on the drums?

MP3: Against The 70's - Mike Watt (with Eddie Vedder)



09 The Wiggles - Here Comes The Big Red Car

Not since AC/DC has a group of goofy Australian guys hypnotized an entire generation of kids. I don't know much about these Wiggles, but did you know that they basically used to be an R & B group called The Cockroaches? Probably a good idea to change your name if you're planning on converting to strictly children's music and entertainment. Well, maybe not. That They Might Be Giants children's record, NO! is dense enough to make a grown man's head explode. Would this record do the same? Possibly. With titles like "Nicky Nacky Nocky Noo," "I'm a Cow," and "Di Dicki Do Dum," I can feel the eyes starting to roll in my head.

Everyone seems to be making children's records nowadays. What gives? I have certainly noticed that the average showgoing age has dropped from around 20 to closer to 17. How much further will this go? Desoto Records is doing that kids comp, New Amsterdams will be entertaining toddlers soon, and Jason Falkner did that Bedtime With The Beatles record complete with lyrics so you could correctly sing your baby to sleep. How embarrassing of you to mess up the French part in Michelle! Your baby will now have a warped sense of the French language. Way to go, dad.

MP3: My Fat Baby Loves To Eat - Stewie Griffin



08 George Carlin - Life is Worth Losing

When i was in 8th grade, somehow my friends and I got a copy of Carlin's album A Place For My Stuff, chuck full of standup, skits, and weird commercials. In short, it was hilarious... and surprisingly, it mostly holds up. For nostalgia's sake, I re-acquired a copy and found myself giggling like an 8th grader during the bit about how you cannot sink a rice krispie, even with a watermelon, and finding new appreciation for jokes and reflections that i didn't quite get back then... "You notice that you never seem to get laid much on Thanksgiving? ... It's probably because all the coats are on the bed."

I saw George perform whilst in college and it sucked. I don't think I laughed once. So i don't hold much promise for this record. Go find A Place For My Stuff. It's funny. So funny, i made this little remix for the "Join the Book Club" commercial. You love it. You hate it.

MP3: The Book Club - Me



07 Talking Heads - Remain in Light (dualdisc)

I'm not hip to this dualdisc technology, i must admit. Perhaps if i was still in my infinitely regrettable charge-everything phase, i'd invest in some surround sound. Perhaps if i lived in a nice apartment with a large living room. A specific listening area that harkens back to the olden days when people got together for the specific purpose of spinning records. In this case, double sided CD's. I've always been a fairweather Talking Heads fan, just barely scratching the surface of the non-hits, but even i'd be psyched to hear "Once In A Lifetime" in this format. Here comes the twister.

Remember the video for the song "Blind?" With the lip-synching wrench that spit from behind a podium? Briliant.

I will now take this opportunity to tell you my top 3 favorite Threadless t-shirt submissions from yesterday. #3 is Ninja vs. Pirate vs. Catgirl. Yeah I know it's been done and it's been done better, but i'm just a sucker for cutesy cartoonish things i guess. I gave it a 4... Portastatic (Mac from Superchunk) did a really great video parodying the classic one for "Once in a Lifetime." So here's a great Portastatic song..

MP3: In The Manner Of Anne Frank - Portastatic




06 Ted Leo - Rx/Pharmacists

Shucks. Every week i find myself leaning towards the re-releases, the re-issues. The records that have proved their weight in wax. And only every now and again do i decide to take a chance with something random like Morningwood. I noticed that Pitchfork reviewed it as well. They liked it about as much as i did. They also reviewed an Anthrax collection CD that i didn't see on any release list this week, so i'm assuming it's older. I could talk for awhile about that. But this is not about Scott Ian or Joey Belladonna. It's about Ted Leo. This is a reissue of Ted's first solo record and from the reviews i've read, it's pretty bad. Hey, i know more than a few gals (and guys) who would get shaky just thinking about the track that was solely recorded during a shower. Smart move for a fellow vocal nut. Steam. Always a good thing. And singing naked, too. Very good for the voice.

Chris Wilson is the Pharmacist drummer and i've known him for quite some time. I'd say a good darn 10 years ago at least is when we first set battle on the 4 square court in front of that closed supermarket in Little Rock. He played drums in a bunch of bands back then but i believe the best was Shake Ray Turbine. And it goes a lil something like this...

MP3: The First Equation - Shake Ray Turbine




05 Abba - Voulez Vous / Super Trouper / Arrival

Supposedly they put a man on the moon. Apparently broccoli has the teensiest early stages of a nervous system. Durmot Mulroney may have landed the part of Dante in an upcoming Inferno movie... and in keeping with the wtf theme, for some messed up reason, my dad really loves Abba. It defies all logic. I wouldn't doubt it if i found out that my dad never owned a record in his life. And for some reason, around 1980 or so, my dad and my uncle went Abba crazy. The madness died down for about 20 years and then came that Mamma Mia show and it was back. My dad went and had a great time. It's just one of those random things we just don't question...

Hence, my transitive affinity toward the dashing Swedes. You can't go wrong with this 3 pack. You have all the hits. "Voulez Vous," "Chiququita," "Money Money Money," "Take a Chance On Me" ... it's essential Abba, people. However, much like "Du Hast" before it, the allure of "Dancing Queen" is running thin on the ol Pod. The number 2 Threadless submission of yesterday was King Tee. I'm not sure about the text on the thing's belly, though. You lose that and it's a winner. I gave it a 4.

When i heard this next song on a mix madness cd, i loved it. You will too. I hope. I give it a 10.

MP3: Princesa Bacana - Jorge Drexler




04 Omar Rodriguez - Omar Rodriguez

Garlic is in the air. Gilroy is on my mind. I just minced up some fresh garlic for my breakfastdinner and the sweet aroma is still hanging about. Either that, or Omar Rodriguez is in the middle of a screeching solo in the next room over. Let me explain.

I met Omar a long time ago. Probably the same tour that brought me to the 4 square supermarket. It was in El Paso. I had just played the WORST show of my life and i was feeling ill. We were staying with the ATDI guys, so Omar advised me to eat raw garlic. He was convinced it could cure anything and he had conspirators as well. He said, "you'll stink like hell, but at least you'll feel great." So i tried it right then and there... and almost threw up. It didn't help one bit. I went to sleep cowering in a corner while everyone hooped and hollered. Nowadays, it tends to show up in everything i make. I love the stuff. Usually not raw, though.

Since this record is only available overseas, i was only able to check out tracks from A Manual Dexterity. Not that bad. What I'd expect and that's a good thing... I'm not the biggest Mars Volta fan, by the way. I just can't get into most of it. Love that drummer, though. Did you know that Eddie Van Halen was originally a drummer?

MP3: Eruption - Van Halen


03 Joy Division - Let The Movie Begin

A live disc interspersed with interviews... and apparently they are making a movie about Ian Curtis? I haven't been able to find much about it, but then again i haven't really looked too hard. I just watched this video of Paul McCartney on Amazon.com taken from his most recent tour. They play "Please Please Me" and it's great, just like the shows I actually saw in Detroit were great, but i was particularly disturbed by the quick cuts of audience members singing along. Paul says it's just the band rehearsing before the show, but someone felt the need to add footage of an audience. I suppose it's harmless enough, but it just was so distracting and now i just can't concentrate. Think i'm going to take a nap.

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" has always been one of my favorite jams, and it's been covered ad nauseum. We usually get the straight reading, but Calexico throws us a curveball. This is from that Sweetheart comp that i mention all the friggin time. It's good.

MP3: Love Will Tear Us Apart - Calexico



02 We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor

I wish all the best for We Are Scientists. I mean, they are named after a Cap'n Jazz song. They don't sound like Cap'n Jazz, but yet i just get this feeling when i listen to them that they could have fit right in with that scene. Everyone seems to think they sound just like Franz Ferdinand. Maybe, but there is still this distinctively younger sound. Who knows... You know who does sound a whole lot like Cap'n Jazz? Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. They sound like the second coming of Cap'n Jazz to me. The Scientists are on Virgin Records and they should be excited about that because they could perhaps get some sort of discount on a trip to the moon, which is currently a whopping $200,000 and you don't even go until 2008. What a jip.

My favorite Threadless submission of yesterday is Spring Fever. It's just so goshdarn original. Can't say i've ever seen anything like it. I gave it a 5. Gimme 5! What's number one? It better not be another reissue.

MP3: We Are Scientists! - Cap'n Jazz



01 Kind of Like Spitting - $100 Room

Hey! It's another reissue! KOLS $100 Room gets a new release with a new label, Hush. It's the same record to a tee, it's just moved, you see? Now, this isn't my absolute favorite Kind of Like Spitting record. That is reserved for Nothing Makes Sense Without It, which sorely deserves a polished up re-release as well. That being said, $100 Room is pretty friggin great. Ben Barnett is an absolute genius for bookending this record with the same :50 song (Hook, Hoax, and the last :50 of Cater), but played in different styles. When i first heard the last one I almost had a heartattack. It made me smile. Hard. And... the beginning of "One Bird, One Stone" begins with the end of "A Shaggy Dog Shames Its Owner" (from Nothing Makes Sense...). Respect is due.

It's always a treat to be playin' shows with KOLS and it looks like that's going to happen come February. I think perhaps on Saturday, I'll rundown all of the exciting events that are shaping up for 2006! Goodnight and good luck.

MP3: Following Days (demo) - Kind of Like Spitting