Ivy Sole

Elvis Costello, “New Amsterdam”

This song is actually a demo that Costello recorded, and then included directly on the record instead of re-recording it. The result is one of the more distinctive songs on the album, a minimal arrangement that ends up letting the clarity of the melody shine through.

Girl Talk, “Still Here”

It’s always a little strange to hear one of the Girl Talk songs out of the context of the albums. It shouldn’t be, because they’re such chameleons, but the progression of songs is burned into my brain so it throws me off. In other news, I love the bit from The Band on this track.

Johnny Cash, “Cocaine Blues”

If you’ve got a blog, just a-read it to me.

Ivy Sole, “You Don’t Know My Name”

Ivy Sole is out of Philadelphia, and this song comes from her excellent debut Eden. I came across this record thanks to one of the Bandcamp spotlight emails, which are always a good source of learning about artists.

Ernie Hines, “Electrified Love”

Ernie Hines’s Electrified was a somewhat forgotten album released on Stax in 1972 until it was resurrected by hip-hop producers, which brought it to new audiences. It’s a fine album, and this lead track gives you an idea of what you’re in for.

Some high quality indie rock today. And, um, that same dumb Evita track.

Evita, “Myself To You”

This is the same song that we had last time. I still don’t like it.

Unwound, “Summer Freeze”

I love the recording on the drums. Just listen to them, they sound so organic. This is from the tremendous Leaves Turn Inside You, a double album of art rock goodness. This song appears on the “Right” disc. I’ve always liked it when bands name the individual discs in double albums.

Back to the usual thing around here, with our usual random playlist.

Johnny Cash, “Darlin’ Companion”

I engaged in my self-flagellation about my Johnny Cash collection last time, so I’ll spare you all. This is from Live at San Quentin, and is a lovely duet with June Carter Cash.

Discordance Axis, “The Inalienable Dreamless (Complete)”

I have a friend who says The Inalienable Dreamless is one of his favorite albums (maybe his favorite), so I ended up giving the band a try. It’s very extreme and virtuosic grindcore, which means it’s incredibly fast and the changes come at whiplash speed. Just to make things more confusing, this song is NOT from that album, it’s from Our Last Day, which was a compilation of odds and ends of related projects. And just to make things even MORE confusing, this is a cover of the entire The Inaliable Dreamless album by Merzbow. So, you know, buckle in for sixteen minutes of total noise freakout! I, um, understand if people skip this.