After moving I’ve been going through boxes and boxes of old CDs and records. It’s been nice to put on some LPs I haven’t heard in ages like Pulp “Different Class” which is as phenomenal as ever. For the last week or so it’s been all about The Pastels. God damn. What a fantastic band they were. One of the highlights of my college radio days at KWVA was getting to interview the band when they came through the metropolis of Eugene, Oregon. They were all so cool and answered all our ridiculous questions of the new Scottish Indie scene of the mid 90s, why Patrick Thistle is the best team to support in Scotland and if and when The Vaselines would ever put out a new record. They even dined with us at Burrito Boy in Eugene (a place that Stuart David from Belle & Sebastian decided looked so bad that he preferred to eat at Arby’s). Anyway, here’s a gem off the Truckload of Trouble collection. I think I want to make some “listen to more Pastels” t-shirts or something.
I didn’t buy a lot of music this year. I seemed to continue to backtrack through old stuff that has slipped through the cracks. However, thanks to some kind friends and great websites I managed to stay a tiny bit connected. I think I only saw a few shows: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vetiver, and The Radio Dept.. Not a great year for live music and me. So, here’s a list in no particular order. I also tried to include some LaLa‘s links to a song or snippet. Support these artists. Buy their music.
Tap Tap – On My Way My friend, James Dugan, introduced me to the band Hefner back in the mid-90s. They are without question my “most favorite” band. Thanks James. Last year, he introduced to Tap Tap’s debut which was incredible. It’s hard to believe the follow-up that came out this year, On My Way, is even better. It takes a while to grow on you, but when it does you’re hooked. Feels like the Kinks at times, but with a more home-made sound. It was, according to my itunes, my most played record of 2009. I couldn’t find a legal stream of one of their new songs, so here’s a track from the debut entitle 100,000 Thoughts. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
The XX – XX I kept hearing about this album and finally downloaded it. On first listen it didn’t do much for me, but it turned out to be something I played almost daily while working. It’s minimal, poppy, sometimes sonic – a real dreamy record that you don’t tire of. It was also Rough Trade’s album of the year – so there’s some cred for you. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————
Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be He’s been one of my favorites for years now and this is one of his best. Really interesting song arrangements, beautiful lyrics and completely bizarre in parts. Great stuff. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Woods – Songs of Shame I heard their cover of Graham Nash’s “Military Madness” on East Village Radio and was immediately intrigued. The 1971 Nash album Songs for Beginners is one of my all-time favorites and the cover Woods did was great. Soon after I picked this up and listened to it for a good chunk of the summer. It feels really outdoorsy, sun-kissed and homemade. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Girls – Album My one friend called this album the pinnacle of hipster drivel. Perhaps? The video for “Lust for Life” looks like a Terry Richardson low budget video. However, the song is probably the song I had stuck in my head most of the year other than the various Sesame Street songs embedded in my brain thanks to my 2 year-old son. The rest of the album is nowhere as fantastic as “Lust for Life”, but still a solid piece of work. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Sharon Van Etten – Because I was in Love Yet another minimal modern folk record. Although, this one comes with astonishingly full vocals. Sharon’s voice is haunting. The songs are all lyrically rich and her range surpasses many of her contemporaries. I am surprised this wasn’t on more lists I read. I couldn’t find a legal stream for her, but you can download an mp3 from the great Brooklyn Vegan site. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Built to Spill – There is No Enemy It’s amazing that the best band in the Pacific NW in 2009 is the same band that was the best band in the Pacific NW in the late 90s. A lot of people will argue with that, but Built to Spill put out their best record since Perfect From Now On. My only regret was not seeing them live this year. Fantastic record that gets better with every listen. The best thing to come out of Idaho since the potato. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Harper Simon – Harper Simon I love Simon & Garfunkel. I “celebrate their entire catalog.” Paul Simon is one of my favorite songwriters and his voice is pure bliss. Harper Simon, his 37 year-old talented son, sounds a hell of a lot like a young Paul. This record was, for me, almost like a new Paul Simon record (from back in the day as they say). The melodies are catchy and there is some great harmonizing in the production. Paul co-wrote two tracks, but don’t take anything away from Harper. Definitely one of the hidden gems of the year. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Vetiver – Tight Knit The second Vetiver album, To Find Me Gone, is one of my all-time favorites and, sadly, this one doesn’t get too close to that. It is still, however, a terrific album full of beautiful melodies that make me dream of the West Coast. It’s timeless really as the sounds hark back to the early 70s. Definitely a record for warm Summer nights. Buy it here.
————————————————————————————————————————-
City Center – City Center I don’t know much about this band but I read comparisons to Panda Bear and Atlas Sound as well as got to hear some samples over on the ISO50 site. It quickly became my album of choice when on a plane. Luckily, I did a lot of flying this year so I was able to listen to this quite a bit. It puts you to sleep in a good way – broken beats and rhythms with some nice folky pieces thrown in for good measure. Buy it here.
My son is beyond obsessed with The Beatles. We’ve watched the “All Together Now” video easily 500 times and now his favorite is “When I’m 64.” There is a part in the video where they count from 1 – 60 and each number is more amazing than the next. Here’s a selection below. With the video (from Yellow Submarine) at the end.
I found this flyer on Dropular. The line-up is mind-blowing. The Smiths, Chameleons, Kurtis Blow…amazing. In college my friend Clint and I hosted a British music show called The Haciena on the powerhouse known as KWVA. Made me happy to see this today and made me miss listening to music as much as I used to. At some point, I just stopped charging my iPod before leaving the house.
Darren Hayman Live at The Windmill, Brixton - January 26, 2006
Hefner most definitely make my top five list of favorite bands ever. Their first three albums are beyond incredible. My old roommate, James Dugan, turned me on to them in the mid 90s. We played their music endlessly to the good people of Eugene, Oregon on the powerhouse known as 88.1fm KWVA. Breaking God’s Heart – one of the best records ever.
Their series of Hymn songs: Hymn For The Alcohol, Hymn for the Postal Service, Hymn for the Cigarettes (hit play on the video below), Hymn for The Things We Didn’t Do deserve their own repackaging. Brilliant – all of them.
I planned a trip to England solely around seeing two back to back Hefner shows in Camden. Luckily for me, when I was back in London in 2006 Darren Hayman, former Hefner front man, was doing a solo gig at The Windmill in Brixton. I dragged my soon-to-be-wife, Mindy, and by love-him-like-a-brother-cousin-who-is-not-really-a-cousin, David Lewy, to the show. None of us were disappointed. He went back and forth between old Hefner cuts and new solo ones. The Windmill, being a glorious dump of a venue in the best possible way, was the ideal place to see Darren do his thing: Smoke-filled, crammed, hot as hell and a stage just about eight inches of the ground. Thinking about it now, it makes me miss seeing live music, but it’s never really like that anymore.
David and Mindy can't get enough of the magic of Darren Hayman
Their early 7″s and singles included recipes for curries and notes like “Buy More Beach Boys Records.” It meant something at the time. I’d love to go visit family in London and find old Hefner stuff at the shops on Berwick St. Gotta get back there soon!
On the Hefner website www.Hefnet.com, which Darren maintains, you can see check out more Hefner than you could ever possibly want. There are some great videos as well including “Greedy Ugly People” live from the John Peel Tribute Show. John Peel was a great fan of Hefner’s and that’s about as good a stamp of approval as you could ever need or want.
