Sunday Tape - June 2007

(Download the June 2007 mixtape, which is missing the Humblebums' "Saturday Round About Sunday," so seek that shite out for yrself.)


Crystal - Husker Du. The first huskers song i ever did hear, from their major label debut Candy Apple Grey. Utterly horrifying opening stanza, btw:

Avalanche looms overhead Airplane flies overhead
Important man sits by the window
Sucked out of the first class window
Images run by, thousand miles an hour
But the time seems far away
Folding clothes in a folding closet
Folding money in a resume

More than Pere Ubu, or even the Stooges, Husker Du make the ultimate post-industrial, RustBelt punk rock, you know?


Some Beginner's Mind - Ted Leo. OOh what a damn fine last Ted Leo rec that most recent one was. With the Thin Lizzy and Dexy's nobs turned a-downward on the alb, this record veers
back into the early 80s punk-pop sound Leo surveyed back in the Chisel days. Intelligent, guitar-y mod-punk? Absolutely. But then, TRL is for New Jersey what Sonic Youth in for NYC... so mebbe my opinion means not so much, eh?

Code Blue - Int'l Shades. Yeah yeah I love this one! This band is a supergroup: former Sonic Youth drum warrior Bob Bert, former Live Skull gtr expressionist Mark C, and indie journeyman/Townes collaborator/Two-Dollar Guitar guy Tim Foljhan. Dig the drone-y gtr break from Mark C! I'm so glad this outfit exists, tho I'm unsure how active they are.

Goodnight Rose - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. I am on a weird, one-dude journey with Ryan Adams that embarasses most of my friends and family. My friend Chad at the record store gets it, but that's about it. Anywhoo... This great song transcends the Terrapin-worship and arrives at a settled-down, Cats (Down) Under the Stars vibe. I sing it to myself again and again.

The Hero Returns - Michael Chapman. Probably my most favorite-est discovery during the long, long period I spent obsessed with arty, folky songwriter albs from the UK and US in them 1970s. Imagine mixing the more interesting, fingerpicked Nick Drake stuff with a kinda John Fahey sensibility: you need these records. Chapman's voice is husky and perfect, too. So far I prefer this stuff to all the John Martyn I've heard, but I'm still learning. I downloaded and bought 100s of the aforementioned genre, and am still getting to know whole wings of stuff. But I'm also trying to take a break from all that, which has already birthed a super-morose, pretentious solo alb outta me.

Lie There - Natural Snow Buildings. Are those folk songs underneath the humming, windy drone-clouds? Or is it something more immediate than that? A wife holding her face in her hands, crying resolutely, seated at the kitchen table or the breakfast nook. I need to find a vinyl copy of this creepy, gorgeous record.

For Crying Out Loud - The Yayhoos. Very little music says "Sewanee" to me as much as does that of the Yayhoos, although I really got into it in Knoxville. Wonderful, 70s, FM guitar intro to start this deep cut, which could be off of Zuma or Heaven Tonight. I'm writing this from Oregon but in my mind I am buying a half-rack of pack of Pabst and some Camel Lights at the Sewanee market. Would you believe this is the guy from Georgia Satellites? I would, cuz I've never heard Georgia Satellites.

I Will Dare - The Replacements . I am not sure whether or not I will ever love the entire Replacements canon as much as some people I know, but there's about 7 songs of theirs - like this one - that're absolutely smashing and singular. This vocal performance is almost up there with the best of Paul W's hero, Alex Chilton. And that ain't no faint praise.

Dear Sara - Anders Parker I got to see Anders Parker three times in the last year, and one particularly thrilling life-moment came as we watched Patterson Hood and talked about 1970s arty, folky songwriter records (see above). This is a gorgeous, tremendously well-sung song that culminates in a perfectly righteous guitar crest.

High, Low and In Between - Townes Van Zant. To be played at pattyjoe's funeral and/or bris.

When Your Lover Has Gone - Frank Sinatra I'm from Jersey, so you can color me fed up with the experience of having some asshole playing "New York, New York" on his asshole boat. But there's actually outrageously terrifying Sinatra out there: I recommend Where Are You?, In the Wee Small Hours and No One Cares, the trio of albs arranged by Nelson Riddle. This is some absolutely abject, sorrowful shit.

Resurrection - Touchforce. Are these guys still at it? Definitely on the short list of dangerous and awesome (post-ish-)punk bands in Eugene. Boom.

Saddest Colour - Heaviness. My favorite post-contemporary shoegaze band from Europe. Huge chorus, so much energy in the electric guitar washes, drum sequencing and glum vocs. Mebbe it's not your thing, but it's my thing. Kyle's thing, I think.

Leonard Street Revival - Computer Cougar. Most underappreciated Jersey band of their time. I had the pleasure of playing my first show on a bill with these guys and Ted Leo, RX. They were veterans of serious hardcore bands like Born Against and Rorschach, but played a Big Boys and Wire-inspired, 'charge and jangle' punk way before it was cool. This record and the great first two New Bomb Turks record are among the few punk albums I really LOVE from the 1990s (that would be a good thread, I think).

Heart On the Ground II - Jay Farrar. From the understated and underrated Terroir Blues . It's a beautiful thing, the whole song, but the plaintive way he delivers the chorus of "You Don't Have to Twist the Knife" takes us right back to the horrible, sad place we were at with the Sinatra song. What was going on with me in June 2007, exactly?

What'cha See is What You Get - The Dramatics. Speaking of vocal performances... Have you all seen WattStax?

The Bombardier - Abilene. How I love thee... Oh the ebbing, falling, rising dynamics of this music. Is this what sex is like?