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***May Eighteenth Two Thousand and Six***

I've gotten a shit-ton of CDs to review recently, here are some highlights...

   
The Beautiful New Born Children
British garage-punk, catchy and unrelenting and it never overstays it's welcome.  Makes me think a lot of the
Thermals, but a little more gruff.

                                                                +++ Hectic Control +++

Also, another album track from the band's website: Do the Do
And some oter songs from their website, album tracks recorded live in the band's basement:
Do the Do/Left, Right and Forward
OK, Allright, Fine
Hey Heartbreaker


   
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
There is a heavy 80's vibe with this band, but in a genuine way that you don't hear with most of the rip-off artists
these days.  Plus, that band name is too great.

                                                                +++ We Choose Faces +++

Also, another album track from the Secretly Canadian website: According to Plan (and notably my favorite track
on the album)
There are also a couple of tracks to download on their Myspace page...


   
Pleasant
Despite the lack of hype that it had in the early nineties, the Chapel Hill area of North Carolina continues to
churn out great music.  Pleasant is indeed pleasant, jangly pop like you expect to hear from this area.  The
vocals are delivered in a very David Byrne-esque manner which can be a little offputting at first but grows on
you quickly.

                                                                +++ Everything Here's Gold +++

Also, there are four other tracks from the album on the sound page of the band's website, and a number of older
tracks as well.


   
(The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope
I've been high on this band for a while - I got their last EP "Can and Do What They Will" to review a year or so
back and was very impressed.  This full-length is even better - the combination of shoegaze and mod pop with
periods of noisy freak-outs never sounded so good.

                                                                +++ Oh My Mind +++
This isn't just my favorite song on this album, but one of my favorites of the entire year so far.

Also, another album track from the band's website: Secret Service


   
They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Crazy, fun bang-on-pots-and-pans circus music. I've got to imagine these kids are a blast to see live.  Gotta
love the horns.

                                                                +++ Hiccup +++

Also, from the Kill Rock Stars website: Emptyhead
(I've also seen the track "Lowlife" floating around on a few music blogs, shouldn't be too tough to suss out)





***May Fourth Two Thousand and Six***

<<<ONE>>>


This graphic is so very, very true.  Very.


<<<TWO>>>
A couple of random songs that have made me quite happy lately...
The Dezurik Sisters - I Left Her Standing There.  I'm predicting duel yodeling to see a huge resurgence by
        2008, all those freak-folk kids will be way into it.  Well, I was there first ha HA!
Graham Fellows - Jilted John.  I know this track was meant as a parody of the punk/new wave scene of the
        late 70s, but shit it's a damn catchy song and as goo as most of the real stuff that came out at that time.


<<<THREE>>>
 I've seen some kickass photography websites lately, real inspirational pics.  I'll never be this good but that doesn't
 mean you stop trying...

Looking Through & Back
A Cat that grew up in NYC in the early 80s posted the photos from his childhood on Flickr.  Amazing work from
both a sociological and artistic perspective.  I'm insanely enamored with the one titled "Conductor 59".

The Polaroid Kid
Mike Brodie, who appears to be a street kid and rider of the rails, has a true touch with the polaroid camera.  By
being a part of that world, he manages a look into a subculture few of us really get a chance to see.

Chernobyl - 20 Years Later
A German art collective made recently made their way to Chernobyl, now deserted and being reclaimed by nature.
They documented the decay as well as introduced some extremely impressive grafitti that plays off of its environs.
<<<FOUR>>>
Some digital pictures of The Mothballs from a benefit show I tried to put together a few months ago that failed
miserably...they actually came out decent, you know - for digital shots.  I especially like the look on JJ's face in the
top-right pic.





<<<FIVE>>>

Girl Group Sounds - Lost & Found - Best of Disc 4...
Wrapping up this mixtape version of one of the better box sets I've hear in a long time...
Brenda Holloway - Every Little Bit Hurts.  This was the biggest hit for one of Berry Gordy's many discoveries,
        and a damn fine track at that.
Marie Knight - Hey Tell Me Boy.  Most of the artists recording this type of music were young up-and-comers
        trying to make their way in the music biz; Marie Knight stands out because she was a 40-year-old established
        gospel singer trying to crossover to the secular soul world.  
Marsha Gee - Peanut Duck.  Note: the name "Marsha Gee" was attached to this song by a UK DJ after it was
        unearthed and released as a bootleg during the Northern Soul craze of the 1980s.  The truth of the matter is
        no one actually knows who sang this song about a type of dance called the Peanut Duck.
Maxine Brown - Whatever Happened To Our Love.  There's a serious set of pipes on this girl - it's surprising
        that she never became more popular.
The Four Pennies - When The Boy's Happy.  Interesting story with this group - it is essentially The Chiffons,
        only with Sylvia Peterson on lead vocals instead of Judy Craig.  Apparently once The Chiffons got successful
        the record execs were scared of releasing any songs under that band name where Craig wasn't the lead, so
        they made up a new band name of The Four Pennies and released all of the Peterson led tracks here.  




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