Put This On Next

A collection of music you should check out, and why.

[musicmindpalace]

PJ HARVEY - THE WORDS THAT MAKETH MURDER

Lordy me, I love some autoharp. This song is timeless - a modern English murder ballad with nods to Eddie Cochran and All Quiet On The Western Front. Who better than the incredible Polly Jean to bring this genre back into the limelight? When her preening voice croons "Soldiers fell like lumps of meat/arms and legs were in the trees," I dare you not to shudder. She well deserved the Mercury Prize for this album. It will be your next earworm, and you will subsequently be unable to get her apocalyptic vision out of your head.

[musicmindpalace]

SINÉAD O'CONNOR - JERUSALEM

Holy shit, if you ever just want to watch a musical exorcism, listen to this. It's a tour de force. I fucking love Sinéad and have since I first heard her at 12. It is pure emotion, and it is not a calm one. This woman had demons to release and she does so in a series of yelps, howls and her incredible singing voice linking them all together. This particular performance is hypnotizing and fucking FIERCE. Her eyes will haunt you. I love you, Sinéad.

[musicmindpalace]

Really, thank god for Benedict Cumberbatch. That guy has some seriously great music taste. I think he should keep a music blog, in between taking over the entertainment world. Jake Bugg's fantastic, but he's not made much of a splash over in the US yet. Let's fix that and give him a listen.

[musicmindpalace]

RUSH - TIME STAND STILL

I have no idea what they're doing floating around in this video, but I have always been fond of this song and its unabashed earnestness. 

The soundtrack to a hundred grocery store trips for the Teeple Family, c. 1990. Do I want Geddy Lee to button up his shirt? Yes. Am I afraid of his rat tail? Of course. But it's a really beautiful song, and I love Aimee Mann's haunting vocals. Also, the end of the song, where Geddy shrugs as Aimee floats away toward the mountain, is fun.

[musicmindpalace]

JOHN FOXX - UNDERPASS

Another nice dystopian New Wave ditty from John Foxx, very early 80s. UNDERPAAAASS!

[musicmindpalace]

  If you've seen "Dawn of the Dead," you will recognize this music. It's a strange soundtrack; quintessentially 70s, but not quite like anything else (except maybe Lalo Schifrin  or the theme to CHiPs. An Italian group, Goblin, is responsible for it, infusing heavy eastern European flavor into some smokin' basslines and tasty synth. Great bridge between the rambling noodliness of prog rock and the robotic nature of New Wave a few years later. If I’m out there obliterating zombies by the J.C. Penney someday, I want this song going through my head.

[musicmindpalace]

GARY NUMAN - FILMS

His monotone, the thumping drums and eerie synth, the droning undersound of static - Numan's masterpiece, in my opinion, is this song. At once frightening, enveloping, and contrary, you're going to wish you never made a crappy movie. 

[musicmindpalace]

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND  -  ROCK AND ROLL

I owe a lot to a lady I worked with in college, because she introduced me to the Velvet Underground. She loved them so much she named her daughter Nico. They were one of the few 60s bands I didn't grow up with (not sure if my parents were fans or even knew of them at that point), but I really liked them the first time I heard them. This song was on heavy rotation when I worked at a vintage clothing store around that time. Great stuff. This is one of their more mainstream songs, but it's an awesome tune. Check them out.

[musicmindpalace]

MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS  -  VITAL SIGNS

Friends, this band is so damn good. I have been listening to them on repeat all week. I love them so hard. They have a sort of spacey retro sound, with shades of everyone from Bowie to INXS. They're interesting, mysterious, and danceable. No small feat. This song has tribal drums, weird choral effects, and makes me want to re-read the Time-Life "Mystic Places" series. Fantastic, lush song. Even my hardhearted boyfriend-who-seldom-likes-new-music really likes this band!

[musicmindpalace]

BLUE SANDELWOOD SOAP  -  FRIENDS I HAVEN'T MET YET

Any Mad Men fans out there? I'm an unabashed Stan Rizzo fangirl. He's my favorite character on the show, because I can relate to him very well on many levels. Also, he's so damn cute.

Anyway, on the show, Stan is often seen very in tune to music - he is aware of bands, sings Petula Clark's "Downtown" at Peggy's lesbian friend, and, in last week's episode, was listening to this crazyass psychedelic song in his Tinfoil Weed Lair, while he slaved on pictures of hamburgers. I liked it enough to look it up - it's a dreadfully weird psychedelic flutey stoner song about yearning for positive transition. Let's hope Stan gets away from these Heinz dicks and takes Peggy out for a hamburger soon, right? Smoke 'em if you got em, Rizzo!!

[musicmindpalace]

ICE CUBE  -  TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY

I play this when I am having a shitty week, and I'm counting my blessings like Ice Cube here in this classic song from my high school years. Great track to blare in a car with the windows rolled down.

Great things about this song: the use of the Isley Brothers, being 4:20 long, and Yo! MTV Raps.

[musicmindpalace]

PUBLIC ENEMY  - PROPHETS OF RAGE

Another classic, calling out old Maggie over her stance on apartheid and Nelson Mandela. "You're quite hostile."

Also, has a great breakdown. One of Public Enemy's best songs.

[musicmindpalace]

THE SPECIALS  -  GHOST TOWN

We've finally seen the demise of ol' Margaret Thatcher, Muse of Most Political British Music of the 80s. Thatcher might have been an evil bitch, but what a legacy she left behind, inspiring wonderful songs like this! This reggae-infused classic is one of my favorites from the era, which is still relevant today. 

[musicmindpalace]

THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL  -  SUMMER IN THE CITY

I have a weird story about John Sebastian. My sister and I had never been christened as Catholics, so we decided to do it when we were older.  We were lumped in with a christening for a friend of our family who had just had a baby. After Mass, just before we went through with it, I turned around and saw John Sebastian in the pew across the aisle. I said to my mom, "I think that's John Sebastian." She didn't believe me at first, because he was in a really nice suit with sneakers. Turns out I was right. It was John Sebastian. I think he was the godfather to the baby being christened. So...the guy from the Lovin' Spoonful was at our baptism.

Also, this is an awesome song.

[musicmindpalace]

THE CRAMPS  -  HUMAN FLY

Bzzzzz-zzzzzz!

The original best psychobilly freaky band, this song is one of my usuals on the gym playlist. It's super fun to bike to. 

[musicmindpalace]

PAUL OAKENFOLD FT.  SHIFTY SHELLSHOCK  -  STARRY EYED SURPRISE

I completely forgot about this song until this afternoon, when it played at the gym. Like most others likely did, I first heard this song in a soda commercial (I think Diet Coke) and liked it because it sampled "Everybody's Talkin'" and turned it into a great chill-out song for the summer. 

[musicmindpalace]

THE EASYBEATS  -  FRIDAY ON MY MIND

Great Australian band from the mid-60s! This song is all about how awesome it is to save your money all week and then blow it on a girl. Even David Bowie covered it.