***The Following Article contains Crass Language***
The BP Gulf Disaster is at the forefront of our minds at the moment. It has been inspiring a multitude of thoughts and emotions, none of which are pleasant. Lurking amongst the despair, fear and uncertainty is a considerable amount of anger towards BP and their ilk: all-powerful corporations that don’t think twice about jeopardizing the global ecology in pursuit of wealth. Grrrr!! Well fuck them. Here are some songs that we feel capture that sentiment:
The Kinks – “Powerman”
Lyric Excerpt:
And he’s got my money
But I’ve got my faith
Powerman, Powerman
I’ll never be your slave
Super Furry Animals – “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck”
Lyric Excerpt:
You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else
You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else
You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else
You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else
Tanner, who since he was twelve spends most of his time planning an ever-more-elaborate, ever-less-likely-to-happen wedding for himself, came upon this dull website for what appears to be a collective of wedding dj’s. Amusingly, there’s a page of indie-rock themed wedding mixes, all of which look like rough drafts for the Garden State soundtrack. Being the bitter, dry husks of human beings that we are, the first thing we thought was, “What would the opposite of these mixes look like?”
In that spirit, we proudly offer you seven tracks to spoil the mood at a wedding.
1. The Big Pink – Dominos
“As soon as I love her it’s been too long.
And I really love breaking your heart”
2. The Mountain Goats – No Children
“And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can’t find one good thing to say
And I’d hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You’d stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die”
3. XTC – Your Dictionary
“Now your laughter has a hollow ring
But the hollow ring has no finger in
So lets close the book and let the day begin
And our marriage be undone”
4. Rolling Stones – Out of Time
“You’re out of touch, my baby
My poor discarded baby
I said, baby, baby, baby, you’re out of time”
5. Husker Du – Never Talking to You Again
“I’d put you down where you belong
But I’m never talking to you again
I’d show you everywhere you’re wrong
But I’m never talking to you again”
6. The Misfits – Last Caress
“Well, I got something to say
I killed your baby today
And it doesn’t matter much to me
As long as its dead”
7. Jarvis Cocker – Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time
” ’cause the years fly by in an instant
and you wonder what he’s waiting for
and then some skinny bitch walks by in some hotpants
and he’s running out the door”
Every few weeks we like to compile a mix of tracks we’ve been loving lately – be it new tracks, old favorites, or the newly reissued. We compile them and link them to a sample through Thinkindie.com – the best (and only) place we know of to download legal, DRM-free MP3s. Get em while they’re hot.
1. Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
2. Robyn Hitchcock – Somewhere Apart
3. Super Furry Animals – Dim Bendith
4. The Bug – Poison Dart
5. Nick Lowe – Nutted by Reality
6. Guided by Voices – Avalanche Aminos
7. School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep
8. The National – So Far Around The Bend
9. Jarvis Cocker – I Never Said I Was Deep
10. Low – California
Further complications indeed. On his second solo effort, Jarvis Cocker continues to explore the alienation and lack of romantic fulfillment that have preoccupied the man since his days with Pulp. He may as well call the album “here we go again”. Nonetheless, a more focused production and strong set of songs make this album a welcome addition to the Cocker catalog.
The album is produced by Steve Albini. This would be shocking given the seeming opposition between Cocker’s heart-on-his-sleeve vulnerability and Albini’s your-heart-in-my-fist aggressiveness except that we all know Albini will take just about any production gig sent his way. I swear, the man’s a year away from producing Clay Aiken.
Albini’s production is typically lean, raw and crisp. Cocker croons, snarls and provides some lovely background vox to compliment himself. This is the only way in which he compliments himself, as the lyrics are consistently self-deprecating. Cocker wants to be your lover, he know it won’t happen and that’s lucky for you because he’s about as virile as Leonard Nimoy.
The albums highlight is it’s closing track, “You’re In My Eyes (Discosong)”. It’s got the kind of lush, dancey feel that fulfills the promise of Cocker’s Gainsbourg-meets-Bowie delivery. It’s so good, you might just start the album over again once the song is over.
