j's indie/rock mayhem - 3rd january 2007

UPDATE: Podcast is now available! Enjoy!

[a hale and hearty new year's to all of you! it's good to be back after a brief, holiday hiatus. hopefully you all feel rested and restored as well from your winter sojurns, wherever they might or might not have taken you. tonight's show was a bit low-key. and i took an exciting (but admittedly easy) way out of the tail-end of the show that i'll talk about shortly. december and january are not the months where monster new records are typically released, so things might be kind of slow for awhile. that just means the next few shows will feature some hot dips into the back catalogues. exciting.

new year means new attempts to gussie up the site a bit and i'll be working on featuring album reviews to bring you back here more than once a week. there will be two types of reviews: now-boarding reviews will feature newly released (or about to be released if I'm lucky) albums while return flight reviews will feature back catalogue items that you might have missed the first time. i'm going to try to avoid reviewing older records that are well worn territory, but no promises. if something strikes my fancy, well, jackson, i'm on it. so, keep your eyes peeled for those reviews starting in the next week or so. now, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 3rd January 2007 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - "LLL" [from her forthcoming third album, like, love, lust & the open halls of the soul, due out feb. 6th. jesse sykes' music is pretty beyond comparison. her voice, the craft and style of her band, all combine to make some seriously fantastic music. hazy, piercing and mournful.]
Son Volt - "Catching On" [from trace. one of the many wonderful songs on this still, 10+ years on, nearly flawless seeming record. this album was my entry into alt-country fanhood and i couldn't have picked a better place to jump in.]
the Stooges - "Down on the Street" [from the newly remastered and re-issued fun house, still my favorite stooges album. raw power has its perks, but this is, to me, the quintessential stooges album.]
Midnight Oil - "My Country" [from earth and sun and moon. when/if i revive j's extra mayhem next summer, i need to play my cassette copy of midnight oil's appearance on a very early episode of mtv unplugged. their live version of this song, especially, is just spectacular.]
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Graham Coxon - "Standing on My Own Again" [from his latest, love travels at illegal speeds. coxon's music has always had a recklessly catchy vibe to it, but this album especially makes him sound like the modern heir to the buzzcocks' 70s legacy. truly great stuff.]
Talk Talk - "The Last Time" [by request. from their 1984 album it's my life. i'm not overly familiar with talk talk outside of the title track from this album, but this song isn't bad. and why do i know tim friese-green's name already? what else has he done of late? can someone fill me in?]
John Doe - "Heartless" [from the excellent forever hasn't happened yet. back when this album came out in 2005, i couldn't stop playing this song, even though the rest of the record is peppered with small gems as well. john doe's career is a treasure.]
the Lemonheads - "Become the Enemy" [from their latest, the self-titled album. the lemonheads will be at the cat's cradle in carborro, north carolina on thursday, january 25th. i've already got my tickets and am, to say the least, quite excited. having never seen the original, or even latter-day-original incarnation of the lemonheads, this new version will have to do.]
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the Decemberists - "Summersong" [one of my favorite tracks from their j's indie/rock top 25 of 2006 album, the crane wife. really one of the sharpest and consistantly thrilling american bands of the moment.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Summerlong" [from her most recent LP, back to me. this song blew me away the first time i heard it and it still gives me chills. for various and sundry personal reasons as well.]
the Didjits - "Gold Eldorado" [top ten musical regrets of my lifetime will definitely include not blowing off work, buying a plane ticket and going to chicago for the touch and go records 25th anniversary showcase last year. if only to see the reunited didjits play. (as if a reunited girls against boys or big black wouldn't be reasons enough). from the fantastic hornet piñata.]
Josh Rouse - "Jersey Clowns" [from subtitulo. josh will be coming to the cat's cralde in carborro on wednesday, january 24th. i will be there as well (so yes, no show that week) and maybe...coming back with a surprise. knock on wood.]
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James Brown - "Please, Please, Please" [hat-tip to the aquarium drunkard for a few classic james brown numbers from the late 50s as a way to say rest in peace. gonna break it down and beg like james. we'll miss you, godfather.]
Paul Westerberg - "Good Day" [did anyone else read that paul westerberg put a screwdriver through his hand over the holidays? apparently this made the front page over at cnn.com. doctors supposedly say he's looking at a year without being able to play guitar. this song is from his second solo record eventually and was his beautiful ode to his late replacements partner, bob stinson.]
Crooked Fingers - "New Drink for the Old Drunk" [this is a re-recorded version of this crooked fingers classic that only appears on the vinyl edition of 2005's dignity and shame. i picked this up on one of the last days of the now sadly defunct gate city noise. andrew, thanks for running that store as long as you did. i've never had as great a time handing my money over to someone for music. the store will truly be missed.]
Del Amitri - "Tell Her This" [just one of those songs: "tell her something in my heart / needs her more than even clowns / need the laughter of the crowd." how do you beat something like that? you don't. from twisted.]
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Lambchop - "Paperback Bible" [the lead track from 2006's damaged. long, winding, seemingly nonsensical and yet utterly beautiful.]
Hayden - "The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees" [from the closer i get. that goes out to shona. have a wonderful new year and a safe trip back to scotland, friend.]
the Stone Roses - "(Song for my) Sugar Spun Sister" [probably my favorite song off of the stone roses' self-titled masterpiece. there's not a bad song on the record (no, not even the completely useless, backwards-run version of "waterfall") and yet it still comes out at the very top. it's just flawless.]
Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer - "Redemption Song" [i didn't hear this until, sadly, both of these gentlemen were dead, but it made it all the more poignant. hearing the man in black and strummer lay hands on this marley classic was just unbelievable. from the third disc of the unearthed johnny cash box set.]
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Sonic Youth - "The Diamond Sea" (complete version) [this is "the diamond sea" as it was meant to be heard: all twenty-five minutes and forty-eight seconds of it. this song originally graces the tail-end of sonic youth's washing machine album, but comes in at a truncated 19:35. now, as if that wasn't enough, i thought that was the full version. then comes the destroyed room: b-sides and rarities that came out last month. finally, the full version, in all its glory, for people to enjoy. i feel this song is one of sonic youth's best compositions from their entire career, and the full version is every bit as cathartic and mesmerizing as the shorter one. here's to artists with guts.]

That'll do it for this week. As I said, keep your eyes open for the first installment of the new Now Boarding/Return Trip album reviews in the next week. I'm hoping that I can keep on top of it and make it a regular feature. Until then, take care.