J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 5th December 2007

[tonight's show, from my perspective, was thrilling, chaotic, awful and ridiculous, all in equal parts. of course, the 'awful' part was due to a few mishaps along the way that put me out more than they should, but when you're striving for perfection every week, coming up shorter than normal is tough.

congratulations to laurie who won tonight's $15 gift certificate to BB's new and used CDs and DVDs. she correctly identified cormac mccarthy as the author of no country for old men. we give away that gift certificate every week at the beginning of the third set, right around 6:30 p.m., so make sure you tune in for your chance to win.

remember that the j's indie/rock mayhem top 25 albums of 2007 show is in just TWO WEEKS. plus next week is the best singles of the year - all my favorite individual songs from the year, whether they were on a great album or not. it's going to be a thrilling couple of weeks - make sure you're tuned in. now, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 5th December 2007 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
>
Imperial Teen - "Shim Sham" [from the hair the tv the baby & the band. it's a snazzy little song, but has anyone heard anything off this record to match or trump "ivanka" (hah!) or "yoo-hoo?" still, no one readily generates catchy music like imperial teen so i'll take a new record from them anyday.]
the Veils - "One Night on Earth" [from nux vomica. don't be surprised when this record is very high on my top 25 albums list. where it will land i don't know yet, but i'm just prepping you. it really is one of the most thrilling records of this year.]
Gift of Gab - "The Writz" [a fantastic song from his intensely disappointing solo album 4th dimensional rocket ships going up. more or less disappointing than the latest blackalicious album? debateable.]
Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost" [from cease to begin. my opinion: much better than their debut. this song is especially a winner, but it's chock full of handsome songs. way to beat the sophomore slump, guys.]
>
Art Brut - "St. Pauli" [from it's a bit complicated which i reviewed this week. this is bound for my top 25 list as well, though where, again, i can't say. punk rock is nicht tot, indeed.]
Adam Thorn and the Top Buttons - "The Kids Are All Wrong" [from where's the freedom? one of two or maybe three north carolina artists that are probably bound for my top 25 albums list as well. i made a (very) small joke by placing this after the art brut song - "the kids don't like it" feeding into "the kids are all wrong." funny.]
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "The World's Greatest" [from the ask forgiveness EP. this is his cover of the certifiable classic by r. kelly. when billy pronounces 'ask' in the same way kelly (inexcusably) does in his version, i about fell out of my chair. billy makes this song believable for once.]
Siouxsie - "Here Comes That Day" [by request. from her new album mantaray and yes, that's siouxsie as in siouxsie sioux and the banshees. i honestly didn't get a chance to focus on it while it was playing, but i really like what i heard.]
>
the Black Angels - "Young Men Dead" [so, per usual, i'm in debt to aquarium drunkard for a song this week. from their 2006 album passover, this song is also on the soundtrack to the coen brothers' no country for old men. if i had heard this album last year...no telling. it's really amazing. as i described it to someone earlier, psychedelic velvet underground-via-joy division. believe it.]
Girls Against Boys - "In Like Flynn" [from venus luxure no. 1 baby. i've told this story before, but anyway: when i met scott mccloud of girls against boys, i told him that as an awkward, gangly teenager, there were really only two bands whose music made me feel cool by just listening to it. pulp and girls against boys. this album is so ridiculously tough and detached and cool and raucous, i can't even explain. this song is one of the best album opening songs i've ever heard.]
Television - "Friction" [from marquee moon. it'd been too long since i'd played telelvision and especially this song. if you consider yourself a fan of rock and roll and don't own this album, correct that immediately.]
Dead Confederate - "Shadow the Walls" [another song from athens, georgia's dead confederate from their self-titled EP. heavy and grooving at the same time. it's got tangible elements of southern rock in those grooves, too. they're growing on me quite a bit.]
>
Dizzee Rascal feat. Bun B and Pimp C - "Where's Da G's" [from this year's maths + english and i want to apologize right off the bat. pimp c was found dead in his hotel room earlier this week, and being that this is the only music i own with him on it, i thought i'd play this in his memory. but this song requires heavy, heavy editing and my job of doing so is awful, amateurish sounding and really ruins the song. i honestly probably shouldn't have tried to play it at all, but i wanted to recognize pimp c's passing in some way, so there we go. my apologies.]
the New Flesh - "Squeeze" [from the album vessel. and this band was just boring. i apologize for playing this just for playing it. i saw their name in rotation last week and decided to make one of my 'sets that amuse only j.' in which i make vague connections between bands. see the following.]
Flesh for Lulu - "I Go Crazy" [a really great song from their long live the new flesh album. see? album title that would seem to reference the previous band. amusing. i love this song and i'm becoming a big fan of this band. all thanks to this guy.]
Paul Westerberg - "Postcards from Paradise" [a hidden track from his 2002 stereo album. this is a cover of the flesh for lulu song also on long live the new flesh. my introduction to flesh for lulu. great music will always lead you down different paths.]
>
the Graves of Fairmount - "Why I Left Berkley" [from the calendars & casualties EP. another great north carolina release from this year. i just get more and more into it each time i listen.]
Brightblack Morning Light - "Fry Bread" [from their self-titled album. this had been on my 'to download' list on EMusic for awhile, so recently, with some downloads to spare, i did just that and it's a breathtaking listen. laid back, jazzy, languidly funky.]
Hezekiah - "Wild & Wreckless" [from i predict a riot. released back in september, this is my first shot at this record. hezekiah is a veteran of the philadelphia hip-hop scene and i'm pretty impressed with what i've heard so far.]
Ham 1 - "White Rat" [from the captain's table. more athens, georgia music. another winner - could this be one of the sleeper, sneak-up albums on my top 25 albums list?]
>
Jens Lekman - "Shirin" [from night falls over kortedala. this has been one of the late oncomers for my albums list. i finally sat down to seriously give it a listen in order to review it last week and was simply blown away. i had been calling georgie james' record the best (power) pop record this year, but it's easily eclipsed (albeit in a very different style) by lekman's work.]
John Doe - "Lean Out Yr Window" [from a year in the wilderness. another really solid record from john doe and his late-career renaissance. not that doe has ever really put out a truly bad record, but the last couple of solo albums from him have been fantastic.]
Greg Dulli - "Cigarettes" [from amber headlights. this album is interesting if only because it contains the supposed original versions of songs that would eventually end up on the twilight singers' blackberry belle album - much muted, because of dulli's sadness over the death of friend ted demme. the chorus of this song just kills me.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Nagasaki" [from the out-of-print debut EP, building 55, which you can grab for a limited time over at the drunkard's blog. this is a more embryonic version of the sound that would emerge sounding so dead-on for her debut LP, failer. i've rarely heard edwards sing like she does on this track though - full of righteous anger, brimming and crackling in sadness at the same time. this is a fantastic song. her third LP is set for a march release - i can't wait.]
>
Jim Bryson - "Pissing on Everything" [from where the bungalows roam. a commenter over at the drunkard, when talking about kathleen edwards, enthusiastically recommended this record by a member of kathleen's band. and after checking it out, i have to agree. this song, especially, is fantastic. this is largely low-key folk-pop canadian music. clever, softly-sung songs. you can stream the whole album here. check it out.]
Lyle Lovett - "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" [from joshua judges ruth which i reviewed this week. an amazing album and this song, especially, is just a heartbreaking one. so, so good.]

That'll do it for this week. Check back on Friday for this week's Notes From Underground and next week for new album reviews, starting Monday. Next week's show will be the Top Singles of 2007, so tune in for what should be wall-to-wall amazing songs. Until then, Go Panthers, Go Heels, and take care.