J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 11th June 2008

[Another great episode of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. A whole clutch of interviews are on the way in the coming weeks. I've had phone or sit-down sessions with Terry Banks of Julie Ocean, Hayden and Haley Bonar. So lots of great stuff as the summer gets under way.

Congratulations to Jim. He was able to name Third / Sister Lovers as an album by the band Big Star. He win's this week's $15 gift certificate to BB's New and Used CDs and DVDs over in the Quaker Village shopping center. We give that away at the beginning of the third set, right around 6:30 PM, every week, so tune in for your chance to win.

Now, while the pies are cooling, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 11th June 2008 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Wye Oak - "I Don't Feel Young" [from if children. they're going to be at local 506 in chapel hill on sunday, june 22nd. i can only imagine how the shimmering shoegaze pop of this band will sound live - hopefully i'll get to find out.]
the Veils - "Advice for Young Mothers to Be" [from nux vomica, the j's indie/rock mayhem # 1 album of 2007. i was shocked when i did a bit of looking at how long it'd been since i'd played something off this album. since december.]
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "Cold Son" [from real emotional trash. speaking of, it's probably time to retire this album for awhile. it'll start re-appearing more towards the end of the year when we start tallying up the best-ofs. by the way, i'll be doing the mid-year review in a few weeks, so start leaving your favorite albums of the year thus far in the comments.]
the Lemonheads - "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You" [from car button cloth. i still remember when the video for this song premiered on 120 Minutes. ah, the day when videos really were sort of bizarre, surreal explanations of songs.]
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Julie Ocean - "# 1 Song" [from long gone and nearly there which i reviewed last week. the best power pop record of this year so far without a doubt. infectious and giddy. my interview with terry banks of the band is a really interesting talk and i look forward to sharing it with y'all next week.]
Matthew Sweet - "I've Been Waiting" [from girlfriend. in the julie ocean review i talked about how "# 1 song" has a guitar lick that reminds me of this song a lot, so i thought it couldn't hurt to play them back to back. final judgment? two amazing power-pop songs.]
T-Bone Burnett - "Kill Zone" [from tooth of crime, a new album that collects songs that burnett wrote for a sam shepard play from the mid-90s. this particular song uses a melody that burnett co-wrote with roy orbison before he died. it's a gorgeous number.]
Chin Chin - "Miami" [from their self-titled debut for the def jux label. i knew i wasn't insane as other reviewers have picked up on the steely dan vibe of this song. the guy even sounds like donald fagan. but this is loose, jazzy, funky stuff and while it's not exactly what i normally play, it's a lot of fun.]
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Haley Bonar - "Something Great" [from big star which hit stores this week. i did a short interview with haley last night when she opened for hayden at local 506 and we'll hear it at some point in the next few weeks.]
the Replacements - "Alex Chilton" [from pleased to meet me. since tonight's trivia question had to do with the band big star, i thought i'd play the mats' ode to their leader.]
School of Fish - "King of the Dollar" [from their self-titled album. school of fish are one of the more tragic stories of the 90s alt-rock boom - main songwriter josh clayton-felt died of cancer at a relatively young age and left behind his band and a few solo records. he had a lot of talent, only a fraction of which was released.]
the Frames - "People Get Ready" [by request. from the album the cost.]
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the Strugglers - "Morningside Heights" [from latest rights. a great band from up in durham, north carolina and you'll read my review of this album next week.]
Martha Wainright - "Comin' Tonight" [from i know you're married but i have feelings too. i'm enjoying the songs i've heard off this so far. a pretty great album of singer-songwriter rock. we'll hear more.]
the Didjits - "Gold Eldorado" [from hornet piñata. the main reason i was sad i couldn't just drop everything and go to the touch and go records anniversary party the other year was that the didjits reformed to perform. blistering, raunchy and a hell of a lot of fun.]
the National - "Start a War" [by request from last week. from boxer. the national were opening for r.e.m. last night in raleigh. what a night - i was at hayden, mudhoney was up the street at the cat's cradle and the national were over in raleigh. how do you choose?]
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Portishead - "Plastic" [from third. pitching this album as one of the best of 2008 may be a hard sell on this podcast because there aren't any natural singles. this is an album's album and when given that latitude, it is an amazing listen. do yourself a favor and do that.]
Guns of Detroit - "Caligula's Sister" [by request. from monsterattake's.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Run" [from asking for flowers. this is one of my favorites from the album - reminds me of some of her most haunting songs of the past albums. by the way, if you missed it in last week's comments, here's the link to her new video for "i make the dough, you get the glory."]
Swirlies - "BELL" [from blonder tongue audio baton. when i get around to organizing the station's top albums of the 90s thing that i want to do, i'm going to make sure this is on that list. it deserves to be.]
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the Black Angels - "Doves" [from directions to see a ghost which is a truly fantastic and fascinating album to listen to. put it on on a sweltering summer night and let the sounds wash you away.]
Sleater-Kinney - "Turn it On" [from dig me out. more than a decade on now, these songs still punch through. in the long run i think the woods will still be my favorite, but this is the first i heard that really bowled me over and made me a lifelong sleater-kinney fan.]
the Izzys - "The Madman Sleeps" [by request. from the violent bear it away. i was convinced i knew the title of this album from somewhere, and sure 'nuff, it's a flannery o'connor novel. i knew i was onto something. good, stonesy rock and roll here.]
Wipers - "Romeo" [from over the edge. the first three wipers albums are essential listening for people wanting to dig deeper into american indie rock and they are available, with bonus tracks, in a stellar three-cd package from the wipers' website at a ridiculously reasonable price of about twenty bucks including shipping. well worth it.]
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Spiritualized - "Borrowed Your Gun" [from the new songs in a & e. aside from winning the award for "most songs with the word 'fire' in the title," it's a really fantastic album that should be easy to love for fans of the band and even new converts - like myself.]
Langhorne Slim - "Hello Sunshine" [from his self-titled album. i'm liking this record quite a bit the more i listen. we'll hear more.]
the Tragically Hip - "Fireworks" [from phantom power. 'you said you didn't give a f--- about hockey / and i never saw someone say that before / you held my hand and we walked home the long way / you were loosening my grip on bobby orr.' girls, sports and a poetic juxtaposition. you don't get much better.]
Uncle Tupelo - "Chickamauga" [from anodyne. the first time i saw son volt live, jay farrar tore this song apart and seeing as how that's the closest i'll get to seeing uncle tupelo live (that and seeing wilco play "new madrid"), then i guess that's that.]
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Pulp - "Disco 2000" [from different class. the song is out of date at this point, of course, but it still has metaphorical significance and damn if it isn't stupid catchy. like, never-leaves-your-brain-for-life sort of catchy. "oh, the boys all loved you, but i was a mess / i had to watch them try and get you undressed." painstakingly close to home, that jarvis cocker.]

That'll do it for this week. Sorry for the delay in posting - end of school year stuff, but we should be back on normal schedule. I'll see you Friday for Notes From Underground. Until then, take care.