cat enumeration is more difficult than you might think

It’s hard to tell what will spur me on to actually put some music together. In this case, it was an off-hand mention in a year-end music critics’ poll from a friend of mine, tongue-in-cheek describing “the worst song” ever in the form of a set of lines his four-year-old son had put together.

I read them, decided they looked instead like (predictably) something Mark E. Smith might write after way too many lagers in an alley behind a pet store, and set off to (again) cobble together pre-existing noises into a vaguely Fall-like musical backing.

That was the plan. It didn’t turn out that way. I decided to stick to only one album for the samples…and used primarily solo’d instruments (mostly at the very beginning of songs). Lots of altering of speed, pitch, tempo; cutting and pasting the order of things, sound processing…and as I was putting the guitar parts on, the sound of one of them sent me off in another direction entirely.

Which, as it turned out, I like way better than the Fall homage I started with. (I’m sure there are still some Fallish elements remaining…but that cat…that cat…that cat’s from Mars!

Monkey Typing Pool “Cats in the Creeper Universe”

PS: Long, geeky description of the composition process in the comments…

yet more 2012 (the end)

As has been the case for the past several years, I end up making 7 separate playlists covering the year’s music, with 25 tracks on each (and the occasional bonus track), for (at least) 175 tracks total. Here they are (none of that fancy last-name-first or disregard-articles stuff – I am too lazy…also, asterisks are covers):

• A.C. Newman    Do Your Own Time
• Adrian Belew    Me and My Arrow    *
• Aimee Mann    Gamma Ray
• All Tiny Creatures    Sleepless    *
• Andrew Bird    The Crown Salesman
• Arrica Rose    Tragedy    *
• Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa    Perawan Berawan
• Beach Pigs    Catch Up in the Sun
• Beachwood Sparks    Forget the Song
• Bear In Heaven    Sinful Nature
• Beauty Pill    This Is the Hidden Track
• Beck    Pink Moon    *
• Beirut    Santa Fe
• Blessed Feathers    Hey! All You Floridians
• Blue Epic    A Man Needs a Maid    *
• Boris    Flare
• Brian Ray    The Tears of a Clown    *
• Bruce Cockburn    Incandescent Blue
• California Wives    Marianne
• Carolyn Mark    Not Like the Movies
• Cate Le Bon    Puts Me To Work
• Communist Daughter    Not The Kid
• Constants    Sunrise
• David Bronson    The Turns
• Dead Leaf Echo    Act of Truth
• Death Cab For Cutie    World Shut Your Mouth    *
• Destroyer    Leave Me Alone    *
• Dirty Projectors    About to Die
• Divine Fits    I Was Born in a Laundromat    *
• Divine Fits    Would That Not Be Nice
• Drive-By Truckers    This Fucking Job
• Elephant & Castle; Tune-Yards    En Memoria
• Elliott Smith    Figure 8    *
• Eternal Summers    Millions
• Ex Cops    James
• Father John Misty    Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
• Father John Misty    Do You Realize??    *
• Father John Misty    This Is Sally Hatchet
• Field Mouse    Falling (Twin Peaks Theme)    *
• Field Music    Don’t Pass Me By    *
• Field Music    Is This The Picture?
• Field Report    Taking Alcatraz
• Field Report    Captain Video
• Gangi    Railways Nos. 1-27
• Garland Jeffreys    Eggs
• Garrison Starr    Between the Devil’s Rain and a Dying Language
• Glen Campbell    Jesus    *
• Great Lake Swimmers    Before They Make Me Run    *
• Grizzly Bear    Yet Again
• Helvetia    Rybro
• Holograms    Chasing My Mind
• Hospitality    Rikki Don’t Lose That Number    *
• Howth    Wind Blows Cold
• Hush Arbors/Arbouretum    New Scarab
• Ida    Golden Hours    *
• Iggy Pop    Low Life
• Indians    I Am Haunted
• J. Robbins    Fear Is a Man’s Best Friend    *
• Jaill    Perfect Ten
• Jason and the Scorchers    Absolutely Sweet Marie    *
• Jay Farrar; Will Johnson; Anders Parker; Jim James    Old L.A.
• Jeff Lynne    Strange Magic
• Jesca Hoop    Ode to Banksy
• Jim O’Rourke    Pictures of Adolf Again    *
• John Cale    Scotland Yard
• John Wesley Coleman III    A Clown Gave You a Baby
• Johnny Bertram and the Golden Bicycles    Miracle
• Johnny Marr    The Messenger
• Jonathan Coulton    Todd the T1000
• Jonathan King    A Modest Proposal (Swift’s Song)
• Jonathan King    A Free Man In Paris    *
• Joshua McCormack    Terminal Velocity
• Julian Cope    Non-Alignment Pact    *
• Jumbling Towers    Our Rehab Neighborhood
• Juniper Tar    Via Chicago    *
• Kelly Hogan    Constructive Summer    *
• Ken Stringfellow    Shittalkers!
• Lambchop    Gone Tomorrow
• Lana Del Rey    Video Games [live on Letterman]
• Levek    Girl in the Fog
• Liars    WIXIW
• Lilys    Well Traveled Is Protest
• Lower Dens    Candy
• Madmixmustang    From the Heart of Glass [Blondie vs. Philip Glass]   *
• Malka Spigel    See It Sideways
• Mark Eitzel    Oh Mercy
• Maximo Park    Waves of Fear
• Melody’s Echo Chamber    Crystallized
• Melody’s Echo Chamber    I Follow You
• Melody’s Echo Chamber    Some Time Alone, Alone
• Michael the Blind    Who Is She?
• Milk Maid    Do Right
• Minimal Compact    Lay Lady Lay    *
• Mock Suns    Cabinessence    *
• Moons    Waves at Night
• Motel Beds    Ladder Dancer
• Mount Eerie    Ocean Roar
• Mrs. Magician    There Is No God
• MV & EE    Too Far To See
• Nada Surf    See These Bones
• Nada Surf    Teenage Dreams
• Old Bricks    Anthem
• Opossom    Blue Meanies
• Oscar & The Majestics    I Can’t Explain    *
• Ozone Baby    Let’s Pretend We’re Spies
• Parquet Courts    Borrowed Time
• Paul Brill    The Royal Oui
• Paul Weller    Dragonfly
• PS I Love You    Saskatoon
• Punch Brothers    Just What I Needed    *
• Pure Bathing Culture    Ivory Coast
• Radiation City    Find It Of Use
• Rebecca Gates and the Consortium; Rebecca Gates    Four Sticks    *
• Rebecca Gates and the Consortium; Rebecca Gates    Lease and Flame
• Rebecca Zapen    Addicted To Love    *
• Rhett Miller    I Believe She’s Lying    *
• Rhett Miller; Jon Brion    Cynthia Mask    *
• Richard Buckner    Lost
• Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians    Eight Miles High [rough mix]    *
• Rosie Flores    Working Girl’s Guitar
• Saucer    Shaken Baby Syndrome
• Scott Walker    Phrasing
• Sean0Sean    Don’t You Worry About a Thing
• Sean0Sean    Living Room
• Sera Cahoone    Naked
• Sewing Machines    This Must Be the Place    *
• Sharon Van Etten    Leonard
• Shawn Lee    No Surprises    *
• Shearwater    Breaking the Yearlings
• Sia    Paranoid Android    *
• Sic Alps    Glyphs
• Silver Dapple    Soleil …lectrique
• Snowmine    The Hill
• Soundhog    Whole Lotta Helter Skelter [Led Zeppelin vs The Beatles]    *
• Sparkle Jets UK    Above the Clouds    *
• Stevie Jackson    Where Do All the Good Girls Go?
• Strolling Scones    May This Be Love    *
• Suckers    Chinese Braille
• Superhumanoids    I Wanna Be Sedated    *
• Swearin’    Kenosha
• Teenage Fanclub    Like a Virgin    *
• The Ampersands    Golems in Waves
• The Cribs    Come on, Be a No-One
• The Darcys    Peg    *
• The Hathaways    Johnny Killed Susan
• The Hidden Messages    Stalemate
• The Holmes Brothers    I Want You to Want Me    *
• The Maccabees    Go
• The Mommyheads    Skinny White Uptight
• The Monkees    Love Is Only Sleeping
• The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart    Jeremy    *
• The Phantom Family Halo    White Hot Gun
• The Pharmacy    Dig Your Grave
• The Raveonettes    My Tornado
• The Young    Don’t Hustle For Love
• thenewno2    Make It Home
• Those Darlins    Screws Get Loose
• Title Tracks    Turn Your Face
• TKTTSM    Eyeyeye
• Tom Jones    Bad As Me    *
• Toy    Left Myself Behind
• Toy    Colours Running Out
• Ty Segall Band    I Bought My Eyes
• Unicycle Loves You    Dropout Boogie    *
• Union Avenue    Should I Stay Or Should I Go?    *
• UV Pop    No Songs Tomorrow
• Vinyl Williams    Harmonious Change
• Vinyl Williams    Stellarscope
• Violens    Der Microarc
• Violens    Unfolding Black Wings
• We Are Augustines    Book of James
• Willie Wisely    Sunrise    *
• Wolfmen    Needles In The Camel’s Eye    *
• Writer    Hot Days
• Zig Zags    Wastin’ My Time
• Zula    Make Contact
• [unknown]   “endless celestial sex”

 

shoe bench

Here’s the winter 2012 songpile (stuff I’ve run into that’s not on albums I own, new or old…with occasional cheatery), which I’ve called Jars of Severity. (Update: the first version I put up had a truncated version of one song…so redownload. Also: the Spotify version has only 13 tracks…)

1. Levek “Girl in the Fog”
2. Lilys “Well Traveled Is Protest”
3. Snowmine “The Hill”
4. Motel Beds “Ladder Dancer”
5. Johnny Marr “The Messenger”
6. Toy “Left Myself Behind”
7. The Ampersands “Golems in Waves”
8. TKTTSM “Eyeyeye”
9. Writer “Hot Days”
10. Jumbling Towers “Our Rehab Neighborhood”
11. Gangi “Railways Nos. 1-27″
12. Boris “Flare”
13. Zig Zags “Wastin’ My Time”
14. Drive-By Truckers “This Fucking Job” (Daytrotter version)
15. Garland Jeffreys “Eggs”
16. Rosie Flores “Working Girl’s Guitar”
17. Parquet Courts “Borrowed Time”
18. Beauty Pill “This Is the Hidden Track”
19. David Bronson “The Turns”
20. Jeff Lynne “Strange Magic” (acoustic, with Richard Tandy on piano)
21. Ozone Baby “Let’s Pretend We’re Spies” (feat. Faye Hunter on vocals)
22. Pure Bathing Culture “Ivory Coast”
23. The Monkees “Love Is Only Sleeping”
24. Ex Cops “James”
25. Jonathan Coulton “Todd the T1000″

And thus, my year-end flurry of playlists ends.

new files engaged

Here’s my second collection of covers for 2012—the ones I ran into in the year’s second half (whether they’re new or elderly). The playlist is called Won’t Made Will.

1. Divine Fits “I Was Born in a Laundromat” (Camper Van Beethoven)
2. Father John Misty “Do You Realize??” (The Flaming Lips)
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart “Jeremy” (The Magnetic Fields)
4. Brian Ray “The Tears of a Clown” (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles)
5. The Holmes Brothers “I Want You to Want Me” (Cheap Trick)
6. Kelly Hogan “Constructive Summer” (The Hold Steady)
7. Juniper Tar “Via Chicago” (Wilco)
8. Jonathan King “A Free Man in Paris” (Joni Mitchell)
9. Shawn Lee “No Surprises” (Radiohead)
10. All Tiny Creatures “Sleepless” (King Crimson)
11. Blue Epic “A Man Needs a Maid” (Neil Young)
12. Unicycle Loves You “Dropout Boogie” (Captain Beefheart)
13. Rebecca Gates and the Consortium “Four Sticks” (Led Zeppelin)
14. Jim O’Rourke “Pictures of Adolf Again” (Bill Fay)
15. Adrian Belew “Me and My Arrow” (Nilsson)
16. Rhett Miller “I Believe She’s Lying” (Jon Brion)
17. Mock Suns “Cabinessence” (Beach Boys)
18. Field Music “Don’t Pass Me By” (Beatles)
19. Elliott Smith “Figure 8″ (from Schoolhouse Rock)
20. Great Lake Swimmers “Before They Make Me Run” (Rolling Stones)
21. Arrica Rose “Tragedy” (Bee Gees)
22. Field Mouse “Falling (Theme from Twin Peaks)” (Julee Cruise/David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti)
23. J. Robbins “Fear Is a Man’s Best Friend” (John Cale)
24. madmixmustang “From the Heart of Glass” (Blondie/Philip Glass mashup)
25. Sia “Paranoid Android” (Radiohead)

Fun hint: Pretend she’s singing “Trash Day” instead of “Tragedy.”

 

Look. At least I didn’t call it “Let’s Get Fiscal”

This is my year-end wrap-up, listing my favorite albums of the year. I think 2012 was a very strong year—I had a hard time deciding which records fit in my top 25 (from which the playlist below is drawn), and very deep into the ranking of albums, there were still very good, highly enjoyable albums. First off, the playlist: as usual, these are arranged for musical purposes and don’t reflect any sort of ranking (see below for that). Also, I should note: I’ve altered the volume (but not the dynamics) of these tracks so they’re at roughly the same average loudness (i.e., they might be quieter than they would be on your own copy).

So…Cliff:

1. “Is This the Picture?” Field Music Plumb
2. “Teenage Dreams” Nada Surf The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
3. “Perfect Ten” Jaill Traps
4. “About to Die” Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan
5. “Yet Again” Grizzly Bear Shields
6. “Dragonfly” Paul Weller Sonik Kicks
7. “Unfolding Black Wings” Violens True
8. “Stellarscope” Vinyl Williams Lemniscate
9. “Colours Running Out” Toy Toy
10. “Waves of Fear” Maximo Park The National Health
11. “This Is Sally Hatchet” Father John Misty Fear Fun
12. “WIXIW” Liars WIXIW
13. “Scotland Yard” John Cale Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood
14. “Captain Video” Field Report Field Report
15. “Do Your Own Time” A.C. Newman Shut Down the Streets
16. “Lease and Flame” Rebecca Gates and the Consortium The Float
17. “Shittalkers!” Ken Stringfellow Danzig in the Moonlight
18. “Oh Mercy” Mark Eitzel Don’t Be a Stranger
19. “Would That Not Be Nice” Divine Fits A Thing Called Divine Fits
20. “Some Time Alone, Alone” Melody’s Echo Chamber Melody’s Echo Chamber
21. “Living Room” Sean0Sean Arch Envy
22. “Gamma Ray” Aimee Mann Charmer
23. “Puts Me To Work” Cate Le Bon Cyrk
24. “Ode to Banksy” Jesca Hoop The House That Jack Built
25. “Phrasing” Scott Walker Bish Bosch

The Tier with Records I Knew from the Start Would Make This List

Divine Fits, Sean0Sean, Aimee Mann, Father John Misty, Field Report, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Field Music, A.C. Newman, Paul Weller, Dirty Projectors, Rebecca Gates and the Consortium, Nada Surf

If forced to choose, my top 3 would be Father John Misty, Nada Surf, and either Dirty Projectors or Field Report (see below).

The Tier with Records that Fought Their Way into the Top 25

Scott Walker, Ken Stringfellow, Vinyl Williams, John Cale, Jesca Hoop, Maximo Park, Jaill, Violens, Cate Le Bon, Mark Eitzel, Grizzly Bear, Toy, Liars.

Maximo Park made an impressive comeback: after its brilliant debut, its next few were rather middling. Ken Stringfellow’s record is a grower—it would not surprise me if I rate it even higher a year from now.

The Tier with Records that Are Still Excellent, Many of Which I Had a Really Hard Time Dropping Below #25

School of Seven Bells Ghostory, Ghosty Ghosty, Tame Impala Lonerism, White Rabbits Milk Famous, Lower Dens Nootropics, Of Montreal Paralytic Stalks, The Sea and Cake Runner, Juniper Tar Since Before, Sunbutler (Momus & Joe Howe) Sunbutler, Bob Dylan Tempest, The Figgs The Day Gravity Stopped, Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel…, Future of the Left The Plot Against Common Sense, The Mountain Goats Transcendental Youth.

In fact, two of my selected top 25 albums were not on Spotify, so the Spotify version of this playlist includes a track from Lower Dens and Juniper Tar. Juniper Tar is the third Milwaukee band on this list (Field Report and Jaill are the other two), and all three earned it. Especially Field Report, whose album is one of the more emotionally powerful I’ve heard in quite a while.

The Tier that’s Still Pretty Damned Good, Although One or Two Titles Ended Up a Slight Disappointment

Shearwater Animal Joy, Jack White Blunderbuss, Andrew Bird Break it Yourself, Malka Spigel Every Day Is Like the First Day, Clinic Free Reign, David Byrne & St. Vincent Love This Giant, Rufus Wainwright Out of the Game, The Shins Port of Morrow, Laetitia Sadier Silencio, Beachwood Sparks The Tarnished Gold.

I had higher hopes for the Shins, for Clinic, and for the Byrne/St. Vincent: none of them are at all bad records, but they weren’t quite the high triumph I’d hoped for, either.

The Tiers that Are Just Lists of Artists Because You Can Look Up the Titles Yourself (to Save Space)

Stevie Jackson, Garrison Starr, The Human Hearts, Paul Banks, Lee Ranaldo, Beach House, Animal Collective, Shannon McArdle, The Walkmen, Hospitality, The Magnetic Fields, Brian Eno, Stew & the Negro Problem, The Mike Benign Compulsion, The Corner Laughers, Young Fresh Fellows, Mission of Burma.

Momus, Rush, Lightships, the dB’s, Andrew Bird (again! Hands of Glory), Out of Order (the NYC one: Hey Pussycat!), Cardinal, Allen Clapp & His Orchestra, Leonard Cohen, John K. Samson, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Ben Folds Five, Brendan Benson.

Letdowns among the above: The Walkmen, Magnetic Fields (except that “Andrew in Drag” is fantastic), the dB’s, Mission of Burma, Benson. Also disappointing: Bob Mould, The Helio Sequence, Zammuto (half of the late, lamented Books), and Matthew Friedberger’s Matricidal Wastes of Keyboards (not its actual title…).

Album title of the year: (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson.

The Pollard Count

Three Guided by Voices albums (Class Clown Spots a UFO, The Bears for Lunch, Let’s Go Eat the Factory: in descending order), two Robert Pollard albums (only one of which, Mouseman Cloud, I’ve heard: it’s somewhere in the last tier above), plus probably more, including some singles. Of note: the not-actually-released album Let’s Go Eat the Class UFOs for Lunch by Guided by Sprout would have been a pretty good record, too (14 sole-written tracks, 1 co-write, and at least 2 b-sides…I didn’t pick up the single releases from the last two GBV albums…).

Three Notable EPs

I do not include EPs, live albums, or compilations in my top 25. I make the rules, that’s why. Anyway: B and Not B Colors, Shapes, and Lines, Translator Big Green Lawn, Howth Secret Goldmine.

Two Notable Covers Albums

Field Music Field Music Play… and the Darcys Aja: yes, that’s the Steely Dan album, top to bottom…and unlike many albums of this sort, the Darcys completely reimagine the album, without dumbing down Becker & Fagen’s chord changes (sometimes they reinvent them in less jazz-like but still unusual ways). Recommended.

Whew.

Coming soon(ish): two “Songpile” mixes – best songs I ran into in the last three months that aren’t from albums I own, and my favorite covers of the last six months of the year.

t-t-t-t-t

Fall 2012 songpile comin’ right up – every three months, my mix of songs that aren’t on albums I own – various free and promo downloads, live tracks, miscellany, even older songs that I’ve just become acquainted with…these are the best 25. This one is called Sputtering Targets, and it has a sequence (and the chorus goes…and the chorus goes…and the chorus goes…)

1. The Mommyheads “Skinny White Uptight”
2. Michael the Blind “Who Is She?”
3. Sean 0′Sean “Don’t You Worry About a Thing”
4. Opossom “Blue Meanies”
5. Melody’s Echo Chamber “I Follow You”
6. Vinyl Williams “Harmonious Change”
7. Zula “Make Contact”
8. Helvetia “RyBro”
9. Sic Alps “Glyphs”
10. thenewno2 “Make it Home”
11. Moons “Waves at Night”
12. Mount Eerie “Ocean Roar”
13. Malka Spigel “See it Sideways”
14. Dead Leaf Echo “Act of Truth”
15. Constants “Sunrise”
16. Eternal Summers “Millions”
17. Sera Cahoone “Naked”
18. Blessed Feathers “Hey! All You Floridians”
19. Carolyn Mark “Not Like the Movies”
20. California Wives “Marianne”
21. Indians “I Am Haunted” (4.A.D. Sessions version)
22. Garrison Starr “Between the Devil’s Rain and a Dying Language”
23. Sharon Van Etten “Leonard”
24. The Cribs “Come On, Be a No-One”
25. Swearin’ “Kenosha”
26. +

b-b-b-b-bang

the fearsome effects of entropy

It’s time for my first covers playlist of 2012. This one’s called Later Versions of Things in Redesign. As always…these playlists are best appreciated if played in sequence, gaplessly… Here we go!

1. Oscar & the Majestics “I Can’t Explain” (Mod—The Ultimate ’60s Collection comp.) The Who cover
2. Jason & the Scorchers “Absolutely Sweet Marie” Bob Dylan cover
3. Sparkle Jets UK “Above the Clouds” (Lynne Me Your Ears: Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne comp.) Electric Light Orchestra cover
4. The Darcys “Peg” (Aja) Steely Dan cover (yep…they covered the entire album. Quite well, too)
5. Tom Jones “Bad as Me” Tom Waits cover
6. Ida “Golden Hours” (Ten Small Paces) Brian Eno cover
7. The Wolfmen “Needles in the Camel’s Eye” (The Coolest Songs in the World! Vol. 6 comp.) Brian Eno cover
8. Death Cab for Cutie “World Shut Your Mouth” (Causes 1 comp.) Julian Cope cover
9. Julian Cope “Non-Alignment Pact” (World Shut Your Mouth ep) Pere Ubu cover
10. Superhumanoids “I Wanna Be Sedated” (single) The Ramones cover
11. Destroyer “Leave Me Alone” (Power Corruption & Lies Covered: Mojo Presents… comp.) New Order cover
12. Strolling Scones “May This Be Love” (Two Vegans) Jimi Hendrix cover
13. Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians “Eight Miles High” (rough mix) The Byrds cover
14. Punch Brothers “Just What I Needed” (A.V. Club Undercover 2012 comp.) The Cars cover
15. Sewing Machines “This Must Be the Place” Talking Heads cover
16. Teenage Fanclub “Like a Virgin” (The King) Madonna cover
17. Minimal Compact “Lay Lady Lay” (Returning Wheel) Bob Dylan cover
18. Glen Campbell “Jesus” (Meet Glen Campbell) Velvet Underground cover
19. Rhett Miller & Jon Brion “Cynthia Mask” (The Interpreter) Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians cover
20. Willie Wisely “Sunrise” (The New Sell Out comp.) The Who cover
21. Beck “Pink Moon” Nick Drake cover
22. Hospitality “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (A.V. Club Undercover 2012 comp.) Steely Dan cover
23. Rebecca Zapen “Addicted to Love” (Nest) Robert Palmer cover
24. Union Avenue “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” (Now Here’s Union Avenue) Johnny Clash cover :-)
25. Soundhog “Whole Lotta Helter Skelter” Led Zeppelin vs. the Beatles

retioywywerq