06.27.06

Six pack to go

Posted in back catalogue, random, some albums we done liked others we ain't - June 27th, 2006 at 1:41 pm by Cricket & Mimi

Six songs by three artists that you should download from iTunes rather than bothering with the entire album right off.

Mimi’s:

Josh Ritter

“Letter From Omaha”–This song is as country as Josh gets. It’s from his first album, which I think I like more than the newer stuff–which isn’t a shock since I have serious prejudices about production (and the overuse thereof). “Tonight, the sugar cane smells like calico, the color of your hair.” This is has a Dylanesque sound.

“Girl in the War”–I think this is his best song. It’s not just topical, but twists the usual Over There wartime trope by making the soldier female. I liked this song much more before I read an interview with him talking about the song. That’s the kind of risks I take for y’all. This track is from Animal Years, which Pitchfork and No Depression are both lauding–the death knell for Josh? Hm.

Joe Purdy

“I Love the Rain the Most” and “Wash Away (Reprise)” both from Julie Blue.

The first song captures the feel of spending the day on the water, rocking back and forth in the waves, the melancholy mixed with lethargic joy. The simple arrangement in the beginning with his pinging guitar and his expressive, almost plaintive, voice just makes me want to go sailing. The dissonant orchestration that kicks in right after the one minute mark really underscores the contradiction inherent in the lyrics and in life in general. The second song is a rejigging of “Wash Away” done in a pseudo-Hawaiian style. “We get lonely Lord, but not today, today we’re gonna wash away, today we’re gonna wash away.”

Damien Rice

Of the three of these guys, I assume this is either the one you know best or the one you’ve never heard of, depending on your geography and what sort of musical circles you move in.

“Volcano”–This was a radio hit in some parts of the world. It is one of his two good songs (the other to be discussed below). The harmony-singing in this song is a piece of glory. The theme of being a person who is impossible to please is, perhaps, one that many artists could explore in depth and never hit the bottom of.

“Woman Like a Man”–This song is vulgar and raunchy and awesome beyond measure. You want the acoustic version. “You wanna get burned, you wanna get turned, you wanna get fucked inside out.” I really don’t need to go into this further, huh?

Cricket’s:

Allison Moorer

“Alabama Song” off the album of the same name. This song speaks to me personally, but then what good music that doesn’t? I love that she’s not doing her usual miserable “life sucks, let’s get drunk” bit here. She’s professing love by asking to go along with her lover to some place more beautiful than where they are now. “I’m ready to run, baby/Through the sweet southern pines/Lie down in a bed of camellias/And watch the sun shine.” It feels like saying you’re ready for happiness and I can get behind that. Her voice is also at its southern, twangy best here and the steel guitar grabs me every time.

“Dying Breed” from Miss Fortune. This is an incredibly depressing song about a familial cycle of drug abuse. “No one grows old in this house. ” It doesn’t suffer from the over production that some of her songs do, and it has a real, deep, heart-ripping, high lonesome kind of sound running through it.

Pernice Brothers

“Saddest Quo” and “Sell Your Hair” off Discover a Lovelier You.

Overall I’d say I really like this band, but when it comes down to it, these songs are really what keeps me with them. They are almost too clever in their lyrics, as evidenced by the tile of “Saddest Quo” but they make up for a lot of it in their simple melodies and the actual singing. This is a witty take on the state of our world, the disasters that seem to fill it, and how people’s blind faith in the wrong things does nothing to solve it. It’s got a tinkly, sunny Sunday morning feel running through it, despite the grim lyrics.

“Sell Your Hair” is a much darker song, though it has an almost carnivale intro. It feels almost like Bonnie and Clyde are singing to you; there’s an early last century vibe that completely saves the song from being too over done. “I’ll give up cigarettes/You’ll sell your hair/I’ll be a criminal/You’ll be a whore.” The song plays through so sweetly, you can’t imagine anything other than love and desperation steering then wrong, rather than something more malicious.

As an aside, I love liner notes. I love being about to read lyrics when I first listen to a song, but, good God, can we have a ban on people putting lyrics in their CD sleeves in their own crappy handwriting? I swear I’d love this whole album more if I could actually read what’s on the insert.

Leaving, TX

“If the Bottle Doesn’t Kill me” and “Peace Love and Understanding” both off of 100 Miles to Sunday.

This is a band I really want to like, but for the most part they just don’t grab me like I wish they would. The first song has good Texas twang and thematically is a nearly perfect country song: “Down on my luck/Headed straight to hell/If the bottle doesn’t kill me/There’s a woman here who will. ” Man, yeah, that’s exactly what you want to kick back on the porch with a bottle of Jack and listen too. “Peace Love and Understanding” is twangy, jangly Elvis Costello cover, and how can that not be good, right? Yeah, it’s sooooo good.

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