Monday, May 23, 2011

I had two guys every morning

SOTW May 8!
So I went to see a rare solo show by Jane Wiedlin a few weeks ago, when she was a special guest performer with the Les Paul Trio at the Iridium Jazz Club here in New York. It was a short set, with Jane performing seven songs, including Keith Urban's number-one hit "But for the Grace of God" that she and Urban co-wrote with fellow Go-Go Charlotte Caffey, and a set-closing "Our Lips Are Sealed" with the Magnetic Field's Stephin Merritt "singing" the iconic "Hush my darling..." part Jane usually tackles. The other songs were standards including "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Julie London's "Cry Me a River." The best song of the set, though, was a jaunty proto-feminist tune called "Thirteen Men" originally sung by Ann-Margret in 1962, a sort of response song to a chauvanistic 1950s song called "Thirteen Women" (that had the same tune). Jane's adorable voice handled the song admirably, and she really worked the humorous angle.


Here's Jane doing her version from 2006.




Here's Ann-Margret's original version of "Thirteen Men" from 1962.

I could die here right here in your arms

SOTW for May 1! We're nearly a month behind so I think we're just going to post the videos, and maybe write more after we get off our asses. Here's mine for May 1, "Starlight" by Sophie Ellis Bextor from her electro-poptastic new album, Make a Scene. As it took more than a year to be released, I was expecting a problematic album. But in fact, every song sounds like a single, apart from the disappointing title track.

Sophie really is unlike any other singer around these days. She's always seemed older than age and is definitely an old-school popstar (she doesn't do choreography or lipsynch). But she seems in total control of her career, and has amassed a number of impressive singles that range from indie (her work with former band theaudience), dance ("Murder on the Dancefloor"), rock ("Catch You") and pop ("Me and My Imagination").

"Starlight" is dancey ballad, and while I'm not exactly sure how I would describe her voice—smoky? bleating? raspy?—she manages to wring every bit of emotion out of the song.

Apparently she's already hard at work on her next album, reportedly writing with Bernard Butler from Suede, in what she claims will be a synth-free record. Imagine that!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

I miss the scrach of your unshaven face

Brace yourself. There’s not much that I can write about my song of the week for April 24th, apart from the fact that it’s Ke$ha again. I’m not so proud to admit that; two Ke$ha songs in three weeks. But it’s New York in spring, and the mindless songs on Animal and Cannibal energized me through rainy-day commutes to and from the office. Of course, being me, I wallowed in the drizzle and overdosed on the surprisingly sentimental “The Harold Song,” a simple tale of lost love and relationship regrets. And who can't relate to that?

Here’s a fan-made video for “The Harold Song.”

Life, it leaves you full of arrows

Few new artists have excited me more in the past few years than Erik Hassle, and I bet Jason would agree. It seems just yesterday he released his first single, “Hurtful,” but was actually late 2008 (my iTunes shows I added it on March 9, 2009). His Swedish album, Hassle, subsequent 2010 release (with new songs) retitled Pieces, and his Taken EP have kept him on steady rotation since.

Jason recently blogged about his latest effort, Mariefred Sessions, which is an appetizer before a to-be-released second album. Mariefred is an EP of songs he wrote and recorded with members of Kent, one of my favorite bands. Kent mainly record in Swedish, which makes it nearly impossible for me to understand, although there’s a small, rabid fan community online that translates songs. I was excited about them working with Hassle, and adored the single, “Are You Leaving?” And after a few weeks with the rest of the EP, the other songs’ quiet brilliance has emerged.

My SOTW for April 17 (I know, weeks late!) is "Arrows," the closing track. It has a particular Kent-ness—tense, tightly wound verses juxtaposed with choruses full of emotional release. Unfortunately, I can't find "Arrows" anywhere online—not even a Soundcloud! But if you want to hear some of Erik Hassle's greatness, try here: http://soundcloud.com/erikhassle