Sonderbarer Mittwoch

I am keeping this brief because I want to take up some of your time. Recently, Mr. Popkoff let me listen to the album "Berlin" by Lou Reed. This was a real treat by a true master. Lou was in top form on that album. The piano, the string arrangements, and his delivery break your heart with their tragic beauty.

I found some videos on Youtube that some fan made...weird, but still beautiful. I also found period Lou Reed singing "Berlin" with John Cale-again heartbreaking. Enjoy!


"Berlin"


"Sad Song"


"How do you think it feels?"


"Oh Jim"


"Men of good fortune"


Buy "Berlin"
Lou Reed Site

-Mr. Mark

Epic Soundtracks

For Christmas this year, one of my brothers got me one of those Visa gift cards for $25 that are good anywhere, and that night I went to Cheapo Discs (open 365 days a year till midnight) to spend it. One of my finds was Epic Soundtrack's first album entitled "Rise Above."

Epic Soundtracks was the stage name of Kevin Paul Godfrey, drummer in the Nikki Sudden fronted Post-Punk band, Swell Maps. Epic was also the real life brother of Sudden, and an accomplished solo artist. Between 1992-1997, he released 3 solo albums, each consisting of a kind of simplified, piano-based Orchestral Pop. "Rise Above," his first album, in it's sparser moments, reminds me of the His Name Is Alive/Pale Saints side project, ESP Summer. In it's more intricate parts, the album's sound leads me to believe (though I have no real reason to suspect this) that it could of been a major influence on the song-writing style of modern Pop Balladeer, Badly Drawn Boy.

Sadly, Epic died in his sleep in 1997.

The song below has J. Mascis on drums, Martyn P. Casey (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) on bass, and a sly guest vocal by Kim Gordon.

Big Apple Graveyard (WMA) – Epic Soundtracks

To download, follow link to Mediafire, wait a second for it to load, then hit "Click here to start download."

--Popkoff

Sitting In My Hotel

A couple of days ago, I had lunch with a friend, and over chips and salsa, I tried to explain to him my thoughts about the album-listening-process. I started off by saying "Man, I think listening to CDS is so weird sometimes." With a sincere look of confusion on his face, he replied, "Really, even after all this time?" It made me laugh, but I went on to explain that I still find myself surprised by the way my perception of a song (or an album) changes over time.

In the same way that the listening process still surprises me, so too does the feeling that comes over me when I find a song or record that I’ve been searching forever for.

Tonight I went to the new Backspin Records location on Airport, which is in the same exact location as the CD Warehouse I used to work at, not to mention, the same location of Austin’s long lost and much beloved A,B,C,D’s. It’s strange to go in there now and see the same stage that I used to sit at and listen to CDs at when it was A,B,C,D’s; the same stage that I would years later clear off to assemble a speaker system for an in-shore performance at Cd Warehouse. There’s a lot of good memories in that building for me, and I’m glad it’s once again a record store. Since Backspin opened up last year, I’ve had really great luck there, and tonight was no exception.

Three or four years ago, I bought a Kinks record on vinyl for $0.99 in Round Rock called "Everybody’s in Show-Biz." It was released in 1972, and contained a lot of radio-ready 70’s rock that, I think most would agree, is a far cry from the Classic Pop sound of the 60’s Kinks. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either, and I’ve held onto it for the longest time because of a single track, "Sitting in my Hotel."

From the opening airy vocals of Ray Davies, to the keyboard heavy chorus, to the backing trumpets, "Hotel" is a melodic comfort for me. For years, I’ve have searched the internet for a download of the track. I’ve looked for the album to download as well, but I have never been able to find it.

Tonight I found the album at Backspin for $5.99, the Cd case was old and scuffy, and it had the old Rhino logo on the side. On the back, the previous owner had placed 2 white stickers next to the track-listing, in which they wrote the track-lengths on (it probably belonged to a disc-jockey).

That was about an hour ago, and now I’m posting the song for you. I don’t if anyone else will like it as much as I do, but if they do, they will at least have some place to download it from.

Sitting In My Hotel (mp3) -- The Kinks

To download, follow link to Mediafire, wait a second for it to load, then hit "Click here to start download."


--Popkoff

December will be magic again

A classic for this time of the year from Kate Bush. "December will be magic again" is taken from the retrospective box set, "This Woman's Work".



Kate Bush Official Site
Buy "This Woman's Work" here.

--Mr. Mark

What you want

I initially was going to write about the psychedelic dream pop band, The Church. About how their music was great, ethereal, etc...Then, as I was listening to new music on KVRX, I was completely stunned by a jaw dropping cello and slide guitar cover of "What you want". It was Japancakes covering My Bloody Valentine! Upon further research, I came to learn that the latest Japancakes record is a song for song cover of My Bloody Valentine's 1991 opus "Loveless". I was immediately overwhemed after listening to the entire album. Japancakes have used beauty, skill, and space to recreate one of the the most dazzling, hazy, dense albums in rock music, and they somehow completely disregard a crucial element that made "Loveless" brilliant, feedback. Japancakes did not use any feedback! Instead, by stripping the music to it's essential parts and using instruments often associated with country/singer songwriter music they present the songs as a pastoral homage to lush Americana...and in my opinion, they did a great job!

Japancakes "What you want" 2007
My Bloody Valentine "What you want" 1991
zip file with both tracks here.

Buy Japancakes "Loveless" [Darla Records] here.
Japancakes @ myspace listen to the Cocteau Twins cover
Offical Site


My Bloody Valentine "What you want"


--Mr. Mark

Opera House Carnival tonight at 7PM

Pataphysics plays last (9pm?)
come early. get into it. get your face painted. get in on that cakewalk. coloring contest, alright.
The Carnys are also playing
Bill Jefferys is in another band, mockingly named The Bill Jefferys. They're playing too.

2209 South 1st Street
suggested donation of $5. so don't let that stop you.