Two days late, but it's an Alternative Rock Mother's Day Muxtape, inspired by Earfarm and Stacie, who constantly posts keyword iTunes playlists.
So Friday night was the big Swedish Pop show over at the Middle East. There were 192 people there because it was SOLD OUT, and most of them were politely there on time for Anna Ternheim, who was OK. I think a lot of people were there for her because the room started getting thinner as the night went on.
I only knew one or two Lykke Li songs, and thought they were good, but she was quite a different creature live. I was expecting a sad Swedish songstress, and while her songs are sad, her attitude is more like "So fuck it, let's dance". She and her band turned the room into an indie hipster hoe-down rave-up, and it was pretty impressive.
El Perro del Mar started out onstage alone with an acoustic guitar, opening with "Party" and "Dog" before bringing her band on for some of the newer material. While not nearly as slow, quiet and ambient as last year's set at the MFA, she still holds the Twin Peaks Roadhouse stage presence that keeps everything dreamy.
I forgot to bring my camera. The show went very late but it was very good. I would totally go see El Perro del Mar or Lykke Li again, but Anna Ternheim not so much.
Also, there were at least two people there in the packed club who had full on LUGGAGE with them, and it's like what the fuck?
You know what I forgot to do? Write up what I think of all the records I've been buying over the past few months. At least I keep up with the shows.
Stereogum Presents Enjoyed: A Tribute to Bjork's Post. As much as I love their OK Computer tribute [I skipped the Automatic for the People tribute], this does nothing for me. Most of it's entirely too no wave for my current frame of mind. The only stand out tracks are Liars' "Army of Me" for being so bland and expected, and Xiu Xiu's "Isobel", for being the best track even though it's still pretty mediocre.
I was passed this a few months ago, and it was in pretty heavy rotation then. Better than "Plans", more of a "Transatlanticism" vibe. They're playing in Boston tomorrow, but I'm not going.
Tom Waits on crack. Brilliant. I didn't think their energy would translate onto record, but it did.
Eh, certainly not bad, but not really compelling either. A nice document, I enjoyed it more after seeing his live show.
Not nearly as weak as initial reviews made it seem. Not really compelling either. Do you like music from the 1980's? The standout track is definitely "Graveyard Girl" but not in a good way - the spoken-word breakdown is absolutely cringe worthy.
I'm off to see El Perro del Mar tonight actually. The new record is just as good as her first record, so tonight's sad Swedish girl-group extravaganza should not disappoint.
I love the first two Elbow records, but haven't had the time to consciously sit and listen to their fourth in it's entirety yet. What I've heard is great - I never really bonded with their previous record "Leaders of the Free World", and I'm kind of afraid that's going to happen again. What they need to do is play a goddamned gig in Boston and beat the songs into my head live.
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip is free, and kind of worth it? I love that he rationalizes "This one's on me", which is EXACTLY how I rationalized taking In Rainbows for free - like a frequent buyer punch card. But is it good? The hyper-aggro-industrial-"March of the Pigs" first half does nothing for me, the lush-dreamy-ambient-balladry-pop-trance-"A Warm Place" second half is absolute godhead. The halves are starting to fit together - would the second half be as amazing without the assault of the first half? I think not.
I've Hype Machined the bottom half of the Lollapalooza poster, and not much at all has jumped out at me. I keep liking the Tally Hall songs, I will definitely checkout Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves [holy crap - they're local? And on tomorrow's DCFC bill? Allston rock city represent!] as long as there's no major conflicts, and I just heard Foals today and might have to search them out. Mostly, there's going to be a lot of bottom tier acts to avoid.