I'm feeling local today. Dig the crazy rock & roll/post-punk stylings of San Diego's very own Rocket From The Crypt. I've been lucky enough to have seen them half a dozen times or so since their formation in 1994; and they just keep getting more raucus. And that's always a good thing. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Rocket From The Crypt
Live @ The Casbah
San Diego, CA
May 2003

Rocket From The Crypt: I Am Not Invisible

Rocket From The Crypt: Get Down

Rocket From The Crypt: Carne Voodoo

Rocket From The Crypt: I Was Made For You

Rocket From The Crypt: When In Rome

Rocket From The Crypt: Venom Venom

XTC was one of the smartest — and catchiest — British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late '70s. From the tense, jerky riffs of their early singles to the lushly arranged, meticulous pop of their later albums, XTC's music has always been driven by the hook-laden songwriting of guitarist/vocalist Andy Partridge and bassist Colin Moulding. I recently came across this gem of a live outing during their promotional tour for the album Oranges & Lemons, and smack dab in the middle of Partridge's now famous battle with stage fright. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

XTC
Live @ KROQ
Los Angeles, CA
May 29, 1989

XTC: Scarecrow People

XTC: Mayor Of Simpleton

XTC: Senses Working Overtime/Grass/Love On A Farmboy's Wages

XTC: Great Fire/Dear God/Big Day

I don't talk about it that often, but I really do love the Counting Crows. Adam Duritz is a brilliant lyricist, composer, and singer. I've seen them live 4 or 5 times and every show has been nothing short of spectacular. Here's a live show circa 2000 when they were touring in support of This Desert Life. If you don't own this album, please stop reading this, get in your car, drive to your nearest non-corporate record store, grab the hipster dude/dudette behind the counter by the collar and demand that they direct you to the "C" section. Do it. Do it now. Do it doucement. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Counting Crows
Live @ The Greek Theater
Berkeley, CA.
9/22/2000

Intro

Colorblind

I Wish I Was A Girl

Mr.Jones

Speedway

Have You Seen Me Lately?

Rainking

A Murder Of One

Live Forever intro into:

A Long December

Hangingaround

I wasn't sure if it was the booze or not, but whatever the case my interest was piqued. What the hell was playing on the jukebox? And how the hell could I get my hands on it? Touch & Go is a project conceived and masterminded by David Lowe, who writes all of the material, produces, arranges, and plays drums, keyboards, and most of the bass, as well as doing some of the vocals. Most of the parts, however, are filled in by a cast of various musicians — none of them part of Touch and Go officially — contributing vocalists, brass, wind parts, guitar, and violin. Touch and Go's first album,I Find You Very Attractive, combines retro-lounge jazz, swing, and Latin-Caribbean sounds with more modern dancebeats and samples/effects. Lyrically, the songs — sometimes sung, sometimes spoken, often with extended instrumental sections — are often constructed around the sort of come-on lines used at the social get-togethers of the well-heeled and fashionable. However you look at it though, it sure makes for an interesting spin. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Touch & Go: Would You Like To Go To Bed With Me?


Another band that completely fell off The Vicar's musical radar is Leaves. I thoroughly enjoyed their debut album (even though at times it was so Coldplay-ish that I cringed). Here are two tracks off of their forthcoming sophmore release The Angela Test. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Leaves: Whatever

Leaves: As We Walk

Boy I'll tell ya. Sir Bob Geldof was right. I don't like Mondays. However I do like to share, especially with all of you. For the sake of brevity, here are 6 singles/remixes that have been bringing some aural pleasure to The Vicar's ears. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Goldfrapp: Strict Machine (Blackstrobe Mix)

Le Tigre: Deceptacon (DFA Mix)

Supergrass: Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4,5,6)

Tori Amos: Goodbye Pisces

Beck: Black Tambourine

Franz Ferdinand: Do You Want It (live)

If you've ever seen Ryan Adams live, you know that he can be one erratic motherfucker. Especially if he's half-way through a bottle of JD. Is it possible to be come a better performer through whiskey? I bet Ryan would testify in it's favor. Here are some live tracks from a show he did in May with his new band The Cardinals. Two old tracks and one new off of Cold Roses for your listening (dis)pleasure:

Ryan Adams: Sylvia Plath (live 5/3/05)

Ryan Adams: To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)(live 5/3/05)

Ryan Adams: Beautiful Sorta (live 5/3/05)

Everyone has an absolute favorite song, right? I mean I would think so. Just one song that can literally stop you from whatever you are doing because you just HAVE to listen to it. Period. Mine is Hannah & Gabi by The Lemonheads. I can't really say exactly what it is that made me fall in love with this song: was it the lyrics? Maybe. Was it the aching steel pedal guitar solo after the last chorus? Maybe. Was it the simple, haunting melody? Probably. Whatever the reason, from the day I first heard it in high school it etched itself into my heart. I used to carry the lyrics around with me in my wallet years ago. I wonder where they went. Anyway, enjoy a live solo rendition of this track plus the title song from the album it's on. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Evan Dando: Hannah & Gabi (live)

Evan Dando: It's A Shame About Ray (live)

I'm well aware how utterly sick & tired everyone is of hearing about it. The SAGA. The DRAMA. The TEARS. Hundreds of words spilled onto paper; committed to tape. Sung on stage. Again & again & again. Gwen & Tony. Tony & Gwen. The breakup that turned the members of No Doubt into multi millionaires several times over. Well, rest assured my bretheren. This post contains zero shmaltzy No Doubt tunes. What it does contain is a shmaltzy Elvis Costello song from his classic albumAlmost Blue. Covered live by Gwen Stefani. Yup. You read correctly. The reason? Simple. The entire Costello album & more specifically the title track are basically responsible for every single one of Gwen's ode's to her former lover/band mate. I remember reading an interview with her years back where she revealed that the only thing that got her through that period was listening to the entire album on repeat. Every damn day. On the stereo. So, when I came across this live rendition I had to share it with all of you. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Gwen Stefani: Almost Blue (live)


Bonus: Hollaback Girl remix by Tony Kanal:

Gwen Stefani: Hollaback Girl (Danceback remix by Tony Kanal feat. Elan Atias)

I love meeting new people. I really do. For one reason: new music. Is it bad that I pimp the new people in my life for good music? I don't think so. Anyway, met some cool folks this past weekend in Dallas that turned me onto a great new band called The Editors. Check out their bio on the newly re-formed Kitchenware Records (prior home to my favorite dream poppers Prefab Sprout). Anyway, these guys are wonderful. Hailing from various corners of the UK, The Editors settled in Birmingham in the autumn of 2003. Drawing on their love of literate bands such as early REM, Echo and the Bunnymen, Elbow and Doves, The Editors honed an identifiably English sound focused on the grand themes of love, loss and redemption. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

The Editors: Blood

The Editors: Fingers In The Factories

I don't like the radio. Stations never play what I want to hear. If Good Charlotte comes blasting through my car stereo one more time I may just quietly pull over to the side of the road and shoot myself. I feel that strongly about the quality of radio here in San Diego. It sucks. However, once in a while there are exceptions. Today proved to be one of those days. Driving back from lunch I accidentally hit the FM/AM switch instead of CD. I'm glad I did. 94.9, one of the last true independent stations in town was playing a block of The Cars. Now, if you're an obsessive pop music fan like myself, you are aware of how indebted most of today's bands are to them. Without The Cars there would be no Weezer. No Doubt? No way. There would be no Fountains Of Wayne. No Pixies. And certainly no Hole. And not just because Ric Ocasek produced albums for half of them either. While they were more commercially oriented than their New York peers, the Cars were nevertheless inspired by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop. The difference was in packaging. Where their peers were as equally inspired by art as music, the Cars were strictly a rock & roll band, and while their music occasionally sounded clipped and distant, they had enough attitude to cross over to album rock radio, which is where they made their name. Nevertheless, the Cars remained a new wave band, and to me, that's what makes them classic. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

The Cars: My Best Friends Girl

The Cars: Just What I Needed

The Cars: Let The Good Times Roll

The Cars: I'm Not The One

The Cars: Drive

The Cars: Heartbeat City

The Cars: Since You're Gone

I'm still swamped with work after having taken 5 days off, but here are some sweet Beatles covers by some of my favorite artists. My love of music stems from my parents; specifically my Dad who was a session guitar player before he got married and had me. He is a staunch Beatles fan; my mother worships The Stones. While I am a huge Stones fan, it's really Paul, George, John, & Ringo that shaped my stylistic appreciation for music. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

World Party: Penny Lane

Afghan Whigs: Rain

Matthew Sweet: She Said

Beck: A Day In The Life

Chantal Kreviazuk: In My Life

Foo Fighters: Blackbird

Gomez: Getting Better

Shit. 5 days with zero access to a computer and I forget how to blog. Mexico was, well, amazing and I'm severely depressed to be sitting here in a cube staring at my computer right now. Human beings were not made for this! :endrant:

Anyway, I'm totally behind at work and have decided to pilfer some tracks from 2 of my favorite bloggas: Silence Is A Rhythm Too & Gorilla Vs. Bear. I'll put up a proper post once I pull my shit together. For your listening/pilfering (dis)pleasure:

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (live @ Live 8)

Missy Elliott: Can't Stop

The New Pornographers: Bleeding Heart Show

Just wanted to say a quick goodbye. I won't be posting for the next 5 days or so because I'll be vacationing in Rosarito, Mexico. Rented a small house 3 blocks from the beach. I plan to have a Corona and or Negro Modelo in my hand at all times beginning at 9am everyday.

Here's the deck:


and another view from the deck:



and the beach down below:



hopefully I'll be able to do this:



but most likely will be doing this:



and a whole helluva lot of this:



Most importantly though, I will be listening to this song on repeat:

Dntel: (This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chad (Safety Scissors Spilled My Drink mix)

¡Tome el cuidado mis amigos! Beberé mucho tequila y estaré pensando en usted como yo coloco en el sol y malgasto lejos los días.

Continuing in the vein of yesterday's post, here is another album that hasn't seen much action in The Vicar's house until recently: Infected by The The. More or less a guise of Matt Johnson with a revolving door of guest musicians, The The runs the gamut from dance-pop to country, fervent soul to rock. Infected's overall tone and swagger suggest dance-pop, but don't get the impression it's made for dancing. The songs seethe instead of preen and Matt Johnson's lyrics are laced with tension. Thematically, he plunges a lance into the exposed midsection of Great Britain, analyzing the state of modern urban life in the country and there's no denying the record's acerbic lyricism or dark-toned instrumentation. Infected was the first true indication of Johnson's mercurial nature, and established the dissonance and reinvention of his later work. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

The The: Infected

The The: Out Of The Blue (Into The Fire)

The The: Angels Of Deception

The The: Slow Train To Dawn

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July weekend. I know I did. Sick. In. Bed. I managed to make it wine tasting on Sunday and to the beach for a while on the 4th, but other than that it was NyQuil and my pillow for the majority of the day. One thing about being home sick is it always gives you the opportunity to rummage around through boxes of old stuff, because really; who has the time to do this normally?! I don't. Anyway, browsing through a box of old tapes I came across an album I had completely forgot about: White On Blonde by Glasgow, Scotland's Texas. Fronted by the supremely beautiful Sharleen Spiteri whose soulful voice and the band's combination of roots, rock, and soul made this album shine for me when I first heard it. If you are a fan of The Beautiful South, Garbage, or World Party then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this album. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Texas: Black Eyed Boy

Texas: White On Blonde

Texas: Halo

Texas: Put Your Arms Around Me

Texas: Drawing Crazy Patterns

Texas: Say What You Want

Courtsey of S.I.A.R.T.:

Fountains of Wayne: Hit Me Baby, One More Time

Lastly:

Kanye West: Diamonds

My head is about to completely detach from my body (thanks DayQuil!!!) so I'm going to keep this short n' sweet. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

Travis: Love Will Come Through

The Dandy Warhols: You Were The Last High

Travis: Killer Queen (Queen cover)

Billy Corgan: Mina Loy

Squeeze: Up The Junction (Audio Bully's remix)

Badly Drawn Boy: A Peak You Reach

Fountains Of Wayne: Denise

K-Os: Crabbuckit


Have a great 4th of July weekend!!!