Anyone can toe the line, except for me 'cause I'm a disco dancer

[vovat]

Here are some thoughts on a few records (read: CDs) that I've obtained recently:

Nellie McKay, Pretty Little Head - This one didn't grab me quite as well as her first, Get Away From Me, but I still liked it quite a bit. "Cupcake" is my favorite song on there, but I also quite like "Yodel," "The Big One," "Real Life," "Food," and "Lali Est Paresseux." I don't know what the latter is about, since it's entirely in French, but I do think it's pretty. I also quite like the liner pictures, which show that Nellie can be just as diverse in appearance as in musical styles.

Pipettes, Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me (EP) - This includes two songs that aren't on the album, but are just as good as the ones that are. As you may recall, I picked up their album a few months ago and really liked it, so I guess it figures that they're apparently breaking up, huh? Actually, if the rumors are true, they've all left except for the one who wasn't a charter member, who's keeping the name with two new girls. Kind of an Argo situation, huh? They did put out one excellent album, which is more than some groups that stay together for years manage to do, but it still saddens me. I mean, they were so cute together!

Colin Meloy Sings Live! - A band that I've gotten into fairly recently that HASN'T broken up yet (at least as far as I know) is the Decemberists, but their leading man does do solo concerts occasionally, and one of them is captured on this simply-titled album. I'm not generally that big on live albums, but I always get them anyway when they're released by artists I like. In this case, I don't think the Decemberists songs Colin plays sound all that different from their album counterparts, but there's some amusing between-song banter, and he sometimes uses the endings of his own songs as segues into covers. He also plays "Dracula's Daughter," which he considers to be the worst song he's ever written. Incidentally, I had a dream last night that I was eating dinner with Colin and revme, and Colin got really drunk. I think secretnthewings was also in the dream at an earlier point. Why do I keep dreaming about LJ-friends I've never met in person?

Visqueen, King Me - This is the first album of theirs that I've heard, and there's a definite similarity between them and the Fastbacks (whose Kim Warnick was the band's bass player when they recorded this album), although I don't think their music has quite the same...I guess I'd say "sing-songy" quality that Kurt Bloch's compositions do. I don't love this album, but it's fun, and I think it has the potential to grow on me. I mean, I didn't like the Fastbacks all that much at first, either. And to end with a trivia connection, Visqueen's lead singer Rachel Flotard did backing vocals on Neko Case's most recent studio album.

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

I'm not TOO concerned about the Pipettes member-change; there've been TONS of Pipettes, and it's really Monster Bobby's project anyway. I hope the new ladies are as adorable and talented as the others, but I'm not worried. As long as they still put out records! And as long as they don't suck!

I have never met you OR Colin, so there you go! I do have a copy of The Crane Wife, though... that I got free from work. But I do like it, so there you go.

Visqueen probably will grow on you. Also, Rachel toured with Neko, too, which is pretty neat. Rachel's pretty dang talented. If we're gonna have a war between bands, though, I'm gonna have to back the Fastbacks/Kurt over Visqueen/Rachel, but I would instead vote for a world in which they can all be friends. (Which, AFAIK, is this one, so hooray!)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I'm not TOO concerned about the Pipettes member-change; there've been TONS of Pipettes, and it's really Monster Bobby's project anyway.

That's true, although I think only the lineup that just split released any recordings? I could be wrong about that. I'm disappointed in a kinda superficial way, though, since from what I've seen (which, admittedly, is basically just photographs and a few videos), I think Becki is the prettiest. She also apparently wrote a dissertation on seventies porn, which is pretty cool.

I think The Crane Wife is probably the weakest Decemberists album. Which isn't to say it isn't good, just that if you like it, you'd probably like the others even better. But that's obviously not a guarantee.

I heard that Rachel appeared at a few Neko shows early in the tour for Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, but she didn't make it to any of the ones in my area, which is a shame.

[revme.livejournal.com]

I think the original line up did some of the original singles, but I'm not sure if those were released in the US. Or perhaps I'm just misremembering totally.

Looks-wise, I'm probably pretty partial to RiotBecki, since I do like ladies in glasses. But really, they're all the prettiest girls we've ever met.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

But really, they're all the prettiest girls we've ever met.

Oh, I hadn't noticed yet! :P