Two current releases that I am really into.
1) Peter Gabriel :"Scratch My Back" is Gabriel's covers record. It has twelve tracks performed without drums or guitars, but plenty of piano and orchestra. Really lovely interpretations of older tracks/artists like Paul Simon ("Boy In The Bubble"), the Talking Heads ("Listening Wind") and Randy Newman ("I Think Its Going To Rain Today"), as well as Gabriel tackling such younger/newer tracks and artists as Bon Iver ("Flume"), Elbow ("Mirrorball") and Arcade Fire ("My Body Is A Cage").
Mood is very somber, though " The Book Of Love" (Magnetic Fields song) and "Power Of The Heart" (Lou Reed song I was unfamiliar with) provide some uplift and are both very powerful. This is not what I would call a sunny day record. The tone is very hushed throughout, the vocals at times so conversational that it seems like Pete is not having to exert himself too hard to actually sing. On the whole, it is a subtle and restrained work that I am really digging and I highly recommend it.
2) The Soft Pack: The self-titled album by this San Diego band formerly known as the Muslims is a real grab bag of influences from 60's garage rock, 70's punk and 80's alternative. I suppose one might rate them as a Strokes-ish type band, but I have to say that this debut is short and too the point with no excess filler. All the songs are catchy as hell and it is rare for me to come away from listening to an indie rock release where I can say that the whole thing was good to great.
This band has been buzzed about since late 2008. Last year I read about them in the LA Weekly as the "Pick of the Week" for their show at the Echo (in Echo Park). I went to check them out, though for such a supposedly buzzed about band they attracted maybe 50 people. It was a Wednesday, but still, out of population of 12.9 in the LA Metro area it is kind of surprising. This would hardly be the first time I experienced this in LA. If you were not the hipster band of the moment, often bands could look forward to the kind of apathy and low attendance that I have experienced so many times in Sacramento. The band was good, especially the rhythm section--really tight. Not the most dynamic performers in the world, but then again the audience was small and not too fired up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZGv8VTBVE This is a fan video for Peter Gabriel's "The Book Of Love". As soon as I heard it I thought there must be a music supervisor scrambling to get this included in a TV show. Turns out I was right: I read that it was included in the final episode of "Scrubs", not a show I have ever watched or was too keen on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgU2NhcoqWg This is video for The Soft Pack's "C'Mon".
1) Peter Gabriel :"Scratch My Back" is Gabriel's covers record. It has twelve tracks performed without drums or guitars, but plenty of piano and orchestra. Really lovely interpretations of older tracks/artists like Paul Simon ("Boy In The Bubble"), the Talking Heads ("Listening Wind") and Randy Newman ("I Think Its Going To Rain Today"), as well as Gabriel tackling such younger/newer tracks and artists as Bon Iver ("Flume"), Elbow ("Mirrorball") and Arcade Fire ("My Body Is A Cage").
Mood is very somber, though " The Book Of Love" (Magnetic Fields song) and "Power Of The Heart" (Lou Reed song I was unfamiliar with) provide some uplift and are both very powerful. This is not what I would call a sunny day record. The tone is very hushed throughout, the vocals at times so conversational that it seems like Pete is not having to exert himself too hard to actually sing. On the whole, it is a subtle and restrained work that I am really digging and I highly recommend it.
2) The Soft Pack: The self-titled album by this San Diego band formerly known as the Muslims is a real grab bag of influences from 60's garage rock, 70's punk and 80's alternative. I suppose one might rate them as a Strokes-ish type band, but I have to say that this debut is short and too the point with no excess filler. All the songs are catchy as hell and it is rare for me to come away from listening to an indie rock release where I can say that the whole thing was good to great.This band has been buzzed about since late 2008. Last year I read about them in the LA Weekly as the "Pick of the Week" for their show at the Echo (in Echo Park). I went to check them out, though for such a supposedly buzzed about band they attracted maybe 50 people. It was a Wednesday, but still, out of population of 12.9 in the LA Metro area it is kind of surprising. This would hardly be the first time I experienced this in LA. If you were not the hipster band of the moment, often bands could look forward to the kind of apathy and low attendance that I have experienced so many times in Sacramento. The band was good, especially the rhythm section--really tight. Not the most dynamic performers in the world, but then again the audience was small and not too fired up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nZGv8VTBVE This is a fan video for Peter Gabriel's "The Book Of Love". As soon as I heard it I thought there must be a music supervisor scrambling to get this included in a TV show. Turns out I was right: I read that it was included in the final episode of "Scrubs", not a show I have ever watched or was too keen on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgU2NhcoqWg This is video for The Soft Pack's "C'Mon".
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