Cities Part 1 - Europe

Theme time again... the rule being that the theme must appear in the song title. I like how this method links a disparate variety of musical types. There are wider regional rules in effect, though... this group is all part of the Western rock/pop school. Today we have part one of a two-parter on CITIES. I´m a happy man in the green of nature breathing the clear air, but I also love the electricity of the concrete jungle. Cities have often been the subject of songs by the bands who love them, and Part 1 focuses on Europe, my current home continent. The Deal sisters are by far the best thing to ever come out of Akron, Ohio (honorable mention to Chrissie Hynde)... but that´s not the city they chose to sing about. Instead, it´s London that gets the honor. Although the Pixies get most of the plaudits, I consider the Breeders the much superior band. Of course, Kim Deal´s Pixies songs are great, but you have to sit through the Black Francis stuff to get to them... luckily here at Soundbombing we get right to the good stuff. London Song by the Breeders, from Title TK (Elektra, 2002) This one is a real offbeat gem I discovered on my favorite podcast (other than my own), Not Your Usual Bollocks (NYUB). I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast, it´s easily found on iTunes. This is a snapshot of the touring life of a band, but don´t worry, it´s no horrendous Journey-style-self-indulgent-boo-hoo-being-famous-is-tough-whine-a-thon. No, in typical Scandinavian style it´s much more low-key, and several million magnitudes better than that crap. I don´t know how a whole album of this kind of stuff would be, but as a one-off it hits the sweet spot. Oh, and they´re not actually Norwegians themselves, hailing instead from Mälmo, Sweden. A Beautiful Night in Oslo by Billie the Vision & the Dancers, from Where the Ocean Meets My Hand (Love Will Pay Bills, 2007) Pereza means "laziness" in español, but these guys don´t seem to fit the bill too well. They´ve put out three albums so far and tour constantly. Pereza are hugely popular over here, and deservedly so, as I feel that they´re about the best band the country has to offer at the moment. Pereza is composed of two guys, Leiva & Ruben, and in almost all their videos they are beating the shit out of each other some way (even with samurai swords!). Don´t know if it´s a reflection of real-life animosity or just good fun, but it doesn´t really matter since the music itself is so tasty. Madrid by Pereza, from Animales (Sony BMG, 2005) Bonus North American track: This is another one I found in an audioblog, although I can´t quite recall which one... if forced to guess I´d say it was Said the Gramaphone. I´m glad you´re all reading my audioblog, but be aware that there are many, many great ones out there that can expose you to a ton of great music you´d miss otherwise. My favorites are listed at the right of this page, but they are really only the tip of the iceberg. Not much to say about this sweet little confection of reggae/pop. Moffat is a Québécoise chanteuse and this song reminds me a lot of LDN by Lily Allen, but en francais and about Montréal! The home of the Habs is also the only city from this post that I haven´t visited myself... I´ll have to make it up there one day. Montréal by Ariane Moffat, from Le Coeur dans la Tête (EMI, 2006)

Ignore if Australian...

Anatomically Correct by Custard, from We Have the Technology (rooArt/BMG International, 1997) Pinball Lez by Custard, from We Have the Technology (rooArt/BMG International, 1997) Gomek back again with a one-band focus. If you´re from the Lucky Country, you know these guys already, but if not, then yer in for a treat. This is Custard, a Brisbane band that sadly is no more but left us with a ton of tasty treats. While certainly influenced by Pavement, they are sufficiently warped by the antipodean double-whammy of distance and too-strong-sun to result in something else entirely... Why not start with "Anatomically Correct", a song that´s already great from the title before a note is struck? And it contians the perfect segue lyric "....and his family pinball begins to reset..." which leads me to... "Pinball Lez", my favorite-ever Custard song. This is pure pop heaven, and with lyrics like ¨oh Lez come home, the cops will understand everything...¨you know there´s a lot more going on than meets the eyes. Exploration of the Custard discograpy is highly recommended... there are gems scattered everywhere. Their music serves much better than my words.

MGMTMJ

The Youth by MGMT, from Oracular Spectacular ( Red Ink/Columbia, 2008 ) The Ending of an Era by Midnight Juggernauts, from Dystopia (Siberia, 2007) Lest you think I only look backward, here's a taste of what's happening now. If you've talked to me lately it's a good chance you know how crazy I've gone over the MGMT CD. Hell, it caused us to trek out to the desert of Almeria to see them play a show a few weeks ago. Such a glorious mish-mash this disc is, with killer hooks everywhere. I'm going to dig a bit deeper than the big 3 songs (Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids) and go with The Youth, a song that starts killer and stays that way throughout. This album's such a mixed-bag but hits on all cylinders success that I have a hard time seeing how they will ever equal it. And from Brooklyn we go down under, to Melbourne's Midnight Juggernauts. Shout out to Michael Geisler for suggesting these guys to me as the "Australian MGMT". A fair characterization, especially in their ability to conjure up a catchy party vibe, like in the track showcased here. And they're a two-man band like MGMT as well. There's not as much variety in their album as the Brooklyn boys', but you could say that about 99.9% of all albums anyway. These guys are still bubbling under, so watch out for them in the future.

Riffs Across the Atlantic

Always Love by Nada Surf, from The Weight is a Gift (Barsuk, 2005) Dejame vivir by Jarabe de Palo con La Mari, from Adelantando (Warner Brothers, 2007) I'm kicking off the soundbombing with a comparison of killer pop songs built off the same riff. It's one of those simple riffs you get into right off the bat and doesn't get old after that. These aren't samples or EXACT copies, but you'll see what I mean.... The first use came in 2005, in Always Love by Nada Surf. This is a group my friend Dave Marony, who had moved away from San Diego to Colorado by the time this hit the radio, always loved... so it always reminds me of both him and SD. Always Love is a great example of the delayed satisfaction that really hooks me into the songs I like best (and is the primary reason reggae is my favorite type of music, btw), as the super-ULTRA-killer "I've been held back by something..." bridge waits a long time to come in. Once you've heard the song once, you'll be waiting for that moment. The first time I heard Dejame vivir, I expected the Nada Surf vocals to start and was shocked to hear Spanish vocals instead. But this is a different animal entirely, with nice lyrics-the title means "let me live", and it's an ode to freedom in general-and great vocal interplay between Pau Dones & La Mari. The song's by Pau's band Jarabe de Palo (literally "stick syrup", but meaning a whipping or beating) with the guest shot by La Mari, who heads Chambao, a huge band in their own right. Which song is better? You decide... but I say BOTH. Create, recycle, chop, remix... whatever the case, as long as the result sounds good the rest doesn't matter.