A Bouquet of Bands

Today, an assortment of music from bands with floral-related names.

There might be a flower band for every gnome in the U.K. Naming your band after a posy or shrub of some sort isn't all that limiting. Some bands opt for fairly straightforward names like The Posies and The Shrubs, which is fair enough. Many other groups manage to infuse their flowery monikers with plenty of varying shades of color and meaning.

Darkening, or toughening-up a blossom-inspired name provides a helpful signal to the consumer. That signal often amounts to: Stay away, gramps!

How likely is ol' man Connors, easy-listening-appreciating-guy, that he is, to appreciate A Thorn for Every Heart (ow!)? Or Guns N' Roses? The name Pansy Division is another that might provide something of a "stay away" signal to some people. How about Savage... Garden...? Okay, our hypothetical Mr. Connors might hypothetically like them. Savage Garden took their name from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, which compares the mind to "a savage garden". Still, their music strikes me as a bit more garden than savage, somehow.

The Mike Flower Pops chose a jaunty handle Hothouse Flowers went for a languid one.

An offbeat name is something of a risk. Belgian group Flowers for Breakfast isn't around anymore, but that isn't necessarily because "Flowers for Breakfast Not Appetizing" headlines proved too tempting for writers to resist.



Flowers By Irene, on the other hand, sounds like a terrible florist-like name at first, until you realize it's an homage to a classic Simpsons gag (from before the show began to suck, several years ago).

The bloke recording under this clever name is Sweden's Fredrik Bergström of The Good Honey Society. In the past couple days, he's put 11 MP3s on his website. I haven't heard all 11 songs, but on at least some of them, he tenderly wraps his voice around vulnerable, lovelorn lyrics that deserve to find receptive ears.

Bergström sounds quite a bit like Ben Gibbard, and appropriately enough, he covers Death Cab for Cutie's "Title Track".

Flowers By Irene - Title Track

10 more songs at the Flowers By Irene website. I'm partial to the sad, sweet "The Girl Who", and less fond of "Got Me Good".



Another band with a name that earns a double take is Dutch punk group Heideroosjes (which according to their official biography and website is pronounced "Hi-The Rose-Yes", not "Hi-Duh-Rose-Yes"). According to Wikipedia, the name means, "the meadow flowers" and was chosen from a sense of irony, so let's hope Wiki is at least approximately right, or the band just doesn't belong in this post, no matter how good they are. Wikipedia is in the "Hi-Duh-Rose-Yes" camp, so I don't know what to think.

Heideroosjes — Frank Kleuskens (guitar/vocals), Marco Roelofs (guitar/vocals), Fred Houben (bass), and Igor Hobus (drums) — has been together for over 18 years. This spring, they released Chapter Eight, the Golden State, in Europe. Japan and the States have to wait a bit longer. The album, described as "a loud mix of punk, hardcore, metal, and folk" (yes, folk! Now it sounds really loud!) was recorded in Los Angeles and includes a mixture of English-language and Dutch songs. Maybe Dutch folk music is loud, aggressive, and scary. It's not inconceivable; I did a Google search for Dutch folk art and the first results ranged from homey in a hearts-and-flowers way to skull-laden and violent.

I don't want to suggest Heideroosjes might be less angry with some nice impressionist art, but that's partly because I don't want to risk further upsetting them. (Plus there's some cheerful animation on Flowers of Disgust's website, and they're still making songs with titles like "Everything is Bullshit (Let's Make Out)".

Heideroosjes - Homesick for a Place That Does Not Exist (on Chapter 8, The Golden State)

Heideroosjes - I Don't Wanna Wake Up (on Chapter 8, The Golden State - FileGunner disliked the apostrophe in the song title, so I had to take it out before it would let me upload it. The file is still tagged correctly.)

Visit their website for a slew of videos and yet another song from Chapter 8, The Golden State.

It's a natural transition, now, over to sweet love-centric alt-poppers Language of Flowers (pictured at the top of the post). Language has released one album, 2004's Songs About You. However, the group, originally from Belfast, sounds like an opening act for Lush, who broke up about 10 years ago. In its first chapter, Language of Flowers was around at the same time as Lush, but only briefly, and until their first gig, in 1992. At the show, Heavenly's Amelia Fletcher said the band sounded like Huggy Bear. Disappointed, the group broke up.

In 2003, Marc McCourt (guitar) and Colm McCrory (bass) from Flowers of Language v. 1.0 added Tara Simpson (vocals), Bentley Cooke (drums), and Ashton Cameron (guitar) to their ranks. The new Flowers signed to Shelflife Records and released a debut record in short order. A second is in the works, and the band is currently touring.

Language of Flowers - Where You Belong (on Songs About You)

Language of Flowers - Tara Mascara (on Songs About You)



Talented alt-rockers Bound Stems [Bobby Gallivan (guitar/vocals), Dan Radzicki (bass), Dan Fleury (guitar), and Evan Sult (drums)] acknowledge that their name is "a reference to flowers" but add "or it's a word which has lost its place in the language-the ruth in ruthless, the gruntle which becomes disgruntled. A bound stem depends on its prefixes and suffixes to thrive."

Ah, so it's another of those names that's more clever than it might have appeared at first glance, this time thanks to the multiple meanings of the word stem. "The main part of a word to which affixes are added" and that flowery stalk meaning = wordplay gold.

Bound Stems - Western Biographic (on Appreciation Night)

Bound Stems - Andover (on Appreciation Night)

There are 2 more MP3s at Bound Stems' website, and another one at their label's website (unless you stop by their label's website first — in which case, there are 2 more MP3s at their label's website.



If you'll be in the approximate area of Norway on August 3rd, you can catch an acoustic set by power-pop group The Posies. They'll perform at the Down on the Farm Festival in Halden, Norway. Bryan Ferry's playing the same day. The next day, the Posies-related Big Star, Gillian Welch, and, uh, Shit City. (Now there's a name to proudly tell the friends.)

No other concert dates for The Posies on the immediate horizon, but Big Star is scheduled to play Connect Festival at Inveraray Castle on September 2nd and a concert at The Fillmore in San Francisco on October 2nd. Ken Stringfellow has a couple performances scheduled: one at Hlava XXII in Bratislava, Slovakia on August 11th and a DJ set at Le Motel in Paris on September 6th.

The Posies - Throwaway (a wonderful song, on Amazing Disgrace and Dream All Day: The Best of The Posies)



Alt pop-rockers The Rosebuds are currently touring in support of their latest album, Night of the Furies, released in March. The group's Ivan Howard (vocals/guitars) and Kelly Crisp (vocals/keyboards) are weighing a fall tour "as a bad-ass two-piece".

The Rosebuds - Blue Bird (on their second album, Birds Make Good Neighbors)

Flower songs coming up? Maybe.

The Best 100 Cover Songs Ever

What better place to get your music journalism (or any journalism) than a publication best known for its outlandish headlines?

So it's particularly exciting when the New York Post unveils a music-related list. This one's a doozy: the "best 100 cover songs of all time"!

Alas, the list isn't perfect. The first hint: only 3 of the supposedly "best cover songs of all time" appear on the soundtrack to Not Another Teen Movie. Saliva should be so pissed off.

While few are likely to agree that the two writers have truly determined the best 100 cover songs ever, the list isn't totally outlandish or a complete wasteland either. It's more varied and interesting than you might expect, given the source. The writers have included some excellent covers by great alternative artists like The Postal Service, The Pet Shop Boys, Roxy Music, and Lloyd Cole.

The list has its flaws, though, aside from the "quirky" grammar (are all Post writers commaphobic?). They seem somewhat reliant on television and movie soundtracks for their ideas, which breeds a certain lack of diversity. Also, several artists (like Cake, the Clash, Foo Fighters, and Johnny Cash) have two songs on the list. If the goal is to draft a list of the 100 best cover songs ever, maybe it's alright to mention more than one song by the same artist. However, if that's really the goal, there are an awful lot of songs that shouldn't be there at all. There is a fair amount of diversity, genre-wise, but I wish there was a bit more.

The writing is frustratingly inconsistent, perhaps because two writers are responsible for the article. Sometimes it's punchy and actually says something relevant about the song. Sometimes nothing truly relevant is included. Once they got the name of the cover artist wrong, referring to them by the name of their album. Occasionally, they take an unnecessary jab at someone, most often at the original artist, the artist covering the song, or at the reader.

Yes, the Post is decidedly not a feel-good newspaper. However, through Friday, they'll give you a few MP3s. None of them are among "the best cover songs", and you do have to endure The Post calling them "MPFREES" which I consider a hideously high cost. (The songs are AFI's "Head Like A Hole", Hit the Lights' "Hey Jealousy", Bryan Ferry "The Times They Are A Changin'", Nouvelle Vague's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and Lez Zeppelin's "The Ocean".)

For the record, any and all jabs I take at Whitney Houston in this post are necessary, which is completely different.

Gripes about music, grammar, and other things aside, lists is fun. The list and the quoted parts are from The Post; you can read the whole article at the Post's website, but beware hanging out there too long. Like any site owned by Rupert Murdoch, it's a scary, dark world best avoided as much as possible.

Top 100 Cover Songs: ("In no particular order")

1. Dolly Parton - "Stairway to Heaven" (on Halos & Horns) (Led Zeppelin)

(NY Post: "Queen of country rescues song from amateur guitar players everywhere with a soulful rendition that'll have you in tears.")

2. Jonathan Coulton - "Baby Got Back" (Sir Mix-A-Lot)

3. The Bangles - "Hazy Shade of Winter" (Simon and Garfunkel)

4. Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Prince)

5. Señor Coconut & His Orchestra - "Showroom Dummies" (Kraftwerk)

6. Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal" (Michael Jackson)

7. Johnny Cash - "Personal Jesus" (Depeche Mode)

8. The Postal Service - "Against All Odds" (Phil Collins)

(NY Post: "We can't wait for what they're going to do to 'Sussudio.'")

9. Faith No More - Easy (on Angel Dust, so to speak) (The Commodores)

(Ooh, they're doling out relationship advice in a music article: "If this song can't get you some lovin' take a hard hard look at yourself." Maybe there will be tips about nutrition or exercise later in the list. Maybe the writers are trying to show off their range.)

10. Soft Cell - "Tainted Love" (Gloria Jones)

(NY Post: "Funky grooves.")

11. Marilyn Manson - "Tainted Love" (Gloria Jones)

(NY Post: "Angry growls.")

(Trill42: "Friendly Grover.")



12. My Chemical Romance and the Used - "Under Pressure" (Queen and David Bowie)

13. Cake - "Mah Na Mah Na" (Piero Umiliani)

14. H.I.M. - "Wicked Game" (Chris Isaak)

15. Muse - "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" (the Smiths)

16. Orgy - "Blue Monday" (New Order)

(NY Post: "The only reason you even need to know who this industrial band is.")

17. Devo - "Satisfaction" (the Rolling Stones)

(NY Post: "Start-stopping their way to brilliance.")

18. Good Charlotte - "I Want Candy" (the Strangeloves)

19. Love Spit Love - "How Soon Is Now" (the Smiths)

20. Paul Anka - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana)

21. Avenged Sevenfold - "Walk" (Pantera)

22. Radiodread - "Let Down" (Radiohead)

Easy Star All-Stars - Let Down (on an album called Radiodread. Easy Star All-Stars also did a reggae cover album of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon called Dub Side Of The Moon; that was released in 2003.

(The Post doesn't know the name of the group, but they like their sound. Of this song, the paper says: "This reggae tribute to the British rockers features Maytals singer Federick "Toots" Hibbert. It may be better than the original.")

*note*: The file was originally titled "Let Down (Featuring Toots & The Maytals)" but Filegunner, as it occasionally does, was having problems processing the parentheses. So I retitled the song "Easy Star All-Stars - Let Down." The tags still have the original title.

23. Bullet for My Valentine - "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne)

24. Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan)

25. k.d. lang - Helpless (on Hymns of the 49th Parallel) (Neil Young)

(NY Post: "All that angst without the pitiful moan. Catch it at the end of Julie Christie's new film 'Away From Her' and cry yer eyes out.")

26. The Kingsmen - "Louie Louie" (Richard Berry)

27. The Doors - "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" (Weill/Brecht)

28. Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" (Oasis)

(Not sure whether they like it but for it's landing on the list; The Post writes only this: "New York troubadour's less-Beatles-y version of the Brit pop smash.")

29. Talking Heads - "Take Me to the River" (Al Green)

30. Run DMC - "Walk This Way" (Aerosmith)

31. Janis Joplin - "Me and Bobby McGee" (Kris Kristofferson)

32. Patti Smith - "Gloria" (Van Morrison's Them)

33. The Clash - "I Fought the Law" (Bobby Fuller Four)

34. The Clash - "Star-Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key)

35. Saint Etienne - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Neil Young)

36. Anthrax - "Bring Tha Noize" (Public Enemy)

37. Cat Power - "Satisfaction" (Rolling Stones)

(NY Post: "Cat Power's molasses-slow minimalist take on the Stones' power-pop anthem renders the song all but unrecognizable - more a total overhaul than a cover.")

38. Linda Ronstadt - "You're No Good" (Betty Everett)

39. Korn - "Another Brick in the Wall Parts 1 2 3" (Pink Floyd)

40. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen)

41. Sid Vicious - "My Way" (Frank Sinatra)

42. Pet Shop Boys - "Always on My Mind" (Brenda Lee)

(NY Post: "Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson may have busted the charts with the country hit but the Brit electronic pop duo broke through on the dance floor.")

43. Van Halen - "Oh Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison)

44. Travis - ". . . Baby One More Time" (Britney Spears)

(NY Post: "Scottish rockers were one of the first to recognize the beauty of some Spears tracks and it became a Napster-era hit.")

45. The Ataris - Boys of Summer (on So Long, Astoria) (Don Henley)

(I've always loved the original song, and thought this cover was great. I'd file it under punk-pop but all the Post has to say about it is this: "Emphasizes the punk rock by switching Henley's "Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" with a 'Black Flag' sticker.")

46. Roxy Music - Eight Miles High (on Flesh + Blood) (the Byrds)

(NY Post: "Golden Earring did a 19-minute version but this dreamy interpretation stole glam-wavers hearts.")

47. Sonic Youth - "Superstar" (the Carpenters)

48. Depeche Mode - John the Revelator (on Playing the Angel) (spiritual)

(The Post either intended double-entendres here or perhaps should have chosen their words more carefully: "Post-drug knob twisters turn folk's oral tradition into rocking enlightenment.")

49. John Coltrane - "My Favorite Things" (Mary Martin)

[NY Post's original grammar left intact, but I sigh to myself and wonder whether they have to pay writers extra for every comma they use. The Post: "Heaven Elvis Costello said plays this song. (Hell plays the original by Julie Andrews.)"]

50. Nada Surf - "If You Leave" (OMD)

(I love Nada Surf but find this cover dull and generic. The ostensibly-more-impressed Post writes "Originally on the 'Pretty in Pink' soundtrack the New York indie-pop band stripped down the synth-pop British hit on 'The O.C.'" If they like the song enough to put it on the list, why don't they praise it? Writing that Nada Surf "stripped down" the original doesn't mean they even enjoy it.)

51. Harry Nilsson - "Everybody's Talking" (Fred Neil)

(The Post won't say what they think of the song, just that: "Nilsson's remake of this blues- and folk-singer's song, was only a minor hit until it was featured in "'Midnight Cowboy.'")

52. Aretha Franklin - "Respect" (Otis Redding)

53. Pearl Jam - "Crazy Mary" (Victoria Williams)

54. Green Day - "Working Class Hero" (John Lennon)

55. Scissor Sisters - "Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd)

56. The White Stripes - "Jolene" (Dolly Parton)

(I think I've liked every version of "Jolene" I've heard. The Post on The White Stripes' version: "The red-and-white-striped duo bring their signature garage blues to the country classic making it sound more desperate than ever.")

57. Foo Fighters - "Darling Nikki" (Prince)

58. The Ramones - "Spider-Man" (for 1967 TV cartoon series)

59. Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton)

(That horror?! I don't care if the Post claims it has some redeeming qualities, it's painful. Parton couldn't have foreseen what Houston would do to her song, so I don't blame her. She must love the royalties, but they're just about the only good that has come out of that sonic mess, save any possible coma survivors that might have woken up when their loved ones played the song, whether it's because they love it or because they somehow mustered the strength to "wake up" to demand their loved ones stop playing the damn thing.)

60. William Shatner - "It Was A Very Good Year" (Frank Sinatra)

61. Luna - "Sweet Child O' Mine" (Guns N' Roses)

62. Dixie Chicks - "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)

63. R.E.M - "King of the Road" (Roger Miller)

64. Radiohead - "Nobody Does It Better" (Carly Simon)

65. Elvis Costello and the Attractions - "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding" (Nick Lowe)

66. The Pretenders - "Stop Your Sobbing" (the Kinks)

67. The Band - "I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan)

68. Lloyd Cole - "Chelsea Hotel" (Leonard Cohen)

(NY Post: "Every bit as urbane and wry as the original except that Cole can actually sing.")

*Horrified silence*

69. Ike and Tina Turner - "Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

70. Mark Ronson with Alex Greenwald - "Just" (Radiohead)

71. Josie Cotton - "Jimmy Loves MaryAnn" (Looking Glass)

72. Elton John - "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" (The Beatles)

73. Bananarama - "Venus" (on The Very Best of Bananarama) (Shocking Blue)

(NY Post: "This bouncy little number stomps all over the cheesy original.")

74. Smashing Pumpkins - "Jackie Blue" (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)

75. Nazareth - "Love Hurts" (the Everly Brothers)

76. Manfred Mann's Earth Band - "Blinded by the Light" (Bruce Springsteen)

77. Foo Fighters - "Baker Street" (Gerry Rafferty)

78. Cheap Trick - "Ain't That a Shame" (Fats Domino)

79. Isaac Hayes - "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Glen Campbell)

80. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence (on The Best of Siouxsie & the Banshees) (The Beatles)

[NY Post: "The '80s Goth queen Siouxsie Sioux takes on The Beatles' 'White Album' track allegedly an ode to Mia Farrow's depressive sister Prudence (who might have made a good Goth herself)].

81. The Beatles - "Twist and Shout" (The Isley Brothers)

82. U2 - "Helter Skelter" (The Beatles)

83. A Perfect Circle - "Imagine" (John Lennon)

84. Thrice - "Eleanor Rigby" (The Beatles)

85. Guns N' Roses - "Live and Let Die" (Wings)

86. Joe Cocker - "With a Little Help From My Friends" (The Beatles)

87. Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails)

88. Lacuna Coil - "Enjoy the Silence" (Depeche Mode)

89. Cake - "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor)

(NY Post: "Cake never meant this as a joke but alt-hipster fans loved the irony and the song.")

90. Rachid Taha - "Rock el Casbah" (the Clash)

91. Peaches - "Sex (I'm A)" (Berlin)

92. Mos Def - "Caldonia" (Cab Calloway)

93. Camper Van Beethoven - "Wasted" (Black Flag)

94. Drunken Boat - "Low Rider" (War)

95. The Byrds - "Turn Turn Turn" (Pete Seeger)

96. Willie Nelson & Sinead O'Connor - "Don't Give Up" (Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush)

97. The Fever - "Glamorous Life" (Sheila E.)

98. Rodrigo y Gabriela - "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin)

99. Ted Leo - "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson)

100. Bill Murray - "Star Wars" theme (John Williams)

The Albums & Singles of the Summer of Love

USA Today's music critics have tackled the music of 30 years ago to decide which 20 albums "defined" the era. They've also drafted a list of the singles of the year and explored some of the era's musical "oddities", such as Bill Cosby's spoken word novelty hit "Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright)", in which he uses "hip lingo", and Peggy Lee's "tepid" album of "mellow, thinly arranged standards", Somethin' Groovy!.

Bill Cosby - Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright) (with parenthetical "Uptight-Everything's Alright" melody courtesy of Stevie Wonder's 1965 hit song of the same name"; on Hard To Find 45s On CD, Vol. 5: Pop Classics)

Peggy Lee - Hey, Look Me Over! (...and decide for yourself how tepid it is! On Extra Special!/Somethin' Groovy!)

There's also a poll asking readers which 1967 summer song is their favorite, out of 10 choices. Those 10 summer songs are (in no particular order):

1. The Fifth Dimension - "Up, Up and Away"
2. Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
3. The Doors - "Light My Fire"
4. Jackie Wilson - "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"
5. Scott McKenzie - "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" (on the soundtrack to Forrest Gump)
6. The Beatles - "All You Need is Love"
7. Jefferson Airplane - "Somebody to Love"
8. Stevie Wonder - "I Was Made to Love Her"
9. Bobbie Gentry - "Ode to Billie Joe"
10. Young Rascals - "Groovin'"

The 20 Albums of the Summer of '67:

Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced

Bee Gees - 1st

The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons

Love - Da Capo

The Doors - The Doors

Country Joe & The Fish - Electric Music for the Mind and Body

The Grateful Dead - The Grateful Dead

The Young Rascals - Groovin'

The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)

Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (USA Today: "An indisputable soul treasure")

Stevie Wonder - I Was Made to Love Her (USA Today: "This kind of filler-packed collection was built for the iTunes shopper.")

Donovan - Mellow Yellow

Moby Grape - Moby Grape [The paper praises the album for its "concise, harmony-heavy rockers (Omaha, Hey Grandma) and brooding, lovelorn ballads (Sitting by the Window, 8:05)", which at the time "seemed out of step with the prevailing freeform jam and psychedelic sounds" but now give it "a timeless appeal".]

Moby Grape - Omaha

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - United

The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico (USA Today calls it "the album that launched a thousand bands, and is now fully ingrained in rock's subconscious.")

The Temptations - With a Lot O' Soul

The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday

Check out the article for the critics' take on all the albums, including how they were perceived in 1967 and a current perspective.

The paper's list of the singles of '67 includes pop, rock, soul, funk, and the sweetiest, chewiest, of bubblegum. Some of the songs easily stand the test of time; music critic Ken Barnes thinks others were pretty iffy even for their time (every era probably has its iffy songs; how could it not?)

"Strangely traditional (except for the jet sounds)", according to Barnes, The Box Tops' "The Letter", is also deemed "arguably the year's biggest hit."

Wilson Pickett's "Funky Broadway" gets a bit more praise: "Forget Haight-Ashbury; the Wicked One knew where the enduring action was."

"As close to a definitive ode to a flower child as you could ask for", the Association's "Windy" may come out smelling like a rose, but it's Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) that's credited with having "launched a thousand trips to the titular city, looking for love in all the wrong places." Bonus points to McKenzie for landing in the readers summer songs poll.

The Singles of '67: (see the article for the complete descriptions/reviews)

Van Morrison - "Brown Eyed Girl"
The Hollies - "Carrie-Anne"
James Brown - "Cold Sweat"
Soul Survivors - "Expressway to Your Heart"
Wilson Pickett - Funky Broadway (on the Very Best of Wilson Pickett)
The Beach Boys - "Heroes and Villains"
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - "Jackson"
the Box Tops - "The Letter"
the Music Explosion - "Little Bit o' Soul"
Tommy James & The Shondells - "Mirage"
Bobbie Gentry - "Ode to Billie Joe"
The Monkees - "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
The Supremes - "Reflections"
The Animals - "San Franciscan Nights"
Scott McKenzie - "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"
The Turtles - "She'd Rather Be With Me"
The Tremeloes - "Silence Is Golden"
Janis Ian - "Society's Child"
Spanky & Our Gang - "Sunday Will Never Be the Same"
Lulu - "To Sir With Love"
The Mamas & The Papas - "Twelve Thirty"
The Fifth Dimension - "Up, Up and Away"
Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
The Association - "Windy" (on Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits - 1967)
Jackie Wilson - "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"

Mercury Shortlist Announced, Oddsmakers & Others React

The Mercury Music Prize Shortlist was announced today. A dozen albums are up for the Prize, which seeks to honor the best British or Irish album of the year whilst offering the artist responsible a £20,000 bribe to keep making more like the one they just made. The winner will be announced and given their dough on September 4th.

Making the cut: Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare), Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford (Basquiat Strings), Bat For Lashes (Fur and Gold), Dizzee Rascal (Maths and English), Klaxons (Myths Of The Near Future) Maps (We Can Create), New Young Pony Club (Fantastic Playroom), Fionn Regan (The End of History), Jamie T (Panic Prevention), The View (Hats Off to the Buskers), Amy Winehouse (Back To Black), and The Young Knives (Voices of Animals and Men).

At least a couple Brits think The Good, The Bad And The Queen was snubbed. I found their album unlistenable.

All the nominees will get a nice big sales surge this summer, and some great, albeit temporary publicity. In the long run, is it better to be nominated than to win? Is winning a Mercury Prize a career curse akin to taking home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar? A where are they now report following up on Mercury winners Gomez (1998), Portishead (1997), Roni Size Reprazent (1997), M People (1994), and Suede (1993) doesn't scream "YES, THERE'S A CURSE!" but it might whisper "maybe." Therefore, I'm just being helpful by not wanting to predict a possible curse on anyone when I say I'm not predicting a winner. (The picture at the top of the post is just a picture, not a prediction.)

The 2007 Mercury Nominees:

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (current odds: 6/1, down from 4/1, see explanation below)



Last year's surprise winners are even less likely as repeat winners. Like the other nominees, they'll spend much of their summer making many festival appearances. For the automatically-high-profile Mercury Prize nominees, festival sets can generate even more sales and (hopefully positive) buzz.

Bookmakers William Hill were reportedly "shocked" by Arctic Monkeys' nomination and reacted by making them the joint 4/1 favorites to win, along with Amy Winehouse, who was nominated in 2004 for her debut album Frank, but lost to Franz Ferdinand.

According to William Hill's spokesperson Rupert Adams, "After last year's losses we are hoping for the judges to choose a rank outsider, which has been known to happen in the past, but there are obvious favourites in the Arctic Monkeys and Amy Winehouse." However, William Hall's odds have already changed, and might be changing quickly. It seems like too many albums have long odds, and people haven't yet sorted out which, or how many, really "should" be longshots. I'll give William Hill's odds-at-the-moment for each album; I think they're fun even though I don't put much stock in their accuracy. Still, the current fave is Amy Winehouse, and it isn't difficult to see her winning.

Dizzee Rascal - Maths And English (11/1)



2003 Mercury Prize winner Dizzee Rascal plans on touring the UK in October, but that doesn't mean he's skipping the summer festivals. Among those on his itinerary: Gurtenfestival, Tales of The Jackalope, Pukkelpop, Lowlands, Rock En Seine, and Cardiff Calling.

If Rascal doesn't win the Prize, he hopes Arctic Monkeys take it.

"We worked together and did Glastonbury together and they’re a great bunch of lads," he says. "It's nice to be nominated with those boys."

The View - Hats Off To The Buskers (11/1)



The View put in their share of Festival appearances this summer at Paleo Haldern Pop, Summersonic Festival in both Tokyo and Osaka, Frequency Festival, Pukkelpop, Lowlands, and Reading and Leeds.

According to The View's guitarist Peter Reilly, "Some awards are about what you look like but this is just about the music." He adds, "We really want to win."

Reilly says he'd celebrate a Mercury win with "a game of golf with my dad or go round my mum's for tea."

Maps - We Can Create (13/1)



Maps is often referred to as "a.k.a. James Chapman". It's his brainchild, essentially, and more irresistibably, he records its electronic, somewhat lovelorn music in his bedroom. For performances, four blokes join Maps' line-up. The debut, Mercury-nominated album was released in May, preceded in April by the single "It Will Find You". A second single "You Don't Know Her Name" will be released in the UK on July 30th.

The group play a sold-out show for 150 people at the Church of The Holy Sepulchre in Northampton on July 25th. The next night, there's a show in London at Club Fandango at the Borderline (£8/£7 with flyer, 7:00PM until 11:00PM). Next month, there's Summer Sundae, Reading and Leeds.

Maps - Lost My Soul A stirring, danceable, lovely concoction... like electrified cotton candy.

Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold (11/1)



The group is now touring the U.S. They next play Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ on July 23rd, before heading to NY, Chicago, and Minneapolis. Then they'll head to the West Coast for a set each in San Francisco and L.A. August and September bring the near-obligatory Festival sets. Bat For Lashes will play at least a few − Field Day, Rock en Seine, Connect Festival, Electric Picnic, and Bestival.

The cute video for Bat For Lashes' excellent retro confessional single "What's a Girl to Do?":



Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (9/1)



Klaxons appear to be touring, but their website is hard-on-the-eyes so I'm not digging deeper than that.

Jamie T - Panic Prevention (7/1)



Jamie T is set to play a slew of upcoming festivals, including Haldern Pop, Pukkelpop, Lowlands, Reading and Leeds, Osheaga Festival, and the V Festival.

The Young Knives - Voices Of Animals And Men (13/1)



The band will put in several festival appearances over the next few months, including at Redhill Park on July 21st, Electric Gardens, Reading, and the Victoria Park Underage Show.

The band's good video for their good song "Weekends & Bleakdays (Hot Summer)":



Fionn Regan - The End Of History (13/1)



After signing with Lost Highway Records, Regan will embark on a North American tour, beginning in Boston on July 20th. He'll also be playing at least a couple festivals in Europe later this year, namely Isle Of Wight (September 8) and Vicar Street (November 3).

Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford - Basquiat Strings (13/1)



This classical/"modern jazz" collective currently has two shows planned, both in September. On the 7th, they're scheduled to play at the Broomfield Arts Hotel, and at the National Portrait Gallery in London on the 14th.

Basquiat Strings With Seb Rochford - Lonely Woman The collective refers to this tune as "a mashed up version of Ornette [Coleman]'s master piece" and note that the "violins/viola have a more set role while the cello and bass are free to wander."

Basquiat Strings With Seb Rochford - Double-Dares

Here, a brief listen and you'll know that "the intro and theme are underplayed with a 7/4 Macedonian tapan rhythm". But would you ever guess that the "intro is a prepared group improv"? Enjoy the cello, violin, viola, and drum improvising away with their prepared song as you try to wrap your head around the phrase "prepared group improv." Aaaaaah. It wouldn't be that refreshing if it wasn't so spontaneously planned. (I know there are prepared improvs; it's still a humorous turn of phrase.)

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (3.5/1)



The current bookmakers' favorite is currently scheduled to appear at V Festival and Barrowlands and has many other festival and concert dates planned this summer and fall.

New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom (13/1)



New Young Pony Club aim to "to get everyone dancing." Their songs can be quite fun, but sometimes ("Hiding on the Staircase") annoying. They'll try to get everyone dancing and hopefully skip the Staircase song at many festivals in Europe this summer and fall, including Ibiza Rocks (where they'll play with Mark Ronson), Global Gathering, The Big Chill, Electric Gardens, Oya Festival, Pukkelpop, Reading, The Zoo, and The Gov.

Josh Rouse: Country Mouse's City House Songs Released at a Village Pace

Josh Rouse hasn't settled on one genre − he's not quite alt-country, folk, rock, alternative, pop, blues, or any of the other genres he flirts with − and he hasn't settled on one release date for his latest album, Country Mouse, City House. Instead, until the end of the month, the album's availability will vary by location and format.

It's already available (as of July 2nd) in Spain and Scandinavia. The "street date" in the United States and Canada is July 31st. But if you're an American or Canadian who buys vinyl, you can get it a week early. Perhaps, one might think, that's just Rouse's way of giving his seal of approval to the sound offered by those big old-fashioned records. O but hai, it's available everywhere digitally as of today, the international release date everywhere but the aforementioned countries. Dizzying, isn't it?

Awarestore makes things a bit more complex, but potentially rewarding by giving those who pre-order either the Country Mouse LP or CD a 9-track bonus CD with all demo versions. The bonus disc includes a pair of songs from Country Mouse, "Hollywood Bass Player" and "London Bridge" (both are strong, at least in their final versions). Rouse's last solo album, 2006's Subtitulo, is also represented, with demo versions of "It Looks Like Love" and "Wonderful". B-sides and 4 unreleased songs are also on the CD.

The final version of the "Hollywood Bass Player" can be heard on one of those handy "postcard"s, along with two other tracks. "Hollywood Bass Player" and "Nice To Fit In" are fun, upbeat, mid-tempo songs. "Sweetie" is an earnest, sad little love song. I like them all; the "fun" songs are the most immediately accessible. "Nice To Fit In" sounds like a cut from a Paul Westerberg CD.

Rouse is also previewing a Country Mouse, City House track every Monday in July through the 31st on his website. Up now: the crisp and elegant "Snowy", which I like very much indeed. If you think you only like Rouse in his rousing mode, give this one a chance to charm you.

Rouse played a sold-out concert in London tonight at Madam Jo Jo's, and has already announced the dates for a European tour, beginning in November. U.S. tour dates will be announced soon to join the few already revealed.

Josh Rouse's Upcoming Concerts:

July 30 - Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel - if still available, tickets can be purchased from ticketweb.com or in person from the venue.

July 31 - Bennett Studios, NJ - Performance and interview at WFUV. Tickets will be given away, most likely to their members, but that's a guess. (8:00 PM - 9:00 PM)

Confirmation from Josh Rouse's on-the-ball peeps: only those who are part of WFUV's "Marquee Membership" will be eligible for the ticket giveaway. There's very limited space in the studio. (And tickets are a perk for the generous folks who support public radio.) Info on signing up for the Marquee Membership is online. For those who miss out on the invites but are in the NYC area, Rouse's show and interview will be broadcast in the NYC area on 90.7 FM. It will also be online, for everyone.

August 1 - Soho, NY - The Apple Store (103 Prince Street) - 6:00 PM (in-store show)

August 31 - Cincinnati, OH - Coney Island (with Over The Rhine)

November 21 - Murcia, Spain - Theatre

November 22 - Madrid, Spain - Sol

November 23 - Valencia, Spain - Greenspace

November 24 - Barcelona, Spain - Bikini

November 26 - Lisbon, Portugal - Aula Magna

November 27 - Braga, Portugal - Theatro Circo

November 29 - Sheffield, UK - The Plug

November 30 - Manchester, UK - Academy 2

December 1 - Glasgow, UK - QMU

December 3 - Gateshead, UK - The Sage 2

December 4 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms

December 5 - Bristol, UK - Academy

December 7 - Oxford, UK - Academy

December 8 - Brighton, UK - Concorde 2

December 9 - London, UK - Sheperds Bush Empire

Josh Rouse - Directions (on Home)

Oliver North Boy Choir - "Enola Gay"

Here's a treat for when you're ready to take a break from scouring the Interweb for YouTube videos and MP3s of the new REM songs. It's a beautifully synth-heavy cover of OMD's new wave classic, "Enola Gay" (named for the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II), courtesy of Oliver North Boy Choir. The band recorded it 6 years ago, back when they were known as Pierre. Oui, it was a major name change... and from a name associated with France to one associated with the United States, when the band is from neither country. ONBC is confusing, but they're good musicians (or maybe the two go naturally hand-in-hand).

Pierre (Oliver North Boy Choir) - Enola Gay

Exit: pursued by a bear... Don't Run, Listen

Cork-based Exit: pursued by a bear claims their roots lie in "a series of uncomfortable silences and lulls in conversation". Inspired by assorted "handsome radicals", the band began making music 4 years ago. Their smooth, stylish songs often delve into religious and philisophical issues, and with a raw intensity, intelligence, and beauty likely to spark more than a few conversations.

In "Bright Stars", a doctor (with help from Tadhg Hickey's honey-dipped vocals) muses on his patients, who are very ill. One man has two swollen heads, and two "faces that seem as ugly as each other." The description seems rather harsh. Then we're told: "Darkness floats their souls...The ugliest most beautiful"... Plus, there's a twist ending [spoiler alert]: "I see them burning brighter than.../you burn for me..." Don't be put off by the man with two ugly faces and swollen heads, "Bright Stars" is a beautiful, clever song, and not at all overblown.

Although the band explores spiritual and philosophical issues in many of their songs, they do have a lighter side, which makes sense. They take their name from a stage direction in The Winter's Tale, wherein a clown arrives shortly after said bear's pursuit.

The band consists of: Tadhg Hickey (vocals), Phil Lambert (drums), Brian Lane (bass, guitar, programming), Paul O'Driscoll (guitar, keyboard, programming, vocals), and Eoin O'Sullivan (guitar, programming, vocals).

However, as they are not stuffy intellectuals, the bandmates also go by "bear" nicknames, like "Stern Bear" and "Baby [cynical] Bear" (Lane and O'Sullivan). They're like the Spice Girls' nicknames, except they don't stick with just one nickname each. They keep changing them.

The collective bears' first digital single, the bouncy "The Wine She Drinks", recently made it to #2 on the Irish iTunes electronic music chart and #3 on their download chart.

The single is available at many digital music stores, as is their Procession EP, which can also be found in some Irish record stores (and hopefully will soon have more widespread availability.) Lots of free MP3s are also available at the band's website.

Exit: pursued by a bear is playing a small number of shows this summer, but is mostly concentrating on recording more songs.

Exit: pursued by a bear's Upcoming Shows:

August 5 - Mitchelstown, Cork, Ireland - Indie-pendence Music Festival (3:00 PM)

All gigs at Indie-pendence are free. Other artists in the line-up include Delorentos, DJ/singer Miss Motif, Noise Control (who offer several free MP3s on their website), and two bands who were shortlisted for last year's Choice Music Prize: Director (for We Thrive on Big Cities) and Republic of Loose (for Aaagh!).

Aug 11 - Carlow, Poland - Underground Bar (8:00 PM)

Exit: pursued by a bear - Bright Stars (on the Procession EP)

Exit: pursued by a bear - Gentle Lies (on the Run for the Forest EP)