The Sad Bear

March 24, 2010

#011

A weekly sampler of what we're listening to (new and old), and what we think you might like, too.

{LISTEN TO THEM ALL}


DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS -- "Get Downtown"
I was unsure just what song I was going to use until I received all the submissions and it sealed it. This Drive-By song marriages the Springsteen "down and out" lyrical mentality with the Hold Steady's character sketches that may or may not be autobiographical. Throw in that Stones-ey Southern blues-rock groove and lyrics that put a face on the recession ("Get downtown, see what you can find/ Put your face in someone's that ain't mine/ Looks like the unemployment blues are wearing out your house shoes")— we've got a winner.


HANDSOME FURS -- "Radio's Hot Sun"
I specifically like this version of "Radio's Hot Sun."


MUMFORD & SONS -- "The Cave"
I listened to this teaser to their just-released first album a few months ago and forgot about them. But I flipped on the radio this week and heard their voices sing a different song. I had to sit for a moment, parked, to place them.

I'd like to listen to the rest of their album. Not sure how different they are from the Avett Brothers...but I liked them well enough this week.


BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- "Cadillac Ranch"
This one's for Glenn Beck, who was aghast to discover on closer examination of the lyrics that "Born in the U.S.A." isn't the jingoistic anthem he thought it was. I also have to admit that in the few times I'd listened to The River, I rarely paid close attention to the words—the lyricism is more opaque than that of Greetings from Asbury Park or Born to Run. Here, crowd favorites like "Hungry Heart" and "Cadillac Ranch" betray the heartland jam veneer. The latter evokes the image of a hearse, a metaphor made even more concrete by Daniel Johnston, who wrote "Funeral Home" after hearing "Cadillac Ranch" in 1985. But in any event, I don't think the realization makes the song any less fun to drive to.


BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- "Hungry Heart"
No BS here, just rock n' roll.


MARC RIBOT AND SPIRITUAL UNITY -- "Truth is Marching In"
I like Marc Ribot. He's a cool cat. It's sort of like fucked up avant-garde Cuban jazz rock.


THE VIOLENT FEMMES -- "Country Death Song" and "It's Gonna Rain"
I've been listening to Violent Femmes's album Hallowed Ground a lot recently. Maggie has been in town; we listened to this album three or four times on the way to the nearby gorge, which we hiked through one afternoon. I don't know if there's a weak song on the album, and these are two of my favorites.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR:Seth Hendrickson
Seth is a drummer who hails from Grand Blanc, Michigan. He is Chief Funk Evangelist at Hillsdale, where he is earning a music degree. He posts on Tumblr.
-Econ

THE HOLD STEADY -- "Chips Ahoy"
On the first sunny day this year I put on Separation Sunday, and I knew it was getting to be the time of year when all I want to do is grill, drink, and listen to The Hold Steady. They're a really great mix of meaty, Led Zeppelin guitar and the playfulness of Elvis Costello, making for fun summertime music.

Labels: mid-week mixes, music

by JHitts at 12:00 AM |