Days of Lore

A message from above
I need more music in my life. Who doesn’t? So at the behest of J.C.—yes thee J.C.—I went over to Stereogum.com, the hippest, coolest, raddest music blog around, according to some of the true purveyors of hip, cool and rad: the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and Teen People.

Joking aside (am I joking?), Stereogum is a nice little one-stop shop for MP3s, videos, concert reviews and random trinkets of information.

I decided to go down the line of available MP3s to see what the good folks at Stereogum are listening to …

M.I.A., “Hit That"—Now there’s a song title that’s probably never been used before. Title be damned, the British siren comes at you with a distorted beat that’s been pushed ludicrously past the red, accented with a repetitive metallic squeal. And, come on, she gives a shout out to Wreckx-N-Effect throughout. I could see myself dancing to this one … sorry to paint such a horrific picture for you.

Cajun Dance Party, “The Next Untouchable"—Another export from across the pond, these UK teeny boppers are already being lumped in with bands like Arctic Monkeys and Mystery Jets by the all-knowing PitchforkMedia. A little more raw and raucous than the Monkeys, and probably a kick in the pants live. This might be my new favorite band.

Guns N’ Roses, “Chinese Democracy"—I got excited for a second when I saw this and three other new songs from the upcoming Chinese Democracy record … not because I’m looking forward to the new album, but simply because I want to finally know what an album that takes more than a decade to record actually sounds like. Unfortunately, the songs were yanked “per legal request.” That Axl is as secretive about the new music as he is about his new corn rows.

AU, “Sum"—This ditty is the work of Portland multi-instrumentalist Luke Wyland, who goes simply by AU (pronounced Ay You). It’s folky and chaotic, with a mix of strings and banjo, and a hint here and there of Wyland’s soft croon. Listen to it on headphones with the lights blaring at 4 in the morning, and you might convince yourself that you’re finally having a nervous breakdown.

The Polyphonic Spree, “Fragile Army Mashup"—At first I thought it was one epic pop song clocking in at over eight minutes. Turns out it’s the entire album mashed into one track, hence the title. Some of it borders on cheesy, cheesy—in a good way, if you know what I mean. The band even plugs the new record (The Fragile Army, out June 19) in the outro of the mix. Hint: Lots of horns and synth and big choruses and piano breaks and …

Narrator, “Son of the Son of the Kiss of Death"—The title alone grabbed me (not telling you where), so I had to give it a listen. If you like ‘90s rock in the vein of Pavement and Nirvana—you know, loose and sloppy—then Narrator will do you right. The band’s song “Surfjew” is a little more straight forward, but equally as fun.

TThat’s only a sample of what I unearthed from our good friends at Stereogum. Stay tuned next week: I am going to force myself to listen to our local FM radio stations to see if I can find a glimmer of hope in the dark recesses of modern commercial music. I’m afraid … so very afraid.