Shuffle play Friday-Shoegazing

In what may become a semi-regular Friday posting, I’m again sharing a few of my favorite tracks of the past five days. Some of these were accessed via Last.fm, the UK-based radio community and music-based website. Some of them are on CDs I own, and the Asthmatic Kitty track comes via the label’s website.

Swervedriver-Last Train to Satansville/LTTS

I miss shoegazer bands like Swervedriver. Great tune, great title (from an album of the same name) and definitely worth searching out for the requisite “put me in the mood for partying” song prep for aprez work activities.

The first time I heard the term "shoegazer" used was 1993, in a conversation with Bowdoin student and fellow WBOR DJ, Tim Rotramulus, who was a fan of several British bands that fit the shoegazer M.O.

My Bloody Valentine-Sometimes/Loveless

Since I launched my track list with a shoegazer entry, I think I’ll stay with it. My Bloody Valentine ruled college radio in 1993, a time when music had an entirely different feel than it does now.

Back before iPods, and shuffling off to Buffalo-ing, songs mattered and MBV knew how to extend out and push the rock guitar envelope, unafraid of songs that clocked in beyond three minutes. Hit single? What’s a hit single, man?

Cryptacize-Cosmic Sing-a-long/Dig That Treasure

An Asthmatic Kitty band (Sufjan Stevens’ label). Typical of the label, quirky, but captivating. The refrain of “Every note is an unfinished song” keeps running through my head, after this listen.

Patterson Hood-Belinda Carlisle Diet/Killers and Stars

Patterson Hood leads the Drive-By Truckers by day, but after he comes home, puts the wife and kids to bed, he retires to his basement where he becomes just another singer-songwriter with earnest lyrics and songs about former pop culture icons.

Since I'm in the midst of my own weight loss adventure, the word “diet” in the title caught my attention--but I'm not dieting, I'm making a "lifestyle change."

Actually, Hood is a damn good songwriter and his two solo records are worth checking out.

Son Volt-Adrenaline and Heresy/The Search

As I’ve written before, music has always been a soundtrack supporting the good and bad of whatever’s happening at a particular time in my life. Son Volt’s Jay Farrar became a key companion for me in the mid-90s during an especially difficult time in my life. Stuck in a rut, working a job that paid the bills, but offered little else and knowing I had to find a way to change my life's orbit, Farrar’s band at the time, Uncle Tupelo, spoke to me via their Still Feel Gone LP. Farrar’s voice and accompanying songwriting captured much of the frustration, disillusionment, and daily angst I was carrying on my much younger shoulders.

Farrar’s gone on and put out some fine music with Son Volt, and also as a solo artist. I especially like this track from the band’s 2007 release—more mellow than much of my favorite Farrar material, but still packing power and a message with some wallop.

The Pernice Brothers-Somerville/Live a Little

Friday mornings are often when I grab some CD I haven’t listened to for awhile, and pop it into my carousel as I prep for my final workday of the week.

This morning, I happened to come across If You Want My Listmaker, Volume 3. I own hand-numbered copy 35 (of 40) of these semi-regular CD burns that the erstwhile blogger and suffering Mets fan sent out.

The Pernice track caught my eye for several reasons. One, Pernice is one of these under-appreciated musical talents that always leave me scratching my head saying, “why not Joe Pernice,” instead of Pearl Jam, Creed, Nickelback (feel free to add your own choice) or any other choreographed corporate rock band that absolutely sucks, but surely keeps chuckling on their regular trips to the ATM.

Somerville, isn’t the kind of town that a songwriter would pen an ode to, but then again, Joe Pernice isn’t your ordinary songwriter.

Particularly interesting that I’d pick Listo’s CD this morning with the Pernice track, because I’m heading into the closest thing to a city within a reasonable driving distance, Portland, to catch Jose Ayerve and Spouse tonight.

Spouse has connections to Pernice and Co., and in fact, Jose is driving Mr. Pernice around and manning his merch table and managing his book tour for It Feels So Good When I Stop (Riverhead Books), his first book.

For baseball fans out there, Pernice and Ayerve also wrote a song about Manny Ramarez that ran during the credits for Fever Pitch.

Happy Friday, all. Rock out and rock on!