First off

I think I need some new music.

I'm definitely at that stage where I need to find a new band, a new obsession. It's been so long since I've found a band where I like at least half of their songs (when does that ever happen?! I'm probably being too picky). For shame! There's definitely something to be said for having only one or two songs for a hundred different artists: it makes your music collection more like an extended mix tape. But I definitely want a comfort band at the moment. A band that, when shuffle fails, you can get instant joy from. Sometimes even a band that you can just ignore! An album in the background that isn't shit to listen to past track 4 or 5, that drifts by, songs blending into one. A self-contained time-passer that you catch yourself singing along to on your trip across the living room to the kitchen, making the 12th brew in an application form marathon.

I do have a few of these albums, which I'll list now, in no particular order;

1. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

The title more or less sums up the feel of the album. You can't necessary remember the songs when it's not playing, but once you're in, you're in. Endless melodies on every track, and plenty of reverb that makes you feel like you're watching them play a gig through a peep hole in an underground bunker. The newest Vampire Weekend album is a bit like this. I really struggle, in an oddly positive way, to remember the songs on it. In a way, it keeps me listening to it!

A standard mid album track would be One by One All Day, not one I usually remember, then as soon as it's on all is good


02 One By One All Day.mp3


2. Weezer - Pinkerton

Now, this could be just me harking back to my teens and the good times associated with it, along with a hefty dose of "I prefer their earlier stuff". But that's bollocks, 'coz it's definitely the best Weezer album, and one of my favourites. Later albums have been either all over the place, but alright (Maladroit), or too smooth, generic and comprise of that whole "I'm a playaaaa" thing Rivers Cuomo has embraced (Every album since Make Believe). It's not fun, it's just shit.

The Green Album is an album where nearly every song sounds the same, but blend together fairly well. Variations on a melody. Pinkerton, on the other hand, is grimy, melodic, passionate, has the whole band shouting the choruses, and is sort of how I'd prefer Weezer to still be. But that was never gonna happen. Plus, tastes change.

Across the Sea is a glorious song, tinged with melancholy, full of weirdly personal yet memorable lyrics ("At 10 I shaved my head and tried to be a monk. I thought the older women would like me if I did") and is probably the best song on the album. But once again, It works so much better in the context of the album.


05 Across The Sea.mp3


3. Beck - Mutations



This is the sort of album I'd like Beck to get stuck into now. Recorded in about 2 weeks, it's not over-produced, and, while there are layers, it's stripped down to as near a minimum as Beck could feasibly go. It's folky, melodic, and mad at times (the intro to Diamond Bollocks in particular). Sea Change tried to replicate it, but he wasn't exactly in a joyful mood there, and he certainly sounded like he'd rather be living in a box murmuring to himself.

Now, the end tracks are definitely not as strong as the first 6 or so, but that's still pretty good going! The mood is consistent, and seeing as I don't tend to remember lyrics (I can, however, recite them phonetically, like singing in a foreign language), I can sing along happily! This may be helped by the nonsense Beck spouts, as it doesn't require me to pay attention to the overall story. If I'm missing something, Beck definitely doesn't seem to care.

Dead Melodies is a lovely song. All harpsichord and melody. It's gibberish to me, but what imagery I do pick up from the lyrics is wonderful.


07 Dead Melodies.mp3


4. Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy

In my Eels experience, I find it hard to distinguish between many of the songs, especially on such a large album as Blinking Lights and Revelations, which can put me off a bit (same chord progressions, melodies... I'm sure the stories are great! But I usually don't pick up on them because I'm backwards). However, when Mr E gets it right, there goes a summer. Daisies of the Galaxy is the album that put the Eels back on the right track after the understandably depressing Electro-Shock Blues, which is still great but didn't exactly belch sunshine with such ditties as Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor...

Daisies of the Galaxy just flows and flows. It can be fun and frivolous (I Like Birds), slightly creepy and grungy (Flyswatter, which reminds me of the time when MTV2 wasn't just countdowns and Zane Lowe, and you could select your own hour on telly...think mine only ever came on at 3am) and then heartbreakingly sad (Selective Memory). I get the impression that any song about dead mothers is instant sadness (For Martha, I'm looking at you...and then running away to cry into my Weetabix).

Wooden Nickels is a mid album song that I reckon is a good reflection of the rest of the songs. It's short, sweet, and damning. I think Mr E judging you is a fate worse than death. The album in general doesn't outstay its welcome either. Well worth it.


12 Wooden Nickels.m4a


Right, that'll do for now.