NEW ORDER- BROTHERHOOD

Yes, everyone likes Joy Division and most music-obsessed people will tell you that New Order is nowhere near as good as Joy Division... those people also voted for Bush in his second term. Seriously.

This album is where New Order finally gelled as a BAND while simultaneously discovering that they had GUITARS! Obviously synths still colour every song on this album but for the first time there is a discernible guitar or bass-hook on every track. Not to mention that it has several gems that seem to fall out of "classic" status come compilation time. If you've never dug the band or synth-pop but want to give it a serious shot, this is as good a starting place as any.

Unfortunately, this seems to have been taken down from any reputable file-sharer so all I can give you is this track:

DM3-Dig It the Most

Criminally under-appreciated Australian power pop. At least I think they're underrated. Every Australian I've ever asked about them doesn't seem to remember any of their music. I could be wrong though, they were all under 25. and I've only ever spoken to three Australians.

Regardless, enjoy!

DOWNLOAD





PS: Apparently a band from Bellingham called So Adult covered "1x2x Devastated". That band rules. 90's style indie (college rock?) featuring members of Shook Ones.  Here's one of their music videos

MAC DEMARCO- ROCK AND ROLL NIGHT CLUB

For those that don't know, Mac Demarco is the soul behind former lo-fi pop outfit Makeout Videotape, but now he's man enough to brandish his birth name like a true singer/songwriter. Makeout Videotape put out a lot of material and pretty much all of it was great but it wasn't quite this. On here we finally get that mid-fi, bitter-sweet beauty that we always long for when listening to post GBV pop music. Mac is not rich so I didn't bother looking for a way to download this but you can sample it at his bandcamp HERE and order a tape on Green Burrito Records HERE. I think the vinyl is coming out soon on Captured Tracks!

TEENAGE COOL KIDS- QUEER SALUTATIONS

Poppy, catchy, raw, clever, bittersweet... just a few adjectives to describe this record. This band is hard to classify exactly because they combine a lot of influences that aren't incredibly distinct from one another when combined in the way this band is capable of. Superchunk, Guided by Voices, late 70's power-pop... Those are what I hear anyway... maybe some garage rock too but I hate that shit so I pretend it's not there. The whole thing easily sounds like it could have come out of North Carolina in 1994 but instead it's Denton, Texas in 2007. Oh and obviously it has cool guitar parts. Why else would I listen to it?

HERE

THE WEDDING PRESENT- GEORGE BEST

A definite love 'em or hate 'em band. I've never really understood the amount of hatred/indifference towards this band since their biggest fan was none other than legendary taste-maker and all around A+ music fan John Peel. Lover of snob-boner bands such as The Fall, Pavement, Joy Division, etc. I mean, come on! it's just indie pop. Blindingly fast, pounding drums, constantly strummed guitars and Dave Gedge singing as best as his awful voice will allow!

On paper that sure doesn't sound all that compelling... but it is! It ends up sounding like some weird collision of C-86 and what would become pop-punk... Doesn't seem to matter to anyone though. This band will always be 'boring' or 'overrated' and I guess I'm OK with that. Maybe they're too British? Maybe the songs sound are all the same, but not like The Ramones so it's not cool? I guess I just think this band is a lot more deserving of the status bestowed upon some of the more overrated bands of this era (looking at you Jesus and Mary Chain). This has been a shitty post

HERE

BOSTON

It's saturday night.

HERE

CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE- ANSWERING MACHINE MUSIC

This one is for my fellow wimps. If you like lo-fi pop songs that are sad as fuck then this is the shit. The one deterrent for a lot of people is this: the whole album is one shitty keyboard and one man who can barely sing. Why is it worthwhile? The caliber of songwriting here is incredible. The stories in these songs are so relatable and heartbreaking for anyone who's ever pined for someone who doesn't notice you, been dumped because you were an idiot or just felt like no matter what, you were going to die alone. Imagine GBV played by one guy in his room on a casio SK-1! Yeah, I know, "weak!" right? fuck off, I gots feelings and unfortunately Void doesn't really relate to all of them...

HERE

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN- THE RIVER

I feel like this is not commonly mentioned alongside Born in The USA, Born to Run, Nebraska, Darkness, etc... A shame really, because this double LP boasts everything fantastic about the Boss and if you want an intro that strays from his more recognizable songs, which can sometimes cloud an attempt to discover an artist, this is perfect. Rockers, pop songs, ballads, story telling... this is classic Bruce and from 1980 so you know he was basically on top of his game when this was cut.

Now, I understand there may be a certain stigma among people who have yet to understand the Boss' appeal. Contributing factors could be;

-too much cheese (cheese is subjective but fair enough)

-very commercial (yes, this shit is catchy as hell)

-boomers worship this guy (two of the most vapid, consumer-zombie fifty-somethings I've ever met loved the Boss as well)

-hipsters, particularly the cutesy, beck-listening, marcel-dzama-loving, catcher-in-the-rye-reading variety, loooove the Boss (because they fetishize artistic authenticity and when it comes to discussion of Springsteen, that seems to be the subject of choice)

thus, the question is surely asked by the dude in the Cult Ritual shirt, with stick and pokes, skinny jeans, a septum piercing and an extensive knowledge of Death In June "Why the fuck do I want to listen to some cheesy ass, MOR bullshit, boomer, ironic-hipster loved dickhead who sings about cars, girls and small towns?"

Because this dickhead understands your emotions better than you ever will.

p.s. He wrote a song for the Ramones! Unfortunately, his label wouldn't let him give it to them because it was too good but hey, now you can't say Springsteen didn't get punk(s)

HERE

SUGAR- COPPER BLUE

I'm officially on a Bob Mould kick, so here is some more from the master. Sugar formed a few years after Husker Du broke up, likely because Bob still wanted the band experience and had some amazing songs kicking around that didn't suit his 12-string acoustic. So, we get Copper Blue. This is so 90's, so poppy, so glossy and fuck me, so perfect. I love this album like few others. Awesome guitar playing and the drums are recorded to really punch through it all. To some this will definitely sound like just another 90's record but if you're into later Husker Du, this is just a more focused set of songs that sees Bob freed from the idea of writing songs that fit that band's mold and trying out some bigger hooks. Pop bliss

HERE

HUSKER DU- WAREHOUSE: SONGS AND STORIES

This record is a bullshit detector of sorts. Ask a fan what the best Du albums are in order. If they immediately dismiss this and Candy Apple Grey as the weakest material and place Zen Arcade anywhere higher than EVERYTHING that came after it, they are not Husker Du fans, they are elitist hardcore nerds who only listen to Husker Du because history tells them to. Obviously Zen Arcade boasts some of the band's best songs. Too bad they are wedged among too many tracks of amphetamine-fueled (literally) hardcore that doesn't even read at the same level as Die Kreuzen, Negative Approach, Minor Threat... etc.

In my opinion, Husker Du are a pop band. They played hardcore because it was initially inspiring but these boys always flirted with melody and when they did, it yielded their most compelling results. Go figure that by the time of their 1985 one-two New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig (HERE) there were almost no remaining traces of hardcore. Why then does this band hold so much weight in the mythos of American Hardcore? Well, they were on SST, their brand of hardcore was thee fastest you could get for '81... and really, most of the hardcore acts they played alongside, who were largely responsible for championing the boys, were fans of all music, not just the hardcore exploding across the country. No one of any musical worth likely criticized the band for writing pop songs, probably because those songs were so fucking good. Besides, if you watch live footage from the mid 80's, Husker Du were clearly a force to be reckoned with even when playing a mid-tempo ballad like 'Dianne' or a straight pop tune like 'Terms of Psychic Warfare'

All that aside, this is their final album and it sounds it. The production sounds flat and unfinished, there are too many songs to warrant a double-LP and some of the performances leave something to be desired (Bob, where are the solos?) BUT like Zen Arcade this set has some amazing songs, with Bob's pop-mastery finally starting to take the shape it would in Sugar and his solo work. If you like pop and guitars then hey, this'll be a cool listen. If not, just keep telling yourself Landspeed Record is better than Damaged

HERE