I dare you to tell me you do not want that stache

Take a deep breath. Are you tired? Last week included three consecutive days of great music and even greater articles, but fear not, we’ve got another splendid cluster of days to look forward to. Clearly, among my best qualities an ability to create impossibly stupefying prose is approached only by my rugged pulchritude (modesty, for obvious reasons, did not make the list). However, as of now, I’m running a three-minute cyber mile everyday, a pace that those familiar with my physique know I cannot hope to maintain. So instead of another day of busting out the freshest tracks on the binary channels, I’m gonna give you three tracks that have been played on repeat in recent days. And, even if they’re not brand spanking new, they’re superlatively great.

The first is “Soft as Chalk” by Joanna Newsom, off of her recent release, Have One on Me (hence the name of the article). Ms. Newsom, the ass-kicking indie harpist, evokes shades of Joni Mitchell’s Blue while still creating her own distinct sound (see harp). The rule of thumb when searching for great Newsom tracks is quite simple: the longer the better. Case in point, “Soft as Chalk.”

The next tracks are “Ivory Road” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by the British (should be a sensation) King Charles. From his mustache and indescribable hairdo to his impudent yet brilliant lyricism, this monarch is everything that the hipster in me strives to be. In the interest of full disclosure, I converted “Ivory Road” into an mp3 from the Black Cab Sessions video because it simply needed to be on my iPod. The “We Didn’t Start the Fire” adaptation went through a similar conversion process. Again, I stress the necessity of my actions. From lyrics like “The Rolling Stones still play, we all know Tom Cruise is gay” to ”Twenty Virgins up in heaven was the cause of 9/11,” King Charles attempts to emulate Joel’s original defiant probing of contemporary pop culture, in an admittedly more provocative and British manner. Although he has yet to released a studio recording of either of the aforementioned tracks, his single “Time of Eternity” and b-side “Love Lust” are necessities for every music collection.

I wanted to conclude with The Morning Benders’ “Excuses” which has been blowing my mind ever since I heard the Daytrotter version from 7/16/08. However, due to it’s growing prominence, I’m instead going to round out this foursome with “The High Road” by Broken Bells; the first track off Danger Mouse and James Mercer’s (lead singer of the Shins) new project. While the album in its entirety does not equal the sum of its parts, this track is a slow groove that will keep you going for days.

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Soft as Chalk – Joanna Newsom (YSI)

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Ivory Road – King Charles (YSI)

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We Didn’t Start the Fire – King Charles (YSI)

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The High Road – Broken Bells (YSI)

No related posts.

NOT like this.

In a little while, we’ll be posting our year end lists.  That will be our true present to you, our readers.  Promise.  But for now, we’re stuck in the true holiday season, full of great cheer, excepting for the mostly loathsome genre of Christmas music.  Thankfully, there are a few songs that are decent.  Some of them are new, some old, and none of them from the last post qualify.  Try these out for sound today.

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It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas – Bing Crosby (YSI)

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Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – Bruce Springsteen (YSI)

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Christmas Time Is Here – Vince Guaraldi Trio (YSI)

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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Cast of Sesame Street (YSI)

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River – Joni Mitchell (YSI)

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In The Bleak Midwinter – Chanticleer (YSI)

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The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole (YSI)

Related posts:

1. The Best of the Rest: Christmas on E Street
2. At least it goes to charity?
3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANIMAL SHOW!

Dear Sufjan, Please come back to making, performing and recording music. We miss you. And your incredible collection of Americana clothing. Love, the Animal Show

Sufjan Stevens is still great to me. I love him with passion incapable of being undone by his over-blogged state. And if there’s one thing that Sufjan does a fantastic job of, it’s performing covers. He has such an idiosyncratic sound that everything he touches explodes in orchestrated goodness. And when he touches other people’s songs, it’s even better. And my metaphors start to get creepy.

A couple of years ago, a phenomenal Joni Mitchell tribute album was released, which I snagged because it had both Prince and Sufjan on it. Can you imagine? What a double-billing. Sufjan’s cover of “Free Man in Paris” showed the most ingenuity and pulled the song into a new era of music, playing on the meaning of the original.

Free Man in Paris – Joni Mitchell

Free Man in Paris – Sufjan Stevens

The album is great and you should buy it, if only for the Prince version of “Case of You,” which gives me chills.

And if you don’t have Joni’s Court and Spark, where the original is from, do yourself a favor and get it.

Related posts:

1. Covers that Reinvent the Wheel: "Spit on a Stranger"
2. Covers that Reinvent the Wheel (Unnecessarily): "White Winter Hymnal"
3. Sufjan Stevens' BQE coming to soon to your ears, express.