Monday Music Roundup

Sometimes all my slick dance moves seem insufficient for really marvelous occasions. At times like those, now I have a special friend on the Internet to show me new grooves to woo the crowd. Watch out, here he comes.

I was so enamored with his gyrations that I missed reading the descriptions of each dance the first time around; make sure you look in the text box as you click through for gems like: "Perfect for when you are chosen for the raised cage area in a popular club or on a TV show such as Soul Train. The dancer is above the crowd, surveying his fief, before pausing to reach a hand of support to the commoner beneath him" (under the dance Make Love To The Crowd)...

or

"Contrary to popular belief, the WHO'S YOUR DADDY is not actually about trying to duplicate the experience of fatherhood. Rather, one should think along the lines of 'sugar daddy' or 'daddy-o' where the paternal character of the word gives way to pseudo-sexual Electra-complex overtones. The dancer, then, both asks and answers the same question: Who is your daddy? . . . I am your daddy." [thx]

Although, given the appropriate context, I think it would be hard to ever beat busting out a lustily choreographed version of this.


[Most] dancing aside, here's some music for the week:

My Violent Heart (stream)
Nine Inch Nails
I first heard this song on Valentine's Day, which is fitting because nothing says love better than angry, angry Trent, right? This stream is from the forthcoming Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero and I was going to post the mp3 but the RIAA is ferocious this week. I think this song starts out better than it ends up. At the front end it's got that crackly, sleazy beat with Trent's breathy snarly spoken intro (molto sexy), but then the chorus kicks in and it's got those weird seagull-synth emphases and no real grip on me.

Related: If you've ever wanted to know more about how Trent produces those amazing soundscapes, I found this piece about 3 days spent in the studio with Reznor (during the recording of With Teeth) to be a very interesting read.


So High So Low So Wide So Long
These United States
Whew. That title took me about 5 tries to get all the descriptors in the title in the right order, but it was worth it. This song from Washington DC band These United States is understated -- a grower that took me by surprise. It makes me feel like I am underwater, a rich and textured tune that reminded me of a hybrid of M. Ward with some of Beck's slower stuff. I included it today because it made me feel something unarticulatable (is that a word? it is now) when I listened to it, that's all I can really say. I love it. See what it does for you. [thanks Bruce]


45
Doves
Kevin from So Much Silence has long wowed me with his awesome vinyl rips for every occasion. So it comes as completely welcome news that he has started a new music blog, Circa 45, where he posts nothing but vinyl rips from his storied and extensive collection (one that he's adding to all the time). Take the all the snap, crackle, and pop that a good 45 bestows on the listener and give your digital music collection a warm boost. Here's the first track he posted (a b-side from Manchester band Doves); he's off to a great start.


Hangover Days (live, featuring Feist)
Jason Collett with Paso Mino
The other song I really wanted to post today was Feist's new leaked song "My Moon, My Man," but it looks like cease & desist orders are being served to other folks, so I am going to hold off on that great, great song (but you do need to hear it, stat). Instead, this song has simultaneously been whetting my appetite for Feist this weekend so I thought I'd share it. It's a live duet version of a song off co-Broken Social Scene-member Jason Collett's 2005 album Idols of Exile, and makes me want to hear more from both of them.


Babysitters Club
Desmond Reed
Ending on a light note that will likely be appreciated more by my readers of the XX-chromosomal persuasion -- this tune came from a MySpace friend request that made me smile, because I read all the Babysitters' Club books as a kid and wanted to meet with them in Claudia Kishi's room from 5-5:30 on Mondays/Wed/Fridays (because Claudia had her own phone line). I am a little baffled as to what caused this young man to write about this topic, but it's all good fun. The Bag of Songs blog recently tagged Desmond Reed as their artist of the day - see why.