1. The Merry-Go-Round (self-titled)
The Merry Go Round (Self-titled)
Released: 1967
A&M Records
60s California Summer of Love music. These guys were fantastic songrwiters. I think they only had one album, but this album is right up there with the classic Beatles albums in terms of songcraft, arrangement, etc.
For most of my life, I've avoided music made before 1977 and punk rock. 2012 was the year that I started to stretch back a bit further, and this is the best of my discoveries. Thanks, Eric Lovre for sharing this record with me.
I don't know where you could pick this album up (other than getting really good at searching the used bins), but here is a youtube video of the band on strange 60s tv, and here is a good looking reissue on amazon.
2. Mary Timony - The Golden Dove
Mary Timony - The Golden Dove
Released: 5/21/2002
Matador Records
I picked this one up in the dollar bin at Ranch. Yay for cheap discoveries. Mary Timony was in the almost-famous Helium back in the alternacrazed 90s. She's also famous for her musical and personal former relationship with Polvo guitarist Ash Bowie, with whom she shares quite a bit of guitar and songwriting style.
This album blew me away with its pop tunefulness and Ms. Timony's lyrical metaphors. This album has been on heavy rotation in the possum house, and is one of the best dollar-bin finds ever. I'm not sure I can say more about it, so here are some links so you can listen yourself:
Matador records doesn't seem to have it in print anymore, so here's Amazon. (Used from $1.65!)
3. Carissa's Wierd - They'll Only Miss You When You Leave
Carissa's Wierd - They'll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003
Released 7/13/2010
Hardly Art Records
I'm not sure how many times I almost saw Carissa's Wierd live and didn't. I seem to remember them opening for a few shows which I showed up late for, playing a few more that I missed, and I know I was going to see them at Bumbershoot and got talked into going to dinner instead. Anyway, this is my first actual time hearing them.
So apparently, these guys went on to form Band of Horses, who are the poster children for unoffensive, bland white indie rock. (They're not bad, they're just not unique). Carissa's Wierd [yes, sic] is softer, more orchestral, a bit stranger, and a bit more off-kilter. There's cello arrangements on almost every song, and most of the good ones are wistful, hushed, low-fi, demo-type songs that sound like they were recorded in somebody's apartment at 3 AM, hoping desperately not to wake the neighbors. Sounding like Death Cab at their most introspective and chamber-poppiest, these guys definitely set the template from which Some By Sea operated.
Here's the legit place to buy it from the label and the CD's also on amazon but you should support the artists.
4. The Church - Starfish
The Church - Starfish
Released: 1988
EMI or some dumb major label
So everyone's heard "Under the Milky Way" by these aussie gents. I was surprised to learn it came from an album track-for-track as good, dark, and atmospheric as that song. This is classic 80s pop. What used to pass for "alternative" from the major labels in the late 80s. This album stands up to anything by U2, Depeche Mode, INXS from that era. If you're into that stuff (or have a weakness for it, like me), then pick this up cheap. Don't bother supporting major record labels. Amazon-- from $1.18 used or a penny if you like cassettes!
5. The Hardship Post - Somebody Spoke
The Hardship Post - Somebody Spoke
Released: 1995
Sub Pop Records
Forever ago, my sister-in-law picked up matching Hardship Post T-shirts for all the guys in my family in some bargain bin in Seattle. Sub Pop Surplus, no doubt. At the time, I had one compilation from Sub Pop with a Hardship Post song that I liked and always felt a little guilty wearing the shirt while only knowing (and liking) one song from the band. Much later, I picked up a dollar-bin 7" which was good, but this year (16 years later?), I finally got the album.
This album is good, rocking pop music. No frills, just fun songs. Here's a music video that looks like every other low-budget music video from 1995. Here's another song. And another. Here's the album for a reasonable price from Sub Pop. There's nothing flashy about this album that makes it better than other records, it's just a solid rocker...
...now if I could only find that T-shirt...
Honorable Mention
Other albums that almost made the cut:
Dead Moon - In the Graveyard (1988)
Low - Live at Eindhoven (2010) (how did I miss this free download?)
Patti Smith - Horses (1975) (okay, well this is my first time hearing the whole album straight through)
No comments:
Post a Comment