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Baby Comes Home – Patrick Cleandenim
Yes, this kid's stage name is Cleandenim. And in this song he talks about werewolves and vampires, and it's a little vaudevillian. He's also maybe 22 years old, max. But still, we kinda like it.
Waltz – Fiona Apple
The songs that sound the best on the Mike Elizondo version of Extraordinary Machine are the ones that are left largely untouched from the never commercially released Jon Brion version. Clearly, we're suckers for a little string section, but extra orchestral maneuvers are not all that make Brion's album better than the official album. While the accusation has been that Brion overproduced, it seems to us that Elizondo allowed no one else in the room with Fiona, tiptoeing around her as if she's a hothouse flower. Instead of letting violins, cellos and other instruments play with Apple, he's content to throw canned beats on top of her haphazardly. We could go on. We won't.
Cyprus Avenue – Van Morrison
“My tongue gets tied every time I try to speak / and my inside shakes just like a leaf on a tree.”
This Is What It Is – Nina Nastasia
You should listen to Nina Nastasia. No one can really describe her, so reviews say things like “goth-folk” and that's awful. But she's not awful, she's good. It's not her fault that music critics are scum, is it?
Golden Hours – Brian Eno
Brian Eno's a genius. Scary looking, though. Like the butler from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. No, really, check it out. This is the first of four—, yes, four—songs on this mix where the violin is actually a viola, and is played by John Cale. So sue us. John Cale is amazing, and the songs are really different from one another.
Fly – Nick Drake
Bryter Later is Nick Drake's best album. After hearing Five Leaves Left, the first album, John Cale called and demanded to play on the album. Maybe you need to be a little gay or a little female or a little emo or a little British to get Nick Drake. Or maybe you just have to be able to recognize beauty. Who knows.
The Greatest – Cat Power
We're not saying that there's not a lot of Cat Power that sounds the same. That's not the point. If you don't like at least some of her work (hear: Moon Pix), you're immune to the plight of the South. You're immune to women who hold lifetimes beyond their years in their voices. Basically, you have no heartstrings to be tugged.
Fake Palindromes – Andrew Bird
Basically, Andrew Bird is a violin virtuoso who chucked it all to be a pop star, or at least a popster. Live, he plays violin, records it, loops it, then he whistles (he's a fantastic whistler), records it, loops it, and so on with the other instruments, and then sings over it and plays the guitar. The very definition of a one man band, without the novelty act aspect. And yes, he uses an awful lot of big words, but we like that in a man.
I Don't Believe You – Magnetic Fields
"I had a dream and you were in it/ the blue of your eyes was infinite/
You seemed to be in love with me/ which isn't very realistic.”
Keep the Car Running – Arcade Fire
For one, we thrill to a bit of hand-clapping, and our buddies over at the Arcade Fire have plenty of it. Secondly, each member of their seemingly 30-thousand member band has more energy in this song than we do in a week. Thirdly, our college boyfriend had a bit of a man-crush on this tall, shy kid in our class named Win. We didn't understand why bf thought Win seemed so cool then. We get it now.
Man Size Sextet – PJ Harvey
“Silence my lady head/ get girl out of my head/
douse hair with gasoline/ set it light and set it free.”
Go ahead, pretend you're not scared. This song is possibly the weakest link on Rid Of Me, an album that is a contender for the greatest rock album by a woman ever. Certainly in the last 20 years. This album makes us all depressed about her later work, which is still frequently better than anything else around.
Gideon's Bible – John Cale
Wherein we finally let the man speak for himself, and find out, as we've long suspected, that the Welsh are truly strange.
“Gideon lied/ so Gideon died/ the force of China felt/
Gideon smiled/ as Gideon died/ the thought of China held.”
And that's just the chorus. We have no clue what the hell he's talking about, but it's perfect. In our opinion, songs this airtight are rarely this enjoyable.
Forks and Knives (La Fete) – Beirut
This song is from the forthcoming Beirut album, which is French-inspired and good. Also, as seen in the video below for the song Nantes, also new, this kid is adorable.
Venus in Furs – Devotchka
This band has some pretty good songs of their own, but this is what really impressed us. It is not easy to cover the Velvet Underground without making a complete embarrassment of yourself, and Venus in Furs is not an easy choice. The atonality of the violin on this song is a departure from their usual style, and a positive one.
Hyperballad – Bjork
This song, from Post, marks the last time we really cared about what Bjork was doing. We're imagining this wild-haired woman in a long dress, throwing toasters and kittens off a cliff, wailing like a banshee on the moors, while an unfazed string quartet plays in tuxedos on the edge. Basically, we're imagining ourselves.
Life On Mars – David Bowie
When this song was written, there was no international space station, and there were sure as hell no Mars probes. We didn't know about the shallow sea that was probably once on Mars, or the bacterial life forms, or whatever. We can't help but wonder what Bowie thinks of all that stuff. Does he still wonder about life on Mars?
Stephanie Says – The Velvet Underground
We are actually sort of nicknamed Alaska. You know, because it's so cold in Alaska. It's not true, though. We're really warm and fuzzy. I mean, we have a sentimental attachment to this (totally great anyway) song because of the nickname. That's not cold, right?
Guess who's playing the viola?
Nature Springs – The Good, the Bad, and the Queen
Yes, it's that guy from Blur and Gorillaz and stuff, but there's also that guy from the Clash. And the Clash is great. And this band—we’re not sure, but I think they're pretty good. Being as it's an all-star band, maybe it's John Cale on the strings there. Just kidding, we think.
Half a World Away – R.E.M.
We're feeling a little contentious and we're ready to fight for our choices. And what we have to say now is this: if you don't like R.E.M., it's probably because you haven't given them a chance. If you've think you've given them a chance and don't know anything that happened before Green, you're mistaken. And if you do know the older albums, and you still don't like R.E.M., then you should be put to sleep. Find Eponymous and listen to it. If you don’t thin Central Rain is a great song to you, you have no ears. And we're sorry for you.
She's a Rainbow – The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are one of the very very few British bands that have ever managed to get this certain sound that is generally uniquely American. Not so much on this song, but on, say, Tumbling Dice. How'd they do that? Oh, right, by being better than the Beatles.