Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Wednesday August 11

Laid (the album) is a fondly remembered high school soundtrack. Laid (the song) was one of those I screamed along to with my friends, because of the catchy, naughty lyrics. Most of the rest of the album is actually quite mellow, though. Good for relaxing.

The songs are still quite excellent after all these years. The singer, Tim, has a beautiful voice. My guess is that the bassist listened to a lot of Joy Division.

I have no idea why they are wearing dresses and eating bananas on the cover. One of those 90s mysteries I suppose.

Listened: Wednesday August 11

I absolutely adore La Roux’s album. Even though half the time I’m not positive she’s on key. But with all the pitch correction they have these days, she must be… right?

Ms. Jackson has listened to a lot of Yaz/Yazoo and The Eurythmics, obviously. And this is a good thing. Can the covers of Only You and Here Comes the Rain Again be far behind?

I love to sing along in my car, especially to Cover My Eyes, As If By Magic, and Fascination. Fascination being when I sing the loudest and gesticulate the most.

La Roux blew up Coachella 2010 with Bulletproof. I’ve never experienced such a lusty crowd singalong/dancealong before. And yes, her hair truly is amazing in person.

The rest of the set was good, but I couldn’t decide if there were sound problems or she just didn’t know how to sing into the microphone well; the singing seemed very quiet and hard to hear.

Nevertheless, love it.

Listened: Wednesday August 11

I bought L’Accordéoniste very cheaply at Tower Records in Berkeley after seeing Saving Private Ryan and loving the song Tu Es Partout as used in the film. I discovered a lot of other great songs in the process. Oddly, her most famous songs La Vie en Rose and Non, Je ne Regrette Rien are not on this collection.

Edith’s life was made into its own film (which I also enjoyed); she lived enough for 5 people and you can hear that in her voice.

Listened: Tuesday August 10

Kissin’ Time is another album that sat around for years, after I had acquired it for free or nearly free. After hearing it for the first time as a part of this project, I’m sorry it took me so long.

Beck, Billy Corgan, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn, and others have written some brilliant songs for Marianne to sing. This album is the antithesis of Faithfull – the extreme realism is toned down a lot, but the hard edge of her voice is still intact.

The in-your-face songs are here (“Sliding Through Life on Charm” includes the lyric “Hey mister! you have finally met your match, Now everybody wants to kiss my snatch” and other similar gems – no shock this is Jarvis’ song) as well as the sweeter, more romantic songs, some of which I would never expect Marianne to sing. But they work. This album is certainly going to be in my regular rotation from now on.

Listened: Tuesday August 10

The Jaxx are modern disco in every positive sense of the word. Now that I’m familiar with Northern Soul, I can hear the direct lineage from Wigan Casino to Kish Kash.

I also like that the Jaxx don’t discriminate – their guest singers on this album range from Me’Shell Ndegeocello to Dizzee Rascal to Siouxsie Sioux to JC Chasez(!). And all of the songs work, no matter the guest.

The Jaxx are like an old friend; I lost track of them after this album but I should catch up with them again.

Listened: Tuesday August 10

I picked up KOC after Quiet is The New Loud, so I had already heard most of the songs on Kings of Convenience, and with better production. However, I do love the songs found only on this album (An English House, Surprise Ice, etc). It’s even more mellow than Quiet is the New Loud.

Strangely, this album is nowhere to be found in their wikipedia article; odd because generally the articles are super-exhaustive.

I love the line drawing. I wonder if one of the guys did it?

Listened: Tuesday August 10

I remember really anticipating Kid A’s release. It had been 3 years since OK Computer and we were all antsy to see what was next. I remember reading lots of reactions on the internet from people who didn’t get the major evolution of Radiohead’s sound from one record to another. I, however, loved having my boundaries pushed by the lunacy that is this album. I loved OK Computer, but who wants a band to stay in a box? People change, times change. Since this album Radiohead has been pushing everyone’s boundaries each time they release an album. Without Kid A there is no In Rainbows.

I love how Kid A ranges from dreamy atmospherics (Treefingers) to cacophonous funky modern jazz (The National Anthem) to creepy and haunting dirges (How To Disappear Completely) to booty shakers (Idioteque). It’s an amazing collection of songs that I appreciate even more now than I did when it first came out.

Listened: Monday August 9

Unlike Arular, I really got it the first time I heard Kala. There’s a much more revolutionary cheerleader vibe to it that immediately hooks you. I love the depth of samples and participants she brings to this album too: Timbaland, Bollywood, little kids, etc. I hadn’t really heard Timbaland much before and he’s brilliant on Come Around.

When I heard Paper Planes I knew it would be a big hit – a dramatic sound, the aforementioned revolutionary cheerleading, the gun sound effect – it’s a winning formula. Also interesting that she half-covers the Pixies on $20. That’s not what I expected for a cover from her at all. Though certainly the song (Where is My Mind?) fits her aesthetic well.

It seems like the M.I.A. backlash started with the album, now that it’s a hit. Some say her image is all a pose and they bag on her marrying the son of a millionaire, as a supposedly third world revolutionary speaking out again “the man”. Frankly, everyone’s image is all a pose; she is just unapologetic about it. And it seems like an artist, male or female, should strive to marry a millionaire – she says herself that “I hate money cuz it makes me numb”. As a poor artist, you have to constantly micromanage money to survive. If you’re married to someone with tons of money, you don’t ever have to even think about making money, just art. Problem solved. Anyway, I am sure she isn’t hurting for money herself anyway so bitching about her marrying a millionaire doesn’t really make sense. She’s marrying on her level at this point, and she has the option to tell the music work to go away and still maintain her comfortable lifestyle. Power to her.

Listened: Monday August 9

I have fond memories of listening to Just Enough Education To Perform, Primal Scream’s Xtrmntr, and Sigur Ros’s Von Brigði (Recycle Bin) as I was cleaning my college apartment in Berkeley after graduation, preparing to move back to my parents’ house. I was the only one left in the apartment at that point, so I could crank the music as I cleaned. Consequently, this album has a lot of nostalgic value to me.

For some reason the songs remind me of Rod Stewart a bit. Maybe it’s the gravelly working class voice, I’m not sure. It also reminds me of the retro sounds of Ocean Colour Scene, who were active at the same time.

Listened: Monday August 9

Writing an entry on The Joshua Tree intimidates me a bit. What more can I say about this album that hasn’t already been said? Every song is brilliant. I particularly love how When the Streets Have No Name builds up so gradually; it’s like the sun rising in the desert. With or Without You is one of my favorite love songs of all time, and the imagery in In God’s Country is a favorite: “Sad eyes, crooked crosses, in God’s country.” How did an Irish band construct such a great American time capsule?

Recently I read an in-depth narrative of someone visiting the cover photo location (it’s in Death Valley, not Joshua Tree National Park) and describing what’s there now (the tree fell down a couple of years ago, sadly, but its “corpse” is still there). I’d love to visit it someday.

For a long time, no one besides the band and the photographer (Anton Corbijn) knew exactly where it was, but since Google Maps and Google Earth came out, people were able to narrow it down more, given the landscape clues in the photos. I wonder what U2 think of it becoming  a place of pilgrimage?