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25 Apr 2009 00:05

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Music: ShortFormBlog Saturday Mixtape: Late-’60s dusty grooves

  • 1. Fun fact about Barry & the Remains: They once were the opening act for The Beatles. And “Don’t Look Back,” to this day, still kills.

    2. Thanks to “American Idol” and a well-received tour, Leonard Cohen is becoming popular again. Start with his first three albums, along with early touchstone “Bird on the Wire.”

    3. Vashti Bunyan was saved from obscurity a few years back after the re-release of her album “Just Another Diamond Day.” Early unreleased single “Winter is Blue” shows why.

    4. Silver Apples is an intriguing early attempt at electronic music, with a weird, rhythmic mix of noisy electronics and big drums, exemplified by “Oscillations.”

    5. The late-’60s psych-folk of Pearls Before Swine clearly plays forefather to today’s oddball indie rock; the swoon of “The Surrealist Waltz” feels at home in today’s climate. source

18 Apr 2009 10:31

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Music: ShortFormBlog’s Saturday mixtape for April 18, 2009

  • 1. Sampler wizard El Guincho, from Spain, manages to convey the loose vibe of ’60s Brazilian Tropicalia effortlessly on “Antillas,” from last year’s “Alegranza!”
  • 2. The Thermals are pretty much the best punk band the West Coast has to offer, and “A Pillar of Salt” from 2006’s “The Body, The Blood, The Machine,” is where to start.
  • 3. Lady GaGa’s blowing up so huge right now that it’s hard to ignore her, but even if you dislike her dance-pop, this piano ballad version of “Poker Face” is killer, and then some.
  • 4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy is the king of reworking R&B into the language of indie rock. His take on Mariah Carey’s “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)” is an irony-laden trip.
  • 5. M. Ward is getting a lot of attention for “Hold Time,” but his best album is still 2003’s “Transfiguration of Vincent.” “Dead Man” is a quiet highlight.