Well, we didn’t break the record, but we came close with the second major snowfall of this crazy winter season. Some called it Snowmageddon, others liked Snowpocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo, but whatever you called it, it was pretty amazing and amazingly pretty. We had nowhere to go and nothing particular to do and there’s still plenty of beer, milk and food staples, so what’s not to like? Pajama party!
It was also a chance to do a few household tasks, like clean up my clothes closet with the help of Grad Girl, who made sure that I got rid of the stuff that was neither hip nor age appropriate. And music, of course, helps make being trapped inside more tolerable.
I turned the computer on to stream while I walked the bedroom runway, catching up with a few recent digital deliveries, Wasn’t impressed by a handful of tracks from
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives – Communion (Yep Roc)
It’s a double album, but I lost patience after about five tracks, which had a certain MOR taste to the them, too close to the cheesy album cover photo of a middle-aged couple that looks like something you’d find in the plastic pages of a new wallet. The group is playing in DC on February 18 and the PR email says, “These dudes put on an epic live show.” Really? Based on this sample, I don’t see how, so maybe I’ll revisit.
On the other hand, I much liked
PEASANT – Shady Retreat (Paper Garden Records)
Peasant is Damien DeRose, a 23-year-old poet turned musician, from Bucks County, PA, who worked out of his bedroom studio throughout high school, and released his debut album, "On The Ground," in 2008. He records in a converted studio in the woods, inspired by the likes of "Pet Sounds" and Nick Drake; the sound is sweet, simple and pretty, reminding me of Blind Pilot and Fleet Fixes. I’m allowed to share one track with you. This is “Well Alright” and if you like, the album comes out on March 2.
Meanwhile, one of my favorite new releases, in steady rotation around the house, snowbound or not, is:
The BIRD and The BEE - Guiltless Pleasures Volume 1 (Blue Note)
Subtitled “A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates,” the CD is billed as “a love letter to [the] famed ‘rock and soul’ duo’” in eight cover tunes and one original song (”Heard It On the Radio”) that fits comfortably alongside, like a fellow Top 40 pop radio hit.
I can say without reservation that Hall and Oates make really great pop tunes because I like the tunes despite the fact that, back in the days when I did lots of feature interviews in person, said Hall and Oates were the most obnoxious people I’ve ever had to chat with. As you might expect, Oates sat there and didn’t say much of anything. Hall, meanwhile, dripped attitude and preened with a self-regard that seemed to imply that, because I was a female reporter, I must want him. The two were embarking on a seriously scaled-back tour since they hadn’t had a hit in years and talked grandly about how they had decided to make a daring move to get close and personal with their fans in small venues. God, they were pompous jerks.
So, anyway, the fact that I love this CD is a tribute both to the durability of the songs and to the much nicer duo reinterpreting them - the lovely Inara George on vocals and multi-instrumentalist/ producer Greg Kurstin, who can make synthesizers sound fun again. “I Can’t Go For That” has been a staple of the pair’s live act since I saw them in late 2008. Loved it then, love it now. The album comes out on March 23.
YTD O/CD Tally: 40
Oh, dear. I’m watching SNL while I type this and just saw a commercial for the new season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” It always makes me sad to see Cyndi Lauper among those losers. She was one of the nicest people I ever interviewed and has real talent. She deserves so much better.
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