And here’s what’s on heavy rotation on the newly restored iPod:
Half of Magnetic Fields‘ The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees (the first two albums)is obviously borne of heartache. If you can get pass two obvious facts: a girl is singing songs meant to be sung by a man (before Stephin Merritt did vocal duties), and the assumingly deliberate lo-fi, synth-pop vibe. Standouts are When You Were My Baby, The Saddest Story Ever Told, Candy, and Josephine. The best accompaniment to reading your pubk friends’ Cometbus zine. Or, in my case, spacing out on the way to work at eight in the evening along Pudong Avenue, ignoring one or two passengers’ annoyingly loud phone coversations.
2. Jose Gonzalez
If a new -to me, anyway- acoustic artist, collaborates with known downtempo artists like Zero 7, and has a pretty good track (Heartbeats; video nested above) on a Ministry of Sound compilation, I’d be interested. His album Veneer is not plastered with sappiness, but is, for lack of a better word, refreshing, and provides a better buzz soundtrack to my daily Shanghai commutes.
1. Modest Mouse
Heard of Modest Mouse late 90s/early 2000, and the songs I heard were underwhelming. However, being exposed to the insanity of Exit Does Not Exist had me beleive that there’s still an American indie-rock band out there I can whole-heartedly listen to. Current Modest Mouse album count: 7. I’ve already stomped the initial impression that this was just a Frank Black (The Pixies) wannabe sans the surf music overtones with heavy, heavy feet. Oh, and the really great bit about this: its (redneck-flavored) rock you can actually dance to, without the guilt of trendy dance/disco-rock. And yes, if I used to imagine myself doing a Chino (Deftones), I’m now doing an Isaac; and they’re both pudgy, too.
Post title taken from Magnetic Fields’ Candy.