10.6.05. New Music

I’ve picked up a lot today and haven’t had chance to catch up to it all yet. Right now I’m watching / listening to an interview with Laetitia Sadier about Monade. You may know Ms Sadier as the vocalist of Stereolab. Monade is her solo project. It’s in the latest issue of The Brain.

I’ve got the new White Stripes to catch up to. I’ve heard excerpts of it and liked what I heard.

From iTunes today, I made the following purchases:

1. Damon & Naomi, “Blue Moon” – not the “I saw you standing alone” blue moon, but another cover. His Name Is Alive also did this song on Mouth by Mouth, and it’s a great spot in that album. Damon & Naomi are former Galaxy 500 members.
2. Saint Etienne, “How We Used To Live” – A long track with many parts.
3. The Duhks, “Camptown Races” – the classic song, done with that unique Duhks sound. One of the best new country/bluegrass/folk bands around.
4. The Duhks, “Four Blue Walls” – another song off of their debut album (or debut major label album anyways).
5. HEM, “Eveningland” – the whole album. “Countrypolitan” is one of the terms I’ve heard used to describe it. Good slow country sounds mixed with lush string arrangements.

But oh gods – this HEM is killing me. There are excerpts here. It’s killing me in the “I want to be alone at a sad sack country bar listening to this on the jukebox and just crying crying crying behind my hair and beer and cigarettes.” It’s killing me in the “riding through the foggy winter desert landscape” way. It’s killing me in the “on the train through the Sierra’s full of longing” way. It’s killing me in the “walking around a northeastern lake full of longing” way. Holy shit. It’s so good.