What We're Listening To - 10/15

God, three-day weekends are such a double-edged sword! On one hand, they're totally awesome. I mean an extra day to sleep until 2 PM, not shower, and then get wasted on pizza and rum, playing Wii Bowling until sunrise with your roommate? It's brilliant! (Not that that's what I did all weekend long. Of course not...) But then on the other, after all this wonderful extra time spent frolicking in the sun, in the arms of your lovah, surrounded by throngs of friends and well-wishers (or whatever), you get back to work on Tuesday and there are like a million bullshit messages on your voicemail and all these people wanting you to like... do stuff. It sucks! Well, unfortunately, like many of you, I spent all day yesterday under a stack of paperwork, playing catch-up, so that's why What We're Listening To is coming to you a day late this week. Hope you didn't miss us too much! As usual, most of the gang is here to give you the lowdown on the music currently making us do the happy dance in our little cubicles. On the menu this week: Hot Chip, Bruce Hornsby, Sara Bareilles, The Rosebuds, Love Is All, Tracy Chapman, Weezer, Joan Jett, Garbage, Mercury Rev and T.I. It all awaits you below the fold...



Hot Chip—"Ready for the Floor"

Okay, so I'm a bit embarrassed to say how I found this song, but whatever, I've been listening to it while I jog ever since. I was in the dressing room at Forever 21 a few weeks back, and this song came on. Not knowing who it was, I tried my hardest to remember the lyrics. After doing some Google searching, it turns out someone made a list of the songs Forever 21 plays... My problem was solved. It's got a good beat, and would probably be fun to dance to (as well as jog to). - Jon

Bruce Honsby—Big Swing Face

Despite his acting like a jerk to me the one time I was in a room with him, I persist in loving Bruce Hornsby’s music. But even so, this album came totally out of left field, and it’s the album that most splits Hornsby fans between camps of those who love and hate it. Put me in the “love” category, but it took a while: Hornsby’s grand piano has been replaced by keyboards, drum loops, and electronica-style beats, most of the lyrics feature odd, not always coherent rhymes and alliteration, and his usual characters and story songs are entirely AWOL. Exhilarating tracks like “Take Out the Trash,” “Try Anything Once,” and “Cartoons & Candy” make up for it. All the songs are tightly controlled, but Hornsby’s genius is that he can make them sound like improvisational jams. - Philip

Sara Bareilles—"Take On Me"

I only have one sibling. She's fifteen years older than me, and when she left for college, she made sure to leave behind a 3-year-old baby brother with a healthy appreciation for 1980s pop. (Thanks, sis!) By far, my favorite song of the entire decade is A-ha's "Take On Me." So I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when one day I stumbled upon a cover that rivals the original in my esteem. I often find that if you're a good singer, you can sing just about anything. This is not the case for Sara Bareilles. She has a nice voice, but I find her original work a bit cheesy, a bit derivative. (Yes, yes your ex-boyfriend was a self-absorbed piece of shit. They all are.) But this cover proves that she definitely has a talent for interpretation (kind of like Cat Power, I guess) and on the live, acoustic version I have, her voice sounds like honey. I mean you can practically see it dripping from her vocal chords when she sings. Now, I was afraid you'd have to do a little digging on the interwebs to find it like I did, but apparently others have caught on. And, apparently, they're Colbie Caillat fans. Not sure how to feel about that... Well, anyway, check it out. I promise it's well worth it. If only there was (ever) a video as cool, right? - Rocky

The Rosebuds—Life Like

A TNG reader requested a Rosebuds song to be played at the Mousetrap: Pride Edition party that Zack and I DJed. I hadn't heard of them, but the reader said they sound like where you would have wanted New Order to go if they'd stayed relevant. I downloaded (legally) the requested track and liked it a lot. (I've actually never cared much for New Order [gasp!] so the fact that I liked it says a lot.) The Raleigh NC duet has recently released a new album, Life Like. So far, it's great, though it's darker and richer than what I heard of their previous album. Very unlike New Order, and for the better. The Rosebuds are playing the Black Cat mainstage on Thursday, October 23 with The Oranges Band. - Michael

Love Is All—"Wishing Well" + Covers EP

Like a sucker, I fell head over heels in love with "Wishing Well," a song by Swedish band Love Is All. And like any fool in love, I did not consider many possible ramifications of the pursuit of my desire. So I logged onto eMusic.com and bought the first CD of theirs I could find. Yes, it contained "Wishing Well," but it only had six other tracks... and they were all covers. Why didn't I do a little research and buy their full album? It's some consolation that their next LP comes out in less than a month. Until then, I only have time to console me. - Zack

Tracy Chapman—Tracy Chapman

Today is Grouch Day - you know one of those bizarro holidays that is probably documented nowhere except a teachers' journal prompt books, kind of like Talk Like a Pirate Day before it took off. Anyway, I'm celebrating and I didn't even know it; the copy machine broke, I don't have the books I need, and I'm drinking the one Red Bull I brought for lunch and it's only 8:27 A.M. So I decided that I would up the ante and listen to this grouch-tastic album. Happy listening, fuckers. - Stephanie

Weezer—"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"

Like a lot of folks, Weezer kind of lost me around the fourth album. I guess we all just wanted Rivers Cuomo to stay locked in that room with the walls painted black, making Pinkerton for the rest of his life. (Oh, sophomore year of college. How I don't miss you...) Obviously, since I'm taking about a single off the new album, I'm glad he didn't, since this particular song (if not the entire album) strikes me as a step in a new direction and a return to form. Somehow, they take the famous Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" and turn it into this braggadocious, clever and hilariously ironic rant on how awesome they are. "So why can't I be making love come true?" has turned in to, "If you don't like it, you can shove it/But you don't like it you love it." And I do, Rivers. I love it. Now, maybe you're not a big ol' egostical, id-friendly Serena van der Woodsen like me, but I think everyone needs an occasional reminder that you really don't have to be a grownup all the time. Go ahead and let your inner vengeful high school dork have six minutes. It's good for the psyche. - Rocky

Joan Jett —Bad Reputation

Other people have Krishna, Jesus, or fortune cookies. Joan Jett remains the inspirational force in my life, and her "Bad Reputation" has become my mantra. On Sunday, when I got caught stealing Yoplait and Clorox at the grocery store, I thought of Joan's song. On Monday, when I skipped work and hung out at ESPN Zone all day, again I thought of Joan's song. Right now, as I type this with a hangover, wondering where the last 36 hours went, I thank Joan for making it okay to not give a shit! Thank you Joan! - Summer Camp

Garbage—"I'm Only Happy When It Rains"

I've been in a dark mood recently. That's all. - Allison




Mercury Rev—Deserter's Songs

I haven't had a chance to pick up the new Mercury Rev album yet, but from what I hear there's not a whole lot to to be excited about. That pains me because the one-two punch of their earlier albums Deserter's Songs and All Is Dream did more to get me through high school than drinking and TV combined. The former especially evoked all my fantasies of adult life through gentle melodies, ambiguous, evocative lyrics and a general reminder that there was a big world out there waiting for me as soon as I could get to it. To say that the song "Opus 40" stays with me is an understatement: I regularly have to convince myself not to get "I'm alive, she cried, but I don't know what it means" tattooed on my rib cage. - Zack

T.I.—"Whatever You Like"

A few weeks ago, I, along with my friends Neil and Juliana, drove out to an animal shelter on a mission to nourish our souls playing with animals and, of course, to find Jules' soulmate cat. This was also a few days after the release of Paper Trail, the latest from Atlanta rapper, T.I. (aka The Rubberband Man). Now, we were trying to listen to the whole thing, but we couldn't help going back to this song over and over again. Yes, it's repetitive. Yes, it's T.I. singing. And, yes, it was the number one song in the country for a few weeks. But it's so good! The hook is nice and catchy and his flow is so much more mature, controlled, seductive and smooth than it has been in the past. You can't help but fall under its spell. Of course, I may be a little biased, because I think T.I. is the one of the hottest men on the planet. Oh and speaking of which, also, the video is amazing! Picture your favorite rock star falling in love with you (or at the very least respectfully expressing his/her desire to fuck you and buy you shoes) while you're working the counter at Big Bob's Wings 'N Things or somesuch. Weapons conviction be damned; it's the ultimate fantasy! I'm not holding my breath, but done and done, T.I. Done and done. (I'm nothing if not professional, y'all...) - Rocky