Suicide - Frankie Teardrop

This is the most frightening song I've ever heard. I'm sometimes scared to even listen to this alone during the day. But at night, wearing headphones? No way. Never. The dreams that could come out of this song....

We're all Frankies.

Suicide - Frankie Teardrop

"Frankie teardrop
Twenty year old Frankie
He's married he's got a kid
And he's working in a factory

He's working from seven to five
He's just trying to survive
well lets hear it for Frankie
Frankie Frankie

Well Frankie cant make it
Cause things are just too hard
Frankie cant make enough money
Frankie cant buy enough food

And Frankie's getting evicted
Oh let's hear it for Frankie
Oh Frankie Frankie
Oh Frankie Frankie

Frankie is so desperate
He's gonna kill his wife and kids
Frankie's gonna kill his kid
Frankie picked up a gun

Pointed at the six month old in the crib
Oh Frankie
(scream)
Frankie looked at his wife

Shot her
(screams)
"Oh what have I done?"
Let's hear it for Frankie

Frankie teardrop
Frankie put the gun to his head
(screams)
Frankie's dead

(screams)

Frankie's lying in hell
(screams)

We're all Frankies
We're all lying in hell
(screams)"

Suicide - Suicide @Amazon.com

Lou Reed - Halloween Parade

Lou Reed - Halloween Parade








"There's a down town fairy singing out "Proud Mary"
as she cruises Christopher Street
And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
where the docks and the Badlands meet

This Halloween is something to be sure
Especially to be here without you

There's a Greta Garbo and an Alfred Hitchcock
and some black Jamaican stud
There's five Cinderellas and some leather drags
I almost fell into my mug

There's a Crawford, Davis and a tacky Cary Grant
And some Homeboys lookin' for trouble down here from the Bronx

But there ain't no Hairy and no Virgin Mary
you won't hear those voices again
And Johnny Rio and Rotten Rita
you'll never see those faces again

This Halloween is something to be sure
Especially to be here without you

There's the Born Again Losers and the Lavender Boozers
and some crack team from Washington Heights
The boys from Avenue B and the girls from Avenue D
a Tinkerbell in tights

This celebration somehow get me down
Especially when I see you're not around

There's no Peter Pedantic saying things romantic
In Latin, Greek or Spic
There's no Three bananas or Brandy Alexander
Dishing all their tricks

It's a different feeling that I have today
Especially when I know you've gone away

There's a girl from Soho with a teeshirt saying "I Blow"
She's with the "jive five 2 plus 3"
And the girls for pay dates are giving cut rates
Or else doing it for free

The past keeps knock knock knocking on my door
And I don't want to hear it anymore

No consolations please for feelin' funky
I got to get my head above my knees
But it makes me mad and mad makes me sad
And then I start to freeze

In the back of my mind I was afraid it might be true
In the back of my mind I was afraid that they meant you

The Halloween Parade
At the Halloween parade
At the Halloween parade
See you next year - at the Halloween parade"

Lou Reed - New York @Amazon.com

The Shaggs - It's Halloween

Ah, the Shaggs...the best worst band in the world.

Yay!

The Shaggs - It's Halloween

"It's Halloween
It's Halloween
It's time for scares
It's time for screams
It's Halloween
It's Halloween

The ghosts will spook
The spooks will scare
Why, even Dracula will be there

It's time for games
It's time for fun
Not for just one
But for everyone

The jack-o-lanterns are all lit up
All the dummies are made and stuffed
By just looking you will see
It's this time of year again

It's Halloween
It's Halloween

All the kids are happy and gay
There doesn't seem to be a cloud in their way
But when it's over and they've had all their fun
They'll wish that Halloween had just begun

Oh, there are witches, goblins, Frankensteins and zombies
And there are tramps, Cinderallas, pirates, angels and gypsies
So let's have lots of fun and give many cheers
For Halloween comes but once a year

It's time for games
It's time for fun
Not for just one
But for everyone

It's Halloween
It's Halloween
It's Halloween
It's Halloween

It's Halloween!"

The Shaggs - Philosophy of the World @Amazon

The Fall - There's a Ghost in My House

The Fall - There's a Ghost in My House

The Fall cover a R. Dean Taylor song... and It's kinda Halloweeney, I guess. Forget it's a metaphor. This song hit #30 on the UK charts upon its original release, the highest chart position the Fall ever achieved.

"There's a ghost in my house
The ghost of your memories
The ghost of the love you took from me

Well, our love used to be
Only shadows from the past I see
Time can't seem to erase
The vision of your smiling face
Though you found someone new
I can't get over you
There's a ghost in my house
I can't hide (ghost in my house)
From the ghost of your love that's inside (ghost in my house)
It keeps on haunting me (ghost in my house)
Just keeps on recalling me (ghost in my house)

In my mind I know you're gone
But my heart keeps holding on
To the memories of those happy times
To the love that once was mine
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart
There's a ghost in my house
I can't hide (ghost in my house)
From the ghost of your love that's inside (ghost in my house)
You're still such a part of me (ghost in my house)
Still so deep in the heart of me (ghost in my house)

I just keep hearing your footsteps on the stairs
When I know there's no-one there
Every day I love you more
So much more than the day before

Sittin' in my easy chair
I feel your fingers running through my hair
Lookin' down in my coffee cup
I think I see your face lookin' up
All alone without you
You voice that goes through
There's a ghost in my house
And I can't hide (ghost in my house)
From the ghost of your love that's inside (ghost in my house)
It keeps on haunting me (ghost in my house)
Just keeps on reminding me (ghost in my house)"

Promo-video:


The Fall - The Frenz Experiment @Amazon

Flaming Lips - Halloween on the Barbary Coast

Here's a good one...proof that the Flaming Lips were really great before The Soft Bulletin. It's too bad their albums before Transmissions... often go overlooked. I'm a big fan of Clouds Taste Metallic (and realize that comes after Transmissions.) This one, Hit to Death in the Future Head, is definitely underrated. I'm pretty sure it's the only album ever to end with 30 minutes of channel jumping static. That also means I've never listened to the entire album.

This song is one of the highlights, has a way cool lick, pretty much nonsensical lyrics, and contains "Halloween" in the title. Perfect!

The Flaming Lips - Halloween on the Barbary Coast

"Well, the retards laughed
When the evening came
The 'librium makes them
All the same
And boy, you still got
Shit for brains
It's Halloween on the coast again
Well the clowns roll in
And the line never ends
We get the last part
We get the bends
And the bends always last
Till the blast
And they sucked us down in the hole again
And it's Halloween on the Barbary Coast
Well, the mothers smiled
When the morning came
Under the Christmas tree
They looked all the same
And boy, you still got
Shit for brain
And it's Halloween all over again"

The Flaming Lips -Hit to Death in the Futurehead @Amazon

Sonic Youth and Mudhoney - Halloween

As we've now nearing the end of October, I'm dedicating this blog to "Halloween songs" for the rest of the month. I'll be covering songs that not only have Halloween in the title, but also feature Halloweeny themes like monsters, candy and ghosts. I'll also do a couple of straight up frightening songs...tracks that you want to avoid listening to alone in bed with your headphones on.

Today I'll begin with Sonic Youth's "Halloween" which comes from Bad Moon Rising, one of my favorite Sonic Youth albums (way underrated) and is as a whole a great record for this time of season. Just look at the cover art!

Kim Gordon does the vocals on this one...it's very atmospheric, one of those quiet noisy songs. It could play during the credits of the best horror film about a musical cornfield and a human-snake concoction that has yet to be made.

Sonic Youth - Halloween

"There's something shifting in the distance
Don't know what it is
Day's as dead as nights
Except for the feeling that's
Crawling up inside of me as you
Sing your song as you
Swing along and you're
It's your, your song

It's the devil in me
Makes me stare at you as you
Twist up along you
Sing your song and you
Slipping up to me and you're
So close i just a
Wanna touch you and i
Sing your song and you
Don't know what's going on but you
Wanna me to come along as you
Sing your song and you're
Fucking with me as you

Slither up to me
Your lips there
Slipping twisting at my
Insides and singing on
You're just a
Swinging man, it's not your
Swinging song and now i
Don't know what you want but
You're looking at me and you're
Falling to the ground and you're
Twisting around fucking with my
My mind and i don't know
what's going on

Swinging in your song
Twisting me on as you
Slither up to me and it's gotta be
And i don't know what you wanna do
And you're looking at me with your big dark eyes
And you're rubbing your body

Twisting"

Now here's Mudhoney's cover of the same song. Actually, this version would be more suitable for the end credits of that aforementioned movie. It's a little more cinematic, though less creepy and more...ghoulish?


Mudhoney - Halloween


Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising @Amazon

Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles @Amazon.com

Nico - The Fairest of the Seasons

Mid-term period. Sorry for the lack of updates. This song is one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard. Perfect for this time of year in my opinion when the leaves are at their peak color.

Nico - The Fairest of the Seasons

"Now that it's time
Now that the hour hand has landed at the end
Now that it's real
Now that the dreams have given all they had to lend
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe try another time
And do I really have a hand in my forgetting ?

Now that I've tried
Now that I've finally found that this is not the way,
Now that I turn
Now that I feel it's time to spend the night away
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe finally split the rhyme
And do I really understand the undernetting ?

Yes and the morning has me
Looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs carefully.

Now that it's light
Now that the candle's falling smaller in my mind
Now that it's here
Now that I'm almost not so very far behind
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe follow another sign
And do I really have a song that I can ride on ?

Now that I can
Now that it's easy, ever easy all around.
Now that I'm here
Now that I'm falling to the sunlights and a song
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And do I have to do just one
And can I choose again if I should lose the reason ?

Yes, and the morning
Has me looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs more carefully.

Now that I smile,
Now that I'm laughing even deeper inside.
Now that I see,
Now that I finally found the one thing I denied
It's now I know do I stay or do I go
And it is finally I decide
That I'll be leaving
In the fairest of the seasons"

Video for "Frozen Warnings." Lots of cool Factory footage here and cameos by Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, and of course various Velvet Underground members..


Nico - Chelsea Girl @Amazon.com

The Gentle Waves - Falling from Grace

The Gentle Waves...better known as Isobel Campbell...better known as the girl from Belle & Sebastian. I first heard this song in the underrated Christina Ricci film Pumpkin, also featuring Belle & Sebastian, Emiliana Torrini and Mercury Rev on its soundtrack. It's a gorgeous song, one that grabbed upon first listen, even before I had completed it entirely. What a voice...and lyrics! Not to mention the arrangement.. Wow.

The Gentle Waves - Falling from Grace

"You make me satisfied
You only want to ride
But that's alright by me
We happen to be free
For what tomorrow brings
No peace and broken wings
It may have been so good
But now it's understood
'Twas just a night

If I could tear my heart
And keep it miles apart
From love of beast or man
And never give a damn
If I could learn to lie
And never show my pride
I'd be just like the rest
Be someone I detest

I'm always looking for the sun
I'm always looking for the sun to shine

Love...
Destroys the best of us
Then leaves the rest of us
Thinking perhaps we'll die
Yet still we stay alive
Lost in a hollow frame
With lonely tears remain
Not knowing our life's worth
Dragging around the earth
How false the light

You make me satisfied
You only want to ride
But that's alright by me
We happen to be free
And if we fall from grace
At least we had a taste
Of something more than this
Unresolved black abyss

I'm always looking for the sun
I'm always looking for the sun
I'm always looking for the sun
I'm only looking for the sun to shine"

Promo-video for "Falling from Grace"


The Gentle Waves- Swansong for You

Exclusive!: New Of Montreal - Feminine Effects

Last week Of Montreal did a radio session over at MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) where they performed, "Feminine Effects", a song from their mysterious next album Skeletal Lamping. During the interview part of the session Kevin mentions October as the release date. I'd assume he means 2008, but who nows- maybe he'll follow the path of Radiohead and just unexpectedly drop the album later this month. I can only hope.

The album was first revealed through a Kevin Barnes myspace blog rant about a month ago. Here's the parts specifically relating to the record:

"It feels good to let the ego rage. I'm sure it does feel good. In fact, I can say from experience that it does feel good, because I am doing it myself on my new album. Ha.
Actually, that is what this rant is all about. I am exploring the dark and gloriously detestable sides of my consciousness. A lot of the people I've played the new songs for have been confused. I'm probably going to lose some fans but I don't care. I don't care because, I'm enjoying myself. I don't care because, I'm following the organic path of my muse, or whatever. Most of all I don't care because, the indie rock world is too polite and likable and I feel it needs the drunken uncle to show up, uninvited, to the birthday party and vomit on the couch. Not every year of course, but at least once in a while".

So the new album will be the equivalent of your uncle showing up drnk to your party and throwing up all over the place. I'm intrigued. "Feminine Effects" is as far as I'm aware Of Montreal's first piano ballad. It's really pretty, minimalistic and certainly a different turn for Kevin Barnes.

Of Montreal - Feminine Effects

The mp3 is ripped from the real audio session. Yes, it's not exclusive per se, but I did rip it from that inaccessible realaudio stream to the much more convenient mp3 format. Have fun. Here's the entire session in mp3, also featuring Lindsay Buckingham and Who covers.

Of Montreal Live in MPR Studio 10-5-07

Of Montreal @ Polyvinyl Records

Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater

Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater

"When I heard the knock on the door
I couldn't catch my breath
Is it too late to call this off?

We could slip away
Wouldn't that be better?
Me with nothing to say
And you in your autumn sweater

I tried my best to hide in the crowded room
It's nearly possible
I wait for you, oh, most patiently

We could slip away
Wouldn't that be better?
Me with nothing to say
And you in your autumn sweater

So I looked for your eyes and the waves looked like
They'd pour right out of them
I'll try hard, I'll try always
But it's a waste of time
It's a waste of time if I can't smile easily
Like in the beginning
In the beginning

We could slip away
Wouldn't that be better?
Me with nothing to say
And you in your autumn sweater"

I like this interpretation:

"I think the song describes an awkward meeting near the beginning of an intimate relationship. As the narrator recounts the events in the song, he primarily recalls the insecurity he felt. Throughout the song, references are make to nakedness or exposure that stand in sharp contrast to the you of the song, who is described only as wearing a sweater. Ira converys the bittersweet lyrics in a vocal style that sounds soft and plaintive, almost humiliated. The music also supports the theme of nakedness; each instrument stands apart from the others. The instruments seem concentric rather than coordinated -- that is, their distinct repetitious rhythms give the impression of something working together almost by accident rather than intent. At the point of narration, I get the feeling that the narrator has conquered some of the basic insecurities that he struggled with in the beginning of the relationship, but he still struggles with similar insecurities. These insecurities prevent him from moving into a completely conjoined and selfless relationship with his significant other. But I don't get the feeling that the relationship will break up. In fact, the relationship seems to be both strong and tender. I get the feeling that the struggle between self and selfless or I and we will continue as long as the relationship is alive, eventually gaining the consistent and essential qualities of a heartbeat".

Sorry to be hosting using zshare... filefreak simply does not allow enough bandwidth for me to get through a day. I miss minorcrisis so much.

Autumn Sweater Live at Lollapalooza


Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One @Amazon.com

Tullycraft - Twee

I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH.



Tullycraft - Twee




"Well she wakes up every morning
to the sound of Sarah records
On a compilation tape
her friend had sent to her from Paris
Well it's not to say she didn't like
the college station
But her days left in this town
were counting down to graduation
She said hey hey hey
with less than three weeks to go
She tried to justify the goth scene
but the relevance was low
And she said hey hey hey
Won't you listen to me
Well you can keep the punk rock
Ska rap beats and house
Fuck me I'm twee

She packed her little teddy totebag
saved some tickets for herself
Picked out her favorite Lucksmiths single
took the Cher Doll off the shelf
She grabbed her Slumberland guitar case
and her 14 Iced Bears ring
Took down her IFOJ poster
and 'the band who would be king'
And she said hey hey hey
I'm taking 2nd to steal
You know you won't meet Barker's beauties
unless you learn to spin the wheel
And she said hey hey hey
Won't you listen to me
Well you can keep the punk rock
Ska rap beats and house
Fuck me I'm twee

She said i may not beat my sister
at this stupid game of uno
But at least i know the difference
between a Boscoe and a Bruno
Sick of stickin' around just like those magnets on the fridge
But when I finally leave this town
Please don't throw Aggi from the bridge
She said hey hey hey
there's just one thing I know
You'll find more Posies in the used bin
than there are people at the show
And she said hey hey hey
Won't you listen to me
Well you can keep the punk rock
Ska rap beats and house
Fuck me I'm twee"

Tullycraft - Beat, Surf, Fun

Vashti Bunyan - Rose Hip November

Vashti Bunyan makes some of most beautiful music I've ever heard. I've covered her in detail with a previous entry, having a life story that I find to be more interesting than just about every other musician I listen to. Actually on the top on my head I can't think of a more interesting story, so I'll just go right ahead and crown Vashti with the the most amazing lifetime award, and one that still seems to be far from its close. Check out the linked "previous entry" for more on that- it's too good to just summarize.

Continuing on with the Autumn songs, this is an obvious choice, along with practically any track from her debut (and only album for a span of 35 years) Just Another Diamond Day. Its not only one of my favorite records for establishing a particular mood, but one of favorites in general. Thankfully today she's finally getting the recognition she deserves, an appreciation that was criminally absent three decades earlier.

Vashti Bunyan - Rose Hip November

"Rose hip November - autumn I’ll remember
Gold landing at our door, catch one leaf and fortune will surround you evermore

Pine tree very tall, waiting for snow to fall
Mist hangs very still, caught by dawn in castle moats around the sleeping hill

Now a pipe is heard happy is the shepherd
shepherdess and dog, father of the pastureland and mother of the flock

Rosehip November - autumn I’ll remember
Gold landing at our door, catch one Leif and fortune will surround you
Evermore
evermore
evermore"

Fan video for the song with some gorgeous scenery



Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day

Golden Shoulders (featuring Joanna Newsom) – The Honey, the Power, the Light

I'm mildly obsessed with Joanna Newsom. She's my favorite performer at the moment and the connection I feel with her music and love I hold for it has been rivaled by only a few other bands in my life. Actually, that may be an understatement. I recently contacted Benjamin Vierling, the painter who is responsible of the cover art of Ys, and thew down $150 for a limited to 100 print of the original painting. Over the weekend I took it into AC Moore as they had a 50% off all custom framing sale and picked out a super nice wooden frame with high-end glass for $180, original retail being $360. Okay- I LOVE Joanna Newsom. My obsession with her music is only exceeded by that of my 9th and 10th grade Weezer obsession, though in terms of emotional connection to the music, Joanna wins no contest. When I want happiness, I turn to Joanna. When I'm down in the dumps and I'm looking to cry it out, I'll again turn to Joanna. "Sadie" and "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" during those times particularly turn me into a bumbling wreck, but of the greatest sort. Rather than some emo wallowing in your sadness state, it's more a re-affirmation of life...a different type of tears. It feels so powerful and amazing.

The love I hold for the Newsom also means that anything she touches, anything she recommends, I'll undoubtedly look into. When I heard she contributed to three songs on a Golden Shoulders record, a semi-obscure rotating line-up band from Nevada City CA, Joanna's hometown. She appears on 2002's Let My Burden Be, a year before Joanna even started to record her own music and while she was still an active member of the Pleased. Out of the three songs with her "The Honey, the Power, the Light" is my favorite. It's a great song, where Joanna duets with Adam Kline, the primary guy behind Golden Shoulders. The song is minimalistic, only acoustic guitar and occasional percussion bells.

Golden Shoulders - The Honey, the Power, the Light

Lyrics aren't anywhere online...I just ordered the physical album myself, so hopefully they'll come with that.

Here's a very literal unofficial video for the song. This is definitely better than lyrics:



Golden Shoulders - Let My Burdon Be @Amazon.com