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Dusted Features
Every Friday, Dusted Magazine publishes a series of music-related lists compiled by our favorite artists. This week: Girl Talk and the Finches.
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Listed: Girl Talk + the Finches
Girl Talk
Pittsburgh whiz kid Gregg Gillis has been "recording" as Girl Talk for three albums now, but you probably only just caugh wind of him (unless you read our review of his 2nd record, Unstoppable. His new record, Night Ripper is a brilliant, pop cultural montage of the past twenty plus years in music history. Combining everything from gangsta rap to 70s power ballads, it's a collage that's as good for playing "guess the sample" as it is for kicking off a party. Night Ripper is out now in Illegal Art Records.
Top 10 Cassettes I've Been Listening In My Car Over The Past Couple Weeks
I drive for at least an hour on most days. My car doesn't have a CD player, but I really like jamming my cassette deck and radio so it's no problem. My cassette collection is about 50% stuff from middle school, 35% thrift store buys, and 15% new stuff dubbed onto tape. Here‚s what I've been getting into lately.
1. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
This was one of my first albums I owned on tape. There's a lot of attitude on this one. The singles are great ("Mama said Knock You Out," "Around the Way Girl"), but there's also some unsung heat, such as "Jingling Baby" and "Boomin System," which is crucial for traffic jams.
2. Dubbed Cassette: Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped and (most of) Drop the Lime - We Never Sleep
I buy every Sonic Youth record even though my interest has been fading a little bit in recent years, but this new one is solid. This is a good record for a road trip style drive. I'm good friends Luke V, aka Drop The Lime, and his new album is a banger. I'm juiced he decided to go with some straight forward techno-styles on it.
3. Beck - Mellow Gold
I got a chance to open up for Beck this month, so I've been going through a lot of his catalog lately. This is a great late summer record. I'm really into the heavy pseudo-sludge-grunge material and the really laid back acoustic numbers.
4. Hall and Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette
I only have this one and Private Eyes on cassette. This album gets pretty soulful, especially on "She's Gone." It's pretty weird to hear Hall and Oates singing about carbon and monoxide choking their thoughts away.
5. These are Powers - (Not Sure of the Title)
I just caught this band last weekend in New London, CT. I missed most of the set, but what I caught was abrasive and heavy. I think the bassist and the drummer are from Liars. The singer had an intimidating-crazy-front-lady thing going on. It's great when bands sell cassettes.
6. Ice Cube - Lethal Injection
Ice Cube was always my favorite rapper during my middle school years. I think the The Predator and AmeriKKKa‚s Most Wanted are both better than this one, but this still has some jams, especially the smooth but aggressive "Really Doe."
7. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
I just recently acquired this one on cassette. This is my favorite Dinosaur Jr. record. The quality on the tape isn't the greatest, but it feels good for this album.
8. Nirvana - Bleach
I accidentally broke this cassette a few days ago, so I wanted to pay some respect since I won‚t be listening to it anytime soon. These are some Wolf Eyes labelmates who do that whole grunge thing. I‚d have to pick out "School" and "Sifting" as highlights.
9 Dubbed Cassette: Clinton Sparks Smashtime Radio Vol 2 + extra random stuff
I just picked this CDr recently. It's chaotic as hell, but there‚s some strong tracks on it, including the Clinton Sparks "Ring the Alarm" remix and Clipse "Chinese New Year." Get familiar.
10. Aerosmith - Big Ones
I don't know if you're allowed to write good things about Aerosmith on Dusted, but I've been really into this singles collection. The 80's stuff is cool, but they really catch their stride with the 90's hits.
The Finches
Practically oceans apart, the two members of Bay Area band The Finches manage to maintain a working relationship while living on opposite sides of the Bay. Their debut ep - the aptly titled Six Songs, helped put them on the map, at least in California. Their sound is sparse and delicate, and their easy-going songs is refreshingly easy to enjoy. Casual fans can look forward to a new album "sometime in January," and the even more eager can check them out on tour soon: www.finchesmusic.com/html/tour.html.
The Finches count to 10:
Carolyn:
The Top Five-and-a-Half that make me make music (I've excluded favorites like the Kinks and Sibelius, though they'd definitely make my Stranded-On-An-Island.) Here, in random order:
1. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
I am a late bloomer to the trilogy, or rather, TRINITY, of most ahh-inspiring pop records. I recommend viewing the BBC-1 mini-series, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy before settling down with headphones to fully absorb the insane production and spicy stories. Only Paul Simon rivals Brian Eno's too-poignant, earworm bridges.
2. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master and Everyone
Just LAST NIGHT I dreamt that I met Mr, Oldham (after watching him on Conan O'Brian). I cornered him and started slowly, "I...listened to your...albums...And then...I started learning chords...And then I made music...mluhhh" He sighed through his baleen moustache. Sigh.
3. RyRock - High Rys
Wow! This LA wunderkind makes music like Ariel Pink but infinitely sadder. Recorded in the apartment he shared with his Dad.
4. Six Songs for Stephen Hawking
My Dad is an amateur musician. In the early 90s he wrote the music for a play about his hero, Stephen Hawking. Six Songs was the demo tape they made. It had an image of the our favorite galaxy on the cover. One song goes, "Many are the dreams that guide us onwards..." Super intense! Hey, if Dad can do it...
5. Francoise Hardy - La Maison Ou J'ai Grandi
I like her music in general, but this song I LOVE. I downloaded it when I was 19 and still had downloading capabilities. Ooh la la! The melody is so nostalgic. Since I didn't and don't speak French, I made up my own lyrics so that I could sing along. That song became "The House With Two Front Doors." Later, a dear friend translated the words, and there were some very eery parallels. O, transcendent melody!!
5 1/2. Leonard Cohen
"Ring the bells that can still ring/forget your perfect offering/There is a crack in everything/That's how the light gets in." O, transcendent verse!
Aaron:
Okay, here's my top 5 (In rough order of discovery):
1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
My parents put me to sleep to this album when I was a baby and its stuck with me. The trumpet is probably my favorite instrument.
2. Nirvana - Nevermind
I was in fifth grade when this album came out and it hooked me from the first chord. No album since has done that, it made me want to play music and I couldn't even picture what the band looked like.
3. Three Mile Pilot - Chief Assassin to the Sinister
I grew up in San Diego and this band - specifically this album- started getting me out to hear shows.
4.Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
I love the way Tom Waits incorporates elements of theatre in his music. I found this album on vinyl in high school and it's still one of the most listened to.
5. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
How could I make this list without including Neil Young? He is one of the only artists I am ALWAYS in the mood for.
By Dusted Magazine
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