ChipperDemon » Compilations » May 2008 » A Whole New Appreciation for Bangs

THURSDAY, MAY 29TH, 2008

A Whole New Appreciation for Bangs

Continuing a rather superb collection of songs in a superior order A Whole New Appreciation for Bangs is sure to "accidentally" get stuck in one's CD player.

Tracklist as follows:

1. Lolita - Throw Me the Statue
"Lolita" has been voted as a favorite by 1 user.

2. The Beginning of the Twist - The Futureheads

3. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings

4. Level - The Raconteurs

5. Outrunning Paper Tigers - Jeremy Sparrow

6. Radio Heart - The Futureheads

7. I Got Ideas - The Whigs

8. The Start of Something - Voxtrot

9. Galaxy of the Lost (Lightspeed Champion Cover) - Florence and the Machine

10. Galaxy of the Lost - Lightspeed Champion

11. Bad Attitude - Evan Voytas

12. Like a Vibration - The Whigs

13. Weapon of Choice - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

14. Blame the English - The Lovekevins
"Blame the English" has been voted as a favorite by 1 user.

15. A Very Sad Song - The Sound of Arrows

16. Dates from Hell - Remi Nicole
"Dates from Hell" has been voted as a favorite by 1 user.

17. Dry Lips - Lightspeed Champion

18. 666 Conducer - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

19. Nasty Habits - Grand Ole Party

20. Danger! - The Sound of Arrows

Bonus Tracks
Becky - Be Your Own Pet
Stay the Fuck Away From Me - Lightspeed Champion

Posted by ChipperDemon at 12:00 AM | 1 comment

"Infectiously bouncy and upbeat, "A Whole New Appreciation for Bangs" is definitely one of my favorite mixes so far.

1. Lolita - Throw Me the Statue
If you had a gaggle of Welsh kids half-screaming this, it'd almost pass for a Los Campesinos! song, and I mean that in the best possible way. The playful acoustic guitar, the frantic drumming, xylophone, accordion... ChipperDemon has a knack for nicking great tracks to kick off its mixes, and "Lolita" definitely sets the tone for what's to follow.

2. The Beginning of the Twist - The Futureheads
I missed out on their new album, but The Futureheads' debut made for one of my favorite of the jittery new wave/post-punk revivalist acts. A lot of those bands took most of their cues from Gang of Four and Wire; The Futureheads, along with Dead Dogs in Hot Cars, seemed to be inspired by XTC's "Drum and Wires" more than anything else. (XTC ranks up there with Sloan, They Might Be Giants, and Weird Al as my most enduring musical obsessions.) The Futureheads seem to still have an eye on the past with "The Beginning of the Twist" while forging more of their own sound at the same time.

3. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
Although I did have kind of a vendetta against "Great DJ" for a while there, that Blondie riff and groove that fuel "Shut Up and Let Me Go" always scored a pass from me. I still really like it, and...oh, those chirping synths as the song screams to a close make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

4. Level - The Raconteurs
I love the way the hypnotic lead guitar swirls around the thick, chunky garage rock groove.

5. Outrunning Paper Tigers - Jeremy Sparrow
All your threats are tissue tigers. The first few seconds of its opening keyboard made me think this was going to skew retro, but this one stands well enough on its own with its layers of keys, synths, and lilting vocals. "Outrunning Paper Tigers" is a breezy bridge to catch your breath between the more kinetic stretches that bookend it.

6. Radio Heart - The Futureheads
I guess I already fawned over The Futureheads enough for one response. I'm really liking this second track too.

7. I Got Ideas - The Whigs
Just really great, straightahead, rockin' guitar-pop, and I'm loving the extra colors the tinny keys add.

8. The Start of Something - Voxtrot
My kneejerk reaction -- and I don't know if I'd agree with it if I were to stop and think about it -- is that this is what Belle and Sebastian might sound like if they dropped the studio gloss and ornate instrumentation. Fast, poppy, and lo-fi.

9. Galaxy of the Lost (Lightspeed Champion Cover) - Florence and the Machine
My eyes immediately lit up my first time through, convinced -- for just a moment, at least -- that this was Zooey Deschanel stepping in front of the mic.

10. Galaxy of the Lost - Lightspeed Champion
Even with the cover and original back to back, I still managed to forget that I was listening to two versions of the same song. I'll admit to preferring the Florence and the Machines cover: the stripped-down but more energetic unaccompanied guitar and the higher, more chipper female vox.

11. Bad Attitude - Evan Voytas
There's something that struck me as kind of Elephant 6-ish in the verses -- the subdued horns and low-key poppiness, I guess? -- but where "Bad Attitude" really grabbed me was in the pop delirium of the choruses and bridge.

12. Like a Vibration - The Whigs
The faint growl in the vox complement the buzzing guitar really effectively, although I'm not crazy about the really mechanical sound to the drums.

13. Weapon of Choice - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Kinda keen on the fact that "Weapon of Choice" has the restraint not to let the guitar dominate the song, even with as great and straightahead as the driving, chugging riff is.

14. Blame the English - The Lovekevins
Another foot-tappin', headbobbingly poppy track. That's such an outstanding vocal melody, and with those layers of harmonies and the fingersnaps underneath followed by the jangly guitar...love it, love it, love it.

15. A Very Sad Song - The Sound of Arrows
It's haunting and ethereal, yes, yet it's not exactly what I'd call stereotypically sad, and I think that very much works in its favor.

16. Dates from Hell - Remi Nicole
My weakness for female vox (with extra credit awarded for British accents) and synthesizers is pretty well documented, but another thing I've always loved -- and it's a trap I fall into too frequently when I "write" fragments of songs -- is that percussive, almost stoccato guitar sound that punctuates the drumming, like what you hear right at the 3:10 mark.

17. Dry Lips - Lightspeed Champion
Another really sweet, acoustic number. I love how the vocals build to such a soaring crescendo near the end.

18. 666 Conducer - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
It's the kind of song where halfway through, I notice my head slowly nodding along with the beat. A nice, subdued bluesy undercurrent too.

19. Nasty Habits - Grand Ole Party
The vox seem a touch too theatrical, but the general trajectory of that vocal melody is terrific, and that killer, immediately arresting guitar lick more than makes up for any marginal grousing I might have.

20. Danger! - The Sound of Arrows
What a great chorus! There's something Pet Shop Boys-ish about the vocals that really gels with this flavor of synth-pop. Even on my second listen, I didn't recognize it as being the same band from earlier in the CD.

21. BONUS TRACK - Becky - Be Your Own Pet
I didn't know much more from Be Your Own Pet than the inhumanly hooky "The Kelly Affair" from a couple years back, but sifting through this one, it's even more of a drag that they broke up so quickly. I'm really digging the way "Becky" uses sugary sweet '60s girl-pop as a foundation and infuses it with hyperkinetic punk energy. (I adored the late, great Rondelles for the same reason, although their sound is almost unrecognizably different than what Be Your Own Pet are belting out.)

22. BONUS TRACK - Stay the Fuck Away From Me - Lightspeed Champion
Awwww...the overdubbed acoustic at the end kinda saps away some of its ragged bitter-'n-heartbroken-guy-in-his-bedroom-with-a-guitar charm. It's a pretty great choice for a bonus track, especially one at the tail end of a CD. It's kind of hard to picture much of any song following this one."

posted by Adam on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 1:49 PM.

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I Have Taste in Music Ballot

For each compilation:

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Pick top three
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What song gets stuck in your head the easiest (you mind it, you don't mind it)?
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At the dawn of innoVation MAdLorD and ChipperDemon signed the Fourth Wednesday Treaty; MAdLorD would stop throwing thunderbolts (short circuiting the dinosaur robots) and ChipperDemon would quit with the trickery (snatching souls: see Twilight Zone Episode #6 Escape Clause) under the condition that the ChipperDemon would provide a musical selection every Fourth Wednesday.