& in the evening, when we are sleeping

dear friends,

happy valentine's day! for those of you who are going to the deli party, I salute thee for you are are about to rawk. be sure to check out pink noise who perform songs about pixie dust with just enough guitar squall to confuse you in case you thought they were gonna be cute or something. for those who feel like being adventurous, I heartily recommend the lovely sounds of just about to burn. go listen to their shimmery nervous girl on their my space page. they're playing a FREE show tonight rare at 8:30. that leaves plenty of time to go to the deli party afterwards &/or turn your special someone OUT &/or go home & watch american idol.

here's a few songs suggestions for a tiny valentine's day playlist (minus the links/mp3s 'cause I ain't got no host, no host cares for me, no hostie etc...) --- feel free to add your good love/bad love suggestions in the comments, since I didn't make a very long list.

1. c'mere/interpol

half the time I have no idea what paul banks from interpol is going on & on about. the lyrics are like all these bizarre little phrases scribbled on envelopes strung together out of sheer lyrical necessity & bellowed by an automaton. however, "it's way too late/to be this locked inside ourselves/the trouble is/that you're in love with someone else/it should be me/oh it should be me" ties together like a ribbon adorning a box of unsolicited chocolates. not only is this song coherent lyrically but banks sells that shiz, his vocal softens & moves with the music in a way that says I mean it without being theatrical.

2. hyperballad/bjork

if you had, say, a morning ritual that involved getting up at dawn, throwing things off a cliff, idly imagining your own fall-induced demise followed by going home, climbing into bed & nestling into the warmly sleeping figure of your lover then this would be your theme song. interestingly, while I have no such ritual, I understand exactly what she means. & that is why bjork's tales of state of emergencies & boys like you have a special place for certain romantic types.

3. how can I tell you?/cat stevens

I love the cat. I always have since I was an itty bitty d in a tan fun fur jacket getting lost in department stores. I learned how to use a turntable (a developmental milestone!) by playing tea for the tillerman endlessly. now, if you have a problem with the sleeve & the heart, the cat is not for you. how can I tell you is an earnest & direct statement of I heart you to someone who is not around. whether this is by choice or by circumstance, is never made clear, what is clear is how the singer feels & boy, is he feeling. if you're willing to be just as unambivalent about someone as stevens is in this song or willing to feel this way at the peril of looking like ass or willing to feel this way without anyone finding out about it by brooding privately in your room, hugging your pillow, composing a dear diary entry in your head, then let this song in.

4. I put a spell on you/nina simone

come on! it can't all be nice & pretty. you gotta throw some drama in there & who else but miss simone to bring it. singing this tale of wronged lover voodoo, she is walnut voiced imperial & when she throws down vocally with that saxophonist at the end, it's goosebump inducing.

OR

to love somebody/nina simone

if I put a spell... is too much scary for you, then opt for this other simone track where she covers the bee gees, aw heck, she STEALS their little song to love-affirming effect.

5. soft as snow (but warm inside)/my bloody valentine

I actually heard this at an impressionable age on the radio. it's pervy as hell, with processed ooh's & guitars like elephants on acid putting on an aerial show. I don't know about you but that's pretty much sums up how I express my lust.

6. sea of love/cat power

FULL DISCLOSURE: when I was a child & we had purloined cable, I loved me the honeydrippers version of sea of love. the honeydrippers? yeah, they were robert plant of led zeppelin & some other dudes doing weirdly eightified versions of songs from the 50's. they did this song with lots of angelic choir voices & general fromage. when I realized later in life that the production sound on this really was total shit, I also knew that no amount of cheese could destroy this song. it's so simple & so lulling just like a calm ocean, which I suppose means that a real sea of love is still. I can accept that. so go listen to chan & her autoharp sound like walking down the steps of a beach house to that shimmering sea.

love, d

ps come to think of it, the tom waites version of sea of love is good too. meh.

bands to go see live: pink noise, just about to burn