Day 13

Well hello there, Gimmick Blog! Would you like me to update you? It'd be my pleasure!

Song 61: Of Montreal - "Erroneous Escape Into Eric Eckless"
Do you remember when Of Montreal was like a regular old indie pop band? It's been a damn while. This song could be confused for a lively Belle & Sebastian song. I know a lot of people pine for this era of the band (and really, Satanic Panic... really did signal the end of the simple pop band Of Montreal) but I can't imagine listening to many more songs like this one. Pass.

Song 62: The Pixies - "There Goes My Gun"
I accidentally typed "There Goes My Gum" for a second up there. That would make for a much less interesting song, probably. Not that the gun really livens this particular ditty up. I don't mean to be so snarky, because I do love The Pixies, but this is not one of their better efforts. Boring verse, boring chorus, boring song. Coincidentally, I think there is a song on The Wrens' Silver that has that weird guitar noise in it.

Song 63: Of Montreal - "Touched Something's Hollow"
I don't like to write about the same artist on back to back days, much less in the same update, but the juxtaposition is too great not to point out. This somber piano ballad filters some sad sack lyrics through a T. Rex/David Bowie glam piano that is perfect. The lyrics are simple to great effect. The song skips a chorus to go with two variations on a single 'verse': "Why'm I so damaged, girl? Why'm I such poison, girl? I don't know how long I can hold on / if it's gonna be like this forever." It's worth noting that this downtempo song goes seamlessly into one of the happiest songs on the record. Style points for that.

Song 64: Islands - "Volcanoes"
I don't think I've ever listened to this song with headphones on in a quiet room like I am doing right now, and thus never realized that the creepy talky intro goes on nearly 30 seconds! I'd like to know what that's from. This is a really fun song and very clever for being about...uh...volcanoes. It feels light and airy, like a delicious angel food cake.

Song 65: Liz Phair - "Soap Star Joe"
I don't know if I ever really listened to Exile In Guyville all the way through. At least I know I never did while I was totally paying attention. This feels very "of its time." That is to say, it sounds like mid 90s pop/grunge that could be vaguely dangerous but probably won't hurt you any. The strummed electric guitar is just sparse enough to create an atmosphere, but also loud enough so that this doesn't sound like a campfire song. It's good, but I doubt I 'll remember the tune tomorrow.

Day 12

Song 56: Dizzee Rascal - "Graftin'"
This is a very hard song for me to listen to and concentrate on. It has Dizzee's usual million syllables a second flow, but the beat is like somebody chopped and screwed diz's beat into oblivion. It's so slow and sparse, it's so jarring juxtaposed with the quickness of the rapping. It is actually almost giving me a headache right now, which isn't usual, but still very unwelcome.

Song 57: Ultimate Fakebook - "Wrestling Leap Year"
Power POP! This'll raise the bpm a bit! A very cool sinsiter sounding verse leads into a bit of a herky-jerky chorus here. Thankfully, the chorus is short so as to get back to the pretty cool verse. Hey three people that read this blog, what is a wrestling leap year?

Song 58: Liz Phair - "Johnny Sunshine"
This is, if nothing else, a very cool name for a song. Admittadly, I have maybe listened to this cd once or twice ever, so I don't have a strong inclination to Liz Phair at all. It's not bad though. The mild wall of distortion that the song sits in front surprised me. If the song wanted to, it could really explode at the end with some huge wall of sound collaging. Too bad it wastes the last 45 seconds slooooooowly fading out.

Song 59: Teddybears - "Punk Rocker (Featuring Iggy Pop)"
Yes! I first heard this, or parts of it, in some commercial. Unbeknownst to Luke, I had wanted to hear the real thing for awhile, and he ended up putting it on my Christmas 2006 mix cd. Maybe my favorite song from that mix, too. This was a perfect song for Iggy Pop to sing, sort of like how Johnny Cash doing all of the covers of 90s alternative hits was really cool because the age of the vocals just changes so much about the message, Iggy Pop turns the song into sort of an aging lament on being a punk rocker. The whole thing fits so comfortably opposite the cheerful synth-driven backing music. I love it. "See my die on Bleaker Street. / I'm bored with being god."

Song 60: Architecture In Helsinki - "Fumble"
Architecture in Helsinki are almost just a bit too cute for their own good, but that doesn't detract here. The stop-start horns and guitars are pleasent and give the song a bit of mystery, because it's not entirely clear where the chorus will appear. Neat song, AIH.