Title tracks, John Davis’ latest band incarnation (after Q and Not U and Georgie James), are playing a (sure to be wonderful) show with Black Hollies and Brian Scary and the Shredding Tears . And if there is one thing John Davis knows, it is his way around a great pop song. In fact, he not only writes them but plays them regularly on his radio show (1-2-3-4 More More More) which has moved from XM Radio over to WOXY.com. So, we’re rerunning this awesome/timeless music list he did for us this winter.
all photos: Shervin Lainez
So, naturally, we figured, instead of a dull interview, why not have John handpick some sonic candy for you to stuff your ears with. And, he kindly obliged.
Are you ready? Here are tracks John can’t get enough of. Right now.
1. Any Trouble – “Yesterday’s Love” – I’ve talked about this song and band before and the main talking points are that they were a mostly-forgotten band on Stiff Records and they got compared relentlessly to Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker and that ilk. The comparison is totally valid, but it does kind of diminish just how good this band could be. “Yesterday’s Love” was, I think their debut single from 1980 and it’s just spotless from start to finish. Less acerbic than Costello and poppier than Parker, they hit their mark with the first release out of the gate. The album that followed, “Where All The Nice Girls,” is good, too, but this is their peak.
2. The Wind – “Wonder Track” – From 1982’s “What’s Happening With The Wind” LP. A nervy, yet peppy, power pop song that benefits from it’s pretty lo-fi production. All of those “ba ba ba-da”’s might sound even hokier if they were done slickly, like their major label power pop counterparts of the time. Although the band trumpeted its “soul” influence (it *is* there a little bit), it mostly works and the song is great. The cheesiness of this might make some folks gag, but better for it to be from treacle than ipecac.
3. El Perro Del Mar – “Somebody’s Baby” – GREAT song from her last record, “From The Valley To The Stars.” I love a softly insistent drumbeat and singer/songwriter Sarah Assbring’s tastes are pretty impeccable here. Brill Building, soft soul, Spector … a lot of people go wrong trying to ape that, but she does it right. She’s got a new album coming soon.
4. Camera Obscura – “My Maudlin Career” – Speaking of forthcoming albums, this is the title track from the Scottish band’s next album, which I think is due in April on 4AD. Another great weeper, swaddled in reverb and propelled by a memorable piano line that never relents for the song’s four-plus minutes. Tracyanne sounds great and I expect more excellence when the rest of the album is unveiled.
5. The Toms – “Other Boys Do” – A one-man-band out of New Jersey, Tom Marolda made a record in 1979 that, though overlooked, is one of the best power pop records ever, no doubt. It’s hard to pick a favorite from this record, but this could be mine. Four on the floor drums, dicey but awesome guitar solos and ridiculous, undeniable hooks.
6. Nick Lowe – “Nutted By Reality” – Ok, I know I said that The Wind’s “Wonder Track” was cheesy, but this one is REALLY cheesy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but that doesn’t stop me from loving this shit. This tune is off Lowe’s first solo record, 1978’s “Pure Pop For Now People” (aka “Jesus Of Cool”). It was reissued last year by Yep Roc and was much feted, which was nice to see. Lowe, pretty famous for his “Cruel To Be Kind” hit, is also well-regarded as a producer (Elvis Costello, The Damned, Dave Edmunds), but it’s this album that is the peak of his legacy, for me. “Heart Of The City,” “So It Goes,” “I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass” … they’re all on this album and they’re all great. But it’s the weird Jackson 5/Paul McCartney melange of “Nutted By Reality” that does it best for me. The first half of the song is a dorkily funky “I Want You Back” ripoff where Lowe sings about Castro. In a strange about-face, Lowe suddenly shifts the song into “Band On The Run” territory, all sweeping acoustic guitars, nice harmonies and hook after hook. Love this guy and he’s at his best on this album and song.
7. The Points – “Feeling Sorry” – Definitely the best band in D.C. in a few years, I think. This album is great and is a welcome antidote to the bearded, flannel-in-the-forest, indie-folk thing that has just gone on for way too fucking long. Talk about four-on-the-floor drums, this one’s got it, plus madly downstroked guitars, a frantic pace and some serious ‘tude. Keep it up, people.
8. Mtn. High – “St. John Bouvier” – …and just up the road a piece, you have Mtn. High, another fine beer-soaked, no-frills, garagey bands outta PA that grew up on The Monorchid, KARP and a good slice of the Touch & Go roster. Totally righteous, this makes me want to play drums again.
9. The Spongetones – “A Part Of Me Now” – Maybe it’s their terrible name, but I don’t know how this band didn’t become, if not huge, at least a well-regarded touchstone of the whole power-pop/skinny tie/Beatle-luvver world. Their 1982 debut, “Beat Music,” is so absurdly good. I guess you’ve got to be a fan of early Beatles stuff, but I suppose that doesn’t eliminate all that many people. Really well-written songs that, though clearly an imitation of sorts, totally stands independent, to me, as an outstanding whole. Almost every song that that record is a keeper and “A Part Of Me Now” is one of my favorites.
10. Deleted Scenes – “Fake IDs” – I played a show with these guys a few years back with one of my old bands and I liked them. So, I was glad to hear this song a few weeks ago. Damn good singing for sure and it seems like there’s no reason that people wouldn’t be all over this. I think it’s the sadness in the song lurking throughout the song that makes me like it most, even if it never really opens up that emotion, at least as far as I felt. Very nice and it’s good to see the D.C. scene recovering with the help of bands like this.
11. The Soft Boys – “Queen Of Eyes” – Well-known as the band that launched Robyn Hitchcock and certainly well-established as its own force (outstripping that of Hitchcock’s solo work in many eyes), The Soft Boys blend of The Byrds’ psych tendencies and literate leanings with the the grit of early punk and new wave are right in my wheelhouse, so “Queen Of Eyes,” where it all comes together best (from 1980’s “Underwater Moonlight,” lavishly reissued earlier this decade by Matador), is my favorite song of theirs and one I’ve listened to a lot in recent weeks.
12. Edie Sedgwick – “Sissy Spacek” – I go way back with Justin Moyer, aka Edie Sedgwick. I think we’re talking about 13 years at this point, which is nuts. Anyway, I’ve seen this mofo play, easy, 125 times since then, probably much more. Predominantly with his old band El Guapo/Supersystem, but also maybe 25-30 Antelope shows and a handful of Edie Sedgwick shows — starting back in 2001 when Edie was a bass/drums duo, later in 2004 when J-Mo busted out the solo Edie-in-drag show that he did for a while and then again, a few weeks ago at the Black Cat. That show a few weeks ago was, by far, the coolest J-Mo performance I’ve ever seen. When I say “cool,” I mean, like, Alan Vega “cool,” not like “oh, this place has a pool table?” cool. The band playing behind him at the show was great, there was a unified vibe, the songs from his new album (”Things Are Getting Sinister and Sinisterer,” which Dischord put out a few months ago) sounded even better live than recorded and it seemed like J-Mo has channelled his inner Spiv in a way that spurned imitation and brought out the character he’s been searching for. Anyway, “Sissy Spacek” is the single, I suppose, from this album and it’s a good one.
13. Richard Swift – “Lady Luck” – I first heard of Richard Swift from when he was signed to Saddle Creek UK (the British branch, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, of Saddle Creek, a label that my old band was on). I liked the album that they put out and, since then, he released a free, digital-only EP called “Ground Trouble Jaw.” I’m a sucker for a manic falsetto (exempli gratia Lou Christie, Frankie Valli and, especially, Prince — particularly when he busts out that “you don’t have to be rich!” towards the end of “Kiss”) and Swift is going for it in similar mode here, making it pretty easy to picture this song being performed by a pair of Muppets, chilling on top of a brick wall. The tune is a fairly merciless rip of Sly’s “Everyday People,” but it slows it down, strips it down and lets Swift’s batshit harmonizing reign supreme.
With a little “want more” note from John:
Anyway, those are some of the songs I’ve been playing over and over in recent weeks. Title Tracks’ single came out on Dischord on April 6th and I just finished mixing the album with Chad Clark, so hopefully that’ll be out this summer. You can hear a song from the single at www.myspace.com/titletracksdc and also some demos for tunes from the album. If you’re curious about my radio show on WOXY.com, go to www.myspace.com/1234moremoremore.
“a welcome antidote to the bearded, flannel-in-the-forest, indie-folk thing that has just gone on for way too fucking long”
ha. awesome.
February 25, 2009 at 9:41 am