Song of the Week - March 16

By: Charbarred | in: Music |

Johnny Guitar
Every week each of our writers shares the song that made his week just a little bit brighter…

Alibastard
“Johnny Guitar” by Peggy Lee
The theme song from the amazingly perposterous, most straightly-acted feminist cowboy movie of 1954 (okay, make that ‘only’ feminist cowboy movie of 1954), “Johnny Guitar” marks me deep. The film was made by rebel director Nicholas Ray one year before his most famous work, “Rebel Without A Cause“, and offsets dry parody and gender-reversal with for-real melodrama, existing on top of it all as the only movie of its era to deal with the McCarthy Era blacklists while they were actually going on (and highly affecting Ray’s personal mentor Elia Kazan).

Kendall
“Because I’m Awesome” by The Dollyrots
This should be part of MTV’s “The Hills”. This is a great sarcastic look at people that are stuck on themselves. Enough Said.

D Thompson
“Myth Takes” by !!!
I used to really love what I called “dischord with a beat” - atonal moments in a song with a steady beat to keep you anchored in the anarchy. Usually these were just brief bits in otherwise conventional songs. !!! has just released Myth Takes and the first song on it, also called “Myth Takes” go figure, is as close to dischord with a beat as I’ve heard in a long while. Lyrics recited like they’re one continuous line and increasingly random guitar riffs are latched as tight as a chastity belt to a base line that sounds like it’s being played on an enormous rubberband. A droning atonal insistency from beginning to end. Why are my favorite songs always so short?

RustyCat
“Hey Hey My My” by The Hard Lessons
What do you get when you take three drop out school teachers and some mean guitars?
The Hard Lessons.
I ask for only two things when discovering new bands: first, make some good loud-ass noisy rock n’ roll, and second, do a Neil Young cover. The Hard Lessons are all about rock n’ roll and they have just released a five song EP called ‘Wise Up!’ and an awesome ‘Hey Hey My My’ Neil cover which just made my week.
Special thanks to ‘Here Comes the Flood‘ for posting this amazing band!

Charbarred
“Rollerskate” by Call and Response
I was trying to determine my song of the week while on a beautiful train ride through the English countryside. I put my MP3 player on shuffle and decided to see what happens. As the day got sunnier and the sheep got fluffier, the music seems to have gotten more and more evil. At some stage I was cranking up a really mean Cop Shoot Cop track getting ready to crown it my song of the week. Suddenly the green fields disappeared and London started rearing its ugly (and beautiful) head. As the train rolled into the filthy Euston station, the most naive and charming song came on. So here it is, the song that that proves that even city rats can get a break every now and then.

So what’s your song of the week?

[Subscribe to this feed]

Posted on March 16, 2007

Comments

24 Responses to “Song of the Week - March 16”

Rusty on March 16th, 2007 1:33 am

Ali - nice one! sounds straight off a tarantino soundtrack.

HMYKSteve on March 16th, 2007 3:06 am

I hate to come off sounding like a suck-up but… My favorite song of this week has been “Let’s go out tonight” by Naama Hillman.

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 3:55 am

SUCK UP!!

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 4:15 am

Come on Kendall - Play nice!
(thanks Steve)

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 4:50 am

Sorry that was sarcasm. It wasn’t supposed to be negative. That’s a really good song. Steve, sorry if it came off otherwise.

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 4:57 am

Kendall, I think you should go to Steve’s site and leave a formal apology on each one of his posts. After that, please sign up to Wordpress and start a blog called “Why Steve Rules”. If you want to really make it up to him though, a nice flower arrangement will probably do (and don’t skimp on the roses). Chocolate is also nice…

Joe on March 16th, 2007 5:32 am

Good choices guys, im going with Four Winds from Bright Eyes….

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 5:54 am

That one was on my list, but I wasn’t feeling that sedate when I made my decision.

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 6:53 am

When’s the new Bright Eyes album out anyway?

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 6:55 am

Bright Eyes announces US/Europe tour dates along with Four Winds single and Cassadaga CD/LP.

Cassadaga, the new full-length from Bright Eyes, will be released on April 10. The first single from the album, Four Winds, is set to be released as the Four Winds CD/12″ on March 6 and will include 5 exclusive b-sides.

Touring for Cassadaga and Four Winds will begin on February 25 in Chicago. A full list of dates is below. Tickets for the US dates are already sold out. This smaller tour will be followed by a full US tour in the spring.

Bright Eyes - Four Winds
With the once revolving line-up of musicians settled on the three constants of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, Bright Eyes spent much of 2006 in the studio working on their follow-up to the acclaimed simultaneous releases Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and I?m Wide Awake, It?s Morning. The first single from these sessions, “Four Winds”, is presented here along with 5 exclusive B-sides.

Retaining the simmering glow of its predecessors, Four Winds is full of the magic that brought Bright Eyes to international attention. Carefully played, deftly poetic and quietly enchanting, the release has a wandering country charm and all of the story-telling seductiveness of earlier work.

Four Winds and Cassadaga were recorded in various studios in New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, OR and Lincoln, NE. The sessions included a host of guest performers including M.Ward, David Rawlings, Gillian Welch and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney.

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 7:14 am

Thanks Kendall…as long as it’s “Retaining the simmering glow of its predecessors” I’m happy. Saying that, the best thing Conor Oberst ever did was Desaparecidos. I really wish he’d do another one with them.

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 7:20 am

That’s straight from the press release…I didn’t write about simmering glows!

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 7:30 am

What’s wrong with simmering glows?

Kendall on March 16th, 2007 7:40 am

I”M NOT THAT CLEVER

Rustycat on March 16th, 2007 7:48 am

LOL

Emon on March 16th, 2007 7:55 am

I liked both tracks by ‘The Hard Lessons’ and ‘Call and Response.’ And you’re right, Rusty, Johnny Guitar is going to be the opening track of Tarantino’s next film, “Killed Bill. Killed Everyone Else But, Oh Shit, What About Vernita Green’s Kid? - Volume III - Chapter 7 ” I hear it’s a working title and will star Motown icon Diana Ross as the chronologically challenged Nikki.

Charbarred on March 16th, 2007 8:10 am

Kill Bill Volume III starring Diana Ross? I’d watch that!

Alibastard on March 16th, 2007 9:57 am

Emon….Amazing.

Giovanna on March 16th, 2007 11:31 am

Two weeks in a row, I can’t help it: D Thompson’s choice is my favourite. Definitely an antinomy of any easy-listening track, and yet (or maybe for this same reason) I like it. Plus, all the songs with a lot of stingy bass and tarantinesque guitars are always welcome to my ears.

Celainn on March 16th, 2007 1:43 pm

Speaking of easy listening, I’m going to go all wimpy and 40-something woman on you all right now. My song of the week has to be “New Shoes” by Paulo Nutini. Can’t stop playing that damn thing. It makes me happy. OK, you can start throwing fruit at me now….

DThompson on March 16th, 2007 1:50 pm

((Two weeks in a row, I can’t help it: D Thompson’s choice is my favourite.))
Oddly enough, for two weeks in a row yours has been my favourite comment, Giovanna.

Ryan on March 16th, 2007 3:14 pm

My song of the week is the silly good live version of ME and THE MAJOR by Belle and Sebastian - free for download now! It’s the best song in this recording from March 2006 in Washington D.C.

Of the songs you have posted here - I am definitely diggin’ on the Hard Lessons!

remixboy on March 17th, 2007 9:33 am

well with the sun shining , and another lovely spring day upon us in London I thought id go for Call and Response, but I keep getting pulled back to Johnny Guitar by Peggy Lee…sweet!

My own personal fav is the recently released Just Jack album. Love Starz… but as its getting overplayed check out Disco Friends and the tap footing butt shaking No Time