I’m listening to my favorite radio show in the world at the moment, and my favorite DJ is playing “One Step Up,” from Tunnel of Love, the only Bruce Springsteen album that I can claim to love unequivocally.* The show has been great from beginning to end today. Listening to it cost me money (had to order the new Bettie Serveert record after John played a song from it, and somewhat to my surprise, I ordered the new one by Low, a band I’d always dismissed becauase I hated–and in this case, that’s not too strong a word–their first album and the live show I saw around that time. But a guy on one of the music lists I’m no longer on persuaded me to listen to a couple of tracks from an advance he had, and I liked them quite well. Then John played a song from the just-released record this morning; I’d been away from my desk, and came back in the middle of the song, and liked it so much that I checked his playlist right away to see what it was. When it turned out to be Low, I decided to take a chance on the record, even though I’m trying not to buy records unless I’m either already familiar with them or close to certain that I’ll love them–all part of the effort to buy fewer CDs.
Anyway, in spite of the fact that it cost me money, I loved today’s show, like every other week’s show, and it occurred to me that though I try to mention the show as often as I can when I post to various lists (which isn’t a very effective tactic right now since I’m under a self-imposed moratorium on e-mail list reading or posting–more on that later, I think), I still don’t mention it often enough.
So here’s a plug for it: Memphis to Manchester, on KDHX, Thursday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m. That first link will take you to a brief description of the page and the most recent playlist; you can also look at archived playlists. As you’ll see, it mixes soul, indie rock, twang, and related music for people with wide-ranging tastes. KDHX is a fine community station in St. Louis, but they stream live, so you can listen wherever you are if you’re near a computer at that early hour. I listen to various excellent Net radio broadcasts, from the BBC to KEXP, but this is by far my favorite show, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Put it on your calendar and listen to it every Thursday if you possibly can.
And that’s today’s plug.
*I still love Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, but even now, nearly 26 years after I graduated from high school, there’s weird high-school-era baggage attached to those records, because there were so many Bruce–make that BROOOOOCE–obsessives in my high school, people who really thought they were Bruce Springsteen, pretty much, and overexposure to Bruce via those people and via NYC radio made it impossible for me to listen to him at all for many years. That’s meant that there are albums of his that I just don’t know very well, along with a few that I know well enough to know that I don’t love them–though I guess every record he’s ever made features at least one song that I think is great.
Low is one of the bands I was thinking of when I told you that I liked stuff other people find boring. I love “Things We Lost in the Fire”–don’t know how it compares with the new record, but you might want to check it out. For me, it’s worth owning for the lovely “Sunflower” alone. Maybe you shouldn’t nix the whole trade idea after all…
Is the Bettie Serveert that good? I bought their first many, many years ago but have never felt an urge to buy any of the others.
Marcia–I think what I like about the new Low record, or at least the stuff I’ve heard from it so far, is that it sounds nothing like their earlier work.
It’s more uptempo, less sleepy, and so far, it includes less of the female singer (Mimi?) than other records of theirs I’ve heard–and her vocals are one of the things I’ve liked least about the band in the past.
Besides, I HAVE to stick to the no-trade policy, especially since I just added to the overgrown collection today. I’m going to have to start setting monthly quotas for myself for CD purchases–maybe four a month will be a reasonable limit…though since I think I’ve bought four in the last week, I might have to lower the purchase quantity slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Scott–Most of the Betties’ records are a little bit inconsistent, and My Favorite DJ ™ tells me that this brand-new one isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, Log 22. But based on what I’ve heard so far, that’s because Log 22 was arguably their best record yet, so the new one had a lot to live up to. Being as objective as I can, I’ll say that they can sometimes overdo the guitar flashiness a little, and their songs occasionally go on too long. Bill thinks they’re a little wanky but basically okay, for the distaff perspective.
But almost no one is as successful as the Betties at creating the type of old-school (’80s) indie rock that they play and still making it sound fresh and new and current. And Carol Van Dijk has continued to evolve as a songwriter, and that’s their real strength (along with her voice, which is I guess fairly ordinary in a way but is somehow totally irresistible nonetheless). She’s just such an interesting writer. I especially like the way she plays around with words and language, but she also has a great ear for melody, and the band is top-notch all around.
My personal favorite record of theirs (as opposed to the one I think is their best, which is Log 22) is Lamprey, the follow-up to Palomine; I adore it even though it sounds like it was recorded in a public bathroom down the hall using a boombox. There are a couple of in between albums that I don’t much care for, though I keep meaning to give them both another chance because I heard them at a time when my life was in turmoil, so I was maybe not as receptive as I would have been otherwise. But I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from this new record, so even if it’s not as good as Log 22, I have high hopes for it.
There are some clips from the new one at their site, if you want to investigate. And there’s some stuff available at the iTunes Music Store, if you have access to that. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love ‘em.
I went and listened to a clip of the song My Favorite DJ ™ played and decided that you should skip “Things We Lost in the Fire” right after I posted that comment–it is sleepy with lots of Mimi (yes, that’s her unfortunate name), singing harmony, but she’s quite audible nonetheless. I just love their harmonies and the dirge-like quality of the songs. It does sound like you need to taper off your cd habit… But maybe if you commit to periodic weed-outs, you can keep the overall volume about the same, which may be a more reasonable goal considering your and Bill’s proclivities.