Hey, I love kids music, but I gotta say that an album full of pee and poop songs doesn’t really sound like something I want to spin for my kids, (but who knows, I could change my mind after I actually listen to it). Moving on to the next reviewed release, this Pitchfork interview with Brian Wilson (good get by the way guys) blew me away completely:
Pitchfork: I was also curious, did you follow along this year with the reissue of Dennis Wilson’s album–
BW: No, I haven’t heard it yet.
Pitchfork: Yeah, Pacific Ocean Blue was reissued this year to critical acclaim. A lot of people were going back to it after a long time. I didn’t know if you had been following…
BW: Yeah. That was the early– I never heard that album, you know?
Pitchfork: That wasn’t something that, back then, you would have–
BW: No. I didn’t even know he made an album. [Pitchfork]
Enough of my yammering, on with Drake‘s reviews (from last week). -ed.
Drake’s Take: New Releases 09.02.08
Short week, so short list, short intro. Of note, Kimya Dawson‘s foray into kids music makes it’s digital debut a week early, along with the return of Tricky (which I featured a few days ago) but besides that there’s new releases from Brian Wilson, Giant Sand, Apollo Sunshine, Bird Monster and TK Webb.
Playlist: New Releases 09.02.08
Kimya Dawson – Alphabutt
Stream / Purchase [mp3]
The songwriting style of Kimya Dawson has always been endearingly juvenile, so it’s hardly a stretch for her to release an album of children’s music. It is an odd choice, though, for it to be the first album following Dawson’s Juno breakthrough, and probably a year too late to cash in on the kid’s music explosion, but Dawson’s never been one to do what you’d expect (she’s the real maverick, John). Inspired by her daughter Panda Delilah, who helps write and sings many of the songs, Dawson took her usual songwriting and added lots of ‘pee’ and ‘poop.’ I look forward to pulling out
“Pee-Pee in the Potty” when Zane begins that journey. (Actually, as I mentioned earlier this week, my son wrote a song called “Poop Bag,” which, if I could decipher it, would fit in well with the songs here.) The next logical step, of course, is an appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba, Jack’s Big Music Show or Pancake Mountain.
Brian Wilson – That Lucky Old Sun
Stream / Purchase [mp3]
If it’s a SMiLE sequel your looking for, you’ll probably be disappointed. Brian Wilson is returning to his Beach Boys roots here, with the 50’s and 60’s in mind here. The Tin Pan Alley song “That Lucky Old Sun” works as the thread tying the album together, as it’s reprised three different times in the album. Wilson reboot collaborator Van Dyke Parks is on board here, but his involvement here seems to be limited to spoken word narratives. It’s a peculiar album overall, but there are plenty of highlights for a Beach Boy fan feast on, and perhaps, given Carl Love’s current brand of Beach Boy nostalgia, that’s all it needs to be. It’s an album that made me smile listening to, but doesn’t offer as much upon repeated listenings as SMiLE does.
More on the radar this week:
Giant Sand – ProVISIONS / Free album stream / “Increments of Love” [mp3]
Tricky – Knowle West Boy (In Rhapsody a week early)
Apollo Sunshine – Shall Noise Upon / “Singing to the Earth (To Thank Her for You)” [mp3]
TK Webb & the Visions – Ancestor / Full Album Stream (Nylon) / “Teen Is Still Shaking” [mp3]
Birdmonster – From the Mountain To the Sea / Free album stream from AOL / “Born to Be Your Man” [mp3]
Sonya Kitchell – This Storm / “For Every Drop” [mp3]
Terrence Howard – Shine Through / Free album stream from AOL
Broadfield Marchers – The Inevitable Continuing / “Warchful Hill People” [mp3]
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip – Angles / Free album stream from AOL
Jaguares – 45
Greater Than One – All the Masters Licked Me
Little Teeth – Child Bearing Man
Rainbow Arabia – The Basta EP
The Residents – The Bunny Boy
Young Jeezy – The Recession
Smithereens – B-sides – The Beatles
Rodney Crowell – Sex and Gasoline
REISSUE
Cracker – Countrysides / Free album stream from AOL / “The Black Hole” [mp3]
Lapped!