These Songs, with a Chance of Repeats

I am a music consumer.

Active. Not Passive. I search. Listen. Absorb.

Song sponge. Yep. That’s me.

These songs have popped up over the last few weeks and I thought I’d do myself a favor by putting them all on one blog post so I could come back and listen to them whenever I wanted and to share them with other folks who have similar, schizoid music taste.

Being a writer and fan of visual story telling, I almost always imagine songs as they’d appear in a film. This ‘film’, that would have these songs is about two ex-members of the New Symbionese Liberation Coalition on the run from Ukranian mafiosos somewhere in Riverside, CA. The working title is “Riot Stares” for that look that people give when they witness some unspeakable violence or shocking act of compassion. Shooting from the hip here folks…

The first is a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start” by Tears for Fears. Yes. That Tears for Fears. The same band I proudly and loudly played from my battery operated boom box…shout shout let it all out, ahem…re-imagined Arcade Fire’s song and made it their own. It adds a new dimension to the song. Endlessly listenable.

Next.

Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” slowed from 45 to 33 1/3 will set the hair on your neck. This is what ‘doom’ folk sounds like. Or if you drank some cough syrup and forgot to change the speed on your record player.

Beautiful and haunting.

TV On the Radio recently released a new track via Dave Sitek’s label, Federal Prism, called “Mercy.” You can pick it up on iTunes (and hopefully a single on merciful vinyl for RSD) but you can check out the band ripping through the track at ATP.

Indeed.

Los Angeles based artist Chelsea Wolfe is poised to release her forthcoming album, Pain is Beauty via Sargent House this September. She released a preview of the track, “The Warden” some time ago and I keep coming back to it, over and over.

While visiting Wax Trax in Denver, CO this past week I got turned on to Hailu Mergia. His full length was released via Awesome Tapes from Africa on June 25. The LP is a treasure, and even though this song is from his work with the Walias Band, you get a sense of how amazeballs this guy truly is.

Put these songs together and they form a tableau.

A noirish soundtrack about a love triangle and a heist gone squirrely and violent.