Now playing It's been awhile since I've updated my media list of what I'm reading and listening to. It's been even longer since I've blogged about my current playlists. (I have, however, blogged a bit about my most recent reads -- Through Painted Deserts, by Donald "Kerouac for Christians" Miller, and Room Full of Mirrors, the Jimi Hendrix bio, by Charles R. Cross. You can read my review of Through Painted Deserts in the current issue of Next Wave, and I'll probably post a review of the Hendrix bio one of these days.)
Anyway, I've been playing the bejeezus out of three particular CDs that I think are among the best of the year so far. Each of these records is a four-star effort, and, if you prefer your music digitized, each can be downloaded on the cheap at eMusic:
Spoon, Gimme Fiction. This is one of those CDs that will have you tapping your feet before you know it. Gimme Fiction brings together a mix of influences -- the Beatles, the Who, Bowie and ELO, to name a few -- and builds on the shoulders of these giants to create one of the most original sounds in indie rock.
One blogger claims that Spoon is the new Wilco, but I think not. Spoon eats Wilco for lunch. Stick a Spoon in Wilco; they're done. This is one of the best indie bands that I've heard in a while.
The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema. I first discovered the New Pornographers a couple of years ago, when they released Electric Version. I thought that was a fine power-pop recording. But Twin Cinema, released just last month, is better. This is a stronger, tighter effort, even though New Porn is more of a collective or loose confederation of musicians than a band. Twin Cinema boasts more power and less sugary pop. It's hard to define what it is about this Vancouver group that draws me in. I suppose it's the mixing up of the vocals of this Vancouver group. From one song to the next, you never know who's going to take the lead. The guest appearance of alt-country singer Neko Case adds a new dimension to this effort. If there's any filler in this recording, I can't find it.
Original Sinners, Original Sinners. As the lead singer of X, Exene Cervenka was one of L.A. punk's icons. Now, as leader of a little side project called the Original Sinners, Exene pulls together that amazing X sound and knits it all together with influences from her other post-X band, the Knitters, and some alt-country twang. Exene's vocals are as powerful as ever, albeit tinged a bit with some world-weariness. But she's still at the top of her game as a lyricist -- better, even, in some songs, such as "Birds and Bees," "River City" and "One Too Many Lies." And Sam Soto, the Sinners' guitarist, is every bit as hot as Billy Zoom. To Exene and her band, I say, Go, and sin some more.