A Belated Shuffle

Sorry for the late post, fellow Shufflers...



"Emma, Get Me a Lemon," The Walkmen
The New York City band is working on the proper follow-up to A Hundred
Miles Off, a yet-to-be-titled disc slated for release later this
spring. In the meantime, they released a song-for-song cover of Harry
Nilsson's 1974 album Pussy Cats to mostly tepid reviews. Did anybody hear
this thing?

"So Far to Go," Common
Co-starring D'Angelo. We first heard this beat on J Dilla's 2006
disc Donuts, which was released just three days before he died of
complications from lupus. "So Far to Go" was also featured on Dilla's
posthumously released album The Shining. Common explains Dilla's
influence. The sample is "Don't' Say Goodnight" by the Isley
Brothers.

"Hallelujah," Jeff Buckley
Is there a better cover of this song?

"Cherry Chapstick," Yo La Tengo
One of my favorite YLT songs, this is from And Then Nothing Turned
Itself Inside Out. Here's a cool live video.

"Roda Viva," Chico Buarque w/ MPB-4
A little samba for your Friday. Buarque was a little more conservative,
musically, than some of his Brazilian peers like Caetano Veloso,
Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa. Of course, that didn't stop Brazil's
military dictatorship from harassing him. It was hard out there for a
Tropicalista!

I Got More Game Than Parker Brothers!

"Drown in My Own Tears," The Smithereens
Ok, so, maybe The Smithereens weren't fashion plates, although you have to admit that Pat DiNizio had a way with a chapeau. And maybe they're weren't exactly easy on the eyes, either. But, dammit, I know killer hooks when I hear them! Their first two albums are really good. Come on, people! Who's with me?

"Breather," Laika
You are getting very, very sleepy...

"Butter," A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory has been well-represented in the Shuffle, lately.

"The Lie and How We Told It," Yo La Tengo
From I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Well, another baseball season is upon us and many of you might know that YLT are lunatic New York Mets fans. In fact, they name-check Shea Stadium on "Moby Octopad," another track from this album. Ira Kaplan, with the help of Mets legend Ed Kranepool, explains the baseball origin of the band's name. In other sports news, Twins fans get to suffer through a season of watching Johan Santana in a Mets uniform.

"Tropical-Iceland," The Fiery Furnaces
You just never know what you're going to get with these two. In a case of democracy run amok, the band has decided to let fans chart the direction of their next album.

Hey Baby, There Ain't No Easy Way Out

The Shuffler is the man at table 5 calling you "honey."







"I Won't Back Down," Johnny Cash
God bless Johnny Cash! All the covers that JC did during his time with Rick Rubin were so well chosen. He made each and every one his own. Tom Petty supplies background vocals here. And here's the original with Petty playing with 1/4 of ELO and 1/2 of the Beatles. Not too shabby.

"Broken Drum," Beck
Beck makes his third appearance in five weeks. The Shuffle elves must really dig him! This track is from the Guero album and it plays like it's in slow-motion. I love the video, too.

"Up to You," Yo La Tengo
Ira Kaplan delivers one of his quintessential, noisy, yet melodic guitar solos on this cut from the modestly titled double disc of rarities, Genius Love = Yo La Tengo.

"Waitress Song," Freakwater
One of my favorite songs! Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Ann Irwin have been making roots music since the late eighties. Fans of Eleventh Dream Day will recognize Janet as the drummer and vocalist in that great indie-rock band. "Waitress Song" appears on 1995's Old Paint released by Thrill Jockey. The duo put out a record two years ago called Thinking of You with Califone. Highly recommended.

"Ballade de Melody Nelson," Serge Gainsbourg
Ahhh, the dirty old Frenchman! He's accompanied here by one of his muses, Jane Birkin. Maybe it's just me but don't you feel like you need to take a shower after listening to him? Here's the clip of a drunk Serge gleefully hitting on Whitney Houston on French television in 1986. This was pre-Bobby Brown, pre-crack Whitney so her look of horror appears genuine.