Is it Christmas? Is it Christmas?

Not yet...but it's coming quick. Enjoy this nice holiday ditty from Captain Sensible while you wait impatiently.

JAY BENNETT 1963-2009

Your amazing talents will be missed, but you'll live on forever in some of my favorite music ever recorded. R.I.P. and all my prayers to Jay's family and friends.

Saturday Bonus Track...

I've been revisiting some of the semi-disposable punk-pop (or is it pop-punk?) I have enjoyed as a 'guilty pleasure' over the years. Perfect example: Sugarcult.

Y'know what...life is too short not to enjoy fun music. So, enjoy 'Stuck in America'.

'He Was a Bad Dancer'...

...'til he learned to shimmy.'

Wow, were The Connells one of the most underrated bands EVER or what?

Saturday Bonus Track...

I have absolutely fallen in love w/ this song (and the album it came from) all over again.

Soul Asylum in 1988, performing 'Sometime to Return' on what may have been MTV's 120 Minutes or some other short-lived variety show from when that channel was still cool.

WILCO (THE STREAM)!

Well, no need to be all clandestine about things...check out Wilco (The Stream) at Wilco 'The Album'. Thanks, Wilcoworld!

It's the Little Things...

...that make me happy as of late. Things like my kids being in a good mood this morning, the LOST season finale tonight and (best of all) a new Wilco album.

More on the last one coming soon.

Oh, Why the Hell Not...

The tune they play every time the Hawks score a goal (and in Amstel beer ads)...'Chelsea Dagger' from The Fratellis.

Best use of a U.K. rock song at an American sporting event since Gary Glitter's 'Rock 'N' Roll Part II'.

Saturday Bonus Track...

I heard this at the grocery store of all places, over a week ago...still can't get it out of my head.

ZZ Top battling a monster truck in the video for 'Sleeping Bag'...of course.

ROCK IS DEAD...ALMOST.

Great sketch from Kids in the Hall. 'If I can't air guitar...I want no air at all.'

ART BRUT

'Art Brut vs. Satan'

Have you ever wondered what the Pixies would sound like if they were fronted by Shaun Ryder instead of Black Francis? Me neither, but thanks to the UK's Art Brut...I do now and, thankfully, I like it. Fittingly, after their last tour, the band went to Portland, OR, in late 2008 to record songs with Frank Black as producer. The sessions took just two weeks, and their third album, 'Art Brut vs. Satan', hit the ground running a couple of weeks ago. It's been in regular rotation here at the AMBFAD lab and I had to give it a review (late or not).

'Art Brut vs. Satan' is a raw, semi-freewheeling and extremely fun listen. The band's indie-punk ode to no-frills recording, 'Slap Dash for No Cash', captures the ethos of how this album was made and sounds perfectly. Calling out Brian Eno on said track, frontman Eddie Argos issues a manifesto for the records he likes and, obviously, likes to record as well. That said, the album is actually pretty tight...in fact, so tight and/or economical, it's the complete antithesis to bodies of work more over-produced.

While the band has great chops musically, the real draw here is Argos' lyrics and delivery. Oft snotty and borderline adolescent, he still manages to sneak in some really clever stuff. The line 'I fought the floor and the floor won' from the almost funky attempted recollection of a night out in 'Mysterious Bruises' is pure gold. Throw in a tale of arrested development that hits kind of close to home in 'DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake', a tuneful rediscovery of a favorite old/new band in 'The Replacements' and the cheeky 'Alcoholics Unanimous'...I dare you to not have fun listening to this disc.

Like I said earlier, 'Art Brut vs. Satan' has been out for a few weeks and should be readily available wherever you prefer to nab your music. If you are looking for a great 'Summer Album' to enjoy while you imbibe adult beverages and/or grill up animal flesh...this'll do it. Your neighbors may hate you afterwards, but who needs 'em. If you like your neighbors, maybe you should test the waters w/ a sample in the AMBFAD jukebox. Whee!

Saturday Bonus Track...

Busy day! We've got swim lessons this morning and then heading downstate this afternoon...the Mrs. and my Sis are going to see Jason Mraz in Champaign and (after kids are in bed) i'm going to have some adult beverages at my bro-in-law's basement bar. Somewhere in there, I also have to make it to a comic book shop for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Damn.

It'll be a little late, but look for a review of Art Brut's latest album early next week...i'm smitten w/ it. Until then, enjoy the vid for 'Emily Kane' from earlier platter 'Bang Bang Rock & Roll'.

Saturday Bonus Track...

Feeling a little better. Not quite up to a full return to daily poop, but I thought i'd throw up the 'Bonus Track'. I've got a lot of good things still in the mix, just need to focus and drive them into something concrete. Stay tuned!

A live version of 'Emma Blowgun's Last Stand' from Beulah, lifted from their excellent tour doc 'A Good Band is Easy to Kill'...because they/the song freaking rule and it always makes me smile.

Ugh. How Appropriate...

In a tie-in w/ both my last post and the earlier one about that job interview...today officially became a little bit of a 'Blue Monday'. Per the email I just received, I guess I came off 'great'...just a tad shy of experience in one area in comparison w/ the other candidate.

Still waiting on another interview's results, so...chin up, chin up.

It's Twistin' My Melon, man...

Seriously. How did I not catch this back when it came out...or, worse yet, finally watch it until ~ 7 years later?! I've caught it three different times on IFC over the past few weeks and, quite frankly, could watch again today.

What a GREAT fooking movie.

Saturday Bonus Track...

As I said yesterday, I had an interview and thought i'd post up w/ something appropriate while I wait, hopefully, to hear I got the job.

Gang of Four performing 'To Hell w/ Poverty' on the 'Old Grey Whistle Test' in 1981.

So Does 'Chinese Democracy' but...

...today, I couldn't agree more w/ Axl's t-shirt. GO CUBS!

I *HEART* THE ENGLISH BEAT

...and that one General Public tune.

BOB MOULD

'Life and Times'

A little late w/ a review on this one, but i'd be remiss if I didn't give Bob's latest it's due. Mr. Mould is one of those rare artists from the heyday of the 80's post-punk college alt-rock scene, much like Paul Westerberg and/or Black Francis, that i'll always give an eager listen to w/ each new project. One could challenge, actually, that his post-Hüsker Dü output (both solo and w/ Sugar in the 90's) may just be a bit more consistent than the other two aforementioned artist's post-Mats and Pixies catalog.

On 'Life and Times', Bob continues to hone his alt-pop craftsmanship to solid results. Definitely not as much adrenalin as Hüsker Dü or even Sugar for that matter, but it still rocks...hard. Not as folksy as 'Workbook', but it has similar beautiful moments of more refrained introspection. Not as electronically-infused as 'Modulator' (or even the last few solo albums), but it effectively leverages dollops of similar augmentation where it makes sense. Really, it's a combination of all of those things and I dig it.

Perhaps I don't dig it as much as the previous album, 'District Line', but there isn't a huge gap between the two. The title track is pretty representative of the melding of previous styles I alluded to earlier...sparse acoustic to nearly orchestral to big angry rock (it's all in there). He throws down some absolutely shimmering power-pop on the hooky 'City Lights (Days Go By)', only to melt your face off w/ a blistering, Hüsker-esque 'Argos' a mere two tracks later. I'm a big fan of the pumping 'Spiraling Down' as well.

The ballads peppered throughout are vintage Bob as well, but i'd be lying if I said I didn't like the more uptempo stuff than when he gets his sad-face on. The only real mis-step I hear on 'Life and Times' would be the plodding, synth-heavy final track in 'Lifetime'...just a little too murky for my tastebuds. Also, let me be clear, lyrically, Bob is still lamenting about how bad love can stink, but he just seems more at peace w/ that this time around. That said, it's a solid album worth grabbing...listen to a sample in the AMBFAD jukebox and see what you think.

Speaking of TIME...

...it seems it won't let The Bravery go. I'm tellin' you, I can't help but dig this band...no matter how mopey they get. Cool video(s) too.