Ghosts In The Mobile

Despite getting the promos months after the records streeted, we were pleased to receive copies of the both the new Glenn Kotche (the Wilco drummer, you know) and reissued/expanded Brian Eno + David Byrne records. We got hip to the latter, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, about six years ago when a friend emailed the title over as a recommendation to complement our growing interest in listening to electronic music. The reissue comes with what looks like some really interesting and detailed liner notes -- so detailed in fact that we put them aside to read when we have time to pay proper attention. Our favorite track on the original issue remains our favorite on the new version of the record: the twinkling ambient experiment "Mountain of Needles."

Brian Eno + David Byrne -- "Mountain Of Needles" -- My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts [buy it!]

Somewhat surprisingly, the Kotche record goes very well with the Eno/Byrne thing, as its brand of conceptual 20th Century plinky minimalism of the Glass/Cage/Reich variety isn't too distant an acoustic cousin to Eno's electronic constructions. Kotche's record is called Mobile, and it sort of concerns itself with mobiles of the Calder variety, seeking to translate that visual structural expression into an aural one. We're particularly fond of the first two sections of the "Mobile" pieces, so here they are. They are grouped as a single cut on the record, and we present them the same way.

Glenn Kotche -- "Mobile Parts 1 & 2" -- Mobile [buy it!]

The Shoegaziest

Somewhat (well, completely) inspired by the Mars Needs Guitars group post here about shoegazer music, we thought we'd throw up a couple of our favorites for the kids to gnaw on. What with the latest releases from current indie luminaries Asobi Seksu and Dirty On Purpose (well, the DOP record is officially out at the end of the month) among others, it does seem like there is a resurgence of the form, and we want to do our duty to ensure the youth of today know what the old school set did back in the late '80 and early '90s.

First up is "Today" from Ride's Today Forever EP, the existence of which completely escaped us until a couple years back. The short-player was released in between the acclaimed Oxford, England quartet's two landmark sets, Nowhere and Going Blank Again. If you surf over to YouTube you can find a video for "Today," but it is filled with some bad emoting, so we won't link to it ourselves. But here is the song, and it's perfect for the endless rainy weeks we're having.

Ride -- "Today" -- Today Forever [buy it!]

Second: We were please to see MP3hugger's contribution to the MNG post, a very fine Drop Nineteens cut from the landmark record Delaware. Our love for Drop Nineteens is pretty well-documented, so we'll hold off on any gushing. But suffice it to say that hearing the band's "Kick The Tragedy" on the local college radio while still in high school led to a lot of other great things, including pretty much our entire college radio career. As such, we prefer the tune below to MP3hugger's choice, while recognizing there isn't really a wrong choice to be made when it comes to choosing tunes off Delaware.

Drop Nineteens -- "Kick The Tragedy" -- Delaware [buy it!]

The Shape Of Shapes And Sizes To Come

The forthcoming self-titled debut from Shapes And Sizes is many things: smart, articulate, earnest, whimsical. We've reviewed it here. At the close of the disc the Canadian quartet serves up a delightful alt.country swinger that recalls one of our other Canadian favorites, the undersung and now defunct Royal City, whose "And Miriam Took A Timbrel In Her Hand" closes the band's 2001 set Alone At The Microphone. The two tracks we're posting aren't chosen for any specific similarity, but we think they are both winners. Shapes And Sizes streets July 11 on Asthmatic Kitty.

Shapes And Sizes -- "Boy, You Shouldn't Have" -- Shapes And Sizes
Royal City -- "And Miriam Took A Timbrel In Her Hand" -- Alone At The Microphone

[Pre-order Shapes And Sizes from Insound here]
[Buy Alone At The Microphone from Insound here]