Zia McCabe from The Dandy Warhols personifies everything The Dandy Warhols stand for: sassy, cooly detached, and dripping in attitude. The keyboardist adds a lush sonic wash to the Dandy’s inherent popism, and keeps the lads in check as they wind their way through the stadiums of the world. Well, kinda. To be a fly on the wall on their tour bus! Some folk have all the fun.
Willie Nelson / On The Road Again I grew up listening to Willie Nelson, and this song was one of my first favorites. It’s perfect to sing along to and even more fun to dance to. Of course, now that being on the road is my life too, I can’t help but make it one of the theme songs for my life.
Sydney-band Mercy Arms play a drone-like, hard edged, melodic rock and roll, all with a subtle pyschedlic tinge. Confused? Not at all. It’s a just one hell of a live show. Their debut self-album was released independently in August of this year.
Chris Isaak / Wicked Game I think this is one of the best songs ever recorded. The way it is produced is perfect for the song and I don’t think it could have been done better. The lead line is so subtle in parts, yet stands out the whole time and gives it a really nice feel. On top of this, Chris Isaak’s voice is just brilliant. He has a very masculine delivery but he hit the notes so perfectly and with such strength. There is also an instrumental version, which was on the David Lynch film Wild At Heart that is also great, and in a way is just as good even without Isaak’s melody on top of it. The best thing about this song, and what makes it such a masterpiece for me, is the fact that it can be played at any time and still be great. Most songs don’t have this quality.
Psychedelic yet direct, raging but tuneful, All the Saints’ debut LP Fire On Corridor X bulldozes preconceptions at volume. Named after a section of the I-22 highway connecting the trio’s native Alabama to Mississippi, the cryptic title track is a hypnotic mind-meld of their primary influences, welding a Loop-sized space-groove to The Gun Club’s lyrical bite.
The Wipers / Youth of America Greg Sage is the man! The use of open space on this track is beautiful. A ten and a half minute punk song that gets put through the Sage psychedelic blender. This the cover of the song by The Humanoids.
Experimental electronica band, Psapp, have been widely credited with inventing toytronica, ‘a form of electronica made with toys and toy instruments’. They have four albums out — including their latest release, The Camel’s Back — along with the songwriting credits for the main theme — Cosy in the Rocket — on Grey’s Anatomy. Galia Durant has compiled the first four songs of this Playlist, and Carim Clasmann the second.
Lizzy Mercier Descloux / Wawa Edgy discordant chords, minimalist one note guitar riffs, and far too straight drum grooves. But somehow this is irresistible. Whenever I travel around with a box full of records, this one will be surely be in there. Wawawa.
The (International) Noise Conspiracy formed in northern Sweden in 1998 and quickly became known around the world for their self-aware political stance buoyed by their 70s-inflected rock ‘n’ roll swagger. The group has released four full-lengths, countless singles and toured the world multiple times. Frontman Lars Stromberg has written about the first four tracks in this Playlist, while drummer Ludwig Dahlberg takes on the second four.
Gal Costa / Tuareg This being one of the more accessible tracks off this album says a lot to the fact that, out of all the tropicalistas, Gal Costa went further out into psychedelic experimenting and pure craziness. Spectacular music from a spectacular era.
Young French musician, M83, released a brilliant album, Saturday=Youth, in April, and has since been busy making 2008 his. The recording itself will take you on a journey through a sentimental and nostalgic land. In M83’s own words: ‘this is the most explicit celebration yet of how it feels to be dazed, confused and fifteen year old’, as haunting melodies are filled with overtones of Kate Bush, Human League and Boards Of Canada.
Tears for Fears / Head Over Heels This song was the biggest influence for my new album. Our track, Kim and Jesse, takes a lot of inspiration from 80s bands like Tears for Fears. This is one of my favourites.
Most people got their first taste of Australian singer-songwriter Josh Pyke’s music with the release of his exceptional ARIA Award winning debut album, Memories and Dust. But we knew of him way back in the day when he was the frontman for the sadly before-its-time Sydney rock band, An Empty Flight. His latest solo album, Chimney’s Afire, is another collection of fluid, sanguine, and deeply personal music from one of Australia’s finest young songwriters.
Arcade Fire / Antichrist Television Blues I love all the songs from Neon Bible, but the frenetic nature of this song gets my blood pumping. I saw these guys at Glastonbury last year, as well as on the Big Day Out tour of Australia, and I came to realise they are probably the best band in the world right now.
Like a cross between My Bloody Valentine and The Verlaines, Nashville band Paper Route write catchy, bouncy pop songs which don’t so much slide gracefully into your subconsciousness but, rather, lock themselves into it and throw away the key. Nice!
Elbow / Mirrorball This song is a highlight off Elbows new album. It has a perfect groove the whole way through, and the melody is really pretty. I can’t help but nod my head along. I like that.
Aussie singer-songwriter Ben Lee recently contributed some posts to Lost At E Minor on some of his favourite cultural things. His last album, 1997’s Ripe, is a great listen — full of upbeat, rocking songs. His next album, The Rebirth of Venus, will be released in February 2009 and has been described by Lee as being ‘uplifting, joyful, beautifully chaotic, confused, passionate and real’.
Singer-songwriter Yoav takes his disparate cultural heritage — predominantly Israeli and South African — and mixes it all up into a compelling musical montage of beats and acoustic instrumentation, all whipped into shape by his hauntingly beautiful voice.
Radiohead / Idioteque I’ve been listening to this exhaustively as I am working a cover of it up at the moment. I love the breakbeat and the strange time signature, as well as all the sonic weirdness going on around Thom Yorke’s voice. The lyric seems to be a very prescient, yet not a preachy lament about the human race destroying itself.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
