Ham and Pete, The Walkmen

The Walkmen are an indie rock band from New York City. The band formed with three members from Jonathan Fire Eater and two members from The Recoys in 2000. They prefer the unique sound of vintage musical instruments, most famously the clangy upright piano, and often recorded at their self-designed recording studio Marcata Recording, which used analog recording equipment before closing in 2006 after Columbia University bought the building that contained Marcata.

Bonnie Prince Billy / Goin’ to Acapulco
He did a remarkable job of putting a unique spin on a classic. It’s no small feat, and it’s really impressive.

Chuck Berry / Oh Lousiana
Chuck’s wah wah guitar is really great on this laidback tune, and I don’t know who’s playing bass but it’s great a great tinny sound. Very groovy.

Dwight Yoakam / If You Ever Get South
I first got interested in Dwight Yoakam’s music when I saw him in Slingblade and thought he did a bang up job. I have about four of his records now and there’s great songs on all of them. He is such an authentic country guy, which is nice when so many country dudes these days sing about all their problems in a really wimpy way.

Bob Marley / Selassie is the Chapel
This may be the best sounding song ever recorded, which is why I am including it.

The Fleetwoods / Truly Do
There’s nothing cozier than the Fleetwoods, and this is them at their best. Their best songs have such complicated arrangements, but it’s all so soothing you’d never notice.

The Breeders / Off You
This is a great song on what I believe was an overlooked record. I don’t know if it got panned or not, but I’ve never heard much about it. Anyhow, there’s this really loud synth sound near the beginning, which is kind of weird, but sort of funny, which is what I imagine they were going for.

Mac St. Michael / Me and the Griz
Mac St. Michael is a singer-songwriter from Portland who we’ve had the good fortune to play with recently. It’s a great story song about a young Mac St. Michael and a whoring, drugging friend of his named ‘Griz’.

Jonathan Richman / Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow
This track has his voice sounding as good as ever.