Any concerns I might have had about my collection being too mainstream have been dashed with this Random Five. It’s so chockfull of obscure goodies, you’ll think you wandered into some grotty little record store in Seattle’s U District or something. Also there’s a Segovia theme.
It’s About Time by Lemonheads
Album: The Adventure Club Sessions
This song is credited to the Lemonheads, but I think it’s actually just Evan Dando on acoustic guitar. There’s a radio station in Texas called ‘The Edge’ that used to have these great artists in (like XTC, Blur, the Lilac Time) for acoustic sessions, and this disc is a bunch of the best.
So this song is about Juliana Hatfield (and it’s in her style), for those of you who were in the precise time/space coordinates during that brief period of her celebrity. Best line: ‘Patience is like bread I say / I ran out of that yesterday.’
Hannes by Sigur Rós
Album: Hlemmur OST
I haven’t seen this movie yet. Hlemmur is a bus station in Rekjavik, and this film tracks the lives of the homeless men who live there. I find this album a little easier to listen to that the sprawling crashing epics of (). There’s a dreamy and slow-moving quality about this track, with spare piano and cello. You can almost see the dust sparkling in the empty space.
So and Slow It Grows (The Orb in Atlas Remix) by Wir
Album: So and Slow It Grows (Single)
Wir is three-quarters of Wire, a band that I enjoy but find a bit hard to take. Maybe it was the horrible breakup I was going through when I first got into Wire. Don’t do that, by the way. If you know you’re going to be unhappy, don’t start any new music. Just be unhappy in silence until you no longer feel horrible. Or maybe it’s just Wire. They seem grey and obtuse.
This remix is dancy, with Indian touches. I think I like the album version slightly more, though I can’t find it — I just remember it from radio.
Segovia: Remembranza by Wolfgang Lendle
Album: Spanish Guitar Music
I think that as a genre, Spanish guitar music might be the best music in the world to work to. It’s right on the line between unobtrusive and interesting, plus it confers an unbelievable amount of coolness to your workspace.
Andres by L7
Album: Triple J Hottest 100, Volume 2
L7 was a great idea for a band, if not a great band, just like ‘Let’s Pretend We’re Dead’ was a great idea for a song without actually being a fully-formed song. But I like ‘Andres’. Scratchy vocals.
Bonus sixth: Segovia himself comes out for an encore, since he heard us talking about him.
Tansman: Scherzino by Andrés Segovia
Album: Andrés Segovia
This was evidently recorded during the great Spanish Cholera Epidemic of ’58, judging from the tubercular sounds of the audience. It’s unbelievable how much coughing there is — it’s Segovia, people! Take a Luden. I recommend cherry.
18 November 2006 at 12:47 am
That’s an interesting comment about the spanish guitar music. I will give it a try. I have various types of music in my office for different moods, but when I need to really get my head down I usually choose classical music. Sometimes, though it is still to intrusive when the movements change for instance.
I liked Wire but I know what you mean about being a bit hard to take sometimes. Horrible break ups are generally unpleasant affairs and require no soundtrack. My own break up was remarkably amicable but still horrible and I did wonder how grim it would be to be feeling that bad *and* fighting too. Then I also wondered if the fighting is sometimes to avoid the feelings …?
24 November 2006 at 9:05 am
*yoink*
24 November 2006 at 11:11 am
*also yoink*