Cajun Dance Party
were supposedly signed by XL Recordings for a record breaking advance. And having the press calling Danny Blumberg and Robbie Stern the Morrissey and Johnny Marr of their generation didn’t really help putting less pressure on the band. Currently the future of Cajun Dance Party is unknown: in late 2009 Danny and Max Bloom went to form their new project «Yuck» but it is not known whether the remaining three members have continued without them.
This is the first song the band wrote and I did the lyrics in a french lesson. I was always so excited to go to band practices in the evening to hear everyone play the song. We did three school battle of the bands and everyone used to go nuts to this one.
Obviously they’ve got so many amazing songs, but this one I'm obsessed with at the moment. Because I saw Neil Young last summer and he did a cover of this for his encore. And it was amazing.
At the Indigo in 2002. Hardly anyone went so it was really intimate. He played all the «hits» and his voice was amazing. Yo La Tengo and Sparklehorse people were in his backing band which was pretty cool too.
«The Airing Of Grievances» was definitely my favorite album of 2008. It's just so powerful. I saw them live and this song is the highlight of the album and their live set. The lyrics are really dark existentialist pieces. They're very pretentious but still fun to scream out wen you're pissed.
«I See A Darkness» is a masterpiece and really very depressing.
With the internet and stuff it’s pretty easy to find stuff, isn’t it?
I'd just got into «Harvest» and Bernard Butler showed me this album. I didn't fall in love with Bernard... but I used to listen to it with this girl I liked.
This weird Scottish man who played loads of instruments with children. My brother and I used to listen to him in the car and then once we saw him live. He sold out a bit now and he's releasing videos.
«Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife for the first time in your life, wink at the minister, blow kisses to my grieving brothers» ...perfect!
I had got into all this 90s Americana that winter like Will Oldham and Lambchop, which was incredible but dark and depressing. When I heard Pavement for the first time it was so exciting and it made me change my attitude towards music. It PAVED (hah) the way for me getting into loads of other amazing bands, and that summer I just sat around with my girlfriend listening to all this great music that was so fresh and exciting to us.
Jason Pierce wrote the record when his girlfriend left him for Richard Ashcroft. Everyone knew, but he still came out with this heartbreakingly honest album. This first track has got that lyric «All I need in life’s a little bit of love to take the pain away» which, like all the greatest lyrics, is so simple yet so grating on your nervous system.
Video Nasties are the best London band around at the moment. They’re dirty and punky as well as tender and melodic. A bit like London. «Hearts And Bones» is my favourite track by them, which was on their recent «Albatross EP». When I hear them I think of London.
My brother is a DJ in a team called «STDJS». He makes bass-heavy minimal/glitchey/fidget house or something like that. He did a remix recently which goes «Pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy SLUT» and then drops hard.
My brother used to do all the record buying, and I was obsessed with «Enema Of The State». This was the follow up and it was all about having fun, skateboarding and girls. It had a bonus track at the end called «I Want To Fuck A Dog Up The Arse». So my friend’s mum made him give his copy back. He swapped it for an Ash album. Oh dear.
«Ring Ring» by Nokia. I hate ringtones!
It’s one of my favourite songs of all time. It’s soft and gentle and perfect for listening to in bed, just after waking up. It also reminds me of the time that i beat Kurt Wagner (bandleader of Lambchop) at golf, which I'm very proud about. And it’s good to feel proud on a sunday morning.
The first Silver Jews album is one of the best albums ever made. David Berman’s lyrics are just incredible incredible incredible. I wish that I could write lyrics as good as him. I’ve got a few years to learn. I spent some time with him in Nashville this year which was very inspiring. I always sing this song in soundcheck when I'm testing the PA.
