Friday Music Day

FMD: Sisters

39 Comments

Since last Saturday's show, I've pretty much been listening to Lydia Loveless and The Girls! (which is Lydia's littler big* sister's band, who opened). It almost sounds like Lydia singing a different style of music, but the vox are quite similar, and I could even imagine these as ghost-written by Lydia. Talented family. I wonder if their dad ever was the Girls!' drummer.

*if I heard right.

39 thoughts on “FMD: Sisters”

  1. 1. Where I End And You Begin (The Sky Is Falling In) -- Radiohead -- Hail To The Thief
    2. I Am A Rock -- Simon & Garfunkel -- Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits
    3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For -- U2 -- The Joshua Tree
    4. I Heard You Looking -- Yo La Tengo -- Prisoners Of Love
    5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction -- Devo -- Devo
    6. Nothing Was Delivered -- The Byrds -- Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
    7. Flatness -- Uncle Tupelo -- No Depression
    8. Bad Boys Get Spanked -- The Pretenders -- Pretenders II
    9. Books About UFOs -- Hüsker Dü -- New Day Rising
    10. Xeno Pariah -- Guided By Voices -- English Little League

    B1. Singing Sores Make Perfect Swords -- Built To Spill -- Live
    B2. Ohio -- Neil Young -- Live At Massey Hall 1971

    Notes:
    5. You younger guys/gals have no idea the bomb Devo lit when they played this song on SNL many years ago (1978?). People were talking about for weeks.
    8. This song made quite the impression on an 18-year old me. It still gives me goosebumps

    CoC, Scot and I saw an amazing Sturgill Simpson show last night at the Fine Line. Have a feeling it will be a lot bigger venue next time around for SS. Man that guy and his band threw down! I'll let him speak for himself but Corn was in awe. A Doomtree Blowout gig next week and Jeremy Messersmith the week after for this guy. Also if anyone wanted to go see Mason Jennings at First Avenue tonight or tomorrow, I probably could be talked into going.

    1. Wish I could see Mason with you, but 3 concerts in a week might cause a ruckus at home.

      A review of last night's show. I don't agree at all with this reviewers take* on Sturgill the Guy, but his commentary on the music, and Sturgill the Guitarist, is pretty spot-on.

      The biggest surprise of the night for those who only knew Simpson through his recordings was his guitar playing. He repeatedly proved his ability to bring about the Kentucky version of face-melting. The interplay between his acoustic picking and the electric slide of guitarist Laur "Lil Joe" Joamets was consistently astounding, especially on the late-set "Railroad of Sin" and closer "Listening to the Rain." Joamets himself lived up to his ever-swelling reputation with an extended solo over the Sunday Drivers' "Sometimes Wine" that inspired Simpson to point and grin in awe. Joamet, unmoved, just shrugged.

      I was also "blown away" by the musical talent on display and happily surprised to bump into Scot - I'd forgotten he was attending.

      *This guy, in real life, seems tired and a little bit sad [he seemed low-key more than "tired" ... I guess maybe you could say melancholy. I guess.]-- world-weary and well-adjusted to being hung over [uhm...he's been sober for 6 years]. More than anything, Simpson seems perpetually exhausted [I don't get this - there was so much energy up there for the entire set]. The last thing he seems to be interested in doing is putting on a good show -- good showmanship is just a result of his commitment to his resignation.

      1. That's an interesting take. I was fascinated with how Sturgill the performer looked while he was playing. In contrast to, say, Patterson Hood, who was basically standing in a pool of his own sweat at the end of the show, SS was much more low key. I don't say that as a criticism at all. He was belting out the vocals in addition to the above mentioned guitar, there was passion and a lot of energy - it just all seemed so effortless when compared with other performers.

        I suppose I could draw a comparison with Mauer...

        1. Yeah, I think the whole tired/meloncholy assessment was a bit off. I just think like Scot said, it was just effortless. Plus I don't think it's in his nature to be a showman, mugging for the cameras so to speak a la Craig Finn.

          Chris R of the Strib was there, wonder if a review is forthcoming.

              1. Decembers are heck to my schedule, and following up Lydia last week and hoping for We Are The Willows next weekend, Sturgill just slipped through the cracks.
                Also, we had our company office party yesterday and I imbibed plenty.

          3. Listening to the All Songs Considered year end podcast this morning and their discussion on Sturgill is along these lines. They talk more about the person than the performer, but he is low key, the opposite of a music "star", etc. Short discussion on how that might impact his mainstream acceptance.

            Another interesting tidbit is that the guitarist that plays with him is from Estonia.

      2. I'm so sad I couldn't make it down for this show. It's pretty much impossible to plan for winter shows, and mid-week ones are the absolute worst for me. Hoping he comes back around next spring/summer.

    2. I am sure Sturgill was great but can it compare to seeing the same Advent program for the 9th consecutive year like I did last night? (Please do not answer.)

  2. The Other Shoe - Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
    Section V - Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble - Music for 18 Musicians (S. Reich)
    Rale - Autechre - Quaristice
    Breaking the Girl - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
    Bait Car - Roomrunner - Ideal Cities
    Pink and Golden Billows - Brambles - Charcoal
    Window - Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
    Plant a Nail in the Navel Stream - The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
    Still Life With Avalanche - Eighth Blackbird - meanwhile (M. Mazzoli)
    Hey Now! - Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

    New music this week is John Roberts - Blanket. Something I heard at the end of last year and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm not sure if it's pleasingly simple or not complex enough.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JypscAJYhEc

    Also Soft Moon - Black. If you're looking for something a little Reznor-esque this morning.

  3. 1. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against The Machine
    2. Bend To Square - Death Cab For Cutie
    3. Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
    4. Tearjerker - Red Hot Chili Peppers
    5. It’s Tricky - The Bloodhound Gang

    6. Transcending - Red Hot Chili Peppers
    7. No Trust - The Black Keys
    8. Girl’s Not Grey - AFI
    9. All Kinds Of Time - Fountains Of Wayne
    10. The Denial Twist - The White Stripes

    B. Waltz for Piano No. 10 in B minor - Chopin (Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

    A big shout-out to free for giving me the first shot at his unexpectedly available 2nd ticket to Sturgill last night. A short review: the show unquestionably slots into my Top-5 concert experiences. Great performance. Great venue. Great crowd. Just awesome – thanks man!
    [edit] see above – awe is a good word.

        1. I'm back home now and looked at the CD sleeve.
          She goes by "Jessica Wabbit".
          I'm surprised they kept the wonderfully alliterative name Lydia for the youngest girl. "Jessica Loveless" doesn't sing the same way.

          1. On Lydia's second album, her publishing is "Lydia Ankrom (BMI)", but it's been "DePugh Music" since.
            I remember hearing that "Loveless" was her actual name, maybe "Ankrom" is her mom's maiden or something.

            A few years ago, she commented on her own facebook post with her personal account, which was "Lydia Lamb" (having taken her husband's name). I clicked through and it was mostly private, but I saw she was listed as "works at Lydia Loveless", which linked to the artist page.

            No, I didn't ask for a friendship.

              1. I guess I hadn't read that article.
                Her dad was the drummer on Indestructible Machine (which makes sense as he was her tour drummer at the time).
                I believe her sisters continued in a band called the Dead Girlfriends, in the liner notes to the Boy Crazy EP, she writes:
                "I wrote 'Lover's Spat' for the Dead Girlfriends. Thanks to them for letting me take it."

                There were a few burnt CDs for sale for $5 with two songs on them, something done for her appearance on "Night Out With Richard Hell".
                Two songs, demos from when she was 15. One is "Back on the Bottle". I don't know if I can imagine any 15-year-old I've met writing
                "Last night I got so drunk I don't know what I did
                It got so bad my woman ran off and hid
                And each time somebody told me that I'd had enough
                I just said 'F--- it' and poured myself one more glass."

                1. OK, I think I got the thing with the Dead Girlfriends confused. The other vocalist for the Girls! was in that band. Maybe the other sister's band?

                  Edit: Looking at photos, Jessica Wabbit was definitely in Dead Girlfriends with Eleanor Ugly/Sinacola and the non-sister Raeghan from Girls!

                  Edit 2: Not to be confused by the band "Dead Girlfriends" from half of the former Elite Gymnastics from the Twin Cities. They've now renamed as "Default Genders", but their music is still online as Dead Girlfriends.

                  1. Apparently Raeghan wasn't an original member of Girls!. I found this bit in another article when I was researching yesterday:

                    Then there’s tambourine shaker and human exclamation point Raeghan Buchanan. (“I’m an extrovert,” Buchanan explains.) Before joining, she partied hard at every show, making her a perfect fit for a band designed to be unpretentious.

                    1. I will not divulge how much time I spent fb stalking researching the three sisters and Raeghan this morning.

          2. She also has another sister, Eleanor Sinacola.

            According to the Repository:

            "In 2004, Loveless, her father, and her sisters made up part of a four-member new wave pop band called Carson Drew, named after the father in the well-known “Nancy Drew” books. Loveless played the bass. The band broke up in 2007."

  5. Two great shows this last week. I knew what to expect from Lydia, and she brought it, but I was absolutely blown away by Sturgill. It was fun to see a couple of familiar faces in Twins caps too.

  6. 1. Alice in Chains - "Rain When I Die" - Dirt
    2. Drive-By Truckers - "Get Downtown" - The Big To Do
    3. Lake Street Dive - "Better Than" - Bad Self Portraits
    4. Sonic Youth - "Candle" - Daydream Nation
    5. Yo La Tengo - "Roundabout" - Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics

    6. Angel Olsen - "Enemy" - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    7. Ingrid Michaelson - "Can't Help Falling In Love (Live)" - Be OK
    8. The Kooks - "Naive" - Inside In/Inside Out
    9. The Jayhawks - "Hide Your Colors" - Mockingbird Time
    10. Bright Eyes - "The Movement of a Hand" - Fevers and Mirrors

    1. I just picked up a used copy of Dirt like two months ago. Not sure what happened to my original copy, but hadn't heard the album in probably 15 years. I feel like it's held up alright... not as good as their Unplugged one, but not bad.

      1. Dirt was in the high-school debate about best opening seconds to any album. (That we knew about.)
        Just straight into riffs and screams, almost like we were dropped into the middle of something.

      2. And I just played that Unplugged album for my students during study time.

        I wasn't really into Alice in Chains when they were big. I should have been - I loved Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc. I just started listening to AIC more in the last couple of years.

  7. 01. After Forever - "Withering Time", After Forever
    02. Metal Church - "Metal Church", Metal Church
    03. Mael Mordha - "Through the Lungs of the Dead", Manannan
    04. Entombed - "Incinerator", Inferno
    05. Metalium - "Eye of the Storm", State of Triumph - Chapter Two
    06. Brainstorm - "All Those Words", Liquid Monster
    07. Grave Digger - "Under My Flag", The Reaper
    08. Carcass - "Genital Grinder", Live Dismemberment
    09. Accept - "Restless and Wild", Restless and Wild
    10. Darkthrone - "Wreak", Plaguewielder

  8. 1. Lydia Loveless “Learn How to Say No” Indestructible Machine
        a. Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse “Calls” (Jean C. Roche's "All the Bird Songs of Britain and Europe")
    2. Nine Inch Nails “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)” Further Down the Spiral
        b. Mourning Dove “Song” (Cornell Essential Set)
    3. Kelis “Runner” Food
    4. Tricky vs. the Gravediggaz “Tonite Is a Special Nite (Chaos Mass Confusion Mix)” Hell EP
        c. Coal Tit* “Song and Calls” (Geoff Sample's "Bird Songs & Calls of Britain and Northern Europe")
        d. Hutton's & Warbling Vireos “Songs and Calls” (Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, Western Region)
        e. Carolina Wren “Calls” (Cornell Essential Set)
    5. Lydia Loveless “Live - Full Set” April 24, 2014, at the 7th Street Entry

        f. Hoary Redpoll “Chatter and Rattle Calls” (Cornell Essential Set)
    6. Einstürzende Neubauten “Silence In Sexy” Silence Is Sexy
    7. Fila Brazillia “Heat Death of the Universe” Luck Be a Wierdo Tonight
        g. Great Grey Owl “Screech Calls” (Cornell Master Set)
    8. Black Dice “Pigs”* Mr. Impossible
    9. Arvo Pärt “Magnificat Mix 8” Magnificat (AMR Remixes)
        h. Northern Parula “Flight Call” (The Warbler Guide)
        i. Juniper Titmouse “Tsicka Dee Dee and Sip Calls” (Cornell Master Set)
    T. The Orb “Towers of Dub (Mad Professor Remix)” Blue Room

    *Notes:
    c. This bird looks almost exactly like a Black-Capped Chickadee
    8. The highest-quality Black Dice song of the band's modern state (since Hisham Bharoocha left).

  9. 1. "Thirsty and Miserable" - Dirty Projectors Rise Above
    2. "Song for Zula" - Phosphorescent Muchacho
    3. "Shame Chamber" - Kurt Vile Wakin on a Pretty Daze
    4. "Out of Tune" - Real Estate Days
    5. "Jesus Saves, I Spend" - St. Vincent Marry Me
    6. "I'm Happy, She Said" - M83 M83
    7. "A Dream" - Cut Copy Bright Like Neon Love
    8. "Only Son of the Ladiesman" - Father John Misty Fear Fun
    9. "Sleeping Ute" - Grizzly Bear Shields
    10. "Don't Let It Get You Down" - Spoon Kill the Moonlight


  10. The wickedly tight JB's and the Godfather tear it up on Soul Train, 1974.
    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIxVWNPeRJY
    (Too bad about the aspect ratio on that clip.)

  11. fashionably late list

    "Left of the Dial" - The Replacements
    "Dont Let Them Cool Down" - Peter Bjorn and John
    "The Universe Expanded" - Franz Ferdinand
    "You Wreck Me" - Tom Petty
    "Feelin' Stronger Everyday" - Chicago

    "Beautiful Girl" - INXS
    "Red Red Wine" - The Replacements
    "Peggy Sue" - Buddy Holly
    "Tennessee" - Arrested Development
    "Somebody To Love" - Queen

        1. Were I to re-write the song to my experiences and the history of the place, I'd have the line
          "Climb the tree that Pa Ingalls fell from."

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