Wgot 2008

I've been promising my friend S.G. a review of the latest mix he had put together (or, rather, his computer running wget had put together for him) for a while, so here it is.

Keren Ann: Hallelujah
This is one of the rare songs where a specific version - the late Jeff Buckley's in this case - has rendered any version that would come after it irrelevant. I suppose one could argue that a genuinely well-crafted song such as this one lends itself to a variety of interpretations, and I suppose it does, but that does not guarantee those interpretations' success. Keren Ann deserves a few points for trying, but that's about it.

Max Richter: The Twins
I have a vague recollection of this track circulating around the internet a year or two ago, and if memory serves, there was a video associated with it that was in some way remarkable. Having never seen the video, I can't comment. The tune is a pleasant enough vignette that wouldn't be out of place on a soundtrack to an indie film.

Sven Libaek: Inner Space: Dark World
Speaking of film music, this guy is supposed to be a real film composer. Objectively, this is dismissable, but something about the mood it creates does it for me. The combination of vibes and electric piano - frequently difficult to pull off because the timbres of the two instruments are so similar - helps. A highlight in an otherwise dim set, no question about it.

Ratatat: Mirando
This style probably has a name, but I'm not hip enough to know what it is. A kind of jungle-meets-lo-fi. Some cool-sounding analog synths and Steve Hackett-like guitar bits, but the tunes doesn't go anywhere and quickly starts to grate on your nerves, or mine at least. Gains a bit on repeated listening, but not much.

Armin Van Buuren: Precious
What techno was meant to be - infectious beyond belief but manages to create a mood with some seriously dark minor chords despite a relentlessly pounding beat. Good stuff.

Voyager One: The Future is Obsolete
It starts out with enough promise, thanks to seriously floppy and echoey drums and exaggeratedly English vocals, but ends up sounding like a bad version of Ride (if anyone remembers those guys).

Breakbot: Happy Rabbit
The name of the band says it all. The headache arrives quickly, though the discoey bass line might have worked in a different context.

The Retail Sectors: The First Step to the End of Life
Ever heard an introduction that does not introduce anything? This is it.

The Postal Service: Brand New Colony
The sound is recognizable, but I've liked these guys' other stuff better. The interlude in the middle of the song is a nice touch.

Chakachas: Via Cuba
This has to be a joke. A polished but generic rhumba backing track that sounds like it was originally intended for a different, and better, recording, with seriously goofy vocals, in English but rendered in the most offensively stereotypical Latino accent. A musical equivalent of blackface?

The Coast: Nueva York
Piano-driven indie power pop with more than a touch of Crowded House and maybe even a little Springsteen. Could be a lot worse.

Man Man: Black Mission Goggles
Circus music on steroids. The fact that the first four bars of each verse are dead ringers for The Beatles' Come Together does nothing to redeem the track. There is an allusion to Tom Waits about forty seconds before the end, but I suspect most people would quit listening long before then.

Mystery Jets: Young Love (Shoes Mix)
Can't decide if it wants to be art-pop, techno, or 80s-retro. Next.

Cloud Cult: When Water Comes to Life
Another cinematic track, decently arranged with some strings... until the vocal kicks in.

Emily Jane White: Bessie Smith
The standout track on the whole disc. Who cares that she is a dead ringer for Cat Power? The song just works, propelled along by some gorgeous arco double bass. I think I'll get the album.

???:???
No tags on this one. Waltz time keeps your attention for a while, but the whiny vocals and generic arrangement lost me about a minute and a half into the track.

Can Joann: Endure en Vogue
Nice high-register bass. Now how about a song to go with it?

Voice of the Seven Woods: Satai Nova
Another track that sounds more like a vignette than a full-blown song, but the acoustic guitar is actually pretty slick.

Jim Noir: Don't You Worry
This guy really wants to be performing in the sixties, but since he can't, he feels compelled to add some gratuitously reverbed synths. The listener gains nothing.

The Walkmen: Lady Midnight
So this is alt.country? Or just a Johnny Cash rip-off? And why is it so boring?

Gnarls Barkley: Run
Words fail me. Take a James Brown LP and play it at 45 rpm, then mix it with the backing track played at the intended 33 1/3.