NPR is streaming the following until their release date:
• The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl)
AOL/Spinner is streaming the following through Sunday, October 24:
• Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, 'Orange/Acme' (Majordomo/Shout Factory)
• Liz Phair, 'Funstyle' (Rocket Science)
• Badly Drawn Boy, 'It's What I'm Thinking' (The End)
More streams below, including new releases by Lizard Skynard and Bombastic Meatbats (for real). Let us know if you hear anything good.
• Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, 'Please Stand By' (Spark & Shine; MP3)
• Grant Cutler & The Gorgeous Lords, 'Grant Cutler & The Gorgeous Lords EP' (Unsigned; MP3)
• Murdocks, 'Distortionist' (TBD; MP3)
• Oh Land, 'Oh Land EP' (Epic; MP3)
• Pancake Breakfast, 'Pancake Breakfast' (Noise Nest; MP3)
• The Phantom Band, 'The Wants' (Chemikal Underground; MP3 via Magnet)
• Pomegranates, 'One of Us' (TBD; MP3)
• Zach Hill, 'Face Tat' (Sargent House; MP3via Magnet)
• Bad Books, 'Bad Books' (Favorite Gentlemen)
• Buddy Guy, 'Living Proof' (Jive)
• Girl in a Coma, 'Adventures in Coverland' (Blackheart)
• Sean Flinn & The Royal We, 'Write Me a Novel' (Sean Flinn)
• Violens, 'Amoral' (Static Recital)
• Irish Tenors, 'Home for Christmas' (E1)
• Lizard Skynard, 'Lizard Skynard' (TBD)
• Monster Magnet, 'Mastermind' (Napalm)
• Rod Stewart, 'Soul Book Vol. 5' (RCA)
• Shakira, 'The Sun Comes Out' (Epic)
• The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, 'Video Games Live: Level 2' (Shout! Factory)
• Bombastic Meatbats, 'More Meat' (Warrior)
So Jake, now that Miz Phair has released a physical copy of FunStyle with a bonus disc containing all GirlySounds material, are you moved to purchase this just for the bonus stuff?
Yeah, actually. But now I feel like a dope for paying $5 for the download.
Liz Phair is a single mom without a label deal; I’m sure the $5 will come in handy. Don’t feel too cheated.
Sorry Jake, I had a feeling you were too willing–desperate almost–to give Phair a break in your original review of Funstyle so I stayed away from it. And now that I’ve confirmed my suspicions and heard the damn thing…my God! Let’s just say I dislike this album so much it almost makes me hate Exile in Guyville for having been made by the same artist.
Well, there are undeniably a few good songs on there. And the goofy ones are kinda funny. Worth $5 (to me…if for no other reason than to support an artist of her stature trying something entirely outside of the label paradigm). But I’d still like to hear what she did with the Girly Sound stuff. I’m a sucker for her. What can I say?
Kiko, just to play devil’s advocate, what differentiates Liz releasing FunStyle vs. Neil releasing Trans, or re-ac-tor (or pick your fave potentially-alienating NY artistic departure album)? Or Lou Reed releasing Metal Machine Music? Every artist is entitled to departures from the norm. Every artist is even entitled to the lazy album every once in a while (they shouldn’t be surprised if people stay away in droves, though). I guess for me the way I’d answer my own question is that the reason I am willing to wait out a bad Elvis Costello album, a bad Neil Young album, a bad Todd Rundgren album, is that a) the back catalog entices me enough that I haven’t given up on the artist completely (like I have with the Stones regarding new stuff), and b) maybe they’ll get it right next time. The Stones ran outta second chances long ago. Neil hasn’t yet; Lou Reed is almost there. But I’d be willing to say that for me, based on the little I’ve heard of FunStyle, that Liz hasn’t run out of give-her-another-listen-next-time-around passes just yet. And it certainly doesn’t diminish from the greatness of her Matador-era catalog (again, IMHO).
BTW, I just bought a used $2 copy of self-titled Liz Phair CD; gonna approach it with an open mind.
It’s worth $2 for “My Bionic Eyes” alone. That’s one of my all-time Liz faves.
Hey DJMurph – that’s about the most spot-on description of great artists/bad records I think I’ve ever read! And quite concise as well!!
Neil just got a lot more “chances” as you put it in my world with ‘Le Noise’ – I think it’s really good. But then again, I’ve enjoyed most of his 21st century output except for Are You Passionate and Fork in the Road.
Yea man – the Stones suck balls now as does Clapton – that list is way too long to elaborate on here in this thread maybe. Weezer has run out of chances too
Thanks for the compliment, Jonathan. Your opinion means a lot to me (no sarcasm intended!).
DJM,
I think what differentiates Phair from those other artists you mention is intent. Obviously, barring a truthful, full-on admission from the artist, we can only surmise what that intent might be. But I don’t feel those other guys were goofing, like Phair clearly seems to be with the novelty tunes and other dreck on Funstyle.
Also, and more importantly, Phair doesn’t have enough good catalog to warrant the goodwill Costello, Reed, Rundgren, and Young have earned. She’s got 6 albums and the last 3, for the most part, are textbook train wrecks. To quote the Trouser Press Guide: “Isolated pockets of desperate fans may still cling to the hope that this is all some sort of elaborate joke on Phair’s part, and that she’s intentionally satirizing Top 40 pop, but that seems increasingly unlikely. God help her, she seems sincere.”
Maybe I’m reading waaaaaay to much into this, but the whole Liz Phair saga feels like discovering that the cool girlfriend who years ago broke up with you, not because you were broke but because things weren’t working out, is actually a gold digger who now gleefully makes fun of both the relationship and your-then broke ass. (Not to mention how she seems to have adopted the “who cares? it’s all one big joke” cop-out attitude so prevalent among many these days.)