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Rufus Wainwright - “Matinee Idol”
May 19th marks the 10th anniversary of Rufus Wainwright’s self titled debut.
Love him or hate him, he released one of the most original debut cds both in style and lyrics. While it might not have been a commercial success, he garnered critical acclaim for his operatic pop and piano overtures. His songs are as large as his personality, and he’s currently planning to write an opera.
A stand out song from the release is “Matinee Idol”, a song written about River Phoenix. Chamber pop is an unusual term, but it fits him well.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Aberfeldy - A Friend Like You
Given only a cursory listen, it might be all too easy to dismiss Aberfeldy, who hail from Edinburgh, as just another twee-pop band, particularly if you use only their latest album as a reference point. But this track comes from their first album, Young Forever, released in 2004 on Rough Trade Records, which I’m afraid I think is excellent.
A nice way to start the week, I think.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Pale Young Gentlemen - Fraulein
I absolutely adore Pale Young Gentlemen. A fact backed up by iTunes’ claim that I’ve listened to their album over 60 times. But I’m going to let Dave Koen introduce this one. This is what he included as his sample post when he replied to our call for a new contributor. Unfortunately, we didn’t pick Dave, but we did love his post, so here it is.
What is the last thing you would expect to hear coming out of Madison, Wisconsin? How about the Pale Young Gentlemen? With a sound that harkens back to your Eastern European country of choice, they have managed to find quite the following here in the States. Since the self-release of their debut album they have garnered some rave reviews (Jared Hoke of 5 Acts proclaims them, “the best band you don’t know about”). With a sound that is hard to describe as anything but “parlor-room” they have managed to put together an album of catchy, pop songs that I find myself listening to again and again.
Thanks again, Dave!
