Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 163

Sagittarius: Present Tense (1968)

Sagittarius is largely the work of producer Gary Usher (best known for producing the Byrds' best albums and as a frequent Beach Boys collaborator) and singer-songwriter Curt Boettcher (a sunshine pop/soft rock pioneer, whose phenomenal album Begin -- recorded by The Millennium -- I've discussed previously). Their first of two albums, Present Tense largely retains the sunshine pop aspects of The Millennium, sweet and light and largely free of the harder edges working their way into popular music ...

The Windbreakers: Time Machine (1982-2002)

One of the great Southern jangly-guitar bands, the Mississippi-based Windbreakers mined similar territory as 80s college radio peers like R.E.M., Love Tractor, Guadalcanal Diary, and the Connells, while infusing it with casual, chiming power pop akin to Marshall Crenshaw. Oddly, I don't recall them having a ton of traction back in my mid-80s college radio days, but I stumbled upon them shortly thereafter and have really enjoyed their music ever since.

While I try to avoid greatest-hits collection...

Hazel English: Wake Up (2020)

It's been a bit since I've dug into some new releases, but here's one I'm really enjoying. Hazel English, an Australian singer/songwriter currently here in the Bay Area, blends gentle dream pop aesthetics with a more classic, nostalgic pop bounce, hints of the girl group sounds of the 60s shot through with bits of everything from Lush to Best Coast. As the album -- her full-length debut, after some really top-notch EPs -- is still new to me, I haven't latched onto any particular favorites, just ...

Timbercreek: Hellbound Highway (1975)

As mentioned previously, I'm always a little tickled to find long-forgotten 70s obscurities by bands who worshiped at the altar of the Grateful Dead. Sure, these days Dead tribute bands are legion, but the Dead weren't exactly big-time in the early 70s, so it's kinda cool how many bands nonetheless jumped on the bandwagon.

From what I can tell, Timbercreek were a few guys near Santa Cruz, CA, who released their sole album in a small pressing of a few hundred copies, later revived on a small re...

Luna: Penthouse (1995)

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips will be streaming a live performance Saturday night, which seemed like a good enough reason to circle back to Luna.

As noted previously, I instantly fell in love with the band's 1992 debut, Lunapark; and 1994's Bewitched, which saw them hitting the brakes and quieting down a bit, was no less great (particularly the wonderful single "California (All The Way)"). But it was on the third one that they really seemed to find their voice, Wareham no longer being that guy...

Sebadoh: Bakesale (1994)

Sebadoh were on the shortlist of bands that were central to my 90s listening habits -- right there alongside Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices, Sleater-Kinney, Luna, Matthew Sweet, Bettie Serveert, and a few others. Alas, I'd call myself a fair-weather Sebadoh fan, preferring only selected songs on each album.

Though ostensibly fronted by Lou Barlow after his eviction as Dinosaur Jr.'s bass player, Barlow (now on guitars) for better or worse ran the band like a democracy, with bassist Jason...

Daniel Johnston: Artistic Vice (1991)

I've always had mixed emotions about listening to the late lamented Daniel Johnston. To be sure, some of his songs stand up relatively well on their own as wide-eyed, child-like, home-brewed indie rock. But you also have to wonder if the music would be half as interesting without an appreciation of Johnston's struggles with mental illness and backstory. The fantastic documentary The Devil & Daniel Johnston -- a must-see if you haven't seen it before -- certainly raises the difficult question of ...

From Sister Ray to Roadrunner: A Mix

An amusing mix I put together a few years back, thought I'd share it via Spotify. The songs are built around a familiar vamp on an either 2- or 3-chord progression. The Velvet Underground rocked the riff for over 17 minutes on "Sister Ray" back in 1968; Jonathan Richman and his Modern Lovers simplified it and sped it up for "Roadrunner" (recorded around 1972, finally released around 1976); and Wire slowed it down to a dirge-lake pace for the atypically grinding "Strange" on their 1977 debut.

The ...

Wooden Shjips: West (2011)

You've chewed up the 'shrooms. You've got the volume knob on the stereo cranked as far into the red as it will go. You see this fog rolling in over the distant hills. You just need one insane high octane drone to shatter your senses and hold it all together. That's where the Wooden Shjips come in.

While there's a consistency to all of their work, I give an edge to this one, not just because my hometown band has a nifty San Francisco photo up top, but because after a few albums/EPs of slightly mor...

Simon & Garfunkel: Bookends (1968)

I've always had mixed feelings about S&G. Obviously their vocals can't be denied; when it comes to incorporating harmonies into rock & roll, they are as essential as the Everly Brothers, the Beach Boys, and CSN. And Simon wrote a tremendous number of timeless standards. At the same time, each of their albums is flawed by the inclusion of some tracks that just don't hold up (if they weren't already dated at the time of their recording). Still, I do love to pull their records out, particularly Boo...