Song obsessions are those songs that we listen to on repeat. I noticed that my obsessions are often a week long. I also thought that other people might have similar obsessions. I’ve collected a panel of a few like-minded individuals and gotten their “song obsessions of the week.” Quite often it’s easy to explain why the song is good; it’s much hard to explain why we’re obsessed. Maybe you’ll become obsessed with one of these.

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Adrian (me):
Andy Samberg and Adam Levine (and Richard James) - Iran so Far (mp3) (buy the original Aphex Twin tune)

I warned earlier this week that I found this SNL spoof track too catchy to resist. Yeah, it’s been a bit of an obsession for me. The piano bit, the beats and especially the chorus are very catchy; and it’s pretty funny. Later I found out that the piano track was ripped off of an Aphex Twin track (Aphex Twin - Avril 14th (mp3)). The original is good too, but I doubt I would have been obsessed with it.

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Keith:
Jon Hassell - Personals (mp3) (buy)

Back before the days of the internet the lovelorn had to use ancient telephone technologies to set up ineffective blind dates. The local alternative weekly often sponsored audible personal ads using the now
familiar (then novel) voice mailbox to collect messages from potential partners. Jon Hassell must have spent quite a few $1.99 minutes culling the samples pasted together in this Frankenstein tableau of the singles scene circa 1994.

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David (not Dave):
Emmy The Great - Canopies and Grapes (mp3) (not available? artist’s myspace)

This song is a cliche. Twangy guitar skiffle, breathy female vocals, an endless parade of pop culture references and indie rock namechecks. Even the rhythm is lifted from every folk song you’ve ever heard. None of that matters.

I heard this song while sitting on a stoop in the east village, waiting for a friend’s birthday party to start. I was in a bad mood. And this song comes on, and instantly I’m in love. I can’t tell if this song is about me, or my ex, or the girl I want to have dated so she can be my ex, but it’s really fucking precious.

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Natalie:
Bat for Lashes - What’s A Girl To Do? (mp3) (buy)

The debut album Fur and Gold came out earlier this year, but I’m just now getting around to listening to it. “What’s A Girl To Do?” is beautiful, ethereal, strange and floating. Great mixture of electronic beats and earthy instruments like harpsichord and tambourine. Natasha Khan’s voice is strong and a little like Tori Amos. I’m reallyyyyyyy enjoying this.

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Andy:
The Lucksmiths - Deep Sea Diving Suit (mp3) (buy)

This track was originally released on the “T-Shirt Weather” EP, released while I was still active in college radio - I played it heavily, despite the fact that I’d never even heard the original. The EP quickly went out of print. 3 of the tracks were released on a compilation, “Where were we,” a few years back, but for some reason, they left this track out. Much to my surprise, after I saw The Lucksmiths this weekend, I found that they’d released this track again on their newest, 2-CD compilation. I’ve only listened to it a few dozen times since then…

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Dave:
Pinback - Good to Sea (mp3) (buy)

So far this is my favorite track off their new album (granted, i’ve only listened the whole way through like twice, but still). On the drive back from seeing them live last night I found myself playing this song over and over. Glad to finally see another good Pinback record.

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That’s a good set of tunes this week.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 5:38 am Posted by adrian in SF bay area, blogs, mp3s, song obsessions. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.