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):
the Lightning Bug Situation – Message to Myself after Franny was Born (mp3) (buy)

I didn’t want this song to be my song obsession. I didn’t want to share it, not yet at least. I only heard it last night for the first time, so I thought another song I’d listened to a lot (”Feel it All” by Feist) might be able to be my song obsession. That was until I found myself playing this San Francisco artist’s song on repeat. The harmonies during the chorus and the slide guitar both make this song.

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Keith:
Freezepop – Do You like Boys? (mp3) (buy)

I’m just back and slightly addled from an extended commiseration with some colleagues at a local drinking establishment. On the way home the new Freezepop accompanied me, and once again they’ve succinctly boiled down the essential elements of new-wave dance pop and twee into an irresistible paste. This tune takes the premise of Josie Cotton’s most infamous composition and removes the gender angst, replacing it with a more mature acceptance of potential differences while still retaining its inspirational

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Andy:
J Tillman – Queen of Swing (mp3) (not available buy other albums)

This song comes from a j. tillman cassette that he sent me a few years back. I think this was after he’d been touring a little bit (with
saxon shore, his old band) on the east coast. They’d just played at Macrock, and he’d sold out of all the CD-Rs he was selling. So, he promised me that he’d send me something once he got back to Seattle.

Eventually, the cassette arrived in the mail – no tracklist, just an unlabeled cassette. I recognized a few of these songs from an earlier CD-R of his, but most of them were new.

This is a particularly slow version of “Queen of Swing.” I’m particularly in love with the bells.

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Scott:
Thinking Fellers Union 282 – Father (mp3) (buy)

the most convincing use of banjo i’ve heard in a rock track in a while…yes, including my beloved freak-folk.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at 6:47 am Posted by adrian in SF bay area, mp3s, song obsessions. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.