Horses & Japan

When you listen to albums really closely, you sometimes start spotting patterns. Perhaps you'll hear the same line in two different songs; perhaps you'll notice some sort of loose running theme; perhaps you'll even come across a nice, juicy ROPSWED. 'Easter Eggs' like this are fairly common at the movies - if you spend enough time on the internet, you'll already be familiar with Pixar's insane mass of ongoing in-jokes, or Martin Scorsese's use of the letter X to signal that  somebody's about to die in The Departed.

The difference, though, is that Scorsese almost certainly planted those Xs on purpose. The patterns we hear in songs and albums tend to be far more subtle, and so they are far less likely to be intentional - Pixar didn't accidentally give the Pizza Planet truck a cameo in every single movie, but it's entirely conceivable that a songwriter may re-use an old line without realising it.

Albums from Sarah

It's Valentine's Day, and in the spirit of love and romance and deep, meaningful connections, I've decided that today's blog post will be a list of albums that I'd never have heard if it hadn't been for Sarah, my girlfriend of nearly four years. Well, I might have heard them eventually, but it would have taken a lot longer and they wouldn't have been nearly as meaningful anyway.

Harvest by Neil Young
Some people use OkCupid or Match.com to find their twoo wuv. I used last.fm. Sad and nerdy though it sounds, Sarah's outstanding taste in music was a big part of why I found her so attractive in the first place - her 'Top Artists' bit was packed with great bands that none of my friends liked, including British Sea Power, The Decemberists, Interpol, Brakes...I could go on. Her #1 artist, however, was a man whose music I'd never really listened to: Neil Young.

I'd heard of Neil Young, naturally, but I'd never really bothered to investigate his albums. Then Sarah came along and, eager to interact with this pretty girl and her A+ music knowledge, I asked her which of his CDs I ought to start with. She recommended Harvest, I purchased it for £5 from Rise Music in Bristol, and - sure enough - it turned out to be a good recommendation. I especially liked A Man Needs a Maid, with its big orchestral flourishes, and Words (Between the Lines of Age), with its funny time signature that eventually resolves into a hard-rocking chorus.

Want Two by Rufus Wainwright

One of my favourite things about music is that two people can have completely different experiences of the same artist. For example, Sarah and I both liked Rufus Wainwright, but where I knew him for Poses - Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk, The Consort, and so on - she knew him for Want Two. To Sarah, Rufus Wainwright meant songs like The Art Teacher, Little Sister, and several other songs I'd never heard until we met.

We both still insist that 'our' album is the better one, but even if I do still prefer Poses, I will concede that Want Two is a great, great album. Especially The One You Love, a jagged little stomper that sounds great on the CD and even better when you see it live (as we did in Portugal a couple of years ago).

Comfort Eagle by Cake
This was only last year. We were in Barnado's, I was flicking through the CDs, and I came across a Cake album called Comfort Eagle. The only Cake songs I knew at that point were Italian Leather Sofa and their cover of I Will Survive; since Comfort Eagle contained neither, I was happy to leave it on the rack. But Sarah, who already owned their fifth album Pressure Chief, assured me that this was one purchase worth making.

She was right, as she often is.

Comfort Eagle is a cracking album, packed with catchy tunes and fun characters (the opera singer, the Austrian nobleman, the couple in World of Two). It's a great driving album, as I've mentioned previously, but more importantly, it's a fantastically enjoyable album - an album of trumpets and funky guitars and brilliance.

A Present for Everyone by Busted
I know I mentioned Busted several times in the One Direction blog, but they bear mentioning once more today. I'd obviously heard quite few of these songs back in the day, but some years later, it was Sarah once again who advised me to get the album. Writing about her now, she seems like my personal music advisor as much as my girlfriend.

A Present for Everyone is one of Sarah's favourites from when she was younger, alongside Pink's Missundaztood and the eponymous All Saints album. She insists that it is superior to Busted's self-titled debut, and I think she's probably right - that album does boast such classics as Without You and Psycho Girl, not to mention its clutch of stellar singles, but Present... still edges it out. The likes of She Wants to Be Me, 3AM, Crashed the Wedding and so forth make me wish I still went to school, so that I could listen to those songs on the way home.

Datarock Datarock by Datarock

Y'know that pre-relationship period? When you haven't kissed or been on a date or anything like that yet, but when you're already talking to each other as much as most proper couples? That was a fruitful period for me, music-wise. Sarah and I used to chat on MSN, swapping song recommendations and, by and large, enjoying everything we heard (well, I enjoyed everything - only Sarah knows if she truly liked the stuff I sent her way). One of the many, many songs I discovered during those conversations was Computer Camp Love by Datarock.

The synth-heavy music and the deadpan, Grease-referencing vocals made this one of the most memorable tracks from those MSN days, and we recently came across this album in Rise (again) for only a few pounds. I bought it, of course, and I'm happy to report that the rest of the album is just as good. Fa Fa Fa is my favourite - it's an elongated dance workout that actually manages to hold a candle to LCD Soundsystem, who of course are everyone's #1 dance band.

Sarah likes LCD Soundsystem, too, as if we needed any further proof that she knows her stuff. Here's another great song she introduced me to - Here Comes a Special Boy by Freezepop, which itself introduced me to an outstanding webcomic called Achewood.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

3 for the Car: Driving Albums

I only recently passed my driving test, so when I was in sixth form and everyone was speeding about in their snazzy little cars that they knew how to operate, I was doomed - like Iggy Pop - to forever be the passenger. Okay, so it was nice to get so many lifts, but this arrangement afforded me a frustrating lack of control over the music we listened to. At best, the driver would throw on some Meat Loaf and everyone in the car would sing along to that; at worst, I'd get stuck listening to Lovin' You by Minnie Riperton.

But I've got my own pink license now, which means that I'm finally master of the car stereo! Here's a trio of albums that, in my limited experience, work well behind the wheel...

The Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me

Okay, so it starts a little too quietly, but if you can time it right, the effect is perfect. Use the first part of Positive Jam to reverse out of your drive or wiggle out of your parking space, and try to hit the road just as the drums kick in. After that, it's all triumphant, crunchy rock - it's hard to keep both hands on the wheel, such is the air-punching awesomeness of songs like The Swish and Knuckles, which you can hear in this video:

Titus Andronicus - Local Business

This album isn't even out in the UK yet, but one of my wonderful family members managed to sneak an import under the Christmas tree last year. And I'm glad they did it, because it meant that by the time I passed my test, I was familiar enough with this CD to shove it in the stereo and sing along to (most of) the words as I drove. Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape with the Flood of Detritus is about a road accident, which might not be ideal, but aside from that it's all gold. Take the snappily-named Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter, for example:

CAKE - Comfort Eagle

And just before I tattoo the words 'I LIKE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND ANYTHING THAT SOUNDS LIKE HIM' across my forehead, here's something a little different. Comfort Eagle isn't quite as frantic as the other two albums, and the steady, almost hip-hopppy beats that underpin everything make for pretty good listening when you're driving around the city (although, again, there's a song about traffic trouble - Long Line of Cars might grate a little if you're stuck in a queue). Drumming along on the wheel is pretty much a dead cert. Here's my personal favourite, Pretty Pink Ribbon:

So there are three good driving albums that you can take for a spin this weekend. What do you tend to fill your car stereo with? Recommend me something in the comments!