Neko Case

^^ I agree, and I also feel that it's a grower. 'people got a lot of nerve' & 'middle cyclone' are my two favorite tracks after a few listens.

I'll second "People Got a Lot of Nerve" and add "Vengeance is Sleeping."

> a weird venue in Shepherd's Bush that's like 5 minutes from my house

hey, 5 minutes from mine too. i live down the road with KFC at the end.

That was my wife's favorite track!

I don't understand what this means!

It's probably my producer's favourite track too. Maybe he'll tell me where they inserted its 31 minutes into the set tonight.

just got back from the bush hall gig after scoring a last-minute ticket. it was great. one of the most amazingly respectful audiences i've ever seen too - not a single person spoke during the support act's (mostly very quiet) songs.

played half to two-thirds of the new record, which i've found a bit underwhelming but some songs really started to work for me live - a lovely, tender middle cyclone, and i am an animal really hit hard. old favourites maybe sparrow, deep red bells, i wish i was the moon, knock loud, margaret vs pauline, hold on x2, that teenage feeling, tigers have spoken. i know nothing about pedal steel, but i think her pedal steel player was amazing.

she cracked up just before singing i wish i was the moon because the soundman whispered into her monitor: "tits". she looked like she was having fun.

i love wilco's eraly stuff.
why cant i love neko case?
mysteries of life.
this record sounds more middle of the road and less country.
don't know yet what will be the effects of that facts on me.

I'm surprised, Zeno. Sounds like this would be perfect for you. (you're a big TNP fan, right?)

I love that album cover.

Again we call them the Newpies on this thread.

except for neko case ,theres nothing in common between the 2 acts.
one thing's for sure - great voice
xpost

Yeah, that's fair.

"Newpies"? Haha; I like it.

(btw,Daniel,long time no see ?!)

Yeah, it's been awhile. I never thought anyone would notice my absence. So thank you; that made me smile.

Welcome back, Daniel!

"I never thought anyone would notice my absence"
well, we do have more or less the same music taste.

Thanks, Alfred!

I only heard this once, but I can tell I'm not going to like it as much as Fox Confessor. I like the strangeness of that record. This one's not weird enough.

i have regretz: saw her play in Aspen, CO, like four years ago in a venue w/like 30+ ppl and i was too weeded out to go and say 'hi' even tho she was apparently up for chilling w/ppl

ok,so i do like this record.
Case+MOR-Country=good for me.

i can't get "the pharoahs" out of my head. there are a couple parts of it (specifically the notes right before "you said i was yr blue blue baby") that remind me of "wish i was the moon" though...? really like this a lot, there is a lot of AIR SUPPLY PRESENTS TO YOU THE TIME LIFE SOFT ROCK COLLECTION to it but in an awesome "sister golden hair" kind of way versus the meh "i'm not so sure if i'm into hearing this chicago song right now" way. the nilsson cover and the sparks cover are both great too (especially the latter half of "don't turn your back on mother earth"!); i'd pay good money for an album of her covering weird non-standards like that.

but i think i'm leaning towards "the pharoahs" as my fave on the album right now!

"The Pharoahs" is an amazing song. I think it also reminds me the most of Fox Confessor. So much good stuff here, tho.

it's too new to say this definitively but i think, on initial impact, that i like this better than fox confessor, despite liking "the pharoahs" the best right now. considering my love for neko this is like "i prefer to eat a lobster to eating a crab" basically though.

also i'm not sure if there's been enough love for "prison girls" here -- the chorus is great (this is the blacklisted song obviously). this is a really consistent album though, it's hard to actually single out a song to praise.

quit frontin' on air supply

I think there's something devastating about the way she sings "This tornado loves you, what will make you believe me," in the final moments of the first track.

But here's the weird thing for me when listening to Case. I don't have the same experience of songs as these distinct tracks that I do with other artists. The songs often seem to blend together as one unified long track. And while I can probably sing along to every track ("I'm a man, man, man, maneater, but still you're surprise when I eat her...") I can't necessarily recall them as distinct tracks when I'm not listening. I had this similar problem? issue? experience? while listening to Fox Confessor too. So it's harder for me to talk about particular tracks that I love, and easier to just point out moments - or just say the whole thing is bloody great.

mookie come to clover club tomorrow after work -- i'll tell you my air supply karaoke story.

mordy i agree with you a lot actually. tigers have spoken is really distinct to me but fox confessor isn't -- there are tracks i'll point out for myself like if i'm in the subway just making a mix and pull up "hold on hold on" or "in california" as favorites i'll just listen to, but if i put on one of her album it's kind of a seamless whole to me too.

incomplete thought up there: tigers have spoken is mostly distinct to me because, while it was a seamless live show, it has obvious flows and ebbs and distinct changes in tone and character that are necessary in a live show (imo), that makes things seem easier to associate as a separate "thing", for me. for example, "favorite" is really a flowing, natural ending in its proper place on canadian amp but in the middle of tigers her performance is a fucking revelation (the live version of "favorite" on tigers is my favorite neko track so it's my example)

i'd pay good money for an album of her covering weird non-standards like that

i've fantasized about a neko covers album for a long time.

actually what i want is a double album of her and kelly hogan doing covers, separately and together. the song selection would be awesome.

"never turn your back on mother earth" is the lowlight here I think - the one place her car veers into a ditch, at least before it sinks into the marshes at the end.

That's a cover, right?

so I gather.

I like 'vengeance is sleeping' a lot better: playing now, those frantic arpeggios.

and 'middle cyclone' itself! a gentle choir.

This is great, but Kelly Hogan should really make a new solo record as well.

I'm enjoying this, but something about the way in which the echoey production interacts with her more abstruse lyrics repels me ever so slightly.

Maybe it will turn out to be the next Field Day, Alfred.

haha. I'm not part of the Field Day claque!

i've fantasized about a neko covers album for a long time.

Canadian Amp is mostly covers, isn't it?

Bush Hall show was wonderful. I am more than slightly in love with Kelly Hogan. They had good, sly banter going on.

NC: "This is a song about being in love when you're a tomboy."
KH: "Would it kill you to wear a skirt?"

Canadian Amp is mostly covers, isn't it?

6 out of 8 tracks, and it's good, but it's not the neko covers album of my dreams.

She doing an in-store at Amoeba in Hollywood March 6th.

Neko in-store

Or March 5, even. (and "She's")

From NYT:

Her own songs melt down structures. Instead of fixed verses or choruses there are two-chord patterns that run as long as Ms. Case wants, or as short; they might add or subtract a beat, suddenly switch chords or support an entirely new tune in mid-song. Subliminally that rhapsodic approach keeps the songs off balance and suspenseful, ready for every possibility of disaster or exaltation. JON PARELES

I only quote it because I wonder if Pareles is hearing what I'm hearing - this might explain why I have trouble distinguishing one song definitively from another song on this album (like discussed above).

And the album is selling for $7.99 starting Tuesday at Best Buy.

O_<

I've now listened to the album, acc. to my iTunes counter, 20 complete times. Still not tired of it. (Mind you, I've already deleted Marais La Nuit.)

she was on leno last night but i only caught the last 20 seconds of it >:[

I was a little meh on the album the first time through but it has really grown on me after just a couple more spins.

i like the little bows she gives to russell brand and gordon ramsey at the end