(BUT WE LIKE HIM ANYWAY)

CHRIS ISAAK

A quick break in our recent Swedish fixation to throw a bone to Chris Isaak, whose compilation, Best Of Chris Isaak, came out yesterday. I've always thought this guy was a bit underrated (or, perhaps overly celebrated for just a single song and its still-steamy, sand-in-the-butt-crack video).

Clearly, he isn't the most versatile or visionary of music makers, but within his specific niche (and with that great, Orbison-lite croon), he shines just fine.

From the LP Always Got Tonight, 2002 >>>
[MP3] [RapidShare] "One Day"

From the LP Speak of the Devil, 1998 >>>
[MP3] [RapidShare] "Please"
[MP3] [RapidShare] "Black Flowers"

From the LP Forever Blue, 1995 >>>
[MP3] [RapidShare] "Somebody's Crying"
[MP3] [RapidShare] "Go Walking Down There"

From the LP San Francisco Days, 1993 >>>
[MP3] [RapidShare] "Solitary Man"

THE LEGENDS

Our Swedish smorgasbord continues today with the Legends. Supposedly, these folks were a nine-person collective just a couple years ago. Now, they're down to one primary member (Johan Angergard, who's also connected with Acid House Kings and Club 8). Come to think of it, new single "Play It for Today" (March '06) does sound a bit more like Club 8 than previous Legends material...

[MP3] "Play It for Today" [single]

From the LP Public Radio, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "These Old Hearts of Ours"

From the LP Up Against the Legends, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "There and Back Again"
[MP3] "The Kids Just Wanna Have Fun"

THE CHARADE

With summer upcoming, we might as well stay in Sweden for a spell, what with the more abundant sunshine, fewer suicides, etc.

So let's take the four-and-a-half hour drive from Gothenburg to Stockholm to drop in on '60s-styled popsters the Charade. Their new album, A Real Life Drama, will be out June 20th. In the meantime...

From the LP A Real Life Drama, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "A Tough Decision"

From the LP The Best is Yet to Come, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Monday Morning"

[Hear more from the Charade on their MySpace page.]

SAMBASSADEUR

Seems we haven't set sail for Sweden in a long, long while. Time to rectify that...

The Gothenburg quartet Sambassadeur released their new, four-song EP, Coastal Affairs, on May 3rd. The song "Kate" can be extracted at Hits in the Car and/or Indie Don't Dance. Kate's pretty little sister "Claudine" is a nice cover of a song by New Zealand's the Bats. You can find it below, along with what still ranks as my favorite Sambassadeur song.

From the EP Coastal Affairs, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Claudine"

From their self-titled LP, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "New Moon"

RADIOHEAD IN COPENHAGEN

Again, recording quality with these is decidedly dodgy. But it's Radiohead, bitches. So deal with it.

<<< All files updated with better quality MP3s on May 10th >>>

[MP3] [YourFile] "Open Pick"

[MP3] [YourFile] "Bangers 'n' Mash"

[MP3] [YourFile] "Bodysnatchers"

[MP3] [YourFile] "15 Step"

[MP3] [YourFile] "Nude"

[MP3] [YourFile] "4 Minute Warning"

[MP3] [YourFile] "House of Cards"

[MP3] [YourFile] "Spooks"

BEST OF APRIL

Per usual, I present my favorite tunes from the month just concluded. And, per usual, I hope you'll find a few you can groove to.

Left-click [here] to grab the tracks.

TRACKLIST >>>

01) Johnny Cash/Ring of Fire
02) The Go-Betweens/Love Goes On! [single]
03) Camera Obscura/Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
04) The Kooks/Ooh La
05) The Owls/Air
06) Dirty Pretty Things/Bang Bang You're Dead
07) The Dresden Dolls/The Jeep Song
08) Agent Sparks/Choke
09) Smile Smile/Sad Song
10) The Essex Green/Rue de Lis
11) The Glass Family/Swimming in Fiction
12) Tilly and the Wall/Bad Education
13) Matt Costa/Cold December
14) Arab Strap/Don't Ask Me to Dance
15) Silver Jews/Smith & Jones Forever
16) Irving/Heading North
17) The Perishers/Pills
18) The Bears/How to Live
19) The Black Heart Procession/The Letter
20) I'm From Barcelona/Rec & Play
21) Bruce Springsteen/Eyes on the Prize