Saah-pair-lee-poh-pet!

I mentioned Liechtenstein covering Clothilde's Saperlipopette in my 2008 interview with the band. At that point they'd been playing it in their live set a couple of times. Now they've finally decided to record this immensely catchy tongue breaker. Go have a listen on their myspace. While you're there, you may also want to hear a new original song, Strange ideas.

'Saperlipopette!' translates as 'Goodness me!' by the way, but you knew that of course.

You can download an MP3 of Clothilde's original in this 2007 post on Skatterbrain.

Liechtenstein myspace

Back To One Happy Island

After some much-loved EP-releases, One Happy Island are now about to treat us on a first LP. The self titled album will be released on the excellent Odd Box Records in the beginning of June.

In advance of that LP, Odd Box offer us a free download single as a taster. The single features one song from the forthcoming album and one exclusive track (a Lonnie Donegan cover) that features special guests Horowitz. A unique combination, I'd say.

Don't miss it!

Unfamiliar with One Happy Island? Read my interview with the band here.

One Happy Island
Odd Box Records

Pleasant valley

For months it was on their website under the header 'COMING SOON', but now it's finally out: the YAY! Records compilation Pleasant Valley. It's the first LP for the friendly label, and it's a nice overview for those of you who missed some of the 7" releases. For those who got all the singles they wanted there's nothing new here, but it's still an admirable collection of great pop (by Sea Lions, Catwalk, The Tartans, Maria, Pam & Teri, Watercolor Paintings).

Order the LP here

If you're interested in finding out a little bit more about some of the YAY!- artists, you can read my interview with Catwalk here and my interview with The Tartans here.

Once in a lifetime

My son is turning 11 months old tomorrow. When we go out for a walk, almost everything is exciting. I try to introduce something new to him as often as possible, and that's stunningly easy. When not giving it much thought, I'm inclined to think bigger things, things that seem a bit special even to me: the animals at the farm, the playground, stuff like that. And of course he loves it. But a flower, a sparrow. A passing dog or cat. That's at least as new and exciting for him. If I didn't enjoy his amazement so much, I would almost be jealous; you can only experience something for the first time once.

Yesterday I took him for a walk in his stroller to the park, and I picked him a leaf from a chestnut tree. At first he wasn't too sure what to do with it. He put it next to him in his seat. Then, a few minutes later, he started looking at it again and touching, feeling it. After a while he accidentally ripped off a piece and shrieked with joy. Off came the next piece, and the next. Soon all he had left in his hands was the little branch in the middle.

I gave him another, similar leaf. It was still fun, maybe even more so, but without that surprise, without the first big excitement. On to the next new thing.

---

I'm 32 years old. In my daily life there's not a lot of pure excitement going on. I've seen everything, or take everything for granted. As much as I can enjoy the new flowers and leaves in springtime, it would be a stretch to claim that they excite me, or surprise me.

This weekend a 7"-shaped package arrived. Every time I see that on our doormat my heart beats a bit faster. I walked up the stairs to get to my turntable. I started unpacking the single with growing anticipation. I put the seven inches of grey vinyl on the deck, put the needle on the spinning record, leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. This is my moment. This is that unique once in a lifetime chance for a 30-something. Only this very first spin contains that uniqueness, the magical unknown, the anticipation, and I try to make sure it's not lost on me.

By the second, twentieth or fivehundreth time you hear a song you may love or hate it a lot more than you did that first time, but you can never repeat the magic.

It's so easy nowadays to download a song or an album from the internet. It's so tempting to quickly skip through a record to get an impression, or to give it a first spin while vacuuming the house. But I really try to restrain myself. Aging has quite naturally limited the opportunity to experience new things. One of the most wonderful things about music is the chance it provides to step back into the feeling of holding that chestnut leaf for the first time. The feeling of not knowing what will come, of not having an opinion ready. After ripping off the first pieces of leaf, analyzing it, judging it until left with the essence, the branch, you may come to the first decisions about pleasure, indifference or dislike. But it always happens in a unique moment of pure, incomparable 'once in a lifetime'.

---

"Papa", he says. "Papapapapa!". He throws away the leaf and we walk back home, refreshed, but with one less new thing to discover. With a strange, but good ache in my heart, my head fills up with music:

"Will you give me your hand so I can pretend
I'm holding it for the first time?
Let's do everything for the first time forever"

Download (Mediafire)
1. of Montreal - Let's do everything for the first time forever

Undercover poplover, part 22

"Oh it gets dark, it gets lonely
On the other side from you
I pine alot, I find the lot
Falls through without you"

Download (Mediafire)
1. The Innocence Mission - Wonderful world
2. Jens Lekman & Tracey Thorn - Yeah! Oh Yeah
3. The Sweptaways - Wuthering heights

Not dead yet

I was going through some old singles while cleaning up the office this weekend. Somewhere under a big layer of dust I found this, the 1991 single Not dead yet by the Bad Examples. Oh, nostalgia! Their 1991 debut album Bad is beautiful was probably the first non-mainstream album that I bought, and because of that one of those critical ear-opening moments in my music listening habits.

The Bad Examples vanished from my radar quite quickly (although I see they've released 4 more albums), but after listening to that single again last weekend I realised this is still really lovely indie pop (not indiepop) and I've had Ashes of my heart playing in my head ever since.

Download (Mediafire)
01. The Bad Examples - Not dead yet
02. The Bad Examples - Ashes of my heart

Interview: Bunnygrunt

Towards the ending of 2009 Bunnygrunt released their album Matt Harnish & Other Delights, on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records. Like I said in my 'review' of the album back then: "...this is hard pop, speed rock; there are even some serious guitar solos here. It's all rather fantastic too."

A few months and lots of hours of listening later, I still think it's a truly great and addictive album. It made me want to ask the album's namegiver, Matt Harnish, all about Bunnygrunt's yesterday, today and tomorrow. And, probably unsurprisingly, so I did!

Hello Matt! How are you doing?

Awesome!

Seventeen years of Bunnygrunt, or eleven if we substract the 1998-2004 break. Quite an achievement, I'd say! Do you remember how it all began? How did you meet, and why did you decide to start making music together?

Karen & I worked at different stores of the same record chain. Our two stores interacted a lot, Karen & I saw each other at shows a lot, we realized we had compatible musical ideas & blammo, the magic was born!

In your own experience, how different is 2010's Bunnygrunt from 1993's Bunnygrunt and its sound and motivations? What has changed, and what has stayed the same?

Well, none of us are in this full time any more. At our height we were on the road for 6-8 weeks out of the year, now it's a long weekend here & there, usually based around one of the US Popfests. Musically, Karen's switch to bass opened up a world of options we hadn't had in previous line-ups. The sound is a bit more free-form, though we still obviously love a giant multi-harmony chorus.

The sound on last year's Matt Harnish & Other delights is far removed from what anyone would dare to call twee or cuddlecore. I just read on your myspace that you actually sound like "Karen & Matt punching you in the face and touching your butt." I'll have to take your word on that. But seriously, you rock hard nowadays. Aren't you scaring away the pop kids? Do you notice reaching another crowd than some years ago?

I think we've probably scared away a couple pop kids, but we never really stuck to a strict Pop diet. Our earliest shows were with our young friends in political hardcore bands & our old friends in psych garage bands, so the whole "Pop" scene was never something we tried to exploit. We love playing the Popfests & will continue to do 'em til they kick us out of the club.

On the album the band is a lot bigger than just the two of you. Is Bunnygrunt oficially still just Matt and Karen, or do you consider the other players part of the band by now?

We have a full time drummer called Eric Von Damage, and a rotating cast of extra guitar players, depending on their availability. We vary from a 3 piece to a 6 piece from show to show.

I enjoyed the recording I found of your Blondiegrunt set on the Athens Popfest. I'm assuming you like Blondie, then? Are there any (other) bands that you consider influences, or just admire or enjoy for what they do? What was the kind of music you grew up with?

We're on a hardcore 70's "Classic Rock" kick these days. St Louis had/has one of the premier rock radio stations in the country, KSHE 95, and we recently learned a set of 70's prog & hard rock jams in honor of its influence on us. Oh man, it was sweet. Actually, it was The Sweet (see what I did there?), plus Argent, ELO, a few somewhat more obscure bands that only got real airplay in St Louis, like Doucette, Dust & Off Broadway. We've basically lost our minds.

Whatever happened to The See-Thrus? Excuse my ignorance, but did you ever release anything?

It was a case of remaining friends or remaining in a band. I think we made the right choice. No recordings, no nothing.

Matt, I read on your Bert Dax myspace: "I put out some records but I'm not really a label, I book some shows but I'm not really a promoter, I DJ sometimes but I'm not really a DJ, I love Christmas but I'm not Santa Claus... I just want things in St Louis to be cool." So, how cool are things in St Louis? What is the St Louis music community like?

Awesome! Lots of good bands (who unfortunately rarely try to get themselves known outside of St Louis), lots of good venues, cheap rent, cheap beer, creative ridiculous people. I love my hometown!

Wikipedia says: "Despite one of their songs being used in a major Hollywood movie, Bunnygrunt seem to be, whether deliberately or not, unbothered regarding commercial success." True or false? And while we're at it: how did your song (Season's freaklings) end up being on that Bad Santa soundtrack?

I don't think we've ever intentionally turned down fame & fortune, but we've never sought it at the cost of our souls, either. The Bad Santa thing isn't a very interesting story. Basically random chance. Cool, though, paid some bills for about a month.

The HHBTM website claims: "This isn't music for blogs, this is shout along live, loud, in the joyful moment Rock-n-Roll." Will we get a chance to shout along live with you in Europe as well in 2010? What else is coming up for Bunnygrunt in this new year?

I wish! There was tentative talk of a HHBTM package tour of England this summer, but it kinda fell through. Maybe in '11? Who knows what stupid stuff we will have come up with by then?

Thanks Matt! And thanks Bunnygrunt!

Buy Matt Harnish & Other Delights
Bunnygrunt myspace
HHBTM website

Download (right click, save as)
1. Bunnygrunt - The limits of Southern hospitality
2. Bunnygrunt - Hometown rockstar

Undercover poplover, part 21

"It's five o'clock
And I walk through the empty streets
Thoughts fill my head
But then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
To the years that have passed me by"

Download (Mediafire)
1. Johan - It's five o'clock
2. Internet Forever - Walk of life
3. Mary Lou Lord - I don't want to get over you