Modern Pea Pod :: Vol. 2

The Blow: "Parentheses"
"The Blow comes off like a wry Postal Service. Featuring the unexceptional but charming vocals of Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt's electro soundscapes, 'Parentheses' epitomizes The Blow's appeal with its danceable beat and love song lyric. The narrative is shaky, with the standout sentiments being 'when you're holding me, we make a pair of parentheses' and 'if something in the deli aisle makes you cry, I'll put my arm around you and I'll walk you outside.' I guess true love is really true, as long as you can look past sobbing in front of salami. It sounds ridiculous, but really, 'Parentheses' is the greatest punctuation-titled song I've ever heard. It made me want to sing about the deli aisle in the shower."
- Abby Stotz
(Available on Paper Television)

c. 1965 Columbia Records

Bob Dylan: "Positively 4th Street"
"I honestly feel that a person's favorite Bob Dylan song can reveal a lot about their character. Let's demonstrate: 'Positively 4th Street' is currently my favorite Bob Dylan song. Does this mean that I'm an asshole? Probably. Does this mean that you'd never want to break up with me? Definitely. Look, I don't even smoke, but 'Positively 4th Street' makes me want to smoke a cigarette and glower at every person I see."
- Megan Giddings
(Available on The Essential Bob Dylan)

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: "Nashville Blues"
"A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a vinyl copy of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken at Record Time in Ferndale, and promptly snatched it up for its impressive heft (three LPs!), its reasonable price (eight bucks!), and its badass cover art (Stonewall Jackson!) - not to mention a cast of players which included the likes of Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff and Mother Maybelle Carter. As far as I was concerned, even if those had been the only things the album had going for it, they would have been more than enough to make it a worthwhile purchase. So imagine my delight when I got it home and discovered that it happened to be a really good record as well - like, really, really good.

"For me, at least, 'Nashville Blues' is the perfect example: featuring some truly killer banjo picking from bluegrass legend Scruggs, this eerie instrumental sounds like the work of ancient Appalachian spirits, not a mere handful of country stars guesting on a record by five Colorado hippies. And best of all, it's just one of many highlights on an album with 36 tracks and zero filler. If only all serendipitous impulse purchases could boast as much!"
- Zach Hoskins
(Available on Will the Circle Be Unbroken)

c. 2006 Orange Twin Records

Geoff Reacher: "Look Me in the Eye"
"This is one of those 'jambalaya' songs I've been gravitating toward lately, with a different twist. It's repetitve, has a slow cadence and those twangy male vocals that one would expect; but it also begins with some funky beats, as well as slight distortion and video game noises laced through the song which make me smile. Geoff Reacher also likes to swear, and I admit, his cursing gives the song that badass edge it needs."
- Laura Misjak
(Available on Avec Reacher C'est Plus Sur)

Paul Stanley: "Live to Win"
"If you're a regular reader of this Modern Pea Pod thingamajig, then you should know by now that the kids and I rarely see eye to eye when it comes to music. Case in point: that long-haired degenerate Zach Hoskins' review of the new Paul Stanley record. Now personally, I never much cared for KISS in the '70s; all that blood-spitting and underaged groupie-banging was a little degenerate for my tastes...well, that and the fact that my mom wouldn't let me buy Destroyer. But I tell ya, once they took off the makeup, teamed up with Desmond Child and actually wrote some fucking SONGS, that's when I started to get it. Paul Stanley's 'Live to Win,' off the album of the same title, takes me right back to those glory days: I'm talking Animalize, I'm talking Asylum, I'm talking Crazy Nights, all with a cutting-edge contemporary sheen that would fit in just peachy on your local Clear Channel (TM) station's playlist! So in conclusion, I don't know what this Hoskins jackass has been smoking - probably the same dope KISS was when they decided to dress up like clowns and play crappy boogie rock for six years - but Live to Win is the real deal. Do I smell the best hard rock album of 2006?"
- Guest Columnist Stephen S. Schultz, Junior Assistant to the Senior Regional Manager for Clear Channel Communications
(Available on Live to Win)

c. 2006 Interscope Records

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Warrior"
"When I originally heard Show Your Bones, I wasn't that impressed. Compared to the aural assault and jagged edge sexuality that was Fever to Tell, Bones felt silent, almost flat. And then, over the summer I saw the Yeah Yeah Yeahs play some of their new songs, including 'Warrior,' live. When I came back to the album after that experience, all of the songs felt vivid. They might not have been the electric yellows, pinks, and greens that lit up the debut, but the more I listen to 'Warrior,' the more alive and intimate this album becomes."
- Megan Giddings
(Available on Show Your Bones)

The Modern iPod:

Six Songs in Heavy Rotation at the MPP World Headquarters