TBTS Eustachian Ruminations, 10/12/09 Edition

I love new music.  I love the anticipation of getting a new album, especially from a band that I don’t know, and hearing sounds that I’ve never heard before.  As you’re reading this, I’ll be heading north to Indianapolis, Indiana for a quick business trip and I’m working on listening to nothing but unfamiliar music for the entire trip.  That’ll be a feat for me, as I usually like to mix in new music with more familiar tunes.  So in today’s installment of Ruminations, I’d like to share some of the music that’ll be on my playlist.  The twist is that this is all music that I’ve never heard before, so I can only describe it by what I’ve heard or read about it.

First up will be the new album by London rapper Speech Debelle, called Speech Therapy.  Debelle made headlines earlier in the year by winning the prestigious Mercury Prize, which is given out for the best British album of the year.  Speech Therapy, which is Debelle’s debut, beat out albums by more established artists such as Florence + the Machine and my personal fave Bat for Lashes.  These early accolades have led to some media backlash against the Mercurys and even some questioning of Debelle herself.  I’m very interested to hear if this album is worth all the hype.

Next up is the new album from Gossip, called Music for Men.  I’ve been interested in this band since I read about them on Carrie Brownstein’s Monitor Mix blog (highly recommended BTW).  NPR just carried a live Gossip show and there’s been a ton of media surrounding the release of their new record.  Their music has been described as both rockabilly and 80’s disco in the same sentence.  I’ve never heard a note and I’m straining at the bit once again to see if these guys live up to the hype.

Anyone who’s been in my presence physically in the last couple of months has had to put up with my gushing about the remastered Beatles box set.  I’ve fallen in love with the band all over again as a result of this release, and this obsession has led me to explore other facets of the band’s legacy.  Of particular interest to me has been the recorded output of the late George Harrison, who got some publicity earlier in the year due to My Morning Jacket’s Jim James (recording as Yim Yames) tribute album.  I’ve pored over Harrison’s solo masterpiece All Things Must Pass for the past couple of months and continually find it hard to believe that so few of Harrison’s songs made it onto the Beatles’ records.  For my Indy trip, I’m going to get to know Harrison’s 1987 solo record Cloud Nine.  This record is a bit of a cheat because I have heard Harrison’s hit song “Got My Mind Set On You” (along with every American between the ages of 30 and 50).  But I hear there’s so much more to enjoy on this record, which was co-produced by former ELO member and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne.

Finally, I’ve got a confession to make.  I’ve never spent a significant amount of time with the Kinks.  My fellow Societeer Lloyd is a noted Kinks fan and we have discussed my embarrassing lack of Ray Davies knowledge.  Well, this is the week I remedy that hole in my repertoire.  I’ve obtained just about every album the Kinks ever released and am going to spend the coming months getting familiar with them.  I’m starting with 1964’s Kinks, which I’m told is not the best of their albums but does contain “You Really Got Me”, one of the Kinks’ biggest hits.  I’m very interested in hearing how this band evolves over the course of their career into one of the most influential bands ever.

Well there you have it, kids.  Needless to say that I’m really looking forward to this trip and hope to be able to report back later on some super musical experiences.  Until next time, don’t forget to check out the Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm.