:Space Week: T-rex - Planet Queen

I'm going to do a theme week, because why not? This week is now designated "Space Week." Since NASA is slacking (bunch of lazy government cowards), its up to us average citizens to put that extra kick into the space program. So this week we're going to look at some songs dealing with space (or just songs with the word space in them). Hopefully this will peak your interest in the mysterious unknown void of stars and get you off your lazy butt and build a rocket or something.



To kick off :Space Week: lets take a look at the cosmic creator Marc Bolan. T-Rex is on my list of highly underrated bands. Bolan was a genius at songwriting and coming up with creative power riffs that bring out the groove in anybody.
"Planet Queen," from 1971's Electric Warrior is an acoustic, bongo space fest. Technically its not really about space, but its got some space themed parts to it. A lot of T-Rex songs just make me feel like I should be listening to them in a 1960s Cadillac thats blasting through the cosmos. Its so simple and raw in structure, something that Bolan has a talent for. Its got some great Bolan "ooo, ahhahhahhs" and some great throat scratching screeching near the end too.

Planet Queen 
Perchance to dream 
She used my head 
Like an exploder 
The Planet Queen 

The worlds the same 
I am to blame 
She used my head 
Like a revolver 
The world's the same 

Well it's all right 
Love is what you want 
Flying saucer take me away 
Give me your daughter 

Dragon head 
Machine of lead 
Cadillac King 
Dancer in the midnight 
Dragon head 

Planet Queen 
Perchance to dream 
She used my head 
Like a revolver 
The world's the same

Broken Social Scene - All to All

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian collective group of musicians from various bands. I love the concept of a ton of talented musicians getting together and making music and then sharing the stage with each other. BSS newest album Forgiveness Rock Record features guest appearances by musicians like Feist, Emily Haines and members of Pavement so you're sure to get something good out of it.
"All to all" is a new wave-y track from Forgiveness that almost puts you in a trance with its pulsing bass, reverb-y guitars and spaced out synths. The best bit in this song is the last half when singer Lisa Lobsinger (I think) chants "I know its all to all. All to all. Ultimatum." Check it, yo.

Call of forgiveness
I'm like the beat of the hurt
I'm not the only one
You tried to save when you fell out

Call of forgiveness
I'm like the clean in the dirt
I'm not the only one
You tried to crave when you fell out

Try, Wait
You made your life on everything
Hard, Made
You made your life on everything

Try, Wait
You made your life on everything
Long, Fade
You made your life on everything

Call of forgiveness
I'm like the heal of the hurt
I'm like the only one
You tried to save when you fell out

Call of forgiveness
I'm like the queen of the dirt
I'm like the only one
Who tried to stay when you fell out

It's like the common law
Was wall to wall
And almost faded
I've seen the gone to small
The lost of law
The almost made it
It seems like mine to shine
You'll always find the lonely ray

It's like the wall to fall
The fall of all
The laws are graded
I've seen the lies that call
The pictures tall
The lines are made in
It's like the fight to crawl
My darling all you've lived your age

I know it's all to all
all to all
ultimatum

It's like the all to all
all to all
ultimatum

It's like the all to all
the all to all
the ultimatum

I know it's all to all
all to all
ultimatum

Just like the all to all
all to all
ultimatum

It's like the all to all
the all to all
the ultimatum

You made your life on everything
You made your life on everything

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - How Can U Luv Me?

A friend just showed me this band a few moments ago and I'm already hooked on this song. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is going to be a band to watch methinks. This song is from their debut EP which unfortunately only consists of 4 songs, but nevertheless its a great start. I will definitely be excited when they release more EPs or a full album.
"How Can U Luv Me" is an R&B influenced psychedelic soul jam with hip-hop drums that begs for you to sing and dance along with it. Its got an "Ooo, baby" vibe to it that pulls you in from the start. Loaded with upstroked, phasered guitars, and funky bass groove this song is sure to be a great summer song.

Im not too sure on these lyrics, so I'll try my best. I can barely find any info on these guys. If you hear something different let me know.

How can u luv me, when you don't let me, baby.
How can u look at me and not see, the lonely days?
And I don't know what went wrong.
Ohh I sing this song
Lonely days are not better.

M. Ward - Stars of Leo

M.Ward the lucky "Him" from She and Him. I say lucky because he gets to play music with the outrageously cute Zooey Deschanel.
I bought Hold Time on a whim because I liked the packaging which made me realize that you CAN judge a book by its cover. I was pleasantly surprised with this album. "Stars of Leo" really made me love this album though. Its a happy country-like ditty that has one of the coolest moments in recent music history. About halfway through the song a low rumbling begins. It slowly gets louder until you realize that its a chugging acoustic guitar that finally enters the song with a cymbal crash! Its almost like two separate songs collide into one like two trains crashing into each other and forming some kind of super-train. Brilliant! I listened to that part like 20 times in a row the first time I heard it.

I was born on the first day of December
That means the beginning of the end
Between the last in the line of an emotional time
And the patriarchal rash in the wind

And I'm overwhelmed at the range of emotion
I can ride in some high, lonesome sound
I get so low I need a little pick me up
I get so high I need a bring me down
I get so high I need a bring me down

And when I'm high above the sea of love
With the stars of Leo shining
Well, that's a long way to fall into the blue
But it's just a matter of time until I do, yeah

But now I'm under the ground in New York City
I miss the water from the wells back home
And that's exactly what the papers said would happen
If I keep boarding crowded subways alone

So I tried to surround myself with real love
You know, the kind that make them wheels go 'round
I get so low I need a little pick me up
I get so high I need a bring me down
I get so high I need a bring me down

Like when I'm high above that sea of love
With the stars of Leo shining
Well, that's the hardest way to fall into the blue
But it's just a matter of time until I do, yeah

Like when I'm high above the sea of love
With the stars of Leo shining

Maps and Atlases - The Ongoing Horrible

There are a lot of bands out there that use guitar tapping too much. Maps and Atlases is one of them, but Im willing to forgive them, because, it just seems to work. They don't go AS overboard as some do. It feels like some bands just do it to show off. Ok, we get it. You can tap like a champ. Now write a good song.
Anyway off of my soap box. Sometimes M & A taps too much but they can also write some good songs. Example: Ongoing Horrible.
Dave Davison gets creative while playing this song too by playing the acoustic kind of like a slide guitar while simultaneously performing hand percussion. He even using the tuning knobs to create melody. Crazy! And its got a great unique structure, a relaxing tone, and strange, fantasy-ish lyrics.

Migration to a town where
tree swallows houses
migration to a town where
tree, swallows, houses

like a mime troupe stowin'
we're all aging doubles.
we sing,
we danced,
shoes on shoes
to the sound of the spinning
machine.

and we slept arm-in-arm,
so soundly ignoring the outside
sounds of the ongoing horrible scene.

Monkees - Don't Call on Me

"Hey look Harry. The Monkees. They were a huge influence on the Beatles." So it turns out The Monkees don't suck all the time. They've got their good stuff too. This track is from the album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones which was their more experimental album. It marks one of the first albums in which they had a bit more control of the music they wanted to play instead of the record company.
"Don't Call on Me" is a kind of lazy, mellow lounge song, with the din of a fancy club offering a mood setting intro. It feels like I should sit at a bar and have a whiskey on the rocks and a cigarette while this song is playing. Check Please!

Don't call on me,
When you're feeling footloose,
And fancy-free,
You've done that before,
And, like a fool,
I came back for more.

It's all over now,
I've finally seen my way,
I need you no more,
Not now or any other day.

Okay, little girl,
Live for yourself,
In your own little world,
I know that you'll find
Someone who'll play at love,
He'll...be just your kind.

Emitt Rhodes - With My Face on the Floor

Hey this guy sounds like the Beatles a little bit and he's from America.

That's really all I feel like saying about Emitt Rhodes. He's alright. Sounds just like John Lennon's son, Sean. This is one of his better songs, the rest are so-so. From this album anyway, I don't really have the where-with-all to look at the rest. I know I'm not really doing a good job of selling you on Emitt, but he's just kind of "eh" to me. But this song is pretty good. Give it a whirl. Or something.

Well, I'm down with my face on the floor
Yes, I got what I asked for and more
Well, the moment she stepped through that door
I was down with my face on the floor

Now I'm standing with back to the wall
Waiting, praying the ceiling don't fall
Well, I once thought that I knew it all
Now I'm standing with back to the wall

Well now she's gone away, just took time to say I'll drop you a line
Well now she's gone away, just took time to say I'll see you
some time (2x)

Well, I'm down with my face on the floor
Yes I got what I asked for and more
Well, the moment she stepped through that door
I was down with my face on the floor

Well, the moment she stepped through that door
I was down with my face on the floor...