Heteronyms, vol. IV

The And/Ors - Rockets [mp3]

IN HIGH SCHOOL I would pick up obscure music magazines, the ones with the little black and white ads for little acts on little labels. I would remember the names if they sounded right - that is, if they sounded like a cute indie-pop band - just in case I ever happened across an album. This worked maybe five times, one of them being The And/Ors' Will Self-Destruct. I don't know what I liked more: the band or the fact that nobody else knew the band (probably the latter, as I haven't listened to the album in years). But coming back now, this isn't what I remember; "Rockets" is slower and low(er)-fi, the band reduced. "You wear me out," is repeated at the end, and it shows.

Cat Power - Rockets [mp3]

THIS MIGHT BE everbody's favorite pre-What Would the Community Think? Cat Power song. I love thinking about what makes this so much stronger than a standard 4/4 driving rock song (which it resembles in most every way); there's the subtly perfect pre-chorus phrasing of "Pick, pick up/ Dig, dig out those/ Weeds," and then there's the chorus itself. "Where do the rockets find planets?" she asks with a strange fervency and sincerity for such an unknowable question. And really, that's why it works.

Visit the And/Ors online here, and Cat Power here. Buy Will Self-Destruct here ($0.13!), and Dear Sir here.

And for reference, here's the And/Ors song I so enjoyed from that record:

The And/Ors - Candy Takes The Cake [mp3]

Past Heteronyms.

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Swoon has two great songs by Clark, check them out.

Thanks to everybody who insisted I look into American Music Club! It's been a rewarding endeavor so far.