Okay, so I've decided to revive this thread. Only this time, it won't just be albums from a specific year, it'll be anything I want. That way I won't get bored or discouraged and have to abandon the thread. So if any mods want to rename the thread "Brad Stengel's Magical Musical Orgy of Sound", it would be greatly appreciated.
I'm in the mood to write, so I think right now Im just going to start reviewing everything in my collection alphabetically, from 45's to full lengths, starting with...
!!!
"Take Ecstasy With Me (45 rpm)"
I basically bought this last summer because I wanted to check out '!!!', and also, it's a cover of my favorite Stephen Merritt song. The song is a beautiful dreamy pop song on the surface, but if you listen a little closer, the lyrics are actually about a *** couple getting the sh
it kicked out of them, ("A vodka bottle gave you those raccoon eyes"). A perfect tune.
Now, as far as !!!'s cover, they do a great job. They give it the dance music treatment, and drag the song out for 7 minutes (the original is like 3 or 4 minutes long), but in a good way. It's a melody I want to hear for that long, and although Stephen Merritt's absurdly deep vocals aren't present, Nic Offer does a fine job. While I still prefer the original, this is everything I hope for in a cover tune: !!! make the song their own while still maintaining everything great about the original.
The B-Side, "Get Up" is your standard dance-punk fare, though it's not entirely dismissable. I particularily enjoy the drawn out noisy bits over the pounding drums. Relistening to this reminds me that I still need to hear an album from these guys, anyone who dares to cover my favorite Magnetic Fields song and leave me satisfied is worth repeated listens as far as I'm concerned.
8/10