love is a mix tape

Well known for his articles in Rolling Stone and his funny comments as talking head on VH1 and MTV, music critic Rob Sheffield is the kind of guy that, once you meet, you can't help but be very fond of. Last week, Rob released his debut novel entitled Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. I have not read the book yet, but judging from the synopsis and few reviews, the book looks amazing.

And so with the release comes the reading by the author himself. An event not to be missed by all of you music fans, taking place this monday january 8th at 7pm at the Astor Place Barnes & Noble.

The news of the book reminded me of the fantastic mix CD Rob made for my birthday last year. The disc contains a mix of songs in english and french, all relating to aspects of me and my tastes. Examples of the tracks on the CD are Bud Powell's Audrey, Bow Wow Wow's Louis Quatorze, a few of Serge Gainsbourg's spoken drunken words, Velocity Girls' Audrey's eyes, Pulp's Sheffield sex city, The Auteurs' New french girlfriend, Roxy Music, Jane Birkin and France Gall's BB Requin just to name a few. It's one of the coolest personalized mixes, and it has Marylin Monroe on the cover, how awesome is that? My favorite song Rob included on the mix is 60's lounge-pop singer Claudine Longet's cover of a classic title track (originally sang by Nicole Croisille) from one of my favorite movies Un Homme et Une Femme. Enjoy...

Claudine Longet :: Un homme et une femme [MP3]

skin deep

Tomorrow night, the Five O'Clock Heroes will play their homecoming show at the Mercury Lounge with Baby Dayliner and The Pierces - sounds like a great bill to me. The Heroes have been away on tour for months, growing quite a following in Europe and Japan. They'll be off on another european tour next week, so this is your only chance to catch them. Right after the show, we'll be heading over to Lotus where Michael T. and myself will be deejaying the after-party. Everyone should come party with us, just say "melody nelson" at the door for free admission.

Also, check out the video for the Heroes' new song Skin Deep. If you look closely, you may recognise some of the dancings faces in the crowd.
Five O'Clock Heroes :: Skin Deep [QUICKTIME]

songs that we sing

Since the inception of this site, i have been posting my favorite albums of the year on the 31st of december, for no other reason than pure procrastination. So here i am, back from a little break, trying to figure out what records topped 2006 for me. I listened to a ton of music this past year, and i can certainly say that 2006 was marked by quite a few great releases. In fact, i still have a list of albums that i have not gotten around to listen to... but that's the fun of the game, and of making these lists and reading others' lists, as there will always be more music to discover. Though i can firmly say that The Knife and Charlotte Gainsbourg are my two favorite albums of the year, i'm making my list in alphabetical order.
Here are the 15 albums that did it for me in 2006 (updated - i omitted one earlier today!):

Asobi Seksu :: Citrus

Camera Obscura :: Let's get out of this country

Charlotte Gainsbourg :: 5:55

CSS :: Cansei de ser sexy

The Decemberists :: The crane wife

Fujiya & Miyagi :: Transparent things

Jarvis Cocker :: Jarvis

The Knife :: Silent Shout

The Kooks :: Inside In / Inside Out

Love is all :: Nine times that same song

The Long Blondes :: Someone to drive you home

[Apparently, in 2006 Office released and un-released this album, in order to re-release it on their new label in 2007. Since i listened to Q&A quite a lot, i figured it deserved a place on this list.]
Office :: Q&A

Phoenix :: It's never been like that

The Rapture :: Pieces of the people we love

We are scientists :: With love and squalor

Ten other bands whose releases i enjoyed in 2006:
El Perro Del Mar :: The Gossip
Hot Chip :: Howling Bells
Peter Bjorn and John :: The Sounds
Tahiti 80 :: Tiga
Voxtrot :: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

As i only attended a record low of 26 shows this year, no need to make a favorite gig list...
On another note, this year was not only great for music, 2006 was also remarkable for me on so many levels. I deejayed a lot and at some of the best parties in town, i worked on great projects, i got to sing on stage with friends and recorded two songs. I also was the subject (along with my old apartment) of a great article in Jane Magazine, i turned 30 (!!), i went on a few incredible trips, and last but not least, i got engaged to the most amazing man...

If i were to make one resolution for 2007, it would be to keep up with the music blogging.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The old melody nelson corner - january 2006.