Hush Now

Rather than just talk about a band I would recommend going to see tomorrow night at Schubas, I asked Michael Hush, lead of pop-rockers Five Foot Nine, to tell me his favorite pop culture tidbits from 2008 (Now that it’s over).

Before I get all list-y, the Five Foot Nine play fresh, clever, well-arranged rock that most immediately reminds me of Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen. Both bands combine tasteful guy/gal harmonies, tight rhythm sections, and great sing-along choruses with charm to spare. Local swaggering glam-punk poppers The Handcuffs are also playing.

MP3: Five Foot Nine, “Back to the Tunnels” (file courtesy of Radio Free Chicago)

Here’s were Mike’s Pop Picks of 2008.

Books: as for fiction… Here are 3 novels that I really admired this year

• Denis Johnson, “Tree of Smoke”
• Michael Chabon, “Yiddish Policeman’s Union”
• The Lazarus Project, “Alexander Hemon”

Movies:

Sally Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky

• The Visitor
• Frozen River
• Happy Go Lucky

Music:

• Los Campesinos
• Bonny Prince Billy
• The Hold Steady

Commercial:

• Probably Holiday Inn Express spot where the geeky marketing dude displays his dope rhyming skills on the corner in NY…

Pop Culture Moment:

• …got to be Grant Park on election night

Boys & Girls Mix

For a while I’ve been wanting to make a mix of bands that swap vocals between guys and gals, but, as I really like that sound, I feel like I have too many songs that fall under that category. Like, ya know, Belle & Sebastian, Stars and half of my itunes.

 

So, for this ‘lil boy/girl mix I was trying to avoid some of the obvious tracks, but they pretty much seeped in anyway. I also tried to stay in the folk/pop vein so you’re going to miss some of those great hip-hop/electro girl/boy vocals, namely: Positive K’s “I Gotta Man”, Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”, Postal Service’s “Nothing Better”, Streets’ “Get Out of My House”.

 

Because of the inherent drama of boys and girls harmonizing, most of the songs have some “relationship” content, be it lovey-dovey or breakup-y. Also, it makes for a pretty even-keeled, laid-back type mix and one which you should be careful while listening to if you’re driving and feeling a bit sleepy. So, after all that, enjoy!

 

1. Intro – The Pixies
2. Handle with Care – Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
3. Two Ways – The 1900s
4. Honey Child What Can I Do? – Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
5. Who Were You Thinkin’ Of? – Biirdie
6. Secretly Minnesotan – Tullycraft
7. Death to Los Campesinos! – Los Campesinos!
8. Say Yes if You Love Me –  Acid House Kings
9. PS (Interlude) – The Books
10. Happy New Year – Camera Obscura
11. Can’t Ever Sleep – Saturday Looks Good To Me
12. Friday Night – Elephant Parade
13. Jorge Regula – The Moldy Peaches
14. Come Back From San Francisco – The Magnetic Fields
15. Souvenirs – Architecture in Helsinki
16. You Really Gotta Hold On Me – She & Him
17. All You Need Is Hate – The Delgados
18. Know-How – Kings of Convenience
19. Les Etoiles Secretes – Ida
20. Ghosts Are Good Company – Bishop Allen
21. Ice Storn, Big Gust, and You – Tilly & The Wall

The Zipped File & Album Art can be found on Mediafire here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=992c799b40f3f811dfbd00fb952479db185df0bdeae2cf0b