It’s A Beautiful Day

When I listen to the radio, I tend to listen to “classic rock” stations, because there’s a better shot that they’ll play things I both recognize and enjoy (of course, when I’m in Seattle, KEXP takes over a sizable portion of the air time in my car). Recently, I was listening to one such radio station in Seattle, and they played “White Bird” (download) by It’s A Beautiful Day, which I half expected to be by Jefferson Airplane. After getting out of the car, I immediately set out to a) find the song, and b) find out more about the band.

Not that surprisingly, they were around in the late ’60s and ’70s, and were pretty big in the bay area scene at the time. They only put out a handful of albums, and this is the most well-known, as the husband and wife duo that were together for their self-titled release (Dave and Linda LaFlamme) broke up before the next album. I can’t say that they sound all that atypical of other Psych/Folk-Rock/Prog bands from the time period, but they were around relatively early on in the movement.

“White Bird” and “Girl With No Eyes” (download) are my favorite tracks off the record, probably because they sound less intense than the rest of the album, which has an aesthetic even more typical of the time period and genre. There’s something very… light about these songs. They make me feel like I’m flying, or gliding across a ballroom floor. Very lovely.

Justice Vs. Simian

Normally, I’m not that into dance cuts. I like dancing just as much as the next person, and bands like the Faint or the Rapture are fine and dandy, but specially remixed DJ/dance tracks just aren’t my thing.

A few weekends ago, DJ Fucking In The Streets (most amazing DJ name ever?) was spinning at Chop Suey in Seattle, and he played Justice vs. Simian: “Never Be Alone” (download). Aside from the ridiculous length and the more obvious club-cut parts, this is exactly the kind of thing I like to dance to. It’s catchy as all get out, and something you could even listen to at home when you’re getting ready to go out, or having a party.

It’s Friday – celebrate by listening to this song and doing some booty shakin’.