EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: The Ettes - Crown Of Age + Marathon
World; meet Coco, Poni and Jem. The Ettes; meet the World. Now some bands have to slog it out, living on a cuisine of chips from gas stations and being forced to wear the same grimey clothes every day. And some bands seem to emerge like Venus: glamorous, fully formed, sexy and ready to be reckoned with. After listening to the Ettes and watching some tour videos, they seem to be firmly in the later category. Their second album, Look At Life Again Soon, came out yesterday and is full of the 60s fuzz, punk, rock and roll you would expect from a band that has worked with White Stripes/Billy Childish cohort Liam Watson at Toe Rag Studios and worship Keith, Mick and Iggy. This is unquestionably a band that gets "it," and you'd best hop on this train before it leaves you behind. They're playing a handful of dates in support of the new record, so grab these tunes, check out the dates and get down with the Ettes.
Sounds Like: The Chalets, The Okmoniks, Thomas Tantrum, The Strokes
Download: The Ettes - Crown of Age
VIDEO THRWBCK: The Yardbirds - For Your Love (1965)
This was The Yardbirds' quintessential moment--and while we can't really get behind anything Eric Clapton has done post 1966, his (albeit reluctant: as a blues purist he hated the Yardbirds' "pop" direction with this single and left the band shortly thereafter) guitar playing on this track is so simple, yet so awesome. Also note how Franz Ferdinand ripped off this song's structure for just about every one of the tracks off their debut.
VIDEO THRWBCK: Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man (1969)
Our VIDEO THRWBCK '60s kick continues with another classic from the era (could we sound more like easy-listening radio DJs?), "Son of a Preacher Man", by Dusty Springfield. It's funny how homages and cinema can forever alter your perception of a piece of music: even since we saw Pull Fiction when it came out, this song became about sharp black bobs and snorting heroin, and not huge blond beehives and pearly whites. In any case, the song is amazing and Dusty's delivery is stunnning.
VIDEO THRWBCK: Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin - 69 Année Erotique (1969)
There's nothing you can really say about Gainsbourg other than he was an absolute master at everything he did--the culmination of his talents is arguably his 1969 record Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (also know as Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus) which was a collection of duets and solo material with his then girlfriend (and future wife, also mother of Charlotte Gainsbourg) Jane Birkin. It's hard to pick a favorite track from the record, but if push came to shove we would have to go with the salacious "69 Année Erotique". If Jane got any more breathy she'd need an oxygen tank.
