You'd Think That People Would Have Had Enough of Silly Love Songs

Preamble: Someone gave me Red House Painters' Songs for a Blue Guitar during a hard drive swap, but I haven't ever listened to it all the way through.

Anyway, I had my iTunes on shuffle while I was doing things around my apartment, and I heard this song come on that I assumed was some obscure Neil Young live jam-- acquired during a different hard drive exchange. :)

Turns out it was Red House Painters covering Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs." Duh!

At the end of the day, Mark Kozelek will probably be best remembered for his covers... AC/DC, Modest Mouse, and apparently also McCartney. Hearing this also reminded me of what might be my favorite cover of his. This is Red House Painters doing "I Am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel.

Good stuff.

For Your Consideration: American Music Club

This one is especially for fans of Sun Kil Moon, whom I expect to make at least two Top 10 lists among this collective.

Like Sun Kil Moon, American Music Club is:

- From San Francisco.
- Led by a moody guy named Mark.
- Beloved by critics and largely unknown by the general public.
- Melancholy, somewhat folky, but not afraid to use distortion either.

AMC has been out of commission for several years, while their singer, Mark Eitzel, released various solo projects. (I particularly recommend West, which was a collaboration with Peter Buck.) They were big in sad, folky indie circles throughout the '90s, much like Mark Kozelek's old band, Red House Painters. (Who, sound-wise, are 96% the same band as Sun Kil Moon.)

The Golden Age is AMC's comeback of sorts, and it's excellent. I saw the A.V. Club selected it for their "best of" list, and I'm considering doing the same.