Sunday, August 16, 2009

Songs of the Week: Miles Fisher and Datarock share Byrne theory


Sasha Frere-Jones may have famously (and correctly, despite my personal misgivings) labelled Brian Wilson as “indie rock’s muse” in the New Yorker, but there’s another artist gaining in the muse rankings. David Byrne has enjoyed a status boost in the last year or so, whether through his own music, teaming up with hipster acts like Dirty Projectors or Norman Cook, or simply as godfather to every new wave or Afropop band coming down the Vampire Weekend pike. Norwegian band Datarock make their Byrne devotion official on “True Stories,” a track off their recently released Red, which cleverly uses Talking Heads song titles as lyrics. (It’s a decent song to boot.) And actor / musician Miles Fisher (pictured) – who, if you Google his name, is apparently well known for his Tom Cruise impersonation – gives a Max Tundra-ish spin to Byrne’s “This Must Be the Place.” (The video, another homage, this time to Christian Bale’s American Psycho, is a laugh.) David Byrne, remain in light.

Miles Fisher: This Must Be the Place
from the free-to-download EP Miles Fisher
MP3Miles FisherOFFICIAL SITE

Datarock: True Stories (from Spinner)
from the CD Red
MP3Datarock - Red - True StoriesMYSPACEOFFICIAL SITE

And for more new sounds, make sure to subscribe to my latest podcast, JeffMix2009.07.26 (also on iTunes), featuring music from Regina Spektor, Rancid, Jamie T, The Rumble Strips, Mos Def, and Maxïmo Park, among others.

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