Random 10 for September 30, 2008

1. Charlotte Gainsbourg, “5:55.” Serge’s daughter collaborates with Air, with predictably seductive results. Anyone who’s seen the problematic but difficult-to-shake “I’m Not There” knows that despite Blanchett overshadowing almost everything else, Gainsbourg was one of the best things going in the film.

2. McLusky, “Dave, Stop Killing Prostitutes.”

3. Club 8, “This is the Morning.”

4. Fountains of Wayne, ‘Little Red Light.”

5. The Gossip, “Jealous Girls.” Beth Ditto might be an unlikely frontwoman in this image-conscious era, but that and her powerful vocals make her even more valuable.

6. Chris Walla, “St. Modesto.”

7. Radiohead, “Just.”

8. Tim Finn, “Midnight Coma.”

9. We Are Scientists, “After Hours.”

10. Difford and Tilbrook, “Love’s Crashing Waves.” During Squeeze’s brief, post-Sweets From a Stranger breakup, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook released the Tony Visconti-produced Difford and Tilbrook disc, which was essentially an ultra-slick Squeeze disc. It was hardly a hit, but being the ultra-Squeeze geek at that time, I bought it on vinyl. While it wasn’t nearly as jam-packed with extraneous sound, it set the stage for Squeeze’s 1985 disc, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, an extremely baroque work featuring the dense and frankly annoying production of Laurie Latham, who also produced Paul Young and Echo and the Bunnymen and never met a sound effect he didn’t want to shoehorn into a mix.