By the way, has anyone ever actually read this blog here? If so, please visit the new URL and leave a comment.

“Waiting for the siren’s call” was New Order‘s triumphant return to form. Whereas “Get Ready” tried to hard to sound like the Primal Scream-meet-Oasis, this album sees them cherishing the gorgeous melodies and dancefloor-friendly beats they’re best known for without ever losing that ragged rock edge. It feels more organic than the overproduced sounds of “Get Ready” too: that record sounded like a band who was trying real hard to be New Order. “Waiting for the siren’s call“, on the other hand, sounds like they know they’re bloody New Order and they’re very comfortable with that. It’s more relaxed and spontaneous and personal. Bernard Sumner’s voice has such a lovely and charming frailty that goes perfectly with the jangly guitars, the moody synths and Peter Hook’s trademark bass.

Strong tunes, the occasionally goofy lyrics (“You had the brightest future / Writing songs on your computer”), organic synth lines: a classic New Order album, you could say, and definitely their best since the unparallaled greatness of 1989′s “Technique“.

So, today’s download is the standout track of this album, the utterly brilliant “Turn“. Pay special attention to the guitar riff during the intro and the heartfelt lyrics (and Bernard’s deeply moving vocals). One of my favourite songs of 2005; this is everything a pop record should sound like.

I have serious doubts regarding Brazil’s performance. I suspect everyone’s a wee bit too overconfident and that might very well mar our campaign. Group F shouldn’t be too difficult, although Australia’s aerial prowess could pose a threat to our defense; the knock-out stages, however, are set to be hellish. We shall wait and see. Someone should smack some sense into Parreira’s troubled mind and talk him off of calling up Robinho. Lyon’s Fred is a much more deadly striker. Likewise, Lyon’s Juninho Pernambucano just oughta be in the starting 11.

Still, if everyone puts in their best efforts, we could very well be crowned world champions once again, especially because there seems to be few teams capable of putting on a real challenge. Argentina is always up for it; other than that, England has a strong team, but Rooney will have to develop further if he is to be their wonderkid; Germany is playing at home, which gives them an extra edge, but, honestly, their squad lacks depth and talent; Holland missed out the last World cup but could present a top challenge now. I’m curious to see how Portugal will fare: Scolari is a top-notch manager and they have a handful of very capable players, especially Deco and Maniche.

The one team that I really expect to deliver the goods though is the Czech Republic. I’ll be keeping a close eye on them; their defeat to Greece in the semi-finals of the Euro 2004 was a sad & undeserved mishap. The czech are quick, skilful and have a superb player in Milan Baros. For three World Cups now teams that didn’t have much of a tradition reached the semi-finals (South Koreak in 2002; Croatia in 1998; Bulgary in 1994). I can see the czechs puling that off too.

Snippet:

If people aren’t willing to go out and play music live, and use that as a part of how they define themselves as a band, then it’s definitely going to hurt you. You can’t just sit in your home studio and crank out records and get rich. Because people are going to be sharing (the music). But you foster a relationship with an audience, and nurture some good will by allowing taping. Most importantly, like the Grateful Dead, whatever you think of their music, they had it right, in my opinion philosophically, that this music that you’re making requires a listener.

Erm. I do, I s’pose. The Magic Numbers are definitely a recipe for disaster, except, well, much to my chagrin, they’re quite good. Y’see, the paragraph above is 100% accurate from start to finish, yet there’s something that keeps taking me back to their self-titled debut. And I’m already way past the ‘guilty pleasure’ line: there’s no denying that I actually pretty much love the damn thing.

It’s gorgeous. Romeo’s and Michelle’s voices are so delicate and touching and go together just perfectly. I honestly cannot praise enough the way those two sound. They could belch out the most cringesome lyrics and sound like Shakespeare. And, as opposed to, say, post-”If you’re feeling sinister” Belle & Sebastian, the Magic Numbers actually come across as being incredibly unpretentious. Even on their greatest moments, their some underlying modesty that I can’t help but appreciate. And there’s also chiming guitars (which occasionally become crunchy guitars). And elegant bass lines. And twelve tracks of pure ear-candy. And tremendous tracks such as “Love me like you”, “Forever Lost” and “Mornings eleven” [yup, that's a download link].

Their rendition of “What you waiting for?” [off Jo Whiley's Live Lounge on Radio 1] is particularly fabulous. It kicks off with a pretty damn nice guitar work and exceedingly camp vocals; a playful pub singalong. Alex Kapranos just nails it much in the same fashion he nailed it on “Do you want to?”. Sure, it’s a very humorous track, but I really like the way they’re definitely laughing at Gwen’s song: they’re laughing with it, in a brainless pop fun bonanza.

I can’t help laughing my head off when Alex does the “take a chance you stupid ho” bit. And the “look at your watch now, you’re still a super hot female“. Franz Ferdinand always sound like they’re on the brink of being too clever for their own good, but they always get it right (ie: Do you want to). Gwen’s original version was already fantastic, though.

As for “Sexy Boy”, well, it trails an entirely different path. As Scott said, it’s definitely not as dreamy as Air’s original version [subliminal message: buy "Moon Safari". Now. Go. You know you want it] Still, it’s very enjoyable, mostly because it’s such a bold, daft step for Franz Ferdinand to record a cover of this particular song that I can’t help but to sympathize with it. Nice whooshing guitars, by the way. Overall, it differs from the bulk of the band’s back catalogue and – why not? – seems to push their boundaries a little further, which can only be a Good Thing.

But we won’t. At least not now. Because not only Wilco has produced some of the finest ear-candy of the last 15 years or so, but they also have stunned the world with some utterly brilliant covers. And, hey, doing a proper cover version is just as tricky as putting together an original track. There’s many options – just rehash de original track, go down an entirely different route, ditch the original melody and keep the lyrics, and so on – and none of them are sure-fire solutions. The outcome must suit simultaneously the band and the song; it should build on the strength of both. And, boy, do Wilco know how to pull it off or what, eh?

Evidence #1: Wilco’s cover of Daniel Johnston’s “True love will find you in the end”, a b-side to the “A shot in the arm” single. It doesn’t get any better than this. The steady drumbeat, the subtle harmonica, Tweedy’s dreamy voice, the understated piano. This is poignancy at its most majestic. This song will never get any better than this: Wilco’s version surpasses both the original recording and Beck’s crappy rendition (which is somewhat similar to Wilco’s cover, only worse: Beck’s voice is too rough, he ruins the melody and the overall mood). One particular strength that puts Wilco ahead of Daniel Johnston and Beck is that Tweedy and his boys found out exactly how long this song should last. Wilco’s cover clocks at a comfortable 3:51, letting the melody flow freely. Lo-fi wonderboy Daniel Johnston, on the other hand, only gave the song a mere 1:45, which halts the song development just when it was getting pretty good.

Download away: Wilco – True love will find you in the end.

But none of that matters. “A Palo Seco” is a very 70′s songs, lyrics and music-wise. It perfectly captures the hazy decadency of Brazil around that time; there’s a very subtle melancholy underlining it. Belchior’s vocals are delightfully sluggish, as in a lazy sunday afternoon. There’s hope there, but it’s very feeble; the whole deal is about the restrained feeling of hopelessness Belchior conveys. The arrangement – which could be a backing track for a Sinatra song, albeit the pervasive mariachi feel to it – also plods along lazily, in no hurry, merging perfectly with Belchior vocals. Tough times those were: Brazilian military dictatorship was more strict than ever, civil rights were all but revoked, economic growth started to stall, the resistance to the regime was crushed…Tough times indeed.

So, rejoice with this song. Download “A Palo Seco” and buy Belchior’s records.

so. expect plenty of musical goodness. i hope