Maybe it’s a latent effect of a distant post-Valantine’s Day stress syndrome that has me obsessed with songs about the vartious aspects of love that inform this edition of Jukebox Heart, but it’s true; I’ve been obsessed by love songs lately, not-so-silly and otherwise. Though now June, the fact that this edition of JBH has been in the can since March notwithstanding, VD is a single day with aspects so subtle and far-reaching that even now, months after the hit, even the most disaffected among us are affected in one way or another. Maybe it’s the chain of events all leading up to sweeping changes in my personal life about to unfold that have me needing a little more warm-fuzzy stuff in my music lately. Maybe it’s my deepseated personal distrust? Mabe I’d better shut my mouth, since the angels are listening. But whatever, the Jukebox Heart mix has always been a snapshot of what’s been hitting the decks lately and this collection simply reflects what has been heard around the house, in the truck and in the office over the past few weeks. Love songs work best, in my opinion, when they don’t just simply nod with a stoopid grin in deference to the many splendored thing, but are most successful when they debunk it, deflate it, destroy it, dismay it, discard and otherwise defecate on it. I think you are getting my drift. Splendor, schmlendor. And now, with a nod to Man Ray, we bring forth Jukebox Heart 015, “All We Have Is Kisses”, possibly and ironically the most accessible Jukebox Heart mix to date. I get very territorial when I get in one of my moods. *wink*

[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/jbh015/JBH015.mp3]

With the Jukebox Heart update comes an update to the Press To Play feature. This time, a vintage radio program of mine from September 2002 featuring the band Ludus. It was part of the Test Pattern series, a regularly scheduled program where different DJs host the program and do an in-depth presentation on an artist featured in the show. In addition, as usual, 4 videos to check out. Scan the above video boxes, there’s a lot of fun to be had with them.

So here, finally, is the JukeboxHeart 15 playlist. Images, rlease details and other information is all below the cut:

The Frames – Sideways Down
Talk Talk – Talk Talk
She Wants Revenge – Sister
Earlimart – The hidden Track
Red Jacket – Dumbstruck
Flare – (Don’t Like) The Way We Live Now
Cibelle – Instante de Dois
Plone – Busy Working
La Volume Courbe – Hanging Around
Lali Puna – 6-0-3
Maximum Joy – Silent Street
Cassius – La Mouche
Robert Pollard – Make Use
Astorria – Length of Common Rafters
Schlammpeitziger – Mango Und Papaja Auf Tobago Remix – Mouse On Mars
Violet Indiana – Purr La Perla
Elbow – Ribcage

The Frames – Sideways Down
(Burn the Maps – Anti- CD 2005)

I’ve been vasillating on this band for years. Dublin-based alternative pop with releases on all the hip Chicago alternative labels, they’ve still left me with one eyebrow slightly elevated. This song, however, secured the band a definite spot in the jukebox. It’s simply perfect pop, with a complex, even menacing angle toward the whole love thing. The issue of option paralysis, uncertainlty and dissatisfaction all parade around like naked porn stars while the one hot forbidden fruit possessed by the singer hovers quietly backstage, “…but you know I’d draw blood, if that’s what you want…” Just brilliant.

Talk Talk – Talk Talk
(Talk Talk – EMI America 12″ EP, 1982)

One of the most original bands to emerge from the New Romantic/synthpop era, Talk Talk produced five studio LPS and each marked a completely different path for the band. So while this song pretty much sums up the entire synth-pop/new wave genre that spouted it, Talk Talk endured primarily because they were able to transcend and move forward. In the early days, they were easily grouped in weith Duran Duran, and indeed, opened for Duran Duran on several tour dates. This song examines manipulation and control in a relationship, with the singer being a resentment-filled passive-aggressive player of the ulimate game. So much subtext, so little time…

She Wants Revenge – Sister
(She Wants Revenge – Flawless CD 2006)

Los Angeles DJs Justin Warfield and Adam “Adam 12” Bravin formed the moody, Sisters of Mercy-ish She Wants Revenge in 2003. A fortuitous combination of word of mouth, industry connections, and airplay on Sirius Satellite Radio and West Coast airwave giant KCRW provided the duo with enough exposure to snag a record deal with Geffen, resulting in a 2006 self-titled release that has drawn comparisons to Interpol, early Depeche Mode, and the Bravery. And, oh right, the common denominator to all of those, Sisters of Mercy. Did I say Sisters of Mercy?After touring with Depeche Mode, they returned with 2007’s This Is Forever. You must admit, they certainly nailed the style down cold. This is the shit… So when love fails you, give in to the lust. Lust lasts forever. Until the day it dies…

Earlimart – The hidden Track
(Treble and Tremble – Palm Pictures CD 2004)

Earlimart’s later work has been worlds away from its early efforts, and with Treble & Tremble, songwriter Aaron Espinoza seems to find a comfortable ground for which he was always searching. Somewhere between the intriguing introspection of Elliott Smith and the lush indie pop of Grandaddy (the record was co-produced by the latter’s Jim Fairchild), Earlimart continues on the same path as previous EP, Everyone Down Here. Reflecting his troublesome times leading up to the album (death of a friend, breakup with girlfriend), his matured writing gives way to loss and love held in a cradle of warm keyboard and acoustic guitar. Some moments are upbeat indie pop (“The Hidden Track”, featured here, and “Sounds”), but most of this is dreamy despite its slightly gloomy textures. A few interludes, like “808 Crickets,” tie it all together, and you forget that Earlimart was ever compared to, ugh, the Pixies. You oughta know by now…

Red Jacket – Dumbstruck
(Aritao Records Fall Summer Sampler CDR 2005)

The lovely, but sadly now defunt Red Jaket describe themselves thus: “we play artsy hardcore emo music for the masses, we practice keyboard handstands, dancing in epilectic seizure fashions, slipping and breaking expensive equipment, beating each other up on stage, destroying testicles accross the nation” Sweetie darlings, this does NOT come across at all, at least not in this sweet sweet lovesong.

Flare – (Don’t Like) The Way We Live Now
(Hung – Le Grand Magistery CD 2003)

Flare’s music has always been way too good for the places it always seems to end up – on the desks of rock critics who are undoubtely looking for the next huge launch vehicle to initiate their Lester Bangs career. Not that there is anything wrong with such an aspiration, but it often leads to reviews that are either tearfully mundane or so off the mark to be meaningless. The music of Flare is so unquely New York that it just simply could not have emerged anywhere else. This song, culled from the second full-length from the band, relates the horror of dating in a place where people live so closely together, yet have the abiltiy to vanish without a trace. The complex arrangement involves esoteric instruments that produce an analogue to the New York stream of consciousness ambience. Beghtol’s take on love and living both with and without it are compelling, apalling and beautiful all at once. But really, it’s never a good idea to let a first-date get a glimpse of your laundry…

Cibelle – Instante de Dois
(The Shine of Dried Electric Flowers – Crammed CD 2005)

For anyone fond of Cibelle’s 2003 self-titled debut, The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves is likely to generate a sense of surprise. It’s a bold move toward abstract soundscapes and poetics. It’s a consciously artistic direction, for sure, and while her music is just as graceful as before, with her absolutely beautiful vocals in the forefront at all times, it’s a more difficult approach to grasp, one that reveals itself steadily with each successive listen. After all, Cibelle had released a widely reeived album that was difficult to dislike, much like Bebel Gilberto’s beloved Tanto Tempo. On the other hand, The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves bares a resemblance to highly crafted, lulling, and ultimately enchanting critical favorites like Björk’s Vespertine for one example. Half the album is sung in fluent English, and the songs build and swell with each passing minute rather than play out in a straightforward verse-chorus-verse fashion. The music is fascinating an mainains the erotic charge of even the most accessible samba if you can appreciate the conception of such an album, one that credits three different producers (Apollo Nove, Mike Lindsay, Yann Arnaud) who each live in different countries and, for the most part, co-produce each track. Cibelle’s ambition will be lost on some listeners, undoubtedly, especially those looking for some agreeably laid-back Brazilian beats tailor-made for globetrotting. Yet the artistry so evident on The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves should be a delightful surprise to those who enjoy their music heady as well as luscious, and with a literate, worldly edge.

Plone – Busy Working
(For Beginner Piano – Warp CD 1999)

Imagine yourself living in the retro-futuristic world portrayed in Terry Gilliam’s 1985-movie “Brazil”. Now, imagine Plone living there, composing masterpieces of moody scores for the “Brazil”-equivalent to our 60’s and 70’s detective series like “The Avengers” and “The Persuaders”. Heavily influenced by Paul Mauriat’s Love is Blue, Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks and Saturday Nights with Lawrence Welk and The Lennon Sisters, this can only be described as The Blue, The Bad, and the Bubbly, perfect for that critical second date in your space-age bachelor pad. Hint: She’s too sophisticated for aerosol cheez on saltines for an hors d’oeuvres — go for the pigs in blankets…

La Volume Courbe – Hanging Around
(I Killed My Best Friend – Honest Jon CD 2005)

Le Volume Courbe (French for “volume curve”) is a band by French-born, London-based singer/songwriter, Charlotte Marionneau. In 2005, Marionneau recorded, I Killed My Best Friend with contributions from Kevin Shields, Colm Ó Cíosóig, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, and David Roback among others. Inspired by the do-your-own-thing ethos of Nico, The Ramones and Yoko Ono, Charlotte muses, “I think it’s a punk record, in many ways. But not rock. I don’t feel like a proper musician or a proper singer either. I guess I’m somebody that has ideas, puts things together. If you’re trying to do your own thing, without caring what’s going on around you, it can actually help if you sometimes don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Then it’s automatically original.” Either that or a mysterious coincidnence. Whatever. In 2008, Le Volume Courbe played a series of festivals and tour dates in Europe and the US, most notably, with the newly-reformed My Bloody Valentine.

Lali Puna – 6-0-3
(Tridecoder – Morr Music LP 1999)

Ever heard of Weilheim? This little town in Bavaria is to Germany what, say, Olympia, WA, is to the US: an unexpected hotbed of independent music. One of the many exciting bands to emerge from Weilheim is Lali Puna: Valerie Trebeljahr (voice and keyboards), Markus Acher (of Notwist and Tied & Tickled Trio fame on bass and sampler), Christoph Brander (also in Console and Tied & Tickled) on drums and sampler, and Florian Zimmer on keyboards. Already on their first 7″, the 1998 Snooze, Lali Puna provided a mix of Stereolab-ish space age soundscapes, playful blips and loops, and straight indie-pop. Their debut album Tridecoder is an exercise in how to combine influences from 80s synth-pop and post-punk and 90s techno, electronica and post-rock into near-perfect, accessible yet interesting songs for the Double-Naughts (or whatever the current decade is called). Trebeljahr, who was born in Korea (Lali Puna apparently means “Lali from Pusan”) and raised in Lisbon, sings in both English (“for comprehension”) and Portuguese (“for non-comprehension”). Her dreamy singsong voice, which often turns into a whisper, blends perfectly with the minimalist compositions, evoking the Young Marble Giants’ Alison Statton with her sweet delivery.

What makes Lali Puna so interesting, besides being so pleasant to listen to, is the way they synthesize such diverse influences—diverse both in sound and outlook—as techno, noisy indie rock, electronic experimentation, and plain sweet pop, in a perfectly balanced way. There is a sense that you’ve heard something like it before, but you can’t put your finger on it. The closest you’d come is maybe Stereolab, and so it’s not surprising that they have often been compared to Stereolab (a comparison that the band embraces). The convergence of electronica and indie rock has, of course, been coming for a long time. Lali Puna also made an appearance on Stephin Merritt’s Human League tribute project Reproductions, producing a cover of “Together in Electric Dreams”.

Maximum Joy – Silent Street
(Stretch EP – 99 Records 1981)

When Glaxo Babies split in 1979, Tony Wrafter formed Maximum Joy with Janine Rainforth (vocals/clarinet) and were later on joined by Dan Catsis, Charlie Llewellin (of Glaxo Babes) and John Waddington (formerly of The Pop Group, on guitar and vocals). After a few singles in 1981 and 1982, including the Stretch EP featured here, the band released the Adrian Sherwood-produced album Station MXJY in October 1982. After a subsequent single, a cover of Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can’t We Live Together”, recorded with Dennis Bovell, the band split. Give the relation with Ed Bahlmann’s 99 Records imprint, Maximum Joy is etched into the history of the legacy of New York No Wave as well. A retrospective, Unlimited was released in 2007.

Cassius – La Mouche
(1999 – Astralwerks CD 1999)

I have to say that I love this album. It’s so uninhibited, it’s like dancing naked in the back seat of a top-down convertible and flipping off the paparazzi. It’s the modern French Pop equivalent of Dan Hartman’s Instant replay, albeit replacing the crayons and JC Penney Mix N Match with comic book spycams and Tux De Luxe weekend rentals. It’s zany and dumb, but an awful lot of fun…

Robert Pollard – Make Use
(Waved Out – Matdor CD 1998)

Robert Pollard was, until 2004, the leader and creative force behind Guided by Voices. He’s also in the groups 7 Dog 3, 7 Feet Of Sunshine, 8th Dwarf, A A Bottom, Academy Of Crowsfeet, Accidental Texas Who, The, Acid Ranch, Airport 5, Alvin Haisles, Antler, Apes In The Window, Approval Of Mice, Arthur Psycho And The Trippy Warts, Artrock Unicorns, Ax, Bad Babies, The, Banana Show, The, Ben Zing, Billy Ray Human, Bleep Bleep F*ck, Bore Co., Bozo’s Octopuss, Brainbow, Bravery Umpire, Brown Smoothies, Brown Star Jam, Bug-Eyed Mums, The, Burial Wind, Burns Carpenter, Bus Of Trojan Hope, Carl Goffin, Ceramic Cock Einstein, Champion Hairpuller, Child Of Joe, Christopher Lightship, Circus Devils, Clinton Killingsworth, Coward Of The Hour, Crushed Being Groovy, Dale Frescamo, Devron Zones, Doctor Formula, Edison Shell, Elf God, Elvis Caligula, Eric Pretty, Factory Rat, Fake Organisms, The, Fast Forward Life, Fat Chance, Flaming Ray, Freedom Cruise, Fun Punk 5, The, Gene Autrey’s Psychic, Ghetto Blaster, Ghost Fart, Global Witch Awakening, Go Back Snowball, God’s Brother, God’s Little Lightning Bolt, Good Parts Only Corporation, Grabbit, Groovy Lucifer,Hazzard Hotrods, Heavy River, Herkimer Mohawk, Hey John, Bees, Homosexual Flypaper, Hot Skin Apartment, Howling Wolf Orchestra, Huge On Pluto, Inbrids, The, Indian Alarm Clock, John The Croc, Judas And The Piledrivers, Judy Plus Nine, The, Jumped Or Pushed?, K.C. Turner, Karma Yeah, Keene Brothers, King Of Cincinatti, Kink Zego, Kuda Labranch, Lectricaroo, Leon Lemans, Lexo And The Leapers, Lifeguards, Magic Toe, Manimal, Matted Pelt, Maxwell Greenfield, Meat Kingdom Group, Milko Waif, Modular Dance Units, Monkey Business, Moonchief, Mooshoo Wharf, Moping Swans, The, Mutts U.K., Needmores, The, Nelly And The Dirtfloor, Nicotine Cranes, Nightwalker, Oil Can Harry, One Too Many, The, Otim Grimes, Panzee, Pearly Gates Smoke Machine, Pete Eastwood, Peter Built Bombs, Phantom Tollbooth, Plague, The, Plexigrall Bee-hive, The, Praying Man Vs. Bo Diddley, Psycho And The Birds, Pukes, The, Ragged Enzymes, Red Faced Rats, Red Hot Helicopter, Rex Polaroyd, Ricked Wicky, Royal Japanese Daycare, Scott Joy, Seraphim Barf, Shoot’em, Silent Knife, Some Are Bullets In Dreams, Standard Generator, Stingy Queens, Stumpy In The Ocean, Styles We Paid For, Sucko, Tabatha’s Flashpot, Takeovers, The, Tax Revlon, Terror Of Living, Throne, Timid Virus, Tom Devil, Too Proud To Practice, Turned Up Turner, U B Hitler, Unfriendly, The, Urinary Track Stars, Usually To Death, Wavo, We Too Bark, Wheels Pig Harvey, Whitey Museum, Wig Stomper, Wim Dials, Yummy Ropes, and Zeppelin Commander, so I don’t think a lot more needs to be said.

Astorria – Length of Common Rafters
(Rocket Racr 7″ 2000)

Blow torch stenciled, rubber stamped cover. Limited edition of 500 copies on white vinyl. A slowly churning, swirling, burning passage in time. Ain’t that just like love?

Schlammpeitziger – Mango Und Papaja Auf Tobago Remix – Mouse On Mars
(Freundlichbaracudaremix – A-Musik 10″ 1996)

Schlammpeitziger’s Jo Zimmerman is a singularity in his scene. A throwback to the pre-digital electronic primitivism of Krautrock pioneers Cluster and Harmonia, while his Cologne compatriots and A Musik labelmates launch fiddly, finickerty symphonies from their software patches, Zimmermann’s eight, intensely Teutonically titled albums paint the bigger picture, soliciting stately washes of sound soul-coaxed from the circuits of his synths. Here, Mouse on Mars remixes Mango Und Papaja Auf Tobago from the Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut LP.

Violet Indiana – Purr La Perla
(12 Tales – Instinct CD 2002)

One of the best Violet Indiana tracks *evah*. 12 Tales, itself, is a luscious compilation, featuring 12 tracks presumably aligning with the twelve stories by Melora Creager in the accompanying booklet . Siobhan de Maré’s voice is haunting an flawless here, and makes me almost feel guilty for saying she’d never fill Liz Fraser’s shoes. Such longing, this is almost enough to be the closer of “All We Have Is Kisses.” But no…

Elbow – Ribcage
(Cast of Thousands – V2 CD 2003)

What is it about certain cities that consistently yield these musical phenomena? Mnnchester, home of Elbow, should need no introduction by now. Elbow formed in 1990 and is comprised of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Guy Garvey, guitarist and back up vocalist Mark Potter, keyboardist and back up vocalist Craig Potter, bassist Pete Turner and drummer Richard Jupp. Ribcage is just a kick in the teeth to anyone who has felt they have simply not been able to get close enough to another person short of jumping inside their body. Intense, steamy and very heady. I wanted to explode…