Madness - Riding On My Bike

Artist: Madness

Song: Riding On My Bike

Album: The Business (box, 1982)

Along with the Specials, Madness were one of the leading bands of the ska revival of the late '70s and early '80s. As their career progressed, Madness branched away from their trademark "nutty sound" and incorporated large elements of Motown, soul, and British pop.

The Business - the Definitive Singles Collection is a 3 disc box set released in 1993. It contains all the band's singles with their b-sides and other bonus tracks, some rare. It also includes a 52 page booklet and snippets of interviews with people associated with Madness between some tracks.

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Jack Bruce - Out Of The Storm

Artist: Jack Bruce

Album: Out Of The Storm (1974)

John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce (born 14 May 1943) is a Scottish musician, best-known as an electric bass guitarist and was most famous as a vocalist and the bass guitarist for the 1960s rock band Cream.

The cd is not such awesome event as previous "Songs for tailor" or "Harmony row" however the music played there was on agenda of soon created super band with Mick Taylor and Carla Bley. The added bonuses do not provide real alternative versions (there is mistake in numbering), however songs like "One", "Keep it down", "Timesleeping", "Running thru our hands" and "Pieces of mind" are masterpieces.

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Katie Melua - Nine Million Bicycles

Artist: Katie Melua

Song: Nine Million Bicycles

Album: Piece By Piece (2006)

Plucked from music school obscurity by songwriter/producer Mike Batt, Katie Melua saw her debut bolt up the U.K. charts upon its release there in late 2003. Melua was born in Soviet Georgia in 1984. Eventually, she and her family moved to Belfast, Ireland, and finally to London, where Melua entered the B.R.I.T. School for the Performing Arts & Technology. The record industry-funded school had a habit of graduating talented performing artists (Floetry, for example), and Melua became its next success when a 2003 showcase caught the attention of Batt, who'd been looking for a vocalist capable…Read more

About Nine Million Bicycles

First single “Nine Million Bicycles” is an excitingly different and unforgettable track that starts with a simple truth: “There are nine million bicycles in Beijing / That's a fact / It's a thing we can't deny / Like the fact that I will love you till I die.” The music is hauntingly beautiful, perfectly matched by Katie’s clean, clear vocals.

Highlights include the single, "Nine Million Bicycles", which is genuinely sweet. The track was inspired by Melua's own visit to China and some of the things she heard on the trip, thereby equating the fact that there are nine million bicycles in Beijing with the certainty she is in love.
The meandering blasts of flute that weave their way throughout lend the song a Chinese feel and make it quite enticing.

Nine Million Bicycles has modern and nostalgic notes woven into a sweet fantasy of a song. When she isn't dreaming about enticing shy boys, she is poetic in her social commentary and delves into provocative concepts we face daily, but often fail to address.

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There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge,
That's a guess,
No-one can ever say it's true
But I know that I will always be with you.

I'm warmed by the fire of your love everyday
So don't call me a liar,
Just believe everything that I say

There are six BILLION people in the world
More or less
and it makes me feel quite small
But you're the one I love the most of all

INTERLUDE
We're high on the wire
With the world in our sight
And I'll never tire,
Of the love that you give me every night

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a Fact,
it's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing
And you know that I will love you till I die!

Kaleid - Zen and The Surveillance of Bicycle Messengering

Artist: Kaleid

Album: Zen and The Surveillance of Bicycle Messengering (2002)

Richardson offers an intriguing, unsettling mix of sonic architecture designed for a headphones only trip.

This is not music, per say but atmospheric soundscapes of a bicycle messenger on LSD. Listening to it makes you feel trippy, he’s in traffic one minute & walking through a party the next, delivering his micro phoned ZEN surveillance of noise & sound. My only complaint is the lack of music, a nice idea….great name for a mix.

Dig if you will: On a 20 below zero evening, you leave on your bike in much the same frame of mind Albert Hoffman was in as he left the lab on that fateful night.
For better or for worse, you've found yourself again with familiar people drinking at the Alcohol Abuse Center.
After smoking enough pot to kill a bison you're back in the Tundra riding home for the sonic maze of analog keys, digitally pirated surveillance and headphones as the LSD trails off. As the sunrises over the lake, you cat nap.
An hour and a half later: Go play in traffic some more.
Welcome to VoidWare Productions. Enjoy the ride.

Cosmo Speedway - Evolution of the Bicycle

Artist: Cosmo Speedway

Album: Evolution of the Bicycle (2007)

We've got tech beats, real beats, good times, bad times, found sound, tape loops, french horn, watermelon, moog, cello, piano, Cholula, and a gold spray-painted 12 string guitar that stains our clothes when we play it.

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Roots and Wisdom - Bicycles For Rastas Mayas

Artist: Roots and Wisdom

Album: Bicycles For Rastas Mayas

Real authentic African music, worldbeat and roots reggae. Some tracks recorded in Spanish with a latin twist for the dance oriented listeners. Music dedicated to the sprit of volunteerism around the world....

If you think you have tried all that is around in world music and reggae, do not stop yet until you listen to this cd from Roots And Wisdom. This cd is highly recomended for it's variety of sounds that is never boring. It is as if you are listening to your own very special radio program.

The seeds were planted for ROOTS AND WISDOM music in Nigeria West Africa, where Wisdom Ogbor was born and where he began early in his life to lead singing groups in his schools' cultural and religious festivities. According to Wisdom, songs began to form in his head in those early childhood days, and the presence of the songs inside his being always moved him to search for forums to present the songs.

It came to pass that when Wisdom's parents sent him to study in a university in the United States of America , Wisdom became heavily influenced by access to music from all over the world which competed for listenership in the USA . In New York City and Washington DC , Wisdom began collaborating and writing music with African American musicians, Brazilians, Jamaicans, Cubans and African musicians who came for summer tours in the United States . A stint as a Disc Jockey on a popular Dallas Texas radio station raised people's confidence in Wisdom and he began getting booked in local venues with his own band. He toured all over the USA and settled in Austin Texas, where he became involved with bicycle activism.

Wisdom's bicycle projects took him to Mexico and Central America in late 1999 as the head of a group that transported more than 100 bicycles for use in poor communities there in the so called La Ruta Maya. He took along with him his guitar and tapes of his old music which were recorded in Africa, in Ghana and Nigeria , and also in the United States . In Mexico people quickly took a liking to Wisdom`s music and musicians there readily gave their support to him to play his music and show him a true Mexican hospitality. That experience encouraged Wisdom to write several songs in Spanish which appeared on the CD BICYCLES FOR RASTAS MAYAS. He also writes and sings in two Nigerian languages, (Ibo and Yoruba), and in English.

Wisdom's band ROOTS AND WISDOM plays in the tourist zones of Mexico, in Central America, and in the United States of America . In Mexico and Central America , the group is well tested with the presence of international tourists from all over the world who regularly party with ROOTS AND WISDOM and take the music home with them to their different parts of the world.

A friend with a recording studio in San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas Mexico , gave Wisdom cheap studio time and together with other musician friends from the USA , Haiti , Mexico and Europe, they began recording new songs from the " Latin America Experience". These songs, with old music which were recorded in Africa and in the USA , were remixed to make this CD, BICYCLES FOR RASTAS MAYAS (From Africa to the Land of the Mayas).

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Blossom (Blumchen) - Bicycle Race

Artist: Blossom (Blumchen)

Album: Bicycle Race (2004)

Jasmin Wagner, (born April 20, 1980, Hamburg, Germany) better known as Blümchen, is a multi-platinum selling pop and dance music singer, aspiring actress, model/spokesperson and avegetarian. Although she releases her English albums under the name Blossom, her German stage name "Blümchen" actually translates to "floret" or "small flower". She is also known as Denim Girl, performing the song "Are You Ready For Some Darkness?" on A Tribute toTurbonegro compilation "Alpha Motherfuckers"

biography

With her 3rd single, Blossom (a.k.a Blümchen) delivers quite an awesome remix cover from a song originally done by the Queen. This version of 'Bicycle Race' is fun to listen to and has great vocals. The music is fast, peppy and great to dance to. In my opinion, this single is not as sought after as her other singles, but great nontheless. For the hardcore Blossom fan, this is a must buy. Any fan of techno or electronica music should give this single a whirl.

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Walking Bicycles - Walking Bicycles (ep)

Artist: Walking Bicycles

Album: Walking Bicycles (EP 2005)

Location is everything. A small coastal town with long rainy days in the heart of the redwood forest led founding members Jocelyn (vocals) and Julius (guitars) to create dark, lonely songs on their self-titled 2005 EP.

That year the two moved from Arcata, California to Chicago, Illinois changing location and band members. Read more

biography

Silverhawk - Hangover Bicycle Ride

Artist: Silverhawk

Album: Hangover Bicycle Ride (2008)

Psychedelic Americana meets Johnny Cash on the way to T-Rex's house. This is memorable pop music with a twist - deep lyrics by great songwriters. Serious and fun at the same time.

This is the long awaited new CD from the Portland, OR based band Silverhawk. Several years in the making, this collection of great Psych-Americana is heart felt, rocking and interesting at every turn. Brothers Sam and John Densmore’s songs are uniquely crafted, intelligent and truly musical at every turn.

From start to finish. “Hangover Bicycle Ride” exemplifies everything that is good about contemporary music. This record pushes the boundaries while at the same time honors the classic rock and roll tradition.

The Densmore brothers have a knack for adding bells and whistles to their material in a way that’s natural rather than intrusive. " The long-running band led by the brothers Densmore, Sam and John, are Oregonian through and through, tracing roots to Coos Bay and beyond before a relocation to Portland a few years back. Brothers Sam and John Densmore’s songs are uniquely crafted, intelligent and truly musical at every turn. “Hangover Bicycle Ride” exemplifies everything that is good about contemporary music. From start to finish. Organic sounds that are chopped up. One might say they specialize in the feel-good, with songs with titles like "All the Girls Eat Drugs," and "Drinking Makes Me Feel Better," delivered with between-you-and-me grins." -Jeremy Peterson, OPB Music Blog and In-House Radio host"Part acoustic boogie, part bar-rock Beck, “Hangover Bicycle Ride” is 100 percent fun. I like the whole low fi analog digital vibe. This record pushes the boundaries while at the same time honors the classic rock and roll tradition. Rex-influenced "Cry, Cry". - The Oregonian - Bob Ham - Friday, May 09, 2008"These tracks sound great. Several years in the making, this collection of great Psych-Americana is heart felt, rocking and interesting at every turn. This is the long awaited new CD from the Portland, OR based band Silverhawk. The result, while crafted and perfected in the studio, still feels organic."- Barbara Mitchell, Portland Tribune" the band does find that glorious balance of serious playfulness -- as on the brilliant power-pop anthem "Drinking Makes Me Feel Better" (which features an infectious lead vocal by Sam's wife, Laura) and the crunchy T.

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Rich Whitley - A Dog Or a Bicycle

Artist: Rich Whitely

Song: A Dog Or A Bicycle

Album: A Dog Or A Bicycle (2000)

Gently twisted Americana with a jam band ethic. Firmly rooted in influences from past greats (Grateful Dead, Tom Petty) while looking toward the future (Wilco).

Rich's solo debut from 2000, still a favorite of many. Produced with Steve Connelly (Roger McGuinn, the Headlights) at Zen Recording in St. Pete, A Dog or a Bicycle fuses elements of improvisational groove-rock and Americana into a cohesive, well-written collection of songs that will earn a home in your CD player.

Review by Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing:
Back in 2000, Uncle John’s Band co-frontman Rich Whiteley released this beautiful batch of Deadhead-friendly originals that rank with the songs he regularly covers every Thursday at Skipper’s Smokehouse. The record ranges from laidback funk and fun “Raise the Roof” to space jams “Stargazer” to moving confessionals “As I Lay Dying.” Whiteley’s lyrics are mature and memorable and he’s in fine voice throughout the album. Co-producer Steve Connelly is all over the disc, sweetening the tracks with electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin and bass.

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Shakeyface - Bicycle Day Boogaloo

Artist: Shakeyface

Album: Bicycle Day Boogaloo (2006)

Doug Smiley, aka Shakeyface, is a talented DJ and producer who has been working the DJ circuit and contributing to compilations for some time. This is his debut full-length, and it's a solid winner. His music tends to get classified as "abstract hip-hop," and that's probably as good a label as any for the good-humored but heavyweight funk over which he lays unusual but highly intelligent samples and loops. Though the beats are central, this is no meathead big beat stuff: the subtle layers of rhythmic complexity that make up "Song for Hank" will take more than one listen to sort out, and the jittery trip-hop jazz of "Bassism" is similarly complicated. Jazz and dub keep popping up unannounced, as on the very nice "A Certain Way with Things" and the swinging "As I Was Saying" (which almost sounds like it was built on sped-up samples from Steve Reich's "New York Counterpoint"), but there are also lots of good glitchy moments and some beat-heavy throwdowns as well -- in fact, "Looking Ahead" incorporates both. When vocals enter the picture they don't always improve things (note the rather obnoxious "Art of Moving"), but for the most part this music is instrumental and is the better for it. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

The Brooklyn electronica artist Shakeyface's take on the genre mixes up cut-up samples of guitars, trashy drum sounds, vintage hip-hop beats, and fragments of funky R&B in a surprisingly cohesive set that never lets experimentation get in the way of a good dance cut.

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Bicycle Day Boogaloo (radiomix) (Shakeyface)

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[URL=http://musicremedy.com/s/Shakeyface/videos/Bicycle_Day_Boogaloo_radiomix-5495.html]Bicycle Day Boogaloo (radiomix) video by Shakeyface[/URL]

The Oscar Bicycle - The Room Revolves Around Me

Artist: The Oscar Bicycle

Song: The Room Revolves Around Me

Album: VV.AA. - The Rubble Collection, vol. 11-20 – disk 7

Probably the 2nd most famous series of 60s compilations after Pebbles, Rubble brings you technicolor dream UK rarities, with loads of delay-phased-harmony-vox-fuzz-wah-harpsichord smashes. This second box is even more anticipated than the first, because of the tighter focus on soft pop-sike. You'll end up beyond the looking glass in a garden of stained-glass light shafts & fluffy clouds. A fortune's worth of rare singles the sharing of which has spawned hundreds of reissued albums over the years, and an instant cool record collection.

Amongst the first and best psych compilations ever put together, each and every volume is a mind-blowing treasure trove of acid rock and pop from the late 1960s, and comes housed inside a slipcase card replica of the original LP artwork. Featuring famous names such as the Blossom Toes, the Pretty Things and the Soft Machine alongside a myriad of lesser-known acts like The Purple Barrier, the Pregnant Insomnia and Cherry Smash, and compiled and sequenced by leading collectors, the series has long been a byword for the best in psychedelia. It’s presented here complete with a booklet, featuring updated band histories, rare photographs and full discographies, making this the most compre-hensive and authoritative psych boxed set ever assembled.

Our story has its beginning in the heady days of the early 1960’s, a time of massive change and innovation in the world of popular music. Fuelled by the excitement and electricity surrounding the new sounds of the time four young men from Bristol began an epic journey which so far has lasted for over forty years and still shows no sign of faltering. The beginnings were to involve two local bands, the Diatones, and Danny Clarke and the Jaguars. In early 1964 three of the Diatones, Adrian Castillo, Sid Phillips and John Strange, joined forces with the Jaguars and with a new name (New Force) and a good set of publicity were offered a record deal. On the eve of recording their first single their guitarist left and was replaced by Brian Trusler from Johnny Slade and the Vikings. Their management decided on a change of name and the band became ‘Force West’. That single ‘I can’t give what I haven’t got’ was released in 1965, the first of seven over the next four years. Radio and Television appearances and National and European tours followed but the ‘big time’ always remained just around the corner. In 1968 the budding pschycadelic movement meant that a change of image was thought necessary and the band adopted the name ‘Oscar Bicycle’ for one single. This, a double A side featuring a ballad titled ‘On a quiet night’ and an excursion into pop-psych titled ‘The room revolves around me’, was produced by ‘Electric Ladyland’ producer, Eddie Kramer and is currently fetching around £70 on the used record market. Incidentally, the track ‘The room revolves around me’ was written by Brian Trusler and is now considered a classic of its genre. more

Also available on:

Album: VV.AA. - A Trip In A Painted World - Rubble Volume Seventeen (1991)

UK 16-track compilation vinyl LP featuring choice UK freakbeat from the sixties from the original master tapes.

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Delgados - Domestiques

Artist: Delgados

Album: Domestiques (1996)

The band named themselves after Tour de France winning cyclist Pedro Delgado.

While failing to earn the same critical notoriety and cultish devotion lavished upon countrymen Belle & Sebastian or Mogwai, the Delgados were in many respects the true epicenter of the contemporary Scottish pop renaissance. more

Domestiques is The Delgados' debut album. It was released on their own label, Chemikal Underground, on October 28, 1996. The title (literally "servants" in French) is a reference to thesupport team for the team leader in road bicycle racing.

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Delgados - Peloton

Artist: Delgados

Album: Peloton (1998)

The band named themselves after Tour de France winning cyclist Pedro Delgado.

While failing to earn the same critical notoriety and cultish devotion lavished upon countrymen Belle & Sebastian or Mogwai, the Delgados were in many respects the true epicenter of the contemporary Scottish pop renaissance. more

Peloton is an eclectic offering that travels beyond the sphere of pop. This dynamic album manifests itself as a layered exploration of different pop genres, fluctuating unpredictably -- but with precision and a masterful discipline -- from one end of the pop spectrum to the next. more

Pixies - Tony's Theme

Artist: Pixies

Song: Tony’s Theme

Album: Surfer Rosa (1988)

Surfer Rosa is often cited as a favorite of music critics, and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums.

Combining jagged, roaring guitars and stop-start dynamics with melodic pop hooks, intertwining male-female harmonies and evocative, cryptic lyrics, the Pixies were one of the most influential American alternative rock bands of the late '80s. The Pixies weren't accomplished musicians -- Black Francis wailed and bashed out chords while Joey Santiago's lead guitar squealed out spirals of noise. But the bandmembers were inventive, rabid rock fans who turned conventions inside out, melding punk and indie guitar rock, classic pop, surf rock, and stadium-sized riffs with singer/guitarist Black Francis' bizarre, fragmented lyrics about space, religion, sex, mutilation, and pop culture; while the meaning of his lyrics may have been impenetrable, the music was direct and forceful. more

Before the Breeders and Frank Black, there was this Boston quartet, playing hardcore's rush and terseness against the acoustic grit and the minor-key flourish of Latin pop. Their first full-length album is their starkest, harsh and trebly, with the drums right in your face, and songs edited to eliminate any note that's not absolutely necessary. Singer Black Francis yelping away about destroyed bodies and the river Euphrates, alternately acting cryptic and crazed. Kim Deal, then calling herself "Mrs. John Murphy," contributes the highlight, "Gigantic," a creepy anthem about childhood voyeurism. The playing is snarly and tricky but unfailingly tuneful, and the hooks come out of nowhere, hiding behind the noise, and bite down hard. --Douglas Wolk

The "song about a superhero named Tony" ("Tony's Theme") was the most lighthearted song the Pixies had recorded, pointing the way to their more overtly playful, more

“Got a card in my spokes, I’m practicing my jokes, I’m learning!” The exemplar for riding around town, not going anywhere special, bike-as-big-toy rather than bike-as-transit. Surfer Rosa was the soundtrack to a couple years of my high school life, when I lived too far out in the woods to bike much of anywhere on my lonesome. Happily, that is no longer the case.

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He’s got the oil on his chain, for a ride in the rain No baloney Ride around on my bicycle like a pony I’m waving hi, hi, hi, hi, hi … I am Tony, super bicycle Tony, I’m racing Spitfire turn and pop a wheelie, burn and evil chasing I’m waving bye, bye, bye, bye, bye I got a card in my spokes …

Try My Bicycle - Lessons on Love and Junk

Artist: Try My Bicycle

Song: Lessons on Love and Junk

Album: Voicings (2007)

Folk with a solid jazz sensiblity.beautifully organic production with an emphasis on rich vocals/harmonies, musicianship, and recording live heartfelt studio performances.

Try Me Bicycle consists of four major players: Andy Naylor (Voice and Guitars), Jay Novak (Harmonies and Bass), Jacob Koller (Piano), Laraine Kaizer (Violin).

The history of Try Me Bicycle dates back to the fall of 2005, when we first met up to play through some material Andy had been working on. It was nothing serious, but the connection felt great from end to end, so we just kept working on material as Andy made it available. Eventually, we had mustered a live set’s worth of songs and began scheduling shows locally in our hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. Following one of those performances, we came in contact with songwriter/producer Michael Krassner (Patrick Park, Califone, Boxhead Ensemble, Simon Joyner). Michael wanted to record and produce the quartet and, given Michael’s reputation, we were ecstatic with such an offer. In November of 2006 we started recording and have since finished our first record together entitled “Voicings.”

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A light post off the desert plain down a road I’ve worn old
Lead me to a junkyard mirage of bicycle bones
There was a man with a heart
For his field of mechanical parts
He said take all the parts you like.
I found a bike with one tire
Found the handle bars, two pedals, and a chain entwined in the brior
With the rusted iron rot
Built this beautiful bike that I bought
Across the valleys, the moon lit the road that I’m ever to ride
Of but a prayer to see me thru
Take the old and make it brand new
And alright
I’ll ride that all night

Offer me something warm. Well I’d rather get high
To wine and dine with cultured crimes and eek my way by.
To be a moron with brains and whatever it takes to get laid
Turns out life just swept a broom over me
Sometimes I maybe right, sometimes I maybe wrong
In the end, love built a life out of me

Bicycle Face - Trust & Obey

Artist: Bicycle Face

Album: Trust & Obey (1992)

Bicycle Face was a band from Greensboro, North Carolina that existed from February 28, 1988 to August 30, 1994. The group originally consisted of Brian Huskey, Mike Barker (later of Rüebarb & Mind Sirens), and Jimmy Triplett (former member of The Naked Ramblers). (…)

Trust and Obey is something of a mixed bag, with none of its elements winding up very exceptional -- Bicycle Face moves from rather conventionally trashy raunch-rock ("The Struggle to be Extraordinary") to a country-fried stomp that's a bit better ("Mitchell McGirk"), and the record turns up occasionally interesting, occasionally silly, and mostly unappealing. ~ Nitsuh Abebe, All Music Guide

Luis Enriquez Bacalov - Bicycle (Bicicletta)

Artist: Luis Enriquez Bacalov

Song: Bicycle (Bicicletta)

Album: The Postman – Original Soundtrack (1995)

The Postman is the soundtrack of the 1994 Academy Award-winning film The Postman (original title: Il Postino). The original score was composed by Luis Enríquez Bacalov.

The album won the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

Romantic, charming, yet simple and poignant is the main theme from the Postman. As if that weren't beautiful enough, it is also recorded in various arrangements (harpsichord and string, for one, anda guitar and bandoneon versio). All are delightful!

What was also a pleasant surprise was the poetry recitals on the CD (these were not actually in the movie). I found myself repeatedly listening to Morning by Sting and to Poetry by Miranda Richardson. Much of the music is accompanied by the beautiful themes of the movie, too. Perhaps the greatest consequence of the CD was that it led me to Neruda's Poetry (love sonnets, odes). The poetry on the disc is just the surface. Did you know Neruda won the Nobel Prize for his beautiful poetry in 1971?

Musically and poetically, this CD is a must-have.

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Taggart - Heavy Pedal

Artist: Taggart

Song: Heavy Pedal

Album: Parts of My Bicycle Are Made of Chrome (2002)

This quartet has some quality songs, but the style seems to run the gamut, from straightforward emocore pop in the vein of Jimmy Eat World to an underlying punk attitude on many numbers. "Lifeboat" as well as "Chelsea" have some Rancid overtones to them in their confrontational delivery of them. "Empty Introduction" is indicative of the cumbersome problems that rear their small but ugly head, a nice introduction which switches instantly into a nu metal configuration. When the band does find their mark, it's a very positive result, with the rock of "Bufferless" infectious in its tone and gentleness. Inspired by some rock deities, the group tends to get much tighter musically and lyrically as the album progresses. "California" and "Rotten Life" give a shot in the sonic arm, while "Everything Pales" makes everything else within pale by comparison. The group delves into many areas, but a decent if not entirely remarkable recording is the end result. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide All Music Guide

Taggart is a tremendous rock and roll outfit from the depths of Philadelphia. Taggart's swaggering debut is a melodic mixture of emo, garage, punk, and alternative that's just one hit song away from a commercial breakthrough. Poignant, rowdy, melancholy, and reckless

Cécile Schott (Colleen) - Bicycle Bells

Artist: Cécile Schott (Colleen)

Song: Bicycle Bells

Album: Colleen et les Boîtes à Musique (EP 2006)

Cécile Schott, from France, made her debut as Colleen with 2003's Everyone Alive Wants Answers. Released in 2003 on England's Leaf label, its dreamy and ambient but melodic material was based around heavily treated samples from her record collection. The album's reception led to performances, but she found herself uninterested in relying strictly on a laptop, so she incorporated instruments and effects, in addition to loops. As a result, 2005's The Golden Morning Breaks took on an organic sound relative to her debut, with several acoustic instruments (including guitars, old pianos, mallets, and even toy instruments) treated by effects. Her third proper album, 2007's Les Ondes Silencieuses, was preceded by an entry in the Staalplaat label's live series Mort aux Vaches, as well as the EP Colleen et les Boîtes à Musique (which was made with music boxes).

…is a generous EP (nearly 40 minutes) containing 13 pieces. Cécile Schott (aka Colleen) was commissioned to create for a special broadcast by the French government's Radiophonic Workshop, with the addition of "I'll Read You a Story," reprised from her 2005 album The Golden Morning Breaks. As the title implies (translation: Colleen and the music boxes), every one of these pieces apart from the languorous "Story" (which also features classical guitar) was made exclusively using music boxes, and it is likely as thorough an exploration of the possibilities of that instrument as has ever been conducted. Although the sonic palette is necessarily rather limited (Schott does expand it somewhat via electronic recording techniques), the range of moods and qualities she manages to evoke with it is impressively broad, encompassing the bleary, distended melancholy of "The Sad Panther," the jokey, scrappy "Charles's Birthday Card" and "A Bear Is Trapped" (shambolic reworkings of, respectively, "Rockabye Baby" and "Pop Goes the Weasel"), and the pure susurrating sweetness of the two-part "What Is a Componium?" (incidentally, it's a music box that allows you to create your own tunes using punch cards). As a whole, the record is both a marvelously inventive compositional project and a delightful, delicate, and enchanting collection of music, certainly among the loveliest offerings in Colleen's