listen closer

be sure when you see me, you don't say hi.

doug cheatwood "ten tree stumps"
doug cheatwood sounds like a quiet folk name or maybe a good bit of alt country, but instead this song hits hard, confused, bewildered, and definitely from left field. it comes from a shortlived online contest site that was in a similar vein to songfight (where each person enters a song with a pre-decided title, and the best is chosen). the existance of this song makes the whole site worthwhile. it clicks and screeches and jerks and taps and bellows and doug sings in about 12 different voices. the song falls apart and then remakes itself. like ugly casanova hopped up on speed and helium. "oh woe is me / woe for all of us."
[you can find cds at doug's site]

bats and mice "worst comes to worst"
i don't know anything about this band. i barely listen to any of their other songs. and i guess i kind of like it that way, to have this mysterious band with this killer song! my friend put it on a mix cd a few years ago and it's just one of those songs. no one ever seems to have heard it before so it's one of those favorites i can always pull out and go, "oh you HAVE to hear this." it's the midground between pinback and yo la tengo. it sounds better with your eyes closed. it's the scene in the movie where the protagonist stumbles down the city street just before it rains. he's not crying, but maybe he ought to be. "i went through all i could / i promise i'll try / be sure when you see me / you don't say hi."
[buy the album!]