jon hecht, clem, miles of music, decemberists

Friend of Crabwalk Jon recently went to Jordan and took lots of photos. I in particular like the numerous attempts at what he terms “gay/middle eastern/hipster” fashion photography. Not sure the shirt removal was, strictly speaking, necessary, though.
Jon also points out this encouraging new live Clem Snide track. Their new album End of Love is set to be released on the 22nd. (That link is to a special autographed version of the CD, available from Miles of Music — one of my very favorite curated online music vendors, specializing in alt-country/roots music and their intersection with pop. Their weekly what’s-new mailing generally points out a few releases I hadn’t heard about but should have.)
As for the Clem — it’s only $12.99! Will it be a godsend like their first few albums, or a muddled sentimental mess like their last one? Who knows? For the price of a medium pizza — without extra cheese — you can find out. The aforementioned track sounds Ghost of Fashion-era — all the irony, none of the schmaltz. Which would be a good thing.
While I’m posting about music: A whole bunch of live Decemberists covers, of varying sound qualities, ready for your download pleasure. Of particular quality are the covers of “Bring On the Dancing Horses” (Echo and the Bunnymen), “Nighttime” and “The Ballad of El Goodo” (Big Star), “Up the Junction” (Squeeze), and — you’ll like this one — The Outfield’s ’80s classic “Your Love,” reinvented as an audience-participation scat by guitarist Chris Funk.