Daily Jam - Sleep the Clock Around

Scottish indie pop group Belle & Sebastian are very decidedly not drug music.  However, i have a distinct, yet chemically hazy, memory in college of listening to the band's "Sleep the Clock Around" from their 1998 album "The Boy with the Arab Strap," and finding it utterly transcendent for the state that i was in.  (That last part was a pun for all you B&S Heads out there.)  Listen to it below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Dog on Wheels

There is something kind of comforting about those first few Belle & Sebastian EP's and LP's to me.  Something warm.  Here's "Dog on Wheels" from the band's EP of the same name.  Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - I Love My Car

I don’t know why, but I love the word “twee.”

And by extension, I have always loved the band whose sound often seems to be the sonic blueprint and representation of said word. Even when at their most saddest of bastard modes, sulking, moody pop songs, the Scotsmen and women of Belle & Sebastian carry an underlying sweetness about them, either through their playful lyrics or their gentle melodies. On the track “I Love My Car,” from the 2001 EP I’m Waking Up to Us, the band adds some jazz to that sweetly intoxicating mix, thus securing a place in my heart for all time.

A short list of things that make “I Love My Car” amazing:

- The absolutely sickeningly sweet imagery of a rodent making its tiny, little bed from pages of small books

- The potential for “auto” eroticism (that was a pun!)

- The EP’s cover and liner notes artwork, featuring photos of band members with dogs

- The Dixieland Jazz breakdown at song’s end

- Plenty of shade being thrown at The Beach Boys’ Mike Love

Oh, and it’s catchy too. Listen below and enjoy your day. TWEE MOTHERFUCKERS!

Belle and Sebastian

I've gotta admit, i was not expecting to like the new Belle and Sebastian single as much as i do.  I was a huge fan of the band back in the late '90s / early '00s, but kind of moved on sometime after the "Storytelling" soundtrack.  That being said, "Unnecessary Drama" is kind of a banger, and manages to sound both exactly like Belle and Sebastian and something new.  Check it out below and pre-order May's upcoming "A Bit of Previous" LP here from Matador.

Daily Jam - Dirty Dream #2

Here's a sweet song about being secretly in love with someone...and having wet dreams.  Listen to "Dirty Dream #2" by Belle & Sebastian below, our Daily Jam.

Isobel Campbell covers Tom Petty

Scottish singer/songwriter Isobel Campbell has made a name for herself over the last 25 years as a solo artist, as well as a frequent collaborator with Mark Lanegan and former member of Belle and Sebastian.  Her new album "There Is No Other...," the first in over a decade, is full of dreamy, folk-tinged pop, including this lovely cover of Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream."  Check it out below and get the record here.

Daily Jam - Judy Is a Dick Slap

I haven't really paid much attention to Belle and Sebastian in a long, long time, but there was a stretch in the late '90s and early '00s when the band released a string of great music, their EPs in particular.  Check out the instrumental "Judy Is a Dick Slap" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Fuck This Shit

Belle And Sebastian's instrumental "Fuck This Shit" from their original soundtrack to Todd Solondz's "Storytelling," your Daily Jam...

God Help the Girl

Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch recorded an album in 2009 called "God Help the Girl," a set of songs intended to be worked into a musical film.  And he has succeeded.  Murdoch's directorial debut, also called "God Help the Girl" comes out tomorrow, and the soundtrack consists of original albums tuned reworked and rerecorded with the cast.  The 60's pop pastiche shines, as one would expect from anything associated with Belle and Sebastian.  Take a listen to the title track below with vocals from Emily Browning and grab the album on Milan Records.