Perpetual Tunes is Perpetual Doom’s ongoing series of lo-fi cover songs and reinterpretations, featuring independent artists revisiting the classic, obscure, and unforgettable songs that stay with them.
Latest Installment:
Perpetual Doom Presents: Perpetual Tunes featuring Virgin of the Birds
About Virgin of the Birds: Named after a poor English translation of a Salvador Dali painting, Virgin of the Birds treads a line between intimate, lo-fi pop and the occasional grandeur of early art rock. Songwriter Jon Rooney has written, recorded and performed as Virgin of the Birds in both solo and band configurations, releasing two LPs on Song, By Toad Records in the UK and Abandoned Love Records in the US, several EPs on Abandoned Love and contributions to numerous compilations on labels like Perpetual Doom, Fox Box Records, Beep Repaired and Ok, Pal Records. Secret Kids was described by Shindig Magazine as "beguiling, hypnotic and literate" while the Herald Scotland's review of Winter Seeds remarked that "the reined-in performances and simplicity of the songs training the focus on an uncommon grasp of adroit, heartfelt songcraft that sets Rooney on track to follow the likes of Bill Callahan and David Berman into the pantheon of awkward, visionary American outsiders. Essential."
Song Selections:
Frog Eyes, “Claxxon’s Lament” - I’m kind of confounded by Frog Eyes. They’re one of my favorite bands, a restless mass of sound so full of ideas that it can be hard to find a way in. I’ve described their music before as 70’s Bowie turning into a werewolf, which doesn’t really do justice to how mythically rich singer/songwriter/banshee Carey Mercer’s lyrics can be. “Claxxon’s Lament” is a beautiful little epic of a song that Frog Eyes recorded a few times as a dirge. I liked the idea of playing it in a quasi-bossa nova style, and Eric Gallagher has just the jazz guitar chops to pull it off. Joe Paulino sealed the deal with a killer cajon part.
Aldous Harding, “What If Birds Aren’t Singing They’re Screaming” - One thing about getting older is that you can become less receptive to new things, especially if you have a mental library of favorite bands and mounds of influences and hundreds of CDs you insist on dragging with you from move to move. My wife introduced me to Aldous Harding and I was instantly all in on her writing, her amazing vocals and the brilliant, minimalist production on her records. She’s the real deal. This song references a famous Werner Herzog quote and is adorned with all sorts of personal surrealism. What’s not to love?
The Shivers, “Kisses” - Arguably the best American songwriter of this century, the Shiver’s Keith Zarriello has been at it for over two decades and, yet, is still largely unknown. Which is crazy, considering his songs pull from pop, folk and classic R&B with direct, often aching lyrics and vocals. No experimentation as elusiveness or jabberwocky needed. I saw the Shivers play as a duo in Austin once at an anarchist bookstore and Zarriello wore giant rectangular old lady sunglasses and sang like an open wound. When I lived in Seattle and the VotB sound machine was playing out a lot, we would open our set with “Kisses” and I’d really dig into the “I am just a ROCK KID” lyric. So goddamn good. Townes Van Zandt of the outer boroughs. As horny as Leonard Cohen, as heartbroken as Judee Sill.
Liz Phair, “Whip Smart” - I’ve subconsciously stolen so many melodies, chord changes and little vocal phrasing thingies from Liz Phair’s first few albums that I can’t even hear them when they find their way into VotB songs. Exile in Guyville is obviously her masterpiece, but Whip Smart has “May Queen” and the title track, which are every bit as moving as they are clever and cool. Phair’s early confidence was well-earned because her songs were better than pretty much everyone else’s. I changed a couple of lyrics (“the English chairman’s wife” is me preferring my mishearing of the real lyric, and my son has blue, not brown, eyes) which is a buffoonish thing for me to do, I guess.
Meursault, “Teacher Was I Wrong to Burn” - Meursault’s Neil Pennycook looms large in my musical world. Every Meursault record (as well as the records Neil put out under the name Supermoon) merits pouring over front to back. I’ve gotten to know Neil as a labelmate, impromptu bandmate, and overall pal through my association with the dearly departed Scottish label Song, By Toad Records. A few years ago, the self-titled Meursault album came out with “Teacher Was I Wrong to Burn” as the closer. Just devastating, a total triumph. I’ve never asked Neil what it’s about, but I couldn’t stop listening to it. I was compelled to record a version for myself on my phone, just vocals and acoustic guitar. I even rewrote some of the lyrics to be more autobiographical. When the Doom came calling, this was the first song I thought to cover. I was ready. I’m still hardcore.
Perpetual Doom Presents: Perpetual Tunes featuring Brother Flower
Brother Flower is a recording project based in Philadelphia, PA spearheaded by Tim Walsh, Alain Schremmer, and Tara Hart. The band started upon discovering a lonesome Tascam 388 tape machine in an attic and attempting to give it new life.Drawing inspiration from songwriting legends like Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, to glam rock heroes like Marc Bolan, Brother Flower weaves together their own blend of cosmic country music.With the help of a good group of buds, Brother Flower slowly layers harmony and melody to tape, driven by a tailwind of melancholy, hope, and beer-flavored beer.
Song Selections:
Lee Baggett, “Weeds and Flowers” - We remember listening to the "All Star Day" single on repeat while on a road trip to New York before the entire “Echo Me On” album came out, and we were blown away. When the full album came out, we spent a lot of time with it. "Weeds and Flowers" was a real standout for us in this collection of fantastic songs. Lee's nature-focused lyrics are brilliant. With all the songs we picked for our Perpetual Tunes, songwriting and poetry is a huge focus for us, and we feel Lee Baggett holds his weight with all the writers on this list. Thanks for the tunes, Lee.
Michael Hurley, “Blue Driver” - Alain turned us on to Michael Hurley after he found a copy of “Armchair Boogie” in his dad’s record collection. His dad is a huge fan of boogie woogie music, and would buy any record related to the genre. When he purchased “Armchair Boogie”, he was quite disappointed to hear the strange folk music that the album held. Luckily for us, his accidental record purchase changed our lives. We got pretty obsessed and would listen to anything Hurley we could find. When we first heard “Blue Driver”, we didn’t listen to another song for like two weeks. He’s so funny, yet so soulful… just the fuckin best man. RIP Michael Hurley. Truly one of the greatest to ever do it.
Trad, “Plastic Jesus” - We were having a blast playing this one together during a guitar passing session on a summer beach trip. It's such a goofy and simple little song, but there's a real infectious quality to it. We recorded it in pretty much one take. The only real problem we ran into was choosing what version of the lyrics to use! There are so many versions and variations of this song out there, but it was fun to do our own take on it.
Townes Van Zandt, “Hey Willie Boy” - As our band name suggests, we are disciples of the word of Townes Van Zandt. His songs have been there for us in the many dark places we’ve found ourselves throughout the years, and this one has been our saving grace as of late. Our dear friend Will has been going through a deep struggle, so we wanted to record this one for him. We love you Will. Stay strong brother.
Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero” - Dylan is a second language in our group. Lots of his lines are shorthand for us when playing and recording. It's impossible to pick a favorite Dylan song, but we all love this tune for sure. We found the base tracks to this one on a roll of tape from when we were recording our first album. We were learning our way around a new drum machine at the time, but we thought what we recorded back then sounded pretty cool. We decided to put the finishing touches on it to get a Dylan song on our Perpetual Tunes.
Perpetual Doom Presents: Perpetual Tunes featuring Slackeye Slim
Slackeye Slim is the recording project of Joe Frankland, a genre-bending songwriter based in the high desert of southwest Colorado. Drawing from country, punk, metal, spaghetti westerns, and the strange spaces in between, Slackeye Slim has spent nearly two decades carving out a sound all his own. His music is equal parts dusty, cinematic, darkly funny, and deeply personal, with a healthy dose of western swagger. For Perpetual Tunes, he turns six songs by artists including Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, 16 Horsepower, Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, and Kurt Weill into something that feels unmistakably his own.
Song Selections:
Modest Mouse, “Cowboy Dan” - When I first heard the album this is on (Lonesome Crowded West), I was a kid who’d never been west of Ohio.I imagined that the West was full of characters like Cowboy Dan and other dusty philosophers, heading out to the desert in shitty old pickup trucks to fight God. I owe the entire premise of my album “El Santo Grial: La Pistola Piadosa” to this song.
Tom Waits, “Cold, Cold Ground” - This song is nostalgic for me because it reminds me of living in the middle of nowhere in the driftless region of Wisconsin in my wife’s cabin. We both worked horrible jobs and would come home every night to listen to our trashy neighbors fighting, revving their truck engines, and just being loud and trashy as hell. They had a dog named Serenity. You’d hear them screaming “SERENITY!” across an otherwise peaceful valley every night. This is the perfect song about rural poverty.
16 Horsepower, “Heel on the Shovel” - When I got interested in country music and what other kids who’d grown up on punk rock had done with it, Sixteen Horsepower was one of the first bands I found. I grew up Pentecostal. Dave Edwards’ scary Jesus schtick reminds me of the absurd things my dad used to say and do. I don’t know if I consider myself goth country. Not really, but 16 Horsepower was one of the first bands to do it and I’ve borrowed a lot of ideas from them over the years.
Radiohead, “Climbing up the Walls” - Radiohead has been one of my biggest influences in every type of music I’ve ever played, even well before I began Slackeye Slim back in 2006. I could go through my discography and point out which songs started as an idea called something like “Radiohead Guitar Ripoff” or “Mexican Radiohead.” There are a lot of them, but I’ll let the mystery be. I recorded another version of this to use on an album a few years go, but it ended up not making it. I’m glad I got a chance to revisit it.
Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” - I originally wanted to do something kind of political. I originally recorded the song “Everybody Knows,” but the sexism in some of the verses really bothered me. Anthem is much more hopeful, and I think we need that right now more than we need the pointing out of obvious problems.
Kurt Weill via Louis Armstrong, “Mack the Knife” - I mean, come on. This song is funny! I can’t believe it was popularized in the 1950’s. Some dude just wandering around and stabbing people at random, but he’s treated like a hero. So violent and strange. I was allowed to listen to this when I was a kid, but my parents destroyed my Nirvana tapes because they were satanic.