Snow Patrol - "Run". Apparently, astonishingly, this piece of melancholy pop is #5 on the UK Charts (William Bloody Swygart has written a hundred interesting words on the subject). The first thing I hear whenever I listen to Snow Patrol is Gary Lightbody's voice - that is, I hear the Reindeer Section. Scotland's superband has released two albums I liked very, very much, and although Lightbody sang most of the songs on those rainyglad records, he and his Snow Patrol pals always seemed the tag-alongs. "The Reindeer Section, featuring members of Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, as well as Snow Patrol" -- which is the odd one out? It wasn't helped by the sheer mediocrity of the Snow Patrol albums I had heard. Still, here's "Run," and it's a fantastic, stalwart, mopey little number, perfect for staggering down the street in the rain. That ever-repeating guitarline, capped with strings and ringing Coldplay riffs. Plus: reassuring, romantic lyrics. This kind of thing inevitably, predictably, pushes all of my buttons. Hooray!
Christopher O'Riley - "Fake Plastic Trees". This is taken from O'Riley's True Love Waits. There's nothing remarkable about the idea of a classical pianist (or string section, or orchestra) covering the works of Radiohead - I mean, such things are cliches at this point. And yet O'Riley surprises because of the sheer investment he's put into this. These aren't just covers - they're rearrangements, interpretations... that is, covers in the best sense. Case in point is his version of "Fake Plastic Trees," which is in fact better than Radiohead's original. Granted, that's not saying much - "Fake Plastic Trees" was pretty, sincere, but that's about it. Still, O'Riley's managed to transform it into something truly moving, sad and deep and violent, like the sudden onset of tears. He takes his time, the melody twinkles and scatters, but whenever it reappears - especially loud, at around 3:00, - it's like the flash of light on eyes, of a sun going nova. Or something. I don't know.