At The First Hour Of The Spring Time

Ladytron “Ghosts” – The chorus of this song kills — “there’s a ghost in me / it wants to say “I’m sorry” / it doesn’t mean I’m sorry” — but mainly because it’s backed up by this grim, utterly determined bass line and a beat like a martial lockstep. It’s the sound of a person doing everything they can to keep a stern face, and to avoid slipping into bad habits out of feelings of guilt and nostalgia. This isn’t a heartless song — sure, there is some clear ill will for this ex, and some slight celebration of his loneliness and misfortune, but that’s perfectly normal. The reason this works and resonates so deeply is because she has to put up this fight, and that she has to force herself to be this cold for her own good. (Click here to pre-order it from Insound.)

Meanwhile, on Fair Game: The entire James Rabbit session is available in full, and it includes two as-yet unreleased songs — “In Love With The Idea” and “Options.”

Also, we had Garth Jennings on the show — as one half of Hammer & Tongs, he’s responsible for a number of excellent videos, including “Imitation of Life” by R.E.M., “Coffee & TV” by Blur, “Help The Aged” by Pulp, “Hell Yes” by Beck, and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” by Radiohead. His new movie is called Son Of Rambow, and it is absolutely brilliant, and I recommend listening to Faith’s interview with him; it’s very lovely and inspiring.