August 7th, 2008 12:35pm

Disco Dorm

White Pony featuring Josephine Philip “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” – I wish that I were not posting this so soon after the indie folk version of “Ass N Titties,” but so be it. White Pony’s take on the Ol’ Dirty Bastard classic steps beyond parody and sprints full-speed toward inspired madness. Whereas the original by ODB contrasted its nursery rhyme style with its filthy lyrics and grimy production, White Pony take the song’s inherently child-like quality to an absurd extreme, and the result is an extremely silly day-glo Europop tune that comes across like the soundtrack to a demented kid’s show. Though the knowledge that these people are perverting an already perverse song adds to the pleasure, it holds up rather well as a composition in its own right, particularly if you have a taste for manic, super-charged pop cheese. (Click here for the White Pony MySpace page.)

Swim Swam Swum “Not In Your Way” – I don’t mean to diminish Swim Swam Swum or their song, but it has to be said: This is basically a perfect generic approximation of ’90s indie rock. It nods to the style of a few different iconic bands of the era — early Pavement, Archers of Loaf, Sub Pop-era Sebadoh, Helium, pre-Fridmann Flaming Lips, early Modest Mouse to name a few — but the lines of influence blur, and the music comes out sounding more like “the ’90s” than anything else. There’s clearly a lot of nostalgia involved in both the creation and enjoyment of this music, but it only works because unlike a lot of bands currently reaching to that era for inspiration, they understand why those old songs worked: It’s all in the way the interesting, distinct guitar textures support strong, memorable melodies. You should make it sound effortless and casual, but it shouldn’t actually be easy. (Click here for Swim Swam Swum’s MySpace page, and here to buy the PDX Pop Now! 2008 compilation.)