This week’s favorite record is The Brave and the Bold by Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Tortoise.

B”P”B is pretty well known, but in case you don’t know him, he’s most well known from his work in Palace, a lo-fi country project, and his solo work, also sorta country but less lo-fi and generally less rocking, both as Will Oldham and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Tortoise is a band I should probably not admit to not knowign very well, but that’s that. I don’t know them very well, but I’ve always heard good things. Always been a fan of Will Oldham, in whatever incarnation, but Toirtoise puts his pretty unique voice in some awesome, more rock’n’roll context, albeit noisy and sorta spacey rock. It’s awesome.

The record came out in 2006, and I didn’t pay any attention to it then, for some reason. I came up when I was listening to my Books radio station on Pandora. The first song I heard was “Daniel” by Elton John. I’m not familiar with the original, but it was good enough to get me to check out the rest of it. After hearing a few clips on iTunes, it became the third record I’ve purchased via that ubiquitous service.

The songs they’ve picked for the collection are fairly eclectic, and I really only knew a few of them well. The highlight is their selection of “It’s Expected I’m Gone” by the Minutemen. It’s my favorite Minutemen song, so hearing their version, which is much bigger and more rhythmic than the original, was pretty neat. They make it downright danceable, according to me, which is a tall order for that song. In general the songs all have the sort of vibe you’d like to have while strutting down a street on a sunny day. Other highlights include “Thunder Road” by Springsteen, (right?), and “That’s Pep” by Devo. I don’t have a whole lot to say about any of it right now, but I’m super stoked on it. I’d recommend at least checking out the clips on iTunes, but you’ll probably want to buy it, at least the single tracks if you notice any songs you’re a fan of.