Lunch of Champions

Coconut Records’ Nighttiming

A few weeks ago, I was browsing around online, when I stumbled upon Coconut Records. For those who don’t know, it’s Jason Schwartzman’s latest musical endeavor. Now, I’ve come to not expect much from actors that record albums. Yeah, his previous band (Phantom Planet) had some decent songs, but when I hear about movie stars making records, the first name that comes to mind is William Shatner. It could be worth listening to, but it’s always going to be more of a novelty than anything else.

Now I gotta re-think that.

Nighttiming is amazing. It’s wonderfully pop, with catchy lyrics and great hooks. Sometimes it seems like just simple fun, but then you start listening harder and the words hit their mark perfectly, with lines so sharp they can cut right into you. Take, for instance, the song West Coast, a wonderful story of a lost lover;

And if you shake your heart enough she will appear
Tonight I think I’ll be staying here
And you never did like this town
I talk out loud like you’re still around

I don’t remember the last time a singer’s feelings seemed quite so familiar.

You get a lot of bang for your buck on this one, too. Order online and you get a special bonus gift. Originally it was Polaroids taken by Jason himself, but due to the overwhelming response they’re a little less personal now. Plus, there is an alternate version of every track after the album proper. Not to mention that, if you put the disk into your computer, you’ll get to see the music video for West Coast.
I think if I have any complaint at all, it’s that the extra tracks are a bit much. I mean, it is really cool at first to hear different mixes of all the songs, but it’s every single track. So if you want to just sit back and listen to the album, I suggest burning the listed tracks onto a disk. The bonus tracks don’t quite fit together as a cohesive album. Not too big a deal, but I kind of wish the extra tracks had been put on a second disk or were part of a bonus digital download. It’s a minor detail, and I’m not going to turn down the extras.

In the end, this is definitely going in my top 5 albums this year. Get yourself a copy of this album, you’ll be listening to it for years to come. I really hope there’s another Coconut Records album in the works.