rare: Sufjan Stevens
Looks like you all loved the post on Sufjan Stevens' "Borderline." Judging from the traffic, anyways, because there were no comments.
Here's another rarity from an old Blue Bunny compilation called 8.21. It was released in 2000 and features Sufjan, Soul Junk, and more bands that I've never heard of. The track is called "Woman at the Well," and it's very pretty. I don't think enough has been said about Stevens' voice. It's not immediately striking and he's not an amazing singer, but what he has is perfect. Every word is weighted and deliberate, crafted and presented with care. Each whisper and each peak feels perfectly placed. And let's not forget about his ghostly falsetto that's been appearing more and more, always to great effect.
From 8.21 a Blue Bunny Compilation (you can still buy this bad boy! It also features a Sufjan song called "Far Physician's Son.")
Sufjan Stevens - Woman at the Well
***
NME has unveiled this year's Coachella lineup! Day 1 is looking pretty damn sick, with The Walkmen, Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, My Morning Jacket, Animal Collective, and CYHSY!... plus like 100 others. Day 2's not bad either, with Tool and James Blunt... I mean with Art Brut, Wolf Parade, Bloc Party, and the YYY's. Wish I could go.
Music Cherry has a new Wilco tune, apparently Wilco will make a soul record next? Word.
Enjoy!
Wilco
I want to post these Wilco songs, and I'm not entirely sure why. For starters, they're both absolutely, beautifully perfect.
Factoid: Wilco is the best American band today. I mean it in the international-forum sense, the way we talk about the best American literature or something. Think about it - their music is challenging, exciting, accessible and acclaimed. They're beyond hip, beyond relevance, beyond music. I kid you not.
But really, they've been stuck in my head today and nothing else will do. I hope you're familiar with them already, and if not you're in for a treat.
From Being There (buy):
Wilco - Misunderstood
Wilco - Sunken Treasure
***
The Rich Girls are Weeping has that special Jenny Lewis track exclusive to the 7" split with Whispertown 2000. Maybe I should start a band-naming workshop. Or maybe I should turn this blog into a Rich Girls... fansite, seeing as it puts this site to shame on a daily basis.
Tune in to UPN on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 9:00pm (like you do normally) and see Spoon's lanky, happy-footed frontman Britt Daniel make an appearance on Veronica Mars. I don't even know what that is.
Enjoy.
quick news update:Page France will be releasing Pear and Sister Pinecone on April 11. Pre-orders are being taken for the 8-song and 6-song EPs, respectively. I'm not sure if those will ship early, as Fall Records suggested before, so you'd best order and cross your fingers and see.
Veritas Lux Mea reports that Ryan from Muzzle of Bees tried to get my girlfriend's phone number last night at the Feist/Jason Collett show in Madison. But seriously, cool pics and an mp3 at Muzzle of Bees.
Enjoy.
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
Why do I feel like I'm the last one to show up at this party, despite the fact that this album was released less than a week ago? Anyways, that's neither here nor there.
Jenny Lewis fascinates me. She strikes me as a complex and unusual person, undeniably gorgeous and truly, wonderfully strange. Her lyrics about insecurities and hardship are interesting, and hint at the complications of her personality, but it's her presentation that really deserves attention. It's the seeming disparity between the pretty face and the shouted curses, the songs titled "Rise Up With Fists!!!" and the conviction behind lines like "metal rods you put in your fucking jaw to keep you from grinding your teeth at night!!" It's this combination that shows her complexities, and enthralls me.
Her solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, is quite a nice listen, all confessional country twang. My interest wandered at points, but I found myself drawn back in by the Watson Twins' lovely backing vocals. I think Lewis benefits from these solid, stronger moments, which are also the times when the record sounds most like a dusty old country LP. They're the perfect medium for Lewis to tell her strange tales of fear, love, and affirmation; belting it out loud and proud.
From Rabbit Fur Coat (buy):
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - The Big Guns
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rise Up With Fists!!!
And the crazy song with the line I mentioned earlier, from Saddle Creek 50 (buy):
Rilo Kiley - Jenny You're Barely Alive
***
Do you guys read McSweeney's? It's pure treasure, man.
Enjoy.
b-sides: Sufan Stevens
It's only 10:00 in the morning and I'm already inspired! Thanks mostly to Each Note Secure, who has posted a brand new Sufjan Stevens song from the upcoming Asthmatic Kitty compilation, Mews Too. It is much appreciated!
The tune, called "Opie's Funeral Song," actually isn't brand new. This is its first studio recording, but I have a live recording from 2003 at Judson College, soon after the release of Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State. It's got a preamble as well, in which Sufjan (Soof-yan as he says) reveals that it's about the death of a foster kid in middle school whom nobody really knew, and how the death was a revelation for the students. It's got some very interesting lyrics, about fire in trees and holes in our heads, and being invited for once. You make it beautiful, friend.
live at Judson College, 11/19/2003:
Sufjan Stevens - Opie's Funeral Song (live)
Looking for this song, I discovered some other relevant Sufjan rarities, including some tracks from the first Asthmatic Kitty compilation, To Spirit Back the Mews. Stevens contributed four tracks to the disc, which vary considerably and wonderfully. "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" is what I'd like to call "classic" Sufjan, but clearly that's impossible given the distinct nature of each of his albums. It's Sufjan acoustic and hushed, with some pretty keyboard flourishes at the end. But like all his music, it isn't exactly relaxed. At the other end of the spectrum is "The First Full Moon," a thoroughly electronic affair akin to the more experimental Enjoy Your Rabbit, but still accessible. As with his other songs, it's got a progression which repeats ad infinitum, only reworked and distorted throughout the song. Something about it seems a bit amateur, but not in a bad way - I'd say that has only made it more endearing.
From To Spirit Back The Mews (buy):
Sufjan Stevens - God'll Ne'er Let You Down
Sufjan Stevens - The First Full Moon
And while we're at it, here's the gorgeous "Borderline" from The Dress Looks Nice on You 7" in all it's warm crackly vinyl glory. This is a favorite - if only I could find a copy of this single.
Sufjan Stevens - Borderline
***
Angels Twenty has an old Feist song!
Hey, I posted a Joy Division cover yesterday! Looks like Chromewaves copied me, he's got Low's rendition of "Transmission." I love Chromewaves.
And I gotta recommend Annie Proulx's Close Range, from whence the short story "Brokeback Mountain" came. Not that it's real similar, but these Wyoming stories remind me of how much I loved Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy.
Enjoy!
Calexico
While there exist ~9243025 covers of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart," Calexico's is my favorite. It's all associations: I listened to it every hot clear morning this summer while riding my bike to school, and it was perfect. The cyclical melody is pure motion, all forward momentum like a heartbeat. To be honest, I prefer this wide-open version to the original - but again it's pretty personal. Join me in this sacrilege, give it a listen.
From some Starbucks valentine comp:
Calexico - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)
Iron & Wine - AB's Song (Marshall Tucker Band)
***
Hey! Right when I had given up on him, Welcome to the Midwest returns! Hooray!
I just got Cat Power today. It's real good. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so! I love Overcompensating and so should you.
Enjoy.
Laura Veirs
As a geology student, I'd like to think I can appreciate Laura Veirs' songs on some special, secret-handshake level, for she was (is?) a geologist as well. Fortunately, that's not at all true; her songs resonate simply because they're beautiful. It's like good literature, it has universal appeal because it's human. And while Veirs uses wonderfully specific geologic metaphors, they're just that - metaphors. It doesn't take an academic to understand and appreciate lines about being "slain by your olivine eyes" or waiting on the "caldera's edge." The inevitable earthiness of Veirs' songs betray an honesty akin to being exposed, in a very natural sense.
From Year of Meteors (buy):
Laura Veirs - Magnetized
Laura Veirs - Spelunking
***
Woohoo! The Rich Girls are Weeping has some very special cuts from The Elected's EP that shipped with Sun, Sun, Sun preorders.
Goodbye, Grandaddy. You've been good to us!
From the Signal to Snow Ratio EP:
Grandaddy - Protected From the Rain
gorgeous.
Enjoy!
Happiness At All Times mix:
Here are a few cuts from a cheer-up mix I made. These are the important ones, hopefully you'll enjoy them too. I've become overwhelmed with the number of new bands all over the interweb, and indeed even with the bands I already know that have released new material. So this is writing about songs I know well and love, which is what I hope to do more often.
Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church - I'm Going Home (buy)
Sacred harp music, a bunch of backwoods folk singing loud harmonies, fascinates me. The voices are terrifying, full of conviction and joy and whatever inevitable insanity results from that combination. This music scares the Hell out of me, but then again that's probably the point. I listen to this and I want to believe with such fervor that I'm going home too, and that it will be wonderful when I do.
The Microphones - The Moon (buy)
I suggest everyone listen to this, lest we forget how brilliant this band was. As long as there is music, there will be attempts to approximate natrual sounds with instruments, with varying levels of success. I've always felt that Phil Elverum was a step beyond this, with the ability to capture the distinct and powerful feeling of being somewhere, anywhere, outdoors. Nothing comes as close to feeling like fresh air or mountain wind or cool grass, as Microphones songs. "The Moon" is one of the best, a rush of air over black peaks - under the "glowing ball of rock" of course. And besides evoking the natural, Elverum's lyrics beautifully illustrate human emotions.
The Books - Enjoy Your Worries, You May Never Have Them Again (buy)
I'm amazed that two men can compile samples and live instrumentation to make such touching, human music, entirely without lyrics. This song in particular stands out, beginning with an unsettled and pensive melody and losing its patience. After that it reconsiders and exhales and things begin to swirl and illuminate into a wonderful, celebratory ending.
***
Did you guys see the Pitchfork feature on religion in indie rock, featuring my boy Page France? It's interesting stuff.
Chromewaves has new Neko Case! Does anybody remember when she won some Playboy indie-rock-hot-chick contest, or am I just making that up (entirely possible)?
And did I just link to Playboy?
My Yellow Country Teeth has some new Pretty Girls Make Graves and a good story to boot.
Enjoy.
Liars
Years ago, when dancepunk was gaining momentum, I discovered Liars. They were abrasive and irresistable, decidedly more eccentric than, say, the Rapture. When their second album came out to disappointing reviews, often hinting at "unlistenable," I didn't even take the chance.
As they prepare for the release of their third long-player, Drum's Not Dead, I wonder if that was a mistake. Because listening to "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack," any preconceived notions about the band's sound have been thrown out, and I'm floored. It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. "If you need me/ I can always be found," assures singer Angus Andrews in the most convincing and comforting fashion. The music is a slow procession, glimmering underneath him. It's all surreal, like a calming dream. Here's to hoping "Heart Attack" isn't just an anomaly in this "difficult" band's repertoire.
From Drum's Not Dead (out Feb 20. buy Liars here)
Liars - The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack
Enjoy.
news: Page France
I just got word from Fall Records that Page France won't be releasing an EP this February - he'll be releasing TWO!!
Along with Pear, we'll have Sister Pinecone. AT THE SAME TIME! So go get 'em tiger - naturally, there's a deal when you order both.
Enjoy!
The Rich Girls are Weeping + new Hold SteadyCheck out The Rich Girls are Weeping, a new and wonderful mp3 blog. Professional stuff, it is. She's posted some of the new Colin Meloy solo material (eh), as well as some other treasures by Cat Power, The New Pornographers, and Josh Ritter. Seriously, it's treasure.
My greatest discovery at TRGAW, however, was an unreleased Hold Steady track, from the Separation Sunday sessions. It's called "Hot Fries," and it's awesome.
The Hold Steady - Hot Fries
And get this: according to their redesigned site, they've got some new songs on iTunes! Studio versions of "Modesto Is Not That Sweet" and "You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came
To The Dance With)"
I posted some mp3's of radio versions of these songs and more awhile back.
Buy some Hold Steady here, and make a friend.
Enjoy!
Dan DeMaria
Oh boy! Dan DeMaria is a true student of pop music. It's clear that he's got energy and ideas to spare, but listen to how he implements them. It's classical training for the indie pop set: keys like alarms, vocals backed with shouts, and the moxie to go for broke with the upper-register heartbreakers. He's got the passion to pull it off, and I know for a fact this guy can jam on guitar.
So, in anticipation of Friday and everything after (fun), check it out:
Dan DeMaria - Crab (this one might be newest. it's my fav!)
Dan DeMaria - Your Body's A Temple
Befriend him on HisSpace and hear some more.
Enjoy!
buy: Page FranceIt's your duty to pre-order the first of Page France's three EPs scheduled for 2006 release. Unless, you know, that's not your scene. Entitled Pear, it features eight tracks and will ship by mid-February (although I suspect earlier). Heads up for a new track to be posted soon!
Pre-order Pear here + enjoy!
The Elected
I don't want to frame this in the context of a Jenny Lewis vs. Blake Sennett album debate, as others have before and will continue to do. I think it's clear that J-Lew will get more press and more sales than The Elected. She's a gorgeous, sweet singer. He's short and moustachioed (nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't translate as well).
I will say, however, that I am incredibly eager to hear Sun, Sun, Sun. I think my appreciation for Sennett as a singer/songwriter began when I saw Rilo Kiley in L.A. this summer. "Ripchord" stood out to me then, as it had never done on the album, as a very good song. The vocals revealed themselves to be more than the precious whispers I had always written them off as, coming off as wonderfully strange and heartfelt. After that I gave The Elected a chance, and found the songs from Me First to be similarly good.
Soon, tracks from Sun, Sun, Sun began to leak, and I was really hooked. They rocked so unafraid, so easy and so awesome. The unironic saxophones, the solos, the harmonies - it all added up to music bigger than anybody's been making for years. It's the classic rock station playing while nobody's talking during the best part of the drive, when everything is wide-open. God, I can't wait.
From Sun, Sun, Sun (buy):
The Elected - Not Going Home (this is what I'm talking about.)
The Elected - Biggest Star (yeaaaaaahhhhhh.)
The Elected - Fireflies In A Steel Mill (the last minute is perfection.)
Dig the album cover, too.
Enjoy.
new: Pretty Girls Make Graves
How did this slip under my radar? I love Pretty Girls! They've got the follow up to The New Romance coming out, titled Elan Vital. Except with an accent over the "E" (don't know how to do that). PGMG is a band of amazingly proficient musicians, but perhaps more impressive than their technical wizardry is their ability to make it so listenable. These aren't self-indulgent virtuosos, they know how to wield their skills to make songs urgent, catchy, and interesting.
From Elan Vital:
Pretty Girls Make Graves - The Nocturnal House
And one of my favorites, from The New Romance (buy):
Pretty Girls Make Graves - All Medicated Geniuses
I have to thank Goose for hooking me up. If you haven't, check out the resurrected Veritas Lux Mea, which puts this site to shame. I know, I know, where are the hot girl pictures here? I'm sorry.
Enjoy.
UPDATE:
éééééééé
Any Press is Good Press: Straiht Wikid CrewI honestly don't know where to begin. That's how stupefied I am. I'll just give you the facts (other bloggers have probably heard from this guy too):
Jason Fladlien is a Hare Krsna monk from Iowa and a member of the Straiht Wikid Crew. He describes himself as "mactacular," a rapper making music intended to "change your mind state." Apparently the "fun and dirty" nature of his songs has found them an audience in local strip clubs.
Without further ado, from Kali Yuga Demolition, vol. 1:
Straiht Wikid Crew - Dirty Dancin
...I think he's serious. I'm not gonna say a word. And yes, I realize my patronizing demeanor is bad enough.
Umm... enjoy?
impossibly cool: Catbird Records
The Catbirdseat was one of the first music blogs I read, and remains one of my very favorite. He doesn't post every day, and when he does there are only a couple songs, so his recommendations are strong by default.
Now Catbird Records has started, four releases strong, and I'm addicted. From Pet Politics' thick, wonderfully retro melodies to Get Him Eat Him's infectious advanced pop, Catbird is on to something.
From Pet Politics' In My Head EP (buy):
Pet Politics - The Ghost Mary And Her Friends
From Get Him Eat Him's Do As I Tell You EP (buy):
Get Him Eat Him - Exposure
---
In fantastically unrelated news, Eamon Hamilton has left his post as British Sea Power keyboardist to concentrate on his band, Brakes. This isn't so sad, as Brakes seem to be an awesome band, and things remain amicable between the band and the departer.
From Give Blood (buy):
Brakes - Heard About Your Band
Enjoy!
show: Camera Obscura
This was a happy accident. Going out for a drink tonight, we found out Camera Obscura were playing at our student union. We walked in without paying (rebel rebel!) before they came on and caught four or five songs, but then karma came quickly and my headache began to kill, and we left. I had never really heard the band before, and was pleasantly surprised, their songs sound much better live than on record (they're a bit too fey for my taste). My flatmate with the pictures on his camera is still out, so I guess I have no proof that this ever happened. Take it on trust.
From Underachievers Please Try Harder (buy):
Camera Obscura - Suspended From Class This song was great live, the clever chorus was even more powerful and the entire thing sounded wonderfully urgent.
From Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (buy):
Camera Obscura - Anti-Western Boy/girl vocals are always lovely. They played this one as well.
I wish my head didn't throb.
Enjoy!
P.S. Hooray for Edinburgh's bloggers! Welcome Cross Processed!
The StrokesI haven't heard First Impressions of Earth aside from "Juicebox" (ehh) and this track, which I love. "You Only Live Once" is the Strokes at their best, impossibly tight and impassioned (the real kicker). I like Casablancas' attempts to vary his delivery as well, it works here.
From First Impressions Of Earth (buy):
The Strokes - You Only Live Once
Enjoy.
I Am A ScientistLet me put this out there: I don't like We Are Scientists all that much. I am surprised at the hype they've been getting, and the popularity they've found (especially here in the UK). For me, it's definitely a case of "heard it before," and frankly jerkypopindie hasn't impressed me since Hot Hot Heat's Make Up The Break Down all those years ago.
Does anybody else feel the same, or am I a lost cause?
From With Love And Squalor (just look at those kittens. whatever dudes.):
We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
We Are Scientists - Can't Lose
Am I right or am I right? No? Okay.
$Enjoy$.
new: Catfish HavenI just got word from rbally saying he's got a Catfish Haven track from a Bloodshot Records compilation. It's called "Tell Me" and it rocks.
Go get it!
If you like The National, check out these very recent live videos shot and edited by Vincent Moon.
Enjoy.
The Foxymorons
Yeah, I know Pitchfork reviewed them today. Yeah, that's why I'm writing about them. Bands with two singers are usually excellent (think Wrens, Wolf Parade), and the Foxymorons are no different. Well, different than those bands but still good. You know what I mean. It's power pop, but it's got something else thrown in (I hear old emo. Eh?). Lovely, really.
From Hesitation Eyes:
The Foxymorons - Hesitation Eyes (recommended!)
The Foxymorons - I'm Still In Love
The Foxymorons - Bending Back
The Foxymorons - Harvard Hands
These guys have been around for a while, check out some tracks from a cover album they've put together:
The Foxymorons - September Gurls (Big Star)
The Foxymorons - Come On Over Baby (Christina Aguilera)
The Foxymorons - 100% (Sonic Youth)
Go order stuff! And enjoy!
And, speaking of P-Fork reviews, are hipster heads heated over the Morningwood slam? I know, I know, I don't care either, but I can't say I didn't see it coming, and can't say I disagree either. Hmm.
Finian McKean
Waiting for the full-length Shades Are Drawn to arrive, I honestly didn't know what to expect from Finian McKean. Would it sound like the sublimely languorous "Shades Are Drawn," or would it be more akin to "Black Hole," a more paranoid rocker? I preferred the former - I can remember hearing it for the first time, reveling when it broke into its wide-open, sunny groove. It made me think of an old standby, kind-of-Elephant-Six-ers Summer Hymns, not so much as a reference for its sound, but for the reaction it stirred in me.
I'm happy to say the record doesn't really sound like one or the other. It's varied and interesting while maintaining a charmingly scruffy identity. One minute McKean's impressing with genuine classic rock riffs, and the next it's pure pop bliss. It's a blend of styles, but none of it feels put-on or affected. "Nuthin' Matters" is a good example of this: you may have heard it before but its immediate likeability, its familiarity, makes that irrelevant. It's a tune you can truly enjoy, it doesn't take a certain mood and it doesn't take close listening for it to reveal itself. Give it a try.
From Shades Are Drawn (buy)
Finian McKean - Shades Are Drawn
Finian McKean - Nuthin' Matters
Enjoy!
The Clientele:
This one has hit me full-force: I've fallen in love with the Clientele. I'd like to be romantic and attribute it to my tenure here in the UK, walking around in the grey and the cold and understanding Alasdair MacLean's quintessentially English stories of loneliness and emptiness. But really, it's because I've listened closely, and I think the band has improved. The recently released Strange Geometry finds the band more concise and more urgent, a welcome and impressive addition to their signature sound. The songs have a subtle yet unsettling undercurrent which infuses MacLean's dreamy lyrics with moments that are best described as "lucid, and so creepy," to borrow from the songwriter himself.
From Strange Geometry (buy it on vinyl and get the mp3s free!):
The Clientele - Since K Got Over Me
The Clientele - (I Can't Seem To) Make You Mine
Pitchfork posted a very interesting interview with the band today, so go read up.
I wish I had paid them more attention when they opened for Spoon.
Enjoy!
findings: Page France
First and foremost, we found the monster:
We couldn't, however, find the heart to kill it.
Secondly, I found new Page France songs. Actually, I found them indirectly, so thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for compiling them. They consist of nine unreleased gems which band leader Michael Nau posted on this MySpace page recently, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine." It's nothing stunning, but still lovely.
Page France - I'll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan cover)
Those of you who like Page France will have hopefully found these tracks from the band's debut, Come, I'm A Lion. It's interesting to hear songs which aren't meant to be part of Hello Dear Wind's conceptual tapestry.
From Come, I'm A Lion:
Page France - Ryhthm
Page France - Air Pollution
And if that isn't enough, wait a month and we'll have a new Page France EP, Pear! And a 7" for the collectorbots.
Enjoy!
The 'Tide You Over' Mix, or, Don't Miss Me Too Much
I'm going on a highlands adventure tomorrow morning, and I'll be back Sunday. You have my word that I will find that monster, and kill it.
Until then, here's a mix of songs I find very in the now, or, you know, whatever:
01. The Clientele - My Own Face Inside The Trees (buy)
I've had this Clientele song for a month or two, and am ashamed to admit that it took me this long to realize that IT IS PERFECT.
02. Get Him Eat Him - Exposure (buy)
You may know Matt LeMay from the Pitchfork staff. That's not why I care about his band, Get Him Eat Him. I care because of Get Sammiches Eat Sammiches.
03. Beerjacket - These Planes Won't Fly (buy)
I'm excited to present Beerjacket to you. Look for a proper post once I get back! This song is wonderful.
04. Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats (Knife cover) (buy)
Jose is coming to Edinburgh next month and I am, like, so there!
05. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Details of the War (buy)
CYHYSYHSADFDFS is coming to Edinburgh next month, a day after Jose, and I am Oh My God so there!
06. Voxtrot - The Start of Something (buy)
I am happy to say that I love this Voxtrot song after being a little disappointed with the other two I've heard. You see? I'm hip too.
Well that's a short mix.
I'm off to watch some of this. It is the funniest thing I've seen in a long, long time. Go sign a useless pledge to keep the show "in our lives" (reruns) on the show's Fox website.
Enjoy!
Regina Spektor
Will somebody explain to me what anti-folk is? I've tried to comprehend the descriptions I read, but can't make the connections. Regina Spektor is the postergirl for the New York scene (as far as I can tell), and I've fallen in love since discovering her last year. Her voice is gorgeous, ranging from playful to heartbreaking, often within the same song. Her New York accent is displayed proudly over her twinkling piano in songs like "Somedays," which for me evokes some weird, surreal scene of a beautiful voice rising above apartments in the city. Something I would imagine as a play.
Perhaps my favorite Spektor song is "Us," a fantastic, thrillingly paced tune which I can only assume is about her and me. Wonderful.
From Soviet Kitsch:
Regina Spektor - Somedays
Regina Spektor - Us
I just found out she's coming to Edinburgh in February. I am excitement!
Enjoy!
Josh Ritter + "ten minute" mix
Ten minutes is a long time for an song to keep the average listener's interest. If it succeeds, however, the result is something to cherish. Epic songs are rewarding in a unique way, and now Idaho native Josh Ritter has one for the canon. "Thin Blue Flame" will appear on Ritter's next long-player, The Animal Years, due out this spring. It's an urgent and direct song, its verses backed by building repetition of two chords ("Heroin," anyone?), with Ritter's beautifully impassioned vocals holding the listener's attention. "Thin Blue Flame" joins Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" and more recently Iron & Wine's "The Trapeze Swinger" as the type of sweeping, grandiose piece that leaves the listener breathless and with a slightly romantic idealistic feeling. The feeling that what you've just heard was the most important thing in the world.
Josh Ritter - Thin Blue Flame
Tacked-on bonus: Ten Minute Mix:
From the In Good Company soundtrack:
Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
From Grace:
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Enjoy!
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a great one. Hogmanay (the new year celebration) in Edinburgh is massive is all that I'll say. I treated myself to some compact discs when I was home in California, and now I share them with you:
Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers (buy)
This was playing in the record shop when I was browsing, and I decided to give it a go. I'm a lyrics guy, and David Berman is a poet (literally), so why not? "Punks In The Beerlight" is a recent favorite. I love you to the max!
Silver Jews - Punks In The Beerlight
Four Tet - Everything Ecstatic (buy)
This was one of those albums I'd been considering buying forever, and that day I put an end to the indecision. "Smile Around The Face" is the jam!
Four Tet - Smile Around The Face
The Constantines - Shine A Light (buy)
I guess Tournament Of Hearts doesn't actually exist, because I've yet to see a physical copy. And believe me, I've been looking. So, I picked up the famed Shine A Light and am nothing but impressed. The Constantines are absolutely menacing, just check out "Goodbye Baby & Amen." It's got an unsettling dark undercurrent and an alarm guitar, but what really makes me fear it is the saxophones that just don't mean well.
The Constantines - Goodnight Baby & Amen
The Rosebuds - Birds Make Good Neighbors (buy)
Thanks to Anne for this one. It's been blogged a million times and I'm not sure I've got anything great to add, so I'll just say that I really like it. Okay?
The Rosebuds - Leaves Do Fall
Grizzly Bear - The Horn Of Plenty + The Remixes (buy)
I remember writing that I wasn't sure what separated this from the mass of samey lo-fi folk music out there, but for some reason I really liked it. I still don't know.
Grizzly Bear - A Good Place
Enjoy 2006! And check out Indie For Dummies' super best-of-the-blogs 2005 album list. Featuring yours truly!
