"fashionably uninvited" - mellowdrone
the quiet fury in this song pleases the passive aggressiveness in me. oh hey. mellow. . .drone. i'm an idiot. very mellow song.
"anonanimal" - andrew bird
love you a. bird. he is probably my favorite singer/songwriter at the moment. almost all of his songs have some quality that reminds me of autumn. this song is so crisp.
"grounds for divorce" - elbow
as a dear friend put it, "it's an enigma, wrapped in a whatthefuck?" while i don't feel quite as incredulous, i agree that this song is enigmatic. and i love it. i love ambiguity in songs, and this is an excellent example of when it works.
"like or like like" - miniature tigers
such a nice rhythm. and any song that has the word "goon" in the first line gets props. this is a new band for me, so i'll have to do some more research!
"the warm currents pull" - blind man's colour
this may be the most visually suggestive song i have ever heard. i would like to have someone listen to it and see what they got from it without knowing the title, because i went in knowing the title and i thought it was a perfect fit. it IS the pull of currents. and a very refreshing band.
"hoppipolla" - sigur ros
i feel really lame that i first heard about sigur ros through an interview with chris martin, but there it is. iceland has been hiding a talent. not really. i just said that to sound cool and dramatic. sorry for using you like that, iceland. by the way, i have no freaking idea what the lyrics or title are. and i have no intention to find a translation.
"seaweed" - fruit bats
songs like this make me pick up my guitar and try to teach myself. it only lasts a few hours, but that's pretty powerful considering how impatient i am with things like that. this song soothes. and while the lyrics are a little ehhh in parts, it's endearing.
"cape cod kwassa kwassa" - vampire weekend
vamp! this is not my favorite song by them, but it's up there. on the way back from big bear, han/hilary and i were talking about them. i very much agreed with han's remark that there is not really any other band to compare them too. they are just vampire weekend. so different
"skinny love" - bon iver
my my my. two words: hauntingly beautiful. this is by far my favorite bon iver song.
"the violet hour" - sea wolf
the beginning inspires true guitar worship. it's just so simple and so nice. what a horrible description, but that's the best i can do right now. sea wolf should really be much bigger than they are.
"a history of lovers" - iron & wine with calexico
loooove this fusion. folk + spanish. who knew? i suspect that sam beam would mix well with just about any genre, though, simply because he is Sam Beam. but this was an excellent partnership, and i love this cd.
"circles" - as tall as lions
i have to thank. . .the la times? for writing about as tall as lions in that arts magazine that gets published every so often. because this band is out 0f control mellow-awesome.
"suedehead" - morrissey
this is the man. the legend. he is to me what bono is to some people. or. . . cher? i guess it depends what crowd you run with. anyway, this man is it. and this song is my favorite by him. although with the smiths, it's a completely different story.
sweet disposition" - the temper trap
thank you, hannah. this is one of my favorite songs that i've heard this year. it's enchanting in a totally non-stupid way. . . i feel like i need to clarify because "enchanting" is one of those dangerous 'always sounds sarcastic' words.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
newly acquired! 12/26 cd
god, i love itunes gift cards. like, we're in a relationship. too far?
"bittersweet symphony" - the verve
i couldn't believe i didn't own this song already. i mean, seriously. this is one of those expansive songs that just takes over the room. and once you hear richard ashcroft sing "bi-tter-sweet-symph-o-nyyy" IT WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR HEAD.
"sahara wind" - ryan farish
would you call this trance? i would. and i'm loving it. ryan farish's music seems like one long cd, but in a good way. every song seems like a limb of another.
"take on me" - a-ha
again, why did i only just buy this? such a classic. i apologize, 80s. but that's really more my parent's failing. this is such a quintessential 80s song. and band.
"the trapeze swinger" - my man sam beam
for some reason, i always say this song is by sam beam, not iron & wine. this song seems too personal to credit to a band name. such beautiful language and imagery. this song is a poem.
"blood bank" - bon iver
i'm relatively late on the bon iver front. but now i am jumping right in, because he is a freaking artist. his new ep? ridiculous. i think this song perfectly displays the smokiness in his voice. . .and i mean smoky in the sort of charcoal-y sense. that's what it reminds me of - charcoal. good charcoal. beautiful charcoal.
"woods" - bon iver
say what. bon iver meets the auto tune. i'm bemused. i'm befuddled. this is a challenging song, which is why i bought it. i'm divided about 70 30 percent. not sure which way though, yet.
"cold drivers" - trances arc
trances arc. when i first read about you in a magazine, i expected (of course) trance music. maybe about an arc. however, you do good old alternative rock and you do it well.
"psychic city (voodoo city) - y4cht
i'm pretty sure y4cht is a cult. and if they keep making songs as catchy as this one i might join. advice: do not listen to the vocals in summer song. they ruin the song, in my opinion. lyrics in psychic city are alright. sorry to get off-song. ha
SIDE NOTE: the video for this song is ridiculous. i can't describe it better than that.
"black mission goggles" - man man
man man is so refreshing even as the vocalist is screaming in my ear. in two words: catchy/gruff. so very gruff. this song is like a bear singing with a choir of elves. in a good way.
"engrish bwudd" - man man
out there in the best possible way. i get a very moulin rouge flair from this one. again, very refreshing.
"i summon you" - spoon
i've been an admirer of this song for ages. it got to be a little ridiculous though. . . i just played the youtube video where someone used the song for a class project over and over again. i love the underlying beat. it's impossible to remain detached.
"don't you evah" - spoon
again, impossible to remain detached from this song. it just sucks you in. that's what she said. stop. i want to buy "ga ga ga ga ga" but i already own half the songs so it seems like that'd be an unsound decision.
"pink moon" - nick drake
another genius that i'm a bit late for. i feel like nick drake and elliot smith should have been best friends.
"the scientist" - vitamin string quartet
best. idea. ever. i usually get all sanctimonious about covers, but this hardly falls in that category. it's just too damn good.
"don't panic" - vitamin string quartet
favorite coldplay song + vitamin string = obsession. seriously, i listened to this song maybe 10 times in a row the other day. it's just as beautiful as the original, but in a different way. listen to it and you will understand.
"bittersweet symphony" - the verve
i couldn't believe i didn't own this song already. i mean, seriously. this is one of those expansive songs that just takes over the room. and once you hear richard ashcroft sing "bi-tter-sweet-symph-o-nyyy" IT WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR HEAD.
"sahara wind" - ryan farish
would you call this trance? i would. and i'm loving it. ryan farish's music seems like one long cd, but in a good way. every song seems like a limb of another.
"take on me" - a-ha
again, why did i only just buy this? such a classic. i apologize, 80s. but that's really more my parent's failing. this is such a quintessential 80s song. and band.
"the trapeze swinger" - my man sam beam
for some reason, i always say this song is by sam beam, not iron & wine. this song seems too personal to credit to a band name. such beautiful language and imagery. this song is a poem.
"blood bank" - bon iver
i'm relatively late on the bon iver front. but now i am jumping right in, because he is a freaking artist. his new ep? ridiculous. i think this song perfectly displays the smokiness in his voice. . .and i mean smoky in the sort of charcoal-y sense. that's what it reminds me of - charcoal. good charcoal. beautiful charcoal.
"woods" - bon iver
say what. bon iver meets the auto tune. i'm bemused. i'm befuddled. this is a challenging song, which is why i bought it. i'm divided about 70 30 percent. not sure which way though, yet.
"cold drivers" - trances arc
trances arc. when i first read about you in a magazine, i expected (of course) trance music. maybe about an arc. however, you do good old alternative rock and you do it well.
"psychic city (voodoo city) - y4cht
i'm pretty sure y4cht is a cult. and if they keep making songs as catchy as this one i might join. advice: do not listen to the vocals in summer song. they ruin the song, in my opinion. lyrics in psychic city are alright. sorry to get off-song. ha
SIDE NOTE: the video for this song is ridiculous. i can't describe it better than that.
"black mission goggles" - man man
man man is so refreshing even as the vocalist is screaming in my ear. in two words: catchy/gruff. so very gruff. this song is like a bear singing with a choir of elves. in a good way.
"engrish bwudd" - man man
out there in the best possible way. i get a very moulin rouge flair from this one. again, very refreshing.
"i summon you" - spoon
i've been an admirer of this song for ages. it got to be a little ridiculous though. . . i just played the youtube video where someone used the song for a class project over and over again. i love the underlying beat. it's impossible to remain detached.
"don't you evah" - spoon
again, impossible to remain detached from this song. it just sucks you in. that's what she said. stop. i want to buy "ga ga ga ga ga" but i already own half the songs so it seems like that'd be an unsound decision.
"pink moon" - nick drake
another genius that i'm a bit late for. i feel like nick drake and elliot smith should have been best friends.
"the scientist" - vitamin string quartet
best. idea. ever. i usually get all sanctimonious about covers, but this hardly falls in that category. it's just too damn good.
"don't panic" - vitamin string quartet
favorite coldplay song + vitamin string = obsession. seriously, i listened to this song maybe 10 times in a row the other day. it's just as beautiful as the original, but in a different way. listen to it and you will understand.
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