9.30.2010

i am in full support of what these young gentlemen are up to:

9.29.2010

it's pretty blippy.

i kind of dig it though.

9.28.2010

so, yeah, i'm on a bit of a sad bastard songs kick.

nothing wrong with that sort of thing.

anyway, i've posted a couple of other songs from dan mangan on here. here's a third.

i'm oddly a sucker for the lines: "this is good, but as far as i can tell / it's still heavy as hell when it's good."

here's hoping i'm not alone on this one. i'll try to step out of all of the maudlin tomorrow.

laura marling

just hit the youtube and watch this chick sing a few songs.

sitting with a guitar and a mic, she gets it done.

she is, in fact, legit.

9.27.2010

hell of a voice.

9.26.2010

so, i've been trawling the polaris prize shortlist for music.

here you go, the canadian tom petty:

9.25.2010

i'm definitely late to this whole thing.

micachu. the recorded stuff is interesting and, sometimes, inspired.

this, however, really caught my ear.

super english:

9.24.2010

have some new british sea power.

no big surprises here, but they remain consistently good.

9.23.2010

some hooky pop, right here:

9.22.2010

who likes time capsules? this guy!

yo, seriously, check out the morning benders.

damn.

referencial

the pharcyde video being referenced by the shad video posted below:

9.21.2010

more from shad, who i posted some time way back in june or so.

nerdy, canadian, hip-hop. yeah.

sometimes he overreaches, but i'm charmed.

9.20.2010

spent the 20th sick, on the couch, watching the first four episodes of treme. hell of show.

this particular mix of music, setting and dialog stands among the better pieces in the show so far, and is my "song" of the 20th.

9.19.2010

enjoy a bit of weird british rock trivia.

the la's, managed to implode, release a critically adored record that was pieced together by steve lillywhite from abandoned sessions, and then bad-mouth said record in the press.

the song that you should have known them for in 1988, had they not melted down:

post record release/lillywhite break (skip to about 3:00 if you don't want to sit through the somewhat combative interview):

9.18.2010

you know, i was never in on the whole feist thing. i was doubly not a fan of the song "1234."

however, this version of that song manages to strip out all of the over-reaching production and insipid, predictable percussion and just leave behind what is really a hell of a song. i'm indifferent to the second track in the video, but had this been the version of "1234" i first heard i might have been on that team.

patient, personal. good shit.

9.17.2010

fell momentarily behind again. the start of the new school year has thrown me off.

catch up time.

this track came up in a documentary i watched on friday, reminded me of how much i loved it when it hit in college and still dig it now.

9.16.2010

i am a sucker for the big, cliche rock maneuver.

9.15.2010

don't be distracted by the repetitive bellsandwhistlesness of the song or that it is at least a minute too long.

give it the time.

it's pretty good.

9.14.2010

what the shit?

william burroughs writing about led zeppelin and interviewing jimmy page. it gets odd.

at one point sonar dolphin communication is discussed.

in honor of that bit of weird, have some zeppelin:

9.13.2010

trotting out about every trite hip-hop trope they can get their hands on, kanye and the customary endless list of guests put this thing out onto the internet.

no wonder it makes me feel like i'm back in high school, driving with the windows down after work, listening to whatever comes on the top 40 radio.

i'm amused. although it is way too long at over five minutes.

9.12.2010

first: FOOTBALL. that is all.

second: i'm going to drop three songs today (the 14th) to make up for missing sunday and monday. been a bit busy.

third: here we go.

this track is springsteen as all getout. while i still haven't fully come around on "the boss" i do have a weakness for some particular markers of music quite similar to his.

i'm liking it.

9.11.2010

today's song(s) of the day is the abbey road medley.

walking home from a truly disappointing scotch tasting saved only by good company and a standby bar, "golden slumbers" came on and set my evening right.

some of my favorite moments from the band, right here.

make sure you stick around for "her majesty" at the end if you're among the few who aren't familiar.

9.10.2010

it's just, well, pleasant. that's a good thing.

9.9.2010

if desaparecidos weren't as good as they were:

9.8.2010

while i was a huge fan of alligator, and thought that boxer was a well-executed record, and have enjoyed a few songs from sad songs for dirty lovers, i never really cottoned to the national's most recent record, high violet.

i'm still not fully on board, but this is a pretty solid song (despite sounding like what a robot from the future would make if asked for a "national song"), and matt berninger's uncanny resemblance to a young, bearded william hurt in this video weirded me out enough to post it.

seriously. shave off twenty years.

...time travel. the only way.

also

you should go here and download this radiohead concert film. for free.

show was in prague the audience had flip cameras, cut the footage with the soundboard mix, and POW! concert film.

free.

radiohead.

go.

9.7.2010

john sent this one my way:



i'm a big fan of the long winters, specifically john roderick's melodies.

back to work

instructions from a trusted source:

trust.

9.6.2010

today i am 30. woo.

another track from the new les savy fav record, root for ruin.

it's pretty exceptional.

this track, in particular, fits with the turning 30ness of the day.

sounds like a pavement song, crosses back and forth over the line between bitter and sweet, hits heavily on the janus complex associated with growing up.

now, i will eat tacos and enjoy my last bit of leisure before school starts up again tomorrow.

enjoy the labor(less) day.

9.5.2010

failed to post yesterday as i spent most of the day on the couch...recovering.

so, what would have gone up:

9.4.2010

posting from my brother's phone at a drink up for my 30th birthday.

a fitting track.

9.3.2010

after the david bazan posting i've listened to a lot of pedro the lion today.

have some:

9.2.2010

meant to do this last night, but got in a little too late.

david bazan, of moderate notoriety for being the nucleus of pedro the lion, sings this little bit of something.

been stuck in my craw the last few days.

9.1.2010

had a brief bit of conversation about wilco over drinks tonight, so i'm digging into the file and pulling out a couple of favorites.

even if you stop by here to just hear something new, give 'em a listen. they are that good.

1.) it starts out confounding expectations with a lyric that is so dark as to throw off the weight of the major chord progression that props it up. what the song does, ultimately, is shuffle off its own structure and dissolve into something much grander. an intentionally broken song about being broken.

2.) "when i forget how to talk, i sing." this song is about a number of things that i'm sure you can decode, each of which is treated with grace and difficulty. while i do actually like the more upbeat numbers, this is easily among my favorite songs from summer teeth.

3.) it is tough to narrow down what would be my favorite song from this band.

i'm still partial to "i'm always in love", and have fond memories of my youngest brothers and singing the song "poor places." i will forever be laid low by the guitar heroics in the back half of "at least that's what you said." the raw, slow, diffused anger of "misunderstood"(incidentally, the end of that live version is fucking incredible) is often the first thing i start to toy with when i get the chance to plug a guitar into an amp.

but nothing from this band will ever fuck me up quite like "radio cure" did the first time around.

still does.

and once i can finally pry myself away from the emotional reaction i have to the song i start paying attention to how immaculately produced it is.

there are few things this good.