2009 2nd Quarter: Best in Music

I hate the formatting junk that is Blogger. It just makes me mad. I work all hard and this is what I get... You'll just have to use your brains to attach the right song with the right album art. Ddddddang!

Alright everyone. Here is the much sought after 2nd Quarter list of best music. I've been working on this one a lot more thoroughly than the last and am really digging each of these tracks and bands. I hope you enjoy. All or most can be found on Hype Machine as free/legal downloads. I can't vouch for each album, but if the rest of the album is this good you should buy all 23. I have only 4 so far, but my wishlist is growing. I'm going to compile a .zip folder with each track in it and if you are so inclined... let me know and I'll send one over to you via yousendit.com or somesuch thing. Sorry the layout's all funkdified... it's not my fault. Blame the codewriters at Blogger.

Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me in the Garden" from The Good Feeling Music of...

Japandroids - "Young Hearts Spark Fire" from Post-Nothing

Metric - "Help, I'm Alive" from Fantasies

St. Vincent - "The Strangers" from Actor

The Tallest Man On Earth - "The Sparrow and the Medicine" from Shallow Grave

Camera Obscura - "French Navy" from My Maudlin Career

Cursive - "From the Hips" from Mama, I'm Swollen

Death Cab For Cutie - "My Mirror Speaks" from The Open Door EP

The Antlers - "Bear" from Hospice (Thanks Brian... thought I Dan Deacon....ummm)

Fleet Foxes - "False Knight on the Road" from Mykonos (Single)

Flight of the Conchords - "Friends" from The Second Season (No release date or tracklist yet)

Heartless Bastards - "The Mountain" from The Mountain

Papercuts - "Future Primitive" from You Can Have What You Want

Royksopp - "Happy Up Here" from Junior

The Boxer Rebellion - "Soviets" from Union (Thanks Marc)

Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait for the Others" from Veckatimest

Iron and Wine - "God Made the Automobile" from Around the Well

Bishop Allen - "The Ancient Commonsense of Things" from Grrr...

Bowerbirds - "Northern Lights" from Upper Air

White Rabbits - "Percussion Gun" from It's Frightening

Say Hi - "Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh" from Ohs and Ahs

Fanfarlo - "The Walls are Coming Down" from Reservoir

Patrick Watson - "Beijing" from Wooden Arms

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Please buy this. I'm no salesman, but this is the album of the year in my mind. Nothing comes close.

A Word Hunt

A while back I started putting together a list of words that I loved. Sometimes based on their meaning (i.e. redemption), sometimes simply because they sound smooth/pretty/relaxing (i.e. cellar - rumored to be the prettiest word in the English language... ref.? anyone?)... something like that. My list ballooned to hold words like autumn and a homophonic permutation having nothing to do with the former except perhaps trees: ottoman. Others? Breeze, latte, wheat (think the Paloose), busking, ascetic, and it may sound cheesy or lovey-dovey, but I love the sound of my wife's name: Talia. Not Taa-leah, but Tuh-leah. Beautiful.

I started thinking about my fascination with beautiful words again the other day when I was listening to the new B-Sides/"Lost Songs"/Covers album by Iron and Wine called Around the Well. I kind of sort of have come to this conclusion that many of my favorite words have come from Sam Beam's pronunciation of them. This is a new category since I myself am not pronouncing them. When a word like "belated" enters my brain I think about shirked responsibility and apologies, however, when Mr. Beam croons "belated" in on of his songs (the unreleased B-Side "Belated Promise Ring") it becomes a musical word, losing all of its guilty edge. So I did some research into some of the words I like and which come from Iron and Wine songs. This isn't a comprehensive list, but it's close.

Sam Beam of Iron and Wine

Thornbush

Seaside
Body

Pantry

Wooden

Carousel

Communion

Barnyard

Tomorrow

Magazine

Freedom

Automobile

Bothered

Reins

Tuckered

Yarrow

Fallen

Brother

Dogwood

Bougainvillea

Unimaginative

Copse

Baling

Resurrection

Edith

Rebecca

Bucket

Midnight

Thoughts? Additions? Deletions?

Songs for Summer

So the other day... when it was nice like tonight was and not like this morning when I was riding my bike to work... I was thinking about music as I often do and was humming "French Navy" by Camera Obscura (check them out). It was sunny and all of a sudden I had a brilliant idea. I already have a playlist on my i-pod for Fall, but not one for Summer. So, over the next couple of days I compiled 40 tracks from what I have on my i-pod based on their feel, sometimes the lyrics, and the melody. I think each one of these reminds me of summer. I chose to limit each band to one track otherwise I'd be playing out Josh Ritter, Wilco and The Shins all day. I also, with great intent, thought to organize them by when during a great summer day I would like to hear them. This got tiresome and I gave up. So here is my list of 40 great summer tracks. Let me know what tracks I missed and what I should add to my playlist!

• Marry Song -Band Of Horses -Cease To Begin


• A Minor Incident -Badly Drawn Boy- The Official Bootleg Live @ Glastonbury


• Make It Up -Ben Kweller- Sha Sha


• Lua -Bright Eyes -I'm Wide Awake It's Morning


• Table for Two- Caedmon's Call- 40 Acres


• Mexico -Cake- Prolonging The Magic


• Qué Onda Guero -Beck -Guero


• House Of Valparaiso- Calexico -Carried To Dust


• Prison On Route 41 -Calexico / Iron & Wine- In The Reins


• Two Sitting Ducks -Danielson -Ships


• Babylon -David Gray -Kink Live Four


• Trashcan -Delta Spirit -Ode to Sunshine


• Golly Sandra -Eisley -Room Noises


• Brandy Alexander -Feist- The Reminder


• Remain -Five O'Clock People- The Nothing Venture


• Muddy Hymnal -Iron & Wine- The Creek Drank The Cradle


• It's All Understood -Jack Johnson- Brushfire Fairytales


• Get What You Need -JET -Get Born


• In The Dark -Josh Ritter- The Animal Years


• Saltbreakers -Laura Veirs- Saltbreakers


• Magic Trick -M. Ward -Post-War


• Lullaby Haze- Mates Of State- Re-Arrange Us


• Inside of Love -Nada Surf- Let Go


• Middle Cyclone -Neko Case -Middle Cyclone


• Ode To A Butterfly -Nickel Creek- Nickel Creek


• 5 Years Time -Noah And The Whale -I Can't Believe


• Feelin' The Same Way -Norah Jones -Come Away With Me


• A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country- Randy Newman -Harps And Angels


• My Winding Wheel -Ryan Adams -Heartbreaker


• Oleander -Sarah Harmer- I'm A Mountain


• You Really Gotta Hold On Me -She & Him- Volume One


• Girl Inform Me -The Shins- Oh, Inverted World


• Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur- Sigur Rós- Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust


• The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)- Simon & Garfunkel -Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits


• You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb -Spoon -Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga


• Writing To Reach You -Travis- The Man Who


• Not the Same -Ben Folds -Ben Folds Live


• M79 -Vampire Weekend -Vampire Weekend


• She's A Jar Wilco Summerteeth


• Half Ell Belle Yellow Second June One

The music post

Last night I was taken by my brothers to see the Shins live in Red Square up at WWU. In typical Bellingham style, we were poured upon. The wind kicked up and the rain came down in buckets. So Marc, Seth, and I stood on the edge of the fountain and watched Delta Spirit tear through their set, apologizing after mistaking Bellingham for Seattle, and proving that live shows are always better than albums... even great albums. The Shins came on when the rain really was coming down and the keyboard player at one point remarked that he was standing in a "pool of wadder." Even so, it was a brilliant concert and one I'll remember for a long time. Not only did they ruin a keyboard, but the ASB Pop staff had to hold up the soundboard tent, and I was soaked through my coat, sweatshirt, and shirt. But I was with two of my best pals and it was fabulous music. I hope they come out with a new album this year; their new stuff sounds awesome.

I bought the new Neko Case album, Middle Cyclone, this last week courtesy of income tax return and birthday money and it is also very impressive. All of the press it's gotten is middling, because "her" songs seem basic and she crowds the album with covers. Bah! I say. I loved Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, and this one is seemingly more radio friendly, but she has a way with words and phrasing and imagery and sound. One of my favorite lyrics come from the ominously titled song "Prison Girls": "I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes." Intense.

I've also been enjoying an AIDS benefit album called Dark Was the Night. It's jam packed with bands I love and though I've reviewed/enjoyed/hated comp albums before this one takes the cake. Iron and Wine, The National, Grizzly Bear, The Dirty Projectors, Antony Hegarty, Sufjan Stevens, Ben Gibbard and Feist. The thing about it is that there are no real filler tracks. It doesn't seem as though the organizers contacted any of these bands thinking that a "hip" comp album has to have a Death Cab for Cutie track, etc. Some of the songs are covers, some duets, and some originals. It's an amazing collection of artists playing their best all for a great cause.

Back in the beginning of April I got the hankering to divulge some of my musical finds over the past three months with my brothers. They are huge music fans and I love turning people on to good music. I do an annual "best of" album, but this year decided to give them a quarterly "good music" album. And so I show it off to you. For the sake of a shorter post, as this is already out of hand, I won't do any "sounds like" stuff. You'll have to take my word for it and either like it or not. Enjoy.

In Alphabetical Order:

Andrew Bird - "Fitz and Dizzyspells" - from Noble Beast

Animal Collective - "My Girls" - from Merriweather Post Pavilion

Bon Iver - "Blood Bank" - from Blood Bank EP

Antony and the Johnsons - "Aeon" - from The Crying Light

Dananananackroyd - "Pink Sabbath" - from Hey Everyone

Nat King Cole - "Day In, Day Out (Cut Chemist Remix)" - from Re:Generations

Harlem Shakes - "Strictly Game" - from Technicolor Health

K'naan - "ABCs (feat. Chubb Rock)" - from Troubadour

M. Ward - "One Hundred Million Years" - from Hold Time

Micachu and the Shapes - "Golden Phone" - from Jewellery

Mumford and Sons - "Little Lion Man" - from Demos

Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve" - from Middle Cyclone

Passion Pit - "Sleepyhead" - from Manners

Vijay Kishore - "Never Ends" - from Done it Again EP

Rick Riordan - The funmaster

Master of the retold and reimagined Greek myth. Purveyor of Indiana Jones meets National Treasure meets brilliant reading marketing scheme. Rick Riordan is a children's author, though he also writes for adults, and is/has writing/written some of the most entertaining books I've crossed recently. Sure he's on the best sellers list, which, to those of us under the ambiguous label "indie," might find offensive. I don't and won't be boxed out of enjoying, wholeheartedly, books or music designed to entertain. I've made it through the backlog of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and now patiently await the finale. I'm also just starting the 39 Clues series which is already panning out to be just the book I was looking for, both back in elementary school and on most Saturdays. Check out the website, the books, and enjoy.

Rick Riordan's Site

Go Here - Watch This: Where the Wild Things Are

Having been a fan of this book since I was child, I was thrilled and terrified that they were turning it into a full length movie. It was a scary book to open for the first time since there were "wild things" and there was a distance from home that had been breached with, perhaps, no return. A nail biting thought as a single digit old boy. However, there was adventure, there was independance, and there was the pursuit of something that "I" liked - exploration. Maurice Sendak's book was and may still be on the frequently banned books list along with his In The Night Kitchen. I understand the uproar from parents as we see Max exhibiting an emotion we generally tie to bad behavior (anger) and willing himself to disappear from the situation. There is a brief resolution at the end as we see his meal on a table when he returns unharmed and exhausted and in need of his family. Whether you loved it or hated it for reasons stated above or because of others - it's scary, the monsters are weird, you don't like Sendak's art - in my book, it's a children's classic. Now to the movie.

Click on poster for preview website

I had heard rumors that there was going to be a movie and I groaned. I thought it might be the sort of digitally enhanced attempt like last year's Horton Hears a Who, which did well, I think. I also thought it might be just a short film to introduce another box office smash attempt like the latest Disney offering or something from Nickelodeon Studios or something. However, I stumbled across the full length movie preview on Apple's website and was blown away. Absolutely blown away. It's in real life and everything looks like it did in the book except with real people and brilliantly made up monsters (Jim Henson?). They're going to have to make up some lengthier plot lines and that worries me, but those at the writing helm are Spike Jonze (music video extraordinaire) and Dave Eggers (hipster, writer - What is the What, and creator of McSweeney's and all of the 826 writing clubs). I'm not terribly worried that they'll write in a lot of sap or silliness. The film itself looks gorgeous. Huge panoramas, that almost grainy, sun-dried camera lens. And the music on the preview... I couldn't help but think I knew it as soon as it came on. Arcade Fire's "Wake Up." If that didn't make me excited, nothing would.

In the end, who knows. It may be my new favorite movie. I love movies in general that deal with internal struggle and end with redemption and resolution. Maybe this isn't one of those and I'll hate it. Either way, I'm stoked.