6/29/10

"Drink alone and watch TV.
You're expecting harmonies
To tap your tune with silver spoons,
The anthem of impending doom.
Guiding Satan's steady hand.
Forcing Beatles to disband.
It's ego freaks and drama queens
The young at heart know what I mean.

You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world
You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world

You could do better, better than that
you're a fraud
Thank God you learned to keep your shirt on.
You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world"
~Do Better,
Say Anything, Say Anything

6/28/10

I finally into The National, 'cause High Violet is a wonderful album. It's sad and doubtful and guilty and solid.

6/26/10

One might say this has been my anthem for summer 2010. No band name pun intended.



"and they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive.
I got your name tattooed inside of my arm.
I called for my father but my father had died.
while you told me fortunes, in American Slang."
~American Slang,
The Gaslight Anthem, American Slang

6/25/10

Right here you can find a full album stream of "Becoming a Jackal" from the Irish band Villagers. They are dreamy and a little dark and lush....I love what they do with piano parts, treating them like a jazzy spice. It's a very full sound. Frontman Conor O'Brien (yes, Conor not Conan) has the kind of voice you might find a theatre stage rather than a rock band, and it makes for a vibe/sound that is pretty unique. Soundtrack-for-life-esque, as if I could envision the song "Set the Tigers Free" playing as I nonchalantly drive down the highway in the rain. Or something. Anyway, I like this album today, it is getting me out of my head.

6/20/10

Anberlin's been around for awhile, with fifth record coming out soon, and I've never heard anything I disliked from them. So in the hope of finding new music I gave it a shot and downloaded some full lengths. It was a pretty good idea. Some songs I haven't been able to really get through, but others, like this one, are really beautifully done. The more I listen to it, the better it gets.

"aren't we all to you just lost causes, all we are to you lost?"
~*fin
Anberlin, Cities

They get the Christian band label a lot, but I don't really like it when that's done to bands. Writing about faith and spirituality is no different than writing about love or death or a ham sandwich or whatever a song is about. Would a band that writes about cars be a car-rock band? No. So "Christian rock bands" just shoves something into a category that potentially alienates fans who are afraid of associating their music with a faith.

And that choir section is absolutely chilling if you've been listening to the song with the right set of ears.

6/15/10

Something about hazy June days draws me to Elliott Smith, specifically "From a Basement on a Hill." I attribute half of this to nostalgia, and the other half to the raspy acoustic sound that is quite numbing from the inside out.

"He said really I just want to dance
Good and evil matched perfect, it's a great romance
I can deal with some psychic pain
If it'll slow down my higher brain
Veins full of disappearing ink
Vomiting in the kitchen sink
Disconnecting from the missing link

This is not my life
It's just a fond farewell to a friend
It's not what I'm like
It's just a fond farewell to a friend
Who couldn't get things right
Fond farewell to a friend"
~A Fond Farewell,
Elliott Smith, From a Basement on a Hall

6/14/10

Have I not said how fucking kickass The Black Keys are? It's time for that.



I've been listening to these guys for about a year or so, after a magic fairy gave me their entire discography up to that point. In this time they've become one of my go-to favorites, notably for their debut "The Big Come Up" from 2001. I got really hooked on their blues-rock feel -- it's not as chaotic as The Dead Weather, but not too contrived. Dirty-ass guitar licks, thundering rhythms, and all kinds of lonesome lovesick-ridden melodies. And fantastic production work, too; great sound and great subtle parts that sneak up on you with how cool they sound.

Their most recent release, "Brothers," is a gem in their already-established catalog (And -- see below -- isn't that great cover art?) From "Everlasting Light" to "Sinister Kid," from "I'm Not The One" to "Never Give You Up," this album has the coolest vibe that runs from high energy to slow burn blues tunes. They're freakin' masters. Hoping to see them live this summer when they come upstate with The Flaming Lips.

6/12/10

Josh Ritter wins again, with "So Runs the World Away." It's an outstanding collection of songs, transporting you to a different time and place. I listened to it sitting alone in my car on a horrendously rainy day. It was a perfect fit. Songs like "The Curse," "Rattling Locks," and "Folk Bloodbath" prove that he's got no shortage of inspiration both lyrically or instrumentally, because the songs are as realized and full as ever. It is extremely produced, with layers and layers of keys and auxillary and backup vocals and all kinds of things, which is not what one might expect from a tried and true folk artist who brings such simple songs like "Monster Ballads" and "Kathleen." But while that might draw criticism from some listeners, I think it works, and Ritter has already proved he excels in this area of arranging (see: "Girl in the War"). Also, this could be a good album for people who aren't familiar with Ritter to get into him, since there is a lot of variation on it.

In other news, I am once again without an iPod. And probably will be for a good two to three months, yay.

6/10/10

"There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out"

~Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You

6/10/10

"It will be only a matter of time - months rather than years - before the music business establishment completely folds. (It will be) no great loss to the world."

-Thom Yorke

He's pretty correct. No need for labels, no need for record deals. Just make music and spread it, let everyone appreciate whatever speaks to them.

6/4/10

Come on play that 45 and dance like sin.
I'll lock up the doors honey so no one'll come in
You're beautiful alone but with so much to give to the world
so why not let 'em in?
~Southern Knell,
Lovedrug, Ep - Part II

I am so excited for their album to come out at the end of the year, I can't even describe it. This band inspires me so much, namely because they can write any kind of song and still sound like Lovedrug. It's so great. "Miss California" might be one of the coolest songs they've ever written, sweet keys and bass line -- lots of subtlety all over this EP. Made my week. Good music should break your heart, make you believe in god, or some such feeling.

I don't want to do anything other than sit around and listen to this. For days.

UPDATE: Like most Lovedrug, it gets even better with multiple listens. I've concluded this has a "Pretend You're Alive" feel if I had to compare it to any of their other releases, notably on "Faith" and "Elastical." They won my heart over when they covered The Pixies' "Where is my Mind" live on WBER one time, and they kicked the shit out of the recorded cover.

5/2/10

Unlucky

Lovedrug never ceases to satisfy me. I just ordered Part II of their EP series and I can't wait to get it.

You're in my head,
you're like a disease and I'm thinkin
How unlucky am I to have met you now
You're like a bad dream
You're always around and I'm thinkin
How unlucky, I'd rather be alone than be with you
~Unlucky
Lovedrug, EP-Part I

I wish had the opportunity to make my own music this summer, but doesn't seem like any of those opportunities will come to fruition, per usual. Guess those are dreams deferred, and I live vicariously through my favorite bands moving upward and onward.