sand is overrated

2011 albums of the year : #1

2012-01-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

1.
the whole love
wilco
dbpm/anti, september 27, 2011

"art of almost"

if i had made my list in december, as i usually do, the whole love would have been number 3, behind the deeply personal connections i feel to bon iver, bon iver and we are the tide. however, while listening to it on a long drive in early january, i decided that i wanted the whole love to be number 1. it could be more for symbolic reasons more than anything, as in the end i wanted to try to remember the year for something other than heartache and pain. however, it is certainly not undeserving of the title of my favorite album of the year, as it may just be my favorite album that wilco has ever made. which is saying a lot, since wilco has long been one of my two or three favorite bands. the album is bookended by two quintessential wilco songs--"art of almost" and "one sunday morning (song for jane smiley's boyfriend)". the opener is the current (and hopefully last) incarnation of the band at the absolute peak of its powers--creatively, experimentally, musically, and, somehow, face-shreddingly...awesome. while the closer is a meandering 12-minute stroll through a painful paternal relationship, made breathtaking and heartbreaking by the intimacy of the quietly dueling acoustic guitar and piano. with a nod to yankee hotel foxtrot, the whole love may just be my favorite wilco album of all, and a gift that i will always be grateful to have received in the midst of such a terrible year. thank you, wilco. thank you.

2011 albums of the year : #2

2012-01-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

2.
we are the tide
blind pilot
expunged records, september 13, 2011

"new york"

when bon iver, bon iver was released in june, i remember thinking that i would be very happy if it wasn't my favorite album at the end of the year, because that would mean that some truly great music would have been released during the second half of the year. to be honest, i'm not sure that we are the tide qualifies as "great" in the traditional sense, although blind pilot do what they do and they certainly do it very well (but let's be fair--it is an expertly crafted album by a tremendously appealing band, and certainly at least "very, very good"). rather, we are the tide is my second-favorite album of the year because of what it represents--with 2008's 3 rounds and a sound, it's the other blind pilot bookend to the most significant period of my life. it's the kind of relationship that can truly be appreciated only by me, but seeing as how this is my list, i get to determine how much weight it is given. and it means a lot. similar to bon iver, bon iver, i do have some reservations about assigning such importance to an association that is, no doubt, painful to recollect. however, i know that with time comes distance, and one day i hope those memories will serve only as reminders of what i have survived, and help me to appreciate the future present.

2011 albums of the year : #3

2012-01-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

3.
bon iver, bon iver
bon iver
jagjaguwar, june 21, 2011

"calgary"

shredding the mythology of the cabin in the woods, justin vernon returns with an album of surpassing beauty, both in its clarity of vision and the muscular confidence with which it is presented. lyrically abstract and sonically dense, the album seemed to evolve even as it is constrained to a silver plastic disc, shape-shifting and folding in on itself to reveal unheard sounds, unseen visions, and unfelt emotions. during a period in my life that was tumultuous and completely opaque, i found myself returning again and again to bon iver, bon iver, always with a different feeling and sometimes within the very same song ("calgary" comes to mind: "you know that all the rope's untied", then "the demons come, they can subside", then "there's a fire going out / but there's really nothing to the south"). in some ways it was tortuous, and it seems a shame to associate something so beautiful with a period so painful. but that's what it--music--is for me, and for that i know that bon iver, bon iver will always hold a special place inside.

2011 albums of the year : #4

2012-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

4.
helplessness blues
fleet foxes
sub pop, may 3, 2011

"helplessness blues"

if not for the difficulties i faced this year, helplessness blues would no doubt be higher than number 4. who knows--given my current state and the questions i have been left with concerning life and happiness, i can see myself developing a more personal connection to this album as time goes by. but what i know today is that helplessness blues is one of the most purely enjoyable and satisfying albums that i've heard in a long time. robin pecknold's vocals are given more prominence, with the vocal harmonies that so defined fleet foxes now more of a background flourish. and they are simply sublime, lending a serenity that belies the difficulties of the existential questions being considered.

2011 albums of the year : #5

2012-01-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

5.
on the water
future islands
thrill jockey, october 11, 2011

"balance"

here is where it got tough. deciding between several shades of why and on the water at number five was a particularly difficult decision. future islands was a new band for me, and samuel herring's bear of a voice is never short on histrionics. on the other hand, histrionics may be what the subject matter requires. on the water played a big part in an altogether conflicted month of october, as i found my mind and my heart turned upside down by lines such as "if things hadn't changed / i would have buried you deep in my arms", "if you let me be there again / i'll be still, won't say a word", and "look back, hold onto the last / don't let today push out the past". in the end, although the associations are a bit uncomfortable, the impact was undeniable, and the question begs--is number five even too low?

2011 albums of the year : #6

2012-01-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

6.
several shades of why
j mascis
sub pop, march 15, 2011

"several shades of why"

i hadn't listened to j mascis since the mid-90s, with dinosaur jr., and so it was a surprise to hear him turn up again on my radar nearly twenty years later. it was even more of a surprise to see him now, a little heavier and hair all grey. but, in some ways, the effects of time more neatly befit the weariness in his voice, and the combination is perfectly suited for a mostly acoustic record.

2011 albums of the year : #7

2012-01-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

7.
el camino
the black keys
nonesuch, december 6, 2011

"gold on the ceiling"

near the end of a mostly dark year came el camino, with its swagger and style fully intact. just the kind of record i needed to close out a bad year and look forward to the hopes of a new one.

2011 albums of the year : #8

2012-01-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

8.
love notes/letter bombs
the submarines
nettwerk records, april 5, 2011

"where you are"

blake hazard and john dragonetti do what they do and they do it very well. in the midst of a challenging year, there they were to remind me "to remember where it was you said you'd go".

2011 albums of the year : #9

2012-01-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

9.
thao & mirah
thao & mirah
kill rock stars, april 26, 2011

"eleven"

a dazzling collaboration between two gifted singer-songwriters who complement each other so perfectly in their contrasting styles and personalities.

2011 albums of the year : #10

2012-01-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

this was supposed to be a list of only five albums, but there were three or four albums that i couldn't decide on for number 5, so naturally the list expanded to ten.

10.
widowspeak
widowspeak
captured tracks, november 15, 2011

"puritan"

an album that helped to satisfy my craving for mazzy star while the real thing continues to work on its comeback.

2011 song of the year : "lúppulagið"

2011-12-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

i may or may not get around to compiling my full lists of favorite albums and tracks of the year, but one pick that is absolutely clear is sigur rós' "lúppulagið" as my favorite song of 2011.

it opens sparse and hauntingly, like the quiet chill of the last stars to yield to daybreak. a few bright piano keys break the stillness, gently, and eyes open to let in the first soft light of dawn. the pace quickens only slightly, unfolding into an idyllic morning that completely belies the turmoil of the previous day.

this has been the most tragic and painful year of my life, but when i listen to this song, i always imagine it playing during the moment when everything has turned around. it evokes a feeling of serenity and tranquility, of beauty made staggering by its righteousness. but most of all, to me this song represents hope. that even though this year has been altogether...well, shitty, tomorrow is a new day and a new month and a new year. during the past few months, this song has maintained me, reminded me of where i need to go. it has been difficult for sure, but the desire is there; the hope is there. so, goodbye to 2011. you will not be forgotten, but you will not be missed.

sigur rós : "lúppulagið"
from the lp inni (xl recordings, 2011)

some stalks grow high and green to rot away

2011-11-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

the end of november. a rather tumultuous month. difficulty endures. but so do i, i guess. i'm still here, anyway. and in the end, well, maybe things got a little better. at least the path finally received some clarity. or, maybe it's finding its own way. and i was finally able to trust it. either way. doing my best. when i get to the end--and i know that i will--i'll just want to be able to say: i got wise and i got old. but not once, not once did i fold.

blind pilot : "new york"
from the lp we are the tide (expunged records, 2011)

i hear the train all night
sound of its wind blowing through
our subtle lives

and i have a job to do
walking these cars
walking all this sleep
to get to you

but i don't feel you stir beside me
and you're not in my morning hours
some ties are made to break
some stalks grow high and green to rot away
and feel the weight

and these lines tell a truth
these city veins answer all we do
so, could you keep me in the pulses
could you keep me in the sound

i got wise and i got old
not once, not once did i fold
so don't you now

maybe you bet on me
while we were still young enough to know
what to believe

but for every year you took
for every soft breath or loving look
believe me

and don't keep me like you have me
and don't kiss me like you don't

i got wise and i got old
not once, not once did i fold
so don't you now

some land holds a home
some of my years only hold me to roam
but i tell myself it's true
you see a home, you see a man
you see it too
and i say, "don't you know you have her?
go on kiss her now you boy"

i got wise and i got old
not once, not once did i fold
so don't you now

the sun will leave the room / will leave you to the night /and that's alright

2011-10-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

still struggling, although it seems like life finally began to stabilize in october. at least it stopped getting worse. this month even included a minor positive event, which might be considered a lucky break except for the fact that it only reversed a negative event that i brought on myself early in the month. but, it was something good, finally, and i'll take whatever i can get.

the time since then has been relatively neutral, a welcome respite from buckets of pain. i can only hope that the beginning of the month was rock bottom for me, and that the last few weeks have just been the calm before the morning light that i have to believe is still on its way.

future islands : "balance"
from the lp on the water (thrill jockey, 2011)

you can clean around the wound
but if you want it to heal
it just takes time

and you can call up to the moon
but if you want something to change
you've gotta change your life
and take your time
-----
it just takes time
it just takes time
it just takes time
hard work and your time
-----
the sun will leave the room
will leave you to the night
and that's alright

because before the morning comes
there's a certain calm
and then there's light
it just takes time
-----
it just takes time
a little trust and your time
you can change your life
it just takes time
a little trust and your time
-----
and i can sit and talk
because i was just like you
so arrogant and brave
impetuous and blue

but trust me as a friend
and i'll do all that i can do
and i'd do anything for you
because i want to see you through
-----
it just takes time
hard work and your time
you can change your life

it just takes time
a little trust and your time
a little trust and your time...

i am trying

2011-09-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

september came and now is leaving. it wasn't august, but...it doesn't seem like it's getting any lighter around here. at some point, something good has to happen. it has to. it has to. doesn't it?

eels : "electro-shock blues"
from the lp electro-shock blues (dreamworks, 1998)

feeling scared today
write down: i am ok
a hundred times the doctors say
i am ok
i am ok
i'm not ok

skin is crawling off
mopping the sweaty drops
sticking around for this shit
another day
another day
not another day

pink pill feels good
finally understood
take me in your warm embrace
i am trying
i am trying

august 2011

2011-08-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

today is the last day of what i know i will consider for some time to be one of the worst, most difficult and challenging months of my entire life. tomorrow won't really be any different than today; but symbolism has never been lost on me, and for that reason i know that turning the page on the calendar is an opportunity for it to at least feel different. i can't wait for september. for now, the best that i can say is, "i am a creature / and i am surviving".

sunset rubdown : "us ones in between"
from the lp shut up i am dreaming (absolutely kosher, 2006)

you are a waterfall
waiting inside a well
you are a wrecking ball
before the building fell
and every lightning rod
has gotta watch the storm cloud come

and i've heard of pious men
and i've heard of dirty fiends
but you don't often hear
of us ones in between
and i've heard of creatures
who eat their babies
and i wonder if they stop
to think about the taste

i saw the sun go down
outside of arkansas
and i saw the sun come up
somewhere in illinois
and in the darkness
i taught myself to hate
but where were you, oh where were you?
and where'd the fucking sun go?

and i am a creature
and i am survivin'
and i want to be alone
but i want your body
so when you eat me
mother and baby
oh baby, mother me
before you eat me

and you should always pass
when you got the inside lane
don't pull your hair out
i won't pull my hair out
for i have never seen a sun
that did not bury his head in the side of the world
when the day is done.

you are a waterfall
waiting inside a well
you are a wrecking ball
before the building fell
and i will mutter like a lover
who speaks in tongues, oh he speaks in tongues
oh i speak in tongues

i know. it's been a long time. just felt like i needed to do this today.

yes

2009-07-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

david gray : "be mine"
from the lp a new day at midnight (ato records, 2002)

from the very first moment i saw you that's when i knew
all the dreams i held in my heart had suddenly come true
knocked me over stone cold sober not a thing i could say or do
baby when i'm walking with you now my eyes are so wide
like you reached right into my head and turned on the light inside
turned on all the lights inside my mind

come on baby it's alright
sunday, monday, day or night
red or blue or white it's plain to see
be mine, be mine
raining shining, night or day
what's the difference anyway
honey till your heart belongs to me

if i had some influence girl with the powers that be
i'd have them fire that arrow at you like they fired it right at me
maybe when your heart and soul are burning you might see
that every time i'm talking with you it's always over too soon
and every day feels so incomplete 'till you walk into the room
say the word and i'll bloom- i'll jump that moon, yeah

come on baby it's ok
raining shining, night or day
there's nothing in the way now don't you see
be mine, be mine
winter, summer, day or night
centigrade or fahrenheit
baby till your heart belongs to me
be mine, be mine
thursday, friday, short or long
when you got a love so strong
how can it be wrong now mercy me
be mine, be mine
jumping jesus, holy cow
what's the difference anyhow
baby till your heart belongs to me

my body's on fire, now my heart is on fire, now my body's on fire, now my world is on fire, now my heart is on fire, am i losing my sanity ...

sun setting, sun rising

2009-07-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

from the beginning, i've always intended for sand is overrated to represent the ways in which music integrated with moments in my own life. without a doubt, the most profound and most frequent examples of this confluence has always been with matters of the heart, and the last five years of my life have been full of those moments. in hindsight, starting sand is overrated was something of a necessity--to document my experiences and my reactions to and reflections on those experiences. looking back on those posts reads like a retrospective of a journey that i am thankful for having traveled, but have absolutely no desire to repeat. thankfully, it seems that the sun is close to setting on my journey, but it has led me home, and home is where i want to stay.

prelude
it all began two years before i started sand is overrated.

[september 6, 2006]
bright eyes : "landlocked blues"

every so often--once every couple years i'd say--an album comes out that represents everything i love about music. it may not necessarily be the best album, nor even a great album, but it strikes a chord in me in just such a way that it is perfect to me. one of last year's releases by bright eyes, i'm wide awake, it's morning, was one of those albums for me.

in many ways, october 2004 to may 2005 was one of the most difficult times of my life. it saw the end of a long relationship that for many years was everything to me. as a result of that i moved...twice. five years after finishing my undergraduate education, i returned to school as a graduate student, somehow voluntarily thrusting myself back into the stress, busy-ness, and misery of the school environment. i was unhappy for so long, and yet it was never something i wanted any of my new classmates to see. holding everything inside has a way of making you feel lonely, as if this sort of forced reticence was because i didn't think anyone else would understand. in hindsight it's easy to see that that couldn't have been true, but during those moments of bleakness and solitude, reason was not a friend of mine.

and such was the state i was in when, in january 2005, i picked up i'm wide awake, it's morning. i found myself in it from the very first listen--lyrically, topically, musically. in a year of life, love, and loss, it hit me where it counts and never seemed to let go. "landlocked blues" seemed a perfect description of the desperation and hopelessness i felt about the disintegration of the relationship i had just left. i can't count the number of times i listened to "at the bottom of everything" to help remind myself of the true gravity of certain circumstances, to help me put things into their proper perspective. and in "first day of my life" i found a love song that reminded me of what it was i was looking for. and that's not even to mention "lua", a song so starkly beautiful and destructive that it makes you want to become a crack head so that maybe, just maybe, you could find a moment of such pure genius. in the end, i'm wide awake it's morning helped me to realize that the things i was going through were nothing new, that trials and tribulations are part and parcel with the experiences of life. and even if it didn't necessarily cause me to feel comfortable in sharing them with the world (i think it was just a matter of time), simply knowing that i was never really alone was enough to help me sleep at night.

trying not to care
valentine's day of 2007 found me still on the search for what i was looking for, and even a little confused as to what that was. my frustration with the process of dating manifested itself in a cynicism for a holiday that felt manufactured and fake. it was a legitimate cynicism, but all the same i knew how differently i'd feel about the day if i had someone special to share it with.

[february 13, 2007]
just because valentine's day isn't until tomorrow is no reason for me to wait to post a song like (the postal service : "brand new colony") today. and it's no reason for you not to adore your valentine today. and tomorrow. and the next day.

[february 14, 2007]
"today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies. to make people feel like crap."

[february 15, 2007]
today is february 15th. today is not valentine's day either. but (r.e.m. : "be mine") is still one of the most romantic sentiments i've ever read. you should listen to it. and share it. just because.

hope
it wasn't long after that valentine's day that i found myself in a relationship that i really wanted to believe was what i was looking for. but as much as i wanted to be done with my search...

[march 28, 2007]
eels : "losing streak"

meetin' every day with the rising sun
lookin' up, it's looking like
my losing streak is done

preparing to fall apart
...and as much as i wanted to hold on in the face of an impending trans-pacific relocation...

[july 18, 2007]
it's been hard at times to be happy in the face of this impending distance, but never for a moment have i not wanted everything to freeze.

[july 26, 2007]
maybe it's these past few weeks that seem to pass so unmercifully, drawing us ever closer to the day that seems impossible to survive.

[july 27, 2007]
maybe it's the night before she leaves, and all i want is for the darkness not to fade, knowing that sunrise means she has to leave. i wish she could stay. i wish...

[august 3, 2007]
"i need you so much closer"

falling apart
...in the end, it was more than the distance that spelled the end. the cracks that had shown previously had been attributed to the stress of the impending situation, and disregarded in my desire not to have to resume that search again. but they were there, and eventually i came to terms with the truth, with the end, and with having to start over. again.

[october 25, 2007]
my life has been full of uncertainty lately, which makes it difficult to write anything down in here. every time i feel inspired enough to begin writing a post, winds shift if not just slightly and circumstances change. i leave my thoughts unfinished and when i return later on my sentiments are no longer current.

[november 20, 2007]
okkervil river : "yellow"

and all of these things, well, i truly believe them
our paths and our futures are hidden in mists
that are stretching out over impossible distances
totally obscured

and i really do think that there’s probably more good
than anger or selfishness, sickness, or sadness
would ever completely allow us to have in this life
i think i’m sure

false starts
i spent the next year trying to put pieces back together, but found my progress hindered by a series of false starts involving pieces that at times aroused a hint of excitement, but in the end just didn't quite fit.

november 28, 2007
today it occurred to me that the course of dating is really very much like the verse-chorus-verse structure of many contemporary songs. the verses always start out the same--boy meets girl--and always end the same--boy is alone. as with any good song, the middle of each verse is some kind of variation on a common theme, but each is characterized in its own way with a distinctive wrinkle here and a specific memory there. but the chorus is always the same, and for me it's always been pretty well represented by "a lack of color".

december 31, 2007
on a personal note, most of 2007 was a great time for me until i kind of staggered towards the finish line these past few months.

february 14, 2008
i'm also excited because meiko is playing a show at the gypsy den tomorrow, and hoping some of those romantic notions are contagious...

march 31, 2008
before the calendar fades to april i wanted to discreetly recognize the particularly good friday (not that kind) i had last week.

drifting
by mid-2008, my frustration was again palpable. this time, though, it led to two of my favorite posts, in each of which i caught myself in an over-romanticized reminiscence of the past.

april 26, 2008
frightened rabbit : "backwards walk"

it's seemingly never easy to walk away, especially when you have nowhere else to go. surely there were irreconcilable differences, insurmountable challenges, unresolvable difficulties--there was, after all, a good reason why you started to walk away in the first place. so why is it that the good memories are the ones that always seem to come first to mind? why is that sentimentality seems to invade even the unpleasant memories? why is it that it's so fucking hard to walk away? you know that it's not the right place for you to be. you are aware of how your judgment is impaired by loneliness. and yet, you're still knee-deep in it. but walking away doesn't mean you'll never have nowhere else to go. be brave...walk away...someone is waiting for you.

september 2, 2008
okkervil river : "lost coastlines"

and then i reached the moment when everything went to shit--when i sailed out on a journey away from the most stable and supportive relationship i've ever been in. those old emails made fresh a surge of memories full of pain, uncertainty, hope, fear. i was leaving what wasn't menacingly wrong to try to find something that was unequivocally right, all the while unsure that what i was looking for actually existed. four years later and i'm still at sea. there have been towns in which i have stopped along the way, but i always end up here, in the same place. there's places that i've quietly slipped away from in the middle of the night; places that i've not been invited to stay; and places where i've been ungraciously left behind. it's all the same, really. without any maps to guide, i'm left to find my way by trial and error, knowing only the destination i seek, and sometimes the tribulations threaten to swallow me up completely. but it's a journey that i know is worth making, to find that star that's high and far in some other sky, and sometimes i know that all i can do is just sing, la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la la...

sun setting
little did i know, my life was about to change in a big, big way. it started out subtly, with a few hints of what lay ahead. and then, in one long, incredible night, everything began to change.

november 11, 2008
maybe this beauty is always there, just not always looking for us. or maybe we need to open our eyes a little wider. whatever it is, i'm still feeling pretty good...

november 14, 2008
bright eyes : "first day of my life"

you said everything changed
you felt as if you'd just woke up

and then i realized what i had found. and because i also realized that she saw the same things in me, just about every moment since then has been amazing.

december 7, 2008
the jesus & mary chain : "feeling lucky"

feeling lucky, i've been feeling lucky
i've got someone who knows me
and she still wants to hold me

december 31, 2008
regina spektor : "my dear acquaintance (a happy new year)"

my dear acquaintance
it's so good to know you
for strength of your hand
that is loving and giving

january 16, 2009
the walkmen : "in the new year"

i know that it's true, it's gonna be a good year
out of the darkness and into the fire
i tell you i love you, and my heart's in the strangest place
that's how it started, and that's how it ends

february 3, 2009
the surfer--alone, cold, and missing wave after wave--perseveres, getting back up after each and every failure. he jumps on each wave with courage, with purpose, with hope. and finally--finally, he finds the one that makes everything better and makes nothing else matter. the wave is perfect, the ride is smooth, and the sun comes out.

february 8, 2009
u2 : "i still haven't found what i'm looking for"
i share this now because of how starkly these feelings and this song title contrast with my current state of mind, and provides a nice precursor to what is coming at the end of this week. i finally found what i was looking for...

february 13, 2009
two years ago, as i wrote those earlier posts, i was in the middle of that journey, frustrated and growing cynical. my change of heart from then to now, of course, can be directly attributed to the fact that i never lost my resolve to try, to risk my heart. and when we were both in places in our lives when we were ready for each other, she finally came and changed me back.

mint royale : "don't falter"

i used to feel so sad
and think too slow and drink too fast
life had me blue and black
till someone came and changed me back

now you see life
these colors shimmering around you
you must decide
to risk your heart for love to find you

february 14, 2009
death cab for cutie : "i will follow you into the dark"

if there's no one beside you
when your soul embarks
then i'll follow you into the dark

february 15, 2009
ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong : "the nearness of you"

i need no soft lights to enchant me
if you'll only grant me the right
to hold you ever so tight
and to feel in the night the nearness of you

sun rising
all of this has led me to this point, this night, and one question. one question that i have waited so long to ask. one question that i already know the answer to, but can't wait to ask anyway..............

eels : "beginner's luck" .
from the lp hombre lobo (vagrant records, 2009)

all my life i had this funny little feeling
it came and went time and again with all my daily demons
call it a deficit, an emptiness inside
why is true love hard to find, why does true love hide?

but now i found you and i know that we will be
so very happy, if you could only see
that i was made for you
and you were made for me

the road in front of us is long and it is wide
we've got beginner's luck, we've got it on our side
if you are willing, well, i think i'm qualified
and with beginner's luck we've gotta take the ride

i've got a plan, you know, i've got it all worked out
and all you've got to do is pack your bags and check your doubts
well, come around and you will see just what i am -
a true love through the worst of times, a true love til the end

so now you've found me and you only gotta see
how complementary we can really be
cause i was made for you
and you were made for me

the road in front of us is long and it is wide
we've got beginner's luck, we've got it on our side
we will be stronger if our forces are allied
and with beginner's luck we've gotta take the ride

we'll take the ride as far as anyone can go
we'll brave it all, yeah, hand-in-hand and toe-to-toe
i've got it all worked out, don't worry 'bout a thing
just give your hand to me - and here, put on this ring

the road in front of us is long and it is wide
we've got beginner's luck, we've got it on our side
if you are willing, well, i think i'm qualified
and with beginner's luck we've gotta take the ride

a quick update

2009-06-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

hi there.

this is getting ridiculous how rarely i have time to post these days. since my last post, my 5 year journey through grad school finally concluded in fine fashion. and yet, still--no time. it seems i say this every time now, but hopefully soon things will change and i'll get back on track.

in the meantime, metric's latest played an integral role in maintaining my sanity over the last few months. as the burdens of finishing school weighed heavier and heavier, getting lost in fantasies was a huge relief. catchy guitar riffs, driving percussion, and emily haines' sweet but wicked vocals--it's the record that rilo kiley should have made.

metric : "stadium love"
from the lp fantasies (redeye, 2009)

the crystal method

2009-05-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

i am still here... that last post was supposed to have been done about two weeks ago, and the fact that i didn't get around to publishing it until now--and yet it's still so short--is an indication of how busy and preoccupied i've been. and i've got a few more weeks of this at least. i've been spending a lot of time wrapping up a dissertation and needing to focus a lot more than usual, so the bulk of my listening lately has been instrumental or nearly so. it was thus a nice bit of timing when tristen at filter magazine sent me the new lp by the crystal method, divided by night. though many of the songs don't fit my instrumental criteria for study listening, enough of them do, and the rest of the album is full of the big beats and driving rhythms that are the hallmark of the crystal method and somehow conducive to heightening concentration. despite the many great guest vocals to be found (matisyahu, emily haines, meiko, lmfao), my favorite selection so far is "smile?", an instrumental piece that floats along over competing synth hooks that are alternatingly playful and menacing, playful and menacing, until confusion reigns and the title becomes punctuated with uncertainty.

and what another great album cover...

the crystal method : "smile?"
from the forthcoming lp divided by night (tiny e records, may 12, 2009)

heavy rotation -- "the hazards of love 4 (the drowned)"

2009-05-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

the hazards of love as a rock opera? i love it. i really do. what more could you ask for from an album? it's ambition on an epic scale, dramatic in its fairy tale story, interesting if not a little cliched, and oh so characteristically melodic for a colin meloy composition. highly looking forward to seeing it performed live in a few weeks.

the decemberists : "the hazards of love 4 (the drowned)"
from the lp the hazards of love (capitol, 2009)

heavy rotation -- "this tornado loves you"

2009-04-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

as opposed to my wavering attitude about it's blitz!, neko case's middle cyclone is an album that i love through and through. that voice...neko case's voice is simply breathtaking, and made all the more sumptuous by deliciously articulate lyrics that put the depths of her vocal agility on full display.

and, oh, that album cover ain't bad either.

neko case : "this tornado loves you"
from the lp middle cyclone (anti, 2009)

heavy rotation -- "skeletons"

2009-04-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

for the fifth consecutive year, my month of may will be consumed by studying for/preparing for/dreading an important event. this time it's another exam, but this may should be the most fulfilling yet, as at the end of this self-torture i will have earned three additional letters after my name. things have already gotten hairy trying to put a dissertation together, which means that my last post on here was several weeks ago. and it's only going to get worse. before it gets completely out of control, though, hopefully i can mention a few songs over the next week or so that have been in heavy rotation on my recent playlists.

first up is "skeletons", by yeah yeah yeahs. it's blitz! finds the band in unfamiliar sonic territory, as nick zinner's guitar has mostly been replaced by keyboards. i'm still not sure how i feel about that--the new album sounds good for the most part, but i can't help but think of rilo kiley's disappointing 2007 effort, under the blacklight, when i hear songs like "dragon queen".

on the other hand, "skeletons" is to these ears the best song yeah yeah yeahs have ever recorded, demonstrating that the new sound can work. the song slowly builds on synths, drums, and karen o's voice, which though uncharacteristically restrained, is as expressive as ever. the increasing tension creates a crescendo that practically begs for an epic climax of splintering guitars and karen o yelps. but it never occurs, instead opting to slowly back away from the edge of the cliff. and yet it's somehow immensely satisfying. and, oh, that album cover ain't bad either.

yeah yeah yeahs : "skeletons"
from the lp it's blitz! (interscope, 2009)

french navy

2009-03-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

add another notch to the bedpost for camera obscura--yet another song that i love. whereas it was a fluttering piano line that buoyed "my maudlin career", it's a fluttering violin riff that dances around tracyanne campbell's sorrowful vocals in "french navy". i don't know--could be a repeat of 2006...m. ward, look out!

camera obscura : "french navy"
from the forthcoming lp my maudlin career (4ad, april 21, 2009)

my maudlin career

2009-03-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

as much as i love m. ward and hold time (still my favorite album of 2009...only nine months to go!), i know that the forthcoming release by camera obscura will vie heavily for my attention as well. at least, if 2006 is any indication. that year, it seemed like every third post on sand is overrated was about m. ward and post-war, but in the end, let's get out of this country was my favorite album of the year. camera obscura have simply yet to write a song that i don't like, and the title track off my maudlin career is no exception. tracyanne campbell's vocals are characteristically pristine and dripping with sorrow, but the track is buoyed by a fluttering piano line and a shimmering, spector-esque wall of sound. the band have left the comfort of one indie stalwart (merge records) for another (4ad), but the track leaves no doubt that my maudlin career, out april 21st, finds the band still on top of their game.

camera obscura : "my maudlin career"
from the forthcoming lp my maudlin career (4ad, april 21, 2009)

the nearness of you

2009-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

we're here.
in the city.
for one more day.

tomorrow i'll go back.
to where i live.
but it isn't home.

ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong : "the nearness of you"
from the lp what a wonderful duet (jukebox entertainment, 2007)

it's not the pale moon that excites me
that thrills and delights me, oh no
it's just the nearness of you

it isn't your sweet conversation
that brings this sensation, oh no
it's just the nearness of you

when you're in my arms
and i feel you so close to me
all my wildest dreams came true

i need no soft lights to enchant me
if you'll only grant me the right
to hold you ever so tight
and to feel in the night the nearness of you

love.

2009-02-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

this story might seem a little too morbid to be posting on valentine's day, but i doubt you will come across any purer example of what love can truly mean...

death cab for cutie : "i will follow you into the dark"
from the lp plans (atlantic, 2005)

love of mine
someday you will die
but i'll be close behind
i'll follow you into the dark
no blinding light
or tunnels to gates of white
just our hands clasped so tight
waiting for the hint of a spark

if heaven and hell decide
that they both are satisfied
and illuminate the "no"s
on their vacancy signs
if there's no one beside you
when your soul embarks
then i'll follow you into the dark

in catholic school
as vicious as roman rule
i got my knuckles bruised
by a lady in black
and i held my tongue
as she told me "son,
fear is the heart of love"
so i never went back

if heaven and hell decide
that they both are satisfied
and illuminate the "no"s
on their vacancy signs
if there's no one beside you
when your soul embarks
then i'll follow you into the dark

you and me
have seen everything to see
from bangkok to calgary
and the soles of your shoes
are all worn down
the time for sleep is now
but it's nothing to cry about
'cause we'll hold each other soon
in the blackest of rooms

if heaven and hell decide
that they both are satisfied
and illuminate the "no"s
on their vacancy signs
if there's no one beside you
when your soul embarks
then i'll follow you into the dark
then i'll follow you into the dark

you must decide to risk your heart

2009-02-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

a few years back, i wrote a series of posts around valentine's day that expressed my cynicism about the commercialism of february 14, and how it should really just be another day. i still believe that every day should be a day that you adore your valentine, but my state of mind is a little different these days. i suppose it's all a matter of perspective. maybe every day can still be valentine's day, but february 14th can be just a little more special than the rest.

as i have documented on sand is overrated to some degree of familiarity, the journey to find the place that i always wanted to be was a difficult one, marred by wrong turns and unfortunate choices. two years ago, as i wrote those earlier posts, i was in the middle of that journey, frustrated and growing cynical. my change of heart from then to now, of course, can be directly attributed to the fact that i never lost my resolve to try, to risk my heart. and when we were both in places in our lives when we were ready for each other, she finally came and changed me back. today is not february 14th, but happy valentine's day, sweetie.

mint royale : "don't falter"
from the lp on the ropes (fontana mca, 2001)

i used to feel so sad
and think too slow and drink too fast
life had me blue and black
till someone came and changed me back

now you see life
these colors shimmering around you
you must decide
to risk your heart for love to find you

hey, don't falter
you know we ought to be together
strange, i saw ya, i sorta knew it was forever
please, stay with me
and never miss a chance to kiss me
babe, i love ya
when you're with me it's always summer

now everything is fine
because he is officially mine
and as long as we've got each other
it's gonna be officially summer
you're hypnotised
by these colours all around you
you must decide
to risk your heart for love to find you

hey, don't falter
you know we ought to be together
strange, i saw ya, i sorta knew it was forever
please, stay with me
and never miss a chance to kiss me
babe, i love ya
when you're with me it's always summer

it's only right
to have a little love around you
you must decide
to risk your heart

favorite song -- "i still haven't found what i'm looking for"

2009-02-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

october 17, 2007. i was 11 years old when i first heard the joshua tree. it was the first album that i ever really, truly loved. through the years each of the 11 tracks has probably been at one point my favorite song on the album, but the one that i always seem to come back to is "i still haven't found what i'm looking for". the song is without question bono's religious manifesto, something that i can relate to only superficially. but the thing that i love so much about music and art is that even in the face of such obvious personal meaning on the part of the artist, i can still take from it exactly what i want, exactly what i need to. no matter your religious beliefs, i think that most people can probably relate to feeling unfulfilled in some form or another. to feeling like, no matter the physical belongings one possesses or the satisfaction one takes from different aspects of their life, there is still one thing that is missing. to feeling the sentiment expressed by the song's title--"i still haven't found what i'm looking for". in so many ways i feel like i have lived a charmed life--loving family, personal successes, professional successes, it seems like good things have a way of finding me. but sometimes i do feel like i still haven't really found what i'm looking for.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i was looking through my old posts the other day and stumbled across this draft of a post that i had written back in october, 2007, but never actually published. it was written during a time in my life when i had recently achieved a professional accomplishment which i am still proud of today, and was able to reflect back on my life with a lot of pride and satisfaction. but it was also during a time of great personal turmoil, in which i was coming to terms with the fact that the relationship i was in was not everything that i had hoped it would be. the post was written in a therapeutic sense, as a way for me to figure my own feelings out, and ends with the quality of an unfinished thought. it took me a little more time to finish the thought and face my reality, but i eventually did. i share this now because of how starkly these feelings and this song title contrast with my current state of mind, and provides a nice precursor to what is coming at the end of this week. i finally found what i was looking for...

u2 : "i still haven't found what i'm looking for"
from the lp the joshua tree (island, 1987)

i found my wave

2009-02-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

sweden's air france have a penchant for eliciting a swell of emotion with very few words. although that emotion is usually joy, it is only natural that the greatest joys are most appreciated for the often-difficult journey that leads us to them. the video for "no excuses", directed by marcus soderlund, is a metaphor for this journey, for anything that is truly worth the effort to attain it. it is a metaphor for life. the surfer--alone, cold, and missing wave after wave--perseveres, getting back up after each and every failure. he jumps on each wave with courage, with purpose, with hope. and finally--finally, he finds the one that makes everything better and makes nothing else matter. the wave is perfect, the ride is smooth, and the sun comes out.

bliss.

air france : "no excuses"
from the ep no way down (sincerely yours, 2008)

i know that it's true / it's gonna be a good year

2009-01-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

i had originally meant to include "in the new year" by the walkmen in my year-end lists, as it was my second-favorite song off you & me. but then i had the thought that, given my feelings about 2009, it would be a great song to post on new years eve/day. unfortunately, i noticed how many other bloggers had the same thought and so i decided to skip that post as well. now, two weeks into the year and here it is. but it actually still makes sense for me, because tomorrow my girlfriend finally returns from four weeks in japan. so for me, my year essentially begins tomorrow. and what a glorious beginning it will be, to a year that i am looking forward to with a level of anticipation and excitement that is impossible to adequately describe. i know that it's true / it's gonna be a good year.

unfortunately, my posting rate during the first few (technical) weeks of the year are probably an indication that 2009 won't be very different from 2008 around here. for everything that i am looking forward to accomplishing and enjoying this year, it doesn't seem that i'm going to have that much time to dedicate to sand is overrated. one day things will be different. for now, i'll be waiting on the weather / that i know will pass.

the walkmen : "in the new year"
from the lp you & me (gigantic, 2008)

m. ward : hold time

2009-01-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

it's mid-january...too early to declare an album of the year? yeah, okay--maybe. but since my instincts have been pretty trustworthy recently, after just a few listens i'm going to go ahead and make this prediction: hold time, the upcoming release from sand is overrated perennial favorite m. ward, will be one of my five favorite albums at the end of the year. there has always been a lightness that could sometimes be detected in m. ward's voice on past records, on songs like "magic trick" off 2006's post-war. but that lightness was almost always tempered by hints of melancholy on other songs on his records, or even within the same song itself. but on first listen, there seems to be an obvious buoyancy to much of hold time --sounds like he could even be in love, and maybe that's why i find myself so immediately drawn to it. with mixing help from mike mogis and guests including lucinda williams and zooey deschanel, the album continues ward's predilection for sterling production and inviting all his friends to play with him, and seems to be a worthy addition to his already outstanding catalog. who knows if it will really end up in my top five at the end of the year, but if it does not, it will have been a truly great year in music.

m. ward : "never had nobody like you"
from the forthcoming lp hold time (merge records, february 17, 2009)

listen to the entire album at npr

my dear acquaintance, it's so good to know you

2008-12-31T16:35:00.000-08:00

i was just looking back at my new years eve post last year, and it's funny the way these past two years resemble each other even though things happened oh-so-differently. much of 2007 was fantastic for me, until things sort of fell apart during the last few months; much of 2008 was so-so for me, and then things suddenly, unexpectedly, and all-together-wonderfully came together during the last few months. now, looking toward 2009, i believe i stand on the brink of what may end up being the most incredible year of my life. the new year looks to bring a long-time-in-coming graduation, along with three additional letters after my name; some exciting and significant milestones in this company that i've helped to found; and, most importantly, the continued growth and development of a relationship with the woman who truly makes me feel like the luckiest guy on the planet...my dear acquaintance, it is indeed so incredibly good to know you.

happy new year!

regina spektor : "my dear acquaintance (a happy new year)"

2008 is overrated : albums of the year (1-5)

2008-12-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

finally, on the very last day of the year, my five favorite albums of 2008...

click here for albums of the year 6-10
click here for tracks of the year 1-10
click here for tracks of the year 11-20
click here for tracks of the year 21-30

1.
the midnight organ fight
frightened rabbit
fat cat, april 14, 2008

"backwards walk"
"the twist"

thanks to charles at heartache with hard work for turning me on to the midnight organ fight. after reading his recommendation back in april, i remember going over to frightened rabbit's myspace page and listening to "the twist", "the modern leper", and "head rolls off". i must have listened to those songs ten times that day before heading off to emusic to download the whole thing. the album's consistency is marked by the presence of two tracks on my favorite songs list, and there could have very easily been three or four more. there is just so much to love about this album: musically, the melodies rattle around in your head for days, the guitars are crisp and the strings forlorn, and grant hutchison's drumming is relentless. but, for me, the best thing about the midnight organ fight is the stripped-to-the-bone honesty and unabashed rawness in scott hutchison's lyrics and voice (with a scottish accent no less!), providing a description of feelings that are at once startling and yet altogether familiar. there is simply nothing about this album that i don't love.

2.
með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
sigur rós
xl recordings, june 24, 2008

"inní mér syngur vitleysingur"
"heima" (japanese album)

sigur rós has always made beautiful music, but the release of með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust added a dimension that was previously unheard (at least by me)--joy. this newfound happiness manifested itself in the nudity on the album cover, the similar nudity in the first video released, and within the song in that video as well, "gobbledigook". in fact, the unfamiliar tenor of "gobbledigook", first released as a single in may, seemed so strange and unfamiliar that i at first wasn't sure quite what to think of it. but when the full album was released, and i heard "inní mér syngur vitleysingur" as track two, this joyous new dimension came across so convincingly and refreshingly that it was impossible not to love. there is plenty of the minimalism and ethereal beauty that have defined the band for years, but there is no mistaking that this album is a celebration, and by the time the half-way point of "festival" comes along, you'll be ready to lose yourself as well. the only adjective that i can summon at this point that seems to do this album a hint of justice is "glorious".

3.
for emma, forever ago
bon iver
jagjaguwar, february 19, 2008

"re: stacks"
"for emma"

the backstory has been told many other places in much more eloquent ways than i ever could, but for emma, forever ago is the product of a catharsis. the gravity of the nine songs represent the deliberations and reflections of a man so longed steeped in sadness and loneliness that his mirrored reflection, perhaps once unrecognizable at the beginning of this pain, had probably become...familiar. but the songs are also a process, illuminating a path on which failure, disappointment, and heartache can be weathered, and by the end he's in a different place completely: "this is not the sound of a new man / or a crispy realization / it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away". there will always be challenges in life, but learning how to let go of what can be let go, and knowing where to put the things that can't, is an endeavor of majestic proportions. and an album that is so purely reflective of that process is surely one of the best of the year.

4.
3 rounds and a sound
blind pilot
expunged records, july 15, 2008

"3 rounds and a sound"
"oviedo"

this was my favorite discovery of the year. there is a highly significant personal dimension to this album that has nothing at all to do with the quality of the music, as it played an important role indicating mutual interest in building what is now the most important relationship in my life. but that doesn't help you at all, does it? so know that lead singer israel nebeker's voice is as melodic and wonderfully expressive as any you'll find in indie rock. musically, acoustic guitars are strummed with purpose and combine with freshly brushed drums and horns that are, at times, dripping with sorrow, to create a mood that is somehow simultaneously laden with melancholy and consistently bright, recalling an acoustic jeff tweedy. and lyrical gems abound, with thoughtful lines that are capable of discerning the complexities of a life full-lived. in other words, regardless of the personal connection you may or may not have to this album, it is one that is definitely worth hearing.

5.
you & me
the walkmen
gigantic, august 19, 2008

"if only it were true"
"four provinces"

i never got around to writing about you & me, and i'm really not sure why. it's one of those albums that i can come back to again and again, any time i'm in need of a solid, consistently great listen. i've been thinking about what attracts me to the album, and i think the best description i can come up with is an abstract notion that it occupies the space in between sunset and evening. after you've cut off work for the night but haven't yet had a chance to change out of your work clothes. when there's a strange combination of weariness and energy, of relief that the working day is done and anticipation for what comes next. especially when what comes next involves a me and a you. you & me encompasses all of that. hamilton leithauser's voice gives the band a working-class feel, brass sections give slower songs a weary quality that quickly gives way to the nervous vigor of songs like "four provinces", and all the while a sense of hope and excitement pervades throughout, infusing the album with the anticipation that "i know that it's true / it's gonna be a good year"

2008 is overrated : albums of the year (6-10)

2008-12-30T15:02:00.000-08:00

click here for tracks of the year 1-10
click here for tracks of the year 11-20
click here for tracks of the year 21-30

looking back on this list and this year, i think i could have easily stopped at five albums and been done with it. in recognition of that fact, i think this list deserves to be split into two parts. it's not that albums six through ten are not very good, it's just that my preference for the first five is so clearly apparent. anyway, here's the first part of the albums that i loved this year:

6.
fleet foxes
fleet foxes
sub pop, june 3, 2008

"he doesn't know why"
"blue ridge mountains"

maybe it's a bad sign that i have a hard time figuring out what to say about fleet foxes. i have yet to find any particular personal connection to any of the songs on a lyrical level and, save for one or two exceptions, i don't even know if i could identify by name most of the songs on the album. all i know is, i was immediately hooked on this album over the summer, put it down for a few months, and then got even more hooked when i picked it back up over the fall. i can think of nothing else in my recent library that sounds quite like fleet foxes, so i'll keep on listening and keep on loving this until it no longer sounds fresh. something tells me that won't happen any time soon.

7.
conor oberst
conor oberst
merge records, august 5, 2008

"milk thistle"
"moab"

it was tempting to dismiss conor oberst's first solo album in, oh, 15 years, as an album to be taken less seriously than a regular bright eyes release. but to miss conor oberst was to miss an album that stands up well to any bright eyes release, recent or past. oberst's evocative lyrics, though sometimes incomprehensible, shine through as always, but content-wise they seem to be an extension of cassadega's turn toward a calmer, seemingly more comfortable soul. oberst indulges some whims and even seems to have some fun on tracks like "i don't want to die (in the hospital)" and "nyc - gone, gone". but it's when he recalls his inner tom petty, on "moab", and then gets to his most introspective, on "milk thistle", that repeated listens pay off the biggest dividends. it seems strange to listen to a conor album without mike mogis, but in case there was any doubt, conor oberst makes clear that he has the talent to go it alone.

8.
honeysuckle weeks
the submarines
nettwerk records, may 13, 2008

"submarine symphonika"
"you, me and the bourgeoisie"

blake hazard and john dragonetti are in love, and they want to sing you songs about it. the follow-up to 2006's declare a new state!, honeysuckle weeks makes clear that blake and john's fairy tale lives on. if declare a new state! was the story of the pieces being irresistibly drawn back together, honeysuckle weeks is the story of those reassembled pieces being superglued together. if declare a new state! was a story that seemed too good to be true, honeysuckle weeks is the evidence that sometimes the fairy tale actually sticks. every song on the album is about love in some form or another, and only three of the ten songs fail to mention the word. it is clearly what is on their mind and in their hearts.

9.
in ghost colours
cut copy
modular interscope, april 8, 2008

"hearts on fire"
"far away"

much like fleet foxes, i'm finding it a little difficult trying to figure out what to say about in ghost colours. maybe it's that the 80s synth-rock-pop dynamic is so different from most of what i listen to these days. maybe it's the lyrics, made to seem nearly overly earnest by the dancehall beats. maybe it's that this album takes me back to erasure, depeche mode, and growing up in the 80s. or maybe i need to stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy this immensely enjoyable record for what it is--a great listen.

10.
xoxo, panda and the new kid revival
her space holiday
mush records, october 7, 2008

"the new kid revival"
"sleepy tigers"

given how undeniably poppy and catchy this album is, i wasn't quite sure how lasting an impact xoxo, panda and the new kid revival would have on me. but it's several months in and i still can't quite get enough of it. i love the melodies, i love the sometimes-kitschy lyrics, and i love the story behind the album's stylistic departure. who knows, this one may not last that long with me, but for now it's still all about what sounds good, and this still sounds really, really good.

2008 is overrated : tracks of the year (1-10)

2008-12-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

click for tracks 11-20
click for tracks 21-30

1. "lost coastlines"
okkervil river
from the lp the stand ins (jagjaguwar)

maybe it's the mammoth expectations that accompanies every okkervil river release since i heard black sheep boy, but i was sadly underwhelmed by the stand ins. however, "lost coastlines" was it from the first listen. with will sheff's trademark ear for melody and clever lyrics, this vocal duet is a song that marks the transition of jonathan meiburg away from okkervil river, but it also reminded me of an applicable transition in my life and provided inspiration for my favorite post of the year. [more]

2. "backwards walk"
frightened rabbit
from the lp the midnight organ fight (fat cat)

the midnight organ fight had so many great songs on it that it might have been difficult to identify my favorite one. but what might have been never was, because "backwards walk" so clearly struck a chord in my life and, well, provided material for my second-favorite post of the year. looking back on these two songs, and knowing where i am at now, i am so thankful for the path that i have walked--someone was indeed waiting for me, and someone is waiting for you, too. [more]

3. "inní mér syngur vitleysingur"
sigur rós
from the lp með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (xl recordings)

of all the different ways that happiness manifested itself on með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, the one that surprised me the most was the unabashed expressions of love in "inní mér syngur vitleysingur": "þegar að við hittumst (when we meet) / þegar að við kyssumst (when we kiss) / varirnar brenndu, höldumst í hendur (the lips burning, we hold hands) / ég sé þig vakinn (i see you wake) / ég sé þig nakinn (i see you naked) / inní mér syngur vitleysingur (within me a lunatic sings)". pure joy...

4. "breezy"
conor oberst
from the ep gentleman's pact (self-released)

written by conor about an amazing woman who tragically passed way before her time, "breezy" is simply one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. there is a pain in conor's voice that may seem to be too often present when he sings, but in this song and in these circumstances there is no doubting the legitimacy of the quivers of his voice, made all the more haunting by the accompanying reverb. the song is beautiful in any context, but the backstory and the singularity of the subject give it such an added poignancy and sadness--it is absolutely devastating. [more]

5. "3 rounds and a sound"
blind pilot
from the lp 3 rounds and a sound (expunged records)

this one is easy. i think it's safe to say that this song is a primary reason why i'm in the situation that i'm in today. from the opening lines ("they're playing our song / can you see the lights? / can you hear the hum?") to the gentle strums of an acoustic guitar, to the chorus ("blooming up from the ground / 3 rounds and a sound / like whispering you know me / and you know me"); this was the moment we knew we were interested. beautiful.

6. "re: stacks"
bon iver
from the lp for emma, forever ago (jagjaguwar)

on an album overflowing with staggering honesty, "re: stacks" was the final curtain, the circle closing, and the journey completing. having now found the ability to move on from the past, "everything that happens is from now on" for justin vernon. "this is not the sound of a new man / or crispy realization / it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away / your love will be safe with me". just so.

7. "lover's day"
tv on the radio
from the lp dear science (dgc/interscope)

much like "couleurs" by m83, "lover's day" was notable to me for the eroticism it conjured up. but while "couleurs" is vaguely sensual as an instrumental piece, "lover's day" is blatantly sexual in its lyrics. but like any good lover, the wanton desire and erupting passion are carefully balanced with tender hooks and delicate glances: "yes here of course there are miracles / under your sighs and moans / i'm gonna take you, i'm gonna take you / i'm gonna take you home"

8. "he doesn't know why"
fleet foxes
from the lp fleet foxes (sub pop)

i can't even really identify what it is about "he doesn't know why" that i love so much. maybe it's the beach boy vocal harmonies that open the song. maybe it's the feverishly melodic verses. maybe it's robin pecknold's soaring vocals in the second half of the song. or maybe all of the above give the song such a sunny, lilting disposition that it's impossible not to like.

9. "if only it were true"
the walkmen
from the lp you & me (gigantic)

i guess a lot of my favorite songs have a lot to do with my state of my mind as i near the end of 2008. while there are so many great songs on you & me, "if only it were true" stands out for me simply because of the wistfulness of the closing stanza: "so don't come calling for me / 'cause baby, my dream ain't through / and when, when i've had enough / oh then i'll die in dreams of you"

10. "bixby canyon bridge"
death cab for cutie
from the lp narrow stairs (atlantic records)

without a doubt the standout track on narrow stairs, "bixby canyon bridge" is ben gibbard's discourse on the struggle of seeking and recovering a muse that cannot be sought or procured. the band let loose nearly two minutes of aggression and frustration that threaten to fracture the song completely, only to regroup in a place where the listener realizes that the muse was there all along, and yielding one of the better opening tracks in recent memory. [more]

2008 is overrated : tracks of the year (11-20)

2008-12-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

click for tracks 1-10
click for tracks 21-30

11. "as tall as cliffs"
margot & the nuclear so and so's
from the lp animal! (epic)

they made the record they wanted to make. their label gave a cd release to the album they thought would sell, and a vinyl release to the original incarnation. thankfully, both releases contain the best song on either album, "as tall as cliffs".

12. "smokin from shootin"
my morning jacket
from the lp evil urges (ato records)

"highly suspicious" was the most controversial and talked-about song on evil urges, but "smokin from shootin" was easily the best. "who makes my decisions? / who reads all your thoughts? / what makes us how we are? / faith can't prove what science won't resolve / kumbaya my lord, c'mon row your boat ashore / the river's long, it is cold, it chills the body but not the soul" [more]

13. "you'd rather run"
jaymay
from the lp autumn fallin' (blue note records)

the standout track on jaymay's debut album is a rambling folk song full of fits and starts that to these ears could only be described as dylanesque. [more]

14. "milk thistle"
conor oberst
from the lp conor oberst (merge records)

"milk thistle" was a bit higher on my list until "breezy" knocked some of the sheen off my concept of what a beautiful conor oberst song sounded like. it's a beautiful song, though, with typically-poignant lyrics: "newspaper, newspaper, can't take no more / you're here every morning waiting at my door / i'm just trying to kiss you but you stab my eyes / make me blue forever like an island sky / but i'm not pretending that it's all okay / just let me have my coffee before you take away the day"

15. "opportunity to cry"
priscilla ahn
from the lp a good day (blue note records)

back in march, "opportunity to cry", priscilla ahn's cover of a willie nelson song, was my favorite vocal performance of the year at that point. i stand by that statement nine months later. [more]

16. "the twist"
frightened rabbit
from the lp the midnight organ fight (fat cat)

the midnight organ fight is the only album that i've picked two songs off of this year, and i could have easily picked three or four more ("the modern leper", "good arms vs. bad arms", "poke"...). there's just something about the honesty in scott hutchison's lyrics: "twist and whisper the wrong name / i don't care and nor do my ears / twist yourself around me / i need company, i need human heat"

17. "the new kid revival"
her space holiday
from the lp xoxo, panda and the new kid revival (mush)

xoxo, panda and the new kid revival marked a stylistic departure for marc bianchi, but he makes clear on the opening track, "the new kid revival", that he's not making any apologies for that fact: "so let's start the new kid revival / we'll make it up as we go along / and if they tell us that we're doing it wrong / we'll just turn up the sound of our song" [more]

18. "submarine symphonika"
the submarines
from the lp honeysuckle weeks (nettwerk records)

blake and john are still in love, and for the cynics out there, they make it known in their letimotif that they haven't given up on you either. [more]

19. "hearts on fire"
cut copy
from the lp in ghost colours (modular interscope)

i have a draft from june in my post list entitled 'cut copy', but like a lot of other albums this year, i never got around to writing about in ghost colours. it's still one of my favorite albums of the year though, for its ability to recall the synth-pop days of my 1980s youth.

20. "listen to the math"
tokyo police club
from the lp elephant shell (saddle creek)

i don't even really know what to say about elephant shell and tokyo police club. it was just a really, really fun record to listen to. quick-hitting, insanely-catchy, well-crafted pop songs that even make use of the word 'australopithecine'...what else is there to say?

2008 is overrated : tracks of the year (21-30)

2008-12-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

i've had as difficult time finding time for sand is overrated this holiday season as i ever have, i'm extremely late to get this list out, and i have so much other work to do. so what do i decide to do? expand my year-end track list from 20 to 30 songs. i guess that's an indication of how much great music was out there this year. even though i've written about so little of it over the year, i was definitely listening, and in the end i just couldn't leave out tracks by m83, thao, santogold, etc. so here we are, the first of four parts of my year-end list. [part two] [part three]

21. "couleurs"
m83
from the lp saturdays=youth (mute u.s.)

i thought about the post i wanted to write for this song for a good chunk of the year, but just could never quite get it out. it was going to be something about how sexually provocative the pulsating rhythms, throbbing beats, and rising and falling tensions in this song were. but i never got around to it. i guess i had a headache... (but i never stopped loving it.)

22. "m79"
vampire weekend
from the lp vampire weekend (xl recordings)

i never got around to writing about vampire weekend either, but if anyone got more than enough blog-love this year, it was them. you have to love the playful riffs that open "m79", transitioning from harpischord to strings to guitar.

23. "feet asleep"
thao
from the lp we brave bee stings and all (kill rock stars)

there is an incredibly charming playfulness to thao's voice that deceives the gravity of her lyrics, making for an altogether fascinating combination of joy and sorrow, innocence and carnal knowledge. [more]

24. "all you ever wanted"
the black keys
from the lp attack & release (nonesuch)

it seems like these days i don't listen to that many bands that rock, but the black keys provide a nice wake-up call to an otherwise mellow selection in my library. fitting then that my favorite song on attack & release starts out so slow before getting really loud.

25. "sweet darlin'"
she & him
from the lp volume one (merge records)

i still love m. ward doing his own solo thing, but it's hard not to love the girl group sound that he and zooey deschanel put together for the first of what will hopefully be many she & him albums.

26. "little person"
jon brion with deanna storey
from the soundtrack synecdoche, new york (lakeshore records)

i'm still trying to figure out and analyze synecdoche, new york, but i'll always remember the movie for two reasons--sitting in the theater next to the future love of my life, and this song. it's sad, jazz-lounge feel perfectly complemented the pensive, introspective tone of the movie.

27. "i'm a lady"
santogold (featuring trouble andrew)
from the lp santogold (downtown)

another album i never got around to writing about, santogold's eponymous debut was so full of contrasting styles and genres, it was like her own personal mixtape. after some r&b, punk, rock, and electronic songs, "i'm a lady" finds her in full indie rock mode.

28. "jack killed mom"
jenny lewis
from the lp acid tongue (warner bros.)

even though this is only at 28, "jack killed mom" is the main reason i needed to expand my list to 30 songs--i just could not get through the year without mentioning jenny lewis and the best song that jack white never wrote.

29. "boys with girlfriends"
meiko
from the lp meiko (myspace records)

my favorite quarter-japanese singer from the hotel cafe in los angeles who pronounces her name incorrectly...i still love you, meiko.

30. "you don't know me"
ben folds (featuring regina spektor)
from the lp way to normal (sony)

i'd never really listened to ben folds before this year, so getting this from the good people at sony/epic was a pleasant surprise but yet another album that i didn't get around to writing about. it's never too late, though, to feature the vocal stylings of the lovely regina spektor.

feeling lucky

2008-12-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

it looks like the next substantive post on here won't come until the end of the month, when i can put together my year-end lists (how can it possibly be the end of 2008 already?). but, in the meantime there might be a few quick posts reflecting my present state of mind (and heart). right now, nothing could be a more accurate reflection of how i've been feeling lately than the title of this song from the jesus & mary chain.

the jesus & mary chain : "feeling lucky"
from the lp stoned & dethroned (warner bros, 1994)

feeling lucky
i've been feeling lucky
i've been feeling lucky
i've got someone who knows me
and she still wants to hold me

you should come write all over me and we'll give 'em something to read

2008-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

the latest obsession is xoxo, panda and the new kid revival, the latest release from marc bianchi, aka her space holiday. i hadn't listened to hsh prior to the new album, but after going back in the catalog, it seems that xoxo is quite the stylistic departure from his previous work. it's a transition that is a result, if one is to believe the story so wistfully told on the official website, of a friend convincing bianchi to expand his creative horizons, to step outside his comfort zone, to make a revival out of something new:

"you know," she said, "the thing with you is that you somehow managed to take a tiny percent of yourself--the smallest fraction--and turn it into your only equation. in this life, there are so many sides to everything. and that includes you. you have so many things waiting to come out...and yet you insist on building from only one part of yourself. you wouldn't point to your pinky and say this is my entire body. just like you wouldn't look at one branch and declare that this is a tree. but if you add all of the little puzzle pieces together, it makes up one entire picture. but right now, how you live, and how you create, you are just a little torn corner of a photograph. and i know deep inside you, even more so than me, you are dying to see what's in the rest of the frame."

and so, gone are the electronic beats and computer wizardry, replaced by guitars, keyboards, and good old fashioned handclaps. thankfully, bianchi's remarkable ear for melody remains, as are lyrics that are also remarkable in their ability to stir up a depth of emotion out of rather simplistic terms. it's unmistakably light and undeniably catchy--a pure pop record, meaning it will remain to be seen how enduring an impact it has in the long term. but sometimes music is just about heart, and you have to go simply with what sounds good in the moment. and in this moment, xoxo sounds really, really good. so if you tell me that i'm doing it wrong, i'm gonna turn up the sound of these songs.

her space holiday : "the new kid revival"

her space holiday : "sleepy tigers"

from the lp xoxo, panda and the new kid revival (mush records, 2008) emusic

you said everything changed, you felt as if you'd just woke up

2008-11-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

had another post scheduled for today, but this makes more sense right now. because after an unbelievable yesterday/last night/this morning, it feels like maybe something has changed...? i hope? that's all. come back tomorrow for her space holiday.

bright eyes : "first day of my life"
from the lp i'm wide awake, it's morning (saddle creek, 2005)

this is the first day of my life
i swear i was born right in the doorway
i went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed there,
spreading blankets on the beach

yours was the first face that i saw
think i was blind before i met you
i don't know where i am, i don't know where i've been
but i know where i want to go

and so i thought i'd let you know
yeah these things take forever, i especially am slow
but i realized that i need you
and i wondered if i could come home

remember the time you drove all night
just to meet me in the morning
and i thought it was strange, you said everything changed
you felt as if you'd just woke up

and you said,
"this is the first day of my life.
i'm glad i didn't die before i met you.
but now i don't care, i could go anywhere with you
and i'd probably be happy."

so if you want to be with me
with these things there's no telling,
we just have to wait and see
but i'd rather be working for a paycheck
than waiting to win the lottery

besides, maybe this time it's different
i mean, i really think you like me...

more beauty

2008-11-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

sunday was a very beautiful day. somehow, i seemed to encounter beauty with nearly every step of the day. i woke up to this dancing light show on my bathroom door and was transfixed. an hour later, i downloaded "how it ends" by devotchka after hearing it for the first time. somehow, they go very well together. then there was the sight of sand floating over the beach. maybe this beauty is always there, just not always looking for us. or maybe we need to open our eyes a little wider. whatever it is, i'm still feeling pretty good...

devotchka : "how it ends"
from the lp how it ends (cicero recordings, 2004) emusic

sand is overrated?

2008-11-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

november 9, 2008. inspiration point, corona del mar, ca.

sometimes, with a lot of wind, sand isn't so overrated. as it dances, floating gently over the shore, it's actually quite beautiful.

let me just say / you get what you take from it / so be amazed / all this beauty

the weepies : "all this beauty"
from the lp hideaway (nettwerk records, 2008) emusic

a song to stab your ears to

2008-11-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

back in 2005, i remember reading a review of bright eyes' i'm wide awake, it's morning, in which the reviewer contended that "lua" was a song so beautiful that you'd want to stab your ears so that they'd never again have to hear anything of lesser beauty. it truly is a beautiful song, but my reaction to it never quite reached that level of profundity.

enter 2008 and a song called "breezy", the last song on a tour-only ep that conor oberst has been hawking at his solo shows. it's a song he wrote about a woman named sabrina duim, aka "breezy", a harpist who recorded and toured with bright eyes during the digital ash in a digital urn tour. on january 13, 2007, at the age of 22, sabrina passed away, apparently of complications from some medications she was taking. upon hearing the song for the first time, i was immediately struck by how hauntingly beautiful it is, and set off to find out more about who it was about. turns out that sabrina was an incredibly amazing woman--brilliantly smart, momentously talented, radiantly beautiful, and extraordinarily warm. just reading about her personality and accomplishments prompts a sharp feeling of loss--i can only imagine the magnitude of that feeling for those who actually knew her. but "breezy" is a song that provides a good approximation. there is a pain in conor's voice that may seem to be too often present when he sings, but in this song and in these circumstances there is no doubting the legitimacy of the quivers of his voice, made all the more haunting by the accompanying reverb. the song is beautiful in any context, but the backstory and the singularity of the subject give it such an added poignancy and sadness--it is absolutely devastating, and definitely a song i would consider stabbing my ears for.

conor oberst : "breezy"
from the ep gentleman's pact (self-released, 2008)

"she was, as a person, perhaps difficult to know, or difficult to understand perfectly, but to try was, for those close to her, to find a great deal of happiness." -- a close friend

a tragic loss of life
sabrinaduim.com

blind pilot : 3 rounds and a sound

2008-10-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

it's funny the way great music can sometimes come from the most random of places. a few weeks ago my friend's father, on the return leg of a months-long bicycle trek from southern california to alaska and back, was spending the night in a campground in the middle of nowhere when the sounds of live music pervaded the night air. the next morning brought a conversation with the two musicians who had played in the campground the previous night, who told my friend's dad that they were in a band and were on a bicycle trek tour of the west coast, from their home in portland, up to seattle, and all the way down to los angeles. hearing this story, of a band on bicycles playing what sounded like an unannounced show in a campground full of people who probably aren't very interested in music, i was quickly dismissive of how good the music could have possibly been, regardless of how sweet a concept it sounded.

turns out i was slightly wrong about the organization and publicity of the tour. and turns out i couldn't have been more wrong about the quality of the music. upon being told the band's name--blind pilot--just a few days ago, i checked out the band's myspace page and sampled their music with no expectations at all. i was blown away on the first listen. unfortunately, as luck would have it, i'm out of town and missing their two shows in los angeles, but i quickly downloaded the album, 3 rounds and a sound, off emusic and am hooked. simply put, this is great stuff.

blind pilot consists of israel nebeker and ryan dobrowski. having not actually seen them live and knowing only what i can find online, i can surmise only that nebeker is the lead singer. but what a lead singer he is. many of the reviews i've seen compare nebeker's voice to james mercer of the shins, which i can definitely hear. but i'll see their james mercer and raise them will sheff of okkervil river--nebeker's voice is as melodic and wonderfully expressive as either man's. musically, acoustic guitars are strummed with purpose and combine with freshly brushed drums and horns that are, at times, dripping with sorrow, to create a mood that is somehow simultaneously laden with melancholy and consistently bright, recalling an acoustic jeff tweedy. with those two reference points, you should be running to buy the album right now, but first know that the other thing that makes 3 rounds and a sound such a joy is the lyrics. lyrical gems abound throughout the course of the album, but my favorite comes from the opening track, "oviedo", a wistful recounting of loves--lost, unwanted, and missed.

and maybe some things are better left unsaid
but if you wanted to test that out, yeah i guess i could've said
but there were nights in bars that i recall
your breath was courage laced with alcohol

everything came out of nowhere for me on this one, but it seems pretty clear that blind pilot are serious talents with a captivating combination of supremely expressive vocals, buoyed by the tranquility of acoustic guitars and hushed drums, singing thoughtful lyrics that are capable of discerning the complexities of a life full-lived. something tells me these guys won't be coming out of nowhere for long, so better get on the bandwagon while there's still room.

blind pilot : "oviedo"

blind pilot : "3 rounds and a sound"

from the lp 3 rounds and a sound (expunged records/ioda, 2008) emusic
blind pilot : myspace
blind pilot : blog

within me a lunatic sings -- sigur rós : the greek theatre : october 2, 2008

2008-10-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

i would be among the first to admit that i sometimes make pretty liberal use of superlatives when it comes to talking about music. when my friends hear me call a band "one of my favorites", they know that that list is considerably long and seemingly growing by the day. but hopefully my history of hyperbole won't lessen the effect of this statement, because this time i seriously mean it: seeing sigur rós live in 2005 was the most aesthetically pleasing concert i have ever seen. there was a majesty to everything about the performances on that tour, so wonderfully captured in heima, that transcended every idea i had about music as art. the visuals are still fresh in my memory, opening and closing behind a sheer curtain that alternately captured the vague outlines of the band and their imposing shadows cast by lights from behind. it was a stunning display, matching note-for-note the gentle unraveling of "takk" and "glósóli", as well as the frenetic conclusion to "popplagið", and served as the perfect complement to the ethereal mood and atmosphere that the band is so well known for creating with its music. it was, by all accounts, breathtaking.

and so it was that seeing them last thursday, for the first time since that wonderful night three years ago, was as highly anticipated an evening as i can remember. unfortunately, as so often happens with extreme anticipation and build-up, and so it was that i walked away slightly disappointed. i know that my disappointment had a lot to do with the towering expectations i carried in, and i knew that they couldn't put on the same show as before; but i did hope that they would have replaced the theatrics on the curtain with something equally amazing. unfortunately, two blasts of enough confetti to make it seem like it was snowing was about the extent of the replacement visual artistry.

it wasn't a bad show by any means. in fact, i'm pretty sure any sigur rós show, given even the reduced level of artistic merit and, oh yeah--the music--would still be one of the best shows i'd see in any given year. because despite my misgivings and slight disappointment, it's still sigur freakin' rós, music replete with transcendant beauty and the ability to elevate a mood to aural nirvana. since i first listened to it back in june, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust has done nothing but continue to amaze me. with all the familiar sonic characteristics intact, the band added a new element--pure, unadulterated joy--to glorious effect. to see these songs performed live (complete with the confetti faux snowstorm) confirmed that that additional element was sincere in every way, and there is just no way that they could make for a night that was anything less than extraordinary. i could only imagine the hyperbole i'd be spewing if the visual elements had been as breathtaking as they were before...

sigur rós : "inní mér syngur vitleysingur"
from the lp með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (beggars xl recordings, 2008)

þegar að við hittumst (when we meet)
þegar að við kyssumst (when we kiss)
varirnar brenndu, höldumst í hendur (the lips burning, we hold hands)
ég sé þig vakinn (i see you wake)
ég sé þig nakinn (i see you naked)
inní mér syngur vitleysingur (within me a lunatic sings)

failin' palin

2008-10-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

it's not often that i get into political discourse on here, but these days it's nearly impossible not to have an opinion on sarah palin. the mccain campaign's handling of their vp candidate so far has been interesting, shunning all media requests save for a few very high profile interviews which have turned disastrous. it is as if they are saying, "let's keep her on the pool deck--it's much too dangerous in the water--but if she does go in, let's throw her in the deep end." perhaps the only good that has come out of this entire debacle is the fact that tina fey is now on our televisions a full month before 30 rock returns. in any event, the outcome of these appearances has been downright brutal, revealing to these eyes at least the magnitude of just how unprepared this woman is to be anywhere near the presidency of the most powerful nation in the world. it's not that i think gov. palin is unintelligent; it's just that i think she is embarrassingly unfamiliar with issues that, well, are kind of important when it comes to leading a country. the degree of her ignorance manifests itself in an inability to develop opinions on politically fundamental issues, and i just can't see how anyone in their right mind could still be remotely comfortable with the prospect of a potential president palin. there are those conservative pundits who insist that, despite her inadequacies, she's the right person for the job because she makes good decisions. but the way i see it, isn't the most egregious example of poor decision making the fact that we are in this situation to begin with? wouldn't someone who makes good decisions realize how unprepared they are for the job and decline the offer in the first place? or maybe she doesn't know what she doesn't know...and for someone running for vice president, that would surely be the scariest proposition of all.

wilco with fleet foxes : "i shall be released"
live from bend, oregon (august 23, 2008)
given away by wilco in exchange for a promise of voting next month. seriously--no matter your party affiliation, and even if you do intend to vote for mccain/palin, just do it--vote.

okkervil river...ftw?

2008-09-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

the other night, while in the throes of an unsettled restlessness, i found myself plumbing the depths of my email sentbox, traveling backwards to a period of my life that was vastly different but simultaneously all too familiar. it was only four years ago that life was so relatively simple, with one of the focuses of my attention being to alert people who had bought some junk i was trying to get rid of on ebay. life was comfortable back then, if not a little bit boring. and then i reached the moment when everything went to shit--when i sailed out on a journey away from the most stable and supportive relationship i've ever been in. those old emails made fresh a surge of memories full of pain, uncertainty, hope, fear. i was leaving what wasn't menacingly wrong to try to find something that was unequivocally right, all the while unsure that what i was looking for actually existed.

four years later and i'm still at sea. there have been towns in which i have stopped along the way, but i always end up here, in the same place. there's places that i've quietly slipped away from in the middle of the night; places that i've not been invited to stay; and places where i've been ungraciously left behind. it's all the same, really. without any maps to guide, i'm left to find my way by trial and error, knowing only the destination i seek, and sometimes the tribulations threaten to swallow me up completely. but it's a journey that i know is worth making, to find that star that's high and far in some other sky, and sometimes i know that all i can do is just sing, la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la la...

* * * * *

for me, it was leaving a good relationship to find a great relationship. for will sheff and jonathan meiberg, it was jonathan leaving okkervil river to focus on shearwater. it's leaving anything in life that is not inherently bad, if not just simply good, to find that little piece that just somehow feels missing. whatever it is for you, will and jonathan have written a song that just so perfectly encompasses the journey and all of its uncertainty, fear, and hope. it's "lost coastlines", and despite the quality of the music i have loved so far this year (frightened rabbit, bon iver, sigur ros), i will be surprised if at the end of the year it is not my favorite song of 2008.

okkervil river : "lost coastlines"
from the lp the stand ins (jagjaguwar, 2008)

packed and all eyes turned in, no one to see on the quay
no one waving for me, just the shoreline receding
ticket in my hand and thinking wish i didn't hand it in
cause who said sailing is fine?
leaving behind all the faces that i might replace if i tried on that long ride
looking deep inside but i don’t want to look so deep inside yet

sit down, sit down on the prow to wave bye
there might not be another stop further on the line
look out, look out at each town that glides by
and there's another crowd to drown in crying eyes

and see how that light you loved now just won’t shine
there might just be another star, that’s high and far in some other sky
we sing, is that marionette real enough yet to step off of that set
to decide what her dance might be doing
ruining the play to, in the ensuing melee, escape
we packed up all of our bags, the ship's deck now sags from the weight of our tracks
as we pace beneath flags black and battered
rattling our swords in service of some faded, foreign lord

we sail out on orders from him but we find
that the maps he sent to us don't mention lost coastlines
where nothing we've actually seen has been mapped or outlined
and we don't recognize the names upon these signs

and every night finds us rocking and rolling on waves wild and white
well we have lost our way, nobody’s gonna say it outright
just go la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la...

just give me time

2008-08-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

so...yeah--i'm still here. i dream of the day when things won't be so busy and i can refocus some of my time and energy on those areas of my life that bring me the most satisfaction, sand is overrated being one of them, but sometimes i wonder if those dreams are just that--dreams. and if they are, is that really what life is all about? is that really all i want out of life? definitely not, and it seems clear to me that my life is currently not in the exact place that i would like it to be. but the potential promise of the professional endeavor to which i have committed my time makes the sacrifices seem worth a temporary discomfort. and for that, it seems the best that i can do is just give it time and hope that happiness is waiting for me at the end of the line, if not somewhere in the middle.

okkervil river : "just give me time"
from the ep sleep and wake-up songs (jagjaguwar, 2004)

this red-haired girl of mine tore a pinecone from the pine
to cut into her palm, singing the song her sinking lover sung
i shut my eyes, ripped a train from off the line
but a sudden gust of snow blew through a hole in my girl's clothes
well, my girl knows she’s not all right
and i don’t mind
just give me time, just give me time
oh baby...baby, give me time

her stinging eyes
and her sixteen-hour drive, and our shared, transparent rope
and our icy dive through hope i’ll memorize, and i’ll cut into my mind
i can’t believe it can be so
i won’t believe that my girl froze

well, my girl knows that i’m coiled tight and green inside
just give me time, just give me time
oh baby...baby, give me time

and that weight you hold, it’s getting light
and, love, i know you’ll lift it easily up high
just give it time, just give it time

baby give me time
oh baby, just give me time

have you had enough excitement now?

2008-07-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

a discussion of evil urges, the latest release from my morning jacket, would not be complete without at least a mention of what will likely end up the most polarizing track of 2008, "highly suspicious". for the record, i actually quite like the song, as there is just something deliciously overwrought and absurd in the way jim james channels his inner prince to ridicule the fear-mongering that seems all too common during the last eight years, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, right down to his maniacal fits of laughter. to focus so much attention and energy on this one track though is to miss what turns out to be another glittering effort from a band that has always been consistently sterling.

spread across a variety of backdrops (politics, sex, love, faith, age...), the album is thematically consistent in its exploration of the various "evils"--real or perceived--that seem to affect so many of the actions and emotions we take and feel in life. but for all of its thematic consistency, evil urges is stylistically all over the place (with "highly suspicious" being the most shocking example). it's the mark of a band eager to take chances and, thankfully, the results mark the talent level of the band on par with any other american rock band. the familiar southern and classic rock charms abound, but this time with dabbles of modern soul, classic r&b, alt-country, and straight-up pop. the musical shifts can be jarring at first listen, but the cohesiveness of the lyrical themes carry the album across many different streets until you've reached the other side and realize you're still in the same city. repeated listens bring it all together in a way that is weird, wonderful, and altogether my morning jacket. that, and jim james lets out screams and howls with such voracity and intensity that they could be second only to karen o. of the yeah yeah yeahs...

my morning jacket : "smokin from shootin"
from the lp evil urges (ato records, 2008)

everything that happens is from now on

2008-06-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

during my recent months of perpetual busyness and silence here, i started listening to bon iver's for emma, forever ago. with everything i had going on, i never had a chance to pay much attention to the lyrics or look into the stories behind the songs, but the subdued tone of the music made for nice background sounds as i was falling asleep. as such, i had played the album at least 20 times before i finally had a chance to really listen to it, and so it wasn't until just recently that my appreciation for this piece of art reached a level that even came to close to being appropriate. it's just one of those albums, i guess--so seemingly unobtrusive and inconspicuous on the surface to make it easy to overlook, but underneath lies the remnants of something stunningly beautiful.

the backstory has been told many other places in much more eloquent ways than i ever could, but for emma, forever ago is the product of a catharsis. the gravity of the nine songs represent the deliberations and reflections of a man so longed steeped in sadness and loneliness that his mirrored reflection, perhaps once unrecognizable at the beginning of this pain, had probably become...familiar. but the songs are also a process, illuminating a path on which failure, disappointment, and heartache can be weathered, and by the end he's in a different place completely: "this is not the sound of a new man / or a crispy realization / it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away". there will always be challenges in life, but learning how to let go of what can be let go, and knowing where to put the things that can't, is an endeavor of majestic proportions. and an album that is so purely reflective of that process is surely one of the best of the year.

bon iver : "re: stacks"
from the lp for emma, forever ago (self-released, 2007; jagjaguwar, 2008)

australopithecine, rekindle your heart

2008-06-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

obscenely late to the party on tokyo police club, but it would be even more of a tragedy if i neglected them completely. after a couple brief eps, tpc signed to saddle creek and put out their debut full-length, elephant shell, in april. it's a full-length in track quantity (11), but the band maintain their quick-hitting style, with songs rarely surpassing the 2:30 mark. but 2:30 is really all that's needed for an insanely catchy, well-crafted pop song with clever lyrics to make it's mark. and has the word "australopithecine" ever been used in a song before?

tokyo police club : "listen to the math"
from the lp elephant shell (saddle creek, 2008)

death cab for cutie : narrow stairs

2008-06-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

amidst all discussion of major label sell-outs and commercial radio play, it's been a little difficult lately reconciling my feelings about death cab for cutie. the prospect of sharing this band from my beloved past with a bunch of fairweather fans who have heard the latest single on kroq made the thought of seeing death cab live highly unappealing. and the first single, "i will possess your heart", seemed at first to be an exercise in annoyance highlighting the overly histrionic ways of bassist nick harmer. but then i heard the rest of narrow stairs, and it was then that i realized that, regardless of their ever-increasing popularity, this is a band that is still worth believing in. and that excess snobbery could actually be worse than being a fairweather fan if it results in dismissing this one simply because it comes from a major label.

from the opening salvo of "bixby canyon bridge" to the closing surrender of "the ice is getting thinner", narrow stairs marks a band that is still as vital and creative as they have always been. ben gibbard's lyrical content remains an outstanding facet of the band's import, somehow making such cliched themes as sleeping alone ("your new twin sized bed") and the sound of settling ("cath...") seem fresh and exciting. the production value of chris walla gives the album a darker, more foreboding aesthetic. and yes, even the ominous, driving bass line in "i will protect your heart" turns out to fit well within the band's creepy, stalker side. but without a doubt, the standout track for me is "bixby canyon bridge", gibbard's discourse on the struggle of seeking and recovering a muse that cannot be sought or procured. the band let loose nearly two minutes of aggression and frustration that threaten to fracture the song completely, only to regroup in a place where the listener realizes that the muse was there all along, and yielding one of the better opening tracks in recent memory.

death cab for cutie : "bixby canyon bridge"
from the lp narrow stairs (atlantic, 2008)

with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly

2008-06-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

the busyness of the last few months have meant that sand is overrated has been met with obscene neglect. having just recently had time to briefly catch my breath, i have been astounded by how much great music i have streaming out my ipod, waiting for me to blog about. so hopefully this marks the start of a catching up process, writing about music that i either didn't get around to listening to until recently, or just haven't had the time to write about. but i'll start off with a relatively recent happening that might actually still be relevant--the new lp from sigur rós.

með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, translated as "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly", is set to be released stateside on june 24th. the band made the album available to stream, and i finally got around to a first listen. the unfamiliar tenor of the first track, "gobbledigook", which the band released as a free download several weeks ago and in its solitary state seemed strange and unfamiliar to these ears, fits perfectly amongst the comforts of the remainder of the album. there is plenty of the minimalism and ethereal beauty that have defined the band for years, but there is no mistaking that this album is a celebration, and by the time the half-way point of "festival" comes along, you'll be ready to lose yourself as well. the only adjective that i can summon at this point that seems to do this album a hint of justice is "glorious". but what else would you expect from sigur rós.

sigur rós : "gobbledigook"
from the lp með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (beggars xl recordings, 2008)

why would you settle for less when the world gives you more?

2008-05-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

blake hazard and john dragonetti are in love, and they want to sing you songs about it.

in 2006 the couple released the first formal product of their long-time collaborations together, declare a new state!. it was an album that chronicled how a trans-continental divide split their relationship into pieces, only to be drawn together again by the immutable force that is love, and ended up on a number of year-end best-of lists, including mine. the album was a snapshot in time, reflective of events that spawned its creation, and the same story gets retold again and again with each subsequent listen, leaving only the possibility that the happy ending continues ad infinitum. and so, two years later, one has to wonder--whatever happened to blake and john?

the answer, at least for now, is that the fairy tale lives on. if declare a new state! was the story of the pieces being irresistibly drawn back together, honeysuckle weeks is the story of those reassembled pieces being superglued together. if declare a new state! was a story that seemed too good to be true, honeysuckle weeks is the evidence that sometimes the fairy tale actually sticks. every song on the album is about love in some form or another, and only three of the ten songs fail to mention the word. it is clearly what is on their mind and in their hearts.

me thinks that people will generally fall into two camps with the submarines. those whose outlook has been shrouded with cynicism by the sting of past regrets will find honeysuckle weeks to be a maudlin exercise in sickly sweet schmaltz; while those who can or just prefer to revel in their own naivete, those who are currently living what blake and john are singing about, or those who think they're on the verge of living what blake and john are singing about, will love honeysuckle weeks. me--i love it.

and for those from the first camp, the submarines let it be known in their leitmotif that they haven't given up on you either:

the submarines : "submarine symphonika"
from the lp honeysuckle weeks (nettwerk music group, 2008)

if you live in the city and you want it to burn
because you think nobody could learn
the delicate demons and loneliest ways
of a heart that's been broken

say what you will
love finds you
even when you've given it up

one after another you've seen love affairs turn
from the glorious start to the crash and burn
but now that you've promised never again
it's exactly when you'll fall in

you've sworn off clubs and bars, fridays with the girls
you say home is where you'll be, but soon your own sweet love
who needs you will be lying in your arms

say what you will
love finds you
even when you've given it up

everybody deserves to be adored
why would you settle for less
when the world gives you more?

the hurt has you numb
but it'll soon make you strong
and your loveliness goes on and on

say what you will
love a heart that's been broken
love finds you
even when you've given it up

if i am lost, it's only for a little while

2008-05-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

it's only the fifth day of may, but i think i can safely say that this will likely be the (first and) last time this month i get a chance to post anything. real life calls with opportunities and responsibilities that are going to be sucking up my time until the end of the month. though it's not exactly the way i'd like to spend my month, sometimes i have to remember that this is just a hobby of mine, rather than a living. but it's a hobby that i love, so if i'm silent for a while it's only temporary. i'll be looking forward to the sun coming up in june, but in the meantime here's a band/album/song that i have just been obsessed with lately. "though, to say we got much hope / if i am lost, it's only for a little while". see you next month.

band of horses : "monsters"
from the lp everything all the time (sub pop, 2006)

you're the shit and i'm knee-deep in it

2008-04-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

it's seemingly never easy to walk away, especially when you have nowhere else to go. surely there were irreconcilable differences, insurmountable challenges, unresolvable difficulties--there was, after all, a good reason why you started to walk away in the first place. so why is it that the good memories are the ones that always seem to come first to mind? why is that sentimentality seems to invade even the unpleasant memories? why is it that it's so fucking hard to walk away? you know that it's not the right place for you to be. you are aware of how your judgment is impaired by loneliness. and yet, you're still knee-deep in it. but walking away doesn't mean you'll never have nowhere else to go. be brave...walk away...someone is waiting for you.

frightened rabbit : "backwards walk"
from the lp the midnight organ fight (fat cat records, 2008) emusic

i'm working on my backwards walk
walking with no shoes or socks
and the time rewinds to the end of may
i wish we never met then met today

i'm working on my faults and cracks
filling in the blanks and gaps
and when i write them out they don't make sense
i need you to pencil in the rest

i'm working on drawing a straight line
and i'll draw until i get one right
it's bold and dark girl, can't you see
i done drawn a line between you and me

i'm working on erasing you
just don't have the proper tools
i get hammered, forget that you exist
there's no way i'm forgetting this

i'm working hard on walking out
shoes keep sticking to the ground
my clothes won't let me close the door
these trousers seem to love your floor

i been working on my backwards walk
there's nowhere else for me to go
except back to you just one last time
say yes before i change my mind

say yes before i...
you're the shit and i'm knee-deep in it

the hotel cafe tour : the music box at henry fonda, april 12, 2008

2008-04-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

amidst the busy-ness of everything i have going on at the moment, i took time out to check out the hotel cafe tour last night. heading into the night i was most looking forward to seeing priscilla ahn, meiko, and ingrid michaelson, all three of whom i featured in my female singer/songwriters series. the night was filled with outstanding performances from upwards of 11 different artists, but the structure required to handle such a sheer volume of performers left a lot to be desired. each slot was only 10 to 15 minutes long, leaving time for only 2 or 3 songs, and although many of the performers had multiple slots or joined each other on stage, some of them did not. meiko was fantastic even though the nervous energy i saw in her in a small intimate cafe show in february was this time palpable even from the balcony at the fonda. ingrid michaelson was all over the stage and her stark rendition of radiohead's "creep" was one of the highlights of the night.

unfortunately, priscilla ahn was one of those who did not play much of a role beyond her initial three song set, a fact that was especially disappointing because, even among so much and such varied talent, she seemed to me far and away the most talented of anyone who performed. she commanded the audience with her voice--a glassy, soaring wonder of euphony in harmonics. (i don't even know if that description makes sense, perhaps meaning that her voice is beyond description with mere words). with a guitar over her shoulder, a harmonica around her neck, and a loop pedal at her feet, i just don't know how anyone could have not been impressed with her. she even switched out the harmonica for a kazoo (kazoo!) to play an unreleased song about boobs (not hers). the girl is amazing. given the brevity of her set, the chances of her playing the song i was waiting to hear were slim, and of course it didn't happen. but her new album, a good day, comes out june 10th, and her cover of a willie nelson song called "opportunity to cry" is one of my favorite songs and vocal performances so far this year.

priscilla ahn : "opportunity to cry"
from the forthcoming lp a good day (blue note records, june 10, 2008)

a trance is a spell with a thrill wrapped up inside it

2008-03-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

after a relatively prolific february, march returned to busy-ness and distraction for me. unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to change for a few months. but before the calendar fades to april i wanted to discreetly recognize the particularly good friday (not that kind) i had last week. and wouldn't you know that i would pick an m. ward track, this one being the very first song posted on sand is overrated. aww...

m. ward : "lullaby + exile"
from the lp transistor radio (merge records, 2005) emusic

oh a trance is a spell
with a thrill wrapped up inside it
and try as you might to fight it
love will get you in the end

and then the sound of a bell
could sound like angels crying
or sunlight multiplying
through virgin mary in stained glass

and then a lullaby on broadway
could sound like an exile out on main
oh when that curtain closes
you'll be back in your seat again

and then the band starts the ball
when the chandelier starts glowing
with or without you knowing
who the partner, what the dance

oh a trance is a spell
with a thrill wrapped up inside it
and try as you might to fight it
love will get you in
love will get you in
love will get you in
the end

female singer/songwriters month(?) : jaymay

2008-03-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

it's no longer february and it's even beyond a period of 31 days, but the well just runs so deep. jaymay comes by way of new york city...and that's about all i know about her. but of course, all you really need to know about these singer/songwriters is what the music sounds like. her debut full-length, autumn fallin', has all the hallmarks of an artist who sings to keep herself sane, keep herself safe, keep herself alive. a beautifully weary but somehow resolute voice rises and falls over the landscape of a beautifully torturous but somehow hopeful relationship, and there is a sharpness in spirit and wit in lyrics that seem to float above a euphony of backing acoustic guitars, xylophone, piano, and strings.

the standout track is a nearly 10 minute meandering discourse of a woman setting herself straight after the hurt of a soured relationship, unleashing a measured fury that serves as an injection of self-confidence but simultaneously reveals the degree of heartache that the singer is attempting to overcome. she's attempting to leave by backing out the door, and it's a rambling folk song full of fits and starts that to these ears could only be described as dylanesque.

jaymay : "you'd rather run" (myspace)
from the lp autumn fallin' (blue note, 2008)

run your fingers through your hair, let's pick up from where we left off
call all your friends, announce the new victory
once you were sweet to me--knock it off

the music doesn't move you, doesn't soothe you doesn't prove you're worth a dime
you work 'round the clock, watch it tick and tock, but this isn't your time
move over son, it's my turn to shine

was there ever a moment, one small slice in history when i took you seriously?
when your belt and your shoes did not announce your poor taste so fearlessly?
'cause that's news to me

and you can forget it, i get it, i just don't let it get to me
i regret to inform i do not fret or mourn the way things used to be
it's all in the past now, it's all gone

and the only way into the sun is walking, but you'd rather run
you'd rather run away

the songs he writes are for "dad" the true love he lost 'fore he ever had
if stories begun "if father loved son" we wouldn't be feelin' so bad
but doesn't everyone?

and it's not that i hate you i never loved you enough to hate you
to get even or mad so as not to seem sad just seems ungrateful
'cause i'm thankful i'm sad

maybe we're the same unabashed and unashamed then again i dunno where you came from
you keep carvin' out names--first jamie then james and i cannot keep up to restrain you
how come?

we two came together for worst and for better it's true
and the weather is clever but she's not the only one getting over you
it's me, too

and the only way into the sun is walking, but you'd rather run
you'd rather run away

my god, it's no fun to watch you play dumb with your ugly hand on her thigh
and she's nervous too, but politeness eschews the impulse to finger deny
plus your girlfriend's a spy

and what would she think to look up from her drink and find you
in your sad little vest tryin' hard to undress the girls you sat down next to
she'll think nothing--she'll be thinking of you

i'm glad i don't know the places you go, i'm glad for you and for them
let's be discreet if we are to meet on ludlow ever again
don't mention ben

it's funny what you miss, it's funny what you don't
but i've thought it all through, the potential to fondly reminisce is this:
i won't

and the only way into the sun is walking, but you'd rather run
you'd rather run away

don't say we got along, that's remarkably wrong, it doesn't suggest or imply
the thing about us you don't dare discuss
we never got along famously, we just tried

i tried to be good, i tried to be gracious and kind
but working with you has done nothing but prove a total waste of time
'cause the real curse is your mind

sometimes at night i stare at the ceiling and i wonder what's wrong with me
to involve myself with people who don't know what my
true feeling might possibly be

who latch onto my strength like it's all they have got
it takes all of my strengths and i go through such lengths to show them it is not
what they think they are stealing

and the only way into the sun is walking, but you'd rather run
you'd rather run away

yes, the only way into the sun is walking, but you'd rather run
you'd rather run...away

female singer/songwriters month : keren ann

2008-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

it's not february anymore and i still have more female singer/songwriters to explore, so i guess my definition of "month" will have to be a number of days rather than a specific month. because you definitely wouldn't want to miss keren ann.

hope sandoval of mazzy star has always had one of my favorite voices--so beautiful, so haunting, so sultry. with as much music as has passed through these ears, i've always considered hope sandoval's a singular voice, never having heard anyone who really came close to eliciting quite the reaction that hers does for me. until i heard keren ann.

keren ann's "lay your head down" was one of my favorite songs of 2007, far outstripping the impact of the far more popular "1234", by feist. but it was the first song on her self-titled album that really caught my ear. on "it's all a lie", ann's voice is quiet and calm, yet full and powerful, garnished with reverb to haunt the darkest recesses of your mind. soft sounds fall off her tongue like silk, made all the more beautiful by the way she sticks the hard ones, flicking them away like yesterday's news. the timbre of her voice is just astoundingly beautiful, and it's one that, for perhaps the first time ever, made me briefly forget about hope sandoval. but of course, only briefly...

keren ann : "it's all a lie"
from the lp keren ann (blue note records, 2007)

sometimes fact, sometimes fiction -- the shampoo

2008-03-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

it's interesting, the memories that senses can recall. the sight of a familiar face; the sound of a song from yesteryear; the taste of a favorite dish; can all deliver to your present the circumstances from your past, when you were a different person, slightly or completely. physically, mentally, emotionally. the shampoo she left sat under his bathroom sink, not to be used until there was nothing left to use. his ran out tonight, and with the smell of this familiar shampoo he was back in her shower, in her apartment, in better times, in worse times. the last few days were worse, as he helped her pack up and clean out an apartment that held so many memories, essentially helping her to dismantle and leave a life that physically included him, for one that did not. they walked out that door one final time, departing with the best of intentions. and they never walked back.

david gray : "flame turns blue"
from the lp lost songs 95-98 (ato records, 2001)

female singer/songwriters month : thao

2008-02-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

there seems to be a good amount of positive buzz surrounding thao nguyen these days, and it's great to see another asian representin. her third release finds her without the surname, but with the get down stay down behind her and a heaping spoonful of reasons why she deserves all the attention. we brave bee stings and all is simply irresistible, from the faux precociousness of the title to the preponderance of mouthwatering hooks provided by the get down stay down. there is an incredibly charming playfulness to thao's voice that deceives the gravity of her lyrics, making for an altogether fascinating combination of joy and sorrow, innocence and carnal knowledge. remember this one at the end of the year, because it will surely make an appearance on a lot of best-of lists.

thao : "beat (health, life, and fire)"
from the lp we brave bee stings and all (kill rockstars, 2008)
myspace
official site
emusic

female singer/songwriters month : priscilla ahn

2008-02-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

priscilla ahn is someone i fell in love with last year, having seen her open for alexi murdoch last february. a year later, her debut album on blue note records is apparently finished, mastered, complete, and ready for a release sometime this spring. having nearly worn out her self-titled ep over the course of the past 12 months, this release and its new songs will be a welcome sound to these ears.

careful readers may have noticed that there was a reason why i chose to consecutively feature meiko, ingrid michaelson, and priscilla ahn--all three are veterans of the hotel cafe and are taking part in the hotel cafe tour that is currently criss-crossing the country before concluding in los angeles at the music box at henry fonda on april 12th. if they're coming to a venue near you, that's definitely a show to go see. check tickets dates and tickets here.

priscilla ahn : "dream"
from the ep priscilla ahn (filter private label, 2006)

female singer/songwriters month : ingrid michaelson

2008-02-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

back to beautiful, talented female songwriters...ingrid michaelson is someone i was admittedly too snobbish to initially check out, given that the only exposure i had to her was the use of her song "the way i am" in a commercial for old navy. recently, her latest cd, girls and boys, showed up on emusic and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the girl a spin and a chance. my instant reaction: wow, what a fool i had been to initially dismiss her. the album starts off with "die alone", a song that would have undoubtedly made my 2007 year-end list if i had actually heard it last year. the bruising guitar riff that drives the song belies the sentiment within, somehow managing expressions of vulnerability delivered in a nearly combative way. her voice recalls regina spektor both in tenor and style, and the album unfolds over the course of a combination of piano- and guitar-driven tracks. for what it's worth, i actually think "the way i am" is one of the weaker songs on the album, so if that's your only exposure to ingrid michaelson and you love that track, chances are pretty good you'll the love the rest of it.

ingrid michaelson : "die alone"
from the lp girls and boys (cabin 24, 2007) emusic

jake shimabukuro, one of the best ever

2008-02-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

last night, jake shimabukuro played on late night with conan o'brien, and afterwards conan said twice that jake's performance of "while my guitar gently weeps" was one of his favorites over all of the years that he's been doing the show.

jake shimabukuro : "grandma's groove"
from the lp gently weeps (hitchhike records, 2006)

that's a pretty freakin' sweet compliment for a japanese-american ukulele virtuoso from hawai'i, especially considering the musical chops that conan displayed while the writer's guild was on strike...

if i could hold them in my hand, i'd make them understand

2008-02-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

as a child of the late 80's and early 90's, there were two television shows that i truly believe played a significant part in making me the person i am today--the wonder years and my so-called life. each defined growing up for me, first the wonder years in my adolescent years and then my so-called life in my teenage years. each were finely detailed depictions of adolescence and maturation, capturing the exquisite details of how wonderful--and how excruciating--the process could be.

each show also defined how powerful music could be in the context of life, and each introduced me to music that i may have never heard anywhere else. i went through a stretch of childhood where i listened exclusively to classic rock, probably mostly due to the music i heard in the wonder years; and my so-called life came around just as i was beginning to immerse myself in alternative rock. so many scenes from these shows were made unforgettable by the music that soundtracked them, and i attribute much of my desire to soundtrack my own life to the weekly realizations i would have while watching these shows of how the right song could identify and clarify experiences and emotions.

my so-called life lasted only one short season before a lack of viewership spelled its demise. but thankfully, full episodes now air on abc.com, with a new episode every friday and remaining online for two weeks. airing now is "self-esteem", an episode with one of the most memorable tv moments of my youth--jordan catalano grabbing angela chase's hand, set to the tune of buffalo tom's "late at night". the episode and especially the closing scene perfectly captures the complexities of teenage relationships and the eternal conflict between love (or maybe it's just sex) and wanting to look cool. it sounds so cheesy put like that, but it was undeniably a watershed moment for a young, still-impressionable 16 year-old like me, and if you saw it you probably know what scene i am talking about.

buffalo tom : "late at night"
from the lp [big red letter day] (beggars uk, 1993)
watch "self-esteem" from my so-called life through february 29th at abc.com
buy my so-called life on dvd

female singer/songwriters month : meiko

2008-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

next up is meiko, a local (los angeles) singer/songwriter by way of rural georgia. as a japanese guy myself, i took particular interest in meiko just from her name, and was interested to learn that she is one-quarter japanese. (although i was also a little disappointed that she pronounces it "mee-ko" instead of "may-ko". but she did adopt the name to get in touch with her heritage, so good on her!). meiko made her name at the hotel cafe in los angeles and was soon noticed by the likes of paste magazine's josh jackson and kcrw's nic harcourt. with a voice and folksy style that sometimes recalls acoustic beth orton, and with a penchant for lovely melodies and affecting lyrics, it is easy to hear why these two highly influential people are touting meiko as an artist to watch.

seeing as how it's valentine's day, "how lucky we are" seemed the perfect song to post today, with its sweet sentiment and romantic notions. i'm also excited because meiko is playing a show at the gypsy den tomorrow, and hoping some of those romantic notions are contagious...

meiko : "how lucky we are"
from the lp meiko (self-released, 2007)

one day we'll get outta this shitty apartment
one day is all it takes for things to turn around now
all i know is i got you and you got me, babe

and when that morning comes
i'll make coffee and you'll read the paper
we'll talk about our plans
and i'll keep saying how lucky we are

one day we'll get in the car and drive anywhere we wanna go
and then we'll stay in a five-star, mini bar, luxury hotel room
cause all i know is i got you and you got me, babe

and when that morning comes
i'll make coffee and you'll read the paper
we'll talk about our plans
and i'll keep saying how lucky we are

how lucky we are

one day we'll turn on the tv and we won't see nothing 'bout war
and when that morning comes
i'll make coffee and you'll read the paper
we'll talk about our plans
and i'll keep saying how lucky we are

how lucky, how lucky we are

female singer/songwriters month : cat power

2008-02-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

either there's an unusual number of beautiful, talented female singer/songwriters at the moment or i'm just only now starting to pay attention. over the next several posts i'll be spotlighting some of the ones who have particularly caught my ear.

first up is an obvious choice--chan marshall, better known as cat power. her new record of mostly covers means the spotlight is mostly on the singer part of singer/songwriter, but make no bones about it--the singer part is plenty. chan marshall has a voice that, to put it simply, makes me happy. there is a warmth and a fullness to it that makes me think of a commercial for coffee, though with none of the associated cheesy dialogue and bitter aftertaste. and that is not to discount the songwriter in chan marshall either--although most of these songs are covers, she signs her name to every song on the record and makes this personal mixtape sound like a cat power original. so take off your shoes, turn the lights down low, and enjoy every ounce of the bold, rich flavor that is chan marshall.

cat power : "metal heart"
from the lp jukebox (matador, 2008)

sun melting the fake smile away, i think you know--i'll be okay

2008-02-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

after the little aside that was super tuesday, back to a man called e and his band called eels.

after losing his sister and mother in rapid succession, electro-shock blues served as therapy for e, as evidenced by the revelatory closing line of the album: "maybe it's time to live". after so much despair and hurt, the album ends on a positive note, and it was apparent that e was going to be okay, at least for the short term. but how could you really ever know how someone is going to come out the other side after shoveling such massive amounts of shit? the answer, of course, is you don't. and so for me there was a curiosity surrounding the follow-up to electro-shock blues--is he really okay?

the answer came quickly, as i'm sure e intended it to be, in the last stanza of the very first song, "grace kelly blues":

but me, i'm feeling pretty good as of now
i'm not so sure when i got here, or how
sun melting the fake smile away
i think, you know, i'll be okay

does it get any more powerful than that?

eels : "grace kelly blues"
from the lp daisies of the galaxy (dreamworks, 2000)

m. ward wants me to vote for barack obama so vote for barack obama i will!

2008-02-05T20:31:00.001-08:00

the polls are now closed on super tuesday, and what a super tuesday it's been. with a democrat race that seems way too close to call and with so many more prizes yet to come, the political climate is more exciting and promising than it's ever been in my (short) life. it seems to me that the democratic party will be well-off with whoever emerges with the nomination, but it will be intensely interesting to see how the next few months play out. if you're still on the fence about barack obama, go see charles at heartache for hard work for an as-always thoughtful, well-informed discussion on the merits that lie beneath the charisma.

by the way, i'm only partially kidding on that post title. despite my self-proclaimed man-crush on mr. ward, i didn't really need his endorsement to convince me to vote for obama. but then again, knowing that my favorite artist supports him as well makes me feel confident that i'm on the right track.

m. ward : "radio campaign"
from the lp transistor radio (merge, 2005)

you think i got it all going my way, then why am i such a fucking mess?

2008-02-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

in 1998, e and his band eels released electro-shock blues, one of the saddest and most devastating albums likely ever recorded. an album weighted down by unrelenting tragedy, it was a brutally honest reflection of a series of catastrophes--his father's death from a heart attack, his sister's suicide, and his mother's death from cancer--that suddenly left e as the last surviving member of his family. while the common man would turn to therapy, e turned to music, and a catharsis was recorded. the emotional tide begins at its lowest point ("my life is shit and piss" he sings from his sister's perspective in "elizabeth on the bathroom floor") and wallows in self-pity for the better part of eight songs ("yesterday was suckin' and tomorrow's lookin' bad, who knew today was the only thing i had?" in "hospital food"). but slowly the tide begins to rise, steadily and with purpose, before delivering two final knockout blows to sadness and depression ("see this watch she gave me? well it still ticks away" in "the medication is wearing off", and "i was thinkin' bout how everyone is dying, and maybe it's time to live" in "p.s. you rock my world"). it's a stunning conclusion to this intensely personal, unforgettably emotional story, that could likely only be penned by a man who has experienced it first-hand. and it's a big reason why electro-shock blues, despite its misery and heartache, is one of my all-time favorite albums.

eels : "3 speed"
from the lp electro-shock blues (dreamworks, 1998)

sometimes fact, sometimes fiction -- the monitor

2008-01-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

knowing when to call it off is always difficult. things never seemed that menacingly wrong, so irreparable that the solution was obvious, and yet there was always one corner that didn't quite fit--a defect in shape that seemed trivial only at first. when the pain became unbearable and i wanted to know what had to be done, i'd always find myself reflecting back on those times spent together that weren't so terrible. those glimmers of hope can blur the line between happy and sad to nearly unrecognizable dimensions, reminding me of the pleasantries on the surface while simultaneously illuminating what was missing underneath. it's called prolonging the misery, with each attempt to make myself feel bad only serving to complicate matters in my own head and heart.

one day in a typical fit of sentimentality i was looking at a picture of a happier time, two smiling faces looking through the screen with seemingly no knowledge of the inner struggle that lay within me both then and now. i was thinking so many thoughts, for so long a period of inactivity, that the monitor i was staring at suddenly turned to black. and what i saw reflected back at me was me, alone. and it was okay. and all of a sudden i knew--i was going to be okay.

tegan and sara : "call if off"
from the lp the con (sire, 2007)

i won't regret saying this
this thing that i'm saying
is it better than keeping my mouth shut
that goes without saying
call, break it off
call, break my own heart
maybe i would have been something you'd be good at
maybe you would have been something i'd be good at
but now we'll never know
i won't be sad
but in case i go there
everyday, to make myself feel bad
there's a chance that i'll start to wonder if this was the thing to do

i won't be out long
but i still think it better if
you take your time coming over here
i think that's for the best
call, break it off
call, break my own heart
maybe i would have been something you'd be good at
maybe you would have been something i'd be good at
but now we'll never know
i won't be sad
but in case i go there
everyday, to make myself feel bad
there's a chance that i'll start to wonder if this was the thing to do
i'll start to wonder if this was the thing to do

sometimes fact, sometimes fiction -- the clock

2008-01-20T17:21:00.001-08:00

something a little bit different for today. one of the reasons why posts around here have gotten so infrequent is my desire to make sand is overrated as personal as possible, and my insistence that as many posts as possible come from my own life and experiences. that becomes a problem because my life is usually, well, just not that interesting, and many times i don't feel comfortable sharing the things that are. as a compromise, i thought it might be interesting to try something else and stimulate some creativity at the same time. music has always been something that i very easily associate experiences and feelings with, and if i have no experiences of my own that relate to those feelings, i can usually imagine ones that do. that is what this is about: sometimes the experiences are my own (fact), sometimes the experiences are from my imagination (fiction)--and no i will not reveal which is which--but there is always a connection between the experience and the song.

there's a clock on the wall of my den where i spend a lot of time in pensive reflection. it's been hanging in the same place for several years now, though the only times i look at it are the times when i don't need to know what time it is. between the four and seven second mark of each minute, the second hand stalls on a gear that must be inadequately greased. a valiant struggle ensues, the second hand ticking forward only to be pulled backward by forces from within. a zero net sum of progress belies the effort expended on both sides, and for several seconds or sometimes several minutes, time fails to advance. inevitably, the second hand prevails and resumes its forward march around the dial, if only for another 53 seconds before it's stopped again. the second hand always wins. you can never really stop the hands of time.

the obvious effect of this continuous struggle is, of course, that this clock that hangs on my wall nearly always displays the incorrect time. so i no longer look to it for temporal guidance. instead, there is a kind of blind optimism that this clock exudes, fighting its fight one minute after another, as if it is positive that the next turn--the next turn will be its turn to win. it is the kind of pollyannaish hope that only those unhardened by cynicism could truly appreciate, and it gives life to dreams that have been long since discarded and deemed impossible. inspiration indeed comes from anywhere you find it. how could i possibly replace a clock so valuable?

eluvium : "prelude for time feelers"
from the lp copia (temporary residence, 2007) emusic

all of a sudden i am casually smashed to pieces

2008-01-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

another year, another 12 days already passed without a post. i guess the lack of time to put into sand is overrated may never change, and there's not much i can do about it but accept it. but as a final goodbye to last year, here are two albums that just missed my top 10 albums for the year. both are instrumental outfits, one driven by fierce electric guitars and the other gently prodded by mellow acoustic guitars. both are flavors for mood enhancers, one a spicy kick to excite the heart, the other a mild tea to soothe the soul. both are exemplary in their presentation and delivery, one being explosions in the sky, the other being the six parts seven.

explosions in the sky : "the birth and death of the day"
from the lp all of a sudden i miss everyone (temporary residence, 2007) emusic

the six parts seven : "everything wrong is right again"
from the lp casually smashed to pieces (suicide squeeze, 2007) emusic

looking back on '07, looking forward to '08

2007-12-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

it has been an incredible year in a lot of ways for me. musically, i'd have to say that this has been the best year i can ever remember. this year being the first full year of sand is overrated has made my obsession with music that much deeper, so it's probably no surprise at all that there were so many bands that i love that had new releases this year. and as strong as 2007 was, 2008 looks perhaps just as promising. hopefully the new year will bring new full-length albums from sigur rós, sufjan stevens, death cab for cutie, alexi murdoch, joanna newsom, my personal favorite m. ward, and my favorite from 2006, camera obscura.

on a personal note, most of 2007 was a great time for me until i kind of staggered towards the finish line these past few months. but, looking forward to 2008, i have the most clearly defined goals i've had in perhaps a decade and am brimming with excitement over what may come in the months ahead. it promises to be a very busy year for me and i just hope that i can sustain some semblance of regularity on here. i'll be coming back in the new year with hopefully a new wrinkle or two, including one that i've been thinking about for a while: i've become increasingly uncomfortable putting up download links to the songs i post, so my next post and on will contain only streaming links. the point is, after all, just exposure and promotion, not a place where you can download music for free.

with that, i leave you the same way i left last year, with "one more goodbye" from m. ward. i probably could have come up with another song to close out the year with, but it just still seems like the perfect way to close what was nearly a perfect year, and welcome what will hopefully be a nearly perfect year. happy new year to you and yours!

m. ward : "one more goodbye" ~~mp3~~
from the compilation old enough 2 know better - 15 years of merge records (merge records, 2004)

one more chance before the end of the year
one more time for me to make my letters clear
well i found a pen and wrote these words in your ear
"one more goodbye"

one more chance to terrorize my aching head
reconsider in your soul what you read
well i found a crayon and wrote these words on your leg
"one more goodbye"

one more chance to throw your party by the lake
reconsider in your soul your mistake
well i found a match and wrote these words on your cake
"one more goodbye"

well i slipped and fell between the rocks and i got stuck
but i found a vine and i climbed my way up
and then i found some soap and wrote these words on your truck
"one more goodbye"

so i dreamed a train and away did i ride
well i cleared a place on that wooden floor where i could lie
and then i found a plane and wrote these words in the sky
"one more goodbye"

my final vision as i rattle down the track
as far away from me across the leaves and grass
i caught my guardian angel haulin' ass
"one more goodbye"

one more goodbye
one more goodbye

2007 is overrated : albums of the year

2007-12-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

as the year winds down to a close, it's time to look back at the best albums of 2007. there were so many great albums released this year that my list is limited to 10 only because i just couldn't find time to write up more than that. but if i had to expand it, this is how it would have gone:

11. the white stripes - icky thump
12. feist - the reminder
13. aqualung - memory man
14. the fratellis - costello music
15. the go! team - proof of youth
16. the six parts seven - casually smashed to pieces
17. keren ann - keren ann
18. cathy davey - tales of silversleeve
19. explosions in the sky - all of a sudden i miss everyone
20. leslie and the badgers - leslie and the badgers (#20 with only a few weeks worth of listening!)

with that, here are my ten favorite albums of 2007 (tracks of the year: [1-10] and [11-20]):

1.
armchair apocrypha emusic
andrew bird

fat possum records, march 20, 2007

"darkmatter"
"fiery crash"

andrew bird's silky smooth voice and effortless delivery sometimes makes it seem like he's not really trying. but careful listens to armchair apocrypha reveal an album so dense, so elaborate, and so intricate that you could not possibly have heard in one listen. the guitar plays a larger role than on past bird albums and nicely complements the more familiar violin and glockenspiel, lyrical complexities abound, and of course there is the whistling. it's an album that requires a bit of an investment on the part of the listener, but the payoff is substantial--the man is outrageously talented and this is the best album of the year for me. there is a significant sentimentality factor to armchair apocrypha as well, as listening to it in the car provided the soundtrack to a really great stretch of my year. hearing these songs again sparks some very very fond memories--a priceless attribute to an already incredible album.

2.
the meaning of 8
cloud cult

rebel group, april 10, 2007

"your 8th birthday"
"chemicals collide"

this album came to my attention via charles at heartache with hard work, and is a prime example why his is one of the best music blogs around. initially i had this pegged at number 7 for the year, but after a brief revisiting i remembered why i loved this one so much. sonically and lyrically, it's as good as anything else released this year, and, after taking a look at the rest of this list, it's obvious that that is saying a lot. but conceptually, the album is far and away the most affecting undertaking of the year. it begins with the title, a reference to the universality of the human experience that is exemplified by the many but similar meanings of the number 8 across cultures and religions. printed in nontoxic soyink on the 100% postconsumer recycled paper that constitutes the digipak sleeve is a fine, comprehensive explanation that concludes: "the number 8 symbolizes the moment where death and rebirth collide. it is the place where life gives birth to death. it is the place where death gives hope to life." the album documents craig minowa's struggle to come to terms with his own moment where death and rebirth collided--the 2002 death of his infant son kaiden--in the process creating a fine example of how powerful music can be in the right hands.

3.
ga ga ga ga ga emusic
spoon

merge records, july 10, 2007

"black like me"
"don't make me a target"

it seems improbable that an album with this much soul could come from a man so white and from austin, texas. but soul is exactly what ga ga ga ga ga is full of, and britt daniel's pop sensibilities, swagger, and nasty guitar hooks create an instantly catchy, intensely likable, infinitely enjoyable record that seems infinitely stuck in my car cd player. this one carries with it some sentimental value as well, having been purchased on a mid-summer trip to seattle that was one of my fondest experiences all year.

4.
the stage names emusic
okkervil river

jagjaguar records, august 7, 2007

"plus ones"
"our life is not a movie or maybe"

i had never really listened to okkervil river before the stage names, and on initial listens i thought it might end up being my favorite album of the year. unfortunately, some of the novelty greatly wore off when i went through the back catalog, especially black sheep boy and down the river of golden dreams. these two earlier albums, both examinations of relationships and, for me, more relatable topics, struck such a chord with me that the farther removed newer album couldn't quite compete. but it's still a fantastic album. will sheff's lyrical prowess borders on the ridiculous in the what's-next "plus ones", and he manages to sing about his life as an entertainer with as much emotion and passion as he's always sung about broken hearts and new addictions. it's a swirling adventure of an album that travels from place to place and time to time with an ease that underscores how immensely talented and visionary will sheff really is.

5.
wincing the night away
the shins

sub pop, january 23, 2007

"australia"
"a comet appears"

excessive hype and lofty expectations probably conspired to knock some of the luster off before it even came out, and an early-in-the-year release doesn't bode well for an end-of-the-year list, but there is no denying that wincing the night away is a damn fine album. a quick refresher reminds me why i was listening to this non-stop back in february and march--irresistible guitar hooks, imaginative tales of girls of all different flavors, and the razor-sharp wit and lyricism of james mercer. it's a shame that their live show did not impress, but wincing the night away was a clear step forward into death cab for cutie's indie limelight.

6.
boxer emusic
the national

beggars banquet, may 22, 2007

"fake empire"
"start a war"

it took me a long time to really get into boxer and, looking back, i really don't know why. the slow, dramatic build of "fake empire" had me from the first listen, but the rest of the album just seemed to initially fade into obscurity for me. perhaps it was just the somber way my year came to a close that really made me appreciate the timbre in matt berninger's voice, but just in the last few months i've found myself coming back to boxer again and again. and what i've discovered is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year--rich with thematic complexity, full of challenging lyrics, and the most impressive percussive display i've heard all year. a few more months like this and boxer could easily be in my top 3 for the year, but placing it at 6 for now is a safe bet considering it wasn't really even on my radar a few months ago.

7.
in rainbows
radiohead

ato records, october 10, 2007

"jigsaw falling into place"
"nude"

the most-hyped album of the year. did i buy into it just like everyone else? you bet i did. and do i still think it was all well-deserved? absolutely. radiohead shocked everyone in early october and put the record execs on notice with their pay-what-you-want download scheme. all of the excitement and commotion might have obscured a lesser record, but in rainbows was exactly what so many fans hoped it would be--a vindication that all of the waiting on baited breath for a new album, all of the hype and all of the anticipation, are worth it; a reassurance that, yes, radiohead is still the best band on the planet. sonically, in rainbows is easily one of the most impressive albums of the year, with phil selway's percussive work playing off of colin greenwood's bass lines, and jonny greenwood being jonny greenwood (in a word, amazing).

8.
favourite worst nightmare
arctic monkeys

domino, april 24, 2007

"505"
"fluorescent adolescent"

whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not was one of my favorite albums from 2006, but when costello music came out in march, it seemed like the fratellis had done arctic monkeys better than arctic monkeys did themselves. but then a few weeks later favourite worst nightmare and put an end to all that nonsense. the trademark chops and swagger are still there, but this time around the band displays a vulnerability and maturity that supplement and complement the endless hooks.

9.
sky blue sky
wilco

nonesuch records, may 15, 2007

"either way"
"hate it here"

it must first be said that, except in years that radiohead actually releases a new album, wilco is my favorite band. and with sky blue sky being the first studio release featuring the peerless nels cline, it was easily my most anticipated album of the year. my first few listens produced mixed feelings. there were moments where cline's guitar seemed a bit overdone (say in "impossible germany"), almost to the point of showing off. but then there were other moments, like in the opener "either way" where everything simply fit, and the guitar seemed to elevate the tenor of the song to mesmerizing heights. but after everything was said and done, and after seeing them perform in august, i came to appreciate even those overdone moments and the guitar interplay between nels cline and jeff tweedy. and sky blue sky became just another in a long line of great wilco records.

10.
cassadaga
bright eyes

saddle creek records, april 10, 2007

"hot knives"
"classic cars"

for some reason i've been having a really difficult time trying to figure out what to say about cassadaga. maybe that's a sign that it shouldn't be on this list, but all i can remember is that there was a long stretch of the year when i was in love with this record. conor oberst's lyricism is as sharp as ever, and i believe his ear for melody and his musicianship are continuously evolving. slap the heir-to-dylan labels on him all you want, but i think he's carving out a pretty good case for people to be looking for the heir-to-oberst.

2007 is overrated : tracks of the year, part 2

2007-12-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

part two of my year-end lists brings my ten favorite tracks of the year (part one here, part three here). "all the weird kids up front, tell me what you know you want"

1. "black like me"
spoon
from the lp ga ga ga ga ga (merge records) emusic

picking number one between "black like me" and "darkmatter" was an incredibly difficult choice because i just think "darkmatter" is an amazing track. but "black like me" is just so full of soul, feeling, and the wanton desire that i have been craving for so much of the year, it just really couldn't not be my favorite song of the year.

2. "darkmatter"
andrew bird
from the lp armchair apocrypha (fat possum records) emusic

i really think this is one of the most incredible songs i've ever heard. it begins with some pristine whistling followed by some gentle strumming of the acoustic guitar. at 40 seconds, the kick drum slowly builds the tension to an explosive release of sound that kicks off the song's emotional core. bird's lyrics are astounding, pensively examining the fabric of our very being, and his voice--normally subtle and serene--bursts with fervor and inspiration. the song circles back to its whistling beginnings before asking one last time: "do you wonder where the self resides? / is it in your head or between your sides? / and who will be the one who will decide / its true location?"

3. "old timers"
leslie and the badgers
from the lp leslie and the badgers (self-released)

in the interest of full disclosure, i first heard this song only a few weeks ago, so maybe it is just the novelty, the freshness, and the excitement of feeling like i've uncovered a hidden gem that has caused me to put "old timers" so high on my list. perhaps it's the wistful nostalgia of the sad tale it tells, or the vulnerability in leslie stevens' voice, or that irresistible slide guitar. whatever it is, somehow i feel positively certain that this track will remain a favorite song of mine for a long time to come and is well-deserving of the number 3 spot.

4. "your 8th birthday"
cloud cult
from the lp the meaning of 8 (rebel group)

a song about singer craig minowa's son kaiden, who died as an infant, this is the most touching song i've heard in a long, long while. i have no personal experience that comes anywhere close to relating to this song, but i still get chills down my spine every time craig minowa belts out kaiden's name.

5. "australia"
the shins
from the lp wincing the night away (sub pop)

one of the catchiest tunes of the year obscures the cleverness of james mercer's songwriting abilities. who doesn't know the feeling of remorse that accompanies feeling trapped--by circumstance, by belief, by life? "you'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes you know / you'd trade your life for any ordinary joe / well do it now or grow old / your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold"

6. "plus ones"
okkervil river
from the lp the stage names (jagjaguwar) emusic

will sheff is a lyrical genius. how many different songs can you reference in a less-than-four-minute song about a crumbling relationship and still have it make sense in a completely indignant way?

7. "hot knives"
bright eyes
from the lp cassadaga (saddle creek)

conor oberst just has a way. he punctuates every example of the escapist tendencies that seem to rule our lives by building the tension in each verse, pausing just for an instant, and then jumping off the cliff. brilliant.

8. "either way"
wilco
from the lp sky blue sky (nonesuch)

a perfect example of how well nels cline's guitar can seamlessly integrate into wilco's sound, replete with jeff tweedy's plaintive vocals and easy, casual attitude of what will be will be.

9. "headed for a fall"
m. ward
from the single "to go home" (merge records) emusic

a song that features m. ward, nels cline, jim james, neko case, mike mogis, jordan hudson, mike coykendall, and the rosano bros. i don't really think i need to say more than that, but it truly is a fantastic rockin' good time. it's a cover of a jimmie dale gilmore song, with james and case on harmonizing vocals and cline's signature frenetic guitar work closing out the track.

10. "lay your head down"
keren ann
from the lp keren ann (blue note records)

feist's "1234" might have been the song that exploded in popularity, but for my money "lay your head down" is even better, with its catchy bass line, irresistible hand claps, and of course, keren ann's beautiful voice.

listening to okkervil river's "listening to otis redding at home during christmas" at home during christmas

2007-12-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

"yeah? well, i've got dreams to remember..."

a very merry christmas to you and yours.

okkervil river : "listening to otis redding at home during christmas" ~~mp3~~
from the lp don't fall in love with everyone you see (jagjaguar, 2002)

otis redding : "i've got dreams to remember" ~~mp3~~
from the collection remember me (stax, 1992)

2007 is overrated : tracks of the year, part 1

2007-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

here's the first of three parts of my year-end lists (part two here, part three here). 2007 was such a great year in music that there is a lot that i have left off these lists, but i just couldn't find time to expand my tracks list out to 30. i never did find a place for the white stripes, the go! team, sunset rubdown, or stars, but i think my final top 20 is pretty well representative of what i listened to and loved this year. with that:

11. "fake empire"
the national
from the lp boxer (beggars banquet) emusic

it took me a long time to really get into most of boxer, but "fake empire" had me from the very first listen. matt berninger has a voice that recalls mark knopfler, and bryan devendorf provides some of the most impressive percussive moments of any album this year.

12. "jigsaw falling into place"
radiohead
from the lp in rainbows (ato records)

it's difficult to believe that one song on in rainbows could stick out so much more than the others, but for me that song is definitely "jigsaw falling into place", a critique on the difficulty of creating anything meaningful and of substance within the frenetic confines of modern life.

13. "the last song"
camera obscura
from the single "tears for affairs" (merge records) emusic

camera obscura released a slew of singles this year from my favorite album of last year, let's get out of this country. i still have not heard a camera obscura song that i don't like, so "the last song" is really just another in a long line of great tunes and a big reason why i'm feverishly anticipating a new album in 2008.

14. "silver lining"
rilo kiley
from the lp under the blacklight (warner brothers)

a shining star on an otherwise disappointing album, it's a perfect blend of slick production, jenny lewis' always-sterling voice, and a sweet little blake sennet riff. not to mention backup choral vocals and the always-trusty handclaps.

15. "whistle for the choir"
the fratellis
from the lp costello music (cherry tree)

another insanely catchy tune, but this time with good ol' scottish accents and whistling. "and it's a cryin' shame if you would think the same -- a boy like me's just irresistible"

16. "505"
arctic monkeys
from the lp favourite worst nightmare (domino)

alex turner dusts off the trademark attitude and displays some real vulnerability here. a little conflict, a little paranoia, and a lot of lust make the delivery of the line "but i crumble completely when you cry" one of the best moments of the year.

17. "i feel it all"
feist
from the lp the reminder (cherry tree)

"1234" will undoubtedly get the better part of attention, but i think "i feel it all" is the better song. full of the rich complexities that define the turmoil associated with the end of a relationship, it's the tenor of leslie feist's voice that ultimately expresses more then her words ever say.

18. "down boy"
yeah yeah yeahs
from the ep is is (interscope)

full of swagger, attitude, and belligerence, karen o's scowls and growls are among the most exhiliratinging sounds in rock music today. it doesn't even matter what she's singing about, just so long as you know she really, really means it.

19. "champion"
kanye west
from the lp graduation (roc-a-fella records)

putting a kanye west song on my list is almost done out of compulsion just to add a little variety, but this song is well-deserving because it represents everything that makes kanye such a great artist--great beats and rhymes, a healthy dose of his trademark attitude, all tied together with a sample from steely dan. steely dan!

20. "keep the car running"
arcade fire
from the lp neon bible (merge records) emusic

perhaps it was just the mammoth expectations associated with funeral being one of my favorite albums ever, but i never really could place my finger on what it was that was missing from neon bible for me. but "keep the car running" was everything i'd hoped the second album would be--full of the raw energy, excitement, and electricity that made the first album so refreshing.

leslie and the badgers

2007-12-15T16:27:00.001-08:00

i'm rarely on the cutting edge of anything involving new artists, so i'm actually quite pleased with myself to be the first on the hype machine to post about leslie and the badgers. i heard this song on kcrw's new ground program today and was immediately smitten. the drums provide a straight ahead direction with a hint of earnest, there's a nostalgia in the lyrics that goes extremely well with the lap steel guitar, and leslie stevens' voice is simultaneously powerful and highly vulnerable. it's really quite an impressive little tune, and one that i very highly recommend.

a little bit about them, according to them: "we are leslie and the badgers and we formed in los angeles in march of 2006. our arrangements consist of two guitars, vocal harmonies, bass, drums, trumpet and most recently violin. comparisons have been drawn (possibly in error) to emmylou harris, lucinda williams, rilo kiley's jenny lewis."

those comparisons sound about right, especially (being a huge rilo kiley fan) the last one.

UPDATE: having now bought and listened to the rest of the album, i feel like i've had one of those rare eureka! moments where you've stumbled upon something undiscovered but unmistakably golden. now i just need to figure out if there's enough time to get this on my year end lists...

leslie and the badgers : "old timers" ~~mp3~~
from the lp leslie and the badgers (self-released, 2007) myspace

stars fell to the ground when they tore the hotel down
where he and i, he and i used to go
under a moon like electric snow
a decade ago

and it was there i confess that we first had a bed to share
with a view of the runway and the airport road
and we'd ride our bikes to the fence before the lights
and watch the planes come

won't you say, won't you say you're all mine?
we'll be together 'til they call us old timers
and we'll ride our bikes to the fence before the lights
and take off on an airliner

young with a fuel that could burn through any rule
and never mind, never mind what the others said
the man at the desk with the eyes of lead
bloodshot red

winter came and it became less of a game
and more of what couldn't be taught by teachers in school
and we found in love that the world was cruel
and beautiful

won't you say, won't you say you're all mine?
we'll be together 'til they call us old timers
and we'll ride our bikes to the fence before the lights
and take off on an airliner

he went to the lake that summer with his family
and a storm came overhead and struck a tree
and it emptied his mind of everything
everything even me

and when he awoke he was gone, he wasn't there
and they took him where they said he'd get better care
and i would go and visit him there
in the white square

there is a wall that's holding back the past
and all of love's history is behind the glass
there's a place where everything will last
iron cast

won't you say, won't you say you're all mine?
we'll be together 'til they call us old timers
and we'll ride our bikes to the fence before the lights
and take off on an airliner

andrew bird : the orpheum theatre, december 7, 2007

2007-12-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

it must be said again: andrew bird is ridiculously talented. this being the second time i've seen him live, andrew bird's use of loop pedals to create layers upon layers of sound was no surprise to me. and yet, the lack of novelty did nothing to make his performance any less astounding. he begins by playing his violin in pizzicato, lightly plucking and picking the strings. looping that, he then picks up his bow and plays his violin in arco, creating a second and a third layer of sound. quickly setting his violin aside, he swings around the guitar he's had slung across his back and now there is a fourth layer. add in some whistling and a voice that i don't think gets enough credit and you have an indelible performance by andrew bird.

what is really interesting about seeing him perform live, though, is his energy and presence on stage--he's constantly in motion, fidgeting and nervous tic motioning his head to the left in a way that you might mistake for anxiety or adhd. but the impression i get is that this man has so music streaming out of his hands and his feet and his arms and his legs that it's all he can do to keep from bursting into a mishmash of sonic disarray. he contains it well, switching so quickly from instrument to instrument, with so little time to spare, that you just can't help but be mystified.

the highlight of the night for me was bird's rendition of "the giant of illinois" by the handsome family (who opened the show). at the conclusion of the song, he pointed out how much he loved the song and the pure beauty of these lyrics, which i completely agree with:

delirious with pain
his bedroom walls began to glow
and he felt himself soaring up through falling snow
and the sky was a woman's arms

andrew bird : "the giant of illinois" ~~mp3~~
from the daytrotter session (2007)

it's simply a masterful song. just listen to the layers he creates one by one, from pizzicato violin to guitar to his voice. see the rest of the daytrotter session here. i'll have more from andrew bird in the coming weeks...

homesick for a home i've never had

2007-12-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

after a few delays, sigur rós' heima dvd finally gets its u.s. release tomorrow. i've already professed my love for the beauty that is sigur rós, but today i feel a particular connection to the film whose title translates to "at home", because just as georg hólm puts it in the trailer, i've lately had a strange and uncontrollable urge to want to go home. lately this instinct has been consuming my brain as well as my heart--i really, really want to go home to seattle. the thing is, i've never lived in seattle. i've even only visited a few times. seattle is not and has never been my home. but there is something inside me that feels like it is where i want to be. i suppose it's a complex amalgamation of a lot of feelings that i have been feeling and a lot of events that have transpired recently. i'd be the first to admit that my fickle heart might be headed in completely the opposite direction a year from now, and i'm tied down where i'm at for at least a few more years anyway. but for now, i will dream of going home to a home i've never had.

soul asylum : "homesick" ~~mp3~~
from the lp grave dancers union (sony, 1992)

*if you think it's weird that i'm posting soul asylum, i'm with you. but wow, wasn't grave dancers union a fantastic album??