Friday Mix 102
Some great stuff has been appearing as of late which will put 2010 in line with some of the better musical years of the last decade. Be sure to get out and see Crazy Heart if you have any interest what so ever in country music or the superb acting of Jeff Bridges.
Frida Hyvönen – Jesus Was a Crossmaker
A cover of a Judee Sill original song written by her and Graham Nash in the early 70’s. Saying the song is a simple rendition is to do it a disservice as it is a very emotional song that might be subdued in part by the musical arrangement but one that you get lost in soon enough. That might be a huge pile of BS but just listen and get back to me on that one.
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Don’t Haunt This Place
Being out sick yesterday I spent the good portion of the day laying around on the couch catching up on season two of the AMC series “Breaking Bad”. The show’s first season brought enough action/drama/suspense that I didn’t know how season two could do anything to top it. The season has brought deeply evident changes in the emotional states of the characters involved in the show and you can’t help but start to feel for those characters and the huge amounts of stress, anger and hurt they are going through. It takes a toll on you as you watch it episode after episode. Perhaps that is why it’s a series best enjoyed week to week. That said this song is one that hits again on the topic of a broken relationship. Yet it does it with an upbeat drum part and ends with hope that maybe things might work out as both parties are aware that they need to come to agreements on things in a relationship. I’m just hoping that Breaking Bad can come to a similar resolve when it wraps up for the last time.
I didn’t post anything from their 2008 debut album as they were the kings of indie fandom those first few months of the year and I was growing weary of the hype, however well deserved it may have been. I’m not sure why I’m changing my tone here as these guys are even bigger than ever and just had the number one album on the Billboard charts. It’s probably mostly because I had this song tagged back in December and never got a chance to post it. Download it, love it, buy the album and continue to keep this album above Ke$ha.
Jeff Bridges aka Bad Black – Fallin’ & Flying
I’ve made no qualms about expressing my utter contempt and hatred of all things Avatar. One of the first things critics (yes, there are many despite the $$$ this abomination has taken in) point to is the generic story line. “Crazy Heart” ultimately has a fairly standard story line as well if you break it down to a pitch line. I won’t do that here for those of you who might actually go see the movie even though it is fairly obvious. That said the real strength of this movie and what makes the story work are the characters, acting and small plot points that make you keep watching. Jeff Bridges pulls off the best acting of the year by far in his portrayal of “Bad Black” a down and out country music singer who has lost his direction, and fame, and now must play in bowling alleys and saloons to support him. The song here is one of the songs from “Bad Black” that is played a few times in the movie. It will surely get stuck in your head and is one of the best songs on a superb soundtrack. Beyond Jeff Bridges take on the role the biggest surprise for me was seeing Colin Farrell play the part of a fictional Tim McGraw type country singer. The singing is all real and is the highlight of a very enjoyable movie all around.
No commentsFriday Mix 101
It’s back. After a wedding, php hack to my WordPress install that lead to Google blacklisting my site(update your install, kids!) and Christmas I’ve got things sorted out and will post a few songs that have been going through my ears lately.
I listened to this on repeat for about a week in early December. Similar to how Passion Pit took a few months to get picked up by stations such as KROQ and played to oblivion I predict this track will be next, if it hasn’t hit already. It is a truly great rock track and one I can see every fratbro in the Mid-West fully embracing. These guys HAVE to get bigger in the current landscape of music. It’s destiny.
Sleigh Bells – Crown on the Ground
This came out of nowhere in October and I was hooked beyond belief. It was one of those instances where I tracked down every single song I could find online (no official EP as of yet) and couldn’t get enough. The duo consists of the former drummer of Poison the Well (Note: I saw those guys open up for Cursive back in the day at the Glasshouse and couldn’t believe the hardcore kids “singing” along to their screams. It was frightening.) and a former bubblegum pop girl group singer. The amount of distortion gives you a “what is this crap doing to my headphones” feeling but then everything is brought together so well that you know it is meant to be and not a setting you just messed up. They then go a completely different direction when they break out another song on their demo with “Ring Ring”. Very minimal distortion and a catchy chorus you will find lingering for a week or more. I can’t wait for the actual release whenever that might be.
Just like The Big Pink this UK group snuck up on me. I was disillusioned with the various bands making debuts from August thru October so I didn’t pay attention to this until a little before Thanksgiving. It’s now the go to work CD to listen to from start to finish. It becomes one song when I passively listen to it. This might not sound like a ringing endorsement but it is. This is one of those songs that do stick out besides the other obvious choice in “VCR”. If I ever do a “Best of 2009” this will be high on my list.
Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
I have a whole wedding post half way finished where I discuss all the various songs that were either played at the wedding or used for something related to the wedding. This song would fit in that category since it was the song I heard over and over on our honeymoon in Hawaii. Our rental car had no tape deck or audio input port so we were stuck with the radio. Being on the Big Island this meant smooth jazz or a modern country station. I picked the modern country station and soon realized it was like any other FM station playing the “hits”. This means playing 15 songs on repeat with commercials thrown in for good measure and a canned DJ making a quip about how great the previous song is. Taylor Swift stood out though and this song soon became the anthem of the trip for me, to the wife’s chagrin. (I’m also pretty sure Taylor Swift won’t be with any of the above mentioned bands on blogs anytime soon.)
No commentsFriday Mix 100
A fairly forgettable Friday Mix to celebrate the 100th mix. Sorry. Wedding planning is getting in the way. Next mix will be a little more special.
They’ve grown on me.
Letting Up Despite Great Faults – In Steps
LA band that has gotten buzz with all of the other bedroom projects that are the rage right now. Definitely a fall sound going here which is a nice change of pace from the summer bedroom pop of July and August.
Kings of Convenience – Renegade
It was hard to pick one song from this album. It grew on me.
Lyle has a new album. Yes, I like it.
No commentsFriday Mix 99
Kickball National Championship Tournament in Vegas this weekend. Watch for Costa Messy on Sportscenter Saturday night when we win the 72 team tournament.
Came out of nowhere with this beautiful record. Different from most of what I have heard of Zero 7 in the past but something that I’ve had on repeat and find soothing beyond belief.
Karen O and the Kids – All is Love
It didn’t grab me at first listen but the opening “1,2 ready go!” I’ve had in my head for the last week. Very cute and something I could see kids really digging and something that parent’s aren’t going to want to blow their brains out over having to hear it 1000x a day.
Fuck Buttons – Flight of the Feathered Serpent
Mellowed out on the noise and made something that is possibly commercially viable. Crazy as that sounds from Fuck Buttons.
All blogs are required to post this song this week or they will be taken down. It’s mandatory, Al Gore told me.
The Mountain Goats – Matthew 25:21
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” – Matthew 25:21. If you don’t get moved listening to this song you need to evaluate what you hold dear on this earth. He’s said in recent interviews this is autobiographical regarding his mother in law’s death from cancer. The verse is very fitting for someone passing on and having that faith that there will be that voice on the other side saying, “job well done. Welcome home.”
No commentsFriday Mix 98
The wedding plans are coming together and that is pretty much all that is going on in my free time, other than watching college football and beating up on David via XBOX Live and The Bigs 2.
From the new album White Water, White Bloom comes this catchy single. I was only mildly into the first Sea Wolf album and really only paid attention to it since he was local and I could go to a number of the shows. Thus when this album came out it was one of the more anticipated albums on my radar. Having recently listened to it I have to say I’m impressed and feel the sound has matured a great deal. It’s come out of that singer/songwriter cliché territory into something more complete and ultimately catchy.
I had to include something from these guys. I’d still prefer a new Bright Eyes album though.
Porter Wagoner – Green, Green Grass of Home
I found this on the Smithsonian compilation of country music. I’d put the album on (four discs) and just let it go in the background while I was putting some plan work together. This kind of thing only happens once in a while but I was listening only vaguely when this song came on and it just caught me. It’s my number one most played song this week (proof if Last.fm would get a plugin that worked with the new MediaMonkey) and one that is going on the wedding playlist and is making a late push for the wedding mix CD. The ultimate outcome of the song isn’t the most appropriate wedding theme but the sentiment and oak tree reference in the rest of the song makes it a worthy contender.
Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight
I really can’t believe I haven’t posted this song previously. Classic and another on the Smithsonian CD that I got caught up with again and had to post. Two country songs in one week, I like it. Makes up for some of those lacking weeks earlier this summer.
No commentsFriday Mix 97
DC was a pretty nice vacation with lots of college football and zazz. I also wanted to take this time to congratulate da’ Florida Gata!
Washed Out – Feel It All Around
Lo-fi 80’s nostalgia fits this best. Great song for those times you imagine a great time in your life having a soundtrack played behind it. So long as that “great time” isn’t a track meet or a football game you participated in this song should fit.
This song I seem to hear every few months and I say to myself, “I really like that song….what is it again?” After hearing it in 500 Days of Summer I got it down now. Speaking of which, I’m conflicted by that movie. I want to like it, and I suppose in the end I do for a variety of reasons, but the part of “Summer” just gets to me. For a lack of a better way of saying it, “what a stupid $&*%!” Oh, and for the record, being a 20-something architect in downtown LA isn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds Tom. GET OUT NOW!
Jay-Z – Run This Town (featuring Kanye West & Rihana)
I really want to dislike Rihanna but I can’t. Her harmonies are superb and make the kind of chorus that will stick in your head for hours if not days. And hearing Kanye without auto-tune is nice but makes me want to go back and listen to 808’s and Heartbreaks again. Pickup the Blueprint 3.
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – How About Thank You
I have a love/hate relationship with the sheer productivity of Mr. Oldham. I didn’t even know this EP was out until this week when the video premiered. (Yeah, I didn’t really know videos’ were around still either) It came out back in March before Beware and seems fitting for that album. It will have to suffice as the country song of the week.
No commentsFriday Mix 96
It took two years but I’m finally reaching my breaking point with posting even just four songs once a week, every week. As you can see I’ve missed a couple weeks this summer and I’m thinking of just putting this on every other week for the foreseeable future. I know this is going to disappoint the .2938 readers who follow the site but I’m getting tired of going through my media library at 10:45am on Friday morning trying to throw together four songs that meet my fancy at that time. This could also be because of the sheer lack of new music that has been catching my ear in the last month and could pick up in the fall when some new releases start picking up again. Enough about this stuff that no one but me cares about.
Girls – Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker
Scuzzy Beach Boys. Summer. 60’s beach rock with much more overt drug references. (Yeah, just listen to the first 15 seconds) Their self titled album comes out September 22nd and I highly recommend it if you want to put it on the shelf until next summer.
Epic Destroyer song. Coming from his latest EP, of the same name. At nearly 14 minutes in length this is something you should only attempt to enjoy if you are familiar with his back catalog and ready for the culmination of all things Dan Bejar, at least to date. The number of witty references would be tarnished by listing any independent of the music so I’ll use that lazy excuse and just make you take my smarmy word for it. And yes, I do realize how pretentious and snotty these last few sentences have sounded. Relax, I could be posting more Wolf Eyes.
Marion Harris – Look for the Silver Lining
The wedding playlist is going in a number of different directions now. H and I talked with my roommate Steve who is a professional cello player and who is going to be playing the wedding ceremony. He informed us that typically you have four songs played during a normal wedding ceremony. 1) Before the bride comes out. 2) Bridal march when bride comes down the aisle. 3) Something else, forgot what the third song is 4) Bride and Groom go back down the aisle. The music I have been posting on here for several months was never meant to be played during the ceremony. At this point it is looking more likely that the pop/country/rock music I’ve been posting the past few months will be played before the ceremony when people are milling around and getting seated. During the reception dinner time music such as this song will be played. 20’s-50’s pop/country as if played through an old hifi. From that point it will segue into the dancing music which we are still finalizing. Needless to say, don’t expect any 80’s butt rock to be played. I’d rather have 8 people dancing that understand good music than 40 who can’t wait for “Jungle Boogie” to be played. Save the cliché crap for the next cliché wedding reception you attend at the beach, in a mid-west community center or on a golf course.
The Hillbilly Heartthrob. Hello Walls was another classic country song I heard as a kid through commercials for one of those “Best of Country Music” tape compilations that were aimed at, I guess, parents as they happened to walk by the screen when their kids were watching cartoons. Faron’s success lasted until the late 70’s when his music started to appear dated and lost much of its core audience. He would unfortunately commit suicide in 1996 at only 64 years old having thought the country music industry had turned its back on him. He was inducted into the country music hall of fame in 2000 in large part to songs such as Hello Walls which still sound great to this day.
1 commentFriday Mix 95
I missed a week, sorry.
Making the rounds on all your favorite blogs comes Neon Indian. YABB (Yet Another Brooklyn Band) but are worthy of the hype upon the first listening to the overall album and this single.
The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (Architecture in Helsinki Remix)
Architecture in Helsinki did a great job turning this into a true remix in their own vein. Anyone who has ever listened to AiH will pick up on this right away with the trumpet parts and mix of whimsical percussion. The vocals are almost completely stripped out and make this a unique take on the original.
William Elliott Whitmore – Hell or High Water
It’s taken me a while to post anything by William Elliott Whitmore as I’m not sure I buy into his who shtick. He’s from Iowa and I just keep getting this feeling that his voice etc is a big act. His live performance is over the top with his between song banter usually playing up his hard drinking, tough yet sentimental exterior. I enjoy his music in small doses but it all seems to start to run together if you listen to too much of it. Apparently I don’t get the subtleties of it.
Barton Carroll – Those Days Are Gone, And My Heart is Breaking
I’m not sure where I picked up Carroll’s “The Lost One” release but I just rediscovered it this week. He’s got a fairly run of the mill voice but his story telling hooked me with this song in particular. It’s the matter of fact nature in which he delivers these lyrics make it seem as if he is trying to distance his real emotions. This might seem insincere/fake but the way he sings and plays it really makes me want to believe this is a true story, sad as it may be.
No commentsFriday Mix 94
Yes, the above image is from the Mad Men Yourself site. Nice gimick for the upcoming season which I’m very excited for. Not as much as I am for the remaining episodes of True Blood. Currently that is reason alone to own a television and internet connection.
Nate from The Format’s new band. The chorus has a beach boy’s sound to me but that’s probably not the most fitting description of the sound on this album. It’s definitely different than where he was going with the Format on their last LP. Aim and Ignite is a nice album but I’m not sure it is going to appear on my list of favorites for 2009 unless I get in the mood to listen to this kind of sound more often over the coming few months. (And I’m sure they are oh so sad to see my type that, what with all the clout I have.)
Found this from a mix-tape earlier this summer and was hooked. It didn’t hurt that it was the first song on the mix but it’s a great song on its own without that help. Seeing as how this album was created with the use of a digital voice recorder and free mixing software it’s a wonder it ever made it onto anyone’s radar. Sorry if the “look at me, me, me in the picture” phrase gets caught in your ear like a nat. It will buzz and buzz until you are annoyed beyond belief. Yet, you will come back to it, I promise.
Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing
A couple reasons to post this song off of Graduation. 1) The video with Will Oldham and Zach Galifianakis 2) The scene in the Hangover 3) Heather’s dance and mimicking of the chorus.
The Mountain Goats – Genesis 3:23
From his upcoming album “The Life of the World to Come” which features a track listing composed of nothing but biblical versus. It’s an interesting idea even though he has said the tracks are not completely devoted to the verse in question. None the less, Genesis 3:23, “So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”
No commentsFriday Mix 93
Heading up to the 110 degree temperatures in Paso Robles and the Mid-State Fair. Have I mentioned how I can’t wait for Fall?
Dinosaur Jr. – I Want You to Know
They still have it.
Heartbreak Scene (Feat. Dan Bejar)
Something I randomly found in my media library this week. Nice little narrative that is a little easier to discern than most of Destroyers work.
Islands – Jogging Gloreous Summer
From their best album. This week’s wedding song for a Fall wedding, go figure.
New one from the best super group of my lifetime, Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and Mike Mogis. Can’t wait for the full length on this one and the Fall tour. Not totally country but Folk will take the spot for this week.
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