Five Songs I'm Loving This Week

I first bought Elf Power's 2000 CD Elf Power, Elf Power, Winter Is Coming based on an Amazon suggestion. I didn't even bother to listen to any of the songs; I just knew I couldn't possibly not like a band named Elf Power. I was right--not only did I like the cd, I thought it was the awesomest druid rock ever!! (Only some of the proggiest music of the 70's might've surpassed it in sheer prog-ness, but not in quality). So they had a lot going for them. They were from Georgia too, and that's always a plus to me. We're like the mafia--we take care of our own.


Elf Power

They've had a lot of albums since then, and their new CD is called Back To The Web. I've only heard a few of the songs (I will order the cd soon) and I've liked what I've heard. Most blogs are posting "An Old Familiar Scene", which is a great song, but I saw one blog posted a different song. It's called "Come Lie Down With Me (And Sing My Song)". It shows that while they might not be as pre-Christian era sounding as they were before, they still have great music.

I know I've written about Bishop Allen before ('cause they're a great band) but it's been awhile, and guess what? They have like 50 new EPS!! Yay! "The Monitor" is from the March EP. They never take themselves too seriously (even when they're covering "Eve of Destruction") but they're never half-hearted either. They play their music more than whole-heartedly and I listen to it in the same manner. While you're at their site, download all the songs they have--"Things Are What You Make Of Them" is the song I posted much much long ago. If you're so inclined, look at their Myspace site, also. Question to Bishop Allen: When are you going to have another full-length cd?

The next song isn't druid rock, or done by former druid-rockers. It's not whimsical, but it is a very beautiful song. It's called "Naomi" and it's by Chad King. Someone's no friend of his--combine that with a steel petal guitar and you got one twangy, sad song. (Scroll down almost to the bottom and click the little tiny symbol by the song's name).


Chad King's Well, Hell album cover

I'm a sucker for vocals that are kind of sung/shouted (witness my devotion to Mates of State and love of Ween). "Love Is For The Birds, Not The Bees" is shouted by the lead singer of The Spelling Bees with exuberance, and the song seems to be built on video game samples. In short, I love it. (Click on media, then Spelling Bees).

I don't if it's just 'cause I was born in the 70's, or maybe Neil Diamond is really my father (would be an improvement) but I like a lot of songs with the word "babe" in it. I generally don't like the kind of guys who use the word "babe", but maybe I'm just searching for my inner ho-skank. It's possible. Anyway, Ian Moore wants to drink up his babe in his song "New Day". He also likes to drink coffee, but I'm not sure if that's related to drinking up his babe. The song follows the dark, isolated country sound of artists like M. Ward and Tim Easton. I'm a sucker for dark, lonely cowboy music.

The last song is going to be a retro song (yes, Lola ran out of songs. Leave her alone. She works hard to bring you these songs.)

Heidi Berry was one of my favorite musicians in the 90's (she still is, but she hasn't done much since the 90's). She was originally on the 4AD label, which since I was prone to dramatics and loved music that made me depressed, was my favorite label. Plus they just had really awesome music (This Mortal Coil, His Name Is Alive, Kristen Hersh). So, Heidi Berry was on my short list of "people who are too awesome to be mere humans". and Yay! Blogger seems to think I've never posted any of her songs before, so I will not be repeating myself by posting this. There are so many songs I love by her that it is hard to pick just one, so I will probably include another one of her songs in a future post. For now, though, I'll upload "Washington Square". It's highly indicative of her talent and the quality of her music. If you don't like this song then I doubt you'd like the rest of her catalog.


Heidi Berry's collection, Pomegranate