"To Those Of This World",

Okay. Remember how last week I was feeling a bit under the weather and may not do a post? Well, I'm going to do a blog entry, but it's going to be a little different.

I still feel very ill--I had a few crises happen (one of which is still going on--I love my cat Quatsch and hope she gets through this crisis) and I'm just drained. It's "Gone Beyond" my ability to deal with solo. I spent the whole day cleaning and doing laundry because it needed to be done. Seriously, my apartment was so dirty that I worried I might get gangrene or something. So, the floors are swept, mopped and all that good stuff.

Anyhoo, so I'm really tired and don't have the energy to lovingly craft a description for each song, so this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to insert the songs into this conversation. I'll allude to song titles in this very set of paragraphs. Can you spot them? C'mon! It'll be fun! The"Children of December" are doing it! Children of December reminds me of Children of the Corn. Creepy. I have no clever segueway for this, but "Goodbye Little New York!"

If you don't like this method of delivering the five songs, then talk to management. I just work here.

But just know--"I Will Not Leave You Alone".

Oh yeah, and "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time"! (Bonus)

Akron/Family ("Gone Beyond") is on Michael Gira's (formerly of The Swans) label, Young God Records. Look! Myspace!


Akron/Family. Yup, they look like family.

I've actually seen Bernard ("To Those Of This World"--sorry I only have the version with talking in the beginning) play before. They opened for another band I saw (don't ask me to remember what band--different shows blend into different shows). The website listed for them transfers directly to their Myspace. They also have a song available on Pure Volume.


Bernard, A View Beyond The Cave

I'd never heard of The Slip ("Children of December") before, but this song made a very strong impression on me. They're signed to the prestigious indie label "Bar None". The name of the album is Eisenhower, and this is The Slip's Myspace.


The Slip ask "Whatchoo lookin' at?"

I heard the song "Goodbye Little New York", by Helicopters, on Insomnia Radio Double Shots, and I looked and looked for my very own mp3 copy. I looked, looked, looked--to the point that Google almost called last call. But there it was. All tiny and alone (unlike the next song suggests), the last link in the Google search. I found it on a site called "Green Music Blog". Nice of them guys, huh?


Helicopters say "Whip it, Whip it good".

I downloaded North Atlantic Explorers ("I Will Not Leave You Alone") because I love the name of the band. I love anything that evokes the starkness of the great North, and also the name reminds me of another band I love: Nanook of the North. I was happy to find that I liked the songs as much as I liked the name. Their Myspace.


Pretty!

And of course, anyone paying attention (I would guess at least one person) knows I love Sufjan Stevens. I listen to everything I find by him. I don't always like it (Enjoy Your Rabbit, I'm talking to you. I just don't go for screechy wannabe Chinese experimental instrumentation), but when I like it, I worship it and tell people to play it at my funeral (that's important: I want "Chicago", the album version, played at my funeral). Actually, if at all possible, I want it played as I'm dying, but I know we don't always have control at that moment. Seriously, though, if it's possible, "Chicago" as I'm slipping from the world and at the funeral. I ask for that and for my cats, if they're still around, to go to a good home. (I'm not trying to freak anyone out: I have no plans to check out anytime soon).


The Sufjan, he is a dreamy man.

Anyhi, that's the Five Song post for this week. It's still taken me over two hours, though usually it can be between 3-5 hours.

Oh, and two videos I've been playing a lot recently: (I'm more attached to the songs than the actual videos, and I'd post the mp3s, but they're major label, and I don't feel like getting a cease and desist note for Christmas). I tried to embed these, but I couldn't get it to work, so I posted the links to the Youtube videos.

Secret Machines, "Lightning Blue Eyes"

Sigur Ros, "Hoppípolla"

Merry Christmas :)