Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Band of Horses, "Is there a ghost" (Direct Link)

Lola love Band of Horses long time. If Lola had lots of money for wall-sized posters, she would have a huge sprawling one of this band.

Listen to Ben Bridwell's voice. He's got one of the best voices I've heard in pop/rock music. The production of the song is eerie--it sounds like it was recorded in a chamber. His voice shimmers and glides. Okay, I know reverb is added to it, but even without it, he has one of the most idiosyncratic voices I've heard. He's accompanied at first by a very light guitar line, then the alpha guitar crashes in, completely hijacking the song. This new guitar reverberates and crashes from side to side, moving the song on an unstoppable trajectory, until it does stop. It stops so abruptly you're left questioning what the hell just happened. My favorite kind of music.

Me love Band of Horses.

Website
Myspace


Band of...Dog?

Don Lennon, "A Secret Band"

I can't tell you exactly what it is I love about this song. I can't say it's his singing, because he doesn't sing--he rhythmically talks. That's probably part of what I like so much. It's like he's trying to do a funk song, but he doesn't try to put any soul in it, or any inflection. It's like Devo (sans excessive electronics) doing a rap song. It seems kind of wrong, but at the same time it's so frickin' cool. It's soul music, as if it were done by the Borg. Lyrics like "we're elitists, no doubt" help reinforce that sense of dispassion. I love passionate music, but dispassionate music can be just as fun (and sometimes it can be a good break from the drama of the world).

I couldn't find a non-Indiefeed version of the song, so there's an Indiefeed introduction at the beginning and someone from Indiefeed talking at the end. Sorry--a flawed version of the song is better than no version!

Website
Myspace (I also really like "Junior Year Abroad" on his Myspace--unfortunately, it's not downloadable. Curses!)


Don Lennon

Arthur and Yu, "1,000 Words" (Direct Link)

Something in me loves a faux-surfer movie one-note twang, and this song's got a few. It's also got the slow-moving, lackadaisal "it's the journey not the destination"-ess of a Yo La Tengo song. Yep, if you've got musical ADD, do not listen to this song, 'cause this song takes it's sweet, sweet time, and I love it better for it. If you're in a hurry, listen to a Raveonettes song. If you want to be gently swayed back and forth by the voice of a guy who sounds remarkably like Ian McColloch from Echo and the Bunnymen, then this is a good song to queue up.

Label Website (no official site listed)
Myspace


I love to see someone laughing...Arthur and Yu