Reminder

Just reminding y'all that I will not be posting this weekend. However, you may enjoy my attempts at internet stardom. I had not one, but two voice mails read on the most recent Slice of Scifi voice mail show. I also have a weekly segment on the Ghostology podcast called Letters From Lola (towards the end of the podcast). Yes, I have my own segment. I am that special.

Cerulean's Love of Music, Episode 52, In Which Lola's French Accent Needs To Be Beaten Down (Maybe With An Earwig)

Cerulean's Love of Music, Episode 52, In Which Lola's French Accent Needs To Be Beaten Down (Maybe With An Earwig)

Podcast Page
Direct Link
RSS Feed

Theme Music! American Princes, "Watch As They Go" (Downloadable from their Myspace)
Website

House and Parish, "This Curse"
Website
Myspace

Boy Eats Drum Machine, "The Crack in the Sea" (Downloaded from their Myspace)
Website

Earwig, "Old Man's Cave"
Website
Myspace

Vermillion Lies, "Circus Apocalypse" (Downloaded from their Myspace)
Website

Prints, "Too Much Water"
Label Site
Myspace

Eux Autres, "Gratte-Ciel"
Website
Myspace
Buy ateMusic

Dawn Landes, "Bodyguard" (Thanks to Fingertips)
Website
Myspace

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

**Reminder: I won't be posting next weekend because of Dragon*Con. I'll be posting per norm in two weeks**

Amanda Palmer, "Leeds United" (Downloadable from her Myspace)

I'm not sure what questions of love have to do with an English soccer team, but Amanda Palmer's ferocious piano playing and passionate vocal play tease my attention away from any perceived lyrical anomalies. The fierceness she displays is an anomaly all its own. The persona Amanda Palmer has cultivated is a prism, displaying and distorting the personalities of other theatrically-inclined female musicians, but she is the strange, alterna-version. Think the other parents in Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Could be Tori Amos, if Tori crawled out of the gutter, cuts covering her scuffed body. Could be Kate Bush, if Kate weren't raised by a loving family. Could be Courtney Love, with more focus and talent. She inhabits the crossroads between deranged and genius, nearly dead and fully alive. She makes us question if death really is so deadening.

Website


Amanda Palmer, not dead yet

Balthrop, Alabama, "Love to Love You"

If small town life in Alabama seemed this fun, I would have advocated stepping off of I65 and I20 more often. As it is, I didn't see much of small town Alabama when I lived there. I found out that a lot of rural Alabama is "dry", and, well, what's the point? Before I start lamenting lost opportunities, though, it's important to remember that this happy collective was formed and thrives in Brooklyn, New York, though members Lauren and Pascal Balthrop are from the iron state. So basically this tells me I should get on the I95 and go north, stop at the sign that says "Balthrop, Alabama" and become their 12th (?) member. This song calls to mind the very best of Belle and Sebastian: playful, giddy, melodic and a little hypnotic. It makes you feel a little dizzy--like you ate way too much candy and you might pass out.

Website
Myspace


The mighty fine folks of Balthrop, Alabama. Some of the townsfolk are late of a bustling little border town called Rainer Maria.

The Faint, "The Geeks Were Right" (DIOYY remix)

I rarely ever feature dance music; the few times I do find a "dance" type song I like, I usually put it on the podcast, because, well, I want my listeners to be awake. Once or twice, though, I have found dance songs that I like so much I want to bring them special attention. Yes, in case you were wondering, this is one of those songs. Instead of making me want to lazily lounge in a meadow, as most of the songs I listen to do, this song makes me want to violently thrust my body in ways that are meant to suggest dancing. This song makes me want to nearly crack my head on the person unfortunate enough to be in my perimeter (though the practical part of me doesn't really want to crack my head--just nearly crack my head). This song makes me want to go to the Masquerade in Atlanta. Man, I miss that place so much. I haven't been in four years. I want to slither through crowded, dark corriders in old industrial buildings. I want to feel both alive and exhausted, concurrently. I want to earn my exhaustion, instead of being passively tired.

Website
Myspace


If these are the geeks, then they're just scary looking. (Photo of The Faint by Scott Dobry)

Tropical Storm Fay

My corner of the world yesterday, Friday, August 22nd.

I can't get the embed to work on this unfortunately. Here's the video of my corner yesterday. We were without power for 36 hours. Our apartment building didn't flood. I'm glad we decided to stay--we had an impromptu party (though I know for some people it was not an occasion for a party and I feel sympathy for those folks. With me being out-of-work, I'm grateful nothing bad happened to us).

Podcast, Special Episode #4, Fun While Waiting For Tropical Storm

Special Episode #4, Fun While Waiting For Tropical Storm.

Podcast Page
Direct Link
RSS Feed

Beehive, "Better Than Lies"
Website
Myspace

Darker My Love, "Two Ways Out"
Website
Myspace

Dead Heart Bloom, "Come Back" (Downloaded from their Myspace)
Website

Elaine Chao Finnell, "Dance" (From the Masters of Song Fu song competition)
Website
(No Myspace listed)

Chairs in the Arno, "Winter Song"
Website
Myspace

Koufax, "Roll the Dice"
Website
Myspace

The Paul Frumpton Experience, "Dracula's Beach Towel" (From the Masters of Song Fu song competition)
Myspace
(No website listed)

Wye Oak, "Warning" (Okay, so, I just finished telling someone this was the most error-free podcast I've ever done. Of course not long after I asserted that, I proved how much of the first three letters of "asserted" applies to me :) Turns out that I got the band name wrong. I called them Monarch in the podcast, but their name is Wye Oak. Somehow my copy of the mp3 got labeled as being by Monarch. Eh.)

Website (More mp3s on the music page; just click the song title to download)
Myspace

Elsiane, "Vaporous" (Downloaded from her Myspace)
Website

The Lonely Forest, "Stars and Moons"
Website
Myspace

Review, Mark Northfield, Ascendant

**I already published my usual blog post; look a few posts before this one**

Review, Mark Northfield, Ascendant
2007, P+C Substantive Recordings

Ascendant is Mark Northfield's second album; an accomplished accompanist for organizations such as London Contemporary Dance School and the Royal Academy of Dance, he turned to creating and recording his own compositions in the early part of this decade. His first album Anachronisms remains unreleased (that brings perfectionist to a whole new level); however, mp3s for both of his albums are available at his website.

Mark Northfield's compositions on Ascendant glide, gracefully transitioning from the utterly betwitching and transcendent ("Waiting For Green", "Zero") to a restrained, uncluttered piece of chamber music ("Our Father") with crisp, unadorned vocals, then on to an understated piano piece with jazzy vocals similar to Brendan Perry's of Dead Can Dance ("Resistance"). Moments of the album soar with the bombast (in a good way) of an Andrew Lloyd Webber song ("Sleeping Beauty") and one piece hops with an undisguised cabaret vibe ("Decidedly Dumb"). In "Calm" voices soar, intone and implore in a magnificent and electrifying madrigal that fades into a solo male vocal perfomance, calm and at odds with the fervor of the crowd. This tumultuous tumbling between moods within the songs is very indicative of the album as a whole. It is a culmination of many styles, all threaded throughout the composition: an album that's different at each interval, but blends effortlessly to form a cohesive album of music.

The songs are threaded together with bits of music reminiscent of the interludes placed throughout the three This Mortal Coil albums of the late 80's and early 90's. As his website states, Ascendant "is also designed to be heard (in a shuffle-free world) from start to finish". I would recommend listening to it this way; much of the artistry of the composition is in the placement of songs in relation to other songs. The interludes certainly wouldn't be as effective if they lead into your secret Abba collection.

Pandora Radio Update

Possibly the end of Pandora radio.

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

~~Happy Birthday, Madonna~~

**I'm going to take a break the weekend of August 29th-31st (two weeks from now) because I'm going to the greatest event in the world--Dragon*Con. I won't have a post that weekend (Labor day weekend), but I'll still have my normal podcast and blog post next weekend.**

Pete and the Pirates, "Ill Love"

I should save this for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but that's over a month away, and I get ansy. This taut, energetic pop song pulsates with the freedom of losing one's fear and opening oneself up. The song has a DIY independent feel that's becoming lost to anyone but the guys and girls in the back of the independent music stores (which in turn are being lost to Best Buy). The opening guitar lines remind me of a Guided By Voices song, and of course that already puts me in a good mind. The song itself is in the same vein as the great pop/punk songs of the 80s: a little Soft Cell, a little Clash, some Madness, definitely some New Order and, as I mentioned, a lot of GBV (though I didn't know about GBV until the 90s). Though this is a unique band with a unique sound, they have the feel of some of my older, favorite bands. It makes for a song that's new and inventive, but harkens back to an era that was itself incredibly groundbreaking.

Website
Myspace


Neither Pete nor his pirates are on a ship. And there is no rum to speak of, nor a parrot.

Sky Larkin, "Molten"

Speaking of pop/punk, this is a perfect example of modern pop/punk. "Molten" is an excellent description: the guitar shreds through the melody, dragging the song through it's shattered wake. The singer taunts us as she wraps her voice inside and around the melody, sounding a little like Bjork from the Sugarcubes days. She is the counter to the guitar's aggression--her voice smooths the tension out a bit, but don't let it fool you: you're still not likely to come out unscathed

Website
Myspace


Sky Larken really are as badass as I said they are. Really.

Neil Halstead, "Queen Bee"

Now for some very peaceful, unshredded counter-programming. This is folk at its finest, and most calming. It's about as harsh as lemon mint tobacco, and just as pleasant. You might find yourself drifting off while listening to it, smiling for no apparent reason. Yes, you may look goofy while listening to this song. Get over it. You might also find yourself wanting to learn guitar (if you don't already), so you can find a solitary rock somewhere and just play all day, no audience except maybe a few frogs and/or squirrels.

Website
Myspace


Neil Halstead wonders if he brought his toothbrush. (What? That's what I always wonder when I'm in a hotel room. I also wonder what I would see if I took a black light to the bed sheets, but that might be a little out of the ordinary.)

Podcast, Episode 51, In Which Lola's Expensive (not really) Software Crashed Dozens of Times

(Sorry this is late! My Propaganda software crashed over and over. I tried to use Audacity, but I started to hyperventilate, so I stopped. My blog post is right before this post, and right before that post is a special podcast episode (which worked just fine).

Podcast Page
Direct Link
RSS Feed

Theme Music! American Princes, "Watch As They Go" (Downloadable from their Myspace)
Website

Mock Orange, "Payroll"
Website
Myspace

Windsor For The Derby, "Hold On"
Website
Myspace

Foy Vance, "Homebird"

Website
Myspace

The Buddyrevelles, "6 Oz. Intro"

Website
Myspace

Marble Sounds, "Redesign"

Myspace
(Website redirects to Myspace)
Buy at Rhapsody

Museum Pieces, "On Deck"
Website
Myspace
Buy at eMusic

Tokyo Police Club, "In a Cave"
Website
Myspace

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

*The podcast will be up later this afternoon. I had a slight recording problem. I also posted a special podcast a few days ago. The shownotes are already up for that.

Bark Hide and Horn, "Treasure of the Everglades"

Bark Hide and Horn list the "spirit of invention" as an influence. I would say it's not so much an influence as it is their style. They create music using the spirit of invention as the base and originality as the only extra ingredient. They're only familiar in the sense that I feel like I've been to this part of the forest before, but in a dream. They're obviously inspired by exploring (the whole album is based on the band's imagining of the stories behind the National Geographic magazine series). I told you--original, and not afraid to be as geeky as I am. This particular part of the imagining is a trumpeted, enthusiastic love song to a snail (presumably from the view point of another snail, not a human...not my place to judge, though). He waxes about the other snail's "magic feelers" (and no, he's not referring to the type of "magic feelers" that you get at specialty stores). He wants to see their "colors meld" and he wants to crawl into the other snail's shell. The snails may be entering into the last of their lives and they may be the last of their kinds; he just asks for a few more glorious moments with the other creature. I love songs that personify something not human, making us ponder whether we're so different from other creatures. "Treasure of the Everglades" tells a story that we're all familiar with--wanting companionship and love--but puts it in a very different context. Sometimes doing that makes a very old story seem very new.

Website
Myspace


Why, ho! Is that the Treasure of the Everglades I spot?

Marching Band, "Travel in Time"

The picture featured on the band's website is a good representation of how their music sounds. Strange, but fascinating. Like Alice must've felt looking at the land beyond the rabbit hole. I want to figure out what this sparkling song is about. I want to listen to the song intently enough to pick out every unusual lyric. I also kind of want to go to sleep so it can be incorporated into my dreams (I usually dream about whatever I'm listening to as I fall asleep--not good if I'm listening to a horror audio book, but great if I'm listening to something with a hint of psychedelia, as this does). There is just a hint of psychedelia here; not enough to twist the song to frequencies beyond our ability to comprehend, but enough to make one crave cherry plums and maybe some powdered pastries (or is that just the munchies?) It stimulates the part of my brain that makes anything seem possible--flying, travelling through time and maybe even just resting quietly, looking at a limitless sky.

Website (There are also a few other mp3s available)
Myspace


Nothing unusual here...

Ed Laurie, "Albert" (Thanks to Fingertips for the link)

This has a bit of a gothic air about it; haunting, in a foggy, Victorian London kind of a way. Maybe it's the Sherlock Holmes adaptation I saw on PBS last week influencing me. Perhaps it's the beautiful instrumentation putting me in an anachronistic mind frame. The hushed and reverent vocals lay a gossamer cast over the song, creating a sense of calm intensity, like a storm that is deceptively (and momentarily) tranquil. The gorgeous clarinet breaks through, adding texture to the smooth facade, dispersing the glimmer slightly. This song actually has a timeless, placeless quality. It belongs anywhere there is space to hold it, whether it be a well-worn trail in Eastern Europe, the streets of yesterday's London or maybe even the deep recesses of New Orleans, the parts too firmly rooted, too interwoven into the land and the water to be evicted by any force of nature.

Website
Myspace


Ed Laurie talks to himself and looks slyly into space

Podcast, Special Edition #3, August 6th, 2008

I plan to release a regular podcast this weekend, and my blog post, also.

Podcast page
Direct Link
RSS Feed

Borea, "Single Ride" (Downloadable from the band's website. After you click which language you want, a window will pop up. Click "music" on the pop-up and the mp3s will come up.)
Myspace

Liz Durrett, "Wild as Them"
Website
Myspace
More mp3s

Natalie Walker, "Pink Neon "
Website
Myspace (Her songs remind me of being in my early 20s and going clubbing, but with good music instead of the crap the clubs usually played)
Buy at Rhapsody

Plants and Animals, "Faerie Dance" (Huh. It looks like I had this song in my list for so long that the link stopped working. Oh well. The song did come from the label).
Website
Myspace

Mock Orange, "Song in D"
Website
Myspace

Back In Judy's Shack, "What are you doing for the rest of your life" (The band sent me the mp3)
Myspace
(No website listed)

Maria Taylor, "Song Beneath the Song" (thanks to Glorious Noise for letting me know the mp3 was available)

Website (New version of "Song Beneath the Song" plays when you open up the website)
Myspace

The Avett Brothers, "Murder in the City" (Their label sent me the song)

Website
Myspace

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Darryl Blood, "Oslo" (Yousendit link, but I originally downloaded the song from his Myspace)

I've always been attracted to songs about travelling, about destination--where we're going and where we've been. The concept of "somewhere else between, somewhere I shouldn't go" certainly peaks my interest. Darryl Blood's stuck "somewhere else between". He's "looking for something", and he wants to be someone. I can certainly commiserate with the feeling of being lost, being "in-between", not sure of one's place or even one's identity. Being one of the many unemployed has weakened my sense of identity a little more, too (though really only when I let myself get down. Generally I'm happy being known as "blogger" and "podcaster" to you all.) It's nice to hear my listlessness put to a folkish pop beat, though--complete with hand claps (I love hand claps), sparkling guitar and violin. It takes the edge off of feeling dislocated.

Website


Cover for Darryl Blood's album Making All Things New


Marc Gunn, "Orange Kittens Mew" (The artist gave me permission to post this. I used Sendspace. If you click on it and sends you to a page, the download link is at the bottom of the page.)

Though most of the music I post would be considered "folk" (of all varieties), most people who know me know I have a very green, very deep spot in my soul for celtic music (and where did a lot of American folk music originate from, anyway?). Yes, I will snap up any songs that mention the words "paddy", "aye", "ale" or "drunken". I have a weird collection of music. Now, you add humor to that mix? I will be there in a heartbeat, most likely already holding a bumper sticker and wearing a t-shirt. Marc Gunn is one half of the great traveling celtic music group "Brobdingnagian Bards" (and folks--this marks the first time I didn't have to look up the spelling. I just recently began to pronounce it quasi-correctly). The Bards are from Austin, Texas, but they seem homegrown to me because I've seen them so many times at Dragon*Con (T- 25 days...) Marc also releases albums on his own (in addition to podcasts, newsletters and probably crossword puzzles) and the most recent album, Whiskers In The Jar: Irish Songs For Cat Lovers, marries two of my favorite genres: Celtic and Cat. Yes, "Cat" is its own genre. Don't believe me? Try to challenge a cat on the subject. I dare ye. One of my favorites on the new album, "Orange Kittens Mew" reserves the solemnity of the original song, "Morning May Dew", but instead of singing of the trees and the birds and those who are "dead and gone", Marc Gunn rewrites the song to focus on something less tangible, more unsettling and much, much more archaic: the strange hold cats have on their caretakers. No one will ever truly understand this unshakeable bond. Why is it that no matter how many times my cat Quatsch howls during the night (usually beginning at 3 a.m. and ending when fed) I still coo at her when I'm petting her. I still call her "pretty baby" no matter how derisive her expression is towards me. She is the Princess, nay, the Queen. Her brother Chester is the Knight (Quatsch doesn't trust him to be King) and I am the Jester. I don't know how I became subservient to a 10 pound fluff ball. I don't think Marc Gunn truly knows either, but he understands the spell the kitten's mew holds on us.


Website
Myspace


Torre and his caretaker, Marc Gunn (Tiziano not pictured, but always present)

Caleb Engstrom, "The Light In The Room" (Not a direct link--link leads to the Daytrotter page where the file can be downloaded).

This fits in with the theme of placement from the first song. "The Light In The Room" speaks to the doubt we all have about our choices regarding the direction we travel (and the wisdom of sometimes just being inert). He says that as long as he doesn't "give up" and "keeps at it", he can discover exactly where to go. He questions whether he will ultimately make the right choice, though, regardless of how hard he tries. He worries that wherever he goes he'll feel like he's at "the wrong table in the wrong kitchen")*. Perseverance leads him somewhere, but the wrong where. He doesn't want to "sit in the dark", but when he moves he doesn't feel like he's going in the right direction. He's being pulled between nowhere and somewhere he doesn't belong. I understand those doubts very well: working so hard towards a goal and then beginning to question if the goal is right for me at all. Am I ignoring subtle clues the universe is throwing at me? It's good to know that I'm not the only one with such uncertainties; as long as talented people with guitars feel similarly, I'll never be completely in the dark.

*I would suggest that before he decides he's in the wrong kitchen, he should look to see what kind of coffee, tea and/or beer the kitchen stocks. That would make a huge difference to be regarding which kitchen is right.

Website
Myspace


There is a lot of light in this room, as well as vertical lines. And a person called Caleb Engstrom