PODCAST #37!
In which Lola FORGOT AGAIN to name the episode
Direct Link
RSS Feed
SHOWNOTES:
Theme Music: Dust Rhinos, "Victoria" I got this courtesy of the Podsafe Network, and I'm not sure I'm supposed to post the mp3, so I won't.
Website
Myspace
The Dimes, "Catch Me Jumping"
Website
Myspace
Kate Nash, "We Get On" (from her Myspace)
Website
Briana Winter, "Hide"
Website
Myspace
The Long Blondes, "Separated By Motorways" (Sexamatronic Mix)
(I said the name of the song wrong on the podcast)
Website
Myspace
The Dodos, "Fools"
Website
Myspace
The Early Years, All Ones and Zeros" (Okay, well, I got it from KEXP, but it's not on there now. It's on this KEXP mirror site, though).
Website
Myspace
The Helio Sequence, "Keep Your Eyes Ahead"
Website
Myspace
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
The Lola-is-experimenting-with-layout edition
The Long Blondes, "Separated By Motorways" (Sexamatronic Mix)
Website
Myspace
Normally, I reserve the more "high energy" songs for my podcast--I figure people are more likely to be mobile when listening to the podcast and would benefit from music that's a little more likely to jumpstart the nervous system. I love this song so much, though, that I had to give it more than one outlet. There are so many vocal styles in this song--the vocalist speaks/sings in the most seductive English accent part of the time and at other times careens into the top of her range (these could be two singers--it's hard for me to tell). The song sounds like a cross between punk and the trip-hop music coming out of Britain in the late nineties. There's a little electronica in there, also--kind of like Goldfrapp singing for The Prodigy. Wow, that would be cool.
Tyler Ramsey, "Ships"
The name of the album this song is from is A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea. This song is its own kind of dream--it evokes a hazy feeling of drifting, letting you experience a good kind of listlessness. The kind you feel when you're drifting in the ocean, a lake, or even a really vast pool, and you're not so concerned where you drift to. As long as you can see land (and therefore are not drifting into need-rescue territory), you're content to let the water take you. You're content to let this song, and the singer's granulated, weary voice take you where it's supposed to.
Website
Myspace
Tyler Ramsey, looking cagy
Emily Jane White, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"
When I first read this title, I thought of the book "Where The Wild Things Are". Truth is, I still think of that when I hear this song. There is something dark and untamed about the song; it cloisters around you like a stifling, humid forest. It closes around you, almost choking you until lightly pulling away, amused as you realize you can move quite fluidly afterall. The song is a firm caress that lays a seemingly impermeable embrace on its listener .
Website
Myspace
Buy at Rhapsody
PODCAST LATER THIS WEEKEND
The Lola-is-experimenting-with-layout edition
The Long Blondes, "Separated By Motorways" (Sexamatronic Mix)
Website
Myspace
Normally, I reserve the more "high energy" songs for my podcast--I figure people are more likely to be mobile when listening to the podcast and would benefit from music that's a little more likely to jumpstart the nervous system. I love this song so much, though, that I had to give it more than one outlet. There are so many vocal styles in this song--the vocalist speaks/sings in the most seductive English accent part of the time and at other times careens into the top of her range (these could be two singers--it's hard for me to tell). The song sounds like a cross between punk and the trip-hop music coming out of Britain in the late nineties. There's a little electronica in there, also--kind of like Goldfrapp singing for The Prodigy. Wow, that would be cool.
Tyler Ramsey, "Ships"
The name of the album this song is from is A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea. This song is its own kind of dream--it evokes a hazy feeling of drifting, letting you experience a good kind of listlessness. The kind you feel when you're drifting in the ocean, a lake, or even a really vast pool, and you're not so concerned where you drift to. As long as you can see land (and therefore are not drifting into need-rescue territory), you're content to let the water take you. You're content to let this song, and the singer's granulated, weary voice take you where it's supposed to.
Website
Myspace
Tyler Ramsey, looking cagy
Emily Jane White, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"
When I first read this title, I thought of the book "Where The Wild Things Are". Truth is, I still think of that when I hear this song. There is something dark and untamed about the song; it cloisters around you like a stifling, humid forest. It closes around you, almost choking you until lightly pulling away, amused as you realize you can move quite fluidly afterall. The song is a firm caress that lays a seemingly impermeable embrace on its listener .
Website
Myspace
Buy at Rhapsody
PODCAST LATER THIS WEEKEND
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
Jong Pang, "Stains On Your Sweater" (Thanks to Fingertips for the tip on this)
This is a strange and fascinating song. The music is urgent, tense, but not heavy. The singer's voice is cutting and clear, like a cloudless blue sky on a very cold day. The song makes me think of a frozen scene just beginning to thaw and come to life. The guitar is the first vestiges of movement, struggling to bring the song's world back to life. The voice is urging the world to follow.
Myspace
Label Myspace
Anders Rhedin is Jong Pang
The Cave Singers, "Seeds of Night"
This is the kind of band I'd love to see live in a very closed, small venue--like an in-store performance. But of course I live in Jacksonville, and all of the record stores have died, so I will settle for mp3s and videos. Still, if I close my eyes, assume the sitting-on-the-floor-cross-legged pose, I can transport myself to another land, another place in this country where record stores still exist. I can feel the hush come over the small audience as the singer's stretchy, warbled voice punches the close walls, bouncing back and mingling with the quiet, understated guitar plucks. I can imagine I'm sitting right in front of the horn player, who bursts out confidently at the end, adding just a few seconds of extra instrumentation, but complimenting the melody very well.
Website
Label Site
Myspace
The Cave Singers, not in a cave
Alela Diane, "Dry Grass and Shadows"
I've only been to Louisiana and Tennessee once, I've never been to West Virginia or Kentucky. So, I've never been to the parts of the U.S. traditionally known as hubs for Bluegrass musicians. Still, being raised in the Southern U.S., I've been steeped in the style, and it's become one of my favorites. Roots music is music that's close to the ground, close to the life and the death that has it's origins in the earth. It's as humid as a Louisiana swamp, as haunted as a Southern cemetary and as vibrant as a New Orleans Mardi Gras. I don't know much about Alela Diane (I know more now that I've started spelling her name right), but I know that she, also not from a traditionally bluegrass state, makes music that is pouring over with humidity, hauntedness and vibrancy. She knows how to wrap her voice around a melody and push and pull on a song until it is under her will. Her voice harnesses the melody, but never strips it. Instead she merely matches its power with her own.
Website
Myspace
More songs available
Buy at eMusic
Alela Diane
Jong Pang, "Stains On Your Sweater" (Thanks to Fingertips for the tip on this)
This is a strange and fascinating song. The music is urgent, tense, but not heavy. The singer's voice is cutting and clear, like a cloudless blue sky on a very cold day. The song makes me think of a frozen scene just beginning to thaw and come to life. The guitar is the first vestiges of movement, struggling to bring the song's world back to life. The voice is urging the world to follow.
Myspace
Label Myspace
Anders Rhedin is Jong Pang
The Cave Singers, "Seeds of Night"
This is the kind of band I'd love to see live in a very closed, small venue--like an in-store performance. But of course I live in Jacksonville, and all of the record stores have died, so I will settle for mp3s and videos. Still, if I close my eyes, assume the sitting-on-the-floor-cross-legged pose, I can transport myself to another land, another place in this country where record stores still exist. I can feel the hush come over the small audience as the singer's stretchy, warbled voice punches the close walls, bouncing back and mingling with the quiet, understated guitar plucks. I can imagine I'm sitting right in front of the horn player, who bursts out confidently at the end, adding just a few seconds of extra instrumentation, but complimenting the melody very well.
Website
Label Site
Myspace
The Cave Singers, not in a cave
Alela Diane, "Dry Grass and Shadows"
I've only been to Louisiana and Tennessee once, I've never been to West Virginia or Kentucky. So, I've never been to the parts of the U.S. traditionally known as hubs for Bluegrass musicians. Still, being raised in the Southern U.S., I've been steeped in the style, and it's become one of my favorites. Roots music is music that's close to the ground, close to the life and the death that has it's origins in the earth. It's as humid as a Louisiana swamp, as haunted as a Southern cemetary and as vibrant as a New Orleans Mardi Gras. I don't know much about Alela Diane (I know more now that I've started spelling her name right), but I know that she, also not from a traditionally bluegrass state, makes music that is pouring over with humidity, hauntedness and vibrancy. She knows how to wrap her voice around a melody and push and pull on a song until it is under her will. Her voice harnesses the melody, but never strips it. Instead she merely matches its power with her own.
Website
Myspace
More songs available
Buy at eMusic
Alela Diane
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
PODCAST!
In which Lola completely forgot to name the episode. Oot.
Direct Link
RSS Feed
New Theme Music! Dust Rhinos, "Victoria" (one of the kickingest songs ever) I got this courtesy of the Podsafe Network, and I'm not sure I'm supposed to post the mp3, so I won't. I am playing the entire song at the end of this podcast, though.
Website
Myspace
Balkan Beat Box, "Sunday Arak" (Featuring Dana Leong) (I got permission from the artist to put this on my podcast, but not to post the mp3)
Website
Myspace
The Child Ballads, "Cheekbones Hollows"
Label Site
Myspace
1900s, "When I Say Go"
Website
Myspace
Matthew Seely, "Scott's Sad Restaurant Song"
Scott Pilgrim Website
Website (Sexy, sexy bicycle?)
Myspace (under the name Mountains and Magic)
Quinn Walker, "Save Your Love For Me"
Myspace
No website found, but here's the Insound page for him
The Antlers, "The Universe is Going To Catch You"
Website
Myspace
Buy at eMusic
Lastly, the full version of the Dust Rhinos' "Victoria". Yippee Yi Yay!
In which Lola completely forgot to name the episode. Oot.
Direct Link
RSS Feed
New Theme Music! Dust Rhinos, "Victoria" (one of the kickingest songs ever) I got this courtesy of the Podsafe Network, and I'm not sure I'm supposed to post the mp3, so I won't. I am playing the entire song at the end of this podcast, though.
Website
Myspace
Balkan Beat Box, "Sunday Arak" (Featuring Dana Leong) (I got permission from the artist to put this on my podcast, but not to post the mp3)
Website
Myspace
The Child Ballads, "Cheekbones Hollows"
Label Site
Myspace
1900s, "When I Say Go"
Website
Myspace
Matthew Seely, "Scott's Sad Restaurant Song"
Scott Pilgrim Website
Website (Sexy, sexy bicycle?)
Myspace (under the name Mountains and Magic)
Quinn Walker, "Save Your Love For Me"
Myspace
No website found, but here's the Insound page for him
The Antlers, "The Universe is Going To Catch You"
Website
Myspace
Buy at eMusic
Lastly, the full version of the Dust Rhinos' "Victoria". Yippee Yi Yay!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
Rose Rossi, "I Am Trying" (Not a direct link--the artist sent me the mp3 and I uploaded it)
Maybe it's 'cause part of me feels like I'm still trying to figure myself out-- I relate to the woman reaching back into her past, trying to understand herself in relation to the little girl she used to be. Maybe it's 'cause this singer's voice is so gorgeous and the song is so utterly singable. Whatever it is, this song has absolutely got a hold on me. I want to drink a bottle of wine (which I have) and listen to this all night (which I could). This is a torch song minus the shmaltz. Her voice is rich and enveloping, never sounding strained or thin. The song has an instantly calming effect on me, like a blanket of stillness has been gently placed on me.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Rose Rossi, Photo by Alice Dison
Tommy Martine, "It's My Fault" (Not a direct link--the artist sent me the mp3 and I uploaded it)
I guess I've got a thing for strong female vocals, because Tommy Martine's voice drives this song, challenging the guitar to beat out even more fiercely. This is an acoustic demo, but it has the force and the presence of any full-scale, fully-engineered ensemble production. Tommy's only 20 and in between making music and films, also finds time to work in one of the most famous department stores in the world. She has more talent than most of the household names out there, and hopefully she won't be working at that department store forever.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Tommy Martine looking...wow...yeah.
Girl in a Coma, "Clumsy Sky"
This starts out wonderfully lulling and deceptively comforting...yeah...that's beautiful. If ya got any kind of heart problem, though (or are skittish in any way), then hold on to your pacemakers and grab your anti-anxiety pills, 'cause the song's about to change. Remember what I said about liking strong female vocals? Okay, how about three girls shattering their instruments in a frenzied attack only stymied by the boundaries of the walls and ceiling? Come to think of it, better make sure the structure holds. The song starts out sounding like a cover of one of those drifty, dreamy 60's prom songs, but it quickly morphs into an onslaught of glorious musical terror. Like Peggy Sue Got Married exploding into Carrie on steroids. They're named after a Smiths song, and they're also on Joan Jett's label. The dichotomy of this band is evident, and emphatically welcomed.
Website
Myspace
Video for "Clumsy Sky"
I'm not the only one who loves this song--this guy covered it.
Girl in a Coma, honoring the positive attributes of disorder
Bonus!!
There's a song I thought I had a legal mp3 for, but I can't find it (or perhaps dreamed I had it). It's a great song, though--it's Kate Nash, "Foundations". Here's the video.
Rose Rossi, "I Am Trying" (Not a direct link--the artist sent me the mp3 and I uploaded it)
Maybe it's 'cause part of me feels like I'm still trying to figure myself out-- I relate to the woman reaching back into her past, trying to understand herself in relation to the little girl she used to be. Maybe it's 'cause this singer's voice is so gorgeous and the song is so utterly singable. Whatever it is, this song has absolutely got a hold on me. I want to drink a bottle of wine (which I have) and listen to this all night (which I could). This is a torch song minus the shmaltz. Her voice is rich and enveloping, never sounding strained or thin. The song has an instantly calming effect on me, like a blanket of stillness has been gently placed on me.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Rose Rossi, Photo by Alice Dison
Tommy Martine, "It's My Fault" (Not a direct link--the artist sent me the mp3 and I uploaded it)
I guess I've got a thing for strong female vocals, because Tommy Martine's voice drives this song, challenging the guitar to beat out even more fiercely. This is an acoustic demo, but it has the force and the presence of any full-scale, fully-engineered ensemble production. Tommy's only 20 and in between making music and films, also finds time to work in one of the most famous department stores in the world. She has more talent than most of the household names out there, and hopefully she won't be working at that department store forever.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Tommy Martine looking...wow...yeah.
Girl in a Coma, "Clumsy Sky"
This starts out wonderfully lulling and deceptively comforting...yeah...that's beautiful. If ya got any kind of heart problem, though (or are skittish in any way), then hold on to your pacemakers and grab your anti-anxiety pills, 'cause the song's about to change. Remember what I said about liking strong female vocals? Okay, how about three girls shattering their instruments in a frenzied attack only stymied by the boundaries of the walls and ceiling? Come to think of it, better make sure the structure holds. The song starts out sounding like a cover of one of those drifty, dreamy 60's prom songs, but it quickly morphs into an onslaught of glorious musical terror. Like Peggy Sue Got Married exploding into Carrie on steroids. They're named after a Smiths song, and they're also on Joan Jett's label. The dichotomy of this band is evident, and emphatically welcomed.
Website
Myspace
Video for "Clumsy Sky"
I'm not the only one who loves this song--this guy covered it.
Girl in a Coma, honoring the positive attributes of disorder
Bonus!!
There's a song I thought I had a legal mp3 for, but I can't find it (or perhaps dreamed I had it). It's a great song, though--it's Kate Nash, "Foundations". Here's the video.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
Celebration, "Evergreen"
The more I hear this song, the more I absolutely adore it. Her voice is a smoother Johnette Napolitino's, capable of blending low and high notes so effortlessly that I'm looking to see if this is Siouxsie Sioux's new band. It's not Siouxsie, and it's not Concrete Blonde. It's a band out of Baltimore with a sound so magical, so tribal that I feel like I'm listening to Siouxsie for the first time. The singer, Katrina Ford, has a voice that glides, swoops, trills, dives and then flips back on itself. Her voice is a feat itself--the complementing music is a bonus. The drums beat out as ferociously as she sings--pushing out the tense melody as quickly as it rolls from the singer's tongue. The guitar beats up against the drum, but keeps itself at bay. Ultimately, the instruments are there to support the fierce and strong vocals.
(See the end of the post for the video)
Website
Myspace
Celebration is hiding something behind their backs. What could it be? Candy? That would be awesome.
Priscilla Ahn, "Dream"
Sometimes a song is so unabashedly beautiful, deceptively simple and fresh that I become embarrassed. I feel shame for the way I complain, for the way I've buzzed by my surroundings, burned through my days, looking only towards going home, getting the day over with, not looking around me. Priscilla Ahn is looking at her past, her present and her future. She captures images of herself as a little girl, a young woman and as a wisened older woman. I don't think that even the most cynical person could not tear up a little when Priscilla Ahn sings that she asked God who she should be, and he answered in silent revelry. I'm trying not to tear up because my boyfriend already thinks I'm too soft in the emotions department, but if I do cry I'm going to blame it on a cut on my thumb that's hurting.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Lovely picture of Priscilla Ahn
Let's Go Sailing, "Sideways (remix)" (Thanks to Filter for the link)
"Sideways", by Let's Go Sailing, is a spry, flirtatious song, reminiscent of Maria Taylor's music. The theme is not necessarily love, but probably more accurately called "interest". While I love the dire, heart-wrenching "my lover done me wrong and he/she will pay" type songs, they can be emotionally overwhelming if listened to constantly. Trust me--I know. I listened to The Smiths in high school. Not every love song has to be about a deep, twisting, unshakable love. Sometimes just the promise of love is a good subject. Leave the borderline stalker songs for the end of the album.
Website (I think her dates are a little off--I'm pretty sure the last blurb on the news page is from Jan. '08, not '07)
Myspace
The very pretty Shana Levy, of Let's Go Sailing, looking a little sideways, but down
Bonus!
Celebration, "Evergreen" video
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Also, I can't find an mp3 for this song, but the song is beautiful. It's Adele's "Chasing Pavements". The video is below:
Check out this video: Adele - Chasing Pavements
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Celebration, "Evergreen"
The more I hear this song, the more I absolutely adore it. Her voice is a smoother Johnette Napolitino's, capable of blending low and high notes so effortlessly that I'm looking to see if this is Siouxsie Sioux's new band. It's not Siouxsie, and it's not Concrete Blonde. It's a band out of Baltimore with a sound so magical, so tribal that I feel like I'm listening to Siouxsie for the first time. The singer, Katrina Ford, has a voice that glides, swoops, trills, dives and then flips back on itself. Her voice is a feat itself--the complementing music is a bonus. The drums beat out as ferociously as she sings--pushing out the tense melody as quickly as it rolls from the singer's tongue. The guitar beats up against the drum, but keeps itself at bay. Ultimately, the instruments are there to support the fierce and strong vocals.
(See the end of the post for the video)
Website
Myspace
Celebration is hiding something behind their backs. What could it be? Candy? That would be awesome.
Priscilla Ahn, "Dream"
Sometimes a song is so unabashedly beautiful, deceptively simple and fresh that I become embarrassed. I feel shame for the way I complain, for the way I've buzzed by my surroundings, burned through my days, looking only towards going home, getting the day over with, not looking around me. Priscilla Ahn is looking at her past, her present and her future. She captures images of herself as a little girl, a young woman and as a wisened older woman. I don't think that even the most cynical person could not tear up a little when Priscilla Ahn sings that she asked God who she should be, and he answered in silent revelry. I'm trying not to tear up because my boyfriend already thinks I'm too soft in the emotions department, but if I do cry I'm going to blame it on a cut on my thumb that's hurting.
Myspace
(No website listed)
Lovely picture of Priscilla Ahn
Let's Go Sailing, "Sideways (remix)" (Thanks to Filter for the link)
"Sideways", by Let's Go Sailing, is a spry, flirtatious song, reminiscent of Maria Taylor's music. The theme is not necessarily love, but probably more accurately called "interest". While I love the dire, heart-wrenching "my lover done me wrong and he/she will pay" type songs, they can be emotionally overwhelming if listened to constantly. Trust me--I know. I listened to The Smiths in high school. Not every love song has to be about a deep, twisting, unshakable love. Sometimes just the promise of love is a good subject. Leave the borderline stalker songs for the end of the album.
Website (I think her dates are a little off--I'm pretty sure the last blurb on the news page is from Jan. '08, not '07)
Myspace
The very pretty Shana Levy, of Let's Go Sailing, looking a little sideways, but down
Bonus!
Celebration, "Evergreen" video
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Also, I can't find an mp3 for this song, but the song is beautiful. It's Adele's "Chasing Pavements". The video is below:
Check out this video: Adele - Chasing Pavements
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Podcast!!
Direct Link
RSS Feed
Opening music:
Don Lennon
"A Secret Band" (mp3)
from "Radical"
(Martin Philip Associates)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Pale Young Gentlemen, "Fraulein" (downloaded from their Myspace)
Website
Chris Robley, "Culture Jammers"
Website
Myspace
White Williams, "New Violence"
Label Site
Myspace
*I was a little worried about a guy named White singing about new violence--I don't want to inadvertantly support racial supremism. I saw this picture, though, and I kinda figured this guy isn't a Nazi.
The Long Winters, "Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas (Sometimes)" (part of this charity compilation)
Website
Myspace
Blood on the Wall, "Hibernation"
Myspace
Insound Page (the band's site is under construction)
Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, "I Will Always Find a Way" (this song is a few years old, but I'd never heard it, so...)
Label Site (the website listed redirects to a link farm)
Myspace
Direct Link
RSS Feed
Opening music:
Don Lennon "A Secret Band" (mp3) from "Radical"
(Martin Philip Associates)
Buy at iTunes Music StorePale Young Gentlemen, "Fraulein" (downloaded from their Myspace)
Website
Chris Robley, "Culture Jammers"
Website
Myspace
White Williams, "New Violence"
Label Site
Myspace
*I was a little worried about a guy named White singing about new violence--I don't want to inadvertantly support racial supremism. I saw this picture, though, and I kinda figured this guy isn't a Nazi.
The Long Winters, "Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas (Sometimes)" (part of this charity compilation)
Website
Myspace
Blood on the Wall, "Hibernation"
Myspace
Insound Page (the band's site is under construction)
Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, "I Will Always Find a Way" (this song is a few years old, but I'd never heard it, so...)
Label Site (the website listed redirects to a link farm)
Myspace
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
Camphor, "Confidences Shattered" (Thanks to Fingertips for the link to the mp3)
Okay, stop giggling at the name. I know at least some of you are. I know I am. I'm also amused with the lyrics: "You cleaned us out while we were blind, stole our car and drank our wine. Fumbled around inside our drawers, crept in and kept us up until dawn." Oh, stop chiding me. I'm not a sadist. Not most of the time, anyway. I'm not laughing at someone getting robbed (though I did giggle a little when he said someone was fumbling inside his drawers). It only made me smile when I realized he's talking about someone he knows, not a random burglary: "Charm and grace with a devious style, a beautiful face and a dangerous smile..." I think of a beautiful siren from a 40's movie--upswept hair, red lip gloss, severe shoulder pads. Er, that's probably 'cause I just saw Blade Runner again. Anyway, once you get over giggling at the band's name, you'll notice that this song is a folk-flavored, rousin' country song, complete with "someone done me wrong" lyrics and a great sing-a-long opportunity.
Website
Myspace
One of the members of Camphor is named Whip. Hee hee.
Vandaveer, "However Many Takes It Takes"
Vandaveer is one guy: Mark Charles Heidinger. The name Vandaveer does roll off the tongue more easily, unless he wanted to shorten his name into one of those trendy McShort names, like: MkChuck. Cool, huh? No? You're right--he doesn't seem much like a MkChuck. There's nothing trendy or flippant about him. He makes me think of an American Alexi Murdoch. His voice is comforting--the sound of his humming burrows itself into my consciousness. His words make sense to me--I believe him when he says I have to take it as it comes, however many takes it takes. The part about doing it with a smile on my face can be difficult, but I understand the message of the song--it's a hard message, but one he dispenses with kindness. The fairy tales aren't real, and no amount of small comforts we grant ourselves will make us feel as solid as we once did. We have to make our own tales, accepting that they won't always go the way we want or intend.
Website
Myspace
This is Vandaveer
Chris Bathgate, "A Flash of Light Followed By" (Thanks to Songs Illinois)
This starts out soft and rather bare--the singer's warm, warbling voice rolls in and out of the starkly played guitar. Just when I've settled in for a beautiful melody so light it seems to skip over me, the reverb kicks in, horns (!) rear in and I feel like I'm listening to some of the cacophonic brilliance of the 80s and 90s 4AD label (with maybe a little less disorder than the great 4AD songs). A song like this shouldn't be heard on tiny headphones. It should be heard with huge stereo speakers--you know, the kind that don't come with your computer (I'm not chiding--I don't have any anymore, either).
Website
Myspace
Little do most people know that the hoodie is actually the key to Chris Bathgate's uncanny song-crafting ability.
Camphor, "Confidences Shattered" (Thanks to Fingertips for the link to the mp3)
Okay, stop giggling at the name. I know at least some of you are. I know I am. I'm also amused with the lyrics: "You cleaned us out while we were blind, stole our car and drank our wine. Fumbled around inside our drawers, crept in and kept us up until dawn." Oh, stop chiding me. I'm not a sadist. Not most of the time, anyway. I'm not laughing at someone getting robbed (though I did giggle a little when he said someone was fumbling inside his drawers). It only made me smile when I realized he's talking about someone he knows, not a random burglary: "Charm and grace with a devious style, a beautiful face and a dangerous smile..." I think of a beautiful siren from a 40's movie--upswept hair, red lip gloss, severe shoulder pads. Er, that's probably 'cause I just saw Blade Runner again. Anyway, once you get over giggling at the band's name, you'll notice that this song is a folk-flavored, rousin' country song, complete with "someone done me wrong" lyrics and a great sing-a-long opportunity.
Website
Myspace
One of the members of Camphor is named Whip. Hee hee.
Vandaveer, "However Many Takes It Takes"
Vandaveer is one guy: Mark Charles Heidinger. The name Vandaveer does roll off the tongue more easily, unless he wanted to shorten his name into one of those trendy McShort names, like: MkChuck. Cool, huh? No? You're right--he doesn't seem much like a MkChuck. There's nothing trendy or flippant about him. He makes me think of an American Alexi Murdoch. His voice is comforting--the sound of his humming burrows itself into my consciousness. His words make sense to me--I believe him when he says I have to take it as it comes, however many takes it takes. The part about doing it with a smile on my face can be difficult, but I understand the message of the song--it's a hard message, but one he dispenses with kindness. The fairy tales aren't real, and no amount of small comforts we grant ourselves will make us feel as solid as we once did. We have to make our own tales, accepting that they won't always go the way we want or intend.
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Myspace
This is Vandaveer
Chris Bathgate, "A Flash of Light Followed By" (Thanks to Songs Illinois)
This starts out soft and rather bare--the singer's warm, warbling voice rolls in and out of the starkly played guitar. Just when I've settled in for a beautiful melody so light it seems to skip over me, the reverb kicks in, horns (!) rear in and I feel like I'm listening to some of the cacophonic brilliance of the 80s and 90s 4AD label (with maybe a little less disorder than the great 4AD songs). A song like this shouldn't be heard on tiny headphones. It should be heard with huge stereo speakers--you know, the kind that don't come with your computer (I'm not chiding--I don't have any anymore, either).
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Little do most people know that the hoodie is actually the key to Chris Bathgate's uncanny song-crafting ability.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By
The Avett Brothers, "If It's the Beaches"
Lola's letting her folky side show today. What? You didn't know I had any other side? Okay, fair enough. Yeah, I like the folk music. I love music that sounds like it was ghost-written by heartbreak, in a wooded area, surrounded only by a creek and maybe a small wooden cabin. Of course this guy is offering every type of scenery available: the beach, the mountain--whatever his love wishes. I'd settle for the wooded area, the creek and the cabin.
Yeah, and now that I'm reading their website, I'm finding out they were here in Jacksonville a few weeks ago. Maybe he could get me a time machine too :)
Website
Myspace
The Avett Brothers are waiting for you to decide whether you want the beaches or the mountains. They're very patient like that.
Marla Hansen, "Wedding Day"
This is a little different than the folk music I usually listen to; the viola is downright Appalachian in its sparse pluckiness. A clarinet comes in to add a little bit of noir soul. Her voice has the tremulous wavering of the British singer Beth Orton. The song is an inventive mixture of contexts--befitting of a musician who has worked in so many different styles: classical, hip-hop (Jay-Z, Kanye West), modern folk (Sufjan Stevens), modern rock (The National) and modern enigmatic (My Brightest Diamond, whom I absolutely adore).
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Myspace
Marla Hansen is so pretty. I love the way the flower looks in her hair.
Alaska in Winter, "Close Your Eyes - We are Blind"
Before you say "This sounds like Beirut!", first know: This is partly Beirut. Also: Beirut's style is so awesome that I welcome it in as many songs as possible. Also: the first time I heard Beirut, I thought "That sounds like Devotchka!" Then I realized that I loved the Eastern European style so much that I welcomed it in any song. It's so grandly festive. It makes me feel like I'm part of some great gypsy caravan, stopping for a few hours' celebration, lighting a bonfire to ward off the dark and the snow on these well-travelled roads. Yes, I always make up stories for the songs I hear.
Website
Myspace
Alaska in Winter
from "Dance Party In The Balkans"
(Regular Beat Recording)
Buy at Amazon
The Avett Brothers, "If It's the Beaches"
Lola's letting her folky side show today. What? You didn't know I had any other side? Okay, fair enough. Yeah, I like the folk music. I love music that sounds like it was ghost-written by heartbreak, in a wooded area, surrounded only by a creek and maybe a small wooden cabin. Of course this guy is offering every type of scenery available: the beach, the mountain--whatever his love wishes. I'd settle for the wooded area, the creek and the cabin.
Yeah, and now that I'm reading their website, I'm finding out they were here in Jacksonville a few weeks ago. Maybe he could get me a time machine too :)
Website
Myspace
The Avett Brothers are waiting for you to decide whether you want the beaches or the mountains. They're very patient like that.
Marla Hansen, "Wedding Day"
This is a little different than the folk music I usually listen to; the viola is downright Appalachian in its sparse pluckiness. A clarinet comes in to add a little bit of noir soul. Her voice has the tremulous wavering of the British singer Beth Orton. The song is an inventive mixture of contexts--befitting of a musician who has worked in so many different styles: classical, hip-hop (Jay-Z, Kanye West), modern folk (Sufjan Stevens), modern rock (The National) and modern enigmatic (My Brightest Diamond, whom I absolutely adore).
Website
Myspace
Marla Hansen is so pretty. I love the way the flower looks in her hair.
Alaska in Winter, "Close Your Eyes - We are Blind"
Before you say "This sounds like Beirut!", first know: This is partly Beirut. Also: Beirut's style is so awesome that I welcome it in as many songs as possible. Also: the first time I heard Beirut, I thought "That sounds like Devotchka!" Then I realized that I loved the Eastern European style so much that I welcomed it in any song. It's so grandly festive. It makes me feel like I'm part of some great gypsy caravan, stopping for a few hours' celebration, lighting a bonfire to ward off the dark and the snow on these well-travelled roads. Yes, I always make up stories for the songs I hear.
Website
Myspace
Alaska in Winter
from "Dance Party In The Balkans"
(Regular Beat Recording)
Buy at Amazon
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