A Very Brief, Highly-Subjective Review on 25 Albums I Discovered This Year That Don't Particularly Warrant Lengthier Reviews

Marnie Stern - This Is It & I Am It & You Are It & So Is That & He Is It & She Is It & It Is It & That Is That

Sounds a bit like Tegan & Sara, but only one of them, at their rockiest and punkiest, on A LOT of speed. This is overwhelming--it's too noisy and too fast for me.

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

Maybe the biggest disappointment of the year. I kept waiting for the mind-blowingly complex jams OR the sullen echoic dirges, and only caught a glimpse once with the subtly sexy Librarian. I almost turned it off after Highly Suspicious, which I can only describe as ridiculous--I was nearly compelled to write the band and ask them what they were thinking with this album, since I'm such a big MMJ fan (At Dawn is my favorite, followed by It Still Moves). They tried something new here, and they went too far; with this release they've lost--almost completely--what makes them so great.

Natalie Walker - With You

Less-dreamlike and more dance club-like. Tags would include house, trip-hop perhaps, but not chill/downtempo female vocalist... She even has some rockier tracks... Interesting that she definitely changes direction at With You followed by Empty Road which sound like her last album, are beautiful, flowing, ethereal, but then she kinda regresses. There are some definite good tracks, but as a whole it doesn't even come close to urban angel.

Bloc Party - Intimacy

Following their albums' progression from softer to harsher, this is the hardest and fastest rocker yet. Only a couple songs sound like their first album and softer/more melodic Weekend tracks, which happen to be the ones I like the most, the rest are a lot of electronic manipulation with the BPM turned up and kele's strained, inchoate voice...No range of emotions, only the one; (club music).

Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns

More of the same from this band; fans will enjoy. Teeny heart-tugger highlight would be The Planets Bend Between Us.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology

I appreciate that Ryan is settling into this band, leaning towards dropping his name and simply calling themselves The Cardinals, but this disc is relatively vapid. There isn't anything that really sticks out. The overall quality is high--I would expect nothing less from these guys, but it seems that when working with his band, Ryan eschews his regular lyric-writing method of cutting his heart out of his chest and laying it bare for a more reserved, mindful writing style; this, of course, is more rock-concert (and band) friendly, but I like the Ryan Adams that breaks my heart the best.

Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs

Includes bootlegs from 1989-2006; Is an absolutely excellent collection of rarities, alternate versions, and live recordings, mostly from the Time Out of Mind and Oh Mercy period. High quality recordings, shows the depth and variety of Bob Dylan's talents; even with his dozens of albums, this collection still seems indispensable. My favorite track is the acoustic version of Most of the Time.

Aqualung - Words & Music

Pretty inconsequential, nothing stands out here; not their best, not their worst, ultimately inaffective. HOWEVER, the closer, "Arrivals" is incredible. My favorite Aqualung song by far, up there with my favorite tracks in recent memory.

Keane - Perfect Symmetry

Terrible. I can usually put myself in others' shoes and see what they like about music that I don't, but this is so bad I'm really having trouble with this one. I quite liked their last two albums, but this is such a departure. It's all up-beat, shallow, and monotonous. There isn't one good track.

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

I only listened to this once, which led me to conclude that it is almost as bad as the Keane; some songs (many?) can only be described as "aggravating."

The Stills - Oceans Will Rise

This is pretty decent, a definite improvement over their last; avoids the emptiness of their previous release and goes back to their debut success. It's not as infectious, and not uniformly good, but we do hear evidence of the carefree, lengthily-phrased indie rock ballads that we fell in love with (e.g. Being Here, Statue of Sirens, and especially Everything I Build)...I don't know who told these guys that they needed to distort and strum their guitars harder and faster, because the low-key stuff from their debut was at the very least, their own sound. Good thing the whole album isn't like that.

The Verve - Forth

Overall, this is a good album, which is a considerable accomplishment considering their unbelievable 11-year hiatus. While there are some tangents into new territory, incredibly they still sound like The Verve, with that unmistakable dreamy-rock-Brit-pop.

The Gabe Dixon Band - The Gabe Dixon Band

I rather despise this album. I bought it, and a few days later gave it to a friend. Too twangy, too much country influence, awkward when they try to rock, and much too repetitive. The version of All Will Be Well, my favorite song by them, is not nearly as good on this disc, and really the only keepable track is the opener, Disappear, which was a cruel little joke, getting my hopes up like that.

Jem - Down to Earth

I loved her debut Finally Woken, I mean it was just so FRESH! But this is not fresh. It's not exactly what the "pop" radio stations are playing, but it's close. And it still sounds like Jem, but it sounds like Jem at her worst. Like she took the worst songs (really only two, Save Me and Falling for You) from Finally Woken and said, "yes, those are the ones that should really be replicated..." The charm and adventurousness is replaced by predictability and stagnancy. Except for maybe It's Amazing and perhaps I'll give subdued props for trying out You Will Make It: even though it is reeaally preachy, at least it's something different.

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

I like this album. It's a much different sound from Rabbit Fur Coat, not as folksy, more rocky; but Jenny Lewis will always make her music just that, and that's apparent here. The title track is the gem. Johnathan Rice provides backing vocals. These songs belong in a bar; they have a western feel to them, some of that happy honky-tonk rock stuff.

TV On the Radio - Dear Science

I can't review this album. I honestly don't understand how anyone likes this band. This music hurts my ears. Enlighten me?

Priscilla Ahn - A Good Day

This album is VERY girly. I can generally take it in small doses, although it is very pretty. She writes cutesy little stories and romantic tales. I would compare her to Alison Sudol (of A Fine Frenzy), but she doesn't try as hard to be as metaphorically deep, and a lot of her songs are light-hearted and happy enough to be pleasantly enjoyable.

Ray Lamontagne - Gossip in the Grain

I would normally spend more time on this guy, since he's one of my favorite artists of the past few years, but his newest album frankly doesn't deserve it. Overall, it's a disappointment. Not terrible, well, no, that's not entirely true: some songs on here are garbage, lyrics about nothing, songs that go nowhere over endless repetitions, and this new rock from Ray that is way out of his comfort zone. There are some good songs, a couple really good songs, though, (You Are the Best Thing, Let it Be Me, for example) which makes it not a total wash. However, I should say, that upon first listen of Meg White I was a bit disgusted, until I saw him live and realized that it's not supposed to be a serious song. That opened my eyes to the intentionally less-serious and less-sad feel of this album, which is good, but what I said about most of the other tracks still holds true.

Dido - Safe Trip Home

This is a good album. Slightly more mature, slightly more retrospective. There's no mistake it's Dido: same chill-pop sound with those soft vocals often floating over a subtle electronica backdrop. Some heartfelt lyrics that conjure up images of yearning for a lost love while walking through rainy city streets or in the warmth of a remote cottage in the snowy countryside, as one's ex-lover flies off in a plane...

Passion Pit - Chunk of Change

So Sleepy Head has just taken the music world by storm; I just read it as the "#1 Song YOU MUST DOWNLOAD NOW!!!!!!" in October's SPIN, and while it is a freakin' awesome track, the rest of the EP doesn't quite live up. Yes, Smile Upon Me is, well, appropriately titled--this song is perfect for a dance party within the battered walls of an open-aired building with a gigantic neon smiley as its roof. You'd think, with everyone using electronic sampling, a lot of these electronica bands would start to sound the same, and while it's true that they have, Passion Pit, a wholly independent outfit, actually have something new to offer. It's actually intoxicating.

Phosphorescent - Pride

Obscure indie singer/songwriter Matthew Houck that sounds like Great Lake Swimmers meets Fleet Foxes meets Bon Iver and maybe a little Vetiver thrown in. Very chill. Originally from Alabama, the Southern influence comes through with ease; his voice is on the scratchier side; the music is acoustic and folksy but a little rougher, like his beard. He uses choruses of his voice with phrases that extend like a warm breeze to the horizon. Harmonica, acoustic guitar, not really any solos though, just light enough to be there in the background... Good music for a snow day; or better yet, a bonfire on a snow night. Yes, fire would go well with this music--it glows like that. He's originally from Alabama, but I think he recorded this while he was living in Brooklyn; the music has an on-the-prairie, wide-open feel to it, which, when placed within the confines of the claustrophobic city, makes it seem all the more lonely.

Jeff Hanson - Jeff Hanson

Goooooood. Very unique voice, that, if one didn't know any better, would be considered "female." Has been [accurately] compared to Elliott Smith, although his music is much less raw and depressing. He requires a careful or at least all-the-way -through listen, because, and this I love, he transforms songs 4 minutes into them with ease, surprising the listener and providing his music with a lot of depth. He does things I'm not used to, and the variety in his songwriting is superb. If you don't mind his high, soft, rather feminine voice, his lyrics are excellent and his band creates some incredible moments, especially when you least expect them. I loved his song This Time It Will for years before I picked up this album, and now I'm getting his other stuff (this is a 2005 release); the closer of this album is gorgeous; it trails off on one of the most sentimental lyrics I've heard all year. Perhaps more than with any other album, I kept hearing myself saying "perfect" to his song construction.

Okkervil River - The Stage Names

This is Okkervil River's best album. More refined than Black Sheep Boy, and much more musically beautiful and lyrically effective than this year's The Stand Ins. They are much better than Neutral Milk Hotel; they are similar to The Decemberists and Arcade Fire, but more like a combination of the two. Sheff does get a little wordy sometimes, but their music is inventive. They're doing things I haven't heard before, and they do things that make me really happy to be alive. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe is one of the most infectiously joyous songs I've ever heard; it is spectacular in its cinematic verses and its ability to move. A Girl In Port is probably my favorite track of the year; the song is written like a novella, each chapter completely different and as beautiful as the last--it is absolutely perfect in its romantic reflectiveness, and if I could have written a song, this would be it. NOTE: If you can, get your hands on the deluxe edition that contains a bonus disc with the acoustic version of every song--this is amazing; the songs sound much different in these stripped down versions.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

While this is on everyone's "best albums of 2008" list, I think I'm biased because of how much I like My Morning Jacket (or did). The first time I listened to this, I dismissed them as MMJ-wannabes, but repeated listens elucidated their [slight] differences. Fleet Foxes is slightly more retro, slightly more laid-back, and slightly more pop-friendly in their relative uniformity (to earlier MMJ). Yes, there are parallels to Animal Collective and Blitzen Trappers, but FF is more on the conservative side. This is a very warm album. It is lovely to listen all the way through; the tracks don't assault your ears, and nothing stands out like a sore thumb. They do vary from space-filling melancholia to progressive folk-rock. In fact, every time I listen to this album, I like it more.

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

I really like this album. It's something COMPLETELY NEW. I've never heard anything quite like this. Her voice is cute, and she's got her own unassuming style, which is apparent from track one, when she's giving [literal] instructions on this dance we call love. I was introduced to this Swedish newcomer by an informal collaboration she did with Bon Iver, recording "Dance, Dance, Dance" in an L.A. park. That song is one of the happiest, most innocently carefree songs I've ever heard, and no other voice could pull it off as well as Lykke. Her album is all over the place, utilizing electronic samplings, layers and different uses of her voice, nontraditional instruments, and just mixing it up with rapping, speaking, and singing. She's growing in the media quickly, and she deserves it: this is some much-needed freshening of the pop music scene.

Coldplay | Prospekt's March

I didn't review Viva La Vida because, let's face it, all us Coldplay fans were going to get it regardless of what anyone said. The EP, however, may be a different case... I heard Coldplay say in an interview back in July that they'd release a finished version (i.e. with lyrics) of Life in Technicolor, which I couldn't wait for, since that was one of the best songs on the album without lyrics. So buying the EP seemed like a no-brainer because I wanted to hear that one song. When I found out that eight tracks would be on this extended play, I got my hopes up that this could be pretty cool. Here are my thoughts on the disc.

(1) "Life in Technicolor II" lives up to the hype, as far as I'm concerned. They've added lyrics that fit the song's feel, they fit musically, and I really like what they've done with it. I probably would have liked this song more if I hadn't heard the instrumental version first, because it was that good. I'm honestly not sure which version I like more.

(2) "Postcards from Far Away" is a beautiful, light, happy piano solo that invokes images of a leaf blowing on the breeze from one city to another. It is, however, only 48 seconds long, and while it's quite nice, its brevity is disappointing.

(3) "Glass of Water" will surely be a highlight for Coldplay fans. It melds the styles of their last two albums perfectly. Like Viva's tracks, it has a very "big" feel, building up and exploding with lots of instrumentation and Martin's vocals soaring over it all. Like X&Y, it's relatively upbeat for most of the song and comes down at the end to a minimal lead-out. If you're okay with that kind of thing, you'll love this song.

(4) "Rainy Day" seems to be an experiment... Over a boppy electronic drum/bass beat, some A.D.D. electric guitar, and countless sounds that came from some children's music artist, the verses don't make any sense. The choruses make an attempt at convalescence, using the same strings that are in the Viva's title track, but when Martin starts droning on with: "And I love it when you come over to my house / I love it when you come over to my house," this doesn't fit anywhere in the phrasing, or in the music, and it's glaringly obvious how much this sticks out. The whole song just sounds like it's on speed, not able to focus on anything. EP's are a good place to try new things, so it's nice that the band clearly is here, with the piano piece, and whatever they're trying to accomplish here. But like all experiments, sometimes they go wrong...horribly wrong.

(5) "Prospekt's March" is a nice flowing song that may or may not go anywhere. It's built the same of most of their other songs, with a bell-curved shape, slow and quiet, to some kind of climax, back down to slow and quiet again, but the climax isn't an explosion like in "Fix You," it's just louder and deeper. Overall, a nice tune. I'm not sure about the key phrase, "Don't you wish love could be as simple / as fish swimming 'round in a barrel / when you've got the gun?" And then Martin's vocals go up into that octave he loves at the emotional parts, but after talking about fish, I just can't feel it, man. Luckily the depth comes after the next lines, talking about "lying in my own separate sky," and how "I don't want to die on my own here tonight;" anyway, not bad.

(6) "Lost+" is the one with Jay-Z. Okay, this honestly made me chuckle a little bit. Here's what you should know about this "remix:" Near the end of the second chorus, they've dubbed Jay-Z doing a verse over the original music (where that electric guitar solo is), extending the pre-solo just long enough for him to get his whole rap in. This is all they did, and it's very obvious. Now, I respect that they're broadening their musical scope a bit, but this is such a half-hearted attempt that I can't respect this song.

(7) "Lovers In Japan (Osaka Sun Mix)" is very simply "Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love" without "Reign of Love." That's all it is, down to the second. When I saw "Osaka Sun Mix" I was really hoping for some cool remix, but no, it's just the first half of the song on Viva, and, in my opinion, the worse half.

(8) "Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground" sounds exactly like "Kingdom Come" without the big build-up. Acoustic, Martin's low voice.

I find it interesting that Coldplay has gotten into looping thematic elements in their works. I.E. Viva La Vida (album) began and ended the same way, and here they're beginning (the lyrics in the first track are "now my feet won't touch the ground") and ending with the same lyrics/ideas. I can see why they'd do this on an album: it really makes the whole thing come to fruition, and begs the listener to listen to it again. I find it strange that they've done it on an EP, but I don't really know what to make of it, maybe they're practicing.

Overall, this is an EP, so I can't be too critical; It has its real downers, but it has a couple tracks worth picking up. If I knew what I know now, I would definitely buy the couple tracks I like and steer clear of the relative disasters. I hope I've helped you determine whether or not you'd go for some tracks over others.

A Few Words on Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós, My Favorite Album of All-Time

I just did this thing. I was excited that I'd just received an instant message from this girl I like, so with my arms under my chest, I pressed myself up against the desk with eyes nearing the computer screen, like how an eager boy glues himself to the storefront window around Christmas time. I was listening to "Olsen Olsen" and the cyclical, rhythmic bass that drives the song was vibrating through the desk into my bones. It was incredibly relaxing, and I felt like perhaps these guys had thought about the therapeutic value of their music, even though that seems....well, highly possible actually. It reminded me of this concept I recently learned about, called entrainment, in which heartbeats and brain waves, or even people, become synchronized, beating as one....

This album is at once relaxing and energizing. It strips away my sadness, worry, anger, and grief. The music in this album honestly makes my heart double in size; every time I swear I feel it expanding within my chest. That feeling you get when you love something so much, and you're so happy, that you feel yourself overfilling with joy, like it's somehow about to edge over the brim... I can never get sick of this album, either. It has slowly become my most-listened-to-album of all, because, like the really great books and movies, it's more than a collection of words and scores; it's a memory; an experience. It evokes and creates a set of thoughts and emotions that are too pure to ignore, and too life-affirming to experience once (or not again and again).

It wasn't always like that: the first few months I owned this, I put it on as relaxing, oft times entrancing background music, usually with incense, while reading. It wasn't until I took the time to put my headphones on and let it become the only thing in my consciousness that I realized how divine it was. Hearing this, and seeing Jónsi Birgisson sing makes me wonder if these guys are even human. How can human beings make such beautiful music? It's more than just an amalgamation of noises and sounds and vocals and chords, it's like a living, breathing being...that wakes up and lives, and speaks, and eats and dances and yells and whispers, that ebbs and flows and pushes and pulls....I've listened to thousands of artists, and none of them have created anything quite like this. I've seen dozens of shows, and none of them have equaled the vivacity, the ethereality, and the complete absorptivity of their show.

I think one of the--if not THE--fundamental difference(s) is that they're not singing in English. I'm such an interpreter, such an analyzer and reflector, that I always listen to and decipher the lyrics as best as I can. My favorite sad songs are all by other artists, but for some reason, Sigur Rós makes me feel something bigger and more euphoric than any other band, and that's one reason why: their unreadable (or nonsensical lyrical) music appeals to the more primitive emotion centers of the brain, rather than the higher-order verbal and analytical centers. This is why their music pierces straight through to their listeners' souls. (And why they have such a huge following with non-Icelandic speakers). All conscious censorship and blinding perception is thrown away, leaving an open passage for their otherworldly, spiritual music.

This of course makes me think of classical music, which is non-lyrical, but the calculated, geometric compositions by Bach and Mozart and other geniuses are too technical to bypass the higher brain functions. Also, the lack of vocals entirely creates somewhat of a distance between the nonliving instruments and their living listeners, whereas the simple sound of a voice, inflected up and down into each emotion, creates an inherent bond. Perhaps Birgisson's uniquely high-pitched voice achieves this even more readily: his voice being more similar to a child's, and therefore, harkening back to when our brains were functioning almost exclusively on basic emotions. Obviously, people all over the world enjoy music in languages other than their own, but I suspect that Sigur Rós knew of this visceral power of their music when they created their own instrumental language.

Favorite Song: "Motorcycle Drive By" by Third Eye Blind

This song is perfect. One of the all-time best examples of the soft-hard-soft progression in a rock-pop song. Lyrically: heartbreaking, relatable, sad, angry, hurt, but near the end, forward-looking. The acoustic guitar is beautiful. The build to the electric guitar explosion with Jenkins' scream is impossible not to feel in every muscle.

This was one of the four gems at the end of their 1997 debut album, which many listeners who only knew their hits (semi-charmed life, jumper, and how's it going to be) missed out on. This was, for many people my age, an essential album. Right in those key identity-formation years, with songs about such issues and feelings! "And there's this burning / like there's always been / I've never been so alone / and I've / never been so alive." Absolutely perfect; the best song Stephan Jenkins ever wrote. After just reading these lyrics again, I thought, "this song has a California feel" (not just the line "New York City is Evil")...turns out that makes sense coming from this San Francisco quartet....The album was produced by Jenkins and recorded in SF, following the attention from major labels after opening for Oasis in '96 and performing a number of Bay Area shows.

When I listen, only listen to this song, it sets me back, in time, and emotionally; my chest opens up and I'm entirely vulnerable all over again. This song is powerful enough, probably because of my past tied to it, to open up closed wounds.

"This is a song about a girl who dumped me. On my skinny ass. And I wrote a song for her...It's a song called Motorcycle Drive By" *(crowd bursts into laughter)* "Hahaha, I never thought of it that way. And you all did!" - from a live recording I have. So while it's not about mowing down an ex with an Uzi, it is about a relationship that has just ended, and about that feeling that outweighs any other: that penetrating grief and regret tinged with an inevitable, heartbreaking fondness. This song plays out like a meandering journey of memories in our watery head: from one scene to the next, the images come and go, from the good to the bad, until the renewing tide brings us home.



Summer time, and the wind is blowing outside
in lower Chelsea
And I don't know what I'm doing in this city
The sun is always in my eyes
It crashes through the windows
And I'm sleeping on the couch
When I came to visit you

That's when I knew
That I could never have you
I knew that before you did
Still I'm the one who's stupid
And there's this burning
Like there's always been
I've never been so alone
And I've
Never been so alive

Visions of you on a motorcycle drive by
The cigarette ash flies in your eyes, and you don't mind
you smile
And say the world it doesn't fit with you
I don't believe you
You're so serene
Careening through the universe
Your axis on a tilt
You're guiltless and free
I hope you take a piece of me with you

And there's things I would like to do
That you don't believe in
I would like to build something
But you'll never see it happen
And there's this burning
Like there's always been
I've never been so alone
And I've
I've never been so alive

And there's this burning
There is this burning

Where's the soul I want to know
New York City is evil
The surface is everything
But I could never do that
Someone would see through that
And this is the last time
We'll be friends again
When I get over you
You'll wonder who I am
And there's this burning,
Just like there's always been
I've never been so alone, alone
And I've, and I've
I've never been so alive

So alive

I go home to the coast,
it starts to rain,
I paddle out on the water
Alone
Taste the salt and taste the pain
I'm not thinking of you again
Summer dies, and swells rise
The sun goes down in my eyes
See this rolling wave
Darkly coming
To take me
Home

And I've never been so alone
And I've never been so alive

Jens Lekman | Night Falls Over Kortedala

In homage to Lekman's nontraditional approach, a review in three formats:

tragicomic
moving, movable
cow(bells)
happy
smile
snap
recorder
lift / fall
strings
witty
strange, unique
voice
light
contagious
fun
DROLL
CATCHY

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In The Opposite of Hallelujah, when that ditty-pop piano starts playing under those weightless staccato strings, I feel as if little clouds of joy are jutting under my feet as I skip up into the sun-drenched ether. Such ridiculous, fantastical reverie is exactly the kind of thing this album evokes!

I like Jens's voice; he sounds nothing like Barry Manilow!

Lekman, or the character that he plays, is perfect for his music's dual tragicomic nature (someone else came up with this term, I'm sorry but I don't remember who). He's the seamless combination of rigidly obedient reformatory student and the ludicrous, somewhat self-deprecating class clown, that everybody can't help but like. His hair, the way he carries himself, his voice, and his music all contrast sharply with his lyrics. He writes songs about heartbreak and awkward situations in a comical (sarcastic, absurd, clever, hilarious) way. He's created something so unique in his work because very few have ever thought to combine the elements he does, while nobody has done it so likably.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

explosions of horns and strings set the tone for the record in the idealistic "and i remember every kiss," in which he explains, "and i would never kiss anyone, who doesn't burn me like the sun..." i love that line. actually makes me think about my life and whether or not this is even remotely possible to achieve.

"sipping on the sweet nectar" is delightfully upbeat, and the minor key choruses simultaneously unsettle and uplift.

"the opposite of hallelujah" could be heartbreaking, but jens won't allow this, not in his music. honest, pessimistic, underlyingly sad lyrics lightly situated over upbeat, jubilant music = lekman coping by at once coming to terms with lyrically but denying artistically the existence of despair, doubt, and disappointment.

"a postcard to nina" is one of my favorite tracks this year. disclaimer-->this is NOT for everyone: i've encountered some pretty negative reactions to this album and this song, while others profess its utter brilliance...me being in the latter camp, of course, this song is incredibly clever, hilarious, and pleasing to the ear, especially for a narrative. (first chorus: "oh, god! jesus christ! i try to focus on your eyes. we're having dinner with your family now, keep a steady look at your left eyebrow. if it's raised, it means yes, if it's not, it means 'take a guess.' hey! you! stop kicking my legs, i'm doing my best, can you pass the figs?") it's the ostensibly true story about his friend nina, who's a lesbian, whose father is a traditional catholic man, whose friend jens lekman acts as her boyfriend so that she can be with her girlfriend. it is a perfect song in so many ways.

"into eternity" provides an interesting dissonance generated by slightly off-key accordian vs. recorder, offset by lekman's dreamily smooth vocals.

"i'm leaving you because i don't love you" is a bit of a diversion, utilizing some electronic synths and samplings which were previously unheard in the album, so obviously anyway.

perhaps the barry manilow comparisons arise from "if i could cry (it would feel like this)", in the high-pitched, wavy strings and especially the backing vocals...this would be the most repetitive of the tracks, one of the ones i skip over sometimes.

"your arms around me" is a perfect pop song, and it gets me moving. instrumentation is slightly more conventional, as is the songwriting (not the lyrics, but the verses and choruses are more distinct here), still undeniably lekman. his voice is the focal point in this track.

ditto for "shirin", but this song has a completely different feel. that's one of the album's virtues: each song, while remaining unmistakably lekman in overall sound, sound much different from the rest--that's a sign of real, voracious creativity. anyway, shirin is much more airy: lighter in feeling, and the lyrics contribute to this considerably, almost onomatopoeically, as the chorus goes, shirin, shirin, shirin, shirin, shirin, down and up and down as if gliding through the air. he comes back down to the ground, treading lightly, for the verses. it's a pleasing little rollercoaster.

"it was a strange time in my life" is pretty strange, probably the butt of any jokes dissenters of the album will make; starts out with some young child "do doo do do doo," over a trilling flute and/or recorder. but when lekman starts going on about some of the weirdest happenings in his what-must-have-been-incredibly-awkward adolescence, the humor makes the song worth it.

"kanske Är jag Kär i dig", the only song title to employ his native swedish, is still in english, and the chorus, gentle inflections of "ooo's" and "ah's" only, comes between verses that contain various snippets from who-knows-what, seemingly nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness ramblings, which lekman no doubt acknowledges, "this has of course nothing to do with anything, i just get so nervous when i'm talking to you, all i think about everyday is just kissing you, you know that feeling that feels so refreshingly new," and into the chorus that actually makes the listener feel refreshed. well done jens.

"friday night at the drive-in bingo" is some of the most fun on this album. so much fun, that every time this song comes on, my fingers start snapping, my arms start moving, and my feet start stomping (because I CAN DANCE!). his singing gets faster as it goes on, and he incorporates a retro-sounding saxophone for the chorus, which melds perfectly with the story of finding some drive-in bingo, in the middle of nowhere, with, of course, old people. *sigh* if only I could live like you, jens.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

If you like him, check out these tasty links (his official website has some free tracks-"presents"-and a link to his myspace, a diary, among other amusing things):
http://jenslekman.com/
http://www.mapleleaves.se/lyrics.htm
Jens Lekman Strips Down for the Interface

Brett Dennen | Hope for the Hopeless

I just did a listen-through of this, and I don't think I'll be giving it much more attention. This album is BORING. I'm a big fan of "Ain't No Reason," and a fan of "There is So Much More," and overall, I liked his last album; it was nice to have in the background when I was cleaning the apartment, or putting together an office chair, or chatting with a friend. Dennen's never really made in-your-face, tug-at-the-heartstrings music, so I'm sure no one expects that here. But while his previous efforts exhibited some style (often compared to early John Mayer, although I don't think he's talented enough for that), this album is, ultimately, monotonous drivel. Nothing on this album seems to be of any consequence; there's nothing major happening, just half-hearted musings and reflections on politics and relationships, the usual. It's very baseline, lyrically and musically. The backing music is empty, with only a few instruments providing repetitive lines. Like many of you, I'm sure, I was excited about the album when I heard "Ain't Gonna Lose You" on Grey's Anatomy. Well, while that song-the last on the album-starts strong, and offers the most emotionalism of any track on the disc, Dennen eventually repeats "I ain't gonna lose you" 48 times, and that's the majority of the song, and that's it. Despite this, it's still the best song on the album.

Bon Iver - Skinny Love [Live Video]

A great video of Bon Iver performing Skinny Love on the Jools Holland Show.

Bon Iver on Daytrotter and Wisconsin, B-Side from iTunes

For the life of me, I can't figure out why I didn't post this right when it came out. Thankfully, the tracks are still available: Bon Iver did an interview and recorded four live tracks-Flume, Lump Sum, Re:Stacks, and Creature Fear-over at Daytrotter. Two of them, Flume and Lump Sum, are two of the most ingeniously transformed, hauntingly beautiful recordings I've ever heard. I'm not exaggerating; these are powerful, entirely engrossing pieces of music. I listened to them shortly after my girlfriend and I broke up, and I couldn't get enough of them. I have this vivid memory of when I was on a plane to Boston, slightly freezing, listening to the slowly-moving, slightly airy, reverb-soaked Lump Sum, watching the sun set and its orange light reflecting on shifting lakes and the sheds of farms. Testament to the emotional impact of these songs, like the rest of his album, at least.

Also check out an exclusive bonus track he did for iTunes off his debut release. It's called Wisconsin, and it's incredible. Definitely one of my favorite songs by Vernon, this song sucks me in like no other song can right now-especially at night, in bed, headphones on, nothing to distract. But it doesn't fit with the rest of the album: with an echoed electric guitar only, the sound is pretty different. If you're into Bon Iver and you bought his album, this is a must-download.

...and, because this is his only song with unpublished lyrics, there seems to be a quest online to figure out what they really are. Here's the best I've come up with so far, not entirely there yet, but working on it; these are the most accurate I've found on the internet, but still let me know if you have any suggestions.

You're right in the park and you’re peeking
Piss pools in your seat
She’s standing inside but you surely repeat
Oh, God don’t leave me here
I will freeze to the leave
Love is love's reprieve

Winter is calm and you’re stuck in
All your summer shoes
Now when the wind blows you cover your tooth
And out to the shed where you trade in your blues
Love is love's sad news

That was Wisconsin, that was yesterday
Now I have nothing that I can keep
Cause every place I go I take another place with me
Love is love's mystique

You’re up on the bar and you're shaking
With every grimy word
Who will they love,
What’s love when you’ve hurt
You wonder as you see the snow kiss the curb
Love is love's return

That was Wisconsin, that was yesterday
Now I have nothing that I can keep
Cause every place I go I take another place with me
Love is love's critique

Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)

Shyes. This is awesome. Used to have dance parties to Homework back in the eighth grade. For some reason I never thought they'd become an international live phenomenon. I've heard they're incredible live; am I the only one who hasn't seen them!? Necessity: subwoofer, maximum volume.

Rachael Yamagata | Elephants / Teeth Sinking Into Heart

Yamagata seems to be a real artist who doesn't seem to consider commercial viability as her first priority. She recently released a double album, the first disc which is entitled Elephants, the second, Teeth Sinking Into Heart.

Her first solo album Happenstance had the piano, strings, and guitar, along with the hooks and choruses. It was ultimately a pop album, but had an unmistakable "mature" sound to it; she carved a niche for herself in the adult alternative realm, as well as the pop realm, through the use of affective lyrics over catchy tunes that blurred the line between rock and traditional singer-songwriter material. I feel sorry for the people who have never heard of Yamagata, because that album was so damn good.

Elephants is slow, soft and relatively quiet. It's composed of Yamagata's smokey vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, and a lot of strings. Most of Elephants is like Yamagata's airy voice, breathed out as a wisp of smoke that gently wafts through the air, shaped by the slight vibrations from a slowly-beating heart.

Teeth Sinking Into Heart is its antithesis. Electric guitars, drums, and a more forced voice leaves Rachael's mouth. Like a heart that's been ripped out; still warm. Raw.

Yamagata plays the piano and/or acoustic guitar on every track, and she arranged many of the song's string/brass/woodwind parts. She's backed by a powerhouse of talented musicians that give this album a very sophisticated and impressively orchestrated feel.

This album doesn't really fit into a mold, and is an obvious break from Yamagata's brief past. It's clear she wanted to try something different, because this effort, four years later, is very different. An experimental album. Love it or hate it. She gives you two choices, to better her odds: Elephants is the white to Teeth's black. The quiet to the loud. An elephant to a tiger.

I should mention that "Duet" is a song she did with Ray Lamontagne, and it's pretty good. Also, the entire first disc may be mostly quiet, but it certainly has its moments; she never lets the music become stagnant. Above all, I must stress one thing: the brilliance of the opening and title track, Elephants. This was immediately, and remains, one of my favorite songs that I've heard in a very long time. It floors me. It is incredibly heavy, genuine, and poignant. It is Yamagata at her absolute best. The rest of the album has flashes of its brilliance but ultimately cannot (how could it) live up. If you're on the fence, listen to some samples, or honestly just buy this one song.

http://www.rachaelyamagata.com/
http://www.myspace.com/rachaelyamagata

Conor Oberst - "Milk Thistle"

This is my favorite song on Conor Oberst's (the guy who is Bright Eyes) new self-titled LP.



As for the rest of the album, it's all right; a lot of it is pretty upbeat, some if it is actually fun, knee-slapping hoe-down music...interesting, works some of the time (e.g. Cape Canaveral, Sausalito). Other forays are rockier; overall, this is one of his poppiest releases...you decide if that's the kind of Oberst you want to hear. But this closer is Oberst at his best: melancholy. His music has so many more layers down there in the depths of negative affect.

Kings of Leon | Only By The Night

These guys strike an enjoyable balance between cerebral songwriting and catchy, energetic, rock-pop. Bloc Party meets TV On the Radio meets The Killers.

This is probably my favorite album by them. This is the culmination of a band that has consistently evolved over the last four albums, and consistently improved.

They have slowly replaced a relatively raw, harsh sound for a more polished, deeper, and yes, more commercially accessible and viable sound. They've been huge in Europe, and they're getting huge in the U.S.

I have been listening to a lot of quiet, slow, contemplative stuff in recent months, and this has taken a much-needed role in giving my speakers the workout that they sometimes need. I cannot listen to this album loudly enough!

They show some real passion in their songs (and their videos), and they create some of the best rock melodies I've heard in a long time. Followill's (Caleb's--they're all Followills) voice is unique, and pretty awesome--it opens up so much on the high notes. I found myself noticing the drummer, the bassist, and the guitarist as well, more so than I usually do with this kind of music. The rhythms and individual parts are not simple, and it adds a lot of depth to their music (listen to the opener, "Closer," for the best example).

What really sold me on this album is the closing track, Cold Desert, in which the band does something I almost never hear with a rock band. Listen, you'll see.

Key tracks: Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Revelry, and Cold Desert.

Turn it Up.

Passion Pit: Sleepy Head; Debut EP

The last thing I have when I listen to this song is a sleepy head. These guys make fun, loud music that is so full of energy I am compelled, every time, to move to the electro-dance beats. There was no CGI used in the making of this video.


"Boston’s Passion Pit is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos with live band consisting of ian hultquist(synths), ayad al adhamy(synths, samplers), jeff apruzzese(bass, synths), nate donmoyer (drums). Michael is a songwriter’s songwriter drawing from a variety of influences, from the classic pop of Randy Newman to the synth work of Giorgio Moroder.

The Chunk of Change EP was originally put together as a (belated) Valentine’s Day present to Angelakos’ girlfriend which then prompted him to give it out to friends and fellow students at Emerson College. Angelakos wrote and recorded the entire record by himself and it only hints at what is to come from this extremely talented perfectionist. The production of the recording - brief, sporadic, and explosive - worked towards the development of Angelakos’ signature euphoric and blissfully melancholic sound. Frenchkiss Records will reissue the ep this fall with the addition of two bonus tracks “Better Things” and “Sleepyhead” that are already catching the online world on fire. All of this is in preparation for Passion Pit’s debut full length coming out in early 2009.

Playing as a five piece live, Passion Pit has already blown away audiences opening up for Death Cab For Cutie, Girl Talk, These New Puritans and more. Also winning the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll as the Best New Local Act of 2008, Passion Pit hopes to bring their soulful dance explosion to your town this fall."


My other favorite track from the EP:
Smile Upon Me

If You're Feeling Generous....

D&R, originally uploaded by orgutcayli.

So there's a new-music explosion that's starting to happen. I heard about a couple bands I like releasing some new albums, then, well, it seemed like everyone else decided that yes, right now sounds like the perfect time to release another work. So to keep track for myself, a bit of a wishlist if you will, and maybe even for your own convenience, I'm going to list some new releases. There are some bands we haven't heard from in a while; hopefully you'll see something that will pleasantly surprise you!

August 12
Inara George with Van Dyke Parks - An Invitation

August 19
Natalie Walker - With You
The Stills - Oceans Will Rise
The Walkmen - You & Me

August 26
Gabe Dixon Band - Gabe Dixon Band
The Verve - Forth

September 9
Calexico - Carried to Dust
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini

September 16
Jem - Down to Earth
Leona Naess - Thirteens

September 23
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling
TV On The Radio - Dear Science

September 30
Ben Folds - Way to Normal
Enigma - Seven Lives Many Faces

October 7
Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Rachael Yamagata - Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart
Antony & The Johnsons - Another World
Aqualung - Words and Music

October 14
Keane - Perfect Symmetry
Ray Lamontagne - Gossip In The Grain
Ingrid Michaelson - Be OK

October 21
Brett Dennen - Hope for the Hopeless
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (Dig)

October 28
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
The Cure - 4:13 Dream

November 4
Dido - Safe Trip Home
Travis - Ode to J. Smith

November 11
Tracy Chapman - Our Bright Future
Seal - Soul

November 18
Belle & Sebastian - BBC Sessions

November 25
The Killers - Day & Age

Leona Naess | Thirteens

Meet miss Leona Naess. Five years to the day after her eponymous 2003 release, this English/American songwriter graced upon the world Thirteens, the culmination of the thirteen lo-fi albums she recorded since her last.

I bought this album, which was released September 16th, on the heels of two let-downs I'd bought the week prior, so I was hoping for something substantial. I was not disappointed: from the first track, I knew this girl was for real. I've been listening to a lot of female artists lately, and unfortunately too many of their sophomore efforts have been over-produced, unoriginal radio-pop crap.

Naess is anything but! What's so wonderful about her is (at least) threefold: 1. her variety; 2. her voice; and 3. her songwriting. Now, I should say that this is the only album of her four that I've heard yet; I do intend on getting the rest but I can't compare to her earlier releases--maybe that's a good thing? So. On this album, the variety is superb! The first track starts softly then moves gently, the second ends in a chorus of her screaming friends (a unique inclusion that turns off some, but lighten up people--it's fun, and that's the point), and the rest of the album is fairly chill, laid-back folk/pop--varying from fun and upbeat to soft and slow.

Acoustic guitar and/or piano provides a backing throughout, with bits of light percussion, mandolin, and strings. Fairly stripped-down, nothing is over-done. And that's for the best: at the end of "Learning As We Go" somewhat of a cacophany (for her) seems like just a bit too much going on. She and her beautiful voice (reminded me of early Feist only a little lower), which she manipulates ever so subtly to sound slightly different in each song, sounds purest with less going on. With the exception, perhaps, of the first track.

"Ghosts in the Attic," "Heavy Like Sunday," and "On My Mind" are absolutely my favorite tracks. Having these songs in my head all day for a week made me think about how well they're written, and how Leona Naess has brought back the lost art form of analogy and metaphor. Seriously, I've had enough of the same old "ooh, I want you," "oh no, I lost you," and "I need you but am too proud to admit it," etc. etc. "singer-songwriter" repetitive blather. Naess (with the help of her bandmate/producer Sam Dixon on most) writes real, poetic songs, that, if you listen closely enough, might make you think. Being open to interpretation might make you enjoy it that much more if you're into that kind of thing ;-)

She is touring this fall with Ray Lamontagne!

Please listen:
Ghosts in the Attic
On My Mind

I love this video. So unassuming, so pure, so perfectly about the music and the story.



http://www.myspace.com/leonanaess
http://www.leonanaess.com/

Favorite Song: "Breathe Me" by Sia

This is the most emotional song I've ever heard. Quite possibly the heaviest, even with Sia's airy vocals. I remember exactly what I was doing when I first heard this song on the radio. It knocked me over; I was stopped in my tracks. I waited to hear who the artist was, and the next free moment I got, I bought the album.

Over two years later, this song still has the same captivating effect on me. It cuts straight to my heart, and it weighs me down. And I love it.

When Sia's single from her second solo album was featured on the series finale of the hit HBO show Six Feet Under, she was finally recognized around the world as a very talented artist on her own. I had never seen the show, but upon hearing that this song played during the finale, I started the show just so I could see that.


I recently finished that series finale, and I have to say it was one of the most jaw-dropping montages I've ever seen. I fell completely in love with the show, which I'm convinced is one of the best TV shows ever made. The cast is superb, the plot line is not afraid to deal with some of the most important things people face (the show centers on life and death)--addiction, homosexuality, violence, love, loss, (in)fidelity, struggle for expression and individuality--and the production quality is higher than a lot of movies I've seen. The final scene is spellbinding, and in it Sia's song took on even more weight--I didn't think it would be possible--but this song got even heavier, even more significant, even better....When you realize all the things Sia's singing about in this song--all the suffering in the world, all the self-loathing, self-mutilation--physical or not--that occurs among all this war, death, and struggle......but the end of her choruses--the end of each phrase involves the simplest of acts and the simplest of requests: just to breathe, which is essential to keep on living, to get through it all, to find hope...Yes, we will all die, we will all suffer heartbreak, but if we just breathe everything will be okay.

There's something about the piano at the start that hits the listener with a ton of bricks; the orchestral explosion near the end is like the sky opening up for a glimpse of the heavens. This is the saddest, most life-affirming, song. My favorite.

Listen.

Watch.

Natalie Walker | Urban Angel

This is definitely one of my favorite albums so far this year. (Sure, it was released almost two years ago, but I just found it on a whim (she's very cute)).

This album is inventive. Unique. Sexy and Elegant. At times haunting. But most of all, beautiful. Her voice is soft and delicate, with a surprising range. My friends who've heard the album agree--the sound of this album is what really lends to its cohesive, perfect feel--these songs fill a lot of space with ease. It's definitely down-tempo, on the chill side; works best at night or at relaxing times.

Most comparable to Kate Havnevik, but slower and deeper. Emotionally Honest. Would probably be classified as electronic, with various samplings used in dense but sweeping orchestrations, while some songs are as simple as her voice and a guitar or a piano. Also provides a pretty good cover of "Colorblind", in a slightly higher octave, and a tiny bit faster; it's interesting to hear a woman's voice if you love the CC version.

If I had to explain why I used the word "perfect" a second ago, I'd have to say it's in Natalie's hooks. In the choruses above all else, she uses her voice to create flowing, gentle phrases that transform these songs into ethereal realms. One listen to "you are my / weak in the knees," the hook in "Rest Easy," and the emotion-laden track-with-a-message (and my personal favorite) "Circles" will make you a believer in this sleeper talent.

Her sophomore album With You is due out August 19th.

Kate Nash | Made of Bricks

Kate Nash is -also- British. She sounds like a combination of Lily Allen, Regina Spektor, and a soft-pop songstress e.g. Catherine Feeny but with a cute accent. The album starts out easy pop, goes harder, goes back down to something gentle. More than anything, her songs are FUN and CATCHY. This is a perfect summer album.

Foundations is a perfect kick-off of the album, and Mouthwash is brilliant; it puts a smile on my face every single time. Kate's biggest talent is her ability to meld clever, catchy lyrics (listeners actually take notice of her lyrics, something that may be rare in today's pop music) with her unique, adorable voice. This is one of the few albums I can remember (with the exception of Lily Allen) in which I'll be listening to a song, and a lyric will make me chuckle or smile, because it's so damn ingenious.

Nash is a pretty gifted pianist, so that provides a substantial backing to the album, but it's not pretentious, it's used perfectly lightly in most of the songs...the other few songs primarily backed by light acoustic/electric guitar. It may take a few listens to really get on board: at first I thought it was a bit over-produced, and although it is undeniably poppy, the lyrics and her inventiveness in songwriting is what shines through after repeated listens.

I grew to like almost every song quite a bit. Highlights (other than "Foundations" and "Mouthwash") are the groovy "We Get On," the poignant rocker (not an oxymoron) "Skeleton Song," "Nicest Thing" (which provides a lush change of pace and might yield some tears if you're in a vulnerable state), and the wonderfully upbeat closer "Merry Happy" which has a 'down'-beat 7-minute-long hidden track at the end (from which the album's title and cover artwork seem to be from) that sold me on Kate Nash as a legitimate talent with a knack for making pop music that actually has something different to offer...and doesn't make us miserable, not even a little bit.*
*This is a reference to High Fidelity. If you haven't seen that movie, do.

Sigur Rós Announces New Album, Posts MP3 of First Track

The Icelandic quartet announced the release of their fifth album today, which is due out the week of June 23rd! Apparently this one's quite a bit different, moving toward a more acoustic style, something like we heard on Heim/Heima. Read the full release here.

Also, don't forget to download the first track off the new album, "Gobbledigook." Get it here.

Goear.com, etc.

I'm thinking about expanding my blog to include more things non-music. I don't do it often, but whenever I browse blogs I almost always get sucked into them, and inevitably want to start having conversations with their writers. I'm not suggesting anything, just simply stating that I might share some more stuff; I suppose that's blogging.

Anyway here are the songs I'm listening to on repeat these days, wonderfully conveniently streamed on goear.com (which happens to be a pretty awesome site with a huge selection of songs that you can listen to):

Two Step (DMB)
Merry Happy (Kate Nash)
Nothingman (Pearl Jam)
Heartbeats (José González)
You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. (Bright Eyes)

Looking over these tracks, I could say why I keep listening to each of them, based on the lyrics to each. But who ever knows what the real reason is that we pick songs? I like to think that I choose songs for their lyrics some times, but more often than not I either 1. have the song stuck in my head so want to hear it, or 2. love the way the song sounds and/or makes me feel. How much do the lyrics really have to do with both of these? Everything? Nothing? One of my buddies says he doesn't know the lyrics to any songs, because he just focuses on the music, whereas I read and interpret and memorize them.... There are so many facets to this experience called music; I'm excitedly hoping this book I just bought will shed some light!

Coupl'a Bon Iver Videos

Vernon performed two songs off his debut album over at The Current's studio in Minneapolis on January 17th, 2008. He's so good live! So pure, so clean. I can't wait to see him in April.

"Flume"



"Lump Sum"

Sony Bravia - "Balls" Commercial

This is probably my favorite ad, ever. The slow movement of the balls with José González's "Heartbeats" makes for a supremely calming, happy viewing experience. There's no computer-generated images in this ad; it's all high-speed cameras on literally busloads of bouncy balls on the streets of San Francisco.

This ad introduced me to this song, which has since become one of my absolute favorite songs. It's actually a cover of The Knife's original, which is much different. After listening to the original, which is mostly synthesizer, heavy bass, and skreeching vocals, I felt a new reverence for José's talent, and his ability to completely transform a song to make it his own. There's something about the guitar in his version that pierces straight to the heart. The lyrics take on a new significance with his relaxed but emotion-laden voice, the result of which simultaneously makes me feel like crying and screaming for joy.

Bon Iver | For Emma, Forever Ago

This record really surprised me. I mean, what really good music has come out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, ever? Yeah, he didn't record the album there, but that's where he's from. Justin Vernon is Bon Iver, pronounced "bohn eevair" which is french for "good winter," and apparently hiver is spelled wrong on purpose. The winter he's referring to is November-January 2006-2007, when he shacked up in an old hunting cabin of his family's in northwestern Wisconsin. He'd just broken up with his longtime band, and decided to surround himself with quiet seclusion to think, write, focus on music, and simply experience the land. His music developed into something that was entirely him at that point; he lost all the songs and journal entries he'd written when his powerbook hard drive fried, which forced him to begin anew. Over the next two-three months he wrote, in his own words, "seven songs that have succeeded to pull me through a hardened shell of myself, suprise me, entertain, impress and even heal me. They are me, and I am them, but, they sound nothing like I have ever really written before. No need to explain, I kind of understand." He describes a completely new feeling for him; a discovery.

With only himself and a collection of modest recording equipment and microphones, he recorded one of the most beautiful folk albums I've ever heard. There is a distinct feeling of sadness behind these songs, but for the most part that emotion doesn't carry over to the listener. More than anything this album has a calming effect. The music is his acoustic guitar, a bass drum, and layers of his voice. That's really about it. It may be hard to convey here what he's accomplished with so little, but first listen invariably entices the response, "that's beautiful." He sings in falsetto almost entirely throughout, and made me think immediately of Daniel G. Harmann, but the intimacy that Vernon creates is simply unparalleled. It's like David Gray's A Century Ends era, when he was recording albums in his certainly-not-soundproof apartment.

There's just something so real about this album. There's no pretense, just honesty. "All of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt that had been stock piled over the course of the past six years, was suddenly purged into the form of song."* The lyrics tell the story of a man who takes time off from his life to evaluate it, and the growth that occurs because of this. In the first single, and one of the most passionate tracks on the album, "Skinny Love," Vernon wavers between regretful pleading to frustrated affirmations, and captures the feelings at the precipice: at both the end and the beginning. From

sold my cold knot
a heavy stone
sold my red horse for a venture home
to vanish on the bow--
settling slow

in "Lump Sum" to

this is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
your love will be
safe with me

in the album's closer "Re: Stacks"...we certainly get the feeling that he's figured something out, and that this album serves as both the catharsis (the process) and the celebration (the result).

Skinny Love.mp3

*Bon Iver on VIRB (listen to the entire album streamed)
JAGJAGUWAR

A New Kind of Music Video

Robert Hodgin makes really cool videos with an open source program called Processing. If you're interested, check out his blog to get an idea of how much work goes into these. Really, you should click on the title beneath the vid to see it bigger and in HD. btw, the song is "Lovely Head" by Goldfrapp.


Solar, with lyrics. from flight404 on Vimeo.

If You Like Björk...

Then you'll probably enjoy this interview. It's a bit long and slow, but enlightening.



I've always been on the fence with her; some of her work I love, some I hate. Maybe most people are like that with her. But after watching this interview I definitely understood her more. Pretty easy to see that she is a genius.

"[Music is] just the one, most all-embracing, forgiving, understanding thing there is. Just in the full obstruction of it, it doesn't ask any questions, and you don't have to explain yourself, and it's the one world that can cover all the emotional levels of view..."

Radiohead | In Rainbows

I've decided that it's preferable to review an album after I've understood exactly how I feel about it. I say this because after my first listen of this album, on the night of January 5th (I waited to buy the album in-store), I hated it. A couple friends of mine (who'd downloaded it) had told me that it felt more like background music than anything substantial and worthy of attentive listening or excitement. I treated it as such on a drive home, listening to it straight through and never getting into it. I realize now, after listening to it more than anything else since, that this is because it wasn't what I expected at all. I suppose I expected something groundbreaking--something like I'd never heard before, since this has always been Radiohead's method. This album may not be groundbreaking in its other-worldly creativity and electronic sampling, but may be in its cohesiveness and as an exceptionally well-crafted album.

Radiohead's seventh studio album is simultaneously similar to, and very different from their previous six. This album is undeniably Radiohead, but Radiohead at a very different place musically. It's being hailed as "the best Radiohead album since Kid A," and I agree. As for the band's discography, I've always felt that their albums contain both the spectacular and the mediocre, although some obviously with more of the great than others (i.e. OK Computer and The Bends over Pablo Honey and the last two albums). Kid A was the first Radiohead album that sounded perfect in its entirety: every song flowed into the next, and the whole album felt like a wonderfully preserved memory that evoked a strong set of feelings each time. I couldn't help but crave and listen to the entire album straight through every time.

In Rainbows achieves the same synergy. That may be a reason why it is relatively easy to gloss over: it doesn't have the stark contrasts between radically different tracks, and each track sounds like it was meant to follow the one that preceded it. That being said, this album must be listened to: track by track; then you'll hear it come together. Overall, this album is much more band-centered. The musical arrangements focus much less on electronics and much more on the traditional guitars, percussion, and bass. Radiohead thus achieves an "uncomplicated beauty"* on this album that really is quite striking.

----------
What follows are my notes on this album, written about a month or so after listening to this album constantly. I was going to clean them up, but upon reading them just now, I like them the way they are; if you want to know my analysis of and thoughts on each song, take a look:

(1) 15 Step - builds...has so much energy...the low-key guitar in the background really drives the song...the bridge from 1:46-1:58 and 2:24-2:40 and the new backing sound is my favorite...with perfectly placed what-seems-like-children-celebrating...the percussion is what shines most brightly in this song, undoubtedly. being the first impression of their new album, one immediately realizes that this is more band-constructed/centered music than electronic-constructed/centered music. (this holds true throughout the album, for the most part) when it's over you're left wondering, where could this album possibly go from here?...lyric: 15 steps, then a sheer drop. tonight this song made me think of death. . .

(2) Bodysnatchers - harsher, distorted guitar, relatively basic everything (vocals, percussion)..."I've no idea what I am talking about / I'm trapped in this body and can't get out" - they do an excellent job of making you feel like you're trapped in a cage that's being shaken and yelled at by others... "has the light gone out for you? / because the light's gone out for me. / it is the 21st century..." - from 2:07 to 3:10, he takes a step back from the chaos and sees what's really happened to him; this section is what makes this song worth listening to for me. beginning of song pretty cacophonous, but 2:07 to 2:54 is a characteristically ethereal radiohead transition......you definitely (I, at least) have to be in the right mood for this song.

(3) Nude - an older song, unreleased since its conception in the ok computer era; very beautiful: slow, minimalistic, really achieved by yorke's high croon (not like the deeper mellow of Motion Picture Soundtrack, e.g.) the soft, smooth guitar line throughout is really cool. 2:45 to 3:10 is yorke at his best, a transcending solo - in which his most contemptible, or rather, most observant lyric invests all its emotional impact ("you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking"); "don't get any big ideas / they're not gonna happen." opening lines. gee, thanks guys....but you realize later that it's not a statement of fact, it's a 'motivating suggestion'....allegedly about living in a man's world, the lyrics seem to paint the picture of sexual desire and desistance, and the guilt and inadequacy that can inevitably follow. "Nude" not only physically but emotionally and spiritually/mentally as well.

(4) Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - very positive-feeling song. flowing, swirling music that acquires layers gradually throughout the entire song : percussion, bass, guitar, more guitar, vocals (with enough echo to create space) - one doesn't have a difficult time believing he's at the bottom of the sea on this one - "i'd be crazy not to follow / follow where you lead / your eyes / they turn me"..."turn me on to phantoms / i'll follow to the edge of the earth" -there is a turn in the song here. builds to its height (most layered, most moving) from 2:26 to 3:03...(rest of lyrics are pretty damn good...leaves if they get the chance, this is my chance)...down to the keyboards and guitar accompaniment, yorke alone until 3:41, when we're moving again, but in a much different direction: an almost foreboding backing vocal, dissonance created between the guitars and orchestra now, as yorke sings "i'll hit the bottom / hit the bottom and escape / escape" we realize his weariness and also a sense of finality; . . . it's as if we're sinking the whole time...following at first, taking in the weird fishes we pass on the way, and finally, the end, escaping?...

(5) All I Need - i feel like this is so obviously a favorite song candidate, because it kinda has the 'perfect song' formula. but they've pulled it off. similar to and strangely unlike anything they've ever done in its entirety. reading the lyrics without listening to the song seems so...blatantly...conforming...analogies that express one's dependence on another, while including a piece of imagery that connects the two vividly... but it's the way he sings, and most importantly, the music that creates one of the great moments i've heard in music this year. (many comparisons to Boards of Canada's "Roygbiv," and although there must be an influence, this song kills roygbiv.) the addition of the xylophone and the static is a precursor to the noise that explodes... but on the base level the song remains simple throughout. it's 2:45 to the end (esp. 3:01) that this song takes over your world; yorke, among the noise, sings through, you can feel the effort..."dressing up what begins as a skeletal rhythm section in cavernous swaths of glockenspiel, synths, pianos, and white noise."*

-two sides-i really wish i had this on vinyl, because after All I Need i feel like the next song comes much too quickly. i usually turn my cd player off for a few minutes, because i feel like i need time to bask in what i've just heard, or at least come down.

(6) Faust Arp - therefore feels like a bridge that connects the two sides of the album, although the sides are not equal other than that, not a very substantial track on its own. the orchestral arrangement is very nice, as is near the end when yorke actually starts singing.

(7) Reckoner - very satisfyingly complex beat to this one, which is amplified by the introduction of the bass at 1:28 and yorke's "you are not to blame for..." the first real change at 2:23 (the music stops...and slowly builds, amid repetitions of "because we seperate like / ripples on a blank shore" into a sweeping full-bodied orchestral backing. and back to the original movement/riff at 3:18. . .which now becomes accompanied by the orchestra, until a slow fade-out. overall, something very emotional in the lyrics that yorke sings in this one...

(8) House of Cards - starts out very simple, very feel-the-beat. This was the first song to stand out for me, because of the opening lyrics: "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover" (Yes! Thank you!) Yorke's voice is nicely echoed, over a pretty minimal guitar pick and ride&rim shot, but the choruses conjure up a set of really cool effects that provide a lot of depth and weight to his "denial, denial" lamentations.

(9) Jigsaw Falling into Place - this song is awesome. it moves so well. the only narrative on the album, in a way. quick guitar riff opens, to a driving force of a beat. yorke intros some backing vocals which repeat, and then the story begins (of course, his lower speaking-like voice) "dance, dance, dance," change at 2:53--lighter guitars....about being in a danceclub at night, meeting someone, and the excitement and euphoria that can be felt losing oneself in the music and the dancing...the chance encounters that happen seem to be jigsaws falling into place...

(10) Videotape - videotape has been a disappointment to many, myself included, since It doesn't really go anywhere; the 4-note piano measure repeats the same throughout the entire song, which is somewhat relaxing in its wind-down but ultimately uninteresting. but truthfully it's a pretty perfect end to this album. it's very clear from its beginning that it's the last song of the album and it would never work any other way; the lyrics are actually pretty profound, although the repetition of the word "videotape" gets a little annoying. it winds down, reminiscent of Motion Picture Soundtrack... but it doesn't take that long, and there's no mind-blowing hidden track; it's pretty deliberate, like they hold no illusions about how straightforward this album is. in so doing, they've basically created the requirement that you start listening to the album again.

*Pitchfork's review.