Posts published during August, 2009

08/12/2009

delorean – seasun

delorean live

as we reach the middle of the week, weve got yet another excellent song to get you into the spirit of summer. since its now mid august, its important that you get into the spirit of summer now, because time is quickly running out, even though summer doesnt technically end for a little over a month. then comes fall. then comes winter/hibernation/becoming a hermit. todays summer song is “seasun” by delorean. a quick google search would turn up a few different groups with this name, but the link above is to the myspace of the one im referring to. the group is from barcelona and has been around for a few years but are starting to get some attention in the US (despite popularity abroad) with their most recent release, the excellent and exciting ayrton senna EP.

besides the name (the obvious connection to summer), i think just one listen will explain why this is a total summer jam. it begins with a little bit of buildup before the song really breaks into its light and airy theme backed up by a nice high tempo electronic beat. as the song continues to expand, more sounds are almost unnoticably added in, and then after a bit of a break to collect your thoughts, the vocals really come into play and the buildup begins all over again and right around the 3:15 mark the beat really comes back in and the rest of the tune is high powered and huge while still playing off that lo-fi cloudy sound. and i have to mention that i completely agree with pitchfork in that this version, the original, is much more fun and upbeat than the “dance remix”. funny how that works out. the rest of the ayrton senna ep is pretty excellent as well and a good listen for all. i can only hope that we will be hearing a lot more from delorean in the years to come here in the states.

delorean – seasun

Delorean - Ayrton Senna (Bonus Track Version) - EP - Seasunbuy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments

08/11/2009

army navy – saints

army navy

here were at day 2 of the week of all good songs for summer. this track was another entry in my summer running playlist, even though ive only run once in the past month. hopefully ill be inspired this week when im smack dab in the middle of nature and seclusion with not a whole lot else to do, but i make no promises. todays track is “saints” by army navy. although an equally fun choice for a summer song by army navy is “my thin sides”.

im fairly certain this song was included on the soundtrack to “nick and norah’s infinite playlist”, a movie i have not seen, but a movie that i should see, because im assuming from the title its some sort of romantic comedy about two people who get together because they both like excellent music, and lets be honest, this is pretty much my main criteria, so im sure i would be able to relate. this song is summer in a nutshell for me. its production gives it a really airy light and airy quality even though the group is rocking out. unlike yesterdays track which spoke of summer love, this song is kind of the opposite i think. perhaps its about early summer breakup in order to open the door for awesome summer love. apparently these guys are looking for a bad girl the next time around. besides this song just being so damn catchy from the first listen, i like the structure. theres kind of a little verse/chorus/verse thing going on, but then theres sort of a second chorus that repeats a few times to end the song. make sure to pay attention to the subtle but excellent harmonies as well.

army navy – saints

Army Navy - Army Navy - Saints buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

1 comments

08/10/2009

land of talk – some are lakes

land of talk live

before i present todays song, “some are lakes” by land of talk, let me explain why today is not the traditional post festival recap monday. as you are reading this, i am most likely making the trek from chicago up to beautiful and secluded frankfurt, michigan for a week of (pimped out) cabin fun in the sun with 10-15 excellent peoples. we have a big ole place to stay (right on a lake i might add) and will be doing such awesome things as relaxing, partying, being lazy, eating delicious foods, tubing down the river, and going on a winery tour. basically an awesome week of summer activities immediately following an awesome weekend of summer music fest action. since we likely will only have a dial up internet connection which i dont really trust these days (remember when everyone had dial up? that was weird), im going to present to you 6 excellent summer tunes this week, and next week ill follow up with my lollapalooza recap. and just wait for the saturday throwback song. its a real doozie, provided i am able to find an mp3 of it which is in serious doubt at this point.

the first song is kind of a literal interpretation of an awesome summer song. at first i even thought the name of the song was “summer lakes” and as everyone knows, i love summer lakes even though i have yet to be in a lake this summer, and the only time i was even in a pool was at night. summerfuninthesunFAIL. to be fair we havent had the best weather. anyway, the song is not called summer lakes, but even so, its got a super laid back summer fun feel, and it talks of summer love. although im a little confused about the reference to bovine eyes. is this a tale of summer love told through the eyes of elsie the borden cow? i dont know, but its a perfect track for sitting out in the hot hot sun with a clear beautiful lake staring you in the face.

land of talk – some are lakes

Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes - Some Are Lakes buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments

08/08/2009

lollapalooza day 3 – bat for lashes – horse and i

bat for lashes

the last day of lollapalooza is upon us (at least for the purposes of this blog). there are lots of acts to see today. aside from todays artist, bat for lashes, im probably most excited for neko case, friendly fires (although since they go on at 1230 and i didnt make it to the park before 3 last year, that show is in major jeopardy unless i get my act together) and HOLY COW how did i not notice earlier that lou reed is performing!? thats pretty nuts that i didnt realize it before. so normally id be really depressed at this point because on monday id be driving back home and going back to work on tuesday. but luckily im going up north immediately following the festival for the rest of the week, so i dont have to be depressed until next sunday. and then i will be very very depressed.

im really starting to like bat for lashes, aka natasha khan, for so many reasons. the first is that i really like her music. i enjoyed the simplicity of “fur and gold” and am getting into the slightly electronic sounds of “two suns”. another reason that i like bat for lashes is that shes super cute and looks remarkably like my friend nadia. like eerily similar. nadia, i hope you dont mind but heres a picture, just for comparisons sake. but i will totally take it down if you want. isnt the resemblance uncanny? while there are many songs from “two suns” worthy of a post, i went back to the opening track of “fur and gold” because it was the first bat for lashes song id ever heard and still one of my favorites. and its so simple but sounds so unique. its amazing how the sounds of strings, drums and a harpsichord meld together so well. im also listening to “daniel” as we speak and am tempted to change it up and post that one instead. but really, that would involve rewriting 3 sentences, so you’ll have to listen to that one on your own. so good so good.

bat for lashes – horse and i

Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold - Horse and I buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

1 comments

08/07/2009

lollapalooza day 2 – gomez – hamoa beach

gomez live

time for day 2 (even though day 1 is really going on as we speak). this fest is really bitter sweet for me this year because its the last of my 3 fests this summer and i dont really have much to look forward to after this weekend and the subsequent up north weekend since i will only have 2 days off work for the rest of the year following that, and no exciting plans to speak of. but, in retrospect (even though some of it hasnt happened yet), it was totally all worth it. but anyway, today lets talk about a group performing on day 2 of lolla that i will most definitely be seeing, gomez.

the song i chose for today is “hamoa beach” off their 2006 album “how we operate”. of all the gomez songs ive heard, this is the one thats stuck with me the most. maybe its the catchy melody and upbeat tempo, or maybe its the lyrics. they are so motivational that you almost can imagine them being on one of those “READ” posters at the library. yeah, you know the ones im talking about. i guess motivational isnt really the right word, but its kind of inspiring in a “dont make the same mistakes i did” kind of way. another awesome thing about gomez is that there are a few lead vocalists who all share frontman duties, which is great because theyve all got a different sound. ian ball, the vocalist for “hamoa beach”, and tom gray have a bright clean sound to their voices, while ben ottewell has a deeper and huskier voice. its really a nice contrast when you listen to the albums as a whole. i missed these guys at bonnaroo due to the multiple scheduling conflicts so im looking forward to seeing them here.

gomez – hamoa beach

Gomez - How We Operate - Hamoa Beach buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments

08/06/2009

lollapalooza day 1 – depeche mode – precious

depeche mode live

after much waiting (it seem like i bought my tickets six months ago, which may have actually been the case), lollapalooza is finally upon us! well, tomorrow at least. since ill probably be out of pocket (god bless corporate lingo) for the next 9 days or so, and since ive eliminated the sunday posts for the sake of my own sanity, im going to feature one artist from each day of the festival for the next three days, each a day ahead of when they are actually performing. saturday throwback will also be thrown out the window this week in order to accomodate. the very first feature this week is depeche mode, the group i am most excited to see this weekend by far.

ive always had a sort of fascination with depeche mode ever since i became obsessed with “enjoy the silence” many many years ago. they were in town maybe two or three years ago and i didnt go to see them and later regretted it, so this show has been a long time coming for me. i knew that most of their hits were from the 80s and early 90s so i was extremely excited back in 2005 when i heard a brand new track that i quickly became obsessed with, “precious”. i recently heard the song while waiting for handsome furs to start their set back in july and added it to my list, but i knew i had to wait for lolla to post it. i love the darkness in most of the stuff they do (clearly “just cant get enough” doesnt fit into this category) and “precious” is yet another great example of that. its also ridiculously sultry (seems to be my favorite buzz word these days to describe songs) and sexy, even though its kind of a sadder song. plus it will be another classic band thats been around forever to cross off my list of people ive seen live, the latest being the overly dramatic but entertaining bruce springsteen. for the second year in a row, the band im most excited to see falls on night 1, but if last year is any indication, it will by no means bring down my excitement for and enjoyment of the remainder of the weekend.

depeche mode – precious

Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel - Precious buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments

08/05/2009

do make say think – auberge le mouton noir

do make say think

todays song is a nice little instrumental track from canadian group do make say think. as the legend goes, they got their name because they first began rehearsing in some sort of elementary school classroom that had those four words painted on the walls, and so they took them as their name. pretty neato. im also pretty sure that at least a few members from this group are also members of or were at one time members of canadian super-collective broken social scene. since there are about 100 members of broken social scene, the odds are pretty good that a few of them are in do make say think as well. or i could just be making that association because they are both canadian and have tons of members and i saw do make say think opening up for broken social scene once.

the track today is from their album “winter hymn country hymn secret hymn” and is entitled “auberge le mouton noir” , which translates into “inn the night sheep”. which maybe actually translates into “the night sheeps inn” or something like that? any french scholars out there that would like to correct me since its been approximately 7 years since my last french class? luckily there are no lyrics to use as clues so theres really no way of proving that im right or wrong. i dont know why i like this 7 minute instrumental so much. whats with the 7 theme? but i think what i like the most is the recurring theme throughout the song. you know, the “bahhhhh bah bahhhh bah bahhhhhhhh”. im sure you know exactly what i mean. for some reason it makes me think of one of those huge sailboats that explorers explored on, with someone in the front of the ship overlooking the sea and wearing the puffy shirt from seinfeld. what does it make you think of?

do make say think – auberge le mouton noir

Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn - Auberge Le Mouton Noir buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments

08/04/2009

pj harvey & john parish – black hearted love

pj harvey and john parish reunited

is everyone looking forward to a swingin rock song today? good, thats the answer i was hoping for. today were taking a listen to a track by a couple of music vets who have been around for quite some time now — pj harvey and john parish. they recently released their second collaboration album entitled “a woman a man walked by”. and by recently i mean in early 2009. their last collaborative album, “dance hall at louse point” was released waaaay back in 1996. and theyve both done tons of stuff in between that time. such as pjs 2006 album white chalk, which i kind of love, because its mostly piano ballads and is really haunting. listen to the track “when under ether” if you need any evidence of this.

todays track “black hearted love” is really interesting for a couple of reasons. first of all, even though it was just released, its kind of a much older song. as the story goes, pj recently uncovered a demo of the song from their 1996 “dance hall at louse point” sessions. she got so excited about it that she contacted john parish and thats how the topic came up of the two recording another album together. and im pretty glad that happened because i love this song. maintaining the theme of subtle contrast, pay close attention to the vocals in this song. while the music is really swaying and slinky, pjs vocals are extremely annunciated. i especially like the way she pronounces “rapture” in this song. kind of like “raptyour”. which im sure is probably the proper way to say it anyway, but i just really like the difference between the vocals and the lyrics. so if youre in the mood for a straight up rock song, please enjoy.

pj harvey & john parish – black hearted love

PJ Harvey & John Parish - A Woman a Man Walked By - Black Hearted Love buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon

0 comments
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »