Well... This is Exciting

It looks like the new Swan Lake (Everybody's third favorite Spencer Krug project!) album is due in March.
The tracklist looks a little like this, for those of you who are into song titles with no idea of what the song actually sounds like:

* Spanish Gold, 2044
* Paper Lace
* Heartswarm
* Settle on Your Skin
* Ballad of a Swan Lake, Or, Daniel’s Song
* Peace
* Spider
* A Hand at Dusk
* Warlock Psychologist

But for now, just listen to All Fires, again and again and again.

Swan Lake - All Fires
(Note to powers that be that keep taking down my posts: This mp3 is freely available off of the Jagjaguwar website.... So don't take this down.)

Also, I got a chance to hear Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion that I've been ridiculously excited for. It's amazing, and I really like where they're going with their sound. However, I'm terrified of posting anything from it due to said powers that be. I don't like paying fines.

So let's just have another look at the mesmerizing cover art, shall we? (Note: Not an animated GIF...YOUR EYES ARE TRICKING YOU!)




Merry Christmas everybody.

Songs of the Year, pt. 1

(This is just getting annoying. Blogger keeps taking down my posts, and I keep getting e-mails for posting mp3s. I think I'm going to take a break, find a new place to host, and then move... So again, a repost, no links)

OK.
My original plan was to put up a whole list of songs at once, and organize them in a Mix CD fashion.
But, due to time constraints, this hasn't happened. (also - apologies for the lack of updates lately. Like I said, time constraints.) So, what I propose to do, is post the songs in groups, and then at the end, hopefully put them in a zip file in a mix cd. How does that sound? Lovely. I know. I should also note that these are in no particular order, unless you consider the order of which I thought of things to say about the songs.

TV on the Radio - Lover's Day
When I hear this song, I like to think that TVoTR were reading Prince fan fiction on some Prince message board somewhere. I imagine that someone wrote a long, involved, heart-wrenching story about Prince moving back home and leading the University of Minnesota Gophers marching band - a Mr. Holland's opus type story, if you will. Obviously, after reading this, they wrote Lover's Day.
(From: Dear Science)

The Walkmen - In the New Year
This song is a really good first date. At first, the band is hesitant, maybe a little shy. But then they see you like them despite their shyness. Maybe you gave a knowing smile. Or a real laugh, instead of the polite chuckle we've all given or experienced at some point. Maybe you even offered to let them try your food. Whatever you did, they started to feel more confident and started to open up. Stories are told, adventures are shared, and then the night is over. You drop them off at their doorstep, go home, and lie in bed, hitting repeat over and over again, hoping the night never ends.
(From: You & Me)

Chairlift - Bruises
Before this song became ubiquitous, before 'grass-stain', 'frozen strawberry', and 'bruised knee' were different colors of iPod, there was the 2:18 mark of this original mix of the song, where Caroline Polachek's voice gets the slightest inflection of genuine sweetness and convinces you that maybe, just maybe, she's actually got you in mind.
There was also this video. Which I'm really not sure what to think of. I feel the acting is there, but the direction could use some work.
(From: Does You Inspire You?)

The Bug - Angry f. Tippa Irrie
People who don't wave after a lane change. People who sing ballads at karaoke. West Edmonton Mall. Phil Jackson. The ignorance of lunch caterers to the fact that there's a lot of people out there who simply cannot stand mayonnaise.
(From: London Zoo)

Department of Eagles - No One Does it Like You
I could make the obligatory Grizzly Bear reference. I could give you facts, like before releasing the album, they had only played live once, for a radio show. I could even draw comparison to the Eagles of Death Metal, Don Henley, or even the Philadelphia Eagles. But it would all be pointless. The only things you need to know about this song are the jingle-jangle guitar, hand claps, and "ah ah, ba dah ah ah."
(From: In Ear Park)

Honeymoon's Over

(This is a re-post w/o links. The power's that be clearly didn't approve of my Kanye bashing and took down the whole thing.)

OK... Remember that time like two weeks ago when I said I was quite enjoying winter?
Yeah. That's done. It is very cold outside. But that's only the start of it.
Something is clearly wrong with the heating ducts in my building, and there's this omnipresent howling noise. But not a howl, because it has no clear beginning or end. It just keeps going.
It's like Kanye West is stuck in my walls with his auto-tune machine. I feel like a captive from Guantanamo Bay going through that Metallica in a dark room torture. Or something far less drastic.
Anyways, where was I? Oh yes... winter again. While I will likely still be listening to that fantastic Beach House record (which will no doubt be reaching my top 20 for the year. Which will be coming near Christmas), there is nothing better for cold, cold weather than Burial.

So here's a remix
Burial - Archangel (Phaseone remix) (Link removed)

Also, more random Kanye West thoughts:
I still can't decide on the new album. Sometimes I appreciate it, but then, just as it starts warming a little more, I remember how terrible of a lyricist he is. Honestly. Don't get me wrong, it works at times - if you're rapping about the Good Life with T-Pain, nobody cares about your lyrics. But, Kanye, if you're reading this... if you're going for self-introspection, we're going to notice more. I'll let the tired pop-culture references slide most of the time, but I cannot forgive "How could you be so/Dr. Evil?" from "Heartless". Most of the time, you'll reference something that's at least happened in the last year, then you get a six-month grace period before you start sounding dated, but an Austin Powers reference? Really? I know Jay's not ghostwriting for you anymore, but you should still at least keep in touch... maybe run a few of these by him every now and then, and then I hopefully wouldn't be writing this blog. But, no... you need to go it alone and remind everyone of that trilogy from which we're all so desperately trying to chalk up to experience and move on.

So, just for reference. You don't actually have to listen to this, nor do I expect you to, but it's really the only way you'll believe that lyric actually saw the light of day:

Kanye West - Heartless (Link Removed)
(from: 808s and Heartbreaks)

Gangsters Don't Dance...

... we boogie.



Ruth - Polaroid-Roman-Photo
(From: BIPPP - French Synth Wave 1979-85)

Tales Tall as Cliffs

I was walking home from work and saw an old man with a guitar. He was sitting outside the abandoned YMCA, and his face was weathered and crusty, like three-day old mandarin orange peels.
I sat down beside him and asked him to play me a song. As he began to strum, I recognized the chords, and told him so.
"That's a lie!," he said... "I wrote this just this morning."
I squinted, and asked him to repeat himself.
"Just this morning, at dawn, as the sun rose over the North Saskatchewan," but his voice was full of hesitation, "Some of the chords didn't even exist - I had to invent them." He was playing a D.
I wanted to tell him that the song was by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, but I couldn't do it. Instead I decided to clap and sing along - I was wearing gloves, so it was a deep, thudded clap. He didn't ask how I knew the lyrics.
A crowd gathered as he gained volume and confidence. They joined in, slapping briefcases, stomping feet, and shuffling shoes.
When he finished, the crowd applauded then slowly made their way back into the dead of the Edmonton winter. I looked at him and asked what the song was about.
"Everything, man. It's about coalition governments, Somali pirates, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Miley Cyrus. It's about the medals I got in Korea..."
"Wait... The Olympics? or the war?"
"The Olympics, man... do I look like a veteran? Darnit, no! I was a pole vaulter." He paused..."Where was I?"
"...medals in Korea"
"Oh, yes. That's right. It's about those medals, and the apartheid, and the 1994 baseball strike. But mostly, it's a love song I wrote for Lauren Conrad."
Then I asked him why he lied to me. He slung his guitar over his shoulder and headed to the Greyhound station.

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - As Tall as Cliffs
(From: Not Animal)

Honeymooning with Winter

Up until today, I had largely ignored Beach House's Devotion, which came out way back in March. I gave it a couple cursory listens upon release, and then by and large forgot about it as the weather warmed, days grew longer, and Edmonton broke out of its wintery chill. Nights were spent on patios, and days were spent longing to be on said patios. This is not the setting for Beach House.

But today (thanks to a nudge from Gorilla v. Bear's Best of 2008 list), I decided to revisit it, and it was perfect. The reverb drenched vocals and keyboards seem infinitely more appropriate while looking out my corner cubicle window, happy to be inside, drinking green tea, enjoying a relatively slow day at the office than wishing that I was anywhere but. The snow is new and clean, without a hint of brown of the gravel and salt ridden slush that will plague the city for months to come.

Soon, I will grow tired of Edmonton's long, harsh winter, but for now, I'm still in the honeymoon stage, and its soundtrack will be 'Devotion.'

Beach House - D.A.R.L.I.N.G
(From: Devotion)

(After re-reading, that sounds far more emo than I wanted it to... oh well.)

Teenage Fanclub

Now.
Everyone has pet bands/albums. I have a few. This is allowed because I have a blog. If you don't, you're only allowed one. Deal with it.
Anyways, the one I'm going to talk about on this particular day - one filled with snow and political strife - is Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque.
I'm fascinated by this album for a number of reasons, but the foremost is I really have no idea why I like it so much. If I really listen to it objectively, it's by no means a great album, but I still love it. Since I don't feel like writing in paragraph form anymore, here are some bullet points about the album:

- It's biggest claim to fame is being accidentally well-regarded. Allow me to explain: Back in 1991, when the album came out, Spin magazine bestowed upon it the honor of being named the album of the year. Pretty big deal. You'd think that would get it some respect. But no - the #2 album that year, according to Spin, was Nevermind. So, after Nevermind became a classic (and that's a whole 'nother blog), Bandwagonesque developed a notoriety for being named the #1 album of the year ahead of Nevermind. For years, that was all I knew about this album.
- It also gets overlooked because it came out of the UK in 1991, when there was an insane amount of quality music coming out of the UK - but it doesn't really sound like your typical britpop, so it gets brushed to the side a little.
- It has an awesome lyric in "She don't do drugs/but she does the pill". I find this to be clever.

But, aside from all of that, it's a pretty plain album. But I love it. And I don't know why.

Here's two songs - And please... please comment if they're actually good or not. I need to know if I'm actually insane for loving this album:

Teenage Fanclub - The Concept
Teenage Fanclub - Alchoholiday
(From: Bandwagonesque)

(See... Even the song titles are kind of lame... Alcoholiday sounds like it could be a Nickelback/Theory of the Deadman Double LP. For the love of good bread.)