“Have You Forgotten” - Red House Painters
I’m having a really hard and somewhat painful time attempting to find myself in my daily activities. Luckily, I can still find myself in the songs that I love. That’s something, right?
Songs like this truly make me lament the loss of feeling young.
In case anyone ever made the unlikely and unfortunate mistake of thinking I was cool, here is evidence to prove otherwise. Here’s what I was doing Thanksgiving 04. Really.
I'm thankful for pop music
I’ll be driving home to this mix of songs tomorrow, and I’m so excited about it. Mainstream, the exact opposite of mainstream, throw-backs, and guilty pleasures:
1. Lisztomania - Phoenix
2. L.E.S. Artistes - Santigold
3. Better Off As Two - Frankmusik
4. Diva - Beyonce
5. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
6. Creep - TLC
7. P. Y. T. - Michael Jackon
8. Lust for Life - Girls
9. This Love is Fucking Right! - Pains of Being Pure at Heart
10. Human Behavior - Bjork
11. Poker Face - Lady Gaga
12. Lights and Music - Cut Copy
13. Your Ex-Lover is Dead - Stars
14. Emaline - Ben Folds
15. Rebel, Rebel - David Bowie
16. 7/4 (Shoreline) - Broken Social Scene
Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus did not make the list because they are both far too present in my work life, and if I heard “Party in the U.S.A.” one more time, I would probably cross the median into opposing traffic.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I'm making a ridiculous pop mix for my 9-hour drive
I need help. I’ll take all suggestions (both mainstream and not, current and not) as long as it’s got a great beat that will keep me awake.
I’m serious about this. I’m about to download some Lady Gaga and Beyonce here. What else?
The Mountain Goats / Final Fantasy/ Larkin Grimm
I went to see this round-up of bands at Mercy Lounge this weekend, and I have to say that it was one of the best show experiences that I’ve had in Nashville.
I’ve never been a huge fan of The Mountain Goats in that I have barely touched the terrific amount of material John Darnielle and co. has put out since 1991; however, I heard All Hail West Texas and bits of Sunset Tree in that golden window of time (in high school) that makes songs like “Jenny” and “This Year” a perfect source of happy adolescent nostalgia for me. What I think is special about The Mountain Goats, though, is that I enjoy all of their new material just as much as I loved the old songs. All silly connotations of that statement aside, I think the ability to consistently create great music (and keep the same fans) over the course of years (or decades) is rare.
Anyway, the show was great. More than that, the crowd was great. It was sold out, and there was so much fist-pumping and lyric-screaming that I had to question whether or not this crowd had been implanted from a less apathetic city. I learned from some crowd members that The Mountain Goats haven’t played Nashville since 2002, so that explains some of the excitement. I very obviously wasn’t the only nostalgic fan that night. On the other hand, about half of the set list was from the newest album Life of the World to Come, and the crowd seemed to enjoy those songs just as much as old favorites like “No Children.” Again, this is what I find most remarkable The Mountain Goats: the music is just as good no matter from what album or what era it comes. They are truly a good band, and this show was truly an incredible show.
A couple of weeks ago, my friends Michael and Andrew invited me to come make some impromptu recordings with them. Basically, all this entailed was the three of us gathering around one condenser mic that ran into Garageband and just … . going.
I got the cd version of this little session, which I’ve decided to call The Estate Tapes. Even with oodles of impurities (wrong notes, chords … most of which are probably mine) and the extreme lo-fi-ness (to the point where you have to jack the volume all the way up to hear anything), I love these recordings. Obviously, they’re not really meant for sharing, but I’m going to post one anyway.
A while back, Andrew, Michael and I played a show at Bongo Java and covered Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It With Mine.” Here’s our version … along with some idiot comment I made about Bavaria.
More reasons to enjoy work: Christmas songs
“Round, young virgin mother and child”
I almost cracked up laughing when a girl sang this today. I mean, it’s accurate, but I can only wish it was correct. In fact, I was so amused that I decided not to correct her. I’ll fix it later, I promise.
“Dominos” - The Big Pink
I can’t explain my affinity for bands with names obviously referring to female reproductive organs, but I can tell you exactly why I love this song: it’s super catchy.
Sufjan Stevens interview on NPR; An ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway →
I caught this interview in my car on the way to class yesterday morning. The piece is certainly beautiful (it’s freakin’ Sufjan Stevens … I mean, really), but something about Stevens’ tone in this interview struck me as a bit pretentious. I’m curious to see if any one else can pick this up, or if I’m just so cynical that I mistake the man who composed Seven Swans as a ticket-holder on the lame train to rampant self-interest.
What do you think?
Do . . .
Dirty Projectors remind anyone else of Ani DiFranco?
