Tired of putting together syllabi and lectures, I am concentrating on music for a break. I am trying to expand my music collection a little at a time. Listening some samplers and other sources (friends like Bucky, for example) and have started listening to some people like Josh Rouse ("It's the nighttime" from Nashville), Badly Drawn Boy, The Doves, and Spoon. During SNL last week, SOF and I thought Death Cab for Cutie sounded like a Keen knock-off. Of course, I thought Keen sounded like a Coldplay knock-off, but oddly enough Death Cab does not sound at all like Coldplay at all (to me). :)
Anyone heard Maria Taylor? I have only the one song "song beneath the song" but am impressed. Likewise with Rocky Votolato (almost for his name alone). Sia is another one that Six Feet Under fans may recognize. I am quite impressed with the song I have from The New Pornographers. I had heard about them and heard some of Neko Case's solo stuff, but this was my first of theirs. And finally, I may be coming around to Iron and Wine's collaboration with Calexico. Listening to "history of lovers" has made me reconsider my first reaction. Likewise with the Decemberists. I have only one song from these last groups or people, so am open to any suggestsions whether their entire album is worth buying.
8 comments:
I like Death Cab and The New Pornographers a lot. TNP latest disc is really solid. So is the second volume of the Six Feet Under soundtrack, which I'm guessing you have. I should probably be listening to Spoon, Iron and Wine and the Decemberists.
Have you ever listened to any Over the Rhine or Pedro the Lion?
Actually, I don't have the Six Feet under st, just seem to have accumulated a lot of the music in samplers and mixes.
I have one Over the Rhine song on a Paste sampler, and liked it. It is one of those groups that I keep wanting to explore. Which album would be the best starting point?
I have read your blog posts on Pedro and others, but still have not really listened to him. If I am to start, where should I go?
I am a long time fan of Spoon (especially after seeing them live), Doves (Doh-vays), and Badly Draw Boy. The Decemberists are great-very literate songs, almost little novellas. Iron and Wine is still growing on me-maybe I'll get there.
Except for the occasional odd song, I can't quite get into Death Cab for Cutie and need someone to explain the appeal of Bright Eyes (although I like wonderig whether his head will finally pop off during 'A Perfect Sonnet.')
u.b.u.b...your comment brought back great ACL memories. Didn't see the Doh-veys, I mean Doves. ;) (As I recall Bucky's friend and I were staying cool and being tourists!!)
coldplay is..nice, death cab is brilliant!!!
BDB is solid, good songwriting, nothing too out there, but very well done.
Keane (is that who you meant?) just bored me.
I'm probably not the best person to advise you on Over the Rhine. I think Zalm is a bigger fan than I am. That said, the first OTR album I listened to was Amateur Shortwave Radio, which is a collection of odds and ends put together when the band was between labels. Because of that, it has a nice mixtape feel and might be a good starting point. There's a lot of variety, but the songs are still top notch. I don't have Drunkard's Prayer or Ohio, but I've heard from a lot of people that they are excellent.
With Pedro the Lion, you can probably feel safe starting with It's Hard to Find a Friend, Control or Achilles Heel. It's Hard to Find a Friend is the band's first full length. There has been a lot of growth since then, both musically and lyrically. But it's still a good introduction. The songs are a little more low key and frontman David Bazan is just starting to ask the kinds of questions that make a lot of Christians uncomfortable. Control is a concept album that covers a lot of territory: a marriage that is falling apart, American consumer culture, the hypocrisy of the church, etc. It's much more of a rock and roll record. It's also very bleak. The songwriting, particularly the lyrics, are top notch here. This is my favorite PTL record. Achilles Heel is a little more spotty than Control but it's still very good. There are a lot of amazing songs here. There's a little more variety musically here than on probably any other PTL record. Still lots of murder and broken relationships and other dark material.
If you're looking to listen to a few songs for free, visit here for some Over the Rhine songs. For some Pedro songs, check here, here or here.
Hope that helps.
Actually, the only OtR album I have is Drunkard's Prayer, so while I can't vouch for anything else, this album is intimate, spare, and lovely.
Which New Pornographer's track have you been listening to, Streak? Twin Cinema was pretty solid, but I particularly liked "The Bleeding Heart Show" and "Star Bodies."
My favorite three tracks from The Decemberists' album this year were "16 Military Wives," "Of Angels and Angles," and "The Mariner's Revenge Song."
And as much as I liked the Iron & Wine/Calexico disc, Woman King is much, much stronger. It's only five songs, but aside from Sufjan's, I can't think of another album this year whose top five songs could compete with this EP. Maybe Andrew Bird's. Maybe.
Oh, and u.b.u.b. - I'm not a big Bright Eyes fan either, but I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning really surprised me this year. Try "Land Locked Blues" and see if you might be willing to give Mr. Oberst another try.
Zalm, the NP song I have is actually "Bleeding Heart Show" and it is a great song. Thanks for the Iron & Wine suggestion. I will check out that EP. I am enjoying the Calexico collaboration.
This is good for me. I love music (obviously) but can get caught in a rut of listening to the same old, same old. I need to be stretched.
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