Theresa.

This song has not left my consciousness (present or sub-) for the last few months. I find myself singing it much more often than I have found myself actually LISTENING to it. It is catchy, beautiful, and soulful, and was recorded in her KITCHEN! Pretty cool stuff. Enjoy, and buy the album on iTunes if you love it!

Theresa Andersson - "Birds Fly Away"

Dan

p.s. this is a re-post; I found this song on my favorite blog, Said the Gramophone.

things are well

we are writing and touring and mostly writing. this is the main reason i don't write on here much (at all). sorry about that. but i can tell you: this album will not disappoint, i guess unless you are really easily disappointed. but even then, i doubt it.

=)

-Dan

first time for everything.

ADMISSION: I am late to the Sigur Ros party. But here is a track from their new album, which has been called their "poppiest." Of course, each reviewer says, it's not as if Sigur Ros is a POP BAND. But you understand what they mean when you listen. There are a number of standout tracks, and here is just one of them...

Sigur Ros - Góðan Daginn

Here is where i might write out some of the lyrics, but this would be futile, unless you speak Icelandic. I don't.

Dan

apologies.

sorry to have been lacking on here. i really do love writing this thing, but we are writing the next album these days, and that process takes about 90% of my total available energy, especially of the writing/reading/listening variety.
dan

The Meteorite is the Source of the Light.

Joanna Newsom - "Emily"

This is what a Ballet would sound like if it were a song. A Ballet performed entirely on wires by trapeze artist dancers, on ten different wires, wearing pink, green, sky blue, their colors swirling together, and the backdrop for the performance changing every 2 minutes to day, then night, then day, then night. The first time you watch, you don't understand a whole lot; its colors are almost confusing and the organization is unclear. But you come back the next night and the next night and spend all your savings to come back every night and see this crazy colored mess, and each night you get a little more of the structure and the genius behind the pandemonium.

Give yourself some time; it's 12 minutes long, and worth your full attention.

Anyhow - I sat by your side, by the water
You taught me the names of the stars overhead that I wrote down in my ledger
Though all I knew of the rote universe were those pleiades loosed in december
I promised you I‘d set them to verse so I'd always remember

That the meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee -- buy on iTunes

-Dan

This will be sparse.

We have started writing as a band now for the next album, meaning that I am entering a very busy period. As a result, posts here will be less frequent, and for that I apologize. So here is a quick one before we head off to practice...

Sixteen Horsepower - "Brimstone Rock"

This is an old(ish), haunting country-indie gem. I was introduced to these guys in college by my roommate, a 30-year old fellow philosophy major, who at least once, although I think twice, was arrested for vandalism/drunkenness, and yet is one of the sweetest people I know.

One specific story is worth telling: in our town of San Luis Obispo, someone thought it artistic to have various artists make their own colorful versions of a 4-foot plaster fish, each of which was installed throughout the downtown area. Many of these were hideous, and in general we all kept wondering, "Why fish?" One night, my roommate and a cohort drunkenly removed one of these fish from the cement, and carried it halfway across downtown, abandoning it outside a bar. They were quickly (and easily) caught, and I remember him having to go to court, but I don't think he did any jail time...

Don't you dare, boy / Think my Lord hath done forgotten, no... -- buy on iTunes

-Dan

(insert clever title)

Someone once described Mod music as "White kids playing Black Soul, only faster." I love that description, and I love Mod music. Here are some tunes.

The Who - "Out In the Street"

This is the lesser-known first track off their first album, My Generation. Tonight some friends and I watched the VH1 tribute to The Who, which was actually quite inspiring. They had some amazing songs, and although this isn't generally thought of as one, it fits the Mod theme of tonight's post, and it kicks off this album with an energy unheard in 1965. -- buy

The Detroit Cobras - "Putty (In Your Hands)"

Simple. Straight-forward. You are enjoying it to a reasonable degree. But then at 1:01, what was that? Lead vocal perfection! Rumor has it that at the height of the Detroit Rock City craze (White Stripes, et al) these guys turned down multiple major label deals to continue to release indie records and play bars across the country. Whether stupid or genius, you gotta respect them, at least a little. -- buy

-Dan

Ratatat is still really good.

Ratatat - "Mirando"

Just picked this up a couple days ago, and I know this is of the songs that has circulated a lot, but it is the song that made me decide to go buy LP3 right away. Almost every single Ratatat song (maybe every single one?) has that "guitarmony" dueling solo thing, so you would think that maybe it would get a little old after awhile. It does not. -- buy on iTunes, or in a record store.

-Dan

Saturdays can be Spiritual, too.

I probably should have saved this entry for tomorrow, but I woke up this morning, having fallen asleep to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On last night, moving slowly and feeling love in my heart, life outside my window.

Marvin Gaye - "What's Happening Brother"

Far lesser-known that the successful title-track single, I have always liked it just a little bit more than "What's Going On." It's like WGO's little (what's happening) brother, and the chord changes/melody at "Say man, I just don't understand what's goin' on across this land" slays me every time. We get it again in the second verse, with a slightly different melody and what is probably the lyrical crux of the song: "And tell me friend, how in the world have you been?" This is not a song for a drunken late-night talk between old co-workers. This is coffee on Saturday morning, an old friend from years past. You love this friend, wish you would have seen them more often, can't believe how good it is to see them. "How in the world have you been?" -- buy

Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks"

I once read someone describe The National's newest album Boxer as "flawless." I thought this was a good description, fitting. There isn't a single guitar part, melody, lyric choice that I have ever felt was out-of-place or poorly selected. That album is one of my favorites of last year, perhaps my whole life. Astral Weeks is definitely NOT flawless; there are timing mistakes (lots), even missed notes. But it goes so far beyond flawless -- "flawless" means the absence of detracting points. Astral Weeks is so full of life that it is bursting, tearing, causing its players to occasionally speed up, causing Van to repeat his words more than he planned, but as a listener you forgive, you forgive, you forgive, and you say, "Thank you. It's OK. It's beautiful." (The album is only $5.99 on iTunes right now; I don't know if that is a limited time offer or what, but if you don't have it, you need to buy it right now. Right now.)

Ain't nothing but a stranger in this world
I'm nothing but a stranger in this world
I got a home on high
In another land
So far away
Way up in the heaven
In another time
In another place
Way up in the heaven
We are goin' up to heaven
We are goin' to heaven
In another time
In another place
In another time
In another place
In another face -- Buy this album! Best $6 you will ever spend.

Friday = Weekend = Excitement

Everyone knows what Friday feels like. You've already ordered the ice cream sundae, and you can see them finishing it up, dropping the crushed peanuts on top of the chocolate fudge. It is placed on the counter. They go to the long, silver microphone to call your number, but they needn't go through the effort. Your hands are on the tray; you are walking to your table, already enjoying the cold, tasty treat. It's Friday.

Queen - "Don't Stop Me Now"

Many people listen to really fast, or really heavy, or really masculine music when they want to get pumped up. But I don't know a single song that gets me more pumped than this one, in some ways opposite to conventional pump-up music: written and sung by a gay man (lyric: "I wanna make a supersonic man outta you!", over-the-top theatrical vocals, led by a piano rather than guitars. What does this say about me? Nothing really, other than that I am definitely "having a good time," and "I don't want to stop at all." -- buy

The Specials - "Pressure Drop"

This is a cover -- the original is by reggae group Toots & the Maytals. This version was featured on the soundtrack for the film Grosse Point Blank with John Cusack and Mini Driver, both of whom I love. This is just such a fun song, and for some reason I particularly love the Specials' take on it. I grew up on ska and punk in junior high, and ska will never completely leave me. It is also worth tracking down the Toots version; it can be found on the soundtrack for The Harder They Come.

-Dan

Weird Voice Wednesday.

Antony & the Johnsons - "Hope There's Someone"

My friend Thad has been trying to get me to listen to Antony & Co. for some time now. We have an admittedly dorky, but awesome tradition with each other, where we each buy one record for the other person once per month, something they haven't heard or listened to much. He almost bought me this album last month -- instead Cat Power's You Are Free, which is excellent -- but even without that tangible push, this group has made its way into my head and into my life. This song was in the film The Secret Life of Words, with Tim Robbins, which Jaffrey and I watched the other night. I recognized Antony's voice, fell in love with the song, and bought the record the very next day. His voice may strike you as odd, because honestly, it is. But there is some extra feeling in there, if you just let it show itself to you.

There's a ghost on the horizon
When I go to bed
How can I fall asleep at night
How will I rest my head -- buy

Nico - "I'll Keep It With Mine"

Some of you recognize this voice from her cover of "These Days", written by Jackson Browne (who was dating Nico at one point) and featured in the film The Royal Tennenbaums. Or, you may recognize it from her vocal performances on the first Velvet Underground album. But you may not know (or you may know) that she has a few albums, and this is from her first, Chelsea Girl. This song was written by Bob Dylan, and it's interesting to listen to the way Nico only barely copies his vocal style (listen at 1:42). Her deep, often stlighly out-of-tune singing shouldn't be so enjoyable, but it is.

I'm not loving you for what you are / But for what you're not. -- buy

-Dan

Change is difficult.

In a recent conversation with Chris Bradstreet, one of Sherwood's managers, he said that usually when he gets a band's new album, for the first few listens, he just wishes it was the old album, and fights the urge to just put on the familiar, loved songs. But after awhile, the new album becomes a part of him, and he can then love both.

I am experiencing this pretty big time right now with the new My Morning Jacket album, Evil Urges. I loved the previous album, Z, so much, and I keep wanting this new one to be a continuation of the previous album. But, as a recording artist myself, I know that I will never want to or attempt to make a new version of the same old thing. So how can I wish it on other artists? In honor of this dilemma, today's post will be a song from the new album, and then a song from the old album. If you have never heard either, perhaps you can decide which you like more. For those of us who loved Z, let's just hope we can learn to love Evil Urges as much, more, or almost as much.

My Morning Jacket - "Thank You Too" (from Evil Urges) -- buy

Oh, you really saw my naked heart / You really brought out the naked part

My Morning Jacket - "Anytime" (from Z) -- buy

I know we didn't, know we didn't wait too long / 'Cause anytime's a good time to move on

-Dan

p.s. it should also be noted that MMJ had three albums before these two, and are an amazing band with an amazing catalogue, so please don't stop here!

Stealing Bases

I have been reading the mp3 blog Said the Gramophone a lot lately, and I absolutely love it. So, without pretense, I am going to sort of copy it for the time being, and see how this works, and see if I am motivated to continually post. Perhaps I could find a couple people who would like to share posting duties? Perhaps not.

Copeland - "When You Thought You'd Never Stand Out"

This is the last track on their latest album, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat", which never got much of a push from its record labels. Labels? you ask. The story as I understand it is this, and it's sad: Copeland signed to Columbia within a couple months of the album being released on the Militia Group, and Columbia promised to take over and promote the record. As a result, Militia stopped promoting it, for obvious reasons (no financial reason to whatsoever), and as often is the case with major labels, Columbia dropped the ball (and probably half its employees). Unfortunately, then, this album has been under-appreciated. But I believe this song proves that they were at the top of their game. I hope their is a new album soon, and I have a feeling there may be...

In younger days / I'm stealing bases while my mother prays -- buy

The Smiths - "Ask"

As you will hear, the name of the blog comes from the first line of this song. I will admit to being a late-comer to this song. I actually heard it for the first time the other day on the radio in Seattle. I have been a big fan of The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways, Here We Come for a couple years now, but hadn't moved beyond those two albums until now. I can't stop listening to this song!

Shyness is nice, and shyness can stop you / From doing all the those things in life you'd like to -- buy

-Dan