Category Archives: Tunes

Best of August

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The best movie I saw in August would have to be the ONLY movie I saw in August which is ridiculous and pathetic but that’s something for a different post, eh? Yeah, so anyway, that’d be Wall-E, which was fine but animation isn’t really my thing.

The best book I read in August was The Likeness by Tana French. It’s somewhat of a sequel but you don’t really need to have read the earlier book to enjoy it; different main character.

The best gig I went to in August was Great Lake Swimmers.

My favorite tunes in August were the songs that wound up on my current favorite playlists.

Random personal highlights: (Only) one day at Lollapalooza (this time around); Silvia came to Chicago two weekends in a row! Woot!; Hot Doug’s with Cinnamon. I actually went to KIP twice, if you can even believe that. And then there was this little thing I went to called Dragon*Con (which also encompassed a week long trip to Georgia to crash the Happy Pants home).

Lowlights? I don’t know, looking back it seems like it was a fairly decent month. Maybe bursting into uncontrollable tears about 15 minutes after meeting my crush? Fun times (poor Carrie and Cat).

In Concert: Great Lake Swimmers

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I’ve been waiting a long long time to see this band. As I may have mentioned.

What can I say, a month later when I realize I never wrote this up? They’re Canadian. They’re in that whole current vein of mountain-y lookin’ men (Sea Wolf, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver); except that unlike those bands most of the singing is done by just the one dude. (And they have more albums out, been around a bit longer.) Their songs are lush and dark and deep and layered. And lovely. Did I mention lovely? 🙂

I thought the crowd was a bit more idiotic than normal; I would make such a great bouncer as I would escort people out for yelling stupid things and being morons and talking too fucking loud during quiet songs. Perhaps that shall be my next career (if you haven’t heard, I may be on the lookout for one).

They sounded gorgeous. I’d go see them again in a heartbeat.

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…

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Eating: Complete crap. If it has a gajillion calories and absolutely no nutritional value, then I’m eatin it.

Making: Nothing really. Not right this second anyway.

Reading: “Sway” by Robert Lazar, a fictionalized account of the convergence of the Rolling Stones and Charles Manson. Just started today. Good so far. Kinda dreamy/druggy.

Watching: Just a few days into the week and I’m way behind (I was out of town! Get off my back, man!). Have only watched this week’s episodes of Gossip Girl (I love Vanessa and Nate together!!) and Fringe (I like this show more than anyone else. But it’s pure Pacey love); DVR also has latest eps of Terminator, The Closer, two eps of The Cleaner, and I think there was something else also to catch up on. Uh oh. Really need to go see Tropic Thunder THIS WEEK. Can I manage it?

Listening to: Band of Horses. I hadn’t listened to them in awhile and they were SO FUCKING GOOD at Monolith this weekend. Ethereal and spooky and yet rocking.

Pondering the Monolith Lineup

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Here’s what I’m interested in seeing this weekend, and obviously I am going to have some tough time-slot decisions to make! Uh oh! You KNOW how I am about making decisions!

Saturday
2 – Port O’Brien
2 – Foals
2:30 – The Morning Benders
2:45 – KaiserCartel
4:30 – Cut Copy
5:10 – Liam Finn (going to him in Oct, could skip)
5:45 – The Fratellis (I’ve seen them, could skip)
7:15 – Vampire Weekend
8:45 – Silversun Pickups
9:45 – Atmosphere

Sunday
4:15 – The Avett Brothers (!!!)
6:30 – Chester French (!!!)
6:30 – The Kills (just saw them at Lolla, will probly skip)
7:15 – Band of Horses
8:00 – Akron/Family
8:30 – Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip (since I’ve seen them at a great venue already, maybe I’ll just go late?)

There are lots of other bands playing that I could technically have on my ‘try to see’ list (CSS, TV on the Radio, Sharon Jones, etc.) but I’m trying to remember that I am old and tired and be a bit less ambitious.

Fighting the end of summer like a toddler you’re trying to put down for a nap.

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Pick yourself up a copy of Shwayze because this is summer lovin’ music of the best kind.* Windows rolled down, sand between your toes, cruisin’, stereo cranked. Totally ridiculous rhymin’ lyrics (“Light ‘er up, light light light ‘er up, like it’s 1985 and we’re high as fuck”), bouncy bouncy beats. This would also be perfect rollerskating music.
Just so you know.

Reminds me of what is probably my all-time favorite summer* song “More Bounce in California” by Soul Kid #1.

It’s true what they say: sometimes a girl just wants to have fun.

*Or it is TO ME which is all I am concerned with isn’t it.

You say it’s urgent, so urgent. So urgent, just you wait and see, how urgent our love can be. It’s urgent.

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Songs I have listened to this afternoon include:

  • “Dream On” Aerosmith
  • “Janie’s Got a Gun” Aerosmith
  • “Beth” KISS
  • “Tom Sawyer” RUSH
  • “I Want to Know What Love Is” Foreigner
  • “Juke Box Hero” Foreigner
  • “Back in Black” AC/DC
  • “Hell’s Bells” AC/DC
  • “You Shook Me All Night Long” AC/DC

As well as the song in the title. Apparently I am stuck in another decade this afternoon. These are all selections from my “Late Night Cruise on Lake Shore Drive” playlist. You should have one.

You play tricks on my mind. You’re everywhere but you’re so hard to find.

My Awesome Dragon*Con Mixes

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What would you give me for a copy of these? Wanna trade?

FAST:

  1. “I Woke Up Today” Port O’Brien
  2. “My Party” Chester French
  3. “California Girls” The Magnetic Fields
  4. “I’m Amazed” My Morning Jacket
  5. “Baby Doll” The Fratellis
  6. “Lollipop” Lil Wayne
  7. “The Underdog” Spoon
  8. “She’s Not Me” Madonna
  9. “Sea Monuments” Sea Wolf
  10. “Backwards Walk” Frightened Rabbit
  11. “Lost!” Coldplay
  12. “The Guns of Camden Town” The New York Fund
  13. “One Girl Revolution” Saving Jane
  14. “Mrs. Officer” Lil Wayne
  15. “So Haunted” Cut Copy
  16. “Gamma Ray” Beck
  17. “Circles ‘Round the Moon” Nana Grizol
  18. “Too Drunk to Dream” The Magnetic Fields”

SLOW:

  1. “If It’s the Beaches” The Avett Brothers
  2. “The Ground that We Stand On” Hawskley Workman
  3. “Heers” Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
  4. “U and Me” Trina
  5. “For the Birds” Earlimart
  6. “He Doesn’t Know Why” Fleet Foxes
  7. “Slow Me Down” Joseph Arthur
  8. “Hologram” Katie Herzig
  9. “Alright, Okay” Ryan Auffenberg
  10. “On My Mind” Romantica
  11. “Walls” Beck
  12. “Soldier Boy” Mason Jennings
  13. “Smokin’ from Shootin’ ” My Morning Jacket
  14. “Time for Yourself” Earlimart
  15. “Mother and Child Reunion” (cover) The Morning Benders
  16. “Rat Within the Grain” (b-side) Damien Rice
  17. “New Soul” (cover) Yael Naim
  18. “Home” Meg Hutchinson
  19. “The Last Thing on Your Mind” Lights

I make good mix. It’s true.

July Album Reviews

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Weird month. Loved a LOT. Liked one album I would have been willing to bet money I wouldn’t like and didn’t like one I would have assumed I’d be more interested in listening to. Weird.

Absolutely Love & Adore:

My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges” – Not just my favorite album in August, but my #1 album of the year so far. It’s sexy and funky and sassy and smooth. Love it! Favorite song is “I’m Amazed” followed by “Librarian” (great lyrics) and “Smokin’ from Shootin” (love the chorus). Only one song I tend to fast forward past and that’s “Remnants”.

Earlimart “Hymn and Her” – So pretty. Really cool boy/girl interactions, harmonies, lyrics. Faves: “For the Birds”, “Time for Yourself” (great rhythm), “Town Where You Belong.”

Cut Copy “In Ghost Colors” – Dance, dance, baby. I read a great quote somewhere (dang, lost the link) describing them as a “non ironic Joy Division.” They also remind me of earli(er) Madonna (“Lights & Music” particularly). Really fun. Favorite songs are “So Haunted”, “Out There on the Ice” and the opener “Feel the Love” to which I always yell “YES!!” when it comes on.

Drive-By Truckers “The Dirty South” – OK, I KNOW, I am only four years late to the party on this one. Bygones! I first listened to Jason Isbell last summer, went to see him this spring, and decided I needed to backtrack and find out what Drive-By Truckers were all about. It was recommended I start here. Yay! Love it. Very much an album of Southern rock storytelling. Gritty tales of (often) misfortune. Favorites are “The Day John Henry Died”, “The Sands of Iwo Jima”, “Puttin’ People on the Moon” and “Puttin’ People on the Moon”.

Beck “Modern Guilt” – Love it. Really great. His albums are all such individuals, it’s hard to compare, but “Sea Change” is probably its closest comparison among his previous albums. That said, I actually find this significantly less melancholy than that one. Faves are “Gamma Ray” and “Walls”.

Nana Grizol “Love It Love It” – I think of these dudes as a slightly happier, slightly poppier, and less “harsh” on the guitars version of Okkervil River. But I am likely the only person on the planet who describes them (or any band) that way. Love the horn arrangements. Love “Circles ‘Round the Moon” (yay!) and “Voice Echo Down The Halls…” Only song I skip is (oddly) the last one. Woot. Lots of fun.

Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):

  • “Photograph” Eagle Seagull
  • “On My Mind” Romantica
  • “Wreck” The Bittersweets
  • “Murder in the City” The Avett Brothers
  • “Give Em Hell” Hearts of Palm (love the lyrics)
  • “She Does” Locksley
  • “Black Ghost/Black Girl” Starling Electric (90s feel)
  • Mother & Child Reunion” (cover!) The Morning Benders (LOVELOVELOVE)
  • “Word Up” Willis

Other Albums I Liked:

  • Mason Jennings “In the Ever” – Love “Fighter Girl.” Love “Your New Man”. Also “Soldier Boy”. But find it a bit uneven as a whole. Don’t like “Memphis, Tennessee”. Don’t dig the semi religious/Jenny Lewis-type overtones at times.
  • Ryan Auffenberg “Marigolds” – Been singing along to “Alright, Okay” all summer long. Really love “Undercover”. Also “Deep Water” is nice. Not polished throughout, seems to still be working things out. Has a Ryan Adams/Rhett Miller vibe at times (yes those are two very different people. Work it out.).
  • Coldplay “Viva la Vida” – If the world stops turning, I’ll have to take the blame, as it, you and I should all be in shock that I actually like this album. I’ve told you before [more than once] I’m not a Coldplay fan. You don’t want to get me started on Chris Martin and masking tape on his fingers. But someone sent me this album and damn if I don’t quite enjoy most of it. Hate the song “42” (HATE) but really like “Lost” and even the two radio releases “Viva la Vida” and “Strawberry Swing”. Also like “Yes” but mostly because it doesn’t sound at all like Coldplay, ha ha ha.

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:

The Hold Steady “Stay Positive” – Loved their first album, liked their second, didn’t care for the third. Now this one is OK but I just don’t find myself making much time for it. Have kinda lost my moment with this band. Have seen them live quite a few times. Always a really entertaining show. But generally I find myself less excited than in the past. This album: unusual instrumentation for them, some crazy harpsichord-sounding action. Tends to have more “singing” than they’ve done in the past (particularly “Lord, I’m Discouraged”) / less just Craig Finn ranting. But tunes like “One for the Cutters” just make me ask “how many times in one song can you say ‘townie’?” (Turns out a lot.) However, if you are a big HS fan, I think this is a solid album that’s exploring some new ground.

Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:

None! 🙂