Category Archives: Tunes

Curiosity Levels Increase.

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It’s when the coincidental mentions start to build up that I start to get interested. Reading the Q&A w/ Sufjan Stevens in the current Rolling Stone (issue 1016/1017), under “what is he listening to now” he mentions Midlake “The Trials of Van Occupanther.” Midlake, Midlake, I think to myself, haven’t I heard that name recently? Sure enough, a search of Snip (a snip search!) finds it’s an album that was discussed in Paste Magazine issue #23 and there’s a song on the sampler CD. A song I really like…

Hmmmmm, seems I may have to do some further (listening) research into this band…

Paste Culture Club 12/5 edition

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More than half of this podcast is dedicated to one band, and I really (REALLY) liked them! Definitely going to have to check iTunes for this album when I get home tonight! They’re called Guggenheim Grotto. They’re on the acoustic/folk-y side of pop. They’re Irish. They’re livelier than, say, their fellow countryman Damien Rice. A bit more cheery, Beatles-y in both the lyrics and the mood department. Their album came out in 2005 abroad but just this Fall here. The MP3s you can listen to on their site are different songs than the one on the podcast so you can really get a wellrounded feel for them before you’ve even bought the album. And they’re apparently playing NY on Jan 30 and Feb 3, but unfortunately that does not fit into “possible weekends I can leave town”.

Damien Jurado and Rosie Thomas appear in the last bit of the podcast. Fun conversations / Sufjan comes up quite a bit.

OK, I made my list.

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And if you are so inclined you can go read what was my favorite music of 2006. I actually almost copped out of making a list this year…until I obsessively began reading everyone else’s and then it was a lost cause/three-day project going through my iTunes monthly playlists and really figuring out what I actually listened to versus what I bought. Fun, fun. Feel free to email me and recommend stuff I apparently didn’t listen to (or maybe I did and didn’t like it, and then I’ll tell you that); when it comes to music, I can (apparently) never get enough…

Despite its absence on the list, I must point out Sufjan’s Christmas box set has been by far the most listened to music this month… But considering that much of it is rerelease and not fresh, it didn’t really seem to have a place in the overall scheme of the list.

If you’re like me, and what you want are Christmas CAROLS as opposed to Christmas SONGS (Rudolph, Frosty, etc.) then this set is for you. Love it.

Best Tunes of 2006

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I haven’t really thought about this yet, but LargeHearted Boy has an amazingly comprehensive set of links to various lists if you feel like perusing.

I can tell you one album I see on a lot of lists that will not be on mine: TV on the Radio “Return to Cookie Mountain”. It was darkroom-tested and rejected. Not a cohesive album. No songs that jumped out and said “PLAY ME AGAIN!” which is really the ultimate test.

CD Stocking Stuffer: I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness.

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I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness – 5-song eponymous EP. Bonus points for great band name.

They put out a full album in March, but this is a good way to try them out. Price is right! 🙂
I saw them recommended for people who like Bloc Party – so you’ve got to wonder why I bought it

(I found Bloc Party fun at first, but monotonous after a few listens). Think it’s a bit quieter/darker/more sensitive than BP. Try it.

Anticipating January 23 Releases.

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Must Buy: The Shins “Wincing the Night Away” – Extra points for sassy album name.

Under Consideration: Of Montreal “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” – Points off for ridiculous album name.

Memphis Liner Notes.

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This came wrapped around my copy of “A Good Day Sailing” and I love it:

This record is a five-track EP by a group called Memphis. But they aren’t really a group, more of an idea or a thought you might have when you’re at work watching the rain fall and wondering what you might have been. No forget that. That’s not Memphis; Memphis is a place, a kind of haze, a southern place maybe but not the city itself, somewhere further south where you are a stranger and the evenings are endless. No, that’s romance. That’s a lie. Memphis is music to fall asleep to and to wake up to and to break up to. Memphis is music for the masses though you’re one of the few who will ever read this. Memphis is me and my friend Chris who I love and it’s an attempt to reflect beauty back into the world, and it’s a pop song. Memphis is a pop song…or two.

In Concert: Peter Mulvey and Chris Smither.

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Went to see a couple of goofball male folk singers with Amanda the other night. Both have really deep husky voices Both are extremely talented guitar players. Both poked fun both in song and in banter at the current administration. Very enjoyable!

Amanda has a big crush on Mulvey and I have to say the man did have a very chiseled jaw bone and a very subtle sleepy sexiness. Like old Clooney before he got the ego to match.

Smither’s song “Origin of Species” had some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard:
God said “I’ll make some DNA, they’ll use it any way they want
From paramecium right up to man
They’ll have sex, and mix up sections of their code; they’ll have mutations
The whole thing works like clockwork over time
I’ll just sit back in the shade while everyone gets laid
That’s what I call intelligent design…

Rachael, I think you’d like both of these guys.