"Song For Zula" ~ Phosphorescent

So I just discovered this band thanks to another band (Efterklang).  This track is phenomal - simple, chill, and on repeat most of the evening.  Give it a go:

This track is the first single from an upcoming album.  If you check the band's label's website (Dead Oceans), you can snag a couple downloads - different tracks, though.  And if you dig a bit deeper on the site, you can find a little treasure trove of more free tracks from artists such as The Tallest Man On Earth, Gauntlet Hair, and several others I haven't listened to yet but will be checking out in the near future.

"Now my feet are gold, and my heart is white

And we race out on the desert plains all night

See honey, I am not some broken thing

I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee..."

1-27-12 - "January Wedding" ~ The Avett Brothers

With a few performances on TV lately and word that their new album is fast approaching, I've been getting excited about The Avett Brothers again lately.  I've waxed eloquent on several previous occasions about the boys, and even posted a song with a month in the title before.  So I'll spare you the rehash of all that, and present you with this sweet, simple love song:


(live)

(album)

"And I was sick with heartache

And she was sick like Audrey Hepburn when I met her...

…no longer does it matter what circumstances we were born in

She knows which birds are singin' 

And the names of the trees where they're performin' in the mornin'…"

12-31-11 - "Snake Hill" ~ Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

If you thought Conor Oberst was the only lyrical master in this group, prepare to think again.  This track was written and sung by fellow MVB guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth, and it's a doozy.  Feels like a good one to close out the year, too, for some reason.


It's easy to imagine that the song is about self-destructive tendencies in general, but also quite plausible that the "poison" is the passion of love when it goes awry.  I think there's more than that on Hollingsworth's mind here, though.  The lines about being born with the poison in his body sound to me like the realization that all mankind has some evil inside, even the best of us.  No matter how hard we try, we hurt the ones we love and those around us time and again.  The challenge of each of our lives is to minimize the occasions where we harm those we care about, and maximize our efforts to heal the wounds we create.


But hey, it's open to interpretation, as are all songs.  I definitely empathize with the emotions in this one, and that's why I wanted to share the song with you all.  I hope you enjoy it, and have enjoyed experiencing a wide variety of great music over the past year.  See you in 2012!

(shout out to Jake for hooking me up with this album, and for coining the nickname "Snake Hill" for our residence after having numerous close encounters of the slithering kind whilst mowing the lawn last year...)


"And it was only self defense

but I coiled up and I bit

I let my venom run into her veins..."

12-23-11 - "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" ~ The Decemberists

Oh, you know, it's December, so a Decemberists song seems fitting.  As usual, the lyrics are a tapestry, woven into allegories with likely deep and significant meaning... but I'm not going to try to break this one down for you.  Songmeanings.net has some interesting efforts at deconstruction in the comments... check it out, if you're so inclined.

This one is somewhat reflective and somber, recalling love's labours lost, or something like that...

"And I recall in spring

the perfume that the air would bring

to the indolent town..."

11-6-11 - "Stranded" ~ Plumb

I listened to some older stuff on my iPod whilst doing some yard work today, and stumbled across this old favorite.  Plumb has spanned several genres over the years, but back in 1999, she was putting out melancholy alt-rock tunes like this one.  The meaning isn't hard to deduce; mourning over a love lost and wondering if it could be regained...

"If it's coming over you

like it's coming over me

I'm crashing like a tidal wave

that drags me out to sea…"

10-15-11 - "Sometime Around Midnight" ~ The Airborne Toxic Event

Another one from the West Coast airwaves.  These guys have a band name that, on first hearing it, will likely have you thinking "some sucky emo band" or "...hmm..."  Apparently the name is derived from a book - I'll have to read it someday, perhaps.  But I dig the song, even if the band name is strange.  I think they were gonna call themselves "The Beatles", but found out that one was already taken...

The drummer rocks a legit mustache in the video; in one shot he looks like Seth Avett.  They also have a chick who plays viola, always a nice touch. It seems like the song is about having the wounds of a relationship re-opened.  And the video has some interesting cinematography... 

"And the piano is this melancholy soundtrack to her smile"

10-3-11 - "Star Witness" ~ Neko Case

Once again, WYEP on the drive home comes through with a song that just caught my ear.  I'd heard of Neko Case before, primarily as part of The New Pornographers, but hadn't heard much of her solo stuff, and certainly not this moving track.


It's said to be about a shooting, and with or without that context, it gets me thinking...

And here's a pretty cool live version:

"rolling off in a crooked line

to the chainlink lots where the redials dive…"

9-25-11 - "The Great Estates" ~ Freelance Whales

This track is a swell album closer.  It brings the themes of "Weathervanes" together, and just has the right feel for it.  My opinion of the debut album by Freelance Whales is that it's pretty neat, and I recommend you check it out; especially if you like this track or "Generator^First Floor" which kicks off the album and which I posted a while back.

"I used to shout to find my way

the water find my distant memory failed..."

8-3-11 - "Perth" ~ Bon Iver

In honor of several of my friends who trekked to various locales over the past few days to catch Bon Iver in concert, here's the epic leadoff track from the recent self-titled release.  I wasn't able to make one of the shows, but NPR did the world a solid by streaming last night's DC show live and leaving it up for us schmucks who missed it to catch later.  Definitely worth your time, some evening when you can just sit back and soak it in.


The song features rolling percussion, reminiscent of a drum corps from the Civil War, muted horns creating a surreal sensation, and of course, Justin Vernon's soaring falsetto.  Lyrically, it's pretty cryptic, yet beautiful.  Vernon said in a recent interview that the song was inspired by the happenstance of working with a close friend of Heath Ledger's when the actor died, and the town from which Ledger had come.  The emotions of loss and the conceptualizing of a town form the foundation for the rest of this amazing album...

"in a mother, out a moth
furling forests for the soft
gotta know been led aloft..."
_______________________________


EDIT 8-6-11: my friend Jake, who attended the DC show on Monday, posted a video of this song from the show!  Check it out on Youtube (embedding not so much working right now)

7-31-11 - "Goodbye, Dear Friend" ~ Deer Tick

I don't believe I have ever listened to a Deer Tick song before today.  Not for any particular reason, just hadn't ever gotten around to it.  But today a friend posted this one on facebook, so I listened, and it gripped me immediately.  It's a pretty straightforward song, musically simple with just a piano and vocals.  The emotions of losing a dear friend are eloquently expressed in the lyrics and the way they are sung.  We may not all have lost a friend like this, but we can all empathize on some level...

"Some boys won't shed a tear
Oh, but I tell it like this here
It can break medown and get me where it hurts the most..."

7-27-11 - "The Freshmen" ~ The Verve Pipe

I heard this one on the radio on my commute home today; it's from the high school years but I think I listened to it a lot more during college...


It's a beautiful song, especially the way the emotions drip from the vocals.  It's not entirely clear exactly what happened, but it's pretty clear that someone died - either suicide or abortion, or perhaps both.  Tragedy often leads to powerful expression in art; we all have experienced some form of tragedy in life, and it's easy to relate when hearing someone lay their heart and soul bare like this.

"We've tried to wash our hands of all this
we never talk of our lacking relationships
and how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our heads on the floor 
we fell through the ice when we tried not to slip..."

6-27-11 - "Samson" ~ Regina Spektor

Here's a pretty awesome song, with beautiful piano and lyrics that are deep and layered.  It's a departure from the other Regina Spektor songs I've posted earlier this year, but it's an example of her range and talent - she can do upbeat poppy songs, and then bring you to tears with a tune like this.

I don't know exactly what this one is about.  According to the internets, it was inspired by a friend who was battling cancer ("not much hair left on his head..."), but it also has some obvious Biblical references and themes of love.  I think it's intentionally weaving all of these concepts together, and leaving some room for interpretation...

"Beneath the stars came falling on our heads
But they're just old light, they're just old light..."

6-16-11 - "One Headlight" ~ The Wallflowers

It's late and I'm super tired, so you'll be spared in-depth commentary on this one, although I think the lyrics merit some attention.  And hey, I just learned that the lead singer of The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan, is Bob Dylan's son.  How about that.


Have yourself some good old 90s alt-rock:

"I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn 
The long broken arm of human law ..."

6-15-11 - "False Creek Change" ~ Said The Whale

Here's a song about the loss of innocence.  A town grows up, a boy grows up there, and he's looking back at memories of his childhood and mourning the way the special elements of the neighborhood he remembers were gradually erased by industry and the expansion of the city.  The first part of the song refers to the 1986 World's Fair, which catalyzed the transformation.


When I was in Vancouver last year, I drove through this area, and it's easy to see that while some of the unique and charming stores and parks still exist, they're lost in the hustle and bustle now.  Kind of a wistful commentary about the sacrifices made in the name of "progress".

Live acoustic session for those so inclined:

"I've watched the walls of Yaletown

growing up over my mountain view
My old horizon under the clouds
I'll be sad when I'm thinking of you
I'll be sad when I'm thinking of you..."

6-4-11 - "Broken Bride: Part 1" ~ Ludo

This is a song about love lost.  It's also about time travel.  It's pretty awesome, in that strange, kinda nerdy way... what would you do if you lost the love of your life?  What if you could somehow go back and prevent it?  What if you spend 15 years building a time machine, but then something went horribly wrong and you ended up in prehistoric times?  Pretty much what's going on here... it's part of a concept album which tells more of the story, if you're interested.

So yeah, this one's a bit silly, but I think it's a fun song despite the depressing aspect of the lyrics...

"I crashed before the birth of Christ, pterodactyls swarming..."

5-22-11 - "I'm Asking Her To Stay" ~ Sherwood

Sherwood is lots of fun.  Here's one about how too much California is never a good thing.  OK, that's not really what it's about... it's about a girl.

"And I've been spending too much time in California
Where your feelings change but seasons never do
And in my dream last night I felt a storm was coming
But awoke to sunny skies of baby blue..."

5-19-11 - "Another New World" ~ Josh Ritter

I'm hitting the road, first good long trip in a while.  Pittsburgh to Vermont, solo, just me and the yellow lines and some great music (like the fresh albums I scored yesterday).  I'm quite ready for some time for introspection and reflection, so the drive time will be perfect.  Planned stops include Lake Placid - site of the Miracle On Ice, Magic Hat Brewery in Burlington, and probably Ben & Jerry's too.  


But you don't care about that, you care about the song.  This one's about a journey, so it's fitting for the day my trip kicks off.  Pretty potent lyrics; I'm quoting the beginning below to not spoil the later parts of the ballad.  It's haunting, both lyrically and musically... probably influenced by Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" (apparently the last poem he wrote...)  Here you go, some good ol' Josh Ritter:

"The leading lights of the age all wondered among themselves what I would do next,
After all that I'd found, in my circles around the world, was there anything left?
'Gentlemen,' I said, 'I've studied the maps, and if what I am thinking is right,
There's another new world, at the top of the world, for whoever can break through the ice,'

I looked 'round the room, in that way I once had, and I saw that they wanted belief,
So I said, 'All I've got are my guts and my God,' then I paused, 'and the Annabel Lee.'"

5-10-11 "Rivers And Roads" ~ The Head And The Heart

Once again, mi hermano comes through with a sweet, sweet song for me to use here.  This one is just full of beautiful harmonies.  It's about the transience of life and relationships, and dealing with separation from family and close friends.


Video version is probably my favorite, featuring just the voices and a guitar, and shot in a tunnel which makes for some incredible acoustical effects... album version linked below for contrast / for those who want to hear a little more instrumentation and a more polished recording.

"Rivers And Roads" (Album Version)


"nothing is as it has been
and i miss your face like hell
and i guess it's just as well
but i miss your face like hell..."

5-8-11 - "Lost!" ~ Coldplay

This is one of my favorite Coldplay songs.  The lyrics are intriguing and pack a punch, the beat drives the song, and the music just rocks.  There's also an acoustic version floating around out there (second video - somebody made a fan video set to it) that I just discovered and love as well... just the piano and Chris Martin's vocals, which allows the emotion to shine through and provides for a dirty piano interlude.  Which, of course, is one of my favorite things in life.

"You might be a big fish
In a little pond
Doesn't mean you've won
'Cause a long may come
A bigger one..."

4-14-11 - "Blood" ~ The Middle East

Found this one by Facebook stalking... by which I mean, my buddy Dustin posted it on my buddy Andy's page, and it came up in my feed, and knowing that these two buddies have exquisite taste in music, I had to check it out.  It's a beautiful and haunting tale of three generations of a family and the various tribulations and heartbreaks they face.

"and you'll find somebody you can blame,
and you'll follow the creek that runs out into the sea,
and you'll find the peace of the Lord..."