"Elias" ~ Dispatch

Given my recent track record, and in the interest of more music and less of my ramblings, I'm going to try and post at least every other day, even if it means limited to no commentary.  As such, here's a track off of Dispatch's first release, "Silent Steeples".  The song has powerful roots, which you can learn about in the video below; if it interests you, you can also check out the band's charity, The Elias Fund, which was started to help a man in Zimbabwe provide education for his sons.

"Distance is short when your hand carries what your eye found..."

"All Sense Of Time" ~ David Wax Museum

David Wax Museum are coming back to Pittsburgh to play Club Cafe on Feb 2., a show for which I'm pretty excited.  This might be my favorite track from last year's release, "Knock Knock Get Up"... but it's a fantastic album, so that's a tough call.

I love that David sings most of the song in the low end of his register.  It's a dynamic you don't hear often, and it sets the track apart while drawing focus to the lyrics.

There isn't a lot of web presence for the song, but you can listen through the band's site, and/or check out this concert recording from last fall:

I find the lyrics to be quite powerful, so here they are in their entirety, taken straight from the band's website:

"How beautiful when it rains

You can hear the nighttime sing

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

But I’m still somewhere in between 

Remember half the world

Sets out while half returns

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

The sun has set but still it burns 

Look and see how everything

Dissolves and becomes one

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

The whole night moves in unison 

May we lose all sense of time

May we be patient as a stone

All the time we’re given

Is given to us on loan"

1-10-13 - "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More" ~ The Walker Brothers

Oh, just a little ditty from a band about which I recently heard someone say, "They were almost as big as The Beatles back in the '60s..."  Apparently, this American trio took the UK by storm, and (if the internet speaks truth) at one time their fan club was bigger than that of the Fab Four.  Their counterattack to the British Invasion makes for quite the tale of intrigue... hit up Wikipedia if you're looking for more details.

The song has that classic feel, and if you're dealing with a breakup or just wishing you had someone special, this one's definitely for you.

"Loneliness is the cloak you wear
a deep shade of blue is always there
the sun ain't gonna shine any more..."

1-8-12 - "Old Friend" ~ Sea Wolf

I'd talk about how it's been so long and I plan to post more frequently, but nobody wants to read that.  Here's a pretty chill song I'd heard before; caught it on World Cafe tonight driving home from work and it just hit me tonight.

 

Live-ish video:

Oh, by the way, BAM.  Free download, courtesy of Diffuser.fm.  If nothing else, I Google things for you!

"Stood upon the rooftop on a night so clear
that the lights from the city just disappeared..."

11-19-12 - "Everybody But Me" ~ Lykke Li

Yet another artist that came into my spheres thanks to mi hermano.  Fantastic little ditty about being antisocial and just a bit awkward at parties... or maybe it's a metaphor...?  At any rate, this Swede just might rival another one we've discussed previously on this blog...

There are several versions floating around the intarwebs, but here's the first one I heard, which is a little bit stripped down compared to the second version:

"I get the creeps from all the people in here
I cannot breathe, it's too crowded in here
don't look at me, I don't wanna be seen

touched, heard, bothered..."

11-13-12 - "We Are 1980" ~ Said The Whale

Friends, I'm incredibly excited.  One of my favorite bands (OF ALL TIME), Said The Whale, are coming back to Pittsburgh tomorrow!  As in Wednesday, November 14, at Howler's.  You should probably be there, unless you have a really good excuse, because it's going to be a blast.

My pals over at Draw Us Lines were kind enough to post my big wet sloppy kiss of an article raving about the band; have a read if you like.

It's always tough to pick just one song to feature when I like a band this much, but since it seems I've gone with STW's more folksy / sentimental tunes (like such as The Light Is You, Black Day In December, and False Creek Change) in the past, and they've released a brand new album this year that I've yet to mention here, I'd go with one of the pop/rock leaning new tunes, and the leadoff from April's "Little Mountain" fits the bill:

(by the way, the band made music videos - and not weak, lame ones - for all 15 tracks from the album.  You can find them on saidthewhale.com)

Methinks you'll find some intriguing and thought-provoking social commentary here...

"We’ve got Mandarax and loveless sex 

And information passing right through our skin and bones..."

Back?

You guys.  I've been a terrible blogger.  It's been a crazy summer.  You probably forgot this page even existed.  But I'm going to try and make it up to you.  Might mean posts with very little of my ramblings, maybe even just song links.  But here's to a fresh start.