December 18, 2008
Some music to listen to while our global economy slowly crumbles
I'm ready to get through all these end of year album shenanigans so I can move on to posts that people will enjoy. Here are numbers 5-10. Take notes because I will not repeat myself.
5. Blitzen Trapper: Furr
I really like Blitzen Trapper's first album even though it was a wildly uneven romp through three or four desperate genres (folk, messy indie-rock, country ballads, backwoods vamping...) but with Furr, they have managed to craft a slightly more cohesive whole; their country inflected rock now comes with clever metaphors for coming of age (the title track) and 54% less cartoon-like southern accents.
4. The Avett Brothers: The Gleam EP (parts I & II)
Some of you know that I am a huge fan of the North Carolina-based Avett Brothers, and it's probably a given that I was going to put them on the list, especially when they release two EP's that add up to one of their finest full length efforts to date. The Avetts have two volumes: very loud, and very quiet, and these songs fall on the very quiet side. Have a listen and cry:
3. The Tallest Man on Earth: Shallow Grave
The Tallest Man on Earth is a Swedish guy who sounds vaguely like Bob Dylan and has a firm grasp of how to finger pick the hell out of a guitar (or banjo). I'm amazed at the depth of his songwriting. CHECK IT:
2. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
It seems like this CD came out last year (it might have only been released officially in 2008) but it has been a huge part of my rotation since then. As the story goes, Justin Vernon absconded himself to a wintry cabin in Wisconsin and emerged months later with this album. Heartbreaking and intimate, Emma continually defies any attemps I make at labeling it.
1. Crystal Castles: S/T
I came to the conclusion that this was my favorite album of the year based on the amount of time I spent listening to it. Seriously, itunes tells me that I've listened to every single track an astonishing amount of times. Take my word for it, even if you don't really like electronic music (which I don't), you will love this album.
Crystal Castles are a male female duo that produce some extraordinarily intense music with the help of some deft vocal sampling and the unrestrained insanity of the female vocalist Alice Glass (who is at once terrifyingly repulsive and incredibly attractive):
I'll include two tracks from these guys so as to highlight their sheer amazingness. TAKE THIS:
5. Blitzen Trapper: Furr
I really like Blitzen Trapper's first album even though it was a wildly uneven romp through three or four desperate genres (folk, messy indie-rock, country ballads, backwoods vamping...) but with Furr, they have managed to craft a slightly more cohesive whole; their country inflected rock now comes with clever metaphors for coming of age (the title track) and 54% less cartoon-like southern accents.
4. The Avett Brothers: The Gleam EP (parts I & II)
Some of you know that I am a huge fan of the North Carolina-based Avett Brothers, and it's probably a given that I was going to put them on the list, especially when they release two EP's that add up to one of their finest full length efforts to date. The Avetts have two volumes: very loud, and very quiet, and these songs fall on the very quiet side. Have a listen and cry:
3. The Tallest Man on Earth: Shallow Grave
The Tallest Man on Earth is a Swedish guy who sounds vaguely like Bob Dylan and has a firm grasp of how to finger pick the hell out of a guitar (or banjo). I'm amazed at the depth of his songwriting. CHECK IT:
2. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
It seems like this CD came out last year (it might have only been released officially in 2008) but it has been a huge part of my rotation since then. As the story goes, Justin Vernon absconded himself to a wintry cabin in Wisconsin and emerged months later with this album. Heartbreaking and intimate, Emma continually defies any attemps I make at labeling it.
1. Crystal Castles: S/T
I came to the conclusion that this was my favorite album of the year based on the amount of time I spent listening to it. Seriously, itunes tells me that I've listened to every single track an astonishing amount of times. Take my word for it, even if you don't really like electronic music (which I don't), you will love this album.
Crystal Castles are a male female duo that produce some extraordinarily intense music with the help of some deft vocal sampling and the unrestrained insanity of the female vocalist Alice Glass (who is at once terrifyingly repulsive and incredibly attractive):
I'll include two tracks from these guys so as to highlight their sheer amazingness. TAKE THIS:
Labels: year-end listening rock
December 7, 2008
6. Dodos: Visiter
Dodos are yet another folk/indie/cooler-than-you type band that has jumped on the pitchfork love train this year. The difference here is that: a) they are actually good, and b) their drummer is amazing. The theme for all the buzz bands this year seems to have been African sounding drums (see: Vampire Weekend) and Dodos do not disappoint given their unorthodox approach to rhythm. Check it:
Labels: year-end listening rock
December 3, 2008
7. Fleet Foxes: (self titled)
Hey, more indie folk! Brace yourselves though, because there are still a few more like this to come.
Anyways, what separates Fleet Foxes from the teeming hordes of Devendra Banhart listening, patchouli oil smelling, organic farmer's market visiting pseudo-hippies are their incredibly detailed vocal arrangements and tight harmonies. I had the chance to see them open for Wilco this summer and they sang like angels—dirty, unwashed angels.
The Foxes aren't just one trick ponies however; they mine the whole spectrum of Americana, from gospel to old-time music. The track I posted has a sort of "Beach Boys stranded in the Ozarks and forced to sing for their inbred hillbilly captors" vibe that I really enjoy.
Labels: year-end listening rock
November 30, 2008
8. Girl Talk: Feed the Animals
Girl Talk is a dude named Greg Gillis who makes what you could call "mash-up" music, but instead of taking two songs and combining them, he takes a more wide-screen view of pop music and crafts epic, 40 minute dance tracks consisting of samples from hundreds of different songs. There are different tracks on the CD, but for practical purposes the disc is a continual mix consisting of 10-15 second selections of various artifacts from the pop universe, each one becoming either hilarious or awesome (or both) due to the extreme re-contextualization Gillis applies. I could go on about how I think Girl Talk is music's answer to Andy Warhol, but I must impress on you that this music is insanely fun to listen to. I put this on in my headphones at work when I need to get stuff done and you can probably hear my foot tapping three cubicles over. Check out this track where he matches up Metallica and Lil' Mama in a way that is somehow more awesome than I would have imagined.
Labels: year-end listening rock
November 25, 2008
9. Horse Feathers: House With No Home
In House With No Home, Horse Feathers has managed to combine two of my major musical fetishes: backwoodsy Gothic-folk like Iron and Wine and multi-part string arrangements a la "Eleanor Rigby." That they manage to do this without sounding precious or like Bob Dylan clones is pretty amazing. Right now I am seeing a growing number of bands with roughly this same aesthetic and I absolutely love it. If you like this, there is a band called Breathe Owl Breathe that sounds similar, only with more banjo. Check out the track below, which is so good that the rest of the album could suck and I would still put it in my top ten (the rest of the album is great though).
Labels: year-end listening rock
November 22, 2008
Like last year, I'm going to list my favorite albums of 2008. This time I'll do one album per post since I don't think anyone appreciates marathon blog posts (especially ones about music you've never heard of nor care about). As an added bonus, I'll include a track from the album for you to sample.
This week it's number ten:
10. Human Highway: Moody Motorcycle
Human Highway make some kind of sunny, 70's AM radio sounding music and I like it. The songs on this album range from light and playful (like the track below) to melancholy and the hooks are pretty outstanding, which makes sense because one of the guys in the band is a commercial jingle writer. Although I don't consider this album great, it does serve as a great road trip soundtrack and so I award it spot number ten.
Labels: music, year-end listening rock
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
