100 Knives - Mirah
A Long December - Counting Crows
Just Apathy - Tally Hall
Dark Matter - Andrew Bird
Tallymarks - Thao Nguyen
Someday You Will Be Loved - Death Cab for Cutie
Natural Anthem - The Postal Service
1 2 3 4 - Feist
Toes - Norah Jones
Absolutely Nothing - Lily Allen
Get on the Ball - No Doubt
If You Find Yourself Caught in Love - Belle and Sebastian
The Henney Buggy Band - Sufjan Stevens
No More Long Years - Matt & Kim
Post Soothing Out - Art Brut
A Million Ways - OK Go
Symbol in My Driveway - Jack Johnson
Academia - Sia
I'm Wrong About Everything - John Wesley Harding
What is Hip? - Tower of Power
A Postcard to Nina - Jens Lekman
On the Radio - Regina Spektor
You're the Reason I'm Leaving - Franz Ferdinand
The Only One I Know - Mark Ronson ft. Robbie Williams
The Luxury of Loneliness - Her Space Holiday
Pictures of Success - Rilo Kiley
Metal Heart - Cat Power
Showing posts with label Sufjan Stevens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sufjan Stevens. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
"Why bugs?"
Last night I went to see Mirah perform "Share This Place" at Southpaw in Brooklyn. This, her most recent album, is a collection of songs based on the lives of various insects. A series of accompanying stop-motion videos were projected on the adjacent wall of the venue. The crowd's response was lukewarm- everyone appreciated being there and hearing Mirah's beautiful voice, but was hoping for more of her older music. Adding to the already tense atmosphere - "You look confused. Do I need to explain what's going on?" - was some asshole standing next to me that shouted "Gone Sugaring!" between every song.
Mirah was vocal in her disappointment, telling the audience (in a manner that was partly self-deprecating and partly serious) that she had hoped people would have bought the CD (released in August) and memorized the lyrics by this point. Unfortunately, most of Mirah's fans, including myself, have little desire to sing along to the life cycle of insects.
Community - Mirah
In its corresponding audio/visual style, the performance reminded me of Sufjan Steven's "The BQE: A Cinematic Suite", which I saw at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 2nd. However, Sufjan went right where Mirah went wrong. Even though "The BQE" is a composition with no vocals, the audience felt emotionally connected to the piece. Not only did most of the Brooklyn-area crowd understand the concept (who hasn't experienced the beauty and horror of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway?), but Sufjan deeply understood it as well. It was evident in the background research (the audience was given pamphlets full of essays and reflections gathered during the filming and composition of the suite) and in the compelling nature of the performance. Mirah, on the other hand, could not even answer the question "Why bugs?". The lyrics of her songs relate the insects' struggles and successes to human nature, but the songs draw on little human emotion and thus fall flat.
The BQE Movement 3 - Sufjan Stevens
It was a nice show to watch, but I'm not running to the store to buy the album. On the plus side, the opening band, Les Chauds Lapins, was great. They played French songs from the 20s 30s and 40s, oo la la. Give them a listen on the track below- it's actually rather catchy.
Presque Oui - Les Chauds Lapins
Mirah was vocal in her disappointment, telling the audience (in a manner that was partly self-deprecating and partly serious) that she had hoped people would have bought the CD (released in August) and memorized the lyrics by this point. Unfortunately, most of Mirah's fans, including myself, have little desire to sing along to the life cycle of insects.
In its corresponding audio/visual style, the performance reminded me of Sufjan Steven's "The BQE: A Cinematic Suite", which I saw at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 2nd. However, Sufjan went right where Mirah went wrong. Even though "The BQE" is a composition with no vocals, the audience felt emotionally connected to the piece. Not only did most of the Brooklyn-area crowd understand the concept (who hasn't experienced the beauty and horror of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway?), but Sufjan deeply understood it as well. It was evident in the background research (the audience was given pamphlets full of essays and reflections gathered during the filming and composition of the suite) and in the compelling nature of the performance. Mirah, on the other hand, could not even answer the question "Why bugs?". The lyrics of her songs relate the insects' struggles and successes to human nature, but the songs draw on little human emotion and thus fall flat.
It was a nice show to watch, but I'm not running to the store to buy the album. On the plus side, the opening band, Les Chauds Lapins, was great. They played French songs from the 20s 30s and 40s, oo la la. Give them a listen on the track below- it's actually rather catchy.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
RIGHT NOW
Before I get back to shows I’ve seen and reviews I’ve promised to write, I wanted to throw up a few mp3s that I am listening to RIGHT NOW. As in, look at my last.fm page, you skeptical son of a bitch, I am not lying to you.
Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig – Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman is my new love. No, not like-like. LOVE. I stupidly decided to listen to him for the first time the day after he played a show in Philly which I very stupidly did not attend. I will be kicking myself for this until I get to see him live. Although, I heard from a friend that the recent show he saw was solo acoustic, and thus nowhere near as awesome as his albums. Anyway, Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig (Swedish for “maybe I’m in love with you”) is jingly and fun and bouncy and I enjoy it very much. And who can’t love a song with the lyrics “the best way to touch your heart is to make an ass of myself”?
Plasticities – Andrew Bird
A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left – Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is another one that’s been sitting in my itunes for ages, and I’ve finally given him a listen. Again, I am so glad I did. He fills the void in my life for a male vocalist with less instrumentation than Sufjan Stevens, more edge than Jack Johnson, slightly less whine than Jesse Harris, and a mild enough listen that it can be background music if I so desire.
D.A.N.C.E. – Justice
Okay, so I’m way late on this one, but this song owns. Come on, it’s about Michael Jackson- and with a children’s choir?! Try not to dance. You fail.
Ayo Technology Remix – Tugboat
Tugboat, the one man 8 bit band, is Jesse Novak. J-Nov is also $mart Geniu$ (nothing short of ridiculous) and the musical mastermind behind Olde English Comedy. I can’t stop listening to his remix of Ayo Technology, which ironically sounds much better over Nintendo noise. Someone start playing this at parties.
Unfulfilled promises coming soon. Promise.
Jens Lekman is my new love. No, not like-like. LOVE. I stupidly decided to listen to him for the first time the day after he played a show in Philly which I very stupidly did not attend. I will be kicking myself for this until I get to see him live. Although, I heard from a friend that the recent show he saw was solo acoustic, and thus nowhere near as awesome as his albums. Anyway, Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig (Swedish for “maybe I’m in love with you”) is jingly and fun and bouncy and I enjoy it very much. And who can’t love a song with the lyrics “the best way to touch your heart is to make an ass of myself”?
Andrew Bird is another one that’s been sitting in my itunes for ages, and I’ve finally given him a listen. Again, I am so glad I did. He fills the void in my life for a male vocalist with less instrumentation than Sufjan Stevens, more edge than Jack Johnson, slightly less whine than Jesse Harris, and a mild enough listen that it can be background music if I so desire.
Okay, so I’m way late on this one, but this song owns. Come on, it’s about Michael Jackson- and with a children’s choir?! Try not to dance. You fail.
Tugboat, the one man 8 bit band, is Jesse Novak. J-Nov is also $mart Geniu$ (nothing short of ridiculous) and the musical mastermind behind Olde English Comedy. I can’t stop listening to his remix of Ayo Technology, which ironically sounds much better over Nintendo noise. Someone start playing this at parties.
Unfulfilled promises coming soon. Promise.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Song so Sufjan
Driving home tonight, I was playing The Avalanche by Sufjan Stevens- a full CD of "outtakes and extras" from Come On Feel The Illinoise. After listening to "Chicago: Multiple Personality Disorder", I heard a song start that I had never heard before. Now, I'm sure I must have heard this song at least once when playing the album, but I had never actually listened, if I did make it that far.
This song is so Sufjan that I've never even heard it before. It starts off quietly and clearly, like many of the songs in which he sings alone with his banjo. Then, extra voice parts are added in, slowly obscuring the lyrics (They Are Night Zombies, anyone?). Finally, what kind of a Sufjan Stevens song would this be without a final wild crescendo into irrelevant brass and cymbals? And that grating, annoying, wish-it-weren't-in-the-song-but-after-a-while-you'll-get-attached-to-it feedback is so, so Sufjan. The solo piano bit at the end is a song-saver, bringing the piece back down to earth after its typical overdone finale.
An excerpt of the oh-so-Sufjan lyrics:
here in this house in Pittsfield
the ghost of our grandmother works at the sewing machine post
hiding the bills in the kitchen on the floor
and my sister lost her best friend in the Persian Gulf War
there was a flood in the bathroom last May
and you kicked at the pipes when it rattled
oh the river it made
Pittsfield - Sufjan Stevens
Coming soon on Broken Loveseats!
Lily Allen: How are all her covers so damn adorable?
Sufjan's Chicago Revisits: If notes were fists, which version would win in a fight, and could the acoustic version put up more than a girly slap?
This song is so Sufjan that I've never even heard it before. It starts off quietly and clearly, like many of the songs in which he sings alone with his banjo. Then, extra voice parts are added in, slowly obscuring the lyrics (They Are Night Zombies, anyone?). Finally, what kind of a Sufjan Stevens song would this be without a final wild crescendo into irrelevant brass and cymbals? And that grating, annoying, wish-it-weren't-in-the-song-but-after-a-while-you'll-get-attached-to-it feedback is so, so Sufjan. The solo piano bit at the end is a song-saver, bringing the piece back down to earth after its typical overdone finale.
An excerpt of the oh-so-Sufjan lyrics:
here in this house in Pittsfield
the ghost of our grandmother works at the sewing machine post
hiding the bills in the kitchen on the floor
and my sister lost her best friend in the Persian Gulf War
there was a flood in the bathroom last May
and you kicked at the pipes when it rattled
oh the river it made
Coming soon on Broken Loveseats!
Lily Allen: How are all her covers so damn adorable?
Sufjan's Chicago Revisits: If notes were fists, which version would win in a fight, and could the acoustic version put up more than a girly slap?
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