Here's to a Life of Song

Wasn’t sold the first time I heard an LCD Soundsystem album. I didn’t really like This is Happening. It just didn’t seem worth the hype, but maybe it’ll grow on me during some later revisiting. At a friend’s suggestion I downloaded Sound of Silver to give them another chance. After all, I really enjoyed the interview with James Murphy on NPR so I figured because I like his ideas about music, I must like his music. Sound of Silver was a good suggestion to uncover this link. It’s a grower in a different way by starting out enjoyable and sure to only get better with more listens and time. He does get a bit post-punky for me at times, but that’s just a personal preference and I totally get the big draw for others. Though I don’t really get this whole “No feeling it” rule.

Well, I’ll take that as a no. Eh, whatever. Out into the ether then!

No one posts Bright Eyes anymore. So let’s take it back to the great lyricist himself on one of my top ten influential albums of all time. Seriously, if you (whoever you may be that would read this) haven’t listened to Lifted, do… Just skip over “Lover I Don’t Have to Love”. The songwriting, the lyrics, the recording styles, the haircut, the voice. It all had so much influence on me. Yes, it’s still pretty emo. Yet, it’s so honest. Classic.

This song will always remind me of fall. Specifically, one Sunday where Mandy and I went to Clyde’s Cider Mill in Mystic and got cider and donuts. New England does it best. As for the song, it’s got that wonderful slightly complex rhythm to it that goes nicely with the overall Dylan-esque treatment. The build is nice too (especially with the horns).

On an unrelated note, do people still read/listen to these posts or am I sending vibes into dead web territory (besides erik)?

And nothing will be broken if your house is made of stone.
But you know, as I do, it will never be a home.

We want it, they got it.
They claim we’ll die without it,
But something tells me they are wrong.

So what will you do when they call your name, and you’re not ready to go?
Everyone will stare at you and tell you what you know.
‘That you’re in too deep and you can’t quite keep your secrets, one and all.’
We might just make it after all, on our own. We might just make it after all.
But we had one foot on the gas and one foot in the grave
Everyone was laughing when we said we had it made.

A fond farewell to R.E.M.

Back in the good old days of the short lived Dew Art Gallery I went to see Quiet Life and Strand of Oaks play for the second time in the wonderful back room. Tim of Strand played a beautiful and raw set as always and immediately after came another beautiful folk group called Drew Victor & We Are the Beautiful (a post for a later date). Drew’s band was made up of friends from other bands like Quiet Life, Widower, and A Locomotive. The show’s headliner was to be the last on that list and Tim had told the audience that he was excited to hear this band because he had heard such great things. Finally, A Locomotive came on, again patched together from musicians of other bands, and we danced and danced and danced. I still remember this song playing as Tim, Meg, Jake, everyone else and I hootenanied the night away on those plywood floorboards and in between those bright orange walls.

Nothing particularly special musically

but sentimental as fuck.

God I want to dance.

I was born on Flag Day. The album is called Born On Flag Day.

A cover I just recorded of one of my favorite songs of all time (“The Fall”) by a guy name Red Hunter who plays under the moniker Peter and the Wolf sometimes. The real original is really hard to find but there are a bunch of other versions out there (like a really cool one he does on an two-string instrument called the tuvan igil). Regardless, I’m really happy with the way the recording came out. I hope you enjoy it too.

New AJJ is everything you’d expect it to be and that’s just a-ok with me. Angry, funny, and poignant. It’s always surprising to me how they can make punk sound so refreshing with the simple formula. They own their sound. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. 

Something nice and simple for fall.