Beauty and Bombast

Bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Do Make Say Think and newly discovered local band, Caspian,  appeal to me on many different levels.  Music like this is like a metaphor for life to me...they build you up, knock you down, build you up again and then make you explode.  I find music like this incredibly emotional and incredibly beautiful.  I wasn't entirely into these sort of bands earlier in life but really got into them during season one of "Friday Night Lights", which featured music from Explosions in the Sky prominently.  The music was spot on for those big moments when the Smash scored a touchdown or when the Dillon Panthers won a game.  Honestly, it was that first season of FNL that made me fall in love with these kinds of bands.

I recently came across Caspian via Pandora and have been listening to their album "The Four Trees" non-stop. From the opener "Moksha" through the closer "Reprise" it's one hell of an auditory experience, melding beauty and bombast straight through the entire album.  "Moksha" is the standout track for me as well as "Our Breath In Winter".  I highly recommend a listen to this as well as anything from the above mentioned bands...you won't be disappointed.  Hell if its good enough for the Dillon Panthers, East Dillon Lions and Coach Eric Taylor, it's good enough for me.

Kaputt

Yeah, so I got a job back in September which really has left me with very little time to update my blog (not really).  I've just been preoccupied with other things to really sit down and fuss with this again.  I'm going to try to make a genuine effort to update this more often from here on out. 

So lets start with what I've been listening to over and over again lately.  Destroyer.  His new album "Kaputt" is absolutely amazing..I was hooked from the opener "Chinatown".  The album has been called corny, cheesy, yachty...I think its all three but in a fascinating wonderful way.  Lots of synths and sax throughout and oddball lyrics.  Makes for a good listen to my ears.  My standout track "Song For America", which i've heard described as "end of the party we're still dancing and its 3am".  Make what you will of that, but give this album a listen, you won't be disappointed.

S. Carey - "All We Grow"

You may know Sean Carey as the drummer for Bon Iver or you may not know him at all.  His debut album "All We Grow" came out on 8-24 and its been a regular on my ipod since.  It's a fantastic debut and something that will continue to get regular plays from me this fall.  It makes another wonderful companion piece for Autumn.  Carey is opening for the Tallest Man on Earth this fall, be sure to check them out.  Check out these two tracks.

S. Carey - In the Stream


S. Carey - We Fell


"All We Grow" available on Itunes now. 

Love Language and Sufjan

Haven't blogged in a bit, been recovering from the sausage retreat. I'm back today with a short post about two songs I've been loving a lot lately.  First up we have "Pedals" from the Love Language off of their new album "Libraries".  The lyrics get me everytime, especially the end with "lay you down in my chest".  Take a listen.

Second, we have Sufjan Stevens and "Heirloom" off his surprise "All Delighted People" ep.  Haven't given the ep a complete listen but "Heirloom" is wonderful.



All in all two great listens and one short post.  Enjoy.

Mountain Man

Autumn is right around the corner.  Time for sweaters, jeans, fireplaces, pumpkins and Octoberfest beer.  I've recently discovered a wonderful band called Mountain Man, which could turn out to be my soundtrack for the fall.  Mountain Man are Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Randall Meath, based out of Bennington, Vt.  They remind me of the music from "O'Brother Where Art Thou?" and I describe it as hauntingly beautiful.  Take a listen of a few tracks from their debut album "Made the Harbour" and decide for yourself.  Do yourself a favor and pour a Shipyard Pumpkinhead to get into the spirit. "Made the Harbour" available on the iTunes now.

Mountain Man - Animal


Mountain Man - Loon Song

Cee-Lo Green says "F-CK YOU!"

Check out the new track from Cee-Lo Greens upcoming album "The Ladykiller". Brilliant.

The Keys and the Dads.

 As many of my friends know, I've been a huge fan of the Black Keys since The Big Come Up. When people were getting into the White Stripes, I was getting into the Black Keys instead.  I discovered them on a whim one day and haven't looked back since.  I've seen them live a few times and the live experience is a blast, especially when you're fueled by nine to ten budweisers.  They have gotten quite a bit popular over the past few years and I'm quite happy for them.  Just don't let me catch any teenie boppers at their shows.

I got a link via Twitter yesterday in regards to this story on WKSU where  Pat and Dans' fathers discuss their sons success.  Its a great listen and great story.

Side note: I thought this was a picture of Pat and Dan in costume.

Here's also an old video to enjoy.

The Black Keys -Thickfreaknes - Live Conan O Brian
Uploaded by theleftieslive. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Lewis and his shirt

A couple weeks ago on Sirius XMU I came across Owen Pallett "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" from his album Heartland. It blew me away. Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto. He was formerly known as Final Fantasy (yes after the video game series). The song blew me away...especially the end. Why? Well if you see my last post you'll know why. I swear he's a dead ringer for Christopher Cross in the vocal department. Well at least at the end of the song. I'm yet to check out the album in it's entirety yet but I plan on doing so soon, its on my list. Enjoy.

Its not far down to paradise.

When I was a kid there was no one cooler when it came to musical tastes then my dad, he introduced me to the Beach Boys and Boston at a young age and they went on to become two of my favorite bands. When I was a bit older he started buying records religiously to play on his new turntable. He'd come home with some albums that I strictly loved because of the album covers. One I remember in particular was Christopher Cross' debut album. The one with the pink flamingo on it. The one with "Sailing" on it.

I remember when "Sailing" would come on in the car and I would voice my displeasure to my father or mother about it. Secretly I loved that song and I still do. I remember listening to the radio with my parents and acting like I hated every damn minute of Captain and Tenille, George Benson, England Dan & John Ford Coley and the legendary Gino Vannelli but really I loved every minute of those songs . All I need is my captains hat, white slacks and huarache sandals and I'm good to go. So without further ado I present to you my "songs your parents played in the car and you secretly loved" playlist:

Arcade Fire - Modern Man

So I've never been a fan of Arcade Fire ever. I always found them annoying and just really not my bag. I picked up "Suburbs" this week and again was not really digging it. I did however really like one song "Modern Man". What do you think?