I got some feedback saying that my links werent working, however, they've worked just fine when i've tried them on various computers. So, with that, i'll just quickly ask that if the links are, in fact, not working for more then one person, leave a comment. Let me know.

The Gentle Waves - "Falling From Grace"

When I first saw the movie "Pumpkin", the last song from the film was perpetually running through my head. It wasnt until accidently coming across the movie the other night that it dawned upon me to watch the credits all the way through in order to find out who performs this delicate and incredibly catchy melody. As it turns out (and as I had slightly suspected) the song "Falling From Grace" is by Isobel Campbell's older side project, The Gentle Waves. You could say that Campbell is best known as the vocalist/cellist for Belle and Sebastian, and also for the most recent album she did with Mark Lanegan. "Falling From Grace" maintains a delicate and exquisite string of echoes which slowly but not wholly reaches a sweet-tempered climax where the horns and strings elegantly furnish the song with such grace. You could say that it almost leaves you feeling a bit more refined.

Bell - "Moon River"

Now, I wont lie. Listening to this cover of "Moon River" makes me beam and smile that huge dopey expression that some of you might be lucky enough to know all too well. Although musician Olga Bell, is nothing but a mystery to me, I do know three things. She is from New York. She is very easy on the eyes. Her sound is keen and fresh, its a whole lot of charming and delightful and pleasing, plus a little bit of husky and forward. Wonderful.

After a long absence from the world of blogging im hoping to make an impressive recovery, and post much more now that I have endless hours of time on my hands.

Death Vessel - "Mandan Dink"


The first time I ever downloaded a Death Vessel song, I was uncertain, assuming it was going to blast me off into an unknown world of heavy metal acid rock from which I would quickly bounce back with bleeding ears and a new tendency to read books by their covers. Luckily, their music is just the opposite, it's highly bright, bighearted and wholesome. The group, led by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Joel Thibodeau, embraces a certain honky-tonk value that isnt spotted much in my world these days. "Mandan Dink" especially, encourages an incredibly catchy bounce which is repeated favorably throughout the song and each note drops refreshingly into what could be some sort of cowboy opera. I read somewhere that if you listen to Death Vessel, you wont ever have trouble making friends, which is something that im happy to pass on.

Emmy The Great - "Papertrails"

I think it might be my recent interest in Glastonbury that sparked a similar interest in the alternative diy locale there which sparked my interest in Emmy The Great. Also a member of London's anti-folk scene shes collaborated with artists such as Jeremy Warmsley and Helen White. And as said by Nothing But Green Lights, "The beautiful Emmy creates beautiful and simple stories of dreams, moves, birds, sewing needles and a ball of string". I obviously couldnt have said it better myself.

Nobody sings Mariah Carey better then Owen Pallett. Nobody does it better.

Owen Pallett - "Fantasy" (Mariah Carey cover)

My posting has been on pause for the past week or so due to a uncontrollable, delirious, sickening fever.

Lichtenstein - "Stalking Skills"

In 7th grade or so, I was an internet fanatic. I was constantly searching the web for videos, music, books, etc. I had a couple of friends who would occasionally join me in these idle hours so that I could somehow amuse myself with their reactions to what i'd found. This song renders a certain finding during my pre-teen web ventures. Once, I was absorbed in a short string of music videos playing on the yahoo music page. Most of the musicians I had previous experience with(Ladytron, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc.) and then Action Time distributed itself through my screen. Action time was a London based trash/punk band who put out one album, barely had a hit, made a music video and then fell off of the face of the planet. I watched the video constantly, but their obscurity left me defeated. I havent been able to find any Action Time since, but I did find this. Although this isnt exactly "trash/punk", but perhaps a softer, dream-like sound, parallel to the louder, rougher noise that comes from Action Time. I cant wait to play this in my car while driving around in the springtime.

CocoRosie - "Honey and Tar"

CocoRosie consists of Sierra and Bianca Casady, a few electronically manipulated childrens toys, a harp, a guitar, a piano and some percussion instruments. They grew up with their artist mother compulsively moving the girls across the country, while their father was deeply involved in shamanism and the peyote religion. They spent summers hiking from indian reservation to indian reservation, until their parents divorced when they were still young children. They girls were seperated for 10 years (Sierra ended up studying opera at the Paris Conservatory, while Bianca studied sociology and linguistics) before being reunited in Monmatre, where they began to record music in Sierra's small bathroom. "Honey and Tar" is a good example of CocoRosie's ghost-like vocals and slow backround harmonies. The songs repeatitive lullaby-esque meoldy is enchanting and is sweetly contrasted with debauched lyrics. They have a new album coming out on April 10th titled "The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn".

(R.I.P Anna Nicole Smith.)

These songs have been slumbering in my computer for far too long.

Tobias Hellkvist - "Step Aside" (Efterklang cover)

This acoustic adaptation of Efterklang's "Step Aside", is done by swedish 'electronist' Tobias Hellkvist, his sister Therese, and friend/alternative bandmate Helene Allvin. Im having a hard time distinguishing whether this song is a melancholy, mirthless anthem or if its a soft festive version of Efterklang's original composition. Either way this admirable recording is something i've been listening to on repeat all day, and will probably end up being the soundtrack to a charming dream tonight.

Au Revoir Simone - "Sad Song"

Au Revoir Simone is an all keyboard band based in Brooklyn, made up of three young women. The name comes from a secondary character in the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". "Sad Song" brings up a certain craze for summer. It makes me wish my knees were sufficient enough for bike riding, it makes me recall my certain inclination towards reckless nights and clumsy mornings. Its a tender distribution of angst and apprehension juxtaposed with a certain light-hearted and whimsical tune. The band is coming out with a new record this year called "The Bird of Music", it comes to the states on May 1st, so keep an eye out for it.

I've had this consistent habit of having at least two songs/musicians be completely representative and nostalgic to each year of my life since I was a small child. That said, i'd like to introduce you to the year of 2006.

Art Brut - "Nag Nag Nag Nag"

Coincidentally the term "Art Brut" literally means "Raw Art" or "Rough Art". However, that is not where the band got its name. Art Brut was the creation of five total strangers who met one another at an annual Arthur Brut convention. The five, being so intrigued by Arthur's work, decided to collaborate and form a band in pure tribute to the scientist. I'd say that the song "Nag Nag Nag Nag"'s greatest glory (aside from frontman Eddie Argos's blatant british accent, and catchy repetitive guitar melodies) is the climax at 2:02. Also, John Moore (of Black Box Recorder) played the musical saw on one of Art Brut's albums, and im pretty sure that just makes me love them even more.

A Hawk and A Hacksaw - "The Sparrow"

The best memory I have with A Hawk and A Hacksaw is sitting with a good friend in her vehicle in the middle of a college campus on the bible belt of New Mexico. Her and I made it a huge point to play this, what we could call klezmer music, as loud as possible from the car's stereo system. After a few amusing moments of noticing the passing students awkward responses to our overweening expression of sound, we settled down and found ourselves softly listening to the continuing songs with the windows down, watching cars drive by and slowly drifting off into an ambient mind state.

A Hawk and A Hacksaw will be playing at The College of Santa Fe on Febuary 8th, at 8:00 PM. I saw them play last Tuesday with Of Montreal, trust me, seeing them live is more then worth it.

This morning I woke up, stuffy and lightheaded, because unfortunately a horrible cold has momentarily taken over my physical being. As expected, when feeling like my head is floating 8 inches above the rest of my body, I began to make a "Boy am I sick" mix to play for myself as I spend the day in bed with a box of tissues and my parakeet. Immediately after I made the mix and burned the disc, I couldnt help but listen to only two tracks from it. I feel like these two songs go hand in hand, and one cant help but listen to them back to back. I also find them quite representative of my current mental state.

Sam Skarstad - "Ice Cave"

Sam Skarstad's "Ice Cave" begins with a slow, almost sea shanty-esque tune. Soon after it becomes a staggering and haunting song rendering what seems to be his fantasy transformation into ocean life. The lyrics read "I went out fishing, I wound up wet, covered with scales, swishing my fish tail, breathing in salt, giving up all my limbs". It then resolves into a descent of sounds, which remind me of the tide itself, leading us to a song of underwater traffic and melodies.

Shearwater - "White Water"

You might recognize Shearwater as the side project of Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg from Okkervil River. However, Shearwater's surging dynamics and elements of sound outstreach a feeling that I could only describe as pleasently heart-wrenching. Im going to let "White Water" speak for itself. Just try to let it surround you.

(This being my first post, feel free to leave comments and let me know whether links worked or not, i'll be happy to fix anything that has tragically gone wrong.)