Year in Lists

Okay if anyone is in suspense as to my list of best music and such for 2008, here goes. I was going to go with top ten, and really ten is kind of an arbitrary number, mostly I feel this way because I do not have a way to shrink my favorites down to 10. So here's some of my favorite albums of 2008, check 'em out (or don't...Not saying any of these are the best of music of 2008, just that these albums or bands seemed pleasing to me in some way).

Okay not too too particular in order.

1) Los Campesinos- Hold on Now, Youngsters...

Probably listened to this album more than anything else this year, infectious, punky at times, and with a general sense of cacophony and friendship, it was quite fun.

Year in Lists


2) I'm From Barcelona-Who Killed Harry Houdini?

Whats better than a 27 person band? Not much. A bit darker than their previous album(Let me Introduce my friends), but showing throughout that its okay to stay a kid, even its only in your heart.

3) Born Ruffians-Red, Yellow and Blue

Unconventional, and undeniably poppy. Recommended by my friend Chris, and wow the whole album is quite phenomenal.

I Need A Life


4) The Hold Steady-Stay Positive

Probably one of the more summery albums of the summer, maybe. It rocked and told a story, plus there was ample harpsichord(not sure what sort of requirement that is, but hey harpsichord is a harpsichord). If you did listen to this album this year, try out their other albums to get the full picture, the songs kind of loosely interweave into a story.

5) The Broken West-Now or Heaven

Jangly and well just great, good piano and lyrics. At one point this year I was sure that this was definitely the best album of the year, it still might be, but more than anything else I think it was just what I really needed right then.

6) Tokyo Police Club-Elephant Shell

I am still not sure what exactly sure what an elephant shell is..most likely a giant shell of an elephant like a snake skin, except big enough to hide in? Anyway I thought that this album was fairly amazing, I guess some people found it a bit boring, but I think it grows on you a bit quicker if you've listened to their first album, A lesson in Crime which is much faster and crazy.

Tessellate



7) Cloud Cult-Feel Good Ghosts

A lot earlier in the year this album came out, it was the first I had heard of Cloud Cult, and I guess its the last album they're putting out for awhile, so good thing they gave us something great before they left.

8) Mystery Jets-21

I think i explained Mystery Jets pretty well in my second post here

9) Cut Copy-In Ghost Colours

This year and the past couple have been surprisingly good for electronic dance music. I was intrigued at how full In Ghost Colours is, previously I had a feeling that it was going to only be highlighted by singles.

Hearts on Fire


10) The Break and Repair Method-Milk the Bee

The Break and Repair Method was a band that I got to review for the radio station at OU. Okay just really if you need any proof as to its coolness, it has a song with this name-

You Won't Be able to Be Sad


11) Crystal Castles-Crystal Castles

Another electronic dance album which was also quite good. Plus the name of the band is pretty awesome, for me it makes me think of a castle made of crystal hanging in the sky, or it could be just named after the video game.

12) Noah and the Whale-Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down

I was going to tell you guys about this album a lot earlier but it is very hard to embed their videos which are very well done. And I suppose I could have just put up a link, but somehow that's not the same to me, ah well. Noah and the Whale are an indie folk band which well its a bit dancey(okay very lite dancey but still) and the lyrics are top notch. Hope I'm still doing this in five years time, and we're all still friends.

5 Years time



13) Tom Gabel-Heart Burns

More of an solo EP, but a great fist-pumping anthemic album nonetheless. Not a huge change from his band Against Me!, in my opinion it doesn't matter, it was really good.

14) Plus/Minus-X's on Your Eyes

+/- anyone? The name sounds like it should be that of a math-rock band, its not. They're more straight indie rock, with slow startups leading to faster tempos and chaos when you least expect it.

15) Ben Folds-Way to Normal

I've listened to many of his albums, perhaps all of them, and I think that Way to Normal is one of the better ones. Its funny, poppy, and dancey I would say it was a success.

16) TV on the Radio-Dear Science

Really before I was not sure about TVotR but this album was more accessible than their last couple. I mean tell me you don't start dancing just a little to this.

Dancing Choose



17) Ra Ra Riot-The Rhumb Line

Not what I expected at all...in a good way. Though many times I feel that I should stop having expectations in general, when I'm against something, not always, but sometimes it turns out to be incredibly great. For example Harry Potter, I was really against it when the books first came out thinking that it was just another fad, but they were insanely good, so my bad there.

18) Nada Surf-Lucky

At first I was unsure, but with more listens, its quite the album. A bit deeper, a bit older, but still had songs you could sing along to, and some to rock out to.

okay just a few more..

19) Tilly and the Wall-O

Each copy of O came with a piece of custom artwork inspired by one of the songs on the album. That certainly made it worth buying, well plus the fact that the songs were all very good. And if you are uninformed Tilly and the Wall use tap dancing as percussion.

Pot Kettle Black


20) The Little Ones-Terry Tales and Fallen Gates

listen to a song from The little Ones and try to not smile. I bet you can't.

21) Bon Iver-For Emma, Forever Ago

You can really feel the winter in this album. Which is apparently what Bon Iver means in french I guess its a play on Bon hiver which means good winter.

22) PSAPP-The Camel's Back

Just got around to listening to them a few days ago, toytronica is pretty fun I've got to say.

Monster Song


Whew...wow that was a lot, maybe just 10 next year. Heh, but with my indecisiveness, probably not. So how bout a few books that I read this year that I thought were pretty cool? It's hard to find a top whatever of books actually written in the current year, but I'll just put up the ones that I read that were from any year that seemed to be good.

1) Handling Sin by Michael Malone

Handling Sin was a long book that got better with every page, it had a surprising amount of adventure and improbable situations that seemed like they could happen.

2) Kurt Vonnegut

I read quite a few Kurt Vonnegut books this year, here's some that I might start with(they are all very good in my opinion, but you're not me so you might hate them) Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, or The Siren's of Titan

3) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-Jonathan Safran Foer

Basically the story of a kid finding closure after his father's death, it is a powerful story. The boy is creative and resourceful and the story is realistic.

4)The Discworld Series-Terry Pratchett

I ended up reading quite a bit of the discworld series, each of them satirical and fantastical and quite good. I think they are also the reason that I am led to believe that disk can be spelled disc, or really can't it? bah whatever. hehe. recommended starting places-Going Postal, The Night Watch, Thud!, Colour of Magic.

5) The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko

I think I termed it the adult Harry Potter at one point, and perhaps its a bit hard to follow, but wow, its epic and has vampires, werewolves, wizards, and right now it probably sounds really unoriginal, but trust me its not.

okay I think that's all I have the energy for. Sorry if the writing is spotty at all. Apologies also if all the videos don't load correctly.

Happy New Year!

Started a Web-comic

A) if you are cool you should check out the awesome new blog that me and my friend Matt have started at Almost Artifactual. There's sure to be crazy adventures, or misadventures, some varying art styles possibly, mythical beasts(?), friends, enemies, and I should probably stop promising things that we may never pull through on, nah most of that will actually be there. B) An observation on the side, it seems as things slow down and more time is made for relaxation, less posts have been made by myself. Hmmm... Lets thoerize this for a moment, shall we? Could it be that a lack of activity leaves a greater lack of experiences and thereby no catalyst for posting new insights? Possibly, but I have had new experiences, maybe just nothing to say anything as of late. Or maybe creativity is partially caused by an influx of stress? Also could be, but I am inclined to disagree, though I could be wrong. Well this seems like a senseless thing to think over too long, really. Let's just say as for present that I am a hibernating bear, or more like a cat-napping bear in terms of productivity, but really should this be seen as something productive? Bah! who cares? I need to stop having these one-sided arguments in my posts, tis a bad habit(hopefully its also unintentionally amusing too). Hopefully I will be able to mesh together some sort of top ten for the year, that'd probably be a cool idea. That's something I will either try to do later tonight, or maybe this weekend...the year is not at an end as of yet.

Oh wow, I just found a couple They Might Be Giants videos that use Tiny Toons, its strange, but cool. I think they may have been aired on actual television back in the day, huh weird. Enjoy this one, I'll post the other one eventually.

They Might Be Giants
Istanbul(Not Constantinople)

Stardust

Last night I watched the movie Stardust. Wow, it was quite really good in my opinion. The movie plays out kind of like a fairy tale in a great way. It had all the things needed for a great movie; action, comedy, suspense, love. And it wasn't horribly predictable. The movie was adapted from a book of the same name by Neil Gaiman, a great storyteller. I probably have not done this justice in any way, but friends, you should watch this movie, it was pretty good.

Stardust Trailer


Also it seems I've been really behind in posts this month, and I do not know that I am going to catch up, only that I might try for some sort of year end list since that seems somewhat customary.

Just remembered

So I was doing something and then I remembered this video. The problem was that I could not remember the song or artist in conjunction with said video. Now that may seem like quite the problem, but I am resourceful. So using the magical powers of google I have found the video and in the process lost the catalyst that made me start the search, oh well. Basically the band, Bat For Lashes are pretty cool, they are kind of dark electronic maybe? well maybe not, you're probably thinking of something completely different right now for the sound, stop it, stop thinking of whatever you may be thinking about, that's not quite what it is, just watch the video and maybe I did have it right, maybe not, we shall see(greatest run on sentence). Also the video has people in animal costumes doing bmx tricks which reminds me a bit of Donnie Darko. The whole thing might have been more appropriate at Halloween, but I forgot. Should I save it for next year? Probably, but I'm not going to, so take that I guess.

Bat For Lashes
What's a Girl to Do?

Snow Flakes falling outside

The ground is greenish and small white snow flakes are meandering their way down to the ground. Are they sticking? No, not quite yet. Sometimes snow seems purposeful, like it has a mission to cover the ground in a certain amount of time. Right now it seems like its just there to swirl around and play in the air, to give the illusion of being in a great big snow globe. There's a furry dog curled upon the couch, the house kind of has that half light, it would be the perfect time for a nap if I were tired and had not awoken only 2 hours previously(its 1:07PM it always says something different when I post). And I feel really calm maybe serene, brain isn't itching for a crazy scheme for once but that's okay.

So take a breath and relax for a second.

Here's to hoping that if this were a snow globe it doesn't get shaken without abandon. Cause things are peaceful for the moment, but really that's all there are; moments.

I picked a Bright Eyes song. I wish I could write backwards, that'd be a cool skill. And furthermore I think Digital Ash in a Digital Urn was a good album.

Bright Eyes
Easy, Lucky, Free




PS Happy St. Nick's Day!

SSLYBY

The band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin garnered much praise for its debut album a few years ago. Across the interweb and outside it there were rave reviews for this new band and their album "Broom". Partially reviewers were just amazed at the size of the band's name, but mostly they really were just impressed. I would personally give that album after careful consideration maybe a 7/10. It rocked, it had hooks, but it just did not hit the mark.

Their new album that came out this year though "Pershing", it hit that mark and beyond. Consistently poppy, quirky and definitively replayable it creates an overall good feeling while listening. I generally liked it and thought I would give you guys an attempted actual review. So basically I thought it was pretty good, see what you think.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Think I wanna Die

Merry Thanksgiving

So I kind of feel as though I have not been posting often enough, but really some of you could be fine with this amount of output, I have no idea. Mostly I am just afraid that if I post every good video I know of, that I'll run out...and that might seem silly since music videos are constantly being made as new bands are being formed and records are put out so really my fears are baseless I suppose, but this way the blog will last longer.

Remember when you were a kid and you had to build those dioramas for class, probably history class, but honestly I can't remember what they were specifically for. They were kind of fun to make or maybe for your parents to make and it was as if a little scene was captured in motion. Now that I think about it I may have done the battle of the Alamo in diorama form capturing one imaginary point in the battle with shoebox, plastic figures in mid battle and a clay Alamo that I made. Now imagine if that diorama or your diorama had come to life when you were done constructing it? And furthermore what if it had started playing music? The Alamo I fashioned probably would have only started fighting, but I digress... Oh and this also reminds me of the book series The Indian in the Cupboard which was also made into a movie. Now after all this rambling some of you may be pumped for the craziest video you've ever seen, now I cannot promise that, but this is pretty cool and imaginative. So there.

Port O'Brien
I Woke Up Today

The Decemberists!

Those of you who know me somewhat well know that I love the Decemberists. Probably one of my favorite bands. Soon they will be coming out with a brand new album, which is exciting. Here is one of the first songs I heard by them. I dedicate this post to anyone who likes to read or is or was in Model United Nations. If you were not in Model U.N., well I am going to say that this is exactly how conferences went down at least 9/10 times.

The Decemberists
Sixteen Military Wives




Man I miss MUN...

Ra Ra Riot

Seemed to have forgotten part of the purpose of this blog for a bit there. Not only to show you guys good music but also new music that you may not have heard of. There's been about maybe 5-6 bands lately that have really been good, so why not share them with you. Sadly I am probably going to do them about one post at a time, so be patient, and yes most likely I will get sidetracked. So first there's Ra Ra Riot, who well their sound is not as riotous as I was expecting, but its really good. And I could do a huge synopsis of their sound and such, but it would be easier for you to just listen. Also this video coincidentally goes along with the seasons pretty well.

Ra Ra Riot
Dying is Fine

Autumn

Finals week is upon me which means tons of studying, from which a quick break is required. It was snowing today, and I loved it. Big flakes in the morning, a pause and a blizzard of smaller bullets of snow later. None has stuck so far, but it still felt good to see it coming down with a scattered few red and orange leaves still hanging amongst the tree boughs. Matt Pond PA is one of my favorite bands, and this track too. "Light is leaving and its hard to breath, buried in this pile of leaves". It just conveys the season so well. The video..well at first I didn't like it, but it really does kind of fit, its got that ethereal feel of autumn. Most people like summer best, or perhaps that's generalizing, Fall and Winter are definitely my favorites. They're just more serene times.

So Much Trouble
Matt Pond PA

Blustery, windy day

Here in the Hundred Acre Forest, 'tis a blustery windy day. Winnie the Pooh anyone? That's what it seems like outside. So I have been racking my brain trying to think of something to go along with the weather and mood. Possibly that video or song that conveys the need to get by a fire and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate. I feel like I have seen the perfect one, but I am having a hard time finding it. Okay I will not let you guys down, although I am about ready to give up. After a break to see the Dark Knight, which ended up not happening since it was too crowded and having an adventure, it hit me.

Burning Down the House
Talking Heads

enjoy and stay warm!

It's Veteran's Day

Few things to cover. A) that weird week of summer weather is gone, it is now freezing and almost to wintery standards. B) Sorry if you feel there haven't been enough posts lately, I tried to do enough for October, so I may have burnt myself out in ideas and plus I don't have much time since its the last couple weeks of the quarter. In fact I am taking time out that I really should be working on my paper to write this, so be thankful I guess. C) My school seems to be cool enough to have given us off for Veteran's Day so I thought I would do a little something in honor of the holiday. People of the world, perhaps take a moment today and think about all the brave men and women around the world and at home that have made a difference in wars, conflicts, and in general. Think for a second if the world had a little more love and a little less hate. It just might be a better world. Now this idea came to me when I was half asleep last night, and so if its not cool...well frankly I don't care. Ladies and Gentleman, I believe in a Thing called Love. (This might be one of the only times you will see metal on my site)

The Darkness
I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Its summer? Again?

this morning it was probably in the low 60's. Fine good, having a hoodie and jeans is okay for that. Now it feels like high 70's out there if not hotter, and sunnier that its been in a long while. So did summer decide to come back already? Maybe since its election day and people are more liable to vote when its not cold and or rainy out. Anyway it feels like summer today so I was thinking of some Wallflowers.

The Wallflowers
When You're on Top

Happy Halloween

Guys I did not lie. Here is a treat for Halloween. A classic. Seriously, this is the ultimate Halloween video. Hope you enjoy.

Michael Jackson
Thriller


Just get shivers up your spine? I know I did. Have a Happy Halloween.

Halloween Posts #7

I am on a mission and my ninja powers willing, I will succeed. With my memory finally helping me out, I know now why I thought i had at least 1-2 more videos on top of what I had planned. Just right now everyone should be super-psyched; like at least mach 7 psyched at the very least. We are talking just spotted a talking flying dragon/unicorn(your personal preference) cool. Am I conveying the message? Is it getting through? It better be, for all our sakes.

Now you may start watching this video and ask yourself, is this guy off his game completely? No, most assuredly, ladies and gentlemen, I am a professional; that flaming hoop was approved by the stuntman. The point is trust me, and be excited. This is Vampire Weekend we're talking about, the name alone deserves a spot on this tier of posts. For anyone unfamiliar, you are in for a sonic treat.

Vampire Weekend
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Halloween Posts #6.5

Like I said in the last post, which knowing the way most people read websites, you have not yet seen, I have a bit of extra time now. So I guess two post monday, hope it brightens up the day. Here's song by The Automatic Automatic. It features monsters. Nuff said?


The Automatic Automatic
Monster

Halloween Posts #6

Just found out my spanish class got canceled today so I have time for a post, woo! I want to try to get out about 3 more by Halloween counting this one, we'll see what happens. The new Bloc Party album Intimacy is spectacular. Hard core when it needs to be, soft and light at times too. Roman gods abound and graceful lyrics make for an record with high replay-ability.

Their video for the first song, Mercury, is...well its good, but strange. There could be political themes derived from the grotesque craziness. Its what they put out, so its what I have to show.

Bloc Party
Mercury


cya guys later this week

Halloween Posts #5?

Seems like it's been awhile... The world has been busy. Or at least the world kept me busy, with activities of importance. Got a video from Interpol if a link can be found, and some Justice, since Monday was my birthday I think it might be appropriate. And near/on Halloween I've got a treat(hopefully not a trick). I should think that most people will be excited, sorry if out there you'll hate it.

Interpol
Evil



Justice
Phantom pt II



Pretty sure the Justice video is fan made, it is also very kickass. And not sure why the Interpol was relevant to Halloween; could be the car crash and puppet which are somehow both inherently relevant.

Halloween Posts #4

Okay was just going to work on the post for later on, but I hit enter when I shouldn't have, so I'm going to try and crank it out real quick. Now for things halloween, everyone can agree that magic could very well be a part of it, yes? Witches, wizards, I don't care, its associated with the holiday. How bout green slime, not as much of an association, but in this case I'm going to say there might be one. The video is from Klaxons, a band from the UK with a "new rave" sound. Although they do not like the term "new rave" I have heard, so heavy electronics with crazy guitars and there might be some singing to, yep, pretty sure. Perhaps people like to put genre tags with things to make it easier, but more often than not it just complicates things. With few exceptions few things in life can be pegged into one single category. Right onto scary weirdness(caution:this video could be disturbing)

Klaxons
Magick

Softlightes

A brief interim from the Halloween posts if you will, promise I'll come back to them soon. The Softlightes are solidly a fall band, or a spring band depending on the day. The point is that they are good. Not sure about anyone else but there are exams this week and a bit last week and they helped a bit with the studying. Some say that no music at all is good for studying, some say classical, some say instrumental. I usually go for something that is softer but not boring, tune-out-able but still catchy if need be. Architecture in Helsinki's Finger's Crossed was also quite helpful, they'll be on here at some point or another you can be sure of that. Let's have some fun with this, if you want say what helps with the studies music-wise in the comments section. Without further adieu, assuredly, te presento a ..

Softlightes
Heart Made of Sound by

Halloween Posts #3

Buenos Noches. Oh I completely forgot about Day of the Dead, which is not yet, just thought of it all of the sudden what with all the Halloween celebrations. Right...So to the meat of the post! I thought we'd take a break from the zombies and grotesque. So tonight there is going to be some Foo Fighters. With a great video directed by none other than Michel Gondry, the same director of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, and Science of Sleep(all of which I highly recommend). It kind of shows how crazy dreams can be.
The Foo Fighters
Everlong

Halloween Posts #2

Originally I only had about 3-4 videos planned for this series, but as I keep thinking about it, more pop up. For instance this video by Malajube, which is fairly spooky. Malajube is also probably my favorite non-english speaking band, if you have not heard of them, I highly recommend checking them out. With the disclaimer that they come out of Montreal, Canada and do not get a very high distribution here. Seriously, you have to be lucky, or search pretty hard and in the right places. So perhaps the zombie videos should have been spread out more? Well too bad, I'll plan better next time maybe.

Malajube
Fille A Plumes

Halloween Posts

Hello All. Welcome to the first of several posts throughout October with a Halloween theme. Myself not being a huge fan of Horror movies, don't expect anything incredibly graphic or scary. First song/video is from Does It Offend You, Yeah?. A band from the UK, that has recently been exploding in popularity. They mix electronic dance beats with real instruments instead of straight mixed tracks. Perhaps not the best place to start with the genre but I've been really liking them lately and this video fits under my post. Also there is a tiny bit of blood and nudity in the video.

Dawn of the Dead by:
Does it Offend You, Yeah?

Woo!

It's October, also known as Awesomely-fantastic month.
awesome octoberesque picture I took

Hang On

When the going gets tough you can't let it get you down, even though it happens anyway. Shit sucks sometimes, but I think Music is the cure(or at least partially). Thank you Rob for introducing me to Dr. Dog. Neither a rapper nor as uniquely awesome as the song Dr. Worm, but still in their own right they create a brand of folkish pop that is more than satisfying.

Dr. Dog-
Hang On



oh and I think the parts where the camera focuses on the piano/pianoesque instrument are very cool.

Everything Sucks

I had this long post prepared, couple paragrahs, some philosophy; blah, blah. I think this song conveys things better. Plus its Reel Big Fish, can't beat em. Have a nice day.

Reel Big Fish-
Everything Sucks

Male/Female Vocals

I feel its time for another edition of male/female vocals. This time Stars, one of my favorite bands. Although favorite is a tricky, slimy word, which I try dearly not to use. There are quite a few bands that I like immensely; this happens to be one of them. They come out of Canada on the Arts and Crafts label. Most probably I will be showcasing more of their videos at some point. Here's one to start it off. (See if you can catch the hidden quote that flashes on the screen at around 8 seconds)

Elevator Love Letter by
Stars

So it goes

"Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt"-Kurt Vonnegut

Paper Planes, by
I'm from Barcelona

The Weakerthans

So after the post on Saturday/yesterday I went for a walk(quite a long walk in fact, found a hospital). Anyway on the way my ipod gave me a soundtrack. I listened to The Weakerthans' first album from 1999, Fallow. Long story short I'm hooked now. They are a good band for a walk at night, or at least that album is. Slow and fast songs, with lyrics that illuminate themselves in your head. Also there was some new Bloc Party on the ipod earlier which is also pretty good.

Anyway back to Weakerthans, so Tonight after my run I decided to see if there were some videos to show you guys. And there was success.

The Weakerthans:
Diagnosis

Enjoy!



P.S.
If you're still here, one more thing. I wanted to talk about things to come. Throughout October I'm going to try to post some Halloweenesque videos. Not saying they'll necessarily be scary but they will be in the spirit of the holiday anyway. Something to look forward to.

Spoon

I need to get out of my dorm room, stat. I'm just really bored is all and its saturday night. Oh, shit..this would be a good time for another video, hold on. Okay couldn't find it. Anyway here's a song by Spoon off their latest album.

Spoon:
The Underdog



now i am out, perhaps just for a walk, I really do not know...

Two for one Thursday

Hey team! Tonight I bring you two videos, two bands. What's the magical occasion? Either I got my homework done and am really tired, or I do what I want, Or It's Thursday-WOO. Onto pressing matters of the night.

Firstly of all, heh, here's a video my good friend Susanne was very excited about. Its pretty good and funny and strange.

Ludo-Love Me Dead



And now secondly of all, if you out there whoever you might be made it down with the magic of the scroll bar, I bring you more goodness. This is a song by The Hold Steady who remind me of Bruce Springsteen with punk elements and good stories with their songs. I saw them this summer, great show.

Hope this video makes you smile~
The Hold Steady-Chips Ahoy



goodnight!

Last Summery Song?

Sorry if it's been awhile. Though on the other hand I am pretty sure that I don't have any reader's that are that dedicated. If you are out there, then sorry for doubting you I guess? Anyway as far as I know this will be my last summery song post of the year. Unless I decide to bring summer back later(I totally have the power to do that!). Woo digression! Everyone heard of Belle and Sebastian? Probably/maybe? Well when I first heard of them I thought they would be an intimidating band that would be older, or started awhile ago. Suppose they were more Radiohead like, that might be what I first imagined. So it took me a bit to actually give them a chance, though the wait paid off, in the fact that they are very good. Why take my word for it? Don't. Just watch this great video off their latest album, The Life Pursuit. (The video seems like something straight out of my imagination)

The Blues are Still Blue by
Belle and Sebastian

Summery songs-part 3

Hmmm I'm thinking maybe I'll be able to squeeze one more summery post after this one, possibly. Well hey, it's my blog ergo I do what I want, so here summer ends when it is declared over. Back to business. The Little Ones are a band that has promised to only make music that is in some way toe-tappable. An admirable goal, that in my opinion they achieve to the key. They've released two EP's so far, and in October they will be coming out with their first full length album.

One of my favorite songs by them,
Lovers Who Uncover-The Little Ones

Summery songs-part 2

In continuation of this ongoing series which i should finish up before the summer is completely over, I bring you(the viewing audience) Nada Surf. No the name does not make any discernable sense that I am aware of, if you know of it, leave a comment. Nada Surf is a great band that has been around since 1992 when they released High/Low. Off their first album the song "Popular" had acclaimed success. Anywho, in the spirit of summer I thought their song "Blankest Year" would be in order. A song about throwing a party after everything else has gone to shit. Plus the use of projectors in this video is very cool.

Blankest Year by Nada Surf:

Summery songs-part 1

It's still summer, believe it or not. As long as that is the case I am going to try to crank out some summery feel good tunes before its over. This song I heard from one of my favorite blogs which is now almost defunct, called Good Weather For Air strikes. The songs from Gotye whom I honestly do not know that much about, other than this song is infectiously happy.

"Learnalilgivinanlovin" by Gotye:

I Feel It All

So...I guess that Feist has been in my earphones a bit this summer. She happens to be a great singer, also writes pretty good songs, and if you are in the minority out there, she makes pretty awesome videos in which she has elaborate dance numbers. Yes I'm referring to Feist's video for her song "1, 2, 3, 4", if you haven't seen it yet go find it, or I'll post it at some point. That video happens to not be the one I am showcasing because it seems to be fairly saturated throughout the internets right now and this video seems to me to be just as cool. Oh one other thing which was almost forgotten, Feist also happens to be a member of the band Broken Social Scene.

Here's "I Feel it All" by Feist:

More Male/Female Vocals

I might make this an ongoing segment depending on if i can find enough bands to fill up the quota. Anyway, here's a band that I have listened to more than any other for at least the past half a year if not more. They are a band with enough energy to run ten marathons back to back; a band with glockenspiels, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, possibly another guitar, and yes male/female vocals that flow together seamlessly.

I present to you the viewing audience the first song on their debut album. The song is entitled Death to Los Campesinos. The lyrics deal with the problems that can be encountered when pretending to be a robot.

Santogold

Introducing Santogold. She's fairly new and somewhat similar to M.I.A. . Her real name is Santi White; born in America in 1976. This video for her song L.E.S Artists is pretty crazy. It proves the point that perhaps gore is more disturbing when realistically colored but yet more surprising when not.

Have a look.

MGMT

MGMT pronounced management or The Management. Not meegeemeet, just saying the initials isn't technically wrong. Anyway they are a band that take great electronic and mixes it with psychedelic. Just two guys are the total number of this band's memebers. This video reminds me of Samuel Coleridge's Kubla Kahn when he describes Xanadu mixed with those movies from the 80's like Labyrinth, Willow or The Neverending Story; plus animatronic bears like you might find at Chuck E Cheese's. Sound crazy? It is, but its probably also one of their most sane videos.
MGMT
Electric Feel

Black Kids

So, who likes male/female alternating vocals(I think there's a better term for it, but right now that's what we'll go with)? Everybody loves male/female alternating vocals. It was good in The Talking Heads. B52's? Yep they had it. Awesome with Stars. Architecture in Helsinki? Quite nice.

That brings us to today, with Black Kids. Alternating male/female vocals, you wonder, you betcha they're there. Lots of energy? check. Tongue-in-cheek humor? I would say so, just take the song title "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You". Their songs have a bit of an 80's feel, but its not over the top. It could be due to the facts that some of the vocals have a slight Robert Smith of The Cure feel to them, and the keyboards add to the feel but not of The Cure.

Anyway see for yourselves.
This is their video for "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"-








http://www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock

On another note, Joss Whedon recently made a short called Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long-Blog. Sound weird? It is a bit, but its also pretty awesome and a warning-slightly tragic. Its got Neal Patrick Harris as Doctor Horrible, Nathan Fillion from Firefly and Serenity as Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day.

http://www.drhorrible.com/index.html

Click, Click, Click, Click

Here's a great song from a band called Bishop Allen. It also showcases how to make an awesome music video. People who've taken a photography class will probably appreciate the technique especially. Plus this is a great song. Enjoy.

Mystery Jets

Here's a band I've been listening to quite a bit this summer and last summer. They are called Mystery Jets. They bring a distinct brand of British rock straight out of London, England. Its poppy and has lyrics that at times have more to them than at surface level. Their songs can be toe-tappable and even dancey.

Check out this video of their song Young Love, off their album Twenty-One.

First Post!

Welcome,

    Well, I will try to use this blog as a way to showcase music I think is cool, post some pictures from time to time, and just leave analogous posts.

Stop on by, there's sure to be something interesting!

                                                                ***

Hello from 2012! I'm updating this first post I ever made so it can act as a leapfrog to some of the cooler content on my blog. I've noticed that a lot of people start with this post and I thought why not direct them to some exciting things while they're here?

Here's some things I've done:

•  Halloween Posts - Slightly more spooky or abnormal themed music videos

•  Short Stories -  Here's a collection of some of the short stories and vignettes I've posted

•   Poems - Collection of some poems I've posted

•  Surviving College - Series I wrote on tips and tricks for getting through the college experience

• Thoughts while Kayaking - a short piece I wrote a few summers ago