Broken Social Scene – “Superconnected”
A band I will have to put on my unwritten “bands I want to see live” list. I had the unfortune (very different from misfortune) of being too busy to see My Morning Jacket and Vampire Weekend perform in my town in the month of September. My Morning Jacket’s new album is much weaker than their others. The funk and falsetto (which I am a big fan of normally) seems a bit forced and over the top. But I would have seen them if I could have. I ended up saving a hefty wad of cash by missing the show. Instead I repeatedly listened to songs that would make me feel superconnected. I might sound pretentiously hip by by mentioning this song has a theme of postmodern distaste with hyperinvolvement, the information technology that consolidates individuality.
Lewis & Clarke – “Before It Breaks You”
This song drew me in instantly. It’s softness reflects Iron and Wine, but without the cold harshness of the iron and the luxury of the wine. A guitar somehow speak like a harp. The words might get judged as being overly poetic, but there is never a shallow boy-girl moment (like a deeper Rocky Votolato). This was a treasure in the haystack that I found for free. I should really figure out if the album is worth purchasing, which I’m not going to act on yet given my budget.
The Black Swans – “I. D. W. 2 F.”
A stranger voice than Tom Waits. There’s a non-accented deepness of a bizarre nasally gorilla. I should remind myself to write a song for this type of singing. They’ve got another recording of this when they were phoning in it (song is just past the middle of the track). If I’m not lazy I’ll look into more of this, because I was guttering this song all month. This song changes my outlook on desiring silverware.
I don’t wanna fork.
I just wanna spoon.
The Promise Ring – “Electric Pink”
Pre-Neo-Millennium emo. I’m not a scenester, but I’ll appreciate the occasional song that gets pigeon-holed into the emo genre. The fellow from Cap’n Jazz is in this band.
The Appleseed Cast – “Innocent Vigilant Ordinary”
This song was sitting in iTunes with a mediocre rating, but it grabbed me when shuffling through my playlist of dust-collecting songs. And it seems to transition well from the previous song.
Andrew Bird – “Heretics”
Bird makes his second appearance in my Monthly:Mixtapes. Another piece of greatness. If I was retired, I’d spend a year just traveling to see bands play.
Marching Band – “For Your Love”
A little cheesy instrumentation and song overall, but the right amount of catchiness. No legal listening version exists, but I got it for free somehow, I just can’t remember how.
Lucinda Williams – “Everything Has Changed”
I don’t want to talk to anyone
I guess there’s a sorrow that comes with change. I’m become more and more accepting of change. Taking a line from a science fiction B-movie: “The future is where we’ll spend the rest of our lives.”
mewithoutYou – “January 1979”
The chorus is the poorest part of the song, but because it isn’t so heightened, the whole song has a dynamic range that amplifies the depth of the song. The singing style is quite unique to this band, although you might compare them to At the Drive-In’s raw delivery. And January is still far enough away, but I’ve got it sitting in my September mixtape.
Dashboard Confessional – “Screaming Infidelities”
I am welcomed to be made fun of for this one. I like(d) Dashboard before they blew up later in the year. This has a high school nostalgia that I can’t get rid of. I can immerse myself in those feelings, no matter how cliche and overplayed this band is. If I were discover this on my own, I might have enjoyed it as much as I do. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that I can withstand being “anywhere with anyone making out”. My hair is everywhere. I’ve got curly locks.
Radiohead – “House of Cards”
Because I think that their latest record may be one of their very best.
And I’ll throw in “Reckoner” because it’s just as good and works well before or after this song.
Sonna – “Frone Taj”
This is included because I ended up playing so many times within a week (9 plays). It’s a nice instrumental post-rock tune.
Colour Revolt – Mattresses Underwater
A band with the smooth swagger of the Strokes, the intricacy of Andrew Bird, and the stirring power of I don’t know who (I’ll have to brainstorm and earstorm). They are not classical music in any way, but they seem to harness the ambient range in volume that implemented in classical pieces.
Golden Smog – “Cure For This”
I’m not sure what female is singing here, but it works. I can hear some Jayhawks singers in the background. It’s pretty.
