I know I recently included “Shankill Butchers” in my Halloween song list, but November (and December, of course) are the time of year I like to listen to The Decemberists. I saw them in concert in November last year and it was a most excellent show. I love the dark fairytale like quality to their songs. I love how the lyrics are timeless… or at least not necessarily of this day and age. I love that they tell stories or bits of stories in each song, capturing the emotion of the situation.
I know many of the die hard fans argued that The Crane Wife is not as good as previous albums, but I’ve listened over and over, and I’d have to say if you get only one, The Crane Wife is the one to get. It has a nice blend of all The Decemberists have to offer too. “Accessible” and radio friendly songs like “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)” (featuring Laura Veirs), and “O Valencia!”, the dark storytelling of “Shankill Butchers”, and then lighter, quirkier, tales wrought with emotions of a time without electronics and computers in “The Crane Wife 1 & 2 & 3″ and “Sons & Daughters”. If after one listen you do not fall in love with at least one of the songs, then The Decemberists are not for you. If they do tickle your fancy then I implore that you explore!
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with “O Valencia!” being my favorite.
A couple of you may have noticed I did not write this post in the morning as usual, but rather at night. My corporate overlords have decided to “help me” by providing my team with “resources from India”. Part of my job now is to teach them my job, which also means I will be less productive in my job. I am of the belief this is the beginning of the end for my current job but I have no choice. To facilitate this change I will be going to work in the early morning. I am excited about the prospect of seeing sunlight during the winter months by getting to leave work early but it is bittersweet. Perhaps if I am really successful in the transition of knowledge I will be laid off and then be able to see sunlight all day! Or perhaps because of this post I will be laid off much like Dooce and my blog will sustain me. However, given I have earned about $0.24 in referrals to Amazon after 7 months, perhaps I should fill out that application for food stamps now. I am tempted to simply refer to my Indian counter parts as “my replacements” at work in front of my boss and my boss’ boss. Spiteful? Perhaps. Funny. Definitely!
Yum! Food stamps here I come! I do like a plate of beans and rice!
Anyway, you can expect my songs of the day to be coming to you at night instead of during the day for the foreseeable future. I know all my regular readers may be put out by this… all one of you… but be strong, you and I, we will survive! On the plus side I am far more verbose and hopefully quippy in the evenings when I’m all awake fat and happy. (In the mornings I am just fat.) I can’t tell you how many times in the morning I have spent 15 minutes writing 2 sentences and literally said “crap” out loud. As I reread all I have written tonight it does all still have a “blah blah blah” quality to it. I am just not a writer I guess. Perhaps I should quit this blogging thing and go be a real DJ. Would you be sad? Would I be sad? Would my future radio listeners be sad when they hear be blabbing? Inquiring minds want to know!!!
Moving on…
So I’ve been listening to the Fleet Foxes’ album, also named “Fleet Foxes”, over and over this week. At first it just seemed like some nice chill background music, but now I am hooked. I want more, like zombies want more brains to eat. I am saddened that it is the only album, and yet overjoyed that there are additional songs by them I have yet to hear from the extended versions and the singles. The Fleet Foxes are good and I must share them with you. This song is one of the better ones I think, but the album is very solid and likely to appear on my “Must Own Albums” list in the not so distant future. Recent obsessions though… right now!
…in the 1970s, there was a group of Protestants in Belfast who targeted the Catholics in the city, actually chose to use, as weapons, butcher knives and cleavers. Really, they weren’t necessarily, you know, obviously, political or religious activists. They were really, you know, cold-blooded murders, really. And they would go out at night killing Catholics essentially and, you know, gruesomely filet them alive and things like that.
…
The parents at the time would actually use it as a cautionary tale and would tell children, you know, if they didn’t do what they were told, the Shankill butchers would come and get them. And it just seemed so bizarre and so horrific to me that it almost – it’s one of those moments in history when, you know, human events actually take on the scope of fairytale, and I thought it would – so the song is essentially me imagining what sort of dialogue that would be, the mother telling the child to go to sleep or the Shankill butchers would come and get them.
A gruesome tale indeed, wrought with horror and perhaps one to many “you know”s (Oh I kid Colin… I only noticed it when I saw it in writing. Also, for the record, I love The Decemberists or else I would not have driven hours to see them in concert last year!). Seriously though, an excellent song for the Halloween song list. I wonder if my Catholic Irish mother knows the tale and if perhaps she might have had more control over my siblings and me if she had told the tale.
Lately I’ve been listening to Arcade Fire obsessively. It is funny because I didn’t like them at all when I first heard them years ago, but they grew and grew, and now I think of them as a staple. In fact they are so creative I think of them as one of the bands I want to inspire my own music. Each of their songs is so different with minute complexities and unique musical quirks that make them unlike other bands. The story telling nature of their lyrics also sets the bar high for me.
My suggestion you, the masses, is get both this album, “Neon Bible” and Arcade Fire’s first album “Funeral” and listen to them once a month for a year. By the end of that year, I bet you’ll be saying “screw this once a month bullshit, I’m putting it on repeat”!
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with “Black Wave / Bad Vibrations” being my current favorite (although my favorite seems to be switching from week to week).
I think this song is a commentary on the commerce of religion. (You know, rich priests, televangelists, megachurches, etc.) It is certainly open for interpretation though.
I am mostly just posting this song because if you haven’t seen the video below, you’ve got it. All of Arcade Fire, in and elevator, performing “Neon Bible”. I find the bass drum (the elevator itself) and snare (magazine ripping) are particularly amusing. Overall I think I have liked this song more and more because of this video:
For me Fiona Apple’s “Tidal” is an autumnal album. Something about that crisp air, the melancholy of summer and vacation being over, and the sun setting earlier and earlier, reminds me of her innocence lost and despondent lyrics. The feeling is strengthened by the soulful bluesy quality of many of her songs. I find her to be thoughtful and passionate, but without joy in this album. The perfect soundtrack to remembering good times with old friends or old flames who are long gone. Bittersweet.
Although it is still August, it is a cool, crisp, and cloudy autumn day here in my town. The weather is a preview of more to come, and I’ve been holding back on posting any Fiona up until this time when the feeling in the air was right. Like many of my “Must Own Albums” on the list, I am quite content to put this one on repeat and listen to each and every song. It has a level of quality I think Fiona has failed to match since.
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with “Never Is a Promise” being my favorite.
I had a nightmare last night. I’ve had worse, but still it woke me up so it qualifies.
I was at work and yet interviewing for a new job. It was not my actual employer or job, but elsewhere. You know how dreams are. They wanted me to transfer into some sort of weird technical-marketing role and I was asking why. We were in an office that was all windows, floor to ceiling. As we were talking I could see out the window the sky quickly darkening, and then several tornados worming across the sky and clearly moving closer. In the distance a building of some sort was hit and picked up what appeared to be wheel hubs of all sorts for cars, motorcycles and even bicycles and the storm was spitting them out at all directions, some hitting the building and breaking windows. The first broken window set the office into chaos as people scurried to find a safe place, but there was none to be found. All the rooms had floor to ceiling windows. People were screaming and I ran from room to room in search of safety as window after window broke. The tornados were right outside now. As the building started to rip apart and I could feel the debris ripping at my skin, I awoke.
I usually do not remember my dreams, but when I am ripped awake they are quite memorable. So I mostly only remember the bad ones. To see a tornado in your dream “signifies that you are feeling overwhelmed and out of control”. That may be. I just got done with a marathon two weeks of vacation with family. It is fun and great to see everyone. I love them all, and I always have a great time, and yet it is overwhelming. G and I are use to only the two of us, not the 12+ of us. I usually leave at least a few days at the end of my vacation to have a “vacation from the vacation” where I mostly veg around the house. Yesterday (Saturday) though I had to work over the course of 12 hours to assist with an upgrade of a system at work. I was so tense after sitting in front of computers in “tense upgrade mode” I had to immediately take a walk around the block and take a shower. Blech! I suppose I should’ve been surprised if I didn’t have a nightmare. Tomorrow I get to go back to work too. Good times.
Anyway thinking of tornadoes always makes me think of this song.
Also, for the record, “Boys For Pele” was released with an earlier version of “Talula” (a non-”The Tornado Mix” version). I bought the album when it first was released and G did after the re-release (this was before we combined our collections), so we have both versions. I think both are excellent and any big Tori fans should hunt down the original version. You’d think the single would have both, but no, you would be wrong. I tried to find a video or audio stream online though and so far I could not find it. So good luck!
I would have to say I was obsessed with this album when it first came out. (I believe G was equally obsessed too.) I have listened to this album start to finish possibly more than any other album in my collection. It is just so good. He’s funny, honest, real… refreshing. He is the voice I hear telling me to discard all the crap society is pushing on me, all the expectations of others, and just live. I should just be who I am and live the life I wish to lead. He is an inspiration. I find the roughness of his voice beautiful and the perfect compliment to his piano.
G and I had the opportunity to see him in concert a few years ago and to meet him (in a ‘meet and greet’ line afterwards) and we found ourselves to be dumbfounded fans, totally speechless, though he has truly touched our hearts. I recall his live rendition of “The Consort” was particularly good.
…enough with the love letters to Rufus, and on to the songs…
I am currently reviewing the list of songs on the album, and I usually pick a favorite 5, but in this case of the 12 distinct songs (the 13th track is a reprise of “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk”, so it does not count), I cannot bring myself to cut the list any shorter than 8. Even then I am tempted to just list all the songs. The album is THAT GOOD. More than any other album, I was obsessed first with one song, then another, then another, then another, and it went on for months and months. I can honestly say that between 2001 and 2003 I was obsessed with each one of these songs at one point. G and I had to have our own CDs so we didn’t have to share.
Did I mention it is good yet? Great? Excellent? Remarkable? Am I beating a dead horse? Oh but don’t take my word for it. Listen to the following songs and you decide!
Here are my 8 favorites from the album, with “Thriller” being my favorite.
Clever. Subtle. A touch of geekery perhaps. Thick and busy too! I love the magnetic fields and the song writing of Stephin Merritt. Never heard of them or him? This song is a good start.
I was thinking of posting this song, but then I thought no wait, I must have already posted a song by The Decemberists!
But OMG! No! I just realized I’ve been posting songs all this time, but not a single one by The Decemberists! They are one of the few I have actually seen in concert (with G and G’s sister), and recently too! I saw them around the end of 2008 and they were fantastic! Very entertaining. They played so many of songs, it must’ve been like half their material. They played all my favorites. Colin Meloy is passionate when performing too. We was like climbing out onto flimsy spotlight ladders and speakers to be closer to the crowd. It was just great.
I would also like to dedicate this bonus song to G, my love.
Also because G seems to like to point out the posts where she is mentioned or an influence, I have created “The Illustrious G” category and added all the posts that belong. I’m sure I missed a few.
Something about May and June always draws me to my Tori Amos albums, especially when it is gray or raining outside. I know the melancholy pervasive in most of her songs is appealing to me. Listening to her speak she comes across as a bit touched or perhaps even crazy, and she may be, but I sympathize with crazy. However her well crafted lyrics touch the root of emotion and paint a picture of innocence hopelessly lost but wanting to return. Ophelia would’ve listened to Tori, particularly this album. Simply put “make me laugh, say you know what you want”.
I think most people do not understand Tori and thus avoid her music. Perhaps they do not wish to feel as if barefoot and bound, running hopelessly through a forest? Well I think those people are missing out and would rather pretend they never feel that way. Perhaps they do not wish to be reminded of that feeling?
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with “Jackie’s Strength” being my favorite.
Unfortunately I could not find the original “Liquid Diamonds” online, so the link is to a good live performance. I’m sure to post more on Tori Amos. She is a staple and I just bought her new album, “Abnormally Attracted to Sin”, the other day and it is still sinking in.
Listen on Blip.fm!