On the lighter side of things, I've been discovering (and rediscovering) a lot of good music lately. The return to the studying grind after winter break definitely helped, and you'll find that the common thread in my music for the week is an emphasis on continuity as an album, ideal for playing and forgetting while the pages drag by. Links to the Amazon page are included, but if you're in college use Ruckus - it's free and legal, and the artists get compensated.
Leave a comment - tell me what you think of my picks, and let me know what you have been listening to lately.
- Sara Bareilles - Little Voices: With aspects similar to other female musicians arriving lately, as part of the latest resurgence in bluesy influenced pop-piano, what sets her apart are her tremendous vocal work, and the occasionally inspiring depth of her lyrics. It has it's limits, and sometimes the themes seem a little repetitive, but taken for what it is this is a solid, solid album - most importantly it's very listenable. (link)
- Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live: Wow. This album is a roller coaster ride of amazing Blue Grass music, complemented by Krauss' positively haunting voice. If you're not a fan or familiar with the genre, this is an excellent primer. If you are, then you will not be disappointed. Several of the instrumental pieces really shine, as do most of the countrier twanged, upbeat melodic tracks, and Krauss' crooning on the ballad numbers is chilling. One of the few albums I've ever come across that immediately captivated, and kept me there from start to finish. I can't recommend it enough. (link)
- Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street: I've been stuck on this one for a while. Kings of Convenience, as described by the person who introduced me to them, "are a mix of Folk, Rock and Norwegian Bossa Nova " (hat tip: GLS). Their unique style of guitar and instrumentation lends itself to a sort of beat-driven Simon and Garfunkel. This album in particular manages to contrast their quicker, funkier side, with haunting melodies and deeper prose of their slower works. The harmony on Surprise Ice will catch your breath every time, and Misread has one of the catchiest beats this genre has produced in a while. Check out "Quiet is the New Loud," their earlier album too - they're both winners. (link)
2 comments:
I recently began listening to Kings of Convenience after my radio station added them to our rotation. Failure remains a favorite from the 2001 album (at least I think its that one).
As far as either things I've been listening to:
Rilo Kiley's Breakin' Up has gotten a lot of play. Here is a link to the show they did in Boston last September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7MFL9eNqVM
Other recent plays, you know, of a more unorthodox nature:
(what I believe is the first official cover of Beatles song, I may be wrong) - Wu Tang Clan's While My Heart Gently Weeps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Yu0nU0kJ8 (also, search for RZA's explanation of how they're building off George Harrison's original metaphor for addiction, inverting it to be about the dealers who are enabling all this misery)
Finally, well... I'll leave it for you all to judge. Hat Tip: Andrew (this is anonymous, right?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQqL1UwQT2c
Wow, you like Alison Krauss too? You are so right, she is great. She is so amazing it might get me to listen to other country music someday, maybe when I forget how much I loathe bad lyrics;)
Of course, KOC are a solid rock. I have to say the first time I heard Surprise Ice, I knew I had to have the album. No one does sorrow drenched like KOC. Have they gotten better or what? I have to say I am not a huge fan of the dance beat Erlend Oye brought in, but I will tolerate it as long as we get songs like Gold in the Air of Summer.
Some other bands that I have really loved as an album experience hmm . . . Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism. Amazing folk rock, and an amazing album. Even though Plans is the more popularly known album, Transatlanticism has that rawness to it, that makes me hit repeat everytime. Standouts are "Tiny Vessels" which captures unrequited love so perfectly that it cuts, and "Passenger Seat" which comes in as second overall to "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From" for driving on a dark road in my book. It describes the joy of just being with friends, enjoying a drive to nowhere in a beautiful night.
Eric Bibb does soulful blues right, and somehow maintains an upbeat sound. It's so hard to describe, but simply candy to the ears. The definitive song on this album is "Shine On" which will get you feeling good about life, no matter how low you are. These are songs of the summer, warm and brown, and smooth, like bottles in the sun.
Finally Jack's Mannequin had a great cd release that pretty much went unnoticed. Called Everything in Transit, its like Ben Folds, but without the pretension. Favorites on this one are "The Mixed Tape", "Dark Blue" and "La La Lie". Just really good if you need something to keep the eyes open late at night with unabashed pop, this is it.
Hope you enjoy some of these listens;) I will definitely give a spin to Sara Bareilles tunes. Good luck with the home stretch!
-GLS
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