Hold Your Head Up

Summer isn't over, folks! I thought I would post another GOOD (SUMMER) SONG while it was still the season.
I heard this song recently and knew I had to post it. It is a great, fun, super-catchy song that I have been humming since I first heard it a week or two ago. Give it a listen!!

Rockin out. Me likey.

GOOD (SUMMER) SONG: Beacon by Matt Duncan
Listen to those horns! The piano! And is that an accordion in the background? Amazing! I love the R&B vibes combined with the indie-pop sound. The whole EP is worth a listen, really. Matt Duncan, based in Kentucky, released his six-song EP entitled Beacon, winter of 2010. I can't find out too much about him, other than the facts I already mentioned (from Kentucky, male, young, makes music) but his music is happy-making.
I love the lyrics to the song, especially the first verse and chorus (I'm a sucker for songs that mention NY, for obvious reasons). It's funny, though, because I first thought that he was saying "Hold your head up, you're in Beacon"; Beacon is a artsy little town in upstate NY that I had *just* read an article about in the NY Times (read it here). But that's not what he is saying. Fortunately I like the real lyrics better than my imagined ones.

"I got friends in New York City
'Cause everyone I know left town
That's the place your day lit dreams go
Where you can't see the sun go down

Hold your head up, you're a beacon
You pull me northward in my car
You don't have to hit the big time, baby
We know who you are."

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: Matt Duncan

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

Beirut

Jens Lekman

Elvis Costello

The Magnetic Fields

Over and out,
Anna

Maryland Represent!

So here I am chilling in upstate NY, in the Catskills, a-listenin' to some dang good alt-rock-folk-whatever-genre-you-wanna-call-it. And while I will always be a New Yorker, it's true, I have to give some much-deserved love to the great state of Maryland, since I am a resident of it now.
So, without further ado, here is Wye Oak, straight outta Baltimo'.

Apparently they're not only a good band, but also
a good decorating theme. 

GOOD SONG: Civilian by Wye Oak

I am sure you knew immediately (since you're all really into Maryland state tree history, I know)  the band is named after the famous Wye Oak tree of Maryland, the largest white oak tree in the United States... until it was destroyed in a thunderstorm in 2002. Extremely sad-making. It was 460 years old! DUDE. (In case you were curious, the largest white oak tree in the US now is the Linden Oak, located on the corner of Rockville Pike and Beach Drive in North Bethesda, MD. Nice.)
Anyhoo, they make great music together, these two. Oh yes, and "these two" consists of Andy Stack (known to play drums and keyboard at the same time!!) and Jenn Wasner. They've released three albums so far, with the most recent being Civilian (March of this year).  I love the steady rhythm that gets kicked into high gear half-way through the song. Wasner's voice has real strength to it, as does her guitar work, which goes from a nice country-ish strumming to some serious rock-n-rolling. The lyrics, in my humble opinion, show the struggle that many people do with a need for a real relationship, but having shortcomings get in the way.

"Perfectly able to hold my own hand/
but I still can't kiss my own neck/
I wanted to give you everything/
but I still stand in awe of superficial things/
I wanted to love you like my mother's mother's mothers did/
civilian."

If you liked this song, you might also like:
Deer Tick
The Cave Singers
The Rosebuds
Other Lives
Neko Case
The Rural Alberta Advantage

Over and out,
Anna