My favorite post ever... Also my dorkiest.

Today is a very important day. It's two people's birthdays. Guess. No, not me and my friend. Guess again.

Yes, that's right! You guessed it!

BILBO AND FRODO BAGGINS!

HAPPY HOBBIT DAY!

Good Lord, I do love hobbits.

OK, so I know I am a huge dweeb. I really don't care. I am in fantastic company, because do you know who else were big LOTR/Hobbit dorks?

LED ZEPPELIN.
That's right. So I am not ashamed.

And in honor of this festive occasion, I am posting one of the best renditions of a Led Zep song ever done:
GOOD (TOLKEIN-FRIENDLY) SONG: Battle of Evermore by the London Philharmonic covering Led Zeppelin

Note: PLEASE do NOT dismiss this song just because it is by Led Zeppelin (for those of you not into classic rock) or because it has some LOTR references in the original lyrics. It is AMAZING!!

This song is from an entire album of Led Zeppelin covers played by the London Philharmonic entitled "Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin." If you ever thought you might want to go marching into battle against orcs and goblins and ring-wraiths, this should be your soundtrack. I'm really not kidding.
I love this one song from the album because it's beautiful and stirring and magical-sounding and all sorts of cool/nerdy adjectives.
I picked it for today, because the original song (GOOD SONG ALERT!) has lyrics that reference Lord of the Rings.
For example:
"Oh war is the common cry, 
Pick up your swords and fly.
The sky is filled with good and bad that mortals never know.

Oh, well, the night is long 
The beads of time pass slow,
Tired eyes on the sunrise, waiting for the eastern glow.

The pain of war cannot exceed 
The woe of aftermath,
The drums will shake the castle wall, 
the ring wraiths ride in black, 
Ride on."


I hope you enjoyed that magical moment. Enjoy your pipe-smoking, dragon-slaying, second-breakfast-eating, ring-wearing, riddle-sharing, or whatever else you do today in honor of hobbits everywhere.

If you liked this song, you might also check out:
anything by Hans Zimmer
The London Philharmonic playing Pink Floyd (it happened!)

Over and out,
Anna

Dream Team Number TWO!

GOOD SONG #2: End of the Line by the Traveling Wilburys

Jeff Lynne (the fourth greatest record producer of all time)? Check.
Tom Petty? Check.

Roy Orbison? Check.

George Harrison? Check. 

BOB DYLAN? CHECK. 

AAAH! So much talent in one photo! My blog might explode!

DUDE.
THAT is a sick line-up of all-stars. You can't get a whole lot more talent packed into a group of four.

Sadly, they only recorded two albums, and the second one hadn't even come out before Roy Orbison died. Each band member took on a pseudonym, pretending to be one of four Wilbury brothers. George was Nelson Wilbury, Jeff was Otis, Roy was Lefty, Tom was Charlie T., and Bob was Lucky. They also had a drummer, Jim Keltner, who went by the name Buster Sidebury. Clearly, they were all so famous at this point, they were just enjoying being goofy and having a fun time and making great music at the same time. It was born out of friendship and collaboration and just pure love for music and fun times. Their songs are generally pretty lighthearted and upbeat and pretty awesome classic rock.
I absolutely love the combination of all these famous voices together. They work together surprisingly well.
I think they might take the cake as the msot ridiculously talented musical all-star supergroup.
Enjoy.
And remember:
"Well it's alllll right,  even if you're old and grey
Well it's alllll right, you still got something to say
Well it's allllll right, remember to live and let live
Well it's allllll right, the best you can do is forgive."


If you liked this song, you might also check out:
Obviously Petty, Dylan, Orbison, Harrison, etc.
Also:
Electric Light Orchestra
The Eagles
The Hollies
Neil Young
John "Cougar" Mellencamp
John Fogerty


Over and out,
Anna

Dream Teams for the Athletically Challenged

The other night some friends and I were talking about sports. Or, rather, they were talking about sports and I was listening. I was never really into sports (I like this one, though). However, the idea of the "dream team" fascinates me. Especially musically. 

Here is the first of two musical dream teams that I think deserve some love on the AGSIHTF.

Hey! That's not Reggae Pie! That's Chinese take-out!

GOOD SONG: Reggae Pie by Mister Heavenly

Joe Plummer- Modest Mouse drummer? Check. 

Ryan Kattner- Man Man singer? Check.

Nick Thorburn- Islands/The Unicorns singer? Check.  
(Oh yeah, and Michael Cera was the bass player for a while. Go figure).
That's some serious indie rock cred going on there. You can see the influences of all their individual styles in Mister Heavenly, and it really works. 
I love the song Reggae Pie for its slightly trippy sound- gotta love the sludgy organs in the background. Kattner (aka Honus Honus) has a unique voice with a sort of deep, crazy, ominous edge to it, yet it works really well with Thorburn's totally different, much higher voice. 


I find the lyrics interesting, too:
"It is too late to say that I want you
more than a man should ever admit to?
Is it passé to claim that I need you
more than a man should ever commit to?
And I don't care if I'm out of line.
And I don't care if we're marking time.
And I don't care if you'll never be mine,
Cuz I'm yours."


Is there a limit to how much a man can say he loves someone or wants someone or needs someone before he starts to lose cred with his friends? Or before he starts looking crazy? Or before he starts to feel "uncool?" Probably. Because, let's be honest, for many people these days, looking hip and un-passé is not easily compatible with loving someone and being dependent, in any way, upon another. It's not cool 
to seem as if you aren't totally yourself without anyone's help. 


Alright, no more pontificating on the plight of modern-day love (and the lack there-of). Anyhoo, they have only one album so far, which was just released, entitled "Out of Love." It's a bit goofy-- what do you expect from an album from the "Doom Wop" genre? (Who thinks up these genres, anyway?). It's definitely worth a listen (or more than just one, I'd say), especially with indie all-star musicians like that in their starting line-up. OK that's where my "sporty" vocabulary ends. If I go any further, I might embarrass myself.  

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Mister Heavenly on Sub Pop Records

If you liked this song, you might also check out:
(obviously)
Man Man
Modest Mouse
Islands
The Unicorns
and also...
Dr. Dog
Foster the People
Yellow Ostrich
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Over and out,
Anna

The Week in Review, Part Two

(hey it rhymes.... if you say two more like "tew")


So, what else happened?

Sorrento by night. Bustling and beautiful.

ITALY!
From Roma to Rimini, it was a great trip, but too much to talk about here. 
Here's what I was BLASTING on my headphones in Italy (both songs from my boyfriend's mix, thanks dude). 


GOOD (TRAVELING) SONG #1: Asfalt Tango by Fanfare Ciocârlia
Crazzzzy Romanian band with an AWESOME beat and horn section. If you like Beirut or Balkan Beat Box, then definitely check these guys out. If you like it and you're ever in NYC, go to Mehanata to go dancing. You won't regret it. 
It's a perfect song for the insanity I had while traveling, going to a from train stations with huge suitcases in tow, surrounded by lots and lots of crazy southern Italians in the blistering heat.  Italy doesn't believe in air-conditioning. Blargh. 

They look like they're having a great time...probably because
they're in a building with air-conditioning.

GOOD (TRAVELING) SONG #2: Senegal Fast Food by Amadou et Mariam (produced by Manu Chao)
This song is still on repeat in my car. You can tell it's been produced by Manu Chao- he samples his own stuff and he sings in the video. It might as well be his song. And I don't care. It's fantastic. The harmonica???!! Amazing.  And look at those sunglasses that Amadou and Mariam are wearing!! So styling, you gotta love it. The song/video definitely has some sort of political overtones, etc., but I don't know much about the French-Senegalese relationship, so I don't really know what to say about it. 


What else happened recently?
SCHOOOOOOL!
My sister likes to joke that school is a four-letter word: SKUL


But seriously, forks, it's true: School has started again. Back to teaching!
In celebration:
GOOD (SCHOOL) SONG #1: Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl by Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters was a freakin genius. He (and B.B. King) is who got me into the blues. Sooooo good. Yes, the song may be a bit, um, inappropriate, especially for our age-sensitive ears these days, but still... Let's just pretend it's about young love. 

Why the long face Muddy? YOU'RE A MUSICAL GENIUS!
Don't be upset!

GOOD (SCHOOL) SONG #2: Be True to Your School- The Beach Boys
Absolutely hilarious lyrics:
"When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
'what's the matter buddy?
Ain't you heard of my school?
It's number one in the state.'
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly."


Maybe these are only funny to me since I never had any school spirit in high school or college, so it just seems absurd. NYU is not noted for its great athletics, I will remind you.


And tonight?
The National, Wye Oak, and Yo La Tengo at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland! WHOO-HOO!
Here's what I might hear...
Reasonable Man (I Don't Mind) by The National, from their 2004 EP Cherry Tree. Great lyrics. 
Sometimes I Don't Get You by Yo La Tengo from their album I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (best album title ever). 


Gotta run!
Over and out,
Anna

The Week in Review, Part 1

So, I was out of town for a while (again), this time in Italy, and it was hard to do a lot of posts. Which is sad-making, since August now only has two posts, and it's my one-year anniversary of the blog!
To make up for it, I am going to do two little "Week in Review" posts, since it seems like a LOT has happened in the past week or so.

First up?
THE VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE!
I'm kinda sad I missed this, I gotta admit.

It's true-- it was kinda a big nothing.

GOOD (EARTHQUAKE) SONG: Earthquake Weather- Beck
From his album Guero, which was awesome.

Next?
HURRICANE IRENE!
GOOD (HURRICANE) SONG #1: Buckets of Rain- Bob Dylan
From my favorite Dylan album, Blood on the Tracks (which has my two all-time favorite Dylan songs, which I will not reveal here, since I might post on them sometime...). Obviously the Dylan song "Hurricane" would have been appropriate, too, but it seemed a bit *too* obvious. And it also has nothing to do with a real hurricane.

GOOD (HURRICANE) SONG #2: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?- Creedence Clearwater Revival
I grew up listening to this on tape in my minivan as my mother and I would drive to upstate NY. Great to listen to on a back porch during a rainstorm, if you have the chance. You can't get much better than CCR.

They've seen the rain alright... the reign of TERRIBLE HAIRCUTS.

GOOD (HURRICANE) SONG #3: Irene- Caribou
Seemed appropriate.  I love the chill electronica of Caribou. It's sort of melancholy, like the rain. Dan Snaith, the man behind Caribou, is a genius.

OK so he is a genius. Which clearly means bat-sh*t crazy, too.
I like that.

To be continued...

Over and out,
Anna