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

Big Bird Has a Band?

So, what with SXSW (that's the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, for those of you who don't pay attention to these things) coming up, there are a lot of new bands getting talked about now. One of them is the band Yellow Ostrich. Despite the fact that Big Bird is a yellow ostrich (I think),  the band has nothing to do with Sesame Street. There is no link (although nothing could beat THIS link).

Hmm... they don't LOOK like Jim Henson creatures.

Despite the lack of Sesame Street cred, they are a really great band, with a ton of indie rock street cred instead. The band is basically the brainchild of Alex Schaaf, although now it includes Michael Tapper (from We Are Scientists!!) and Jon Natchez (from the bands Beirut AND Bishop Allen!!). They're based out of Brooklyn (who isn't these days?). Their music is pretty simple stuff-- a lot of looped vocals, drums, and fun guitar riffs-- but it's super catchy and I'm diggin it.

For example,
GOOD SONG: Hold On by Yellow Ostrich

It's just a very happy-making song that I have been enjoying blasting out my car windows as spring approaches...

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

Dr. Dog
Broken Bells
The Whitest Boy Alive
Throw Me The Statue

and I'm struggling to think of anything else that is even mildly similar.

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Yellow Ostrich

Over and out,
Anna

Dreamy Folk-Pop for Owls...?

There seems to be a profusion of random bands popping up with animal names (Grizzly Bear, Bear in Heaven, Panda Bear, Shearwater [a kind of bird], Wolf Parade, Dr. Dog, and the list goes on...). One noteworthy animal band out there right now, though, is most definitely Breathe Owl Breathe.

Right now they're rockin the #10 spot on eMusic's charts and for good reason. They seem like a great little musical trio, and their music just makes me happy. Also, after listening to their song "Dragon," I can tell they have a great goofy sense of humor.

The band is comprised of Micah Middaugh (on the guitar, banjo, piano, and "musical toys" section of the band), Andrea Moreno-Beals (on vocals and AMAZING cello), and Trevor Hobbes (on drums and all sorts of random instruments of the percussive persuasion). I believe they're all from Michigan, so I guess this post is yet another Midwest shoutout. 

Jump Owl Jump!

Their album "Magic Central" just came out in September, and it's great. Andrea's voice reminds me a lot of Feist's. Which is always a good thing, right?

The first GOOD SONG of theirs that I wanna recommend is their song "House of Gold." The only version I could find of it is a random live version from a show they did in Ohio, but it's definitely still worth a listen/watch. Here you go: House of Gold. I am digging her backup vocals on this one.

The second GOOD SONG of theirs from "Magic Central" is Swimming. It's quite chill, as a lot of their stuff is, but it's a great song. And, as the lyrics say, I definitely wish I was swimming right now (someplace warm, obviously. The 31 degree weather here is a whole lotta no fun). 

If you like these songs, you might also check out:

Feist

Horse Feathers

Iron & Wine

The Cave Singers

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

The Be-Good Tanyas

Pink & Noseworthy

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Breathe Owl Breathe

Over and out,

Anna 

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Honestly?     No."

That's the opening line to The Whitest Boy Alive's newest album (2009) entitled "Rules." The song is "Keep a Secret."
It's the GOOD SONG for today, so check it out yourself: Keep A Secret (by the way, ignore the two minutes of silence at the end of the song... don't know why they're there)


I've loved The Whitest Boy Alive (let's just call them TWBA from now on, OK?) since their first album came out in 2006. I became somewhat obsessed with their song Burning, and couldn't stop playing it for a long, long time. The band is made up of Erlend Øye, Marcin Öz, Sebastian Maschat, and Daniel Nentwig. 
Side Note 1: Erlend Øye (from Norway) is also in the great band Kings of Convenience, who made one of the BEST VIDEOS EVER: 
I'd Rather Dance With You!!
Side Note 2: it is MANDATORY that you watch this video. 


TWBA is one of the many great bands to come out of the icy cold yet strangely catchy-song-filled countries of Norway & Sweden these days (OK, so TWBA is technically based out of Berlin, but whatever, most of the band members are Norwegian), like Sondre Lerche, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Jens Lekman. 


Their sound is a bit spare, but surprisingly catchy. Maybe it's their strong bass and drums, but it's really hard to keep your feet still while listening to TWBA. Erlend Øye's voice is rather unemotional, but his lyrics are great, often with a interesting humorous note to them. 


OK, I also like them because Erlend Øye is so adorably dorky-looking. 

Yeah, pretty white. 

DOWNLOAD THEIR MUSIC HERE: TWBA


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


Sondre Lerche
Kings of Convenience
Ratatat
Joy Division
(all very different from each other, but TWBA pulls from all of them)


Over and out,
Anna