King (Joseph) Arthur

Sometime in high school I got a copy of CMJ magazine, which had a CD attached to it and heard the song "Let's Embrace" by Joseph Arthur (which I couldn't find on youTube unfortunately), and fell in love with it's lyrics and poppy beat. Since that day long, long ago, he has released a bunch more albums, of which I have only a few. But the ones I do have are great. And definitely worth spreading the word about.

Channeling the Bob Dylan look, methinks

So Joseph Arthur is originally from Akron, Ohio (like the Black Keys!). He tours a hell of a lot, although I still have yet to see him live. I find a lot of his lyrics interesting, and I like that his songs range from quieter, more melancholy singer-songwriter-y songs, to fun, high-energy poppy numbers like the first one I heard. A lot of people compare him to R.E.M., and in fact they actually covered a song of his. He's released five full LP's so far. He lived in NYC for a while, was there for 9/11, and then to escape NYC he moved down to New Orleans... right before Katrina hit. Man, he doesn't have the best timing for choosing places to live, does he?? His latest album didn't get the best reviews, but I don't give a crap. I like a lot of the songs on it. Like this one:

GOOD SONG: Black Lexus by Joseph Arthur (from his album Nuclear Daydream).
The song sounds like it's about a woman wanting to head out from NYC to LA, to make it big, and yet can't seem to get the momentum. I really like the guitar on this one, and also the lyrics
"You don't know where you're going
Almost anytime
Things lost just lighten up your load."

Buy his music here: Joseph Arthur

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

Fistful of Mercy (another group that he is part of, with Ben Harper & Dhani Harrison)
Pete Yorn
Griffin House
Johnathan Rice
Ray LaMontagne
Langhorne Slim
Liam Finn

Over and out,
Anna

"If I had an orchard..."

So here goes a quick post before Easter for y'all (I'm allowed to say that now. I live below the Mason-Dixon line).

So most of you are probably acquainted with Fleet Foxes already, but in case you're not: They're based in Seattle (again! I can't avoid em!) and released two EP's before they really got noticed. Their song "Mykonos" off their second EP "Sun Giant" is a GOOD SONG, too. Check it out if you haven't already: Mykonos. They relelased their self-titled debut album in 2009 and got rave reviews.

Look at all that hair! Look at all that plaid!

They were just MADE to be indie folk stars.

Fortunately for FF fans, they're releasing a new album on May 3rd! Also fortunately, they released a single from that album already:

GOOD SONG:  Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes (from their upcoming album of the same title as the song).

This is a GOOD SONG for many reasons: first, I love the lyrics.

 

"I was raised up believing I was somehow unique

Like a snowflake, distinct among snowflakes

Unique in each way you can see.

But now after some thinking

I'd say I'd rather be

A functioning cog in some great machinery

Serving something beyond me."

To me those are interesting: aren't we all raised up believing we are totally unique and yet don't we all want to be part of something greater, too?

And then:

"If I know only one thing, 

it's that everything that I see

Of the world outside is so inconceivable 

often I barely can speak

Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy 

and I can't keep it to myself.

What good is it to sing helplessness blues?

Why should I wait for anyone else?"

I often feel this way: everything is so beautifully crazy and inconceivable that sometimes I feel like anything I say will just fall short. But it doesn't mean lack of action, or helplessness, or despair. Instead, it's joyful. 

And then the last part of the song (I promise! No more lyrics now!):

"If I had an orchard, I'd work til I'm raw.

If I had an orchard, I'd work til I'm sore."

Yes. And yes. 

Second, their sound is awesome. Their chiming, jangling guitars and their distinctive echoing vocal harmonies are so refreshing. There is real beauty in their music and I can't wait for their new album.

Buy their music here: Fleet Foxes

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

Simon & Garfunkel

Bon Iver

Panda Bear

Grizzly Bear

Vashti Bunyan (super folksy & weird)

Joanna Newsom (super folksy & weird)

Iron & Wine

Over and out,

Anna

P.S. Happy Easter!!

"Can't you live and be thankful you're here?"

So I first heard of the band Guillemots (pronounced Gill-i-mots) my freshman year of college when they released an EP that I heard somewhere and was instantly hooked. The band is based in London, although only one ban member is actually from England: Fyfe "Yes This Is My Real Name" Dangerfield. The other band mates are mC LOrd "Probably Not My Real Name" MagRao from Brazil, Aristazabal "Yes I Too Have Cool Name" Hawkes from Canada, and Greig "Lacking In The Cool Name Department" Stewart from Scotland. Aristazabal is a classically trained jazz musician, MagRao often plays unconventional instruments like the power tool, the theramin, and the typewriter, and overall their sound is unusual and fresh and super-FUN. 

See? Like I said, men just look better in hats.

Their GOOD SONG Trains to Brazil was on repeat on my ipod for months. And months.

I love this song because of the great energy behind it. It sounds like it was recorded at a party, and the saxophone that comes in is fantastic. There is surprising depth in the lyrics. My favorite lines?


"And to those of you who moan your lives
from one day to the next-
Well, let them take you next.
Can't you live and be thankful you're here?
See it could be you tomorrow or next year."

As I said, I first heard their EP my freshman year. However, for some reason known only to certain synapses in my brain (very secretive synapses that won't tell any other synapses the reasons for their actions), I didn't download any of their other stuff. Which was stupid of me, since they then released a full-length LP, and then another one in 2008. As far as I can tell, though, it's only available in Great Britain, which is really annoying. 

Fortunately for me, though, they are releasing another album this year, and it's been streaming live from The Hype Machine. I've only gotten about half-way through it, and it is also incredible. It hasn't been released yet, like I said, but I found one of my favorite songs off the album on youtube, performed live on the radio. 

Check it out:

GOOD SONG #2: I Don't Feel Amazing Now (live on the radio) by Guillemots
It's much more chill (especially in this pared-down live version, as opposed to the album version) and more melancholy. His voice has a sweetness to it, but not in a saccharine way at all. 
"Just take my hand and make me feel amazing/ Cuz I don't feel amazing now."

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

Elbow
Jens Lekman
Delta Spirit
The Elected
Dandy Warhols
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Buy their music here: Guillemots!
And cross your fingers that their new album entitled "Walk The River" (due out on this Monday, the 18th) will be available in America!

Over and out,
Anna

What I Ask

Just the other day I was listening to a mix I made in high school, and I came across a song that I hadn't listened to in a while. I guess I must have forgotten about it for a while, which is insane and kind of shameful, since it's an amazing song and I used to listen to it all the time. Oh well. I have returned to it. Why don't you all give it a listen?

GOOD SONG: What I Ask by David Kitt

What I Ask is for you not to spit on my mic

I didn't know much about David Kitt before I decided to write this post, so I did a little research. He's an Irish musician (from Dublin) and has toured with such big names as Yo La Tengo, Tindersticks, The Magic Numbers, and Television. The guy ain't no joke. He's released six LP's so far, with his most popular one being "The Big Romance" (2001), which is the record that "What I Ask" is from.  His most recent one is "The Nightsaver" (2009).

This song is great in its lyrical simplicity; the refrain is simply:
"Love/ is what I ask/ no less."
 I like his rather warm, earthy voice (can I use that adjective?) combined with the almost entirely electronic musical elements; he makes it work. I love the guitar that kicks in right around the 4:10 mark. The song keeps getting bigger, more beautiful, and more earnest as it goes, but eventually fades into a rippling guitar chord and then silence.  It's a great song to listen to while driving at night. Trust me.

Buy his music here! David Kitt

If you liked this song, you might also like:

Joseph Arthur
The Rosebuds
Loney Dear
The Frames
Simple Kid
Sufjan Stevens
The Beta Band

Over and out,
Anna

Behold the Power of Telekinesis!

Telekinesis (also called psychokinesis): the ability to move or affect objects unconnected to the body using only the mind.

Right.

Fortunately, it also happens to be a great band from Seattle (Seattle! Again! Something in the water maybe?).
Telekinesis is just one guy basically, whose name is Michael Benjamin Lerner, but on tour he's joined by Cody Votolato (former member of The Blood Brothers, and whose actual brother is Rocky Votolato, who is a great folk singer in his own right), David Broecker, and Jonie Broecker. So far there have been only two full-length albums: "Telekinesis!" (2009) and "Twelve Desperate Straight Lines" (earlier this year).

Here is proof of the power of telekinesis:
GOOD SONG: Fever Chill by Telekinesis.
This seemed like an appropriate song to pick, since I am feeling sick, and there is definitely some terrible fever chill bug going around amongst my students. I think I may have caught it :(

Watch out for that eagle behind you, my friend. 

It might have telekinetic powers. 

Their new album is awesome. It's great guitar-driven and hook-filled pop, but it's not just fluff. "Fever Chill" is a little bit darker than some of the other songs on the album. His voice sounds very young, but there is a quite mature brooding emotion on the song that I really like. When the drums kick in (literally), the song reaches another level of greatness. Give it a spin!

If you liked this song you might also like:

Throw Me The Statue

The Rural Alberta Advantage

Weezer

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Smith Westerns

Over and out,

Anna

My Retro Music Dream Duo

Ever dream about having your own music festival, where you chose all the acts? Or about choosing your own musical dream team? Or even about what it would be like if two amazing bands became one, or two singers got married and had babies that were like perfect mixtures of their parents, with their collected musical genius?
'Cuz I do.


And one of my new favorite things to think about is what kind of kid Eli Paperboy Reed and Adele would have together, if they got together. I can't tell you what they would look like, but they would probably make music like their parents. Which is a very good thing.


Who are these people, you might ask. Well, with no further ado...

How could you not love this?

GOOD SONG: Take My Love With You by Eli Paperboy Reed and the True Loves.


So this dude is FANTASTIC. I saw him live with a bunch of my friends last Thursday at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC, and he just blew us all away. Such an amazing live performer. You feel like you traveled back in time 50 years. A little info on him: Eli Reed is originally from Boston, but moved to Mississippi after high school, and got his career started there helping out with the gospel music with a just-starting-up church. The rest is history. His music is "neo-soul" which basically means great soul music that is also relevant and fun. It also means that his band, the True Loves, are freakin sweet. There is nothing sarcastic, ironic, shocking in his music. It's pure enjoyment. 
I HIGHLY recommend seeing him live if you get the chance.
(This is also a GOOD SONG of his: Come and Get It) 

Classy lady!

As for Adele, you probably know her because of her hit song "Chasing Pavements" from her album entitled "19," which was good, but honestly, just not as good as anything on her new album, "21" (I'm seeing a trend here). 

I really want her to get with Eli Reed because their babies would have more soul than... than.... I don't know, a lot of people. They would be FILLED WITH SOUL. FILLED, I TELL YOU. 

Her new album has a lot of goodies on it, and I am making a prediction right now: you will probably hear the song "Rumour Has It" a lot on the radio starting about now. 

But I think this song is even better:

GOOD SONG: I'll Be Waiting by Adele.

Adele is huge right now in England, and I am aware that this post is not going to be most people's first exposure to her, but honestly, I don't really care since that isn't truly what this blog is for.  She is an amazingly talented young woman (younger than I am!), and I gotta admit that it's pretty cool that a singer like her (soulful and gorgeous but not a skinny, slutty pop star) has made it so big. Her voice is so powerful that it gets me every time. Her songwriting isn't stellar, but she could be singing about cauliflower for all I care.

So yeah, that's my dream duo. 

Who's yours?

If you like these songs, you might also like these artists (both old and new):

Duffy

Sam Cooke

Aloe Blacc

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

The Zutons

Stevie Wonder

Otis Redding

Janelle Monae

Cee Lo

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