twee redux
The post about Voxtrot earlier in the week left the taste of Twee in my ...ears... and I think I need to do it up right. So here's your dose of that catchy, pop-y music with lyrics-just-a-little-too-smart -for-their-own-good goodness.
Before we begin, I will divulge that I have the entire collection of Sarah Records singles, 001-099...
Yes, ladies and gentlmen: you never knew it, but we are TWEE AS FUCK around here. (And no comments questioning the validity of Belle & Sebastian or The Cardigans as TweePop... I've heard far too much Ska being slid under the covers for a little "mainstreamness" to get in the way of technical definitions...)
Beulah - Popular Mechanics For Lovers
Belle & Sebastian - Seeing Other People
~and the grand finale~
what choice??
What choice do I have but to post about this great band? First of all, their name is Romance of Young Tigers....
!!!
How great is that? If you are a fan of Explosions in the Sky or GY!BE, you should check out this little trio. It's worth noting that there is not a percussionist in the band or in the sound, but it's still melodic and full...
bishop allen
Bishop Allen is a band of a different stripe. They have a pretty diverse sound, to begin with. But the real novelty to me is the way they chose to release their songs this past year: they released a 4-song EP every month. This departure from the usual approach of saving and honing songs for months or even years had some pretty cool results. For my part, I think it kept them fresh and gave a more direct insight into the evolution of their art. At the end of the day (year) they have a nice collection of 48 very different songs. Here's a snippet from September EP:
They have a bunch of songs, as well as their 12 EPs and their full album release, Charm School, available for download and purchase, respectively, at their web site.
a pb&j video
Yeah, that's right: Peter, Bjorn & John ... They've got a sweet video out, which I shall embed for your viewing plezhah:
The chick singing co-lead vocals is Victoria Bergsman, formerly (as in, last week) of The Concretes. Just FYI...
autumn shade…
Check out Autumn Shade, a quiet folk duo from Oklahoma. The site streams some great music, and there's a downloadable track at MySpace. Very nice, especially if you like female vocalists. I recommend "Home".
happy
I thought I'd just post a song that's simply happy. I've been addicted to the beat of this little number since I first heard it last year. I wish I could find a whole album of this... Voxtrot - straight from Austin, by the way!
Voxtrot - The Start of Something
And the lyrics (the best rendition I could find, at least):
The Start Of Something
by VoxtrotThis time of night I could call you up
I'd get angry with athletic ease, break common laws in twos and threes
If I die clutching your photograph
Don't call me boring, It's just 'cause I like you
Take me on back... take me back
To the place where I could feel your heart
Is this the end or just the start of
Something really, really beautiful
Wrapped up and disguised as something really, really ugly,Won't you...
Come by and see me, I'm a love letter away
I'd break your name before I'd say, "I really love you, love you, "
I don't care if you saw, I watched every inch of film
Flash across your Roman features,
And I loved it, loved it; I don't care ifYou think I'm eager to shut your eyes, well
I'm sorry-everybody knows you can't break me with your gutter prose
Would you believe it, she sent me a letter,
The ring, it nearly weighs her down, she's got another boy, oh boy
Steady your ears... read my lips
Poetry is not a luxury, it's how I'll break this home
And when I'm really ill, won't you cradle me?
Man is not a noble animal, but maybe woman is, remember,I heard you...
Inside your room, you said, "You never really live
Until your back's against the wall, " oh did you really mean it?
I never break my gaze, if just to see this scar remain reflected in your eyes
I think it's time to go homeGUITAR SOLO
Oh, tell me your thoughts, tell me your thoughts on liberty,
See there's a place where I sink to sleeping
Oh, my vote is as red as my blood
Will you join me for another round? I haven't had the chance to speak yetGod speed...
I break the law once every week to feel your touch,
What's a book to you in bed, Do you feel better, older?
This just makes me ill, your name is dripping from my pen
Still you're not around to curse,
I'll drop the gun now, I'm still under you...Marianne, let the ghosts sleep tonight.
Marianne, let the ghosts sleep, just shut your eyes and burn the past away.
you decide, part 1
I think I'll start a series of posts comparing two versions of the same song. I don't know, it just feels novel enough to be fun. Not to take a page from Coverville's playbook; I won't be nearly so purist about it... 
Anyway, this morning's contest is between old classic and new awesome:
I hope that neither needs much introduction, so listen, enjoy, and vote in the comments!
Addendum
That felt so good (har!) that I thought I'd add another version, just for grins. A little bit different stripe, but it's the same song...
because the tiger part is absent
I'm going to post something I think would make him very excited. (He is very excitable, after all...) Antony ~of Antony & The Johnsons fame~ has provided all of the vocals for the latest 5-song EP from composer Michael Cashmore, The Snow Abides. (Check it out on MySpace...) Also, Antony & The Johnsons is allegedly recording another album right now... So, that's pretty cool. Despite the rather morose approach to song-writing employed, I think few can deny the beauty of the orchestral arrangements or the striking (if Boy George-esque) vocals.
Samples from older albums, in release order and the order in which they attracted my attention... Be careful not to drown in the pathos:
From the self-titled album:
Antony & The Johnsons - Cripple & The Starfish
Lyrical highlights:
I am very happy
So please hit me
I am very very happy
So come on hurt me
From I Am A Bird Now:
Antony & The Johnsons - Fistful of Love
Lyrical highlights:
I feel your fists
And I know it's out of love
And I feel the whip
And I know it's out of love
iron & wine
I looked back and realized I hadn't really posted about Iron & Wine yet, not since this blog began. This is an oversight for which I should not be readily excused. Make protest, plucky readers! Well, I hope to begin penance with this post.
So, Iron & Wine is just one dude. One freakin'-ass amazing dude (Sam Beam). I can honestly say he's among my top 5 favorite artists of all time. Nay...top 3. He's lo-fi. He's folk. And his lyrics getcha right here. Those of you who know my tastes know this is the trifecta of OMG!!1! I <3 THIS!! music for me.
So, here's the ZIP of his full performance on NPR, which is a good primer for Iron & Wine. It includes as the last track a toned-down (yes, toned-down...) version of his song "The Trapeze Swinger", which is amazingly awe-mazing even though he sorta fucks it up. It's also not released on any of his albums that I can find...only on the In Good Company soundtrack. So, without further ado...
Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
The Trapeze Swinger
by Iron & Wineplease remember me, happily
by the rosebush laughing
with bruises on my chin, the time when
we counted every black car passing
your house beneath the hill, and up until
someone caught us in the kitchen
with maps, a mountain range, a piggy bank
a vision too removed to mentionbut please remember me, fondly
i heard from someone you're still pretty
and then they went on to say that the Pearly Gates
had some eloquent graffiti
like: "we'll meet again" and "fuck the Man"
and "tell my mother not to worry"
and angels with their great handshakes
but always done in such a hurryand please remember me, at Halloween
making fools of all the neighbors
our faces painted white, by midnight
we'd forgotten one another
and when the morning came i was ashamed
only now it seems so silly
that season left the world and then returned
and now you're lit up by the cityso please remember me, mistakenly
in the window of the tallest tower
call, then pass us by, but much too high
to see the empty road at happy hour
gleam and resonate just like the gates
around the Holy Kingdom
with words like: "lost and found" and "don't look down"
and "someone save temptation"and please remember me as in the dream
we had as rug-burned babies
among the fallen trees and fast asleep
beside the lions and the ladies
that called you what you like and even might
give a gift for your behavior:
a fleeting chance to see a trapeze-
swinger high as any saviorbut please remember me, my misery
and how it lost me all i wanted
those dogs that love the rain, and chasing trains
the colored birds above there running
in circles round the well, and where it spells
on the wall behind St. Peter's
so bright with cinder gray in spray paint:
"who the hell can see forever?"and please remember me, seldomly
in the car behind the carnival
my hand between your knees, you turn from me
and said the trapeze act was wonderful
but never meant to last, the clowns that passed
saw me just come up with anger
when it filled the circus dogs, the parking lot
had an element of dangerso please remember me, finally
and all my uphill clawing
my dear, but if i make the Pearly Gates
i'll do my best to make a drawing
of God and Lucifer, a boy and girl
an angel kissin' on a sinner
a monkey and a man, a marching band
all around the frightened trapeze-swingernah nah nah, nah nah nah nah...
midlake
Fleetwood Mac? The Moody Blues? Neil Young & Friends, you ask?
No!
Midlake. And they're this nifty little quartet from Denton, TX. Plus they're playing The Parish on February 23. Worth checking out, I think...