Jan
25
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
The Owl
from Fear Is On Our Side
This is the best animated music video I’ve ever seen.
The Owl
Jan
23
Travis Morrison
[mp3]http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/TravisMorrison_PeopleDie.mp3[/mp3]
People Die
From Travistan
I hated Silence of the Lambs. Hated it. And not because it was too gruesome or because I somehow convinced myself that it was a bad movie. No, my distaste is much more basic. I found the movie exceptionally frustrating as a sequel.
“A sequel?” you say? Yes, a sequel. It’s somewhat more common knowledge now than it was in 1991, but Silence of the Lambs is, in fact, a sequel. The original movie is a classic thriller called Manhunter. I watched it with my mom when I was, I dunno, like 12. More than being a great childhood memory, it is an amazing movie.
Unfortunately, as a sequel, Lambs fell flat. I went into it expecting an extension on the first brilliant film, but, of course, it was intended to stand on its own.
That’s how I felt about Travistan.
Jan
22
The Shins
[mp3]http://media.subpop.com/downloads/free/Phantom_Limb400.mp3[/mp3]
Wincing The Night Away
Realeased 23 January 2007
I’ve been seriously contemplating writing a Best Albums of 2007 list in the first few weeks of the year, just to see how close I can get. Most of it would be based on expectation and conjecture. I wouldn’t be able to account for the surprise hits or debut albums. And, of course, it is impossible for pre-emptive Best-of lists to measure the emotional impact any specific album will have had by the end of the year. So I decided against it. Regardless, this is shaping up to be a very good year for music.
Well, Wincing the Night Away is a sure bet for the Top Ten of 2007. If ten better albums are released this year, I’ll be shocked. In fact, if this album ends up on 5 or fewer Top Ten lists over at Metacritic, I’ll eat a crayon.
Dec
20
Alias & Ehren
[mp3]http://musicforsteve.com/alias-cobblestoned.mp3[/mp3]
Cobblestoned Waltz
From Lillian
Quick history of Alias:
Alias (which is his alias, obviously) is white and grew up in a small town in Maine. After catching the hip hop bug, he started creating his own beats and perfecting his signature, double-time rapping style. He and a friend decided to start an artist collective called Anticon and moved out to the Bay Area. Much to everyone’s surprise (his parents most of all, I’m sure) he was very very very good…
Dec
18
Iron & Wine
[mp3]http://media.subpop.com/downloads/free/Naked_As_We_Came255.mp3[/mp3]
Our Endless Numbered Days
Realeased 23 March 2004
I’m not even sure where to start.
This album is nothing less than essential. Our Endless Numbered Days is not only one of the best albums to be released this decade, it contains the best love songs recorded in a generation. Put simply, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. It’s more than good. It’s perfect.
Dec
16
Maritime
[mp3]http://musicforsteve.com/music/maritime_calm.mp3[/mp3]
Calm
From We, The Vehicles
Emo music has had two distinct phases. Originally, emo was basically country music for hardcore kids: clean-cut mid-west kids singing about how sad and angry they are that a girl broke their heart. Whiney and predictable, yes, but it was also a new and oddly exciting branch of the ever-changing genra the rest of the world refers to as “punk rock.”
Then something happened. Some time in the late 90′s, emo got happy and poppy. The whiney, depressed, geeky, no-life, loser singer/songwriter was replaced with the pretty, tattooed, occasioanally sad, constantly complaining, but very well produced artiste.
Dec
12
The For Carnation
[mp3]http://www.tgrec.com/media/2928.mp3[/mp3]
Emp. Man’s Blues
From The For Carnation
You are getting very, very sleepy. You’re in a comfortable place. You can see fluffy white clouds floating through a sea of azure blue. You’re laying on your back in a field of soft grass. There’s a storm on the horizon. It looks dangerous, but it’s far away. How does the storm make you feel?
…
Good. Good. Now, take a deep breath. As you exhale, I want you to imagine you are breathing away your worries. You won’t be able to breathe them all away, only a portion.
…
Good. Good. Now, tell me about one of the worries that was left behind.
…
Interesting…
Dec
11
Junior Boys
[mp3]http://musicforsteve.com/music/JUNIOR_BOYS_InTheMorning.mp3[/mp3]
So This is Goodbye
Realeased 22 August 2006
It’s hard to dislike this album. Nie unto impossible, I’d say. Everyone at work refers to this album as the “bleepity blopity music” and that’s actually a pretty accurate description. The music consists almost exclusively of engineered beats and vocals. Normally a recipe for disaster, Junior Boys have managed somehow to create a near perfect album. More than being expertly produced, they have created an album that is easy to listen to. There is no need to skip a single track.
So This is Goodbye is also something of an enigma. All at once the album sounds retro, modern, and way ahead of its time. There is nothig inherently new offered by this album, the genius is in the presentation. If I were feeling more adventurous, I would use words like “sensual,” “organic,” and “tranquil.”
Nov
6
The Decemberists
The Crane Wife
Released 3 October 2006
It’s difficult to write music that people will like. It’s harder still to write bold music with broad appeal. But it’s nearly impossible to create an album that will be considered a “classic.” Relatively few artists have managed to climb this Mt. Everest of musical accomplishments and we all recognize the names of those who have: the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Dr. Dre, Michael Jackson, OutKast, U2, Radiohead… There is a special place in music history reserved for these albums and always room in our CD collection.
Well, make room for one more.
Oct
27
TV On The Radio
[mp3]http://www.musicforsteve.com/music/TV_ON_THE_RADIO_wolf-like-me.mp3[/mp3]
Wolf Like Me
From Return to Cookie Mountain
TV On The Radio makes music that is its own genre. Any number of hyphenated genres almost work. Soul-Punk. Indie-Funk. Alt-Fusion. Urban-New-Wave. Not only do these attempted definitions miss the mark by miles, they simply can’t do justice to the music itself. Nobody makes music like this. What’s more, nobody has ever tried. TVOTR have mastered the art of whatever it is they are trying to do. Welcome to the age of [nameless genre].
TV On the Radio makes music that is initially hard to listen to, possibly difficult to understand, and instantly easy to love. Mark my words when I tell you that this album will appear in almost every Top Ten list as the year comes to a close.
Music for Steve
