The holiday season makes me incredibly emotional. Accordingly, here are some of the songs I've been listening to this week. They really...emote? Anyway, they fit my mood.
1. Okkervil River, "So Come Back, I'm Waiting"
They're pretty much masters at delicately and successfully emoting. Raw emotion is essentially what their music is, to me. Especially on Black Sheep Boy, which continues to be my obsession.
2. Stars, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"
My favorite Stars song. There aren't really words for it, because it kind of transcends that. Wonderful.
3. Imogen Heap, "Goodnight and Go"
Delightfully sweet. What's going on in this song, I want that.
4. Iron & Wine, "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"
Sam Beam's voice here is so great. I love how he manages to be mellow but not boring.
5. Sunset Rubdown, "The Empty Threats of Little Lord"
Sunset Rubdown...is nuts. But this song is crazy in that it is so, so pretty, and it tells a story. The lyrics intrigue me.
6. Rufus Wainwright, "14th Street"
Rufus Wainwright is another master of emoting. This song is grandiose, and it's so much fun to try to pick out all the intricate harmonies. Just a fun song to listen and sing to.
7. Loney, Dear, "I Am John"
Just now discovering Loney, Noir (way behind on that one) and I like it a lot. This song definitely stands out; I love the way it builds.
8. Fiery Furnaces, "Evergreen"
I am never bored by this band. This does sound very similar to "Here Comes The Summer," which can only mean good things because "HCTS" is fantastic. I just love, love, love how they sound.
9. Fiona Apple, "Paper Bag"
Whoooaaaa takin' me back. An oldie, but a goodie. "Hunger hurts, but starving works, when it costs too much to love." PERFECT.
10. Ben Folds, "Smoke"
"You keep saying the past is not dead - well, stop and smell the smoke." I think that line speaks for itself in showing the emotional quality of this song. Jesus, Ben Folds. Didn't know you had it in you.
11. Weezer, "December"
Best song, hands-down, from Maladroit. It's quite the lovely ballad, actually.
12. Judy Garland, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
This is le coup de gras, la piece de resistance. Especially during the holidays. I just cry. And cry. And cry. It gets me right here ::pounds fist on heart::
C'est tout!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Feelin' good in the neighborhood...
Few things in this world put me in a better mood than listening to Girl Talk does. In fact, I think it may be physically impossible to listen to GT and be in poor spirits. I could be wrong, but it's never happened to me.Night Ripper is stupendous all by itself. Add an incredibly fun, rotoscoped fan video of "Bounce That," and it's almost too much to handle.
I discovered this video on Monday, watched it about six times, and was inspired to listen to Night Ripper again. Needless to say, it made my Monday. Please allow it to make your (insert day here).
In the same vein, more feel-good music:
...just to name a few. And of course, anything and everything Motown (it's assumed, Motown being the ultimate feel-good music genre.) And obviously there are more feel-good songs in the world, but this is a great start.
It's a pretty girly playlist; nonetheless, this group of songs should brighten anyone's mood. So if you're having a bad day, these are your go-to songs. You'll feel better - I give my 100% guarantee.
And if all else fails, there's always this.
C'est tout!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Top 50 Songs of 2007
As promised, my list of the top 50 songs of 2007:
50. No One - Alicia Keys
49. Eyes Are At The Billions - Cortney Tidwell
48. Golden Skans - Klaxons
47. 7 Stars - Apples In Stereo
46. Tonight I Have To Leave It - Shout Out Louds
45. Dashboard - Modest Mouse
44. Winged/Wicked Things - Sunset Rubdown
43. Little Brother (Electric) - Grizzly Bear
42. Silly Crimes - The Tough Alliance
41. 10 x 10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
40. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
39. I Rock - Cool Kids
38. I Saw The Bright Shinies - The Octopus Project
37. Never Meant To Hurt You - Good Shoes
36. No One's Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
35. The Night Starts Here - Stars
34. I'll Be By Your Side - Sally Shapiro
33. What's A Girl To Do? - Bat For Lashes
32. Marry Me - St. Vincent
31. Umbrella - Rihanna
30. Two - Ryan Adams
29. Parking Lot Nights - Ghosthustler
28. Heaven - Club 8
27. Ex-Guru - Fiery Furnaces
26. 2080 - Yeasayer
25. Make A Plan To Love Me - Bright Eyes
24. Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) - Jay-Z
23. Heretics - Andrew Bird
22. Your English Is Good - Tokyo Police Club
21. Disaster - The Besnard Lakes
20. Matchbook Seeks Maniac - Deerhoof
19. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe - Okkervil River
18. Ada - The National
17. For Reverend Green - Animal Collective
16. What We Had - Handsome Furs
15. Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse - Of Montreal
14. Bros (edit) - Panda Bear
13. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
12. Good Life - Kanye West
11. Phantom Limb - The Shins
10. The Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
9. 1 2 3 4 - Feist
8. D.A.N.C.E. - Justice
7. The Opposite Of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman
6. West Coast - Coconut Records
5. Black Like Me - Spoon
4. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You - Black Kids
3. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
2. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
1. Intervention - Arcade Fire
C'est tout!
50. No One - Alicia Keys
49. Eyes Are At The Billions - Cortney Tidwell
48. Golden Skans - Klaxons
47. 7 Stars - Apples In Stereo
46. Tonight I Have To Leave It - Shout Out Louds
45. Dashboard - Modest Mouse
44. Winged/Wicked Things - Sunset Rubdown
43. Little Brother (Electric) - Grizzly Bear
42. Silly Crimes - The Tough Alliance
41. 10 x 10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
40. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
39. I Rock - Cool Kids
38. I Saw The Bright Shinies - The Octopus Project
37. Never Meant To Hurt You - Good Shoes
36. No One's Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
35. The Night Starts Here - Stars
34. I'll Be By Your Side - Sally Shapiro
33. What's A Girl To Do? - Bat For Lashes
32. Marry Me - St. Vincent
31. Umbrella - Rihanna
30. Two - Ryan Adams
29. Parking Lot Nights - Ghosthustler
28. Heaven - Club 8
27. Ex-Guru - Fiery Furnaces
26. 2080 - Yeasayer
25. Make A Plan To Love Me - Bright Eyes
24. Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) - Jay-Z
23. Heretics - Andrew Bird
22. Your English Is Good - Tokyo Police Club
21. Disaster - The Besnard Lakes
20. Matchbook Seeks Maniac - Deerhoof
19. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe - Okkervil River
18. Ada - The National
17. For Reverend Green - Animal Collective
16. What We Had - Handsome Furs
15. Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse - Of Montreal
14. Bros (edit) - Panda Bear
13. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
12. Good Life - Kanye West
11. Phantom Limb - The Shins
10. The Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
9. 1 2 3 4 - Feist
8. D.A.N.C.E. - Justice
7. The Opposite Of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman
6. West Coast - Coconut Records
5. Black Like Me - Spoon
4. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You - Black Kids
3. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
2. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
1. Intervention - Arcade Fire
C'est tout!
Top 25 Albums of 2007
It's that time of year...!
Nope, I'm not talking about the holiday season. Also not talking about winter time. What I am so pumped up about is that it is time for year-end "Best of" lists.
Oh yes, it is that time of year indeed, and the lists are starting to appear in full force. Being an obsessive music lover, of course I've been excited about making my Top Albums and Top Songs lists. In fact, I've been looking forward to it since...ehhh...October. That was when I started the "Best of 2007" playlist on my iPod. Two months too early? No way.
I started the playlist and have been adding to it, subtracting from it, adjusting it, etc. for the past 6 weeks. I had to start thinking about this early so that it would have time to settle, so that I would be able to arrive at the wisest decisions for finalists and rankings. These choices cannot be made haphazardly. These lists are IMPORTANT. (<--obsessed?)
Why so important? Well, it's quite easy to get depressed and stressed during the holidays. Christmas always depresses me (depression: check). Additionally, this is the busiest time of the semester and I'm considering going to my professors' houses and burning my papers on their doorsteps (stress: check). It's just not a fun time of year, frankly.
Forming and tweaking and finalizing these lists, therefore, has been my salvation as of late. Music, in general, has been my salvation. HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!
It helps that this has been a tremendous year for music. And this list of 25 albums leaves a lot of albums out. I just didn't get to hear many albums that I wanted to hear, as a lot of my music listening this year was spent on older albums.
Nonetheless, I heard an overwhelming amount of good music this year, and a couple of these albums will go down as some of my all-time favorites. To me, for the year 2007, these are the essential albums to hear. So if you haven't heard them, get on it.
Also: There are three EPs that get an honorable mention, because I didn't want to include short EPs on the list. They are:
Grizzly Bear - Friend
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is
Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhhs
All three EPs are incredible. So here is my list, the top 25 albums of 2007. Finally, something to feel good about this season.
Enjoy!
25. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
24. Justice - Cross
23. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
22. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
21. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
20. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
19. St. Vincent - Marry Me
18. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
17. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
16. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
15. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
14. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
13. Kanye West - Graduation
12. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
11. Jay-Z - American Gangster
10. Feist - The Reminder
9. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
8. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
7. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
6. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
5. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
4. M.I.A. - Kala
3. The National - Boxer
2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Be sure to check out my list of the top 50 songs of 2007!
C'est tout!
Nope, I'm not talking about the holiday season. Also not talking about winter time. What I am so pumped up about is that it is time for year-end "Best of" lists.
Oh yes, it is that time of year indeed, and the lists are starting to appear in full force. Being an obsessive music lover, of course I've been excited about making my Top Albums and Top Songs lists. In fact, I've been looking forward to it since...ehhh...October. That was when I started the "Best of 2007" playlist on my iPod. Two months too early? No way.
I started the playlist and have been adding to it, subtracting from it, adjusting it, etc. for the past 6 weeks. I had to start thinking about this early so that it would have time to settle, so that I would be able to arrive at the wisest decisions for finalists and rankings. These choices cannot be made haphazardly. These lists are IMPORTANT. (<--obsessed?)
Why so important? Well, it's quite easy to get depressed and stressed during the holidays. Christmas always depresses me (depression: check). Additionally, this is the busiest time of the semester and I'm considering going to my professors' houses and burning my papers on their doorsteps (stress: check). It's just not a fun time of year, frankly.
Forming and tweaking and finalizing these lists, therefore, has been my salvation as of late. Music, in general, has been my salvation. HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!
It helps that this has been a tremendous year for music. And this list of 25 albums leaves a lot of albums out. I just didn't get to hear many albums that I wanted to hear, as a lot of my music listening this year was spent on older albums.
Nonetheless, I heard an overwhelming amount of good music this year, and a couple of these albums will go down as some of my all-time favorites. To me, for the year 2007, these are the essential albums to hear. So if you haven't heard them, get on it.
Also: There are three EPs that get an honorable mention, because I didn't want to include short EPs on the list. They are:
Grizzly Bear - Friend
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is
Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhhs
All three EPs are incredible. So here is my list, the top 25 albums of 2007. Finally, something to feel good about this season.
Enjoy!
25. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
24. Justice - Cross
23. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
22. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
21. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
20. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
19. St. Vincent - Marry Me
18. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
17. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
16. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
15. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
14. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
13. Kanye West - Graduation
12. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
11. Jay-Z - American Gangster
10. Feist - The Reminder
9. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
8. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
7. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
6. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
5. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
4. M.I.A. - Kala
3. The National - Boxer
2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Be sure to check out my list of the top 50 songs of 2007!
C'est tout!
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