Archive for the ‘Best of, Music’ Category

22
Feb

New μουσική

   Posted by: matt

Angerona Presents: Apollos Versus the Vulcan ‘09 or The White Winter Hymnal

Just to be as purely ridiculous as possible…

In keeping with a tradition I established about a year and a half ago, in a few short days, I’ll be passing out to my roommates & Erin my favorite new music of the previous season. This season’s mixtape will be unique in that, ironically (if only in my word usage), it will be simultaneously the most accessible (in that Patrick introduced me to a site where I could upload the mix & anyone anywhere could download it with relative ease) and least accessible (in that I expect the least number of you to appreciate the selections herein) mix I’ve put together thus far.

Disclaimer: If we’ve ever spoken about it, I am sure that you are aware that I am wholly against music theft. My desire in making these lists public is simply exposure- hoping that you will discover & love bands & music that you may not have been exposed to and will, thereafter, buy the music that you’ve enjoyed. Now that I’ve gotten that off my conscience… Onto the list!

  1. “No One Does It Like You” by Department of Eagles, from In Ear Park
  2. “The Gardener” by The Tallest Man on Earth, from Shallow grave
  3. “Blood Bank”- Bon Iver, from Blood Bank EP
  4. “M79″ by Vampire Weekend, from Vampire Weekend
  5. “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine, from Dog Days Are Over- Single
  6. “Damnit Anna” by The Morning benders, from Boarded Doors
  7. “Inside a Boy (Son Lux remix)” by My Brightest Diamond, from Shark Remixes, Vol 2: Son Lux
  8. “Fools” by The Dodos, from Visiter
  9. “Oh No” by Andrew Bird, from Noble Beast
  10. “Death Will Never Conquer” by Coldplay, from Death Will Never Conquer- Single
  11. “Fire on the Mountain” by Asa, from Asa
  12. “Apple Orchard” by Beach House, from Beach House
  13. “Kaleidoscope Machine” by Katie Costello, from Kaleidoscope Machine
  14. “In Our Talons” by Bowerbirds, from Hymns for a Dark Horse
  15. “By Your Side” by Matthew Mayfield, from The Fire EP
  16. “A Record Year for Rainfall” by The Decemberists, from Always the Bridesmaid, Vol. 3
  17. “Just Once” by DM Stith, from Curtain Speech EP
  18. “Paper Planes” by M.I.A.

If you’d like to check out the majority of the songs here, listen to the Seeqpod player below. If you’d like to download the mix, click here. Enjoy, Critique, and God bless.


SeeqPod - Playable Search

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25
Nov

Autumn Leaves the Vulcan 2008

   Posted by: matt Tags: ,

The long awaited autumn playlist has arrived… Never you fear- Mixes shall be passed like hotcakes during the Christmas season.

The Best of Fall 2008’s Music

  1. The Decemberists- Valerie Plame
  2. First Aid Kit- Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes cover)
  3. Blitzen Trapper- Furr
  4. Joshua Radin & Patty Griffin- You Got Growing Up to Do
  5. Sigur Ros- Gobbledigook
  6. Ingrid Michaelson- You and I
  7. Delta Spirit- People, Turn Around
  8. Rachel Yamagata & Ray LaMontagne- Duet
  9. The Welcome Wagon- Sold! To the Nice Rich Man
  10. Conor Oberst- Cape Canaveral
  11. The Last Shadow Puppets- Standing Next to Me
  12. Mirah- The Garden
  13. Ray LaMontagne- You Are the Best Thing
  14. Meaghan Smith- If You Asked Me
  15. Common Market- Winter Takes All
  16. Sufjan Stevens- Ring Them Bells (Bob Dylan cover)
  17. Coldplay & Jay-Z- Lost+
  18. The Avett Brothers- Murder in the City
  19. These United States- Honor Amongst Thieves
  20. The Apples in Stereo- Stephen Stephen

Notes: (2) First Aid Kit are two teenage Swedish girls with insanely good harmonies; The Fleet Foxes have appeared, in some form, on my last three “best of mixes); (3) Blitzen Trapper opened for Iron & Wine this past Saturday at Workplay; (7) Delta Spirit played at Bottletree a few months back with Dr. Dog, played a year ago with Fleet Foxes, and are coming back to The Magic City in December; (9) The Welcome Wagon is a Presbyterian minister & his wife signed to Sufjan’s record label- many thanks to Caleb Chancey for this recommendation; (11) The Last Shadow Puppets- thanks Ashley Xue Grimm- are a side project from a dude in The Arctic Monkeys & another from The Rascals; they have a mid-1960s feel; (12) Erin, who has moved to crutches!!!, saw a group on So You Think You Can Dance? perform to this song; (13) Ray’s third output is rather disappointing in my book- perhaps success has made him too happy to write those heart-wrenching ballads we’ve grown accustomed to; (15) The lone rap track to make the cut for quite some time; (17) A merger of glorious proportions; (20) The ever-so-peppy Apples in Stereo wrote a song for Stephen Colbert

Parks introduced to me to SeeqPod during the Saturday of his bachelor party. It’s fantastic. While I couldn’t find every track from the playlist above, a great number of them are playable below. Patrick, enjoy this while you’re not doing anything at work… Erin, if you gain enough courage to bring headphones to work, you can enjoy this too!

SeeqPod - Playable Search

4 Comments
25
Aug

Life Under the Vulcan Sun Vol. 3, Best of Summer 2008

   Posted by: matt

My gracious, working at the law firm on Mondays can be dreadfully boring… At least I have memories of a delightful Vietnamese dinner to reflect upon… Since I have tired of attempting to write support letters (which preface a phone call, which preface a face-toface meeting…), here is my best of summer mix. If you want a spin, let me know…

1. Andrew Bird “Oh, Sister” (Bob Dylan)
2. Amos Lee “Listen”
3. Liam Finn “Second Chance”
4. Beck “Modern Guilt”
5. Son Lux “Betray”
6. Coldplay “Cemeteries of London”
7. Fleet Foxes “Ragged Wood”
8. Wild Sweet Orange “An Atlas to Follow”
9. Death Cab for Cutie “You Can Do Better Than Me”
10.Joshua James “Abbie Martin”
11. Blind Pilot “The Story I Heard”
12. Emily Wells “Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & The Requiem Mix”
13. Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart”
14. Bon Iver “Skinny Love”
15. Coldplay “Violet Hill”
16. Emily Wells “Symphony 8 & the Canary’s Last Take”
17. Amos Lee “Better Days”
18. Katie Herzig “Forevermore”
19. Ola Podrida “Atmosphere” (Joy Division)
20. Man Man “Top Drawer”

Two videos guaranteed to make you hurt & laugh: Slap Fight & Too Smart for Strangers by Winnie the Pooh.

And, just in case you haven’t heard, David Blaine’s latest trick: to spend twelve sleepless nights

1 Comment
9
Jul

Best of Spring 2008 Music

   Posted by: matt

So as to establish a tradition (perhaps a semi-annual one?), I am posting my Best of Spring 2008 mix. These songs were “new,” in that they were at least new to me, from the Fall of ‘07 to the Spring of ‘08. Some of the bands listed are those that carried over from the Fall because their albums never escaped my head… Without further ado,

1. Radiohead- Bodysnactchers
-Is there a group of more brilliant, other-worldly musicians alive? Doubtfully so. J Rhea and I think that if there is one (all members still living) band that should get into heaven solely on merit, it would be these guys.
2. Jose Gonzalez- Down the Line
 - So simple, so dark. He hates religion as much as he loves playing brilliant classical guitar.
3. Jon Foreman- I Am Still Running
    -I’m not a big Switchfoot guy, but someone I respect told me to check out Foreman’s solo Winter Ep. It’s brilliant. There is such a forlorn nature to all of the songs. This one actually is my second favorite- the top choice would be “White as Snow,” taken directly from Psalm 51.
4. Plants & Animals- Bye Bye Bye
-If a tremendous smile doesn’t wash over your face about 30 seconds in, go see a shrink. You’re probably not well. This song is just terribly amusing.
5. Belle & Sebastian- If She Wants Me
-My favorite song they’ve ever done. They write great melodies with lyrics that startle you. This is no exception.
6. These United States- The Business
-Seeing them play with The Triceratops in Jonathan Benton Booksellers was one of the highlights of my Spring. They were so chill, so enjoyable, and they just plain had fun.
7. Over the Rhine- Don’t Wait for Tom
-My love for Tom Waits was amplified ten-fold by this song and its genius lyrics. Stunning.
8. Midlake- Young Bride
-A really great track from a mostly mediocre indie band.
9. The Apples in Stereo- Beautiful Machine, Pts. 3-4
-I am convince that this album will make me happy for the rest of my life. It is so light-hearted & free.
10. Fionn Regan- Be Good or Be Gone
-Perhaps his most accessible song, “Be Good or Be Gone” really shows how good he is at guitar.
11. A Fine Frenzy- Almost Lover
-The lyrics are hard to swallow, so true to life. This song will forever be associated with riding with Ryan Hamilton up to Notre Dame.
12. The Avett Brothers- Will You Return?
-Everything they touch is gold to me. Emotionalism is phenomenal. Just a great folk band.
13. These United States- Slow Crows Over
-”Slow crows over as Van Gogh sobers.” I don’t have a clue what they’re singing about, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
14. Brandi Carlile- How These Days Grow Long
-live, acoustic encore from Workplay. Girl can sing.
15. The Triceratops- Bear: A True Love Story
-I feel confident enough to say (now that WSO’s been on Letterman) that The Triceratops might be Birmingham’s finest local indie band. I might have seen then 10-15 times in the six-eight months before I came down to Fort Walton.
16. Erin McKeown- Hum
-”In the Spring of my 24th year”- all-too appropriate. And catchy. This song is guaranteed to stick in your head, at least until you get to…
17. Jaymay- Gray or Blue
-I love this song & this girl’s voice. “I can’t stop staring at your mouth without wondering how it tastes”
18. Fleet Foxes- Mykonos
-This song blows my mind. I had no idea that people still made music like this. It sounds like these newcomers channeled CSNY and imported them forty years later. I love it. This song is from their EP. Their full-length just came out. J Rhea seems to think it’s great.
19. Devandra Banhardt- Lover
-A great sing-a-long type indie acoustic song.
20. The Apples in Stereo- Sun Is Out
-so freaking happy. guaranteed to put you in a better mood
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24
Apr

La Musique- The Best of Fall 2007

   Posted by: matt

Songs that were new (at least to me) during the summer & fall of 2007.

Best of Fall 2007

1. Iron & Wine- Boy With a Coin

-Genius song on an otherwise let-down of an album. 

2. Rufus Wainwright- Going to a Town

-I love Rufus. This song is majestic & dark. A killer combo.

3. Robert Plant & Allison Krauss- Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)

4. Wild Sweet Orange- Ten Dead Dogs

-Hopefully a sign of greater things to come from a fantastic local band.  

5. Josh Ritter- The Temptation of Adam

-Life-changing love song. The lyrics are astounding. This is seriously one of the most amazing love songs I have heard in my entire life. Ritter is undeniably brilliant.

6. Fiona Apple- Extraordinary Machine

-I’m not sure that I’ve heard anything quite like this song.

7. Feist- 1234

-Hopelessly catchy. Just ask Keith Davis.

8. The Apples in Stereo- Same Old Drag

-Hopelessly catchy track from a hopelessly catchy, hopelessly optimistic album.

9. The Triceratops- I’m Sold

-Stewart is a stud. Simple. Unadorned. Beautiful. What a great local band

10. Amy Winehouse- Rehab

-She can sing. Even if she is a cracked-out tramp.

11. The Avett Brothers- The Ballad of Love & Hate

-Fiendishly clever folk-love song about two lovers: Love & Hate.

12. David Gray- The World to Me

13. The Weepies- Gotta Have You

14. Ray LaMontagne- Hobo Blues

15. Fionn Regan- Put a Penny in the Slot

-Plays guitar like Nick Drake, but he can sing. I read a review that said he was “Ireland’s answer to Bright Eyes.” He’s not nearly as pissed off.

16. St. Vincent- Marry Me

-She is amazing. She used to play with Sufjan and open for Jose Gonzalez. 

17. Bishop Allen- The News from Your Bed

-Listen to the 30 second clip on ITunes and TRY not to buy this brilliant pop song

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