The Dismemberment Plan - The City

The Plan focus their high-energy hardcore sound and wind up with a pop gem.

Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die

I could go into protracted strings of words about just how amazing Morrissey is, but I don’t need to. You can just look him up in the Bible.

Life Without Buildings - The Leanover (Live)

Today, I decided to grab Life Without Building’s Live At the Annandale Hotel from eMusic, and I’m speechless. I had always heard good things about the group—i.e. things along the lines of “melodic Scottish post-punk revivalists with a female vocalist given to semi-scatting her vocals”—but those descriptions evidently don’t do the group much justice.

“The Leanover” is the immediate standout, as it distills everything great about the group into one awe-inspiring cut. Vocalist’s Sue Tompkins stutters and stammers her way through a poignant stream-of-conscious narrative, and the glittering guitar provides the perfect support for Tompkins’ urgent performance. I’ve listened to the track six times now, and I’m still blown away by the spellbinding nature of this performance.

M83 - We Own The Sky

The music writing cliche about M83 is some kind of pun on the words shoegaze and stargaze. And to be honest, it’s an apt description, given that (a) M83 employ the lush, layered guitar and hushed vocals aesthetic of 80’s shoegaze and dream pop acts and (b) the lyrics often revolve around astronomical themes and imagery (see the title of this track). While it may be easy to criticize M83 for sticking a little too closely to this formula, especially after the melodrama of his previous album, they’ve refined their sound on their latest album, Saturdays = Youth, balancing their nostalgic, stargazer aesthetic with more focused song structures.

Chiemi Satou - Freedom Wild Dolphin And Surfer Of Itou Sea

I stumbled upon Chiemi’s music many years back on some early-type social networking site for independent musicians while browsing through international music. If it wasn’t clear by her name, or the confusing title of the song, English is not Chiemi’s first language (Japanese is).

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for a stilted dialect or somewhat broken version of a language. I suppose for adults, it’s one of the few ways to sound innocent, after adjusting through the years to the realities of life. Although that may be a faux-innocence, the same feeling (yet pure and true) is in every fiber of Cheimi’s music, which is all simply instrumental piano.

There is a higher quality version of this song (now called “Dolphin of Heaven”) on Cheimi’s Myspace profile, but I wanted to present this older version that I’ve had on my computer for years. To me the hissing of this recording only adds to the beauty of it.

This may not be the typical type of song posted by me (or posted here in general) but there’s just something I absolutely love about it, and I had to share.

Slow Train Soul - Mississippi Freestylin’

I don’t know much about music. I don’t know much about bands. I don’t know much about writing.

I can’t sing, either, but I can viscerally feel the strength, the grit, the untapped power that tenses behind Lady Z’s voice like some sliding snake thing. If you’ve ever heard a saxophone played well, played big and slow and woofy, by someone standing right next to you in a quiet room, where you can physically feel the sound but also hear the breathiness of her chest – that’s what she sounds like.

“Slow Train Soul” stretches Lady Z’s big, ripply vocals over partner Morten Varano’s production framework. The juxtaposition of Z’s often bluesy, very tangible voice and Varano’s slick, often minimalist keys brings to mind images that range from dark, bohemian coffee shops to rain-slicked and neon-lit alleys. Ideal songs for a soft post-party mix or the heist scene of some big-budget’s soundtrack.

“Mississippi Freestylin’” is a slight break from that compelling formula, with more presence from Varano’s end than in songs like “Goldiggah” or “In the Black of Night.” But there’s something about the track’s more in-your-face muscle that just works. The syncopated horns of the chorus and the way Lady Z throws her voice around a little more than usual – you can’t help but feel the swagger of this song. Without the bridge, the more heavy-handed approach might have been tedious, but Z drops into a near whisper, the production backs off, and the track reaches its bluesy zenith. Like the opening’s slow build-up, the end of the track backs out, still swaggering, with slowly receding rolls of horns.

I lack the confidence of a critic, and so I won’t rate “Mississippi Freestylin’.” I won’t recommend it. Won’t give it one or two or five thumbs up. But sharing? That I can do. Enjoy.

The Moody Blues - Ride My See-Saw

I’ve mentioned before that I love songs that use the Wall of Sound technique.
This particular song is from the same Moody Blues album that I talked about a few entries ago ( In Search of the Lost Chord ), and there is absolutely nothing that I don’t like about it— sweet harmonies, crunchy guitars, and a great wall-of-strings going on behind it all.

Moody Blues, I adore you.  You can do no wrong.

ESG - Dance

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned a list of post-punk groups that incorporated black music into their sound. Unfortunately, I neglected to mention ESG who were actually black musicians. A group of female teenagers from The Bronx, ESG performed a soulful rhythm-oriented form of music that didn’t commit itself fully to anyone one particular genre, and being self-trained, their amateurishness made them fit right in with many British bands at the time. Indeed, they were produced by famed Joy Division producer Martin Hannett and opened for Factory’s A Certain Ratio.

Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed & The True Loves - I’ll Roll With You

My_keyboard_is_no_longer_working. I’m._typing_everything_through_Character_Map_which_is_torture.
This_song_is_amazing_enough_to_go_without_my_silly_words.