Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from November, 2014

To a Canadian Guy I Met in Barcelona (on the Subject of Music)

I've tried really hard to get into Arctic Monkeys since your recommendation.  I like the lyrics (I think) but I've never really liked Alex Turner's voice.  It's a shame because alongside the likes of fellow Mercury Prize winners Alt-J, they're one of the UK's most popular indie bands. But while i think Arctic Monkeys are deserving of the hype (at their best, they're brilliant storytellers:   this performance   of Fluorescent Adolescent is one of my all-time favourites), I don't think Alt-J are.  Their lyrics are, quite frankly, stupid and the band have been deeply overhyped.    I've been listening to a lot of songs by The National recently.  They've always been on my radar but it was only recently that I discovered songs like Don't Swallow the Cap and Bloodbuzz Ohio.  I don't highly rate them as songwriters; their songs lack coherence, but if you like taking lines on an individual basis, as I sometimes do, then they're definitely

Bloodbuzz Ohio

"I still owe money to the money to the money I owe, I never thought about love when I thought about home."

Don't Swallow the Cap

"When they ask what do I see,  I see a bright white beautiful heaven hanging over me."

A (Brief) Hoorah to Brevity: Five Great Songs Under Two Minutes Long

1.  Laura Marling - Crawled Out of the Sea (1:17) 2.  Neutral Milk Hotel - The Communist's Daughter (1:58) 3.  Joanna Newsom - On a Good Day (1:48) 4.  Iron & Wine - Die (1:08) 5.  Michael Johnston - Love Will Find You in the End (1:52)