NEWSPEAK Blog

FREE Concerts All Weekend

This is what I'm Listening to: Musical Confessions of a Thirty Something

     Man! I’m a fickle bitch, no? So I’ve come full circle and started listening to a lot of vocally based music. If you recall, I love instrumental music, hell my band is even instrumental. But recently I have been listening to a few bands that really know their shit when it comes to developing lush and intricate vocal arrangements. I am insanely jealous of people who can sing because I sure as hell can’t. That’s some hard shit to do. I have to have a least six beers to get the balls to start belting out “Photograph” at karaoke, much less stand up in front of a bunch of people and crow my way through whatever bullshit I wrote. See, at thirty years old, my voice seems to be stuck in perpetual puberty and it cracks and warbles with the slightest elevation in volume or pitch. So, uh, I guess I’m living vocally vicariously through these records. (I sing along with them in the car, though. Shh!)

     Man I want to see Dirty Projectors live so badly. I just want to see how they pull the album Rise Above off on stage. Rise Above is a cover and re-interpretation of songs from Black Flagg’s Damaged album. The songs on Damaged are short punk anthems about being broke, alone, and getting wasted. However, in the hands of Dave Longstreth, these songs become longer, get way more melodic, and even seem to embellish the themes of the original recordings. The arrangement of each song is entirely altered. The chords and structures are not kept intact and the vocal melodies are vastly different. Different as in fucking awesome. Longstreth’s histrionic and yet strangely melodic voice is joined by the dual feminine chorus of Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian. These ladies provide solid harmonies that are almost as straight-forward as Longstreth’s are all over the map. Vocals aside, the guitar work is pretty tight on the record too; machine gun bursts of notes that are nails on the chalkboard one moment and church bells the next. Check out “Depression” and “Rise Above.” They are probably the most accessible tracks on the record and then go back and listen to the Black Flag versions. Weirdness!

     This record has only been out like a week but I swear I’ve listened to it at least a hundred times. I had heard a little buzz about Fleet Foxes from some friends and listened to a few song on their MySpazz page. Then I got the record. Then I didn’t listen to anything else for like three days straight. Seriously. I don’t have another record to talk about because this one hasn’t left my stereo. I have deep respect for all singers, but when you get like 4 or 5 of them together and they all sing at the same time and it sounds like the Vienna Boys Choir (and their testicles have dropped and everything), I freak out. It’s like CSN&Y or The Beach Boys playing indie rock. Everything on this record has its place. The guitar work isn’t over the top, but it carries just as much prominence and majesty as the vocals. There isn’t any gratuitous use of keys or strings. The drums are perfectly accented to each song and you really have to concentrate on them to hear what’s going on. It’s easy to imagine that these guys had their roots in more rock oriented beginnings and have since pursued a unique blend of pop, folk, and country. But the vocals are most definitely the highlight of the record. The end of “Ragged Wood” combines a running guitar arpeggio with a three part harmony chanting, “Tell me anything you want/Any old lie will do/Call me back to you.” That’s not to say that they rely on solely on harmonies to get by. “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” is a solo-sung ballad that has just as much weight as the song that follows it, “Quiet Houses.” This song showcases more running guitar lines and lush vocal harmonies. “Heard Them Stirring” is an interesting one. It’s instrumental with some oooohs and aaaahs for vocals, but it totally sounds like it should be in a Castlevania video game. Remember these guys? Well, I better enjoy these guys while I can because I’m sure they’ll get huge and then I won’t like them anymore when they finally admit defeat and blatantly rip off U2.

     No honorable mention either, but one thing has become glaringly apparent: my record collection is devoid of good hip-hop. I have some, like Common and Mos Def, but I think I need to expand my horizons a bit. I can tell you that I don’t like hardcore gangsta shit because I can’t really relate to it. You guys have suggested some great records and I want to see what else is out there and maybe give my take on it. Hilfe!

Guitar Freaks Only: This Is Phenomenal

">

This is What I'm Listening to: And watching this week!

     Aside from this record, I have been listening to a lot of records that came out more recently. I’ll just get records at random or (gasp!) download them from a file sharing utility. Hey, I buy them if I really like them so get off my back. I’ve been all nostalgic lately and now I’m headed in the complete opposite direction by indulging in contemporary releases. Not just newer records by bands, but new sounds altogether. There are some truly innovative bands that are gaining in popularity and I’m jumping on the bandwagon. Yee-fucking-haw. I guess it’s just refreshing to hear something unique when so many terrible bands and American Idols are weaseling their way into the minds of our youth and ruining yet another generation of musical taste. (Remember this little nugget? I’m still trying to forget.) I might be preaching to the choir here, but if you haven’t given these bands a listen, I strongly suggest that you check them out. Wave of the future? Could be. It’s better than the bullshit on the radio.

     The great state of Georgia has given us many delightful exports: R.E.M., RuPaul, Lil John, and Deerhunter. Not these guys. These guys. The self-labeled “ambient punk” band from Atlanta have carved out a new niche fusing dance, post-rock, noise, and pop all into one giant ball of sonic deliciousness called Cryptograms. I’ve never seen them live, but I imagine that the crowd could go from manic dance party, to mosh pit, to stunned silence all in one set. “White Ink,” “Tape Hiss Orchid,” and “Red Ink” are completely instrumental ambient/noise pieces that breakup the steady pace of the album pretty well. Bradford Cox’s vocals are pretty low in the mix, but really contribute to the music as another instrument rather than stealing the spotlight away from the rest of the band. Songs like “Octet” and “Cryptograms” are more straight-forward rock songs. But “Strange Lights” sort of hints at some roots in shoegaze and dream pop. The are guitars dripping in reverb and some kind of looped beeps and washes all over most of the songs. There is so much going on here that it would be easy for people find something that they like about the record. They blog about their poop too. Isn’t that awesome? The subject of feces just doesn’t get enough attention on Newspeak.

     Ok. This one might be a little played out, but I still love it. Battles is like a math rock wet dream. I saw them last year and you could see the nerds, like me, counting their fingers and trying to figure out what time signature they are playing in. (11/8 btw. *wink*) Their first full-length album Mirrored is an interesting foray into the math genre. Killer beats, looped guitars, wild keyboards, amplifiers, samplers, loops, 12 ft. tall ride cymbals; this band is a gear nerd’s ultimate fantasy. Oh yeah, Ian Williams from Don Caballero is in the band and plays guitar and keyboards at the same time.  I stood right by him the entire time and was hypnotized by the simultaneous guitar tapping and key slapping. Ooo sounds dirty! Listen to, the opening track “Race In.” There is a part where singer Tyondai Braxton harmonized with himself via a sampler. It’s amazing how tight the band is and has to be in order to synch up all of their samples. (Gear dorks pay attention. The secret to their success is the Gibson Echoplex. It’s a delay/sampling unit and multiple units can be connected and controlled through one control source.) Oh yeah, John Stainer from Helmet is the drummer. He’s a badass if you didn’t know. He hits loud, hard, and has amazing stamina. Man, I’m turning myself on. I better stop talking about Battles before I have an accident.

      If you live in Europe, which you probably don’t, you’re a lucky bastard. Why? Because you could see Deerhunter and Animal Collective while they are on tour together. Animal Collective is the kung pao for my chicken. Their last record, Strawberry Jam, continues their grand expedition into molding, cutting, and twisting sound to create something entirely unique and refreshing. Almost all of their music is created by the manipulation of samples with some accompaniment by guitar and drums and wild vocal melodies provided by Avey Tare (for this record, anyway). This record blends their layered sampling with some more intense pop hooks and more straightforward beats. I am really fascinated by this band because I have no idea how they make this stuff. I think their brains work differently than ours. Maybe I’m just not that smart and/or afraid of technology. Yes. So, there isn’t a bad song on this album. It’s solid from front to back. My favorites? “Peacebone,” “For Reverend Green,” and absolutely “Fireworks.” I seriously challenge you to listen to this song and not fall in love with the music. Seriously. CHALLENGE! It’s on like Donkey-Kong bitches. And hey, this song isn’t on this album, but it’s great and the video is wicked. Wait till the end!

Honorable Mention: Get this record already.

Oh, and Starbucks stole my idea. Fuck you Starbucks. Well, maybe I stole it from Starbucks. Fuck me.

And Snapple realized my greatest fantasy. Fuck you Snapple guy. 

 

Okay, I like this against my better judgement.

I give you the new video for Weezer's song "Pork and Beans," which semi-cleverly combines every internet sensation ever in an unexpectedly warm way. The video features real versions or simalucrums of that kung fu guy, Tay Zonday, that Albanian singing guy, that guy playing that girl who likes shoes, that guy who wears lots of shirts, LonelyGirl15, that stupid Miss Teen America girl and omigod-is-that-K-Fed? among about a trillion others that I don't recognize because I don't really spend a lot of time on the internet. Clearly.

The result is unusually joyful and inclusive and I actually sort of welled up when Rivers Cuomo hugs Chris Crocker. (I am a little girl.) The message seems to be: "Yes, we are all freaks, but we're freaks who are in this together. Let's get some lightsabers and play some rock and roll and celebrate our freakishness, as we are all part of the crazy kaleidoscope of the international human cyberfamily."

I mean, uh, ahem. Football.

This is What I'm Listening to - Musical Confessions of a 30-something

     Remember when I said that I fall in and out and back into love with bands and then soak up all of the bits of their catalog that I missed? It happens quite frequently and it made me go back and look at some of the records that I was late in acquiring. This happens for a variety of reasons, but mostly commonly because of my miniscule attention span. I tend to wander from band to band or genre to genre on a whim and never really get intimately familiar with their entire catalog. I came to realize that there are a lot of older records that I listen to religiously that I only recently got into. I kick myself for not getting these when they came out. Maybe they got too popular for me to listen to. Maybe I was too cool to keep listening too them. Maybe I’m still the same dork that I was 14 years ago. Yeah. The last one. 

     Icky Mettle from Archers of Loaf was released in 1994 and I was working at Josh n’ John’s Ice Cream in downtown Colorado Springs. It was summer and I was a junior in high school. I listened to this record all day at work and then at night when I was driving home at 1am. This record was way more important to me than any Nevermind or Siamese Dream or whatever was pulling the heartstrings and stimulating the synapses of America’s youth at the time. Then I discovered Fugazi and forgot all about that Archers of Loaf shit. So sad. Their third album, All the Nations Airports, is amazing. I got it last year and can’t put it away. It was their major label debut and nearly ended the band, but the songs are great and had I gotten in 1998, I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much. Why? Because it wasn’t Fugazi and I probably wouldn’t have thought that it was “punk” enough or whatever. It’s not punk. (I’ve never been good with genre labels, so I don’t know what it is. Music tends to fall into two categories for me: 1. Fucking awesome. 2. Really shitty.) All of Archers of Loaf’s music is characterized by Eric Bachmann’s signature voice and high, jangly guitar melodies. They really stand out here since the production on the record is top notch. “Scenic Pastures” is a standout single that is about as poppy as the record gets. Every song is full of scathing guitar riffs and pounding drums supporting Bachmann’s scratchy wail. Too noisy for the grungies and too soft for the punks, this record failed to find a place in the mainstream “alternative” but the band was always somewhat successful on college radio stations. Colleges used to have radio stations?

     Real quick. I love shoegaze music. From 92’ to 94’, I listened to nothing but My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Lush. So why is it that I only discovered Slowdive last year? Don't I have any friends? Their second album Souvlaki is quite possibly the best shoegaze record ever created and I kick my self every time I listen to it for not getting it when it came out. I listen to it a lot, so my ass is pretty sore. There are so many great songs on here that exemplify the genre: “40 Days,” “When The Sun Hits,” and “Altogether” are that borderline shoegaze/pop that that hooks people in. They all have really glassy guitar riffs with another guitar creating washes of sound over it. And then another guitar is playing the same chord progressions as the bass guitar. Yep. Three guitar players. I remember thinking how cool it was that Radiohead had three guitar players, but Slowdive beat them to it by a couple years. (Pablo Honey came out in 1993 and Slowdive’s first record Just for a Day came out in 1991.) Brian Eno helped out with the track “Souvlaki Space Station.” It’s like a dub song or something. It’s cool, but it kinda doesn’t jive with the whole record.  The album closer, “Dagger,” is a nod in the direction that Neil Halstead ended up taking with Mojave 3; acoustic and melodic. Anyway, my favorite track on this record is “Alison.” Probably because the lyrics remind me of some dumb shit that I said or did while intoxicated at a party. Oh and the video for the song is exactly that. It gets me all nostalgic an’ shit. Maybe if I had access to the internet, or subscription to NME, I would have picked up on this.

     Never has a record made me want to try heroin before. But when I listen to Cure for Pain from Morphine, I can’t help but think that heroin would make me cool. I just think that if I did do it, I would want to listen to Morphine. I don’t normally like saxophones. I detest ska and Kenny G. can go and sit on his soprano. But Dana Colley can fucking play. The approach to the saxophone here is almost like a guitar. It carries the songs with riffs and hooks and there are mad solos all over the record, complete with saxophone wah-wah work too.  The guy plays a baritone and a tenor at the same time too! Mind blowing! I’m freaking out! Not really! I guess Morphine will probably always be known more as Mark Sandman’s band, though. He played a two-string bass tuned to the same two notes with a slide. You think that there would be a finite number of ideas when you limit yourself like that, but the guy was a musical genius and was very prolific with Morphine and other lesser known bands.  His low and slow voice is delivered in a comforting croon, but has surprising range in songs like “Buena” and “I’m Free Now.” The whole record has a very melancholy tone to it, both musically and in the lyrics. Like “In Spite Of Me;” a song pretty much about an ex-girlfriend who goes on to achieve great things, but only because of her hatred for Mark. Then there’s the title track: Someday/there’ll be a cure for pain/That’s the day/I throw my drugs away. Songs about infidelity, songs about getting sucked into terrible relationships, songs about getting high. Man. Maybe this should have been in last week's post. So why didn’t I get this sooner? I dunno. Maybe I was lazy? Maybe I just forgot? A little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

     Honorable Mention: Not too much else going on other than: Tom Waits – Bone Machine – Do I have to really say anything about this record? Yes I do. “A Little Rain” is awesome.  Sonic Youth – I made this killer mix of all my favorite Sonic Youth songs. Check it: 1. “Unmade Bed” 2. “Peace Attack” 3. “Snare, Girl” 4. “Jams Run Free” 5. “Sympathy for the Strawberry” 6. “Mote” 7. “Star Power” 8. “Theresa’s Sound World” 9. “Wish Fulfillment” 10. “Sugar Kane” 11. “Chapel Hill” 12. “Teenage Riot.” Word. Now about that heroin…    

Finally, a music video for the Mac nerd in you.

This is a video (not the official one, methinks) to the song "Again & Again" by the Bird and and Bee which basically serves as a tour of the Mac OS. Programs shown in the video include:

• Capture • iTunes • Microsoft Word • Photo Booth • iChat • Stickies • Photoshop CS3 • iPhoto • Fast User Switching • Mac OSX Zoom Tip • Finder • Spotlight • Quicktime Player • Stacks • Quick Look • Desktop • Screensaver • Dashboard • Dashcode • Illustrator • Final Cut Pro • Exposé • Time Machine • iMovie • Spaces • Windows Media Player for Mac • Flip4Mac • Flash CS3 • VLC Media Player • Shake • Mplayer • DVD Studio Pro • Real Player • iDVD • Color • Screenflow • Cinematize • Safari • iTunes Store

All in all, pretty neat. And the music? Meh. Let's just say it ain't no Alphabeat.

OMG! t.a.T.u is back!

I have fond memories of t.a.T.u, who are perhaps my favorite duo of Russian pop-singing fake lesbian schoolgirls, if only because I would listen to them on tour to annoy my bandmates and once, during a long, hot drive from L.A. to Phoenix, our drummer and I made up bad gangsta-rap lyrics to accompany the t.a.T.u songs, miming the gatt as we went, "Hey, Mister President, bang bang bang! Hey, Mister Ashcroft, bang bang bang!" And so on.

Anyway, t.a.T.u's back and they have a new song called "Белый Плащик" and they both get naked in the video. For real. Enjoy.

This is What I'm Listening to - Musical Confessions of a Sad, Sappy, Sunnuvabitch

     If I had to provide a visual representation of my life right now, it would be an oscilloscope display with not one, but multiple sine waves on it. Each wave would represent a different facet of my life; work, kids, band, you get the idea. Usually all of the waves are modulating at different frequencies and intensities, meaning that I experience the highs and lows of each at different times. However, right now those waves are in perfect harmony and I am just coming off riding the crest of a peak and looking down the sheer slope and into a trough. Pretty bleak, huh? Just as much as I gravitate towards feel good music when I am down, there are also records that I love to listen to whilst diving head first into that trough and embracing my impending despair. I know I’m emo as hell right now. I love each of these records dearly. Not only for their ability to induce intense mood swings, but also their structure and composition. These are the records I have been using to wallow in my own self pity. Here we go…

       It shouldn’t come as any great surprise that the first place I go here is Glasgow. The Twilight Sad released Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters last year and I really haven’t put it away since. First of all, I love guitar music. This us definitely guitar music, but not how you would think. Most of the time, there really isn’t any discernable melody to the guitar, save for some slide work or a couple notes repeated here and there in the verses. Second, nearly every song has a HUGE wash of guitar noise for the chorus with no singing. Don’t get uptight, there’s singing. James Graham sing-speaks some pretty heart-felt lyrics over these washes with probably the thickest Scottish brogue I’ve ever heard. (Even stronger than Aiden Moffett!) Those lyrics are pretty dark and depressing as they primarily deal with topics of childhood neglect/abuse. These words are delivered in varied ways; from a sweet whisper to a wicked howl, sometimes in the same song. The music is pretty formulaic: quiet/loud/quiet/loud or loud/quiet/loud/quiet or loud/loud/loud/loud. The bass almost carries all of the melody while the guitar just screams over everything. Now that I think about it, I think this record depresses me because I wish I would have though of doing this first. Dammit.

     Ok. Fuck you Scotland. Fuck you for producing all of my favorite bands. Fuck me for not having the fortune of being born there. Ahem. Sorry.  My favorite band in the world is Mogwai. Don’t make fun of me. In 2006 they scored the music for a documentary about French footballer Zinedine Zidane and released it as Zidane: A 21^st Century Portrait. The music is absolutely the most melancholy and utterly depressing record that I own. I love it. Every track just melts my brain.  There are ten songs, but there are 2 different versions of 3 songs. In the case of “Terrific Speech” and “Terrific Speech 2,” the difference is in the lowered intensity of the keyboards and the percussion in the latter. “Black Spider 2” is a subdued reprise of “Black Spider.” My favorite track, Time And A Half,” really harkens back to the Come on Die Young days as the guitars and piano sort of dance off of one another to a plodding pace. I guess what I find most fascinating about the record is that it plays out like a Wagnerian opera. The fact that songs and motifs repeat themselves breathes life into the record and provides me with the perfect soundtrack to my own misery. I have never seen the documentary that the music was created for. I don’t want to. I don’t give a shit about soccer and I didn’t even know who Zidane was until I found out that Mogwai was going to make some music for him. I’m worried that if I do see the film it will change the context in which I view this music. I don’t want it to be Zidane’s music. I want it to be mine. You here me Braithwaite? MINE!

     Interpol's Antics is a heartbreaker for me. It’s my quintessential breakup record and one that holds some special meaning for me; especially song four and if you know me I might have an interesting story for you… Every member of the band brings something great to the mix. I enjoy unconventional vocal styles and Paul Banks definitely falls into that category. Daniel Kessler provides some of the simplest yet beautiful melodies on the guitar. Bassist Carlos Denlger has a very unique style of staccato octave, almost disco-like basslines. And Sam Fogarino is probably one my favorite drummers for never playing beyond what is required of the music. He is a human metronome and has been a tremendous influence in how I have approached the drums lately. I have ascribed meaning to each of the ten tracks on the record that seem to follow the lifecycle of a relationship. Check it out: 1. “Next Exit” – Yeah, it seems like everyone in town knows each other. How about we hang out? 2. “Evil” – Ok. You’re just as fucked up as me, so let’s forget about all that and pretend everything is cool.” 3. “Narc” – Are you done cheating on me yet, bitch? 4. “Take You On A Cruise” – I’m not so bad. I’ll give you the world if you let me. 5. “Slow Hands” – Hey! Look how fucked up I am without you! 6. “Not Even Jail” – Hey! Look what kinds crazy shit I’d do to get you back! 7. “Public Pervert” – I get it now. But how long will it take to get over you? 8. “C’mere” – Not very long apparently. I have transformed my longing for you into lusting for someone new. Commence MySpace stalking! 9. “Length Of Love” – Sorry new sweetie. I know what I want and you’re not it. 10. “A Time To Be Small” – I don’t know what I want anymore…

     Honorable Mention: Sharks Keep Moving – s/t - I once cried for twenty minutes after listening to “Sailor.” Fuck Minus the Bear. This was Jake Snider’s best band. Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun – “Little Eyes” reminds me of my youngest daughter and I get homesick when I hear it. Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities – Say what you will about a record of Modest Mouse covers, Mark Kozelek’s version of “Ocean Breathes Salty” is one of the most heart-wrenching songs ever recorded. Now excuse me while I open a vein.

 

This is What I'm Listening to: Musical Confessions of a 30-Something

      Let's take a moment from our hurried, hectic lives and think about what it means to be just the opposite: slow. Lately I have noticed that the music I have been listening to is all very plodding and sparse and I am not intentionally choosing to pursue it. It's pursuing me. Maybe this is some sort of reaction formation to a society that is rooted in instant gratification and the almost constant pressure to do everything bigger, better, and faster? Yes, I think so. I want to sloooow down. I yearn for a different lifestyle that will allow me the freedom to explore, create, and work at my own pace. Well then it's only natural that this inkling should manifest itself in my musical tastes and here are a few of the recent selections that have been striking that particular chord within me.

     I recently became acquainted with the band Earth and their latest record, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull has been on heavy rotation since it came out. There is a certain pleasure that I get out of having to wait nearly 30 seconds for a full guitar phrase to be realized. This sounds like it would be boring, but Earth offers enough subtle variation to keep you engaged at an almost subconscious level. It's been a really long time since I put a single song on repeat and listened to it incessantly, but this one did it for me. It is most definitely guitar-driven music, but Earth returns this time with the addition of a full-time keyboard player to round out their sound. I admire the sweet simplicity of the riffs and the solo work; anything more would be superfluous and muddy up the music. Also, any drummer will tell you that it is infinitely harder to play excruciatingly slow rather than hand-numbingly fast. Respect! Songs such as "Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)" and (my favorite track and the one that gets played at least three times on every listen) "Hung from the Moon" have a very majestic motif rather than the doom and drone with which the band are typically associated. Oh there is still plenty of doom, though. Other tracks evoke a feeling of isolation or the sense of being lost in the vastness of some great desert somewhere. Hell, there's enough time to get lost in between snare hits on this record.

     Earth sparked a rekindling of interest in a band that I have known of for a while but have only recently come to truly appreciate; Low, specifically the record Long Division. This is not my favorite Low record, that one being The Great Destroyer, but Long Division represents the band at their roots and most raw. Not only is it slow, but it's quiet too. The production is a great and conveys a deep sense of emptiness that gives you the feeling maybe this band played to a lot of empty rooms in their day. Maybe they wanted it that way. The opening track, Violence, showcases their penchant for simplistic yet endearing melodies while tracks like "Shame"and "Throw Out The Line" show us how Alan Sparkhawk and Mimi Parker's voices were meant to be heard together; a hallmark that is featured more prominently in later recordings. Some songs like "Below & Above" carry an almost lullaby-ish quality to them while others like "See-Through" and "Take" counterbalances with a more sinister sound. This record epitomizes the "less is more" adage since each instrument is very distinct in the mix and there are very few if any discernable overdubs. You're kind of forced to listen and concentrate everything at once, and that makes this record resonate louder than a Marshall stack.

     Although this one may not be as slow as the other two, I can't get enough of Beach House's new record, Devotion. I got this record on a whim. I was just curious to see how only two people with an organ and a guitar make music. Well this is how: beautifully. What you hear is your grandmother's dusty old organ that's been sitting in the basement (complete with hokey bossanova beats on some tracks) coming alive with sparse guitar work dripping in reverb. Now add in some of the most haunting sounds that feminine vocal chords can produce and you get magic. When I first heard the record, I was almost ready to dismiss the vocals as another Feist or Regina Spektor clone or what ever other singer is delivering her lyrics in a half-breath-way all over the radio. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the sound of Victoria's voice. It's spooky, sultry, husky, sexy, and comforting all at the same time. The title of the record is quite literally the theme of the record as all of the songs deal with topics of unrequited love, old flames, or the exploration of what keeps people together. And guess what? There's a cover of Daniel Johnston's "Some Things Last A Long Time" that sounds brilliant and slides right in with the feel of the record. The interplay between minimal percussion, organ, guitar, and those sweet-scary vocals was all I needed to get hooked. 

     Honorable mention for slowness and getting regular play: Crippled Black Phoenix A Love of Shared Disasters – I wish I was Scottish. There. I finally said it out loud. Listen to "The Northern Cobbler." It's a nice little waltz set to a reading of the Tennyson poem by the same name. Bedhead Transaction de Novo – "More Than Ever" is quite possibly one of the best songs ever written and has also been one of those infinitely repeated tracks. American Analog Set Know by Heart – Although not entirely slow, it doesn't matter. This record is a masterpiece and I don't want to regurgitate what has already been written about it. I had a dream about the song "Choir Vandals" once. It was killer. I also wish I was from Austin. My parents live in San Antonio and that's about as close as I can claim. If I was Scottish and lived in Austin, then I would most assuredly be famous, right? But that might only serve to speed things up a bit.