Songbird
Nov
30
Hollywood Adventure Bites The Dust
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MILK the new Gus Van Sant film was released this week at the ArcLight in Hollywood… Figured I would try to catch the 4PM showing today… Silly me. They closed down Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd not to mention the surrounding streets for a parade! WTF? So I had to find out what Parade closed down the streets of Hollywood… It was the Hollywood Santa Parade 2008… WTF? Drove to Hollywood and got stuck in surface street traffic and missed the showing of a film I was looking forward to seeing all weekend long. Whatever, I feel somewhat to blame as they did have an announcement on the front page of the ArcLight website, although if you go through Google you wouldn’t see it anyway.
Needless to say I was quite pleased to return home to relax and enjoy my Sunday evening while listening to Lisa Hannigan. Lisa is darling and if I could I would love to put her in my pocket and have the ability to pull her out every opportunity to get a custom life soundtrack. I wonder if that sounds appealing to Lisa Hannigan? Probably not. Hannigan has been accompanying Damien Rice on stage and in studio for the better first half of her career, she has recently released her solo debut Sea Sew and it is a wonderful. I look forward to hearing more from her in the future, she is definitely someone I plan on keeping my eye on. She just recently signed with ATO Records but the album itself has been available through iTunes and eMusic for awhile now. She was also just featured on the Nov. 20th episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
mp3:Â Sea Song
mp3:Â Lille
Sea Sew 2008 (ATO Records)
Album available here
Nov
28
The Holiday
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I have been enjoying the holiday with family (my mom) and extended family. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday here in the states. I will be back over the weekend. :-)
Nov
23
Sweet Sweet Daniel Martin Moore
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*Sigh*
*Bats eye lashes and blushes*
Daniel Martin Moore creates simple acoustic indie/folk which stirs the heart and relaxes the soul… Seriously I am not kidding. I am like a puddle on the floor when I listen to him. His debut album is dreamy and I couldn’t think of a better album to get lost in on this crisp Sunday evening.
mp3: Stray Age
mp3: My Dream
Stray Age 2008 (Sub Pop Records)
Album available at Amazon
Nov
21
Where Does The Time Go?
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I don’t know! Sorry folks the week just got away from me… I have to go into work tomorrow (Blah!) and then I will be off to San Diego to a Pre-Thanksgiving with friends. Weeeee! I should be back on Sunday with some new music. :-) Till then…
Nov
18
Santogold’s Debut
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It has taken me awhile to grasp this debut album by Santogold, Santi White is the unique voice behind this amazing debut album. White draws on so many influences on this album and does a damn good job of mixing it all together into a new unique sound. It is the strong bass rhythms that drive most of the songs that got my interest from the start and the album is solid from the opening track L.E.S. Artistes to Creator (vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty) to Anne. Santi White teams up with old band mate John Hill, together they mix Hip- Hop, Reggae, Indie- Rock, Pop and electronic… And it is just brilliant.
P.S. This was one of the hardest song picks I have ever had to do and I have been doing this for 2+ years.
mp3: L.E.S. Artistes
mp3: Creator (vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty)
Santogold 2008 (Lizard King)
Album available at Amazon and eMusic
Nov
13
Stars How I Love Thee
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They just get better and better… I mean there is something so tender about their music. This is an achingly dreary EP with a live version of an older song of theirs, Going, Going, Gone. The EP is a mix of a little electronica along with some beautiful soaring rock melodies like the stand out track, A Thread Cut With A Carving Knife. The only hiccup on this 6 song self released EP is 14 Forever, which is a good single but just seemed out of place to me… Regardless the EP is a nice treat from this fantastic Montreal based band.
P.S. Please do support the band buy purchasing Sad Robot directly from the band as they have taken a departure from their record label Arts & Crafts for this digital release. Enjoy!
mp3: Going, Going, Gone (Live Version)
Sad Robots EP 2008
Stars on myspace
Nov
10
Aaron Thomas, Follow The Elephants
Filed Under Album Picks | 3 Comments
Oh man…
*sigh*
I woke up this morning and did not want to get out of bed. I was far from happy this morning. Mondays suck and I always feel like there should be one more day off for all… Just one freaking day.
I think I am bored at my job though, sick of it really. I definitely need a break though… A couple more weeks and then it is Turkey time! Four glorious days off. Sweetness.
Anyways I hope everyone accepted their Monday a little better than I, now on to the music… Aaron Thomas is really something else, stumbled on him while trolling though the pages of eMusic recently. Thomas is a singer-songwriter with a bit of a folk like flare accompanied by emotional lyrics. Although he is a bit aloof, as he only seems to have a myspace page, if I were a record label I would be all over his nuts like a squirrel looking for acorns.
mp3: Aw C’mon
Follow The Elephants 2008 (?) Possibly Everlasting Records is his record label which he claims on his myspace but they don’t have a website that is up to date, so I don’t trust it.
Album available at eMusic
Nov
7
Synecdoche, New York
Filed Under Film Box, Music Mix Up | 5 Comments
It’s pronounced sin-NECK-doh-key. Say it fast and you got it. Don’t let some punk kid at the box office correct you condescendingly as if he’s used the word in conversation the last decade. The great Charlie Kaufman, who is responsible for this, is also responsible for some of the most outrageous and inspiring scripts made in mainstream Hollywood. If you go down the list, he’s literally never taken a misstep tying his material with the proper director. He’s been blessed with Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and of course George Clooney as directors.
I walked out of this complete and total mindfuck not really knowing which way as up, let alone if I liked it or not. I knew I had seen something stunning, but I wasn’t sure if Kaufman was making fun of me or bowled me over with a work of such staggering genius my poor mind trembled before him. You see, this film is his directorial debut and he flexed that power as if he’s been doing this his life entire. He not only created a total world of fantasy while retaining reality, but he also created a world for his actors to live in and poop in.
The damn film was just so blazingly sad and depressing and winding in upon itself with time going by decades per cut and confusing and like a Chimera that had the penis and vagina fused together locked eternally in a staring contest. I can almost compare it to an extremely well done and high budget student film that’s more like visual poetry than anything. Yes there is a cohesive story, but the line between reality and the main character’s fantasy was so blurry it might as well have been a part of the scenery.
I’m rambling on purpose, brevity being the soul of wit and method to the madness and all that. I recommend two types of people to see this film: those that are snooty and would see such a film anyway and those that are curious about a car accident on the freeway. You see, I’m so confused about this masterful work of art that I really do need to let it stew some more… catch it on the flip side in the comfort of my living room… throw back a beer and let it happen.
Maybe I’ll write a real review then.
P.S. Hoffman was a god yet again.
_________________________________________________________________
Rachel here: The soundtrack was written by the genius Jon Brion, music which sounds inspired from a smokey jazz club with a pinch of class. Little Person, sung by jazz vocalist Deanna Storey and I must add that Ms. Storey is quite the mysterious one… I found her old CD Baby bio and a very sparse IMDb page… Quite elusive indeed. Little Person is just a wonderfully sad but beautifully touching song. An absolute perfect marriage of music and film.
mp3: Little Person
Synedoche, New York 2008 (Lakeshore Records)
Album available digitally at Amazon
Nov
6
A Somber Night With Winterpills
Filed Under Music Mix Up | 2 Comments
Pretty quiet tonight… I guess I am in a bit of a funk. I have been so angry lately… But what is worse is that I have yet to really pin point why. Sorry folks, I don’t mean to be so blah this evening, I think it would be best for all of us if I just let the music speak for itself. Good night.
mp3: Secret Blue Thread
mp3: Gentleman Farmer
Winterpills on myspace
Central Chambers 2008 (Signature Sounds)
Album available on eMusic
Nov
4
I Voted
Filed Under News & Info. | 3 Comments
Just voted… I had to vote provisionally though even though I registered. I am kind of annoyed but whatever it still felt so good to vote for Obama today, I have never felt this way about any other candidate.
Go out and vote!
***Edit***
I am so very happy that Obama won last night but a little upset that one of our Props didn’t get knocked down. The Gay Marriage prop here in the southland passed and I am very disappointed. Just when you think we are progressing something like this happens… I guess we will get there someday…
I would love to hear some of you experiences at the polls, it has been so quiet around here, no one has been commenting. :-(
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