Pandora's Box

Hi all,

Unfortunately, I have little time to write this, but I wanted to get in a post for the day. Please excuse the brevity.

Have you heard of Pandora? It's an internet radio streamer that allows you to cater what you hear to what you like. You type in the name of a song or artist who's style you like, and the radio will play songs by that artist and other artists that have similar musical features. I'll do a more detailed post later about online music players, but that's the general gist.

Anyway, in response to Pandora's "music genome project," I thought I'd do a little project of my own. Over the next few days, I'm going to try to collect a list of favorite stations, best stations for certain moods, etc from those of you who have Pandora. I'd love it if you could leave your response as a comment, but I'll probably also be doing a little "in-the-field" polling. Hopefully, by the end, I'll have a nice pool of stations that we can all sample and broaden our musical knowledge with. Afterall, nothing is more frustrating than opening up Pandora and drawing a blank. (Who do I type...what artist do I like enough to hear a whole station of them?...What artist do I LIKE? Do I have any musical taste at all?! Augh!) Okay, so maybe it's not quite that dramatic.

"It's Getting Hot in Here"

Here's one for the annals of Never Saw That Coming: there seems to be a recent trend within the folk and indie communities in which artists do facetious acoustic covers of hip hop tunes.

They're actually pretty enjoyable if you can get over the fact that the covers are so tongue-in-cheek that they threaten to give you a canker sore.

Sometimes I think that half of my music taste is ironic. "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "Africa" by Toto, "Hey Ya!" by Outkast are among my list of loved songs, and I could probably name several more. There is something beautiful about a song that is so utterly ridiculous and fun that you can just enjoy it without having to analyze it too much. Such songs are surface and they know it. Just like that friend who you can always count on for a good time, if not for reliability, these songs are not always deep, but they make up for it in fun. I think that one of the main points of music is that it should trigger something. For me, such songs always trigger a smile and a laugh.

Here are a few covers that I found:

“Hot in Herre,” Jenny Owen Youngs (full song)

“Umbrella,” Marié Digby (full song)

Umbrella - Marie Digby

The Haunting

I found it.

The song. The song that has been playing on loop in the back of my mind like an embarrassing memory. It has become that word on the tip of my tongue, that itch that I can't reach. I heard it on Last.fm a while ago and for some reason didn't think to write it down, completely naive to the fact that it would HAUNT ME FOR WEEKS.

...and then, the other night, I was minding my own business, streaming Last.fm in the background, when the first few notes snuck unassumingly from my computer speakers. My breath stuck in my throat and I was caught in a moment of stasis, frozen in anticipation, too afraid to move and break the spell.

"Can I call you if I'm back in town? Leave a message when I'm --"

but the rest of the phrase was drowned out by my exaggerated GASP. It's the same one that happens whenever I hear a song I particularly like or hear the song that I want to hear at the moment I want to hear it (those of you who know me are probably quite familiar with this phenomenon).

Scribbling the name of the song and artist on my hand, I sat back and listened blissfully for the rest of the song.

The song was "Shade of a Shadow" by Teitur. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did (full song):

Shade Of A Shadow - Teitur

Album Review: "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand"

Sometimes, it is so hard to get anything done in the winter. It's cold, it's dark, and I find myself craving fatty foods, fantasizing about sleep and hiding in my dorm more and more.

Imagine my surprise then when, sitting on the couch trying to find the motivation to actually do work, I came across Franz Ferdinand's new album on Imeem. It was like the clouds opened up and a beam of indie-post-punk shone through the winter gloom.

There is something...different about this album. It sounds a little dark, a little bitter; like the bite at the end of your drink. It's a little less dance floor and a little more anguished poet; it is less plastic, less surface...and yet, it still sounds like Franz Ferdinand; still fun, danceable and irreverent.

There is even a ballad of sorts. "Katherine Kiss Me" is a little strange, but sort of sweet, with the lyrical 'slips of the tongue' that show the nervousness and awkwardness that come with the conflict of wanting to say what we feel and being afraid to. The song has no shortage of dark, even ugly images and themes, but has an honesty and realness that is so uncommon in love songs.

I must confess that I am writing this as I am listening to the album for the sake of time (I know, sigh) so this is not a conventional album review. Since I have not done my traditional distraction-free listen or researched or listened to my favorite songs so much that they start to creep into my consciousness at random times, this is going to be a little more reaction and a little less analysis. Which is possibly as it should be.

The New York Times recently did a feature on the album which describes it much more elegantly than I:
The Times article

And lucky you, I'll even share. Here you go (clips):

Tonight - Franz Ferdinand

Favorite tracks (at the moment):
"Ulysses," "Katherine Kiss Me," "Twilight Omens"

In which the blogger's brains resemble a mashed potato sculpture (though not as tasty or fun)

Sounds dramatic, right?

Actually, if I were to tell you why my brains currently resemble that Idahoan delicacy, it would probably end up being boring and self-indulgent, so I'll spare you the hairy details. Just know that psychoanalytic film theory is not a good way to end out what has been a very long week.

Unfortunately, there's more to get done, but I thought I'd leave you with a little sum'n sum'n.

This pretty much sums up my mental state (full song):

Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying (Live Version) - Belle and Sebastian

It's Like a Beeping Noise

I don't know how to feel about Architecture in Helsinki's newly-released track "That Beep." (The track is a sneak peek of AIH's upcoming album) Strangely enough, my opinion of it changes with every passing second of play. Although a little pop-y mainstream, it has a danceable techno beat with a hint of disco, quirky lyrics ("Dressed up as bubblegum, I'm stuck to your shoe. Let's run.") and a cheery use of synthesizer. However, moments like the "fade it, fade it" and "bring back the beat" sections seem contrived even as the band makes a brave attempt to keep them tongue-in-cheek.

Check it out and let me know what you think (full song):

That Beep - Architecture in Helsinki

Passing Through

Sorry! I've been so bad about posting lately. This week has been basically eating me alive so far.

Unfortunately, I can't stay long, but I wanted to write a quick post to let you know that this is not a permanent thing. (Or at least I hope not. If the rest of the term is like this week, I may not even be capable of typing at the end of it, and thus, we'd have bigger problems on our hands...no pun intended)

Love!