Well,
I’m on vacation this week, at the beach actually, so
that means it’s time for a quick EP. It’s not
that I can’t force my lazy self to write something
worthwhile (and I will grant you that these past few
days I’ve found new lengths of laziness), it’s just
that vacations, or at least traveling, has always
been for me a chance to take a break from writing
and analyzing and just listen to some new music for
the simple joys of it.
In Noah’s post yesterday, in which he lined up his
favorite albums of the year, he mentioned how great
the Bon Iver album is. I couldn’t agree more - by
far, one of my favorite releases of the year.
But just as he was reluctant to actually describe
it, I’ve found it difficult to put into words what I
like about it, and usually resort to telling an
inquirer that I’ve never had such a uniquely
satisfying experience listening to an album as I had
when I first heard For Emma, Forever Ago.
Any critic of any medium will tell you, sometimes
critically analyzing a work of art can render it
devoid of all the enjoyable parts that as a critic
you try to parse out in the first place. So
these past few days, I took a vacation from thinking
too hard, and instead let my On-The-Go playlist
amass hundreds of new songs I hadn’t really listened
to for fun yet. Here’s what I’ve been
listening to while basking in the sun, lounging by
the pool, sipping from a variety of tropical
flavored beverages, and generally having a better
time than you are right now.
:The
Submarines - You Me And The Bourgeoisie:
"We’re
not living the good life, unless we’re fighting the good
fight." There’s something so great about this lyric,
but I’ll figure it out next week. They were on KCRW’s
Morning Becomes Eclectic not too long ago, check it out if
you’re into that kind of live thing.
:War
On Drugs - Taking The Farm:
I’m supposed to be reviewing this album,
Wagonwheel Blues. I’ve been listening to it way too much to
start writing though, especially this song. I mean,
how do you put "woo-ooh-ooh" into words?
:The
Whitsundays - It Must Be Me:
Basically, this is a Zombie’s knockoff band.
It’s a good thing we all love the Zombies as much as I do.
:Silver
Jews - Strange Victory, Strange Defeat:
I don’t think the new album (Lookout
Mountain, Lookout Sea) can stand up on its own to the
rest of the Jews’ catalog, but I am confident that it will
hold up over time, maybe even grow on me. That being
said, this song is awesome. Just awesome.
According to my iTunes, I’ve listened to it an unhealthy 24
times.
:The
Lord Dog Bird - The Gift Of Song In The Lion's Den:
It took this song to keep me from listening
to Shearwater’s Rooks everyday for the rest of the
year. A lot of people have posted this song, I know,
but that’s because it’s really, really good. The Lord
Dog Bird is Colin McCann’s project while Wilderness is on
break, though I hear they’re recording or mixing right now.
I can’t wait to hear the rest of this album (hopefully it'll
be waiting for me when I get home).
I was
going to post Fleet Foxes’ Ragged Wood as
well, but Noah beat me to it yesterday. I must
say though, it’s fast becoming my favorite song of
the year. Every day I wake up and listen to
this song 10 times before I even brush my teeth.
I’d put it on my "Pump Up" mix if I had anything to
get pumped up for.
See you next week, and I hope you were able to put
your thinking caps aside, if only for this sort
while.
John Michael Cassetta keeps his own blog, Big
Diction, and writes for the local website Austin
Sound. Comments, complaints, and
solicitations may be directed
here.
- John Michael
Cassetta -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
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