- About   -   Contact   -   Links   -   Tools   -   Archive   -   Film -



Sunday, June 22, 2008
 

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 John Laird under a Creative Commons License.