Another Julie Doron Collaboration

Alexis Pike - A Teton, St. Anthony, Idaho (2005)

Daniel, Fred, & Julie - Runner (mp3): A tape machine on the floor of a garage in Sackville, New Brunswick in the summer of 2009. A semi-circle of folding chairs. On one sits Fred Squire, under a mess of black hair and thick-rimmed glasses, staring down at his feet as he tunes his acoustic guitar. Julie Doiron sits just below him on her knees, lips pursed in a hum with eyes closed. Standing, face buried in an open book of traditional folk songs, is Daniel. He paces organically, glancing up only to smile at a group of kids passing by the open garage door on their bicycles.

As we all get excited for Mount Eerie's return to Madison this Saturday... remember this time last year... Julie Dorion's Lost Wisdom harmonies with Phil at Gates of Heaven... magic.

From the Bottom of a Pile

Rachel Whiteread - Study (2005)

My desk is made of slippery granite, elbows of 90 degree angles, and feet of concrete. I sit here sometimes, in the perfect silence, and empty sheets of paper with an eraser. Whole novels in fact. I find the more words I take out, the more I'm able to say. I sit here, today, to complete 30 pages of narrative. And I accomplish the task with one paragraph. At the top of the page I write: I WANT TO DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT. Indent a heading labeled "Rationale", under which I scrawl: FOR MEANING. I sit here, now, pretending to photocopy my work in triplicate to hand to my boss. She says too without words, always sweetly, thank you. You do such an excellent job.

Arms and Sleepers - Helvetica (mp3)

Clay Bodies

Zola Jesus - Clay Bodies

Previous Post "Zola Jesus: Diet Coke with Tar" (Feb 2008)

Hovering With Short Wings

Paul McCarthy - M (2008)

Vic Chesnutt - We Hovered With Short Wings (mp3): He's the type of guy who'd rather not sing. When people talk to him, he pays close attention all the while offering nothing in return. Smiles and nods nicely until they tire and return to their paperwork. He saves his emotions for laundry baskets and the bottom of sweater pockets. In the evenings, though, he whispers into a tape recorder when no one is listening. Only when the playback of his voice sounds most hidden, most breathy, most still, most honest, most like his inner monologue... he saves it. It's the sound that no one was ever meant to hear. And it's for you.

Cupping the Ocean in My Dreams

Aaron Maurer - Fatal Cure

I like when the song title is longer than the post.

Amit Erez - Last Night When I Tried To Sleep I Felt The Ocean With My Fingertips (mp3)

Obscene Queen Bee

John Stark - The Apiary (2008)
[from We Used to Have Faces]

Alec Ounsworth - Obscene Queen Bee #2 (mp3): You'll surely recognize the voice. There's no other mumble as shrill. The band is new, though, and bends a pedal steel guitar over an organ with ease.

Repost: We All Fall Down

Sam Green - Lady

Merill is a puppet master. She puppets ears drums, up and down to say yes and left and right to say no at her whim. Her blunt yodel pounds the membranes and her screech plucks the hair cells. She makes the lifeless listener expressive with only dirty moans and a ukelle. It's a hard job, but someone has to make humans shake inside. And she does it with her knuckles pressed deep in the skin.

Tune Yards - Hatari (mp3)

Tune Yards - When You Tell The Lions (mp3)

Tune Yards is playing at the High Noon Saloon tonight (10/20/09) at 7:00pm.

PAST POSTS:
Great Songs of 2008 (4/21/09), Top 20 JustSayin Shows of 2008 (12/31/09), We All Fall Down (7/18/08)

Everything Gets Old

Michel de Broin - Black Whole Conference (2006)

I'm sorry this isn't very subtle today. It sounds like taking off my shoe and throwing it at you. But I'm not mad. Surely you understand. Everything gets old.

Mark Eitzel - I Live In This Place (mp3)

Or What You Think Other People Want You To Want?

Mike Watson - Chocolate Jesus (2008)
[Originally inspired by the Tom Wait's song]

Jesus Christ (the indie band) - Is This Really What You Want? (mp3): This song sounds like a looming memory. It grows slowly by playing and replaying teen movie morals from back when rewind really meant tape was being rewound. Bouncing echos, beating minutes, intersecting thoughts - all overlaid by a wandering inner monologue. It's unsure, but trying to get through to you.

Przewalski's Horse

Richard Barnes - Animal Logic (mp3)

Likely a joy of being a horse is the regal posture and stride inherent to the word equine. And having the largest eye of any land mammal. Also, stables.

Soy Un Caballo - Robin (mp3)