love and love alike... also... as well.. in addition to...

while i was tracking down the decemberists links i found these gems from a band that is effing fabulous and makes my heart swell with the hope that music will not always suck... i've been watching for their new album and apparently missed the march release. i was probably listening to something awful at the time. you owe it to yourself to give them a listen...

great lake swimmers - palmistry

great lake swimmers - various stages (my favorite... but you'll have to click and then scroll and click again... it's so totally worth it though... and if it's not it's 3 clicks!! you'll live!)

great lake swimmers - song for the angels


while you're out there looking at new music don't forget:
sam beam / iron & wine - always
these united states
dirty on purpose
the decemberists
death cab for cutie

and check out these songs / bands and help me decide whether i love them or not...
the acorn.... you can check them here: my old kentucky blog
sea wolf - the garden that you planted

love and love alike

my dear friend the incredibly helpful jay and i decided to both love this album together - the decemberists - the hazards of love. you should totally love it too. no really. do it. love it. it will make you happy in a calm relaxed way in which you realize the world is better for music having been made. everyone needs that in their lives.

just in case you are concerned about my music credentials after my last two guilty pleasure posts, i'm going to admit that you have every right to be concerned. but at least i'm admitting my little secret pleasures and opening myself up. by my logic that should make me more of an reliable source. jay on the other hand is just awesome and is my favorite boy to love things with. you can trust him. he's very tall (just to show off mostly) and we all know tall people hear things more clearly.... sigh. maybe that's why i like bad music. i'm practically a midget at 5'4" or 5'3.5" technically. i keep hoping i'll grow but 33 is right around the corner (or 28 for the 5th time) and i'm pretty sure there are no 33rd year growth spurts. although i would take one if i could get my hands on one.

anyway.... here is what you should love love love. besides yourself and of course jay and i.

the decemberists - annan water

the decemberists - the hazards of love 4

is it just me?

is it just me or is there a serious suckage going on right now in music?

you know i love the bands i love - iron & wine, these united states, grace potter and the nocturnals, dustin ohalloran, dirty on purpose... coldplay, damien rice, tori amos, oar, david gray, great lake swimmers, jason mraz, death cab for cutie, modest mouse, the arcade fire... these are the artists that are most frequently listened to on my ip0d... i love others... but they are on my top playlist.

i'm always searching for new things... hypem.com changed my life... but recently i haven't found anything...

it's like everyone is all about some weird rock that doesn't even make sense, 70s remakes with belle and sebastian whispering over weird shit or very hyped over produced crap. ugh.

today on page 12 of what music bloggers are raving about i found this:

clatter clatter - downpour.... yep just click right there...

then page 14 brought this effing gem... i might love this band... if by might i mean i'm pretty sure i really really do..

pree - heaven is a drag.... yep just click again...

paul simon could write a book...

or maybe he should just keep making albums

deer tick - still crazy after all these years

i've had this moment... and sometimes i feel like this song is my life... about how things don't change, about how we are destined to repeat our old patterns and when you see that old friend, old love, old life you realize how much you've outgrown it and how nothing seems to have changed at all. it's so hard to know... so hard to ascertain what is growing and how to measure it.

here comes the sun

found today... from the famous and perfectly wonderful hype.com -----> a belle and sebastian cover of here comes the sun.... ahhhhhhhh.... and then suddenly all is right in the world. you can go here to download it: the bat and the bird. yep. right there. just click on those words... the bat and the bird and you will go there and after the picture, actually placed nicely just below it is a little link for handy dandy downloading and then you can listen to it... it even says to jump to 1:30 if you don't want to hear all that troublesome talking. so do it. i promise things will get better.

no really they will. i promise. for example i should be studying but i'm not... why you ask? i just found this awesome site that seriously changed my whole perspective about things... know when you read something and it grabs your heart and it beats a little stronger because it's just so beautiful and poignant and it's like a poem that runs around your brain and off your tongue like sweetness? oh my gosh.. uh huh... yeah that...

go

here

now

daytrotter.com

just click on that little link and read below the downloads what it says about my favorite band and my future husbands ( i haven't decided which one... ) these united states...

you can even download the new version of first sight and some of the latest from the album crimes.

if you need to you should listen to this because it's my favorite...

honor amongst thieves

so anyway... so i'm supposed to be studying because that's what students do when they want A's and good GPAs and scholarships and things of that sort. but really, for real, i'm just over it today. i wish i had some good explanation... but i don't. sometimes i just need some time for myself to clang around in my own head and talk on the phone and read my friend m's blog because she is hilarious. sometimes i need to just cuddle with my little one and do a friend a favor and dream just a little bit about seeing a boy i like and think about all the things i would do if i had a vacation to a place with no electricity and no phone for a few days.... just sometimes i need some "me" time and i know that's just not okay in a word when every minute of everyday is scheduled but you know what? screw it... it's 11:20 and i'm doing it anyway... and now that i'm done with that i might even read a fiction book for 20 minutes *gasp*

then i might go to bed and just deal with everything else in the morning and tell myself - who cares, it is what it is, deal with it and MOVE on! because that's what m says and she has five kids - that touch snakes! - and sometimes i need to take myself way less seriously. it's only life and you know what? it's fatal. it's not that serious. in fact... sometimes it's downright funny.

it's not unusual

it's not unusual for me to fall in love with bands... i can't help it. i know it's been a long time since i've felt it necessary to go on and on about something... the last one may have been nick rallis and i totally still love him... but that isn't what this is about. it is however about this amazing band that has me dancing around and listening to the same songs over and over again... with butterflies in my stomach like i get from the amazing sam beam. (let's not even go into the thing i have about him... sigh... i'm just saying i totally love him)

the important thing to know is sometimes you find a band and music that makes your heart happy... not the impermanent happy like you get from three jameson and ginger ales or from the forward about what an idiot john mccain is or even the temporary happiness that you achieve when you get naked with someone you're not sure you like for all the wrong reasons.... i'm talking serious happy like spending time with friends around campfires, listening to jason anderson live, hugging a friend you haven't seen in a long time, eating earl grey ice cream and the kind of happy that makes waking up in the morning seem like a cake walk. this band is that... for no reason other than they have clever lyrics, sing along melodies and ingenius layers of music and instrumentation that will make your toes taps and your heart leap around at the beauty and perfection of finding artists that get it... after being bombarded with crap from the pop music machine that drives out all the things that create the wonder of music you will be happy on a fundamental level to find this band. additionally there were good beards in the pictures, witty "influences" on myspace and they like this american life. seriously... it's like they are just for me and you in some cosmic wonder of serendipity.

so here they are.... the best thing since the apricot walnut sliced bread i had as toast last weekend. they might even be better than crushed ice... well no... but they are totally better than slurpees and i promise you will want to buy albums and show tickets and maybe even better speakers for your computer...

These United States:


so here is what you must do.... must must must... no bullshit whiney excuses like "i'm too busy for wonderfully written amazing music that will change my life for the better"

1. go to myspace and add them immediately: These United States - Myspace or go to their website These United States

2. listen to these and love them... i will only leave them up for a few days and then you'll have to listen on myspace.....

- i removed the mp3s... you'll have to go to myspace... too late sucka -


3. love them as i love them

4. buy their latest album or all the albums or tickets to a show or me one of those fancy t-shirts in black and white (girls' size medium)... it will go great with the new steady as she goes tattoo (will be new when i'm in ct in october) and my new anchor belt buckle (which is new thanks to some sort of secret admirer as of last week...).

see how simple it is to make your life better and make me a happy girl?

the eels - 3 speed

you can listen to an amazing song that i get stuck in my head at least once a week here: http://hypem.com/search/eels%20-%203%20speed/1/

yeah you'll have to right click and then listen on the hypem.com site because well.... apparently people don't like to have their music all free and shit floating around the internet.

you can thank cody for this awesomeness.... one, two, three.... THANKS CODY!

now that was nice. like an internet hug. which is in fact free.... which brings me to the most awesome thing ever:

new music tuesday

cuz what else do you have to do on a tuesday? really... come'on... new music is fun. and maybe you'll find something that isn't on the radio that you love (gasp... really there is music that doesn't get played on the radio??? how will i know i like it if the pop station doesn't tell me to?)... just give it a try.

as always with new music they are quicktime links you'll have to right click on each one and then open in a new tab... it's fun i promise. start loving it.... right.... nooooowwww.... wait for it... okay go.

You Could Write A Book - Someone Stills Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Show Me the Season - Maserati
Guns of Navarone - Maritime - you'll have to download it here or check em out at www.hypem.com
Set Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol ft. Martha Wainwright
The Audience In the Room - Dirty on Purpose (you know I fucking LOVE this band)
The Thing About Getaways - Dirty on Purpose
Golden - Bear Hands

all that goodness being said thats it for tonight.... the news today is that i have a new roommate, a new house and a newish life starting june 1st, i'm over 7th grade officially and i'm still really really bad at relationships. guess 4 out of 5 ain't bad.

oh and for extra goodness you should go to www.hypem.com and listen to linda ronstadt - willing. it could change your life. it totally changed mine... but not in the way you might think.... not in the literal way that could be applied as in i'm still willing but in the way that in the big picture and the huge universal scheme of things i'm still willing because in all fucking fairness that's what we're here for....

new music saturday

i know it's supposed to be new music friday (when i get around to it) but i'm a slacker sometimes. here are the tracks that i'm loving and listening to... (find them on hypem.com)

Adorable - Glorious which you can listen to here (sorry it's the best i could do)
Dirty on Purpose - Girls and Sunshine
Rogue Wave - Cheaper than Therapy (give this song a minute... literally... it will grow on you)
The Hidden Cameras - Builds the Bone (from the geniuses that created 'Music is my Boyfriend)
J. Tillman - Evans and Falls

while you are out trying new things you should go to this music blog... it's amazing!.....
Captain Obvious

ben lee and i make good writing partners

seriously... i've been writing and listening to the cd hey you, yes you by ben lee... wow... i'll just enumerate the good qualities: good vocal range, well written, good bass lines that make you want play air bass and guitar interludes that make me want to read up on the tabs that must be all over the 'net. i know... i know... i don't even play and instrument but still it's that effing good...

so here are some places to start so you can be as happy as i am right now...
ben lee at hypem.com my favourite on that site is 'what would jay-z do?' seriously it's funny and it has a killer harmony with just a hint of his accent (who doesn't fucking love a boy with an accent??)
or see him at his website

my two favourite tracks off of the cd i have are shine and running with scissors... i'm just saying check him out... and in order to make that easy i have added this handy dandy little guy below.... and it doesn't play automatically just for those that don't like that sort of thing...

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the october list

every once in awhile i make a list of for my friends of what i think you might love... cuz really i think if i love it you will too... like crushed ice and flying... man do i love that crushed ice stuff... sonic here i come in ten days... mmmmmmmmmmmm.....

but for real here is a list of things i've been loving lately:
1. radiolab from wnyc. it's a podcast that cody turned me onto and i'm totally addicted. go here to check it out: wync.org
2. the hidden cameras - it's a band that i found with that song music is my boyfriend and now i cannot get enough of... you can check em out and get a good listen by clicking the little link above. if you don't love their poppy but dark lyrics and well produced tracks there is something seriously wrong with you. if music is my boyfriend doesn't make you want to eat ice cream and hold hands with someone you love you may want to see a therapist... not judging just saying... i'm just fucking saying... you might not be a whole person.
3. great speeches in history from npr podcast. it's just amazing and provides some perspective and insight... it's a feeling you can't get just from reading the words. my favourite this week is 'Television is a Vast Wasteland'
4. rogue wave - it's a band i thought i liked but just found out that we are totally totally in love - check em out and stream some of their audio OR watch videos: i sorta want to make out with the drummer but i've always had a things for drummers... ugh... anyway the band is still great.
5. of course jason anderson... if you followed the links before and didn't listen because you were on crack and thought it might not be great i'll give you the opportunity of a lifetime again.... he is AMAZING. he is by far the best singer songwriter i've heard in a long long time. there is something real and raw in jason's music that makes me want to be a better person or go to a show at someone's house... seriously... remember going to shows at people's houses?? am i dating myself? i'm totally that old... anyway go there and then write craig an email about how he is a music genius.
6. always somewhere on these lists is one constant and it's chris' record label. seriously... i know i've been on about what a genius chris is since like 1999 but until everyone fully appreciates his genius i won't give up... it's still the self starter foundation and it's still amazing.
i'm not bragging but i've also been on about les savy fav (on chris' label) since like 2001 and i've noticed lately that they have been getting a LOT of press... know why?? cuz they are simply fucking fabulous.. listen to some of their stuff at the hype machine.
7. while i'm recommending all these bands at the hype machine site i should mention them too. cody showed it to me and it has changed my life. you can check bands out and listen and then go right out and buy the tunes from one website. it's a great great thing.
8. some bands i'm still thinking about raving about next week:
jens lekman
glenn branca
[brus]
a brief smile
8. the polyphonic spree apparently has announced tour dates and it's worth seeing if it's in your town... i've never been to one of their shows but ... hmmm... maybe november 3rd at the Rialto Theatre in Tucson?? it would be a shame not to go... if you like that sort of thing... which i definitely do
9. wes anderson's new movie - the darjeeling limited is out this coming weekend... you can watch a trailer and love it in theatres soon... seriously... from the looks of it it's beautifully shot and has great actors. i'm going to throw down a gauntlet here and say if you don't like wes anderson movies perhaps there is no reason for us to be friends at all... i don't even KNOW you... it's that serious. man i love him... i seriously LOVE him.

that's it for me for now... go like everything i like and let's be best friends.