Music Monday :: 6 of my go-to “downtime” artists

“Downtime” artists being those I typically listen to while doing homework or solitary computer projects or things (craft projects in the more hands-on sense, at least detailed ones, often require slightly more rousing music for me; for example, painting the leather used to make my Dany armor top could be done to this, as that was more straightforward, but painting the pink silk-type stuff had full-on Ellie Goulding/Metric/Eisley accompaniment) or going to sleep.  This is not to say they are boring or even universally mellow, no, but they are just tonally right for these moments.

6. Laura Gibson
(Linked is her song “Come by Storm.”)  It’s really not a surprise that all of these artists frequently appear on my mixes; other than the fact that I love them, they are good complements.  Laura Gibson particularly is very effective at this; her songs are rarely manic, often relaxed, and have a nice twang-but-not-too-much-twang to them.

5. Angus and Julia Stone
(Linked is their song “Draw Your Swords.”)  Some of their songs, particularly the up-sides on A Book Like This, tend to be a bit more enthusiastic than a lot of the pieces that are on this list, but some of their songs are pleasantly not-that.  Even with a side of melancholy.  Introspective melancholy tends to lend itself well to downtime.

4. Julia Stone
(Linked is her song “Winter on the Weekend.”)  And some of these downtime songs are downright dark.  This one (though not all of Julia Stone’s collection) is a prime example.  Piano is also a theme.

3. The Swell Season
(Linked is their song “The Moon.”)  Honestly, these two make the greatest downtime music ever, between the uncheerfulness and the great harmonies and the calm pace that sometimes heats up into full-on passion but not that often and the guitar and the piano.

2. Glen Hansard
(Linked is his song “Talking With the Wolves.”)  This is a slightly faster pace than a lot of these songs.  But I think another key point to this list is emotional sincerity or something.  Which is definitely evident here.

1. Markéta Irglová
(Linked is her song “Let Me Fall in Love.”)  But this one is pure everything on this list.  It is melancholy and piano-driven and just lovely.  Simple, but excellent.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: 5 of my “feelings” albums

“Feelings” in the internetism-type way, where saying “feelings” is used to summarize a whole collection of intense emotions directed often at things other than one’s real life, though sometimes inspired by one’s real life, and the word is not always properly conjugated to suit the rest of the sentence (I don’t know why, that’s just the convention I’ve observed).  These are albums that I play when I’m seeking catharsis or am already sad or occasionally cranky.  Mind you, they’re not the only ones, but they are tried and true.

5. August and Everything After by Counting Crows
This is probably my original feelings album, as I’ve been using it on-off for this purpose since the eighth grade.  Any Counting Crows album will do in a pinch, but this one has the song “Anna Begins,” which for some reason has always been a go-to feelings song for me in the extreme.  I really don’t know why; I imagine it has to do somewhat with the lyrics, as it always does, but I’m not quite sure.

4. The Sound of White by Missy Higgins
On a Clear Night has distinctly feelings songs, to be sure (it starts with “Where I Stood,” which is pretty much devastating, for example).  The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle has a few feelings songs on it too.  And see, it’s not like The Sound of White is entirely comprised feelings songs (while “Scar” isn’t a happy song necessarily, it’s relatively chipper, and “Casualty” is more assertive-fierce than anything in my opinion) but for some reason it became a feelings album.  The above Counting Crows album is often used when I’m dealing with RL things, but this one is used quite often for dealing with fictional emotional outpourings.

3. The Memory Machine by Julia Stone
This is one of my Going To Bed albums, because I’m one of those people who can’t fall asleep without music on (usually or well), but it’s the one I save for when I’m Going To Bed and have been thinking about feelings stuff.  If I’m somehow frustrated with school or with a person in my life, or if I’m just worn out emotionally, or if I’ve been watching particularly devastating television programs or films.  And again, it’s not all feelings songs, and it’s not as if By the Horns doesn’t have a few of those too.  Maybe it’s just that several of the songs on this one are associated in my mind with particular fictional instances of feelings.

2. the Spring Awakening cast recording
I used to listen to this an average of four times a week, and while I don’t listen to it as often anymore, I still love it like no other.  While on my recent and alluded to vacation, I found myself exceptionally fed up more than once; it wasn’t until a two-hour drive that I realized how best to deal with this aggravation.  Sitting in the backseat and eating potato chips for dinner, I flipped to the Spring Awakening album on my iPod.  And yeah, once I was done I felt better.  Because this is a cast album, it comes with a plot, and plots have characters, and when I can channel my whatever into characters, somehow it’s easier to get out of my system.  It has a beginning, middle, and end, and it encompasses happy, sad, longing, angry, relieved, all of it.

1. cheating a bit, but anything that Glen Hansard has touched.
Most recently, as you know, his solo album; I’ve also been known to deal with feelings through both Swell Season albums and the Once soundtrack.  And there’s just something wonderful about all of it for this reason.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: 2012 in music, part 2 (10 albums of the year)

SO.  Not that I didn’t have three albums in my overall best-of yesterday, not that this doesn’t largely duplicate my Songs of the Year from last week, not that this isn’t just basically me linking to reviews I did earlier, but.  It needs to be done, for continuity’s sake.

10. yellow//gold by The Spring Standards
These guys.  They never fail to make me smile or feel wistful, and possibly do both at the same time.

9. Rhythm and Repose by Glen Hansard
Glen, you lovely human being.  With your sad sweet Irish folk music.  Just be here always.

8. By the Horns by Julia Stone
This album is wonderfully understated, but it quickly found its way into my Mellow Out In The Evening repertoire, which means I play it at least four times a week.

7. Blunderbuss by Jack White
Yes and always.  You can always tell Jack White’s projects; they’re similar, but not the same.  They have that beautiful edge to them.

6. The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle by Missy Higgins
I never reviewed this album because I didn’t realize it had come out until much too late, but augh, I adore it so much.  Missy Higgins is one of my favorites, always, and though this isn’t Driving In My Car music in the “up” way, necessarily, this is definitely Driving In My Car music sometimes.  Or Cleaning My Living Space music sometimes.  Or just Functioning Somehow music sometimes.

5. A Wasteland Companion by M. Ward
M. Ward, you musical genius man.  You wonderful Portland man.  With your beautiful folksy/grungy/alternative/sweet/dark/everything tunes.

4. What We Saw From the Cheap Seats by Regina Spektor
Oh, my darling Regina and your glorious weirdness.

3. A Minor Bird by Sucré
Always and ever, Stacy DuPree King.  Always and ever.

2. Halcyon by Ellie Goulding
Like I’ve said in every other possible way before.

1. Synthetica by Metric
Also like I’ve said in every other possible way before.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: 2012 in music, part 1 (10 songs of the year)

I actually had a hard time narrowing this list down.  I’ve reviewed and found quite a lot of beautiful albums this year, and I will be discussing them as a whole next week, but this week I figured I should give some credit to some of my favorite songs.  Some of these were predicted in my initial album liveblogs, some of these came on rather late and for varied reasons.

10. “Talking With the Wolves” by Glen Hansard
I was torn between this one and “You Will Become,” because I really love them about equally, but because of what I read 300 pages of today and therefore what I do associate this song with despite not having used it for anything yet, I decided to go with this one for the list.

9. “Chemical Reaction” by Sucré
I wasn’t sure where to go with this album, either. “When We Were Young” is the big grand sweeping ta-da of the album, and that’s cool; I have soft spots for about half of the songs on deep individual levels.  But my inner nerdlove fanatic insists on this being the choice.

8. “Bombs Away” by This Girl
I listened to… actually most of these songs when I was driving down to Disneyland earlier this year.  But for some reason, driving through various Californian mountains in 2012 is always going to go the best with “we could disappear like smoke or curl up in a ball of flame ’cause the dumbest of us know we are deranged” in my head.  Not exactly chipper, but there you have it.

7. “Me and My Shadow” by M. Ward
I’ve talked about this one so very much already, but it just needs to be listed for continuity’s sake.

6. “Don’t Say a Word” by Ellie Goulding
It’s… maybe weird that this is my favorite track off of Halcyon, which is also one of my two official Driving In My Car albums.  Certainly, the fact that it’s the first track means I hear it a lot, but it’s just dark and epic and I adore it.  I adore it a lot.

5. “Watch the Moon Disappear” by the Spring Standards
I called this one right out of the gate.  Right off the bat.  However you want to say it.  But it’s got a lot of the things I look for in songs and I love it in unexplainable ways.

4. “Oh Marcello” by Regina Spektor
This one, on the other hand, crept up on me.  Does this have to do with the fact that I love how utterly absurd Regina is sometimes?  Largely.  Does this have to do with the fact that this song is dark and I like that?  Largely.  Does this have to do with “my head waiter’s head on your platter, just say the word and Salome can kiss my gutters“?  Maaaybe.

3. “One Last Song” by Eisley
I love this whole EP and were it not for a particular emotional night this summer, I’d probably be choosing a different song.  But I’m the kind of person who sometimes needs to work at getting emotional, and for various real life reasons, I just knew I needed to have a good cry.  So what did I do?  Watch Serenity and then listen to this song repeatedly for near an hour.

2. “Youth Without Youth” by Metric
Yet another tie (with yet another song from my Black Widow fanmix ["Artificial Nocturne"]) but hey.  I actually hear this song on the radio sometimes, and every time I start grinning like an idiot and singing along terribly.  This is my other official Driving In My Car album, and this song is one of my favorites to drive to.

1. “Love Interruption” by Jack White
When I hear this song, I stop everything that I’m doing (unless I’m driving, in which case I keep doing that) and just let it happen.  This song is beautiful and wonderful and dark and delightful.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: a love letter to Glen Hansard’s live shows

This is one of the cases where “love letter” actually feels like an underestimation.

I should clarify that I did see the Swell Season in high school.  In the same venue as seeing his show this time, actually.  And I remembered him being very endearing and very engaging, but I didn’t remember nearly how much, because really, that is the joy of Glen Hansard.  He just seems like a genuine person, a truly good guy.  I still remember him good-naturedly giving the audience hell for giggling because of the preciousness every time he said “tanks” instead of “thanks” back in the day, and while there was no good-natured hell-giving this time, it was still precious.

I also think it explains a lot about Glen Hansard as a human being.  He thanks the audience after almost every song.  He seems to sincerely appreciate that the audience appreciates him, while at the same time being a bit awed by it.  And it’s the sweetest.  He’s legitimately invested in the happiness of the people coming to see him do the thing he loves to do.

Another example of why Glen Hansard is just a neat guy is this: one of the seven (I’m pretty sure that was the end tally) encores featured the band that opened for him, the Lost Boys.  (Who were also adorable and Irish; they put a lot of birds on it, also.)  These two guys came out to join Glen and the Frames (and that that was the case also made me smile) and they all just jammed.  And the Lost Boys took lead.  Glen just hung back and played music, and he seemed so happy just to be doing that.  Playing tunes with a bunch of other cool people.  Not being the star, just having a good time.

And then there’s the seven encores thing.  The whole band went off stage the first time, Glen came back with his holey guitar and did “Say It To Me Now” completely unplugged, then he and the violinist did “Gold.”  Then on came the band, and the Lost Boys, and the band, and they just kept.  Playing.  Songs.  Song after song after song.  Someone from the audience suggested at some point that he do “Falling Slowly,” and very sincerely, he just went, “I can’t do ‘Falling Slowly’ without Markéta” (he may have used her full name, I don’t remember because I was too busy going awww).  But in total, there were about seven encores.  Which is beautiful.  That’s definitely a record for shows I’ve been to.

And then there’s the holey guitar thing.  One, I love that damn guitar and everything beautiful that it represents.  Two, someone called out at one point “BEST GUITAR EVER!!”  Glen gave his thanks, smiling, and then lifted the guitar closer to his face and said to it, “You hear that?”

And oh, there’s the way that they managed to turn almost every song into a massive instrumental jam.  And the way that they’d just throw in parts of old songs between the instrumental jams.  One song, I don’t remember which at the moment, gave way to “Respect,” and others gave way to a whole variety of things.

And then there’s the thing of how during one of his songs, they started playing wolf noises over the speakers, and Glen kept lifting his head and pretending to howl along while playing his guitar.

And it was just… delightful.  I keep using that word to describe the concert to people in person, but.

A lot of the songs off the new album were played; he opened with “The Storm, It’s Coming,” which may or may not have made me grab at my person and sigh longingly.  A lot of Swell Season and Once songs were played.  Some Frames songs were played.  Some other songs were played.  It was just a brilliant night of music.

–your fangirl heroine.

Television Tuesday :: Apocrypha and Acumen [a Nora Gainesborough fanmix]

1. Taller Children (Elizabeth and the Catapult)
So you think you know, think you know, think you know better?  Is it just because, just because, you’re older and wiser?  Don’t you know, don’t you know you don’t get smarter?  You’re the same as you started, you just jump a little higher.

2. Ballad of a Politician (Regina Spektor)
But I am, but I am, but I am a carefully laid plan.  Shake what your mama gave you, you know that it won’t last.  You’re gonna taste the ground real soon, you’re gonna taste the grass.  A man inside a room is shaking hands with other men, this is how it happens, our world under command.

3. Attention (The Raconteurs)
Hey, now that you have my attention, what are you gonna do?  You might have good intentions, but they’re not coming through.  You’re very pleased with yourself, I see, it’s like a walk in the park.  You weren’t lying by anybody else ’cause you can see in the dark.

4. Sweet Religion (Imogen Heap)
My sweet little religion, how does it feel?  Written in that book of love, now does it say your name above the name by which they call me?  And is it written in liquid red, ‘cause nothing else will do instead for reassuring eternity.  Will you be there when I need you?  Will you be there when I need you?

5. No Room to Bleed (Ben Lee)
What did you mean when you said that I was bleeding in vain, wait, and I’m moving underwater.  Watch while I burn my bridges down, the words that I say and the hurt goes away.  You leave me no room to bleed, but somewhere inside I’m still on the line.  You leave me no room to bleed.  Wait on the landscape that I’m breaking, watch as I burn my bridges down and I’ve tried to run but now I’m all done, you leave me no room to bleed, you leave me no room to bleed.

6. Youth Without Youth (Metric)
Hangman, we played Rubber Soul with a razor blade behind the church, hiding place, it was a long joke ’til the punch line came.  Can you read my mind? Read my mind, follow along to the end of the song.  Hangman, we played Double Dutch with a hand grenade behind the church hiding place, apathetic to the devil’s face.  Wear the sheriff’s badge, put your toys away, they let us go, saying, “Let us pray!”

7. 1940 (The Submarines)
You couldn’t sleep for the awful fright that kept you up in bed last night.  While curious shapes shift in the dark, they vanish with the sunlight’s spark.  So rise and shine, now’s the time to be alive, to stay awake with me a while and smile.

8. What Are We Gonna Do (Glen Hansard)
What are we gonna do if we lose that fire?  What are we gonna do if we start to doubt, if that fire goes out?  I don’t wanna change you, but you’re a long, long way from the path you came.  I’m trying to show you something: good, good heart will always find love.

9. Megalomania (Muse)
Useless device it won’t suffice, I want a new game to play.  When I am gone – it won’t be long before I disturb you in the dark, and paradise comes at a price that I am not prepared to pay.  What were we built for?  Will someone tell me please, take off your disguise: I know that underneath it’s me.

10. Ritual (Ellie Goulding)
Into the death and shoots as far, too late to be with you’d from high.  You see it’s a thought those guys was he our faith he’ll hear our cries a ghost.  And he won’t stop here, acting with my fear, there’s a raging fire and it burns so mean.  But I’m ready now, but I’m ready now.

11. Only In Your Head (Marketa Irglova)
Maybe our actions are what counts and not all that we might think or feel or say, but don’t they all relate?  And I know it’s easier said than done, but has there ever been a struggle you thought you wouldn’t overcome?

12. Beautiful (Eisley)
This is a good day for a revolution of the mind, voices ride the wind and take me to the night.  I crawled over broken glass to find a place in the sun was with me all along, the circle had begun.

13. World Gone Mad (Missy Higgins)
Standing on the roof my daddy built, looking at the rising of the silt, everything I ever loved is underneath, but what the river wants, the river keeps.  I used to believe in fortune and that in the hands of God everybody gets no more than they deserve, but the more I see the less I understand.  Watching as the water swallows the land, I’m starting to believe there was never a plan, that the world’s gone mad.

Apocrypha and Acumen at 8tracks.

–your fangirl heroine.

Television Tuesday :: Bastards, Brothers, and Birthrights [a Game of Thrones fanmix]

1. Winter’s Coming (The Narrative)
I’m shaking with bruises, I can barely stand my shape, not when every inch, it hesitates and it breaks, and it breaks, and it breaks, and it breaks.  And the winter’s coming close, and my body is growing cold, and I’m trembling in fright, oh my.  ‘Cause I am a sinner with a crooked smile and you took to the rhythm of a no good liar.

2. Open (Regina Spektor)
In the night, the snow starts falling and everybody stares through their windows at the streetlights: too beautiful to see, I am in a room I’ve built myself, four straight walls, one floor, one ceiling.  And day after day, I wake up feeling, day after day, I wake up feeling, feeling

3.Many Funerals (Eisley)
Bring along your tricks and trade, we will lie here, here we lay.  And though this ship is out to sea, I’m content to lie peacefully.  Young and agile, seaside born, my parents death did I dear mourn.  Now in this wicked world risk I, bold endeavors by and by

4.Culling of the Fold (The Decemberists)
Better cut him up boy, and cut him up, girl.  Ply her heart with gold and silver, take your sweetheart down to the river, dash her on the paving stones, it may break your heart to break her bones, but someone’s got to do the culling… of the fold.  Oh, the culling… of the fold. (Oh, oh, oh, oh!)

5. Dragon Queen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
How are you not going to show your scar?  How are you not going to get high, high?  My mouth is touching to your mouth is running. No loving, for nothing. Nobody knock my body out.

6. Will There Be Enough Water? (The Dead Weather)
When I said sail, will there be enough wind? Cool water, oh cool wind.  Just because you caught me does that make it a sin? Yeah, just because you caught me, does that make it a sin?

7. My Mirror Speaks (Death Cab for Cutie)
And then my mirror speaks with irreverence like a soldier I can’t command, it sees a child in the body of a full-grown man.  And he’s a man who hides from all that binds and a mess of fading lines, and there’s a tangled thread inside his head with nothing on either end, there’s nothing on either end.

8.  Rangers (A Fine Frenzy)
Further in and on we go, sightless creatures tugging at our clothes, cutting through the twilight, sword in hand, strangers once united against the land at the sound of the bells.  They’re pulling paper lanterns from their shelves.

9. Wildfire Forest (The Spring Standards)
I’ll be your wildfire forest, babe, you’ll be the water rushing over me.  Yeah, I need you so bad.  But it’s up to you to be good, you see, good for me, so come on, honey, put your worried mind away, at least just for a minute.  Even if there’s nothing to say.

10. The Storm, It’s Coming (Glen Hansard)
There’s a storm and it’s a raging in the belly of the slaving, it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming.  And when the wind howls at your gate already it is too late, it’s coming, it’s coming.

11. Going North (Missy Higgins)
Up where the hunted hide with ease under the arms of eyeless trees, up where the answers fall like leaves, oh and your love is all I need, yeah I’m going north.

12. These Stones Will Shout (The Raconteurs)
So if I were to just lay in silence and see if you would take control, these stones below me then may become violent.  And they will wrestle me, pester me, mess with me, just tryin’ to free your soul.  Speak to me and don’t speak softly, talk to me and let me know, grab hold of my shoulder and tell me, grab hold and do not let go

13. By the Horns (Julia Stone)
We tell half of the story, so we can take the things we need.  And some of our efforts are colorful, and some people they lose.  And some people live in the shadows so they never have to choose.

Bastards, Brothers, and Birthrights at 8tracks.

–your fangirl heroine.

Whedon Wednesday :: The Widow’s Venom [a Natasha Romanoff - Black Widow fanmix]

1. The Prayer of François Villon (Molitva) (Regina Spektor)
Я знаю: ты все умеешь, я верую в мудрость твою, как верит солдат убитый, что он проживает в раю, как верит каждое ухо тихим речам твоим, как веруем и мы сами, не ведая, что творим!

2. Interstate (Jed Whedon and the Willing)
Funny the battles that we brave. Feels like we’re still in second grade. No longer people that we save as much as the money that we’ve made. Well, travel on. Interstate. At least we’re got our direction straight. Strange we children grow. Days will come and nights will go. But we get loud when the eastside meets the west coast crowd.

3. Believe Me (Ellie Goulding)
I need a mission, a dream to stop me talking to myself.  And now the silence is broken, and my soul is to sell.  I need to pick up the pieces to scatter to the wind, hold the city to your ears: you can hear the wind come in.

4.You Will Become (Glen Hansard)
Your beauty is nothing compared to what you will become, you will become. You will become in time become.  And we talked about talk of a gold ring when you brought me one step closer to the heart of things and we talked about everything til we laughed about it. Your honesty is nothing compared to what you will become, you will become.  You will become in time become.

5. Tigerlily (La Roux)
They can sell it all they want but you cannot agree, I don’t like the taste of damn morality.  You’ll find your bread and you butter where you fake it and put your face in the gutter of a snake pit.  But out communication is telepathy, what you give is what you get out of us naturally, and we can wait ’til the shadow grows long and turn the page of the story that has long since found a home.

6. Me and My Shadow (M. Ward)
There is a singer everyone has heard, at night he turns into a mockingbird, if I whistle in the dark, he’ll do that too.  I met him on the road at the close of day, he talked like me, he walked this way, I said “mockingbird, you ain’t no innovator.”

7. Artificial Nocturne (Metric)
I’m as fucked up as they say, I can’t fake the daytime, found an entrance to escape into the dark.  Got false lights for the sun, it’s an artificial nocturne, an outsider’s escape for a broken heart.

8. The Swell Season (The Swell Season)
Instrumental.

9. So Far From Your Weapon (The Dead Weather)
There’s a bullet in my pocket burning a hole, it’s so far from your weapon and the place you were born.  There’s a bullet in my pocket burning a hole, you’re so far from your weapon and you wanna go home.  You wanna get up? Let go? I say no.  You wanna get up? Let go?

10. Firewood (Regina Spektor)
Don’t look so shocked, don’t judge so harsh.  You don’t know, you are only spying.  Everyone knows it’s going to hurt, but at least we’ll get hurt trying.

11. Information Travels Faster (Death Cab for Cutie)
And here’s the kicker of this whole shebang: You’re in debt and completely fooled that you can look into the mirror and objectively rank your wounds.

12. Libra (The Narrative)
The evidence keeps on building and I’m sinking in defense, will a measurement of intentions come — a guilty conscience.  So let the air tip the scales, let’s go; one honest judge decide and you will find the facts weigh down to favor you in time.

13. Winning (Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton)
Knives don’t have your back. I wait and I count, but knives don’t have your back. I wait and I count to the last breath we take. What we made doesn’t make sense.  What’s a wolf without a pack? Open your chest and take the heart from it.

The Widow’s Venom at 8tracks.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: my thoughts on Rhythm and Repose

Otherwise known as Glen Hansard solo album?  Gimme.

“You Will Become.”  This is a slightly unnerving song full of declarative statements and stuff, and it’s lovely, and wow, it’s chilling.  And there’s some nice Markéta Irglová action hiding in there, what with harmonies.  Mmm.  “Your honesty is nothing compared to what you will become.”  Yes, all right.

“Maybe Not Tonight.”  I really do love this man’s voice.  It’s kind of like drinking hot cocoa that has just a dash of liquor in it: it’s warm, it’s exciting, it’s comforting.  This song is sweet and mellow and lovely, and I’m sure I can find a use for it in the future.  I mean, really.  Multiple different triggers to choose from here.  I don’t even know if you could call this bittersweet; there’s a bit of that, but it’s not entirely.  Wistful, maybe.

“Talking With the Wolves.”  Ooh, yes, hello, this has a tiny hint of severely modern instrumentation.  And yet more lyrics that I find fascinating for many reasons.  I think my initial “oh, I read the title” purpose may still suit, hm.  This sort of album reviewing really does disintegrate into preplanning out mix albums, but I can’t help doing that.  I’m comfortable listening to music for triggers, and that’s a valid way of enjoying it, so there.  “Love that’s given freely, it doesn’t die, it only changes.  And love that’s taken easy, it has to hide in these exchanges.”  Oh, surprise guitar, yes all right.

“High Hope.”  This man does many lovely things with guitars and with his voice, and I love his sustained notes with a passion not afforded a lot of male vocalists.  This song is definitely more in the bittersweet category, but I like bittersweet things.  Also, my very favorite Glen Hansard technique: absolutely just tearing into it all nice-growly-like.

“Bird of Sorrow.”  Hello there.  Oh, this is also with the melancholy-but-nice, both tonally and lyrically.  Also, putting birds on it.  And feelings.  And being more than five minutes long.

“The Storm, It’s Coming.”  …whoops, Glen Hansard, why are you doing this with these perfect lyrics, really.  The perfect lyrics and then the slow mournfulness and the occasional growly-ness, just — I mean, don’t stop because it is wonderful, but I don’t even know what to do.

“Love Don’t Leave Me Waiting.”  Now this isn’t mournful.  I mean, it’s not a happy song, none of these have been and I’m comfortable with that, but it’s not melancholy.  This is more on the assertive statements and requests front, oh, and there’s time erasing.  While there is a hint of bittersweet still, I’m going for assertive as being the descriptor I choose here.  Why is it that some people’s la la la la-ing frustrates me and some people’s makes me giddy?  His is in the giddy category, yes.

“What Are We Gonna Do.”  Honestly, this album is just making me want to wallow in feelings.

“Races.”  Oh, for a second I thought this was going to be a happier song, and then “’cause I never left you and you never let me go” and things of that nature.  Stop it.  Now I just want to mix myself a Winter is Coming and crawl back into bed and sniffle in my heart or something.

“Philander.”  So far, this may actually be the least sad of the songs.  Which is sad of itself, considering it includes the lyrics “up here on this platter,” but hey.  Love is a wacky thing that I’m trying to learn not to judge too harshly because I know nothing about it whatsoever.

“Song of Good Hope.”  Stop stop stop but don’t, wow, Glen Hansard.  You are pulling out all the stops to make me feel triggery feelings.  No, this one is happier, because it actually has that hope stuff threaded throughout.  It’s still with the wistful, but hey.

“Come Away to the Water.”  Okay, instrumentation of folksy glory.  You are on the Hunger Games soundtrack so I know you already, but you are beautiful and lovely, because really that soundtrack > the actual words that people say in that film, and also this is just pretty.

“This Gift.”  Mm, hello, yes.  Piano and also not-painful falsetto and also harmonies of pretty and also nice growling and also full chorus.  I’m completely all right with this.

“Rare Bird.”  Damn it Glen Hansard, damn it all.  More birds on it, and definitely in that way.  This is wistful x100 and I love that, don’t get me wrong.  Wow, you thoughtful man writing thoughtful music, I love you thank you for being.

–your fangirl heroine.

Music Monday :: The Hunger Games… soundtrack?

It’s not a soundtrack in the strictest sense, no.  Basically, the album recently released that is full of folksyindustrialtwangywhatnot is an official fanmix.  Instead of fanmixes in the sense like I make them, where you take a bunch of songs that already exist and pile them together, the producers of this particular soundtrack took a bunch of artists that have some aesthetic similarities and then said “hey, create songs that are vaguely relevant to this theme!!”

I’m not arguing this particular point.  Obviously, I am an advocate of the fanmix, and I am an advocate of many of the involved artists.  Neko Case, the Civil Wars, the Decemberists, Glen Hansard.  All of whom make me go yes.

I am arguing the involvement of the songs in the movie, or rather the lack of involvement.  When you’re fighting battles in the woods, what would you rather: generic action movie music, or instrumentalized segments of twangy industrial tunes?  Me personally, I’d rather that.  Folksy anything is better to me basically always.  And especially here: I mean, the generic action music was relevant to the Capitol, it sounded appropriate there, but in District 12 or in the Arena, it was more folksytwang time.  They’re working in the mines, they’re fighting in the woods, they’re taking care of business.

This is a fairly short post, I suppose.  But this is my plea to the producers of the movies: next time, actually twang it up a little.  Some of those battle/camping montages could have been even better with some badass Decemberists tunes or something.  And in the plaintive moments, I kept thinking they’d pipe in strains of “Safe and Sound” or something.  Just a hint.  Lyrics not even necessary.  Twang is just more effective, all right?

–your fangirl heroine.