Music Monday #2

Hope all two of you who grabbed last week's playlist enjoyed it, I'm actually interested to know what you thought...

This week's playlist isn't so much for daylight as it is for your nighttime. Maybe you like to take a walk around your neighborhood once the sun has set, giving yourself a Kafka-like stroll about the vicinity, taking a chance to collect your thoughts. Or maybe you like to sit in your lamp-lit room with the stereo on while you brainstorm ideas for tomorrow. This playlist will hopefully be a welcome companion to this time of the day. It might also be helpful during the (hopefully) upcoming colder days. So without further ado...

Night Walking ...

1 - Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space -- this is the title track to one of the most amazing albums ever. Spiritualized is almost like a spiritual experience, God that's so cheesy in its redundancy but it's true. As one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time, it'd be easy to go on for a long time about J Spaceman (the mastermind behind it all), so to put it succinctly, you should grab everything by him you can get your hands on.

2 - AIR - Playground Love -- I'm sorry at the obviousness of this choice, from the soundtrack they composed for Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. AIR are from France and are comprised of just two men, Jean-Benoît Dunkel and Nicolas Godin. Another band from whom you should grab everything ever made by. I saw them live my Junior year of college and have been hopelessly devoted ever since. One of the best concerts I've ever attended.

3 - Belle and Sebastian - Sleep The Clock Around -- I hate to throw the drug culture into this, but this was the first album I listened to while under the influence of the good ol' hippie grass. And while I may not indulge anymore, the album, Boy With The Arab Strap, has not lost its value as a solid album of pure pleasure. B&S may have a rep as a "college indie rock" band, but it's hard to deny such clever craftsmanship.

4 - Gonzales - Overnight -- I'll admit I don't know too much about Gonzales. The first time I'd ever heard his name was in regards to his help on Feist's album Let It Die, a pretty fine work of art. Wikipedia tells me he's done lots of work with other quirky Canadian artists (he's one himself). This album, Solo Piano, is just as its name implies - him playing the piano by himself. The result is very nice, very moody and as a whole could be a playlist on its own. I found it in the used bin at Waterloo earlier this summer and consider it one of my better finds.

5 - Midnight Movies - Tide and Sun -- Off their debut, Midnight Movies. The bells and electro noise coincide perfectly here to form 4:22 of eerie sweetness. That great Nico-esque voice you hear is frontwoman/drummer Gena Olivier. She's tall, she's sexy, she can drum... I want to marry her. I met her once at SXSW and could hardly open my mouth.

6 - SOUND Team - Color of the Love You Have -- First, let's all take a second to mourn the passing of this band. ... Okay. It took a while for it to finally settle in that we'd never again receive anything new from this Austin band. They had a short, successful life and I loved ever second of it. This is one of the last tracks they released before it all ended. I'm not sure exactly in what capacity it was released, I got it off of an Adult Swim compilation called Warm & Scratchy. I think it's another sweet, mellow track and one that is near perfect to end on.


So that's it for this week's playlist. Hope you enjoy it whether you're walking around at night, driving during the cold, or sitting in your room before you go to sleep. If there is one thing I might suggest... the first time you listen to this, wear headphones. Again, this will be available until next Monday.

Music Monday #1

I feel like I'd like to start a sort of "Music Day" here on the ol' blog, and what better day to do that on than Monday, right? Basically what'll happen is every Monday (hopefully) I'll throw up a link to a playlist of about 5 or 6 songs I'd like to share with you. It'll only be available for the week it's been posted during and you can enjoy it for as long as you like if you feel so inclined to download it. Don't worry, I won't send you a virus, I'm clean.

Monday Playlist 101 is...

1. Brazos - Feeding Frenzy -- This is probably my favorite band in Austin right now, and I am waiting for something big to happen with them. Off their first EP, Feeding Frenzy.

2. Alamo Race Track - Happy Accidents -- A Dutch band I recently spent a summer becoming infatuated with. I wrote a review of their newest album Black Cat John Brown for The Tripwire. This is off their first LP, Birds At Home.

3. Antelope - Flower -- Okay, not trying to make this a plugging session but, I also reviewed this album, Reflector. Antelope is a band out of DC I've loved since I found their debut self-titled EP in the dumpster bin at my college radio station. They're repeatedly cited as one of the main influences of my band, Plaid Saturdays (more to come on that much later).

4. Ferraby Lionheart - Under the Texas Sky -- This man has made a near perfect album on his DEBUT! Find another review by me (sorry) here about Catch The Brass Ring. Way too good for a debut album.

5. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Night-Time Intermission -- Anton and I have spent some serious time talking about how much we are in love with Ms. Gainsbourg (the daughter of super-smooth Serge Gainsbourg and über-hottie Jane Birkin). She's also the co-star of Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep. This is off the album 5:55 (produced by and with music written by AIR, the coolest French band on the planet).

6. Pete and the Pirates - Not A Friend -- I saw these guys when I worked SXSW this past year. They will be the next big thing. I am actually amazed they have no deal in the UK (where they're from). If you are a religious person, I emplore you to include a record deal for P&tP in your prayers at night. This is a free track I got through their MySpace page. So good.

Alright, so that's it for today. This playlist will be there at the available link until next Monday, so get to it if you're interested in the stuff. Enjoy the week!