The Sad Bear

January 13, 2010

#001

A weekly sampler of what we're listening to (new and old), and what we think you might like, too.

{LISTEN TO THEM ALL}


THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS -- "The Laws Have Changed"

This past year I discovered a newfound appreciation for the glory that is the New Pornographers. Maybe it was too poppy for me in years past, when I was going through my "punk-as-fuck-and-Fugazi-rules" phase, but I was an idiot back then. Anyhow, I could go for any song from Electric Version, which I have been spinning often, but I'll go with this one, mostly because I can't seem to shake Neko Case's vocal parts from my head— nevermind what they mean (probabaly nothing), just sing along and fall in love with her voice.

Choosing my favorite Spoon album is impossible, but for a couple months I had at least eliminated A Series of Sneaks as a contender. Now I'm loving it more than ever and playing it on repeat. The tone and structure of "Metal Detektor" is so nice.

Maybe I'm late in the game, but I found these guys a couple of weeks ago and really liked their album Derdang Derdang.

"...as all Marines are riflemen, all members of the Arkestra are percussionists."

'Eleven sparrows on a line/ A hundred fire-flies outside/ Your tired eyes are open wide and you kept goin'/ What happened to you?'
This whole album, of course, is against my "better judgment," which so far has not been better, ever. It's just another album that I start out hating, then I ignore it, then it springs on me. I will say the album is way too long, but those lyrics have caught my... ear? The album as a whole, and especially those lyrics, express something that's been on my mind, and on my writing pad, and on little notes that I compose on blank bank receipts when I should be working, for months now. That is, the overwhelming desire to wander, coupled with the terror and misery of wandering. The idea of home. T.S. Eliot, in the "Four Quartets," says: "Home is where one starts from." He goes on to say, "Old men ought to be explorers." I look around me and begin to wonder how that's possible.
And I'm sorry Evan, the lead singer looks exactly like Dennis Quaid.

I sort of rediscovered them today, I forgot how much I like them.

I was going to reply that my song for this week would be
Everclear's, "I will buy you a new life." I'm not embarrassed about it.

I missed Strawberry Jam the first time around, but listened to it on a car ride with my brother over winter break. As with Sung Tongs a couple of years ago, I've been listening almost daily. For Reverend Green is the song from that album that most readily comes to mind.

Labels: mid-week mixes, music

by Chase at 12:04 AM |