Song of the Week #5

I've been inundated with emails begging me to my post the song of the week, and since I hate to disappoint, here it is.

The song is called 'Lump Sum' and it's taken from the album 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver. The way I came across this album was through teletext actually, which is a little strange I know. I occasionally go on to page 377 where they do album reviews, and this album was not only reviewed, but if memory serves me correct it got the full 5 stars, so I decided to check it out.

Needless to say, I did, and I've been going back to it ever since, though I'm not 100% sure why. I'm not a huge fan of his voice, I can barely make out a single line of his lyrics, and the guitar work is nothing special. But yet somehow the music just seems to draw me in. You'll have to hear it for yourself to understand what I'm saying, so without further delay, here it is. Be sure to let me know what you think, because I'm interested to hear what others have to say about this Wisconsin Wood-Cabin Man.

Song of the Week #4

This week sees the return to a more melodic style of music, or as some might call it, a more manic depressive style of music. I've been a fan of 'Owen' (not his actual name - his real name being Mike Kinsella, but lets not go there) for a few years now, having first heard of him through a Red House Painters forum topic entitled 'If you like Red House Painters you'll also like...'. In fact I got quite a few artists from that particular topic, so I'm very much indebted to it.

His music is, if nothing else, just really good background music - kind of like the music of Iron and Wine. By way of illustration, let's just say that if I were to make a movie, and if I were to add a scene involving a montage of a guy and a girls everyday life after a breakup -- you know, lonely walks in the park, sitting at home looking at old photo albums -- then the music playing over that scene would definitely be something by Owen (or perhaps 'Song For a Blue Guitar' by Red House Painters...ooh, tough call. Maybe I'll post the latter on the blog and then I'll add a poll to let my readers decide. That will create intrigue, right?).

(As a side thought, would anyone be up for co-writing a movie with me based on that one imagined scene I just described? Would it help if I told you I have previous experience in the film industry?)

Anyway, the song in question which is this weeks much coveted 'song of the week' is called 'One Of These Days' and it's taken from Owen's latest offering entitled 'At Home With Owen'. It's actually a song I've only just become familiar with, but I'm really liking it. I just love the way his lyrics are so normal. This might seem strange in print, but he actually manages to fit the words 'acoustic guitar strings' into this song without it sounding out of place or silly. Or at least I think so anyway.

Like Kevin Devine, I've had the pleasure of seeing him play live (at the same gig no less), but he didn't play for very long which was a little disappointing. Still though, he's an artist I'm always coming back to listen to, and maybe you'll end up liking him too, just as you did Sun Kil Moon and Kevin Devine and Rogue Wave........................*cough, and then sheer silence*.

Just so you know, 'Owen' has actually been quite a big influence on my guitar stylings too, what with him being a huge proponent of the beautiful DADGAD tuning. He's by no means an amazing guitarist, but some of his finger picking is particularly pleasing to the ear, especially when he does some overdubs. So anytime I end up finger picking in my spare time, or indeed on the church music team, I usually end up sounding something like Owen, which I think is no bad thing.

Anyway, here's the song. Enjoy, and let me know what you think, if you indeed think anything about these songs at all (judging by the level of response I get, people either don't have any opinions, or they detest the songs so much that they feel like they'd hurt me if they told me the truth, and so they're waiting until they actually like a song before commenting. If that's true, then keep it up. Sometimes the truth really does hurt a little too much).

Song of the Week #3

Back once again due to overwhelming popularity, it's the next installment of Dec's song of the week. This weeks number comes from a band called Rogue Wave. At least I think they're a band. Maybe it's just a guy with the coolest name ever. I mean could you imagine if your name was Rogue Wave? Just think about the kind of person you'd be for a few seconds..................................annnnd we're back to reality. Man my name is so boring.

Anyway, the band or person in question is Rogue Wave, and the song is 'Eyes'. I may be wrong, but I don't believe that this particular song is on any LP. I only came across it when I heard it on an episode of 'Heroes', and I liked it very much. It's catchy, it's fun, and it repeats the phrase 'In your eyes' over and over. What more could you want?

Song of the Week #2

After the resounding success of last weeks Song of the Week, where I managed to receive an actual comment on the post (never mind that it was from my sister...and that she was making fun of my musical tastes - the point is, I got a comment), I've decided to continue on with another song this week.

Moving into slightly more upbeat tones and such, I've gone for Just Stay by Kevin Devine. It's one of the many great songs that feature on his latest and most wonderful of albums, Put Your Ghost To Rest.

I saw him play live in Chicago last year, and he was excellent - eclipsing even a personal favourite of mine in Owen. He actually played in Dublin last May, but it was on a Tuesday night and for some unknown reason I was actually working at the time, so I couldn't go.

Anyway, give this song a listen and let me know what you think...or don't, as the case may be.

Song of the Week #1

In a gimmicky effort to spice up some interest in this blog (I've been reduced to leaving myself comments at this stage, which is not a good sign), I've decided to add a new feature called 'Song of the Week'. It's pretty self explanatory, but just in case you're still not getting it, I'll explain it to you simply by saying it will involve me posting a song once a week (I bet you're just kicking yourself right now, aren't you?). I'll try not to be too self-indulgent, but no promises.

Since Blogger doesn't yet allow you to post mp3 files, but does allow you to upload videos, I'll be adding these songs in movie form by taking a picture and putting some music to it, thus making it possible for me to upload my songs of choice. Pretty clever, eh?

Without further delay, this weeks song is by a band I've mentioned already in this blog - Sun Kil Moon. I mention them again because they are still playing in Dublin on September 20, and I'd still like people to join me (though I may have recruited a certain bearded American, which pleases me).

The song is called Harper Road and it's taken from their latest album 'April', scorer of 81% on Metacritic, which is no mean feat. If you like to hear people picking guitar strings, or if you like songs where the first verse deals with people picking blackberries, then this one is definitely for you. I love it anyway, and maybe you will too.

PS - The picture used was taken in the aftermath of an overnight hike in the Connemmara Mountains from a few months back - the experiences of which will be spoken about when men gather for many a year to come.