picture's worth a melody: ornaments

image credit: wakemeupinlondon of deviantart

sugared and shining,
she takes the warm hand of
a sleeping christmas eve.

13 months in 6 minutes by the wrens


thanks for stopping by,
alie

In Which I Come Crawling Back

Image Credit: BurlapZack of DeviantART

Me: I know we haven't talked in a while. But don't think I've been avoiding you. Please don't think that. I've just been really busy and life started to get complicated, you know?

You: ...

Me: You're right. I'm sorry. No more excuses. You deserve better than that. I can be better. For you. For us.

You: [Eye roll]

Me: Okay okay that sounded better when I practiced it in front of the mirror. Listen. I think we have something really good here, and I don't want to mess that up. Please. Give me another shot.

You: ...

Me: You don't have to say anything right now. But... I made you a mix. It's raining today and I thought you'd like a weather-appropriate mix. For tonight when you go driving. I know you like driving in the rain at night. So. Take it. Please.

You: ...

Me: I love you, blog. You'll see me again real soon, okay? We've got a lot to talk about, so this isn't over.

You: Um. Left clicks, right?

Me: Yeah! Yes! Absolutely! Hah! Yes. Left clicks. Just like always, baby.

You: Yeah. Just like always.

The Escapist by The Streets
We Rule the School by Belle & Sebastian
Hurtin' 4 Certain by Russian Futurists
Last Night by Julie Doiron
You've Done it Again, Virginia by The National
Post Script by Thunder Power
Rowboat by Emily Haines
Hottub by David Wingo & Michael Linnen
Until We Bleed by Kleerup feat. Lykke Li


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

The Kaleidoscopic Stampede

number 2 by Winston Chmielinski. Part of his Plastic End series.
Things that come to mind: Cataclysms. Light-fogged eyes. One sharp inhale followed by a soft, "Oh."

Chmielinski poeticized it best himself with this series description:

"DEATH wasn’t what happened; it was more of a transformation, from flesh to plastic, from something gruesome to a candy coated explosion. Where gasps were intentioned came only the silence of innocent awe. There I was, watching them fall and hit and ripple out in greens then blues then reds and purples...

Their faces were the first to disappear (or rather expand and contort like decorated birthday balloons). It seemed painless, comical even—their inflated frowns, smirks, and pursed lips stretched into exaggerated smiles, eyes grew wide with animé wonder and ears and noses turned caricatural—before all gave way to a mess of runny colors and viscous swirls.

I wonder how it feels; I wonder at what point the Plastic transformation occurs. Can Plastic really be the end? Is it that simple? And will the same happen to me?

Spotlights and nude patches and body shells. And the colors that fumbled over and squeezed past one another--where were they going? if I were to, with a trembling arm, reach out (eyes averted heart pounding) and run my fingers through the kaleidoscopic stampede, what would I feel, and how would it change me?"

Left click for mp3 download links.

Glynis by Smashing Pumpkins
Mount St. Helens by Mirah
Charlatan by Monster

Visit the artist's website, deviantART, then do yourself and your walls a favour by bringing home something stunning up from his print account.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Critters/Snowflakes!/Laziness

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, an unfairly talented orchestral indie/folk group based out of Indiana are simultaneously releasing their new albums Animal! and Not Animal** this Tuesday, October the 7th.


And, because they're hip to the power of internet publicity / are nice folks, they are inviting kids to pre-dig:

Head over to Margot's MySpace Page any time today or tomorrow and listen to Margot's new albums Animal! and Not Animal all the way through!"

So do it!

MySpace: Ka-
Website: Blammo

And also give your ears a treat with some older Margot tunes [left clicks for the links]:

Waking Up and Walking Out
Vampires in Blue Dresses

**I guess those first six songs are Animal! and the last six are Not Animal. But who really knows.


IN OTHER NEWS

A lovely ladyfriend and I are hitting up the now sold out Wintersleep show at Barrymore's this Saturday.


This will be my fourth time seeing them, but my FIRST time seeing them as a show unto themselves... and my first 19+ show. Hollerrr.

Oh, and check out this bonus track from the Japanese release of Welcome to the Night Sky. It's addictive.

The Kids Are Ultra-Violent

I was hoping that Brian Borcherdt would open for the East Coast marvels at the Barrymore's show, given that he was the opener at last night's Toronto show. Alas, according to his his MySpace, it is not to be. Oh well. Dude's also releasing a new album next Tuesday, the 7th, called Coyotes, so here's a twin-named mp3 from the sooncoming release:

Coyotes


AND FINALLY

I forgot about my Wolfe Island Fest review... I know nobody's waiting with bated breath but it makes me feel productive when I take on a big review like that. So maybe I'll get it all done up over Thanksgiving weekend.

I know the anticipation is going to kill you.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Sandra Day O'Connor is Not Afraid of You and She Will Beat Your Ass

I've been borrowing my roomie's 30 Rock DVD's:

Jack: You are both a disgrace to the Donaghy name!
Jack's Dad: It's pronounced "Don-a-fee," you lace-curtain half-an-Englishman!
Jack: When I think of all the things that I've been holding inside me that I wanted to say to you... [raises fists] Well now I'm gonna let "Saint Patrick" and "Saint Michael" DO MY TALKING FOR ME!
Jack's Dad: [raises fists] You'll have to get through "Tip O'Neill" and "Bobby Sands" first!
Eddie Donaghy: You call those fist names?! [raises fists] Say hello to "Bono" and "Sandra Day O'Connor!"
Jack: Those are the stupidest fist names I've ever heard.

'Nuff said.

Jazz Fight by Brendan Small [of Home Movies fame]
Fight Test by Flaming Lips
Fighting in a Sack by The Shins


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Every Day is Getting Awesomer and Awesomer and Awesomer and Awesomer

Image Credit: Complexo of deviantART.com

Even though there are only a measly two weeks left of summer, I'm trying to stay positive. So, until I stop being lazy and post my mix of songs to carry you through the rest of August, here are a few artists and songs that'll make you forget a case of the end-of-summer-sads, if you are in fact afflicted with the aforementioned condition.


PHOEBE KREUTZ

All Summer Long

I just wish I'd found this song at the beginning of the July. It's perfect: "'Cause every day is getting awesomer and awesomer and awesomer and awesomer / And every night is getting awesomer and awesomer and awesomer and awesomer / And it'll keep on getting awesomer and awesomer and awesomer and awesomer all summer long."

[MySpace and Website]


OLD CANES

Blue Eleanor
Both Falling Bright

This is infectious, excitable folk pop with horns, harmonicas and plenty of stamp-yer-foot acoustic guitar from the lead singer of Appleseed Cast. Makes me want to gather some friends and kazoos and tambourines and take a run through a forest. And that is a compliment.

[MySpace and Website where you can stream Early Morning Hymns in its rather pleasant entirety]


THROW ME THE STATUE

About to Walk
Written in Heart Signs, Faintly

About to Walk sounds like a long-lost Neutral Milk Hotel song with it's buzzy background drone, nasal voice and simple guitar/drums. And, in true NMH fashion, the simple parts work together to create a wonderful whole. I heard Written in Heart Signs, Faintly in Urban Outfitters yesterday and had to stop my woeful browsing [woeful because I am lacking in expendable clothes dollars] to chicken scratch a few lyrics down so I could find the song later, "I want to fall through the clouds to someplace where the kissing never ever stops / I want to spew little lightnings from my hands / so this shield that I got might explode." And it's really nice.

[MySpace and Website]


CHAD VANGAALEN

Echo Train
Willow Tree

This hazy Albertan has it going on. I'm sure the shuffling, grunge-tinged Echo Train would gladly be covered by Pavement, while Willow Tree in all its gentle, dreamy, floaty, banjo-y, understated melodic glory should be played beneath a willow tree. Preferably beneath a willow tree that was alongside a slow river. Preferably beneath a willow tree that was alongside a slow river where Chad VanGaalen was holding an impromptu, late afternoon sit-down concert with members of Hidden Cameras providing some quietly lush orchestral background sounds and somebody was really nice and a really good cook and had brought along a picnic lunch with enough delicious food to feed the crowd of roughly twenty.

Or you could just creatively visualize it.

[MySpace and Website]


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

A Million Miles to Go: Wanderlust

Image Credit: Derek Vincent of the website and the deviantART

Yesterday a creatively-frustrated friend remarked that it would be slightly incredible to be a musician full-time. And I replied that yes, it would be; the never-ending roadtrip, the meeting of [literally?] insane people, the playing of soul-fulfilling music with friends, the crashing on living room floors of half-friends and waking up the next morning to eat their unfamiliar food.

And uhm... did I mention the never-ending roadtrip part?

I have got a huge, galavanting case of wanderlust, and I haven't done nearly enough travelling this summer to remedy it. So instead, I've been listening to a recently rediscovered song that's doing nothing to help.

If anything, "Where Happiness Lives" just makes me more yearn-y for rolled down windows on the highway, with rushing wind that makes eardrums pop in an uncomfortable but totally necessary way, because rolled up windows are for chumps. And suckas. Foolish suckas.

Anyway. If you
a] are going on a long drive somewhere, or
b] are in the same, immobile boat as I am, then here's a song for both occasions.

Where Happiness Lives by Magnet


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Wolfe Island Music Fest 2008: LET'S GET INTRODUCT'D

Friends, Canadians, countrymen, lend your ears – not to me – but to the Wolfe Island Music Festival… 2008 style.

Quite possibly the most marvellous and musical days that Kingston has to offer are going down August 8th and 9th this year. A.K.A. real soon. So if you don’t have your ticket yet, head over to Brian’s Record Option or Windmill’s or some other building where the kindly people inside will sell you as many vomit-green tickets as your heart desires, assuming you’re buying a Saturday ticket. You can buy tickets at the gate on the day of the fest, though, if you’re just too damn busy.

ANYway, I thought it’d be nice to do an overview of the line-up, post some mp3’s and get myself and others acquainted with this MOST EXCELLENT bevy of musicians that shall be gracing the elegant Marysville Baseball Diamond in a few day’s time.

I present to you, in order, the line-up for the Saturday portion of the 2008 Wolfe Island Music Festival. [NOTE: Left click for mp3 links. And I'm feeling kind of lazy, so for the bands that had downloadable songs either on their MySpace or their website, I just linked to that and didn't put any mp3's in here. So there.]


P.S. I LOVE YOU



Despite my most searchiest efforts, I came up with diddily crap. All I found were a bunch of MySpace profiles, Facebook pages and websites pertaining to the movie, P.S. I Love You. All very well and good. But not so good when I’m trying to find out what these cats sound like. I have a few predictions, though.

1] They'll be Canadian,
2] There will be instruments involved in their act,
3] They'll be human [?]
And who knows, maybe they’ll pull a Spiral Beach, come out of nowhere, and shoot everybody up with awesome bullets.

MUSIC MAUL


FROM: Kingston, ON
SOUNDS LIKE: Nasal-voiced, lo-fi, slightly electric pop ditties. As of right now I'm a little confused by Music Maul. I can't quite figure them out. It'll be interesting to see how their live show compares to the studio stuff.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: You can listen to and download both albums from the website.

RUBY COAST


FROM: Aurora, ON
SOUNDS LIKE: Sing-songy, boppy, happydancey songs with poppier tinges of Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club. [NOTE: The D'Urbervilles, who were set to perform in this time slot, had to pull out due to an illness in the band, just in case anyone's confused as to where these Ruby Coast kids came from. But for all I know, this is old news, and I'm just slow on the uptake.]
MYSPACE: Bang
MP3's: More Than Television and Neighbourhood

THE ACORN


FROM: Ottawa, ON
SOUNDS LIKE: Superbly melodic, wonderfully percussed slices of mellow, folk pie. The older tunes aren't as hand-clappy, multi-instrumental or as expansive as the newer ones, but honestly, you really cannot go wrong with these guys. I'm just surprised that they're on so early in the day. They're a pretty well-known band. But, I'll takes what I can gets.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Crooked Legs and Blankets

TONY SCHERR


FROM: Brooklyn, NY [WHAT?! A non-Canadian perfomer at the Wolfie fest? Isn't that like... sacreligious?]
SOUNDS LIKE: Easygoing, summer bluesy-rocky-folksy fare, well-suited to an easygoing, outdoor summer music festival. He's got a Ryan Adams thing to him, too, which is very cool. Plus, he's got a song on the upcoming Hottest State soundtrack. And that is a killer soundtrack. I think we're in for an enjoyable set.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Come Around

PLANTS AND ANIMALS


FROM: Montreal, QU
SOUNDS LIKE: Road trip-worthy, big, happy, sixties/seventies rockness that I am hoping and thinking will set the stage on fire. Everybody will just eat this up. Plants and Animals have a really inviting sound that'll bring out the inner [or not so inner] hippie in all of us. I'm expecting to grin throughout the whole set. I'm expecting to feel a little restless and childish, in a good way. I'm expecting to see people spinning out in the field with their arms outstretched. I'm expecting lots of platonic love to be flowing around. I'm expecting good things, good times, and excellent stage banter.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Bye Bye Bye and Feedback in the Field

JASON COLLETT


FROM: Ontario
SOUNDS LIKE: Summer! Chill, laidback, very singable folk-pop-rock Americana [Canadiana?]. And he's part of that crazy Arts&Crafts label, so you know he's good. This will be awesome.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Out of Time and Pavement Puddle Stars

LAND OF TALK


FROM: Montreal, QU
SOUNDS LIKE: Really cool, hip stuff. Assuming the sun is down by this point, kids'll be dancing in really cool, hip ways. I just hope that Land of Talk don't take themselves too seriously or think they're too hot. I like their music, but that kind of pretentious stuff gets in the way of a band being awesome live. So, here's to hoping they're just really nice people who make cool songs. [And yay! The singular female performer! Unless there are one or two kicking around in the very mysterious P.S. I Love You...]
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Young Bridge and Street Wheels

CADENCE WEAPON


FROM: Edmonton, AB
SOUNDS LIKE: Really fresh hip-hop that's weird and charismatic. I'm counting on a personality-packed performance. And while my friends and I are quite bummed that Holy Fuck doesn't have their seemingly annual slot in the line-up, I think Cadence Weapon is a pretty sweet replacement. We'll dance. There's some inventive electronic stuff going on here. So it's alllllll okay.
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: In Search of the Youth Crew and Sharks

WINTERSLEEP


FROM: Halifax, NS
SOUNDS LIKE: A whole lot of dark-ish, macabre-ish, catchy, downtrodden, poetic, full-on rock powerhouses and softies. I haven't seen Wintersleep live for about two years now and I am stokeified to see how their Welcome to the Night Sky material has taken on new life since its release. What else... oh! Right. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
MYSPACE: Bang
WEBSITE: Boom
MP3's: Dead Letter & the Infinite Yes and Nerves Normal, Breath Normal


And there you have it, the 2008 line-up for the Wolfie fest. I'm super looking forward to hearing some awesome music, dancing around like a foo' with buddies, and hopefully seeing some new-to-the-festival-but-familiar faces. And that's from me until the epic review post.

Soooo... see you there?


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. For more information, check out the official WIMF website.

You Go On Ahead for a Road Trip With Your STEREO!

Brand new, unreleased song from Sunset Rubdown. Played in the backseat of a moving cab somewhere in the UK. Left click for mp3's.

mp3: You Go On Ahead [Black Cab Session] by Sunset Rubdown
MySpace: Blam



This young female lady's name is Molly and she's the wittiest, prettiest, ukulele-ist chick you've eva seen or heard.

mp3: Road Trip by Molly aka sweetafton23
MySpace: Jam
Website: Tam
YouTube: Ram
Molly's Sing-A-Long Club: Wham [For rules and better explanation than I could give, go here]



Another backseat music sesh, but this time without instruments... or adults. This is a kids-only zone. Namely, rad kids in karate outfits singing, screaming, and staring off into space through a marvelous rendition of Pavement's "Stereo." I can only hope that if I bring a little critter or two into this world, they, too, will know the words to Pavement songs better than I do.

mp3: Stereo by Pavement
Website: Fram


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. Thanks to Emily for ripping the audio for "You Go On Ahead" and "Road Trip."

Take a Nightwalk

Image Credit: Transmission

take a nightwalk through a strange neighborhood after heavy rainfall

when pollution-laced drops spatter, soft, against the sidewalk
and a sparkling haze hangs over suburban rooftops
and all the streetlights seem to say "i'll show you the way home,

if that's where you want to go."

Backyard by Guster


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Acoustic Joys vs. Ramblin' Fruit

I'm talking, of course, about Sun-Rype's shinyhappy commercials. And it's all very cool because it's done in stop-motion.

WITH FRUIT.

Coo-hoo-hoo-ool.

Anyway, commercial one features a fruit-made girl on a fruit-made swing, set to "Sleepy Tigers" by Her Space Holiday. Commercial two features a fruit-made hermaphrodite tying his/her fruit-made shoes, soundtracked by [Canadian!] Said the Whale's "The Light is You."

Sleepy Tigers
The Light is You

And just to round out this post, I thought I'd share three more songs that I think would work well with this whole Sun-Rype motif.

Momentary Drowning by Young Coyotes
The Party Punch by Oh No! Oh My!
Me and You by Slow Club


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. These things are amazing.

Picture's Worth a Melody: An Ending

Image Credit: SmithSC of deviantART.com

What she remembers:

In the distance someone wailed, defiant -- an exodus battle cry.

And there, miles over our heads, an orange explosion stretched out across the sky.

It was a hot promise shining on the surfaces of our eyes.

It was an ending.

The Nights After Fiction by Mice Parade


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

What is... how can they... it's so...

I just... I don't even... craddle robbers... silhouetted dance sequence... who gave them the money to make...

Apocalypse. Now.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

But you'll tell me, "It's okay, Chris."

Image Credit: nanako of Polanoid.net

A simple, childish, softpluck waltz.

Watch for the 1:44 mark -- the way he says "to do and say, like."

Perfection.

Blue Suede Shoes by Chris Garneau


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Everybody Daylight

Image Credits: [L-R] PoppyCox & Mystery Photographer

It is a fucking incredible day outside.

Yet, I am inside.

I must FIX THIS.

Everybody Daylight by Brightblack Morning Light
Black Rice by Women


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Read Book, Change You Life

Bigfoot here say this best book ever. You read and laugh until orange juice squirt out nose. This hurt because orange juice have high level of acidity. Bigfoot sorry for this, but think book worth these pain. Hope you thinking same thing.

Here some song about one they call Bigfoot.

[I am Bigfoot in case you has forget.]

Left click, literate.

Bigfoot by Galactic Heroes
Bigfoot! by The Weakerthans


Thank for stop by,
Bigfoot & girl name Alie who Bigfoot maybe eat when girl was distract

Your Smart Mouth & Your Killer Hands

Image Credit: Derek Vincent

Fact: Kings of Leon are great.

Fact: They have a song called True Love Way, which is off their latest album Because of the Times.

Fact: The afore mentioned song is great.

Fact: I can't exactly explain what emotion this song makes me emote, but I'm certain that there is a very happy and excited little man inside my belly jumping up and down and saying "Fuck yes!" every time he hears the opening harmonics of True Love Way.

Fact: This one's for all the belly men out there.

True Love Way by Kings of Leon


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

It's Friday! Here's Some Music!

The following bands have a few things in common: all the members are male, they all have some sort of retro sound to them and they are all somewhat underrated. These commonalities are purely coincidence, though... Enjoy!

THE HUGS

They're young. They come from Portland, Oregon -- thus making them instantly ten percent more awesome than anyone else. I call it the Oregonian Advantage. They play uptempo summer anthems that alternately remind me of The Kooks and Narrator. They aren't doing anything new, but they're doing it very well.

Links: MySpace, official website, Frozen Frogs video
mp3's: High School Lovers, Go Wild and Frozen Frogs


BUCKY

They're not so young. They come from the UK -- thus making them from the UK. There are only two members. The drummer has no right hand, but is super badass about it and uses his lack-o'-hand in lieu of a drumstick. Upbeat and short happypunk stuff about saving whales and childhood dreams of punk-dom.

Links: MySpace, official website, Last .fm profile, videos
mp3's: I Used to Love the Punx, O Miranda and Rockin' Bat


FLASHING LIGHTS**

They're not a band anymore. But I can't seem to find out exactly when they broke up... ANYway they CAME from Halifax, Nova Scotia. It's shiny, retro, catchy, jangly, perfect & classic pop rock-y, melodic 60's fare. It's kinda cozy on the ears.

Links: CBC Radio 3 page, Last.fm artist page, Friends You Learn to Hate video
mp3's: Same Old Life, Friends You Learn to Hate and Too Delightful


LAWRENCE ARABIA

He's stationed out of the UK and New Zealand. Why leave New Zealand, I ask? Why not stay there forever and play this lovely, also retro, music on top of those pretty New Zealand mountains? Why not do a collaboration with Flight of the Conchords? It's gentle, it's genuine, it's real nice.

Links: MySpace, Last.fm artist page, Talk About Good Times video
mp3's: Talk About Good Times, The Joke is in Your Hands and The Beautiful Young Crew


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

** This is seriously the biggest picture I could find.

My City's Still Breathing: A Bittersweet Night

Image Credits [L-R]: Rio and loulou of Polanoid.net

There was this one night where we ached for the city streets.

We all had places to be and parts of our lives that needed to be packed into boxes and labelled with black permanent markers, but we needed company more than cardboard. So we went out.

The street lights stared down at us. Someone brought whiskey and our stupid voices and soft drunk laughs bounced around the alleyways we shuffled through. We passed the bottle around, burning our lips that planted alcohol kisses on the warm cheeks of whoever happened to stand beside us. And we went on in this way; lipstick like loving warpaint smeared across our faces.

And sometimes when we had nothing to say, we made music. Humming. Running sticks along chainlink fences. Rapping the tops of metal garbage cans. Other times we merely fell into an agreed silence, listening to the sloppy footfalls around us.

We crossed paths with other night wanderers and shook their hands because we had all sunk into the same spacious midnight. We were all leaving trails behind us of bruised pavement and glowing breath.

But eventually the horizon began to show milky blue and the stars were slowly being erased by the oncoming day, so we started home.

People stumbled up porch steps, reduced to hands waving from inside doorways, breaking off like I was the shore and they were small, ebbing tides. I buried my face into the rough suede of a last friend's jacket and then released; watched the spark of yellowing room lights as he made his way through his house; then the last sparking in his bedroom window.

And I set off, alone, in the direction of my house -- hands deep in my pockets against the morning cold, the fresh ghost of a bittersweet night lost in the air above my head.

Left clicks, night wanderers.

Talking in Code by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Cindy by Ola Podrida
Where Gravity is Dead by Laura Veirs
Black Flowers by Yo La Tengo
Twilight by Elliott Smith
Saw You in the Wild by Great Lake Swimmers
NYC by Interpol
Echo Park by Joseph Arthur
Lay Lady Lay [Bob Dylan cover] by Magnet
Bright End of Nowhere by Matt Good
See You Soon by Coldplay
Have to Explode by Mountain Goats
Gold World by Aloha
The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
Boys of Melody by Hidden Cameras **
I Go to the Barn Because I Like The by Band of Horses
Poke by Frightened Rabbit
Moments of Protest by The Remains of Brian Borcherdt
Capsized by Sarah Harmer
Left and Leaving by The Weakerthans


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

** Check out the amazing take away show of this song which follows the gorgeous procession of the band and a crowd of hand-clapping, candle-holding luckies as they music their way along the Canal Saint Martin in Paris.

What a Folkin' Morning

Image Credit: SteveTilbury of Polanoid.net

This is a completely different feel than yesterday's post, but today I woke up and was in one of those phantom summer morning moods where I could lay in bed for hours, watching the soft light split itself into shafts through my blinds; where the oscillating fan at the end of my bed breathes through my thin August sheets; where the air is cool, but the scant layer of sweat across my forehead hints at a grass-burning, shimmering pavement kind of afternoon heat.

And on these mornings I always wish that I have a mix of quiet, lilting, mainly acoustic songs to accompany me as I waste time stretching and yawning languorously. So I made myself such a mix, to share with you.

Left clicks, sleepyheads.

Break of Dawn by The Wuffs
Pilgrim by The Long Goodbye
Place to Be by Nick Drake
Starting to Show by Jill Barber
At the Hop by Devendra Banhart
Keep it Clean by Camera Obscura
Rhythm by Page France
Star Mile by Joshua Radin
For the Widows in Paradise by Sufjan Stevens
Amory by Tom Brosseau


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

In Which I Trip the Light Fantastic

I'm not sure if it's because a] I've finally succumbed to the bombastic bass-ladden pressures of hipshits, b] my friends and I have been having basement danceterias more often than usual, c] MGMT has opened my musical peepers or d] this particular genre has been sneaking vitamin Awesome shots, but over the past week I have developed a strange affliction, throwing me into a foreign land of re-whatevers, sunglasses at night and songs with brackets.

In short, Alie like dance music.

Left clicks, hipshits.

Vuvuvu by MSTRKRFT
Little Bit [Diego Chavex remix] by Lykke Li
Revolte at 22h10 by Danger
Skitzo Dancer [Justice remix] by Scenario Rock
Yeah Yeah [feat. Luciana] by Bodyrox
Dance With You [Twelves remix] by Black Kids
One More Time to Pretend [Immuzikation remix] MGMT vs. Daft Punk
Woman [MSTRKRFT remix] by Wolfmother
Haircutz by Pony Pants
D.A.N.C.E. [MSTRKRFT remix] by Jusice

And here's a couple from the lads that I suspected started me on this whole shaking-tail-feather-spin...

Kids
Of Moons, Birds and Monsters


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

What the Mux, Mate?

This is probably old news, but I just happened across a cool website by the name of Muxtape.com.

So here's the basic idea in four sentences:

1] It's essentially a file hosting website that's formatted like an electronic mixtape,
2] There's a twelve song limit,
3] You can place the songs in whatever order you please, delete, and upload new songs as many times as you like, and
4] This isn't a downloading service; you can play the songs in the browser, but they will not be taking up residence in your computer.

It's super easy to make an account and the upload time is schpeedy.

That being said, I decided to make my own Muxtape, figuring that I'll probably change the tracklist every couple weeks or so. Mostly, the playlist will cover all the songs that I've been listening to a lot but don't necessarily feel like writing full posts about 'cuz I'm lazy.

RIDE OFF INTO THE MUXSET


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

A Lazy Afternoon for Tired Roadtrippers

Image Credit: Uhh... someone on Polanoid.net

So I've got this really romanticized and innocent idea about roadtrips.

I disregard the fact that after a certain amount of time spent in a confined space, people start to exude interesting scents that seep into the soft fabrics of cars. I metally gloss over the very human reaction to, after a while, be annoyed by the generally unannoying habits of others i.e. occasional throat clearing or off-tune humming.

Instead, I choose to focus on the [imagined] cinematics -- the small, tender moments; stretching out tightened muscles and yawning roadside; afternoon light filtering itself through the mud-speckled windshield in vintage tones; the soft hiss of a carefully selected mixtape; glancing into the rearview to point out an amusing chuch sign, and finding that your friend has quietly fallen asleep, long eyelashes resting on their soft cheeks.

Problem here is that I've never been on a roadtrip. Not since I was younger, anyway, and my parents did a marathon drive from Asheville, North Carolina to Disney World and then back into South-Eastern Ontario. I spent a lot of my childhood in cars and to this day I think I sleep better in a moving vehicle than in any bed.

ANYway, I was feeling roadtrippish this morning, so I indulged my licence-less self with a ten track playlist.

Here's the scenario: it's day five of a two-week long roadtrip. End location isn't important here. What is important is that it's a cloudless, summer mid-afternoon and everyone in the car has settled into a state of cozy lethargy. You've got the phantom taste of a mystery flavour red popsicle embedded in your cheeks and you've finally given up on keeping your dirty hair out of your eyes. It falls across your face as you feel the weighty pull of sleep.

Someone slips in a mixtape of low-key, vibish music that's lullabying you further away from conciousness. The road is a monotone drone beneath the car's wheels. The sun has warmed your headrest. And the afternoon slips on.

Left clicks, passengers.

Lorge by El Ten Eleven
Little Garçon by Born Ruffians
Pacific Theme by Broken Social Scene
Into the Stream by The Tallest Man on Earth
Born in the 70's by Ed Harcourt
Social Competence by Peter Morén
Black Out by Pavement
Libraries by Seabear
Oregon Girl by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Poney Honey Money by CSS


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Man Walks Into a Song

Image Credit: timide_ch of Polanoid.net
Yesterday I finished reading Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss -- a wonderfully pulsing and poetic novel. While a few of the Amazon customer reviewers thought the book had 'wasted potential' and 'strained metaphors', I found it refreshing in that it was beautifully written and insightful, but didn't strand itself in a field of flowery, 2-D words. There's depth here.

ANYway**, some parts of this novel were just so striking that I felt the need to mark them with the teensiest brackets possible [I did check it out from the library, after all] so that I could later soundtrack each passage with a song be-fitting of the mood. And this is precisely what I have done.

I really tried to figure out how to get one of those "Read On" links, but it's hugely confusing. I even wrangled the help of my computer genius brother, to no avail. So, uh... this'll just be mondo long. But fear not! For, aside from the mp3 links, the following is solely made up of passages from the book. Really great passages. Written by a professional author. So it's solid.

Left clicks, kids.

1. "It was the vivid colour of the memory that startled him, a luminous blue. It was all around him, warm and smooth, and moving through it toward the glow of light he could hear the muted sounds that seemed to come from a great, impassable distance. There was a felicity despite the slow pressure on his lungs that finally pushed him upward. He remembered that when his head broke through the surface of the water he'd been surprised by the chill of the air and thee world that stood in perfect, microscopoic clarity: the blades of grass, the night sky, the dripping faces of the two boys illuminated by the pool lights. "Forty-three seconds!" one shouted, looking at his watch, then barreled down the diving board, leaped into the air, and clutched his knees, dropping into the water with a lucid splash." [p. 17]

Under the Water it Glowed by Eluvium

2. "The hairline cracks of a sugar bowl on the kitchen table. The sun falling through the leaves casting shadows on his fingers. His mother's eyelashes." [p. 18]

Hottub by David Wingo & Michael Linnen

3. "Frost forms between the plane's double windows, each geometric crystal an argument for the stillborn beauty of pure math." [p. 79]

Imagination of a Watermelon by The Matinee Orchestra

4. "The first grid is the strangest, the geometry of better living etched onto the desert floor: identical houses of a planned community pleated around the nucleus of a swimming pool. One and then another, until the desert is paved under streets and scattered with countless pools like a deck of blue cards." [p. 79]

Future Perfect by Autolux

5. "It was beautiful, the ambition of it, the freehand interpretation of a city. From such a height, the knowledge of the small, simultaneous, faraway was comforting: people dialing the operator, swallowing pills, breaking off romances, signing their names. Twelve million people inhabiting one of the most volatile places on earth, naturally disastrous, prone to flood and fire. Sharing wavelengths." [p. 83]

Mirror by Michael Andrews

6. "Maybe they had taken drives out of the city, crossing delicate bridges whose steel fibres hummed and swayed imperceptibly in the wind. They traveled north into the country where they imagined a future, passing through small towns with steeples and weather vanes. Anna would take off her shoes and draw her feet up under her. December, a faint snow of the ground, they would come to a crossroads and the dying yellow light would glow under the sky's dark hem. She would be silent, her head tipped against the glass. Then suddenly she would look up,her mouth open, her face changed by an expression he'd never seen before and that made her seem unrecognizable." [p. 207]

I Think I'll Be a Good Ghost by Say Hi to Your Mom

7. "He began to notice the small details she was made up of: the way she made a small popping noise with her lips when she was about to say something difficult, or played with the ends of her hair when she was watching TV, or drank her coffee with the spoon still in the mug, and so on. Eventually he found he could only see her as a collection of such fragments." [p. 219 - 220]

I've Got You and You've Got Me [Broken Social Scene remix] by New Buffalo

8. "'I mean, how many someone elses can one claim to be in a lifetime? It's not very long a life, is it, Max? You're a kid, it's summer, you blink your eyes and years--years--have passed. And you realize that you've become someone else, but that your heart is still caught in that lost kid. That what you're left with beating in your chest is a diminished thing, a shadow of what it was when you were a boy and running under the night sky you felt it was filled to bursting.'" [p. 227]

Stay, Son by A Classic Education

9. "Samson's cheek was pressed against the grass as if he had fallen from the sky. The idea of ever getting up again seemed absurd. The flashlight lying at his side was still on, a dim ray of accidental light grazing Max's bare foot. It was like a little devotional scene, a tragedy happened and passed and the quiet setting in now, lit up by the flashlight used to rescue." [p. 237]

Stay Golden by Au Revoir Simone

10. "He closed his eyes. Sounds that had only been at the furthest margin of his consciousness, the pinpricks of each moving leaf and the ocean rush of a distant car, made a point of themselves, each a tiny argument against nothingness." [p. 227]

Sons of Light and Darkness by Helios


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

** I stole ANYway from Chuck Klosterman. I stoled it real good.

Picture's Worth a Melody: By the Window

Photo Credit: amaliachimera of Polanoid.net
To me, this photo looks like it was taken by a grandmother who has not been visited in so long that she hardly recognizes the faces smiling at her from the photos scattered around her cluttered apartment.

You can't see it, but there's a cup of cold tea that the old woman keeps bringing to her lips and taking small sips from. It was warm when she sat down to write the letter to her daughter, but the words are coming slow and with difficulty.

So she looks up at her living room window, at the useless artifacts hung on and placed around the pane; the whiskey bottle come vase and the threadbare curtains.

This is her Saturday morning.

Phone Call by Jon Brion
Blackout by Chris Garneau
Junk by The Beatles


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Jealous, See?

Sometimes I wish that I could have a friends-with-benefits relationship with the States. Y'know. I could still keep my Canadian status and use the word toque in public without fear of mockery. But then, when nobody was looking, I would have access to some Uhmerican goodies, too. Mainly their concerts... Because check this:

John Vanderslice and Stephen Malkmus are heading out on tour. Together. If that's not a dream team, I don't know what is.


I first heard about Vanderslice in the October 2005 reviews section of Harp magazine, where a mister Steven Rosen described JV's Pixel Revolt as a record that conjured "images of a young man of privelege afloat and day-dreaming in a backyard pool on a sunny day." **

So I was intrigued by one reviewer's descriptioon of John Vanderslice, and I checked him out. And I kind of loved his music in a big, real way. And it's been good times ever since.


Stephen Malkmus took a while to get to, though. I used to watch that Family show Radio Free Roscoe when it was on, and there was one episode where Lily [alias "Shady Lane"] talked about how the Pavement song [quelle supris!] "Shady Lane" is what made her want to learn to play guitar. Cool. So I got a hold of that song. And dug it. And then kinda forgot about it.

I don't know exactly when my fascination with Pavement kicked up, but at some point I guess I heard some more Pavement songs and finally it clicked: they are awesome. So that brings us to a couple months ago. I was now the owner of two Pavement records: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and Terror Twilight. Then I started tuning into the eltronic drone of internet buzz shrouding Malkmus' upcoming album, Real Emotional Trash. And once again stuff just clicked. Teh end.

So if you're lucky enough to be near one of the venues that will be opening their unworthy doors for the Vanderslice / Malkmus powerhaus, please do attend and allow me to live vicariously through you, you lucky bastard.

Left clicks, kids.

mp3's

JOHN VANDERSLICE

Me and My 424
The Mansion - The Life and Death of An American Fourtracker - 2002
Pale Horse - Cellar Door - 2004
Winter Light - MGM Endings: Cellar Door Remixes - 2004
Time to Go - Emerald City - 2007

STEPHEN MALKMUS

Jo Jo's Jacket
Jenny & The Ess-Dog - Stephen Malkmus - 2001
Dynamic Calories - Dark Wave - 2003
Mama - Face the Truth - 2005
Out of Reaches - Real Emotional Trash - 2008

Links etc.

JV's official site [full tour schedule]
A crapload of free and legal Vanderslice mp3's
Go buy some CD's.
SM's official site
And then buy some more.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

** I searched through the review sections of my music magazines for a good half an hour to find this. I wish I was a more honourable music geek and could just cite this kind stuff off the top of my head, but alas I am not. I have shamed you, Rob Gordon.

Welcome to the Pride

My name is Alie, and I am a chronic blog abandoner. I have come to terms with this and am now on the long road to recovery. The first step? Yr reading it.

This is: a music blog, an honest to blog blog and an et cetera blog.

But, instead of rambling on in increasingly fragmented sentences, I'd much rather just plug in a few downloadable, lion-related mp3's.

Left clicks, kids.

Lion's Mane by Iron & Wine
Lions by Headlights
Lion Rip by Duke Spirit
Sea Lion Woman by Feist


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie