Arms Make Music

Arm: a human upper limb; especially: the part between the shoulder and the wrist

Arms: a band; originally: composed only of Todd Goldstein (a Brooklyn-based mid-20s-type): adittionally: guitarist/vocalist in the band Harlem Shakes.

I think I'm in a revisiting spirit lately. Arms are another band who've more or less been on my radar for a couple years now, but I only had three songs and never thought to see what they'd been up to as of late.

"Jon the Escalator" is one of those songs that always gets stuck in my head because of its interesting harmonies, so when it popped in the ol' noggin today, I decided to check into the band and see what was new and fresh. And I was pleased as punch.

They've still got a delightfully poppy, natural, summer-excited, guitar-ish, uke-tastic, and totally hummable sound. This is a group to tuck into your go-to-bands pocket.

For the most part I try and only have three songs available for download, but with Arms I just couldn't pare it down to a measly three. So instead, I bring you SEVEN. Buuut, if you're overwhelmed by the prospect of such an onslaught of fantastic tuneage, my two favourites are "Tiger Tamer" and "The Frozen Lake." You really should just download all of them, though. You really should.

Tiger Tamer, Gunsmoke Legend, Neighbors, Shitty Little Disco, The Frozen Lake, Jon the Escalator and Whirring

And here are some Arms-y links: website, MySpace, Last.fm, Facebook, music video for "Kids Aflame", live video of "Kids Aflame" being played in a tunnel, and buy Arms' music

Lastly, here's a bonus mp3 from the Harlem Shakes:

Carpetbaggers


Happy listening.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

Guided By Voices... and More Spillage

Happy love day! So far mine has been pretty great. I was in the [wrong] line-up for my bus home when I saw one of my All Time Favourite People, who was marvelously heading back to our place of residence on the very same bus as me. So we spent the past couple hours being rocked about, catching up on the past month and a half, and eating the Valentine's chocolate my mom sent me. As if I don't already love Greyhound trips enough.

So now I'm home. And there is MILK in the fridge. Milk. Luxurious.

And in my cozy, contented state, I felt that it would be a nice gesture to toss a little handful of fantastic Guided By Voices songs out into the interweb.

This is another band that was vaguely on my musical horizons before, but that I never really delved into for one reason or another. But I guess this is a good time for me to bring fuzzed out nineties nostalgia glow bands into my life, considering all the Built to Spill adoration I'm having lately.

Here's some Guided By Voices:

Tractor Rape Chain
Gonna Never Have to Die
As We Go Up We Go Down

And a couple Built to Spill tracks off of the lovely Ancient Melodies of the Future, because I'm just so enamoured with these chaps:

The Weather
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss


Lastly, some Guided By Voices links: MySpace and imeem


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. This is totally unrelated, but on my voyage with one of my All Time Favourite People, I was reminded how much I love the way she says things like "I haven't been on the MSN much lately" and "I don't speak the French." I just think people should start talking like that. It could start with you.

Them Girls and Their Skirts

This sector of Canada just had a bit of lovely weather. It's over now, of course, but on Thursday I saw several folks walking around outside in t-shirts. This was a bit excessive.

But the point is they COULD do it without risking their lives. So let's just focus on that, okay?

What I'm leading up to is that the Pseudo Spring for South-East Ontario Good Weather Times (or PSSEOGWT, if you like kajumbled acronyms) got me thinking about springy clothes. And then when I was hardXcore procrastinating on an essay that was due two days before, I saw some delicious skirts on Urban Outfitters.

So here we are.

I am not able to pontificate** on the merits or stylistic qualities of these skirts, other than to say that are lovely and oh-so-pretty and I want to welcome each one to my wardrobe family. Observe, and bask in their beautaciousness:


Yes, I realize there is a dress in the above collection of fo-tos. I also realize that a dress is not a skirt. A dress has a skirt component. But it is not a skirt unto itself.

Since this is a music blog, let's have a song that superficially relates to my yammering!

Ghost in Summer Clothes by Department of Eagles

The end.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

** I know this is an incorrect use of the word "pontificate." But doesn't it sound like it could mean something along the lines of ruminate or ponder? Maybe?

Built to Spill

Sorry for the postless week. Life [a.k.a. procrastination] caught up with me.

I have to run off to an exam post haste, so this is a real quickie. I've been listening to lots of Built to Spill lately and I think these guys are one Stephen Malkmus away from being Pavement fantastic.

It's such a heartwarming sound. So guitar-y. So hook-y. So... rad. I'll come back and post something real later.

Enjoy the BtS.

Time Trap
Conventional Wisdom
Distopian Dream Girl


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. I've received my copy of Hungry Bird. Album review coming up within the week.

Train Tracks

Image Credit: 石.ⓎaⓌen of Flickr

Trains! Three covers of a song! Three covers of a song about trains!

1. Freight Train by Laura Veirs

It's a little slow. It's a little long afternoon. Her voice is a lot pretty.

2. Freight Train by Simone White

Off-kilter timing. Two guitars. Pleasantly throaty voice.

3. Freight Train by Le Volume Courbe

A washboard. A harmonica. A banjo. A lo-fi voice that sings "fweight twain." A low percussive backbeat that sounds like the palm of a large hand hitting the exposed, overhead ducts while this song is being jangled out in the basement of a roarin' backwoods house party.

Listen to Elizabeth Cotten's warbling, hillbilly original here.

Which version do you like the best? Or do you not like any of them?


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie

P.S. Download Train of Thought by Mother Mother because it's so obviously great.

Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink[s]

Montreal's The Winks are totally a baroque punk band.

I came across these lads and lady and couple years back and seeing as how I'm on some kind of chamber pop kick right now, I thought I'd sharesies.

This is exuberant music for people:
a] who enjoy unique blends of orchestral sounds AND/OR
b] who might have a strange liking for casually worn cummerbunds or hats with peacock feather arrangements.

Other than that, this is a talented group of Canadians who, at different points, remind me of Mother Mother and a sprightlier, sillier, less psychedelic-er Spiral Beach.

So here are some Winks-p3's.

Snakes [Revisited]
Ohio
Seasons

Also check out their MySpace and website.

And if you're in Montreal this Friday, February 6th, they're playing at the Green Room with Ryland Bouchard [an Oregonian!] and Emperor X-- all for the low, low price of $8.


Thanks for stopping by,
Alie