Mirah

A few things for today.  Book Clubbers, we start our new book next Monday, 3/23/09, is this enough time?  We could probably delay it a week or so, but I’m excited to read this book.  I already started it actually, but I have put it on hold so we can all begin together.

A few days back, I compiled a list of my most anticipated music releases of 2009.  It was quite a list, but I left an important one off.  Mirah released her latest album on March 10th and I somehow missed it.  It is immediately nominated for worst album cover of all time, but the music is great as usual.   Maybe I’ll do a post on Mirah eventually, I think you’d like her.  Here’s one of her new songs:

Mirah-Gone Are the Days

When I was a child, I would get stressed out over pointless things (kind of like my daughter Rory is now).  One of the things that stressed me out most was music.  Not really music itself, but the thought that there is a finite number of melodies.  To put it another way, I would get stressed out because I thought there was a limit to new melodies, I thought we would run out of music.   I tell you this to set up the following video.  You see, I’m not scared anymore.  First because I now know that we will never run out of new music and second because of cover songs like this:

Cut Copy deserves to be on The Best of 2008, there’s no argument there, but did I get the wrong song?  I’ll let you decide.

Cut Copy-Feel the Love This is on there.

Cut Copy-Far Away Should this be on there instead?

Scary?

Check out the Billboard top 10 from 1999.

1. Believe, Cher
2. No Scrubs, TLC
3. Angel Of Mine, Monica
4. Heartbreak Hotel, Whitney Houston
5. …Baby One More Time, Britney Spears
6. Kiss Me, Sixpence None The Richer
7. Genie In A Bottle, Christina Aguilera
8. Every Morning, Sugar Ray
9. Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here, Deborah Cox
10. Livin’ La Vida Loca, Ricky Martin

Ouch, thats a real kick in the pants.  I have to make a cd of these songs.  Will anyone ever listen to it?  It’s for a class reunion and I want it to be authentic but the authentic 1999 is too painful to look at, can’t I sugarcoat it a bit?  If I add the Flaming  Lips, Tom Waits, The Magnetic Fields or Sigur Ros to it will I be Jaredizing  the cd?   I’m just gonna get it over with, I’ll fill out the remaining songs with the rest of the top 20:

11. Where My Girls At?, 702
12. If You Had My Love, Jennifer Lopez
13. Slide, Goo Goo Dolls
14. Have You Ever?, Brandy
15. I Want It That Way, Backstreet Boys
16. I’m Your Angel, R. Kelly and Celine Dion
17. All Star, Smash Mouth
18. Angel, Sarah McLachlan
19. Smooth, Santana Featuring Rob Thomas
20. Unpretty, TLC

Oh!  The Humanity!!!

There’s more, I have to do this for 96, 97, and 98 also.   The Macarena people, the Maca-stinkin-rena.  My head is going to explode.*

*If you listened to these songs at the time, I understand, it’s ok.  I’m not judging you.  There are even some good songs thrown in there.  That being said, if you are still listening to your cassette single of the Macarena while trying out the dance moves in front of the mirror, you might want to seek counseling.

So, the discussion has begun over at the book club forum, exciting stuff.  Thanks to those who are contributing to the discussion.  You still have plenty of time to read Life of PI, so pick up a copy.  Just get a library card, you can do this, I believe in you.
Have a great MLK/Civil Rights Day,

01-She and Him _ Why Do You Let Me Stay Here_.mp3

02-Oasis _ The Turning.mp3

03-Shearwater _ The Snow Leopard.mp3

04-A.C. Newman _ Submarines Of Stockholm.mp3

05-Forest Fire _ Slow Motion.mp3

06-R.E.M. _ Houston.mp3

07-Beach House _ Gila.mp3

08-Wolf Parade _ Fine Young Cannibals.mp3

09-MGMT _ Electric Feel.mp3

10-TV on the Radio _ DLZ.mp3

11-Ley Lines _ Cardiac.mp3

12-Vampire Weekend _ Campus.mp3

13-Bon Iver _ Blindsided.mp3

14-Thao Nguyen _ Beat (Health, Life, and Fire).mp3

15-Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s _ As Tall As Cliffs.mp3

16-The Raveonettes _ Aly, Walk With Me.mp3

Its Christmas Eve Eve and I’m still not finished with the Best of 2008.  I’m under the gun.  No way I’m getting done.  Anyway, here are my finalists for 2008 song of the year.

Call It A Ritual-Wolf Parade
I have a soft spot for Wolf Parade.  I think it’s because I listen to the majority of my music while running and Wolf Parade makes great running music.  That or they just make great music.

Winter Hymnal-Fleet Foxes
Do you find yourself asking, “Where did harmony go?”.  Here’s your answer.

Re: Stacks-Bon Iver
Bon Iver made it on my best of 2007 list but, as it turns out, the album wasn’t properly released until 2008.  This album was recorded by one man.  He secluded himself  in the wintry Wisconsin wilderness for 3 months, recording with nothing more than a few microphones, 2 drums, and some aged recording equipment.  This is beautiful, Heart Wrenching Music.

Feedback In the Field-Plants & Animals
This was the early frontrunner for song of the year. Can it hold out?  The suspense is killing me.

Starstuck-Santogold
This does not fit my typical taste in music.  Its stop-start, bleep-synth, indie hop that gets better with every listen.
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Ella Fitzgerald-Sleigh Ride

Duke Ellington-Dashing Through The Snow

Chet Atkins-Jolly Old St Nicholas

Vince Guaraldi-O Tannenbaum

Q:  Why will your next child be named Luciano regardless of whether it is a girl or a boy?
A:  Ave Maria-Luciano Pavarotti

Q: Why are you Hearing Voices?
A: O Holy Night-Leontyne Price (Also I’m reading “A Good and Happy Child“.  Its creepy.)

Q: Why did you have to look up the Anthony Way to see if he was a ma’am or a sir?
A: What Child Is-This Anthony Way

Q: What Christmas song made your eyes well up in church?
A: Silent Night-Andrea Bocelli

The Real Autumn

It’s November 7th and I am finally believing that Autumn is here.  No not sweater weather autumn, not leaves changing colors autumn, not lighting the fireplace autumn, not flannel sheets autumn, not jumping in a pile of leaves autumn, and no, not sitting and listening to the wind whirling through the Naked trees autumn.  The Autumn I’m talking about is when the High Temperature for the day finally falls below 90 degrees and stays there for at least 5 days.  Hooray for autumn in the Valley of the Sun.

So in honor of it’s arrival here is some Autumn music.

Cliquot.mp3

Akron/Family-Before and Again

Arcade Fire-Power Out

The first song that I came up with was Ease Your Feet In The Sea-Belle & Sebastian. This is one of my favorite B&S songs and it turned out to be the perfect soothing bedtime song. This song was repeatedly requested for a month by both daughters and since the first week, it has elicited a sing along from both of them. Of course, it was not too long until i heard “you pick out one” again. This time I picked a George Gershwin tune, Love is Here To Stay-Performed by Dinah Washington. This was also “our song” at mine and Beth’s wedding. Another hit and it elicited the same response. There is a line in this song that goes, “Together we’re going a long long way”. There were many questions as to what this line meant. I always answered “we’re going to be together for a long, long time”. This instantly made this the most important line in the song, so much so that, now I have to sing that line much louder than the rest of the song.

Now, my oldest daughter has tired of that song and I have begun singing Fake Empire-The National, still my favorite song of 2007. This song is possibly the most fitting of the three for bedtime, it paints beautiful pictures. So, here’s the deal, listen to the songs above, vote for which one you think is best for bedtime, and then leave a comment explaining why.  Keep in mind that its just me and my horrible singing voice, there is no backing band.
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