3 posts tagged “chill”
From the last month's worth of music postings, it's pretty apparent that I've been on a female singer-songwriter kick. And so I have. This post will be no exception.
When a friend of mine let me borrow a copy of Feist's Let It Die, I felt like (warning: Buffy fanboyism ahead) Oz meeting Willow for the first time after seeing her in passing time and time again, enamoured but unable to meet her.
Why? For a good year, I heard traces of her musical contributions in my new music.
The New Deal: Don't Blame Yourself
I was standing in line for Nine Inch Nails tickets at the box office of the school's rec center. This song came on my headphones and my foot immediately started tapping. By the time the dub-style breakdown hit, I was nodding my head and trying to keep myself to dancing in line. I thought for sure that the vocalist was Esthero, but the liner notes instead listed an unfamiliar name. I never bothered to look into her further, because I got much more into another New Deal Song.
Item 2:
Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It in People
A fellow music lover in college game me this album. Though I didn't much care for most of the album, Feist plays on it.
yeah, I know this is a kind of a weak item, but it makes the entry look better.
Kings of Convenience: Know How
Our family functions are anything but exciting. Because we're all hard workers, holidays are the only time we have to relax, and everyone winds up watching movies all day. My niece brought a mix cd, and I was pretty excited about all the music I heard. Unfortunately she's not the type to label her music, or remember the artists, or even the songs (making the Swedish songs particularly difficult to track down). The one artist that she did remember was Kings of Convenience. I recognized the voice on this song, but didn't put two and two together.
Feist: Let it Die
Finally, on a night of music listening, I played my friend the New Deal song, and he perked up and said, "Hey! That's Feist! You should check her out."
I queued up the album, and as soon as her voice entered, I was in love. Like seeing that someone you've seen around town show up at a party, your eyes meeting clichédly across the room.
The highest of high points in this song for me is the line "February, April said / Don't be fooled by that Summer again"
Don't worry February and April. I sure as hell won't.
I love this entire album. A year ago, I would've been turned off by the 70s/80s smooth rock vibe that permeates most of the tracks. Thanks to a previous introduction to the genius web mini-series Yacht Rock, my preconceptions against "smooth music" were weakened. Especially after the Warren G episode (WARNING: very not safe for work!).
To further increase the liklihood of my Feist diggage, a remix of this song plays pretty regularly on some commercial.
Some things are meant to be. I'm glad that finding Feist was one of them.
Whilst sorting through random internet videos on my hard drive, I rediscovered this trippy little number. After a brief internet search I found out that this film/music video was done by an English art student named Dave Watson, aka Twiyk (tweak?)
An interview with the director can be found here. What's really cool about this guy is that he wrote the music himself, in Fruity Loops, no less!
You can download a high resolution video of it here.
update:
with the help morgansutherland's cryptic comment, I've discovered an uncanny similarity to the video for Autechre's Gantz Graf. The Autechre video is reminds me much of the what came out of the early 90s "demo scene." I was never really into it myself, as I've only heard of it through an old roommate of mine. Anyway, here's that video. (I'm too lazy to look for a better quality version.)
Audio: What song do you listen to when you are sad?
Submitted by Nat.
It must seem strange that such a dirge-like song can make me so happy.
The song alone doesn't pull me out of sadness, though its simple entrancing instrumentation and subtly uplifting song structure does help. I first saw this group in my college town of San Luis Obispo. Living in a town not known for its alternative music, I was exposed to mold-breaking musing like this through the college's radio station, KCPR.
The night I saw Roots of Orchis play was a turning point of sorts in musical as well as personal development. After watching them perform and finding myself amazed that something so dirge-like could be so enjoyable, my musical taste began to shift away from that which is showy-for-showiness'-sake and into music that drew from the subtle sublimity of detail - sonic textures, instrumentation, and varations on single themes. At the same time, my life's goals were sliding away from working in a high-paying high-stress industry and into a dream of lifestyle that was more simple and fulfilling in its simplicity.
I listen to this song and remind myself of where I am in relation to where I've been. Losing perspective has always been easy for me, as I easily lose myself in the moment. Somehow this song and others like it has become a nexus that I can return to, to align my compass and get my bearings after the most gruelling of days.
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