Lost In The Trees. Beautiful Sadness.

Lost In The Trees (ANTI-) released their second LP A Church That Fits Our Needs last month, and it chillingly beautiful, to put it mildly. Soon after the release of their first album All Alone In An Empty House, lead writer Ari Picker lost his mother to suicide. Her face graces the cover of their new album, and the lyrics that accompany the orchestral sounds reflect his loss.



Here they are playing my favorite track from the new album, Icy River, on one my favorites, A Take Away Show.

In Ari's own words...

It is beautiful sadness.

-Anna

David Sedaris is a badass

(Dang it kittens, I'm trying to do something that doesn't involve kittens)

Last night I went with my friend Janet to see David Sedaris speak, and my cheeks are still sore from smiling for an hour and a half straight. He was amazing, just like I always dreamed he would be. After the show we stood in line for the book signing, and the 30 minute wait was worth it.

I asked him what the knife was for. He said it was to cut  the umbilical cord of the baby I was pregnant with. I just love you David.

-Anna

p.s - The girl in front of me told David it was her birthday the day before. He says he has something for her and reaches into his canvas bag. He hands her a wad of pink tissue paper, and inside is a tiny figurine of a baby with no head. This man is an inspiration.

Gawd damn it's Friday...

...and gawd damn that calls for some rock n' roll, and who better than Jack White. Released last week, his new solo album Blunderbuss does not disappoint. The single Sixteen Saltines fits right into the White Stripes sound, which is quite alright with me.

And what-the-what, his label Third Man Records released the track Freedom At 21 via helium balloon. It's all cray I tell you.

Gawd damn I say.

-anna



Quantic, De-Phazz, & Capitol Hill Block Party lineup

I'm feeling a little funky, maybe a little jazzy today. It's hard for me to sit still. I need to move my body, stretch my hips, strain the muscles a bit.

William Holland aka Quantic has got me moving in the right direction. If you're a fan of Thievery Corporation, Groove Armanda, or the like, add Quantic to your list. I'm currently plugged into his 2002 release Apricot Morning.

Holland's latest release Around the Corner has him paired up with Alice Russell and the Combo Barbaro (another of his side projects). While not exactly what I'm looking for, if you're into that 60's soul and funk from South America then this is for you.

Somewhat in that same realm, I've put De-Phazz's 1997 release Detunized Gravity on heavy rotation, track #1 Roses being one of my favorite. It makes me feel sultry, like good lounge music usually does.

 

In other news, Capitol Hill Block Party announced their partial lineup, and it looks pretty damn good. Major Lazer, Grimes, Phantogram, Youth Lagoon, Twin Shadow, and Diplo are a must. Currently, 3-day passes are going for $85 and will only increase, so get'em while you can.

-anna

Random Rant

(Judgemental cat is judgy)

I've never been a fashionable person. I wear choco's. But this...this never needs to exist. Ever.



The only person who is EVER allowed to pull this look off is Molly Ringwald via Sixteen Candles.





-anna

The Lumineers, Tanlines, and Tom Furse. A Tuesday mix mash.

The Lumineers fit very much into that Mumford and Sons & Avett Brothers-ish category, and I'm digging it. Their self-titled album is one that I want to learn all the words to, then go and catch their live show and dance in the middle of the crowd, everyone enjoying themselves way too much. I guess I'll have to wait till this July when they'll be in town for Block Party! The album is my pick-me-up from yesterday, and it genuinely brings a smile to my face.

Speaking of pick-me-ups, tonight is the Tanlines show over at Neumos. I try to restrict my concert goings to weekends, but this one was too good to pass up. In case you missed my past post on Tanlines, check out this little diddy (ditty?).



And last but not least for the day, I leave you with this, posted over at r/listentothis. Tom Furse (Cowan) of The Horrors fame remixing Charlotte Gainsbourg. Fantastic.



Keep it lively people.
-anna

Perfume Genius

I don't know what my problem is today. I think I'm just tired from a long, fun weekend. Maybe it is starting to hit me that my boyfriend will be moving to Portland for six months, and I feel like being sad about it. Maybe it is that the sun is shining and I'm stuck at work doing work-y type things. So to go with my mood I've had Perfume Genius's Put Your Back N 2 It on repeat all day.

I don't have much to say, except if you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself, or just have a day when you need to feel sad, Mike Hadreas's haunting lyrics is exactly what you need.



-anna

A Second Chance for Tanlines

When I first heard of Tanlines I popped over to Amazon to sample a listen, and maybe I was cranky or hungry or it had been too long since I looked at a picture of a kitten, but I was not into it. I quickly dismissed it after sampling a couple of tracks and went about looking for a sandwich and kittens wearing bow ties.

A week or so later it popped up on one of my many recommendation lists and in the latest Under the Radar, plus Scott Hansen aka Tycho included them in one of his latest play lists. I gave in. So last night, after my second class of boot camp!!, I put in my headphones and headed for the long walk home. In the 45 minutes it took me to walk from Fremont to South Lake Union I had made it thought the entire album, and I was floored. It is AMAZING. It is indie-pop at its best with undertones of that 80's synth that I love.

Their first LP Mixed Emotions (True Panther Sounds) was released last month to mixed reviews (Pitchfork gave it a 7.1), but I think it is safe to say this is my favorite album of the year. Plus, they are super adorable.

(Swoopy hair and jean jackets...I love.)

I highly recommend grabbing your headphones and giving this duo from Brooklyn a listen. Abby is one of my favorite tracks, though it is one of  the less dancy numbers on the album.

Tanlines will be in Seattle next Tuesday the 24th at Barboza!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've got my tickets so I hope to see you there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!i'mexcited!!!!!!!!

-anna

Work It Girl

This week I started a boot-camp-class-thingy, which is twice a week over in Fremont. My first day was this past Monday, and to my surprise, it was a freakin blast. 99% of the class is held outside (mostly rain or shine), and basically you're just running around with 25 other people. I've always enjoyed being active, but have quit every gym I have ever joined due to boredom/lack of motivation. This class fills both of those voids, so here's hoping I last the whole eight weeks.

In honor of getting in shape I created my 'work it girl' playlist. If you're interested in taking a listen, send me your email address and I'll gladly invite you in on the fun.

Song	Artist	Album
Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)	Miike Snow	Happy To You
Green Grass	Tanlines	Mixed Emotions
Go to the Floor	Missy Elliott	Under Construction
1009	Bonobo	Black Sands
Cruel	St. Vincent	Strange Mercy
Let It Out	Girl Talk	All Day
Back Home	Gold Panda	Companion
Mouthful of Diamonds	Phantogram	Eyelid Movies
Afternoon	Youth Lagoon	The Year Of Hibernation
Howlin' For You	The Black Keys	Brothers
Short Version	Wild Flag	Wild Flag
I'm Confused	Handsome Furs	Face Control
Burn it All Down	VHS or Beta	Bring On the Comets
Blister In The Sun	Violent Femmes	The Violent Femmes
SexyBack	Justin Timberlake	FutureSex/LoveSounds
Wall Of A Song	The Whoremoans	Hello From Radio Wasteland
Back in Your Head	Tegan and Sara	The Con
Crown On the Ground	Sleigh Bells	Treats
Hotdog	Simian Mobile Disco	Attack Decay Sustain Release
Boys Wanna Be Her	Peaches	Impeach My Bush
Electric Feel	MGMT	Oracular Spectacular
Atlantis to Interzone	Klaxons	Myths of the Near Future
Smile Around the Face	Four Tet	Everything Ecstatic
Sweepstakes	Gorillaz	Plastic Beach
Air War	Crystal Castles	Crystal Castles
Hold the line	Major Lazer	Guns Don't Kill People…Lazers Do
It'll Chew You Up & Spit You Out	Concrete Blond	Still In Hollywood
Carry the Zero	Built to Spill	Keep It like a Secret
Price Of Gas	Bloc Party	Silent Alarm
The Good Life	Weezer	Pinkerton
Before I Move Off	Mount Kimbie	Crooks & Lovers
Dance, Dance, Dance	Lykke Li	Youth Novels
I Love London	Crystal Fighters	Star Of Love

If you have a song to add to my list please let me know!

Meow meow

-anna

Note on eating queso if you don't feel well

Don't do it.



-anna

Feeling kinda icky...Lambchop is my cure

Soon after arriving at work this morning I started getting that weird 'I'm cold but I'm sweating' feeling. So I decided that eating an entire plate of tortilla chips and queso that my friend and co-worker Janet brought into work today would make me feel better. As I hovered over my plate, using my chip as more of a spoon to shove the hot cheese into my mouth, I figured the perfect accompaniment would be Lambchop's Mr. M, released by none other than Merge earlier this year. Kurt Wagner's voice is soothing and his lyrics thought provoking. To me it is the same as when listening to Matt Berninger from The National...they're both pantie droppers. Emphasis on the word voice, as Kurt Wagner is a little out of my pantie droper age range.

(Exhibit A. Keep 'em on ladies)

This is my first listen into the world of Lambchop, and according to the Wikipedia page they are "loosely associated with the alternative country genre". Mr. M sounds nothing, if anything but, country, so I think that will be an exploration for another day. Listening to Mr.M makes me feel comforted, like being curled up on my parents couch knowing dinner will be served in 30 minutes (of which I neither had to cook or clean up after. I miss being 14 sometimes.)

Lambchop's history is long, with their first full length released in 1990, so I have a lot of catching up to do. But for now I'll take Mr.M as one of favorite lounge releases of the year.

Here's the title track Gone Tomorrow. Is anyone else getting a Steve Earl vibe?

If you are in the Seattle area, Lambchop is playing at the Tractor on Tuesday May 1st!

Grimes makes me do the celery man

When I listen to Grimes I feel a little something like this:

(Another one of my fantasy BFFs)

Outfit included.

Claire Boucher aka Grimes (4AD) released her third album Visions this past February. The 24 year old Canadian born musician's latest full length does not fit into my ususal rotation these days, which is mostly comprised of the indi-folk sounds of Andrew Bird, Francois + The Atlas Mountains, and First Aid Kit. But somewhere around 4pm, with the last hour of work ahead of me, Grimes is exactly what I need to get me through to happy hour.

(Gawd damn I love me a good cat gif)

Track #11 Nightmusic takes the cake for me, but the highly praised track #3 Oblivion seems to be the winner. Top to bottom it is a fantastic album and will be added to the ever growing list of the sounds of summer.

And in the event you have never seen it, behold Celery Man (sorry for the ad).



Can I get a hat wobble?

Almost TBTL

I just love these guys. In a city where I don't have many friends, this show really does fill a void. Wow, the second post where I mention having imaginary friends. Depressing...maybe. True...for sure! That's cool, I have my two cats to keep me company (crys silently).

Too Beautiful To Live is a Seattle based podcast run out of the home of Luke Burbank. It is smartly funny, informative, and quirky daily show, and listening to it makes me feel like I'm just hanging out with my friends (still silently crying). They have described it as for people who read the New Yorker and US Weekly with the same level of interest. To top it off, they are always playing music I have never heard of, which just makes it top top top notch. I can't say enough good things about these guys, so check it out for yourself at www.tbtl.net

Here's Michael Lerner aka Telekinesis on  the show back in 2010

Shout out to all the 10's.

Jessie Baylin. Wish we were BFF. Along with Maya Rudolph.

1. She's cute as fuck.
2. Her hair is cute as fuck.
3. Her voice is sexy as fuck.
4. She released her third album Little Spark ON HER OWN LABEL, Blonde Rat Records. Awesome as fuck.

(I want to drink cheap read wine, rat our hair, and watch Mad Men with you.)

She has her own blog http://jessiebaylin.tumblr.com/, which I would highly recommend keeping tabs on, as on my first visit to the site there was a picture of her 'tits though a t-shirt'. Fuck.

 

Here's my favorite track from the new album.

My other BFF Ms. Maya...if only.

Imperial Teen

I find that more and more of my favorite bands are signed to Merge Records. Today I find out that from their website you can listen to their 'Radio', which is, like it suggests, a play list of Merge artists. Awesome way to go about your day listening to a long lists of bands known and unknown. Just another thing to love about this awesome label. Some of my favorite artists include...

Telekinesis
Wild Flag
The Magnetic Fields
Arcade Fire
Spoon
the Mountain Goats
Wye Oak

Imperial Teen released their third album with Merge (formally with Universal) in 2002. In 2007 they released The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, and followed it up with this year's Feel The Sound. To me they are Head and the Heart meets Arcade Fire, though Imperial Teen released their first album wayyyy before either of the two.



In other news, the sun is shining in Seattle today!!!!OMG!!!wtf! As soon as I'm done slaving away on the wage train, a bike ride is definitely in order.

(my actual bike!)

Speaking of Extreme

Growing up I wasn't allowed to watch MTV, but if you turned on the VCR, and changed the channel through said device, we (me and my three siblings) could pick up the blocked MTV channel. It was during this time that you might find this video, released in 1990, that made it a privilege to grow up in the early nineties. I myself was on team Nuno.

Django Django's Sounds of Summer

My first listen though Django Django's debut album (self titled) and I immediatley knew it was going to be the sound of summer. Though we're still months away from summer here in Seattle, this album reminds me of riding my bike, drinking beer on patios, and afternoons at the lake. In ways it kinda-sounds-like a less annoying Animal Collective, especially in the track Zumm Zumm. I feel I must apologize for some reason for not liking AC, but it is true, I find their music makes me feel on edge and cranky.



(Exactly. AC makes me feel dizzy)

Django Django (Because Music) are four lads from London, who I found have claimed and not claimed that they took their name from the famous jazz musician Django Reinhardt. Each track on the album feels significatly different from the one before, yet the feel of the album is cohesive and flowing. Jump in your car, roll down the windows, and take a listen to track #3 Default.

So while I would file this band under the psychedelic pop sound, it is still a sound all its own that makes me feel anything but cranky.

Chilly Gonzales...I'm a shrugging mustache wearing a speedo tuxedo

Jason Beck aka Chilly Gonzales taught himself how to play the piano at the age of 3. Now at the age of 40 you can imagine his musical stylings are far from adolescent. Oh, and he's Canadian, which really doesn't matter except that he regularly collaborates with other Canadians such as Feist and Peaches.



(Peaches is so cool even her vagina radiates awesomeness)

He's playing April 10th at the Triple Door and I've emailed the Showbox for free tickets, so if I win I'll see you there.

Not Your Average Bird

I received my first Andrew Bird album for free from a pawn shop over on Pine Street in 2009. I had purchased a decent looking stereo that had a jack to plug in my Zune (yes, I own and still currently utilize a now obsolete Zune...don't judge me...actually, go ahead) so for $30 I had a good find.

(Vintage)

Along with my stereo I was allowed to pick one CD from an overstuffed rack filled with old/timeless gems such as Michael Bolton, TLC, and Extreme. And there I found Andrew Bird's 2009 release Noble Beast/Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition).

(You Woke Me Up!)

I went home and christened the new-but-used stereo with my new-but-used CD. While I loved Noble Beast, it was really the instrumental Useless Creatures tracks that I couldn't get enough of. It was one of those albums that you can listen to all day in the background of whatever you are doing. I just kept replaying it over and over again, finding something new to love each time. It was a perfect introduction to Mr. Bird...a combination of his incredible talent with the violin and ever-so-charming vocals.

Andrew released his seventh solo album Break it Yourself  (Mom+Pop) on March 6th and it does not disappoint. It is very Noble Beast-ish, complete with whistling, but enough of an upgrade to satisfy. Beginning to end it all seems very sweet (think puppies), so if you find yourself in need of a 'hug' this album will do the job.

(Freaking adorable)

Here he is playing Eyeoneye, title track off the new album.

I am admittedly late to the game, as Bird has been releasing music since 1998, but I'm working my way backwards and am enjoying the journey.

An Experiment

So this is my first blog post. Awesome time! There is no clear focus to this blog, but it is generally going to revolve around music and my love of finding/stumbling upon new bands. Posts about food, my two cats, red wine, crafts, bikes, books, and goats are all fair game. Speaking of cats, might as well get this out of the way and introduce the kids...

Pagoda aka The Bad One aka Goats

(He's all flop)

Frankie aka The Bity One aka Chewbacca

(If a cat could love too much this is the one)

There will be pleanty of those two so just get used to it.

  

For my first post I thought I'd start out with a short list of bands that are currently in high rotation. These aren't necessarily my ALL TIME FAVORITE OMG bands...just what is doing it for me lately.

I'll try and include label and hometown/region when I can.

Motopony (unsigned,Seattle)

Gold Panda (Ghostly International, UK)

Tennis (Fat Possum, Denver)

Hospitality (Merge, Brooklyn)

The War on Drugs (Secretly Canadian, Philadelphia)

Tycho (Ghostly International, San Francisco)

Bonobo (Tru Thoughts, UK)

I could go on but I think this is not bad for a start, plus I don't want to give it all up on the first date.