Video: Josh Ritter, “Love Is Making Its Way Back Home”
Josh Ritter's new EP, Bringing in the Darlings, was released today, along with a video for "Love Is Making Its Way Back Home." According to Ritter's website, the video was made using over 12,000 pieces of construction paper, all arranged by hand with no special effects. Check it out:
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Bruce Springsteen, “We Take Care of Our Own”
Maybe it's because I'm originally from New Jersey or because the guy's a living icon, but I feel compelled to post something about the new Bruce Springsteen single, "We Take Care of Our Own." But instead of writing a bunch of my own thoughts, I have a question for you:
Is the chorus of "We Take Care of Our Own" meant to be taken literally, or is Bruce being sarcastic?
Discuss.
Wrecking Ball is due for release on March 6 via Columbia Records.
Preview: Josh Ritter, Bringing in the Darlings EP
Josh Ritter, whose masterful So Runs the World Away was GTI's top album of 2010, will release a new EP on February 21. Called Bringing in the Darlings, Ritter explained to Paste that each song includes the word "darling" and will not be found on his forthcoming LP. A stream of new song "Why" is available at that same link.
Preorders are available here, which grants immediate access to your very own digital copy of "Why."
Video: The Shins, “September”
"September" is track number five from the Shins' upcoming Port of Morrow, as well as the b-side to lead single "Simple Song," due for vinyl release next week (Valentine's Day, to be exact).
Video courtesy of Record Store Day.
Here's the full track list for Port of Morrow:
1. The Rifle’s Spiral
2. Simple Song
3. It’s Only Life
4. No Way Down
5. September
6. Bait and Switch
7. Fall of ’82
8. For a Fool
9. 40 Mark Strasse
10. Port of Morrow
The album is available for preorder here.
Review: Matt Pryor, May Day [2012]
It's a wonder that May Day even exists. There's the time factor: Matt Pryor's most well-known band, the Get Up Kids, recently reunited and released an album last year (one of GTI's Top 30 albums of 2011). He's got his long running "side" project the New Amsterdams, as well as that band's alter-ego, the kid-friendly Terrible Twos, and his time spent playing acoustic shows for the "Where's the Band?" tour with the frontmen of Saves the Day, Bayside, the Early November, Thrice, and Into It Over It. And amid all of that activity, Pryor is no longer on a major recording label, so the new record was recorded independently, supported through the funding platform Kickstarter.
But thankfully it does exist. May Day is a welcome return of an extremely talented musician. Of the dozen or so albums he's recorded, this may be his best yet. Beginning with the lo-fi "Don't Let the Bastards Bring You Down," May Day is an intimate invitation into the world of Matt Pryor. The veteran songwriter has pulled off an interesting trick with his latest album: While the song titles would suggest a somber and dark affair (e.g. "The Lies Are Keeping Me Here," "Unhappy is the Only Happy You'll Ever Be"), May Day is the most whimsical-sounding collection of songs Pryor has ever recorded. Adding harmonica, banjo, and piano to Pryor's sprightly acoustic guitar, the joy of creating music is readily apparent here.
That being said, some of the record's highlights are its stripped-down, lo-fi moments, such as "As Lies Go...This One is Beautiful." It's meaning is initially obscured, as Pryor only alludes to the periphery of a struggling relationship. In the final 30 seconds, though, Pryor croons "Best if both our strayed loves steal away," finally revealing infidelity as the song's source of strife. Elsewhere, Pryor insulates sad sentiments like "Unhappy is the only happy that I'll ever know" with the accompaniment of gentle banjo and percussion.
May Day closes with the poignant "What My Tired Eyes Would View." After an album of working through lies and disappointments, he realizes "A new day has dawned / So welcome the sunlight / I've seen everything that my tired eyes would view / There's nothing that compares to seeing you."
Matt Pryor has always been a master of writing sincere and empathetic stories about the brokenhearted and unhappy. That hasn't changed on May Day, but now there seems to be a spring in his step, a sense of hope that maybe better days are on the horizon.
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Review: Sporting Life, Singles [2011]
San Francisco-based Sporting Life released its debut album, Singles, back in September 2011. Barely a year old, the band already sounds like it has been in existence for much longer. Singles combines the aesthetic of 1990s American indie rock with the confident attitude of mid-2000s Brit rock. A song like "Parking Lots" has elements of the raw energy of British punk, while the vocals on "Immigrant" recall James Mercer of the Shins. With fuzzy guitars, driving percussion, and melodic hooks, this is a can't-miss collection of songs.
The band has made Singles available for free (or choose your payment) on bandcamp.com. You can also purchase a 7" single of "Life in the Fields"/"House of Lies" at the same link.
Check out the video for "Immigrant," which was also one of GTI's top songs of 2011:
Top 50 Songs of 2011
Here are 50 songs that defined 2011 for me. This year, I only included one song per band, as I wanted to feature as many bands as possible.
Listen. Enjoy. Tell me what you think.
And yep, that's my ugly mug on the cover.
Here's the playlist:
1. Wilco - One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
2. City Reign - Anywhere Anyway
3. The Mountain Goats - Never Quite Free
4. Zaac Pick - Whitewater
5. Yuck - Holing Out
6. The Tallest Man on Earth - Weather of a Killing Kind
7. Ryan Adams - Dirty Rain
8. Laura Marling - My Friends
9. The War on Drugs - Best Night
10. Bright Eyes - Shell Games
11. Radical Face - Always Gold
12. Beirut - East Harlem
13. Carter Tanton - Murderous Joy
14. Air Review - America's Son
15. Michael McGraw - Poorboy
16. The Middle East - Land Of The Bloody Unknown
17. The Antlers - Putting The Dog To Sleep
18. Megafaun - State / Meant
19. Bon Iver - Holocene
20. Robbers On High Street - Monkey
21. The Whiskey Saints - Curtains
22. The Far West - Bound to Lose
23. Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
24. James Vincent McMorrow - Sparrow and the Wolf
25. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
26. Siskiyou - Twigs And Stones
27. Foo Fighters - Walk
28. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
29. Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home
30. Joshua Hyslop - If I Was a Better Man
31. J Mascis - Is It Done
32. Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms
33. Girls - Die
34. R.E.M. - It Happened Today
35. Fruit Bats - WACS (ft. J Mascis)
36. the august arrival - Through it all
37. Young Liars - Colours
38. Sporting Life - Immigrant
39. Alela Diane - To Begin
40. The Rest - The Last Day
41. William Fitzsimmons - The Tide Pulls From The Moon
42. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp
43. Wye Oak - Civilian
44. Jim Ivins - House Of Three
45. Real Estate - It's Real
46. Snowmine - Curfews
47. David Thomas Broughton - Apologies
48. Creepoid - Old Tree
49. Cut Off Your Hands - You Should Do Better
50. The Dodos - When Will You Go
Video: Laura Marling, “Night After Night” [live]
Photo by JC McIlwaine, jcmcilwaine.com
Oh, women. Such fascinating creatures. Normally, I tend to consider my wife Jenny fairly non-jealous. I have female friends. I tell stories about funny events that happened involving women from the past. And I gush about several female singers. Usually, none of this bothers her.
But I have come to realize that there is a limit. Gentlemen, you may not know this, but there is a finite number of things you may say about another woman before it becomes a problem for your ladyfriend. You can be watching an Emma Stone movie and say "She's so funny" a hundred times with no problem, until that one occasion when you'll say something like, "I got a little too excited for that fake new Emma Stone movie on 30 Rock," and then it's all YOUHAVEACRUSHONEMMASTONE!!! SHE'SPRETTIERTHANME! GAAHHHH!!!
Watch out! Don't make the same mistakes I've made. I should have known better...
It all started with Laura Marling.
Back in late summer 2011, I started hearing about Marling's new album, A Creature I Don't Know. Right from the very first song, I was blown away. Pulling off my headphones, I turned to my wife and said, "You have to hear this." So I started playing "The Muse." She shrugged, as is typical when she hears a song for the first time, and said, "It's okay." (NOTE: If you haven't been reading this blog much, I could gather up a choir of angels and have them sing a song of divine origin, and Jenny would have the exact same reaction.)
Fast forward a few weeks. I'm really getting into this Laura Marling record. I start playing "Salinas," "My Friends," and "I Was Just a Card" while Jenny is in the car with me. She seems marginally interested. But somehow I can't seem to get her to hear what I hear.
Then Marling was due to play a show in Philadelphia, and for some reason I skipped it. Well, not "for some reason." Jenny wouldn't (couldn't) take off from work, and I never bothered to ask someone else to go. That seems like a piss-poor excuse in hindsight, but I it's been a long time since I went to a show by myself. I probably griped regretfully about this more than a few times, though.
Finally, as I'm writing my Best Albums of 2011 post, I mention how much I still love A Creature I Don't Know and how I think I'll make it the #2 album of the year. This, apparently, was the last straw.
"Is Laura Marling on your "list" or something?" No, not the Best-of list. You know, the supposed agreement many couples have about 5 celebrities you have permission to sleep with.
Sigh.
I ignored it. A few weeks later, Marling released the video for a recent performance of "Night After Night" at McKittrick Hotel, which for some reason I showed to Jenny.
"She doesn't really do much on stage..."
IT'S NEVER BEEN ABOUT THAT! But this time I was smarter.
"Yeah, she's no Joe Pug," I said, referencing the concert we attended several months ago. Pug is probably on her "list" and I'm sure she thinks that's just fine. (Pug is a fantastic performer, by the way.)
Don't buy it, Laura. Jenny doesn't need to know...
Check out the haunting performance of "Night After Night":
And here's a short review of that show, along with more photos by JC McIlwaine.
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MP3: Shearwater, “You As You Were”
Upon hearing me playing Shearwater's great new single, "You As You Were," my wife remarked, "That sounds like an 80s song." And she's got a point. If the 80s gave us anything good, it was EPIC movie montage anthems. You know - the kind you can sing karaoke at a bar and get everyone on their feet. I never sing karaoke, mostly because I can't sing (if I could, I'd making music instead of writing about it!), but also because the Karaoke Guy never has any songs I like. But "You As You Were" is the kind of song I'd like to sing in front of a bunch of drunk bar-hoppers. It's got all the elements of a GTI-favorite: swelling crescendos, a propulsive beat, and an anthemic coda ("But I am leaving the life! / I am leaving the life! / I am leaving the life! / I am leaving!").
So! Shearwater: This is my promise to you. I will do everything I can to make Shearwater the biggest band in the world and get your songs into the karaoke book. Let's make this happen, people!
Animal Joy, the album on which "You As You Were" is found, is due for release on February 14 via Sub Pop Records. It's the band's eighth album and first on Sub Pop. Buying the LP through the label nets you a special blood-red vinyl edition. Fancy!
Or get it at the usual places:
I'd also like to send a special thank-you to Taylor Johnston of musicforants.com for posting this song. Taylor's music blog is one of my favorites, and while I don't read other blogs as much as I used to, I try to check in when I can to see what he and his team are doing. Taylor probably doesn't remember this, but he provided some advice to a fledgling blogger (me) when I was just getting started. If I remember correctly, it went something like this: "Stop using Blogspot and self-host. Never forget where you came from. You didn't start this for the money or the women. You do it for love of the Game." That's probably not exactly what he said, but I think it's what he meant. Or something like that.
Dr. Dog, “Lonesome” [Be the Void preview]
Philadelphia blues-pop songsmiths Dr. Dog are set to release their next album, Be the Void, on February 7 via Anti- Records. According to Paste, the album is expected to feature a rougher, more guitar-oriented sound reminiscent of the band's earlier work. And now Dr. Dog has offered a first taste in the form of the bluesy "Lonesome." Check it out:
Dr. Dog - Lonesome by antirecords
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