blissiful music of (two thousand eight)

2008 was an amazing musical awakening for me.
a few good friends sharing their music collections
changed my whole world. arigato.

enjoy.
i've included nifty links for your exploration pleasure.


{ Animal Collective }
wow. in some ways, this is really all i can say.
animal collective wandered through the dusty locked corridors
of my brain and had a grand thrill tearing down the drapes
and opening all the windows. some things escaped in the process
and new things came to nest and stay awhile.
listening to animal collective has renewed my desire to make electronic music. until i figure out how to do that, i'll keep messing around my crazy array of children's instruments and hitting bottles with chopsticks. really, i can't wait to combine the two. clotheshorse, a sometimes-band that i'm a part of has helped with some of that longing in the past.. but i can feel that there is something more satisfying on the horizon.
Animal Collective is amazing driving music, if you can handle the layers knit into each song. and the screaming. that's a major part of some of animal collective's albums, but how can i say this? .. it's artistic, well placed screaming?
Animal Collective is some seriously beautiful, dreamy, intense, passionate and artisticly inspiring music. It's music to dance to - both body & soul.
Favorite albums: Sung Tongs, Prospect Hummer EP (feat. Vashti Bunyan) & Water Curses EP
Last FM - Myspace - Youtube of 'Water Curses'



{ Apples in Stereo }
there's just something about them that makes for good painting.
they also sound like summertime, possibly driving around
a bit too fast on a road by the ocean with the windows down.
or being mildly inebriated and playing frisbee.
i've actually not done either of those things to this band's music, but those are the feelings evoked.
i only have one of their albums, an older one from 1997,
but i love it. poking around while looking for links for this, i realized that their sound has gotten more electronic. nifty!
Favorite album: Tone Soul Evolution (1997)
Last FM


{ Architecture In Helsinki }
also awesome painting music. and cleaning the kitchen music.
and dancing wildly when i have the house to myself music. and if i still had my giant vanity mirror from my high school days- lip syncing music.
this is a very wonky band. and sort of addictive if you're in the right mood. words that come to mind when listening to this band: hot pink, moose, sideways & sugar.
Favorite Album - In Case We Die
Last FM - Youtube for 'Wishbone' & 'It's 5!'



{ The Beach Boys }
really, i have my interest in Animal Collective to thank for this - that and a couple of friends of mine having deep appreciation for these venerable melodic Californians.
in the past, the beach boys made my head hurt. not because of their style, but because of the lyrics. i really didn't mesh with the whole surfing usa thing. i didn't have a t-bird and i didn't care about high school. but then, thanks to my friends, i was given a chance to listen to the beach boys in a different spirit - as visionaries who in turn inspired bands that i actually liked. as snarky as that sounds, it is. but then i listened to Pet Sounds and Smile. in the right frame of mind - wow. seriously. sure, there's a sense of being stuck in the 50's / early 'square' 60's, but then if you really pay attention, it's all just a little tilted and strange. in a good and very fun way.
Favorite Albums: Smile & Pet Sounds
Last FM


{ Calvin Johnson }
wow, where to begin with Calvin?
there's a picture of him up in amj & i's room.
he & amj are synonymous in my mind - mostly because Calvin is one of amj's musical heroes. so amj & calvin = me getting quite familiar with calvin too.
which has been pretty much nothing but awesome.
there is something divinely offbeat and irresistible about him. he sings about love the way middle schoolers deal with their emotions - with innocence, misplaced intensity and a heaping amount of awkwardness that only seems adorable in retrospect. in short, i heart Calvin Johnson. seriously. i've been known to put on every album I have that features Calvin Johnson and let them all play until the lack of his deep off kilter voice is a shock in the silence that follows.
i've also been told that he only performs in odd venues,
like grocery stores and church basements. dreamy.
Favorite Album: Before The Dream Faded
Last FM - You Tube clip


{ Beat Happening }
/we'll come back for indian summer../
i heart Beat Happening. so much.
you've already read my rhapsody for Calvin,
but I will say that Beat Happening has it's own beautiful vibe.
I'll let the music speak for itself. <3 style="font-style: italic;">Favorite Albums: Black Candy, Dreamy, Jamboree, You Turn Me On
Last FM - You Tube: 'Cry for a Shadow' & 'Indian Summer'


{ Belle & Sebastian }
belle & sebastian flit into my life a couple years ago
when i was in a shop in montpelier looking for a winter hat.
i paused in my search and froze, ears pricked as 'If You're Feeling Sinister' moved it's way through my brain.
brilliant, witty and at times biting lyrics. i loved their voices and arrangement. really, i was in love.
then this summer i got a chance to wander through a friend of mine's music collection while everyone was still asleep. like a kid in a candy shop where no one will yell at you or ask for money, i filled amj's computer with anything that struck my fancy. 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' was one of the many albums that would come home with me and rock my world.
'Piazza, New York Catcher' was featured in Juno, and made way for a vast amount of video covers on Youtubes - some of them better than others, but no less entertaining.
Favorite Albums - If You're Feeling Sinister, Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Last FM - Youtube: 'Piazza, New York Catcher' & 'If She Wants Me'


{ Burial }
I literally just got to know this band,
and already it is deeply woven into me.
I was introduced to Burial by the track 'Archangel', which was included in a mix cd from a beautiful friend of mine(the one who I perused his music collection while the house was asleep).
Burial is considered to be somewhere between dubstep and electronic, which I think is a fair explanation.
I like mine better: smooth fire with deep motion walking in perfect sync with the changing of lights as hips and hands tangle to know the shape of paint and breath as seasons change to the tune of knowing.
Favorite Album: Untrue
Last FM


{Dub Narcotic Sound System }
another Calvin Johnson inclusive band,
but this time with a wild funk-rock vibe.
Monkey hips & rice.
Favorite Album: Boot Party
Last FM


{ Lasers in the Jungle }
Lasers in the Jungle is made up of my friend Brendan (at last! the 'friend' gets a name!) and his roommate Alex.
I heard their music before I got to know them, introduced by amj. And I was impressed. très impressed. Their sound is inspired by Animal Collective, but they definitely have a sound all their own - and it is a beautiful one. Smooth, trippy, energizing & challenging in all the right ways - Lasers in the Jungle became a treasured favorite album over the past months. I've passed it on to many of my friends, dropped their myspace link where I can. I think they deserve it, if only so people can download their first album(for free!) and know what I'm talking about! I heart Lasers in the Jungle. They make me happy when skies are grey.
Favorite Album: Lasers in the Jungle
Myspace - Youtube: 'Robust'


{ Mice Parade }
I found Mice Parade while wandering through the wonderland which is the 'sounds like' feature of Last FM.
I can't even remember what artist they were supposed to sound like. But I know that I love this band. It is the best chill cooking dinner, painting party with friends, having a long talk with music in the background music. It's subtle and friendly. There's no screaming or sudden harsh cacophonies (Mice Parade is great when my nerves can't handle Animal Collective but I'm in the mood for electronic music) - just dreamy beats.
Mice Parade makes me think of being on a train.
Trees, power lines, the backs of buildings, plastic bags stuck in trees, dogs in back yards & well timed flocks of sparrows.
Favorite Albums: All Roads Lead To Salzburg, Bem-Vinda Vontade, Mice Parade
Last FM


{Panda Bear }
Person Pitch changed my life.
There is no one element about that album that I can pin down as the source of it's magic. It is made of so many things. It came to me at just the right time, in just the right weather. It walked with as I got the mail, watched the seasons change. It was with me when I made my first tentative paintings earlier this year. Its dreamy, hypnotic vocals and heart-pulling rhythms charmed me more than I can describe.
On my way back from an amazing vacation on Naushon island, my friend Nick and I listened to Person Pitch on repeat for at least three hours. All those seaside New England towns. All that salt and sand tangled in my hair. All those tail lights and tall mast ships. Panda Bear is a blessing.
/when my soul starts glowing
when my soul starts growing
when my soul starts growing
I am as I want to be
and I know I never will stop growing/
Favorite Albums: Person Pitch, Young Player
Last FM - Youtube: 'Pony Tail'


{ Polaris }
after a recent dive back into the wonderful world of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, I got curious about the band behind the intro. Apparently they were actually a New Haven CT band called Miracle Legion, minus one member.
But they released one(?) album, which I've been enjoying for all of it's mid-90's awesome. Viva the spirit of Pete & Pete!
Last FM - Youtube: "Hey Sandy, Intro to Pete & Pete" "Hey Sandy (full version)"


{ Rafter }
After wandering through the catalog of artists featured on Asthmatic Kitty's label, I bumped into a contest to make a music video for Rafter's newest release Sweaty Magic EP.
Gritty, funky, and awesome to dance to.
Also good to wash dishes to. But be warned, you will get at least one of their songs stuck in your head. Damn ear worms.
Last FM - Youtube: 'Juicy' by Dax Norman'


{ She Keeps Bees }
Amj introduced me to She Keeps Bees about a year and a half ago. Having since seen them live, met and hugged Jess in person, my experience with this music has changed quite a bit.
I used to be a far angrier person - someone who believed that certain forms of loathing were healthy & normal. i'm happy to report that i've outgrown that for the most part. but you know, when i've just been doled a bitter spoonful of bad day, She Keeps Bees is exactly what I want to hear. She's a powerful force to be reckoned with, and it's good to be able to borrow some of that from time to time. I heart Jess, and I hope that life blooms less bitter in the future - but for now, she is damn eloquent & brilliant in her hell. She sings for the Persephone in all of us.
Favorite Albums: Mini Sink Hotel, Shhhh EP, Nests
Last FM - Myspace - Youtube: 'Cage Match' & 'Live at the Apt'


{Sigur Rós }
what can I say? Sigur Ros changed my life years ago
and continues to do so with every album they release.
From the first time I heard them, I was struck by the sheer amount of beauty and genius woven into their music.
They are at once angelic and very human. I've been known to refer to them as sounding elvish. They sing in a language of their own devising dubbed 'Hopelandic' - inspired by their native Icelandic. Their hypnotic use of vocals, drums, violins and other instruments is transporting and enlightening. I mean this. Sigur Ros and I spent a great deal of time together, through many lives within this life I've lived this time around. Green fields and blue skies. Rain collecting on a dark windowpane. Traveling. Lovers. Loss. Extraordinary growth in every way imaginable. Sigur Ros is an eloquent blessing to the heart in a world where the heart is so often and sadly overlooked. I've often thought that my idea of god could be expressed through the music of Sigur Ros. Now that says something.
Favorite Albums: Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (2008), Takk, Agaetis Byrjun, Untitled, ( )
Last FM - Youtube: 'Glosoli' & 'Hoppipola'


{The Shaggs }
I have amj to thank for The Shaggs, and thank him I do.
This quirky, bizarre band from the late 60's was made up of a group of sisters whose father was told by god that his family would become rich and famous if his daughters formed a rock and roll band. well, rich - not so much. famous? what does famous mean anyway? awesome? definitely! amj and i have spent a great amount of time praising their ability to play their instruments in insane beat patterns almost never heard anywhere else -and- sing -and- manage to form cohesive songs! we've tried to mimic their style, to no avail! I'm convinced that The Shaggs had super powers we can't even imagine.
Oh Foot Foot Where Are You??
Favorite Album: Philosophy of the World
Last FM - Youtube: 'Foot Foot'


{Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain
by Yann Teirsen }
this is the soundrack to the film Amelie.
if you haven't seen it, you truly should. whimsical, astoundingly touching & entirely real (at least to me) -
and that is how the works of Yann Teirsen struck me as well.
I have always loved the accordion, which Yann is a master of.
I found a child's accordion for sale in a junk shop in Burlington in March. Purple and marbled like a bowling ball, I was instantly in love. Something in me remembers how to play the accordion.. I just need to get my hands on a bigger one. Someday. But until then, I will keep my little one (named "Purple") singing, and I will keep dreaming to the beautiful songs from Amelie.
ps: Yann is gorgeous. <3 href="http://www.last.fm/music/Yann+Tiersen">Last FM - Youtube: 'Yann Teirsen - La Banquet'


{ Sufjan Stevens }
believe it or not, my amazing emotional journey with Sufjan Steven's music began with his album 'Enjoy Your Rabbit'.
If you aren't familiar with Sufjan's music, Rabbit is an experimental electronic album which is very, very loose and beautifully strange. I was told by amj when I found it in Pure Pop in Burlington that it was nothing like the album that 'Chicago' was from. At that point, I had only heard 'Chicago', and only covered by amj and maybe a couple of times off of Youtube. I was curious. We bought it, brought it home, popped it in the stereo .. and scary sounds came out. Eventually, I relaxed(?) into them and enjoyed them quite a bit. It was just the right kind of disonance I needed at the time. The right flavor of carnival chaos. But I was curious. I wanted to know where 'Chicago' came from, and why Sufjan seemed to have a vast following of pining fans.
Then I became one of them.
I fell in love with 'Come on and Feel the Illinoise'. In fact, I'm still in love.
I have been around the world and back with this album. Every song says something, every note, every breath. I feel like a teenager again with this album, hashing through heartaches, plumbing the depths of my consciousness for the how's and why's of my life. Letting people go. Letting new desires take their turn. It's been amazing.
/all things grow, all things grow/
Favorite Albums: Come on and Feel the Illinoise, Seven Swans, Enjoy Your Rabbit
Last FM - Youtube: 'Chicago (live)" & 'The Dress Looks Nice on You (live)' & 'Sister (live & short)' & 'Sister (live & long)'


{ Vampire Weekend }
do you want to jump up and down and eventually learn all the words you need to have some really catchy tunes stuck in your head for days, possibly weeks afterward? turn to Vampire Weekend! ever since amj introduced me to them earlier this year, they have been my rainy day choice to get stuff done and generally, well, jump up and down. sometimes i laugh when i listen closely to the lyrics, because they obvious are written by ivy league kids in new york city. but still i heart them.

Favorite Album: Vampire Weekend
Last FM - Youtube: 'A-Punk' & 'Oxford Comma' & 'Mansard Roof'