- Jeremy Messersmith's albums The Alcatraz Kid, The Silver City, and The Reluctant Graveyard: I see the term "chamber pop" thrown around a lot with JM's sound, and I have no idea what that means. I know that singer-songwriter Messersmith is clever, smart, talented, and writes the best sad-happy songs I've heard since we lost Elliot Smith. These three albums will always remind me of Summer 2011 (not to mention quite possibly my favorite concert experience ever, seeing Messersmith at Schuba's in Chicago in June on the night of the Naked Bike Ride).
- Bob Dylan The Essential Bob Dylan: I was raised on folk music. Sort of. Mostly, I was raised on the albums of John Denver (my mom was a fangirl back in the day) and oldies music stations. (I think my parents reasoned that oldies music was the least-offensive kind of radio for us to listen to as young kids, with which I pretty much agree.) There was always sort of a pooh-pooh attitude toward Dylan though, because of the way his voice sounds and his, ahem, lack of enunciation that has become his trademark. (My parents are both choral singers, so enunciation is key, which would explain this distaste for Dylan. However, my dad's a pretty big Sting fan, so I call foul.) Anyways, I finally put my foot in the Dylan door with this sampler of 30 songs (plus an extra download of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", because I love that song) and I'm loving it. The songs just put my mind at ease and makes me think of a simpler not-so-simple time.
- Bobby McFerrin's arrangement of the 23rd Psalm (from his album Medicine Music). This song has to be heard to be understood; my brief description here fails to do it justice. With a redrafting of the language to use feminine God-language and an all-male a cappella voicing, it's one of the simplest, most beautiful, uplifting modern psalmodies I've ever heard. Even if you're not Christian or religious, this song should be heard at least once for it's beautiful, haunting tonal qualities.
- The Wombat's "Techno Fan". Dance song of Summer 2011. Tells a great story, uses some fun lyrics, great beats, a great song to blast in your car as you're driving around the city.
Do you have any song/band/artist/music recommendations for me? I'd love to hear them. Especially if you have the new Bon Iver and you want to tell me how much you love it. I'm anxiously waiting for Friday (payday) so I can get it and spend all weekend lounging in it's luxe-ness.
That Bobby McFerrin piece is pretty awesome. Even for it's jazz choir arrangement and super-processed sounding vocals, the interpretation is really interesting and profound. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I have plenty of recommendations but most of them would be metal, or some derivation of metal. However, I do also listen to music that is not screamy and/or pseudo-satanic. I will limit this list to particularly "new" music as well:
Kurt Vile "Smoke Ring For My Halo" - Folkish singer/songwriter who sounds a bit like Lou Reed covering Elliott Smith's "Figure 8". Several standout songs with a few excessive indulgences. It's a great record to smoke cigarettes to, or to imagine yourself smoking cigarettes if they weren't so nasty.
Wye Oak "Civilian" - Wye Oak are a Baltimore based indie rock meets shoegaze duo with a drummer who plays both the drums and the basslines on a keyboard and a white chick singer with the voice of a black women. I've written about them a couple times on my site, including kind of recently (http://chasemacri.com/2011/07/12/wye-oak/). Their new record is really good.
Regarding the new Bon Iver. I think it's the best record of the year. Here's what others think: http://www.theawl.com/2011/06/adjectives-collected-from-six-reviews-of-the-new-bon-iver-album