feist - the reminder
been listening to this since the leak, but only extensively in the last few weeks. her sound's become SO refined and focused since the already pretty damn great let it die. full of folky, indie pop charm, powered by feist's reflective warmth. for every tender, personal track (the water, how my heart behaves) there's the handclapping sing-songy past in present (there's so much past / inside my present) or the overwhelmingly infectious contemporary pop of my moon my man, which, if there's any justice in the world, should be her REAL breakout…

and here's what i think of it; track by track, then overall.

volta

01 earth intruders - album version turns out to sound subtlely different from the previously leaked versions, and i think it's for the best. Konono No1's presence is only accentuated in the finished production and that's a veryveryvery good thing. i fell in love with this song beforehand, and i'm moreso in love with it now that it has its little audial landscape plotted out in the context of the album. it's some kind of crazy brash announcement. an arrival, i guess. there's a really thick…

earth intruders (album version 4:22)

what a huge fucking sound.

on paper, this song should be a terrible mess. the chanting, the drums, the production, the beat, the stressed vocals. why does this work so god damn well then? obviously because the single most potent singer alive is peforming it. this wouldn't have worked in the throat of anyone else. it's her commitment and her magic that turn this track into one of the most eye opening bits of music i've heard in at least a year or so. the foreboding rhythm it opens with gave me this odd hint…

picking up from where i left off in my unfocused ramblings

so tonight that i might see
first time around i said i was behind the times. this album serves as a good indication of that fact, seeing as it was released in '93. i couldn't quite figure out how to label mazzy star off the bat. kind of downtempo pop rock. kind of trancey. kind of 60's soulful rock. apparently that's called dreampop. this is as good of a word as any i guess; it's almost lullaby music. tender in an eyes-half-open sort of way with just enough force…

breaks between semesters creates too much free time, but in between fits of boredom and binge drinking i managed to make good use of the vacation. followed through on some recommendations, some interests, and checked out some popular stuff from the Best of 2006 group on the site. i tend to fall behind new music with a lot of buzz behind it very easily, so this is akin to a caveman discovering assault rifles.

and now i'll spout off rapid fire opinions in the hopes of causing discussions and/or arguements. i basically threw everything into a playlist on its own…

of montreal consumes me this week.

i fell in love with a few songs from the new album right off the bat a while ago, namely the past is a grotesque animal and bunny ain't no kind of rider, but just in the last few days, i noticed that every god damn song on hissing fauna is pretty fucking incredible. typically i'm not the type to really listen to albums straight through after the first time, but i went against my nature here and wow.

it's just constructed so perfectly, transitioning from song to song musically and thematically. there's…

thieved from either a stranger i'm in love with or the being sent to destroy me, because i liked the idea so damn much and haven't done a journal in a few weeks. name the song based on the first lines, pulled randomly from hitting next on winamp.

1. apartment in new york, london and paris
where will we rest, we’re all living on top of it

2. you gave me your word then you took your word back
once i had faith, now all i see is black

3. i had a routine, i wonder what i'll do today…

how many chicks singing can i pull from my playlist before people start yelling at me for spamming? maybe this many.

björk / the sugarcubes
regina spektor
joanna newsom
rilo kiley / jenny lewis
imogen heap / frou frou
rasputina
yeah yeah yeahs
mates of state
esthero
lacuna coil
tegan and sara
metric / emily haines
m.i.a.
coco rosie
stars
kidneythieves / free dominguez
the mimsies
freezepop
feist
mirah
t.A.T.u.
vashti bunyan
pj harvey
cat power
eisley
new buffalo
tilly and the wall
azure ray
jem
theatre of tragedy
halo friendlies
lady sovereign
le tigre
annie
the cranberries
susie van…

but before i spill the things i mean to hide away
or gouge my eyes with platitudes of sentiment
i'll drown the urge for permanence and certainty
crouch down and scrawl my name with yours in wet cement
sounds familiar

you are the last drink i never should drunk
you are the body hidden in the trunk
you are the habit i can't seem to kick
you are my secrets on the front page every week
you are the car i never should have bought
you are the train i never should have caught
you are the cut that makes…

songs dominating winamp/ipod take 2 action

monkey & bear - amazing fucking balladic song by an amazing fucking singer. joanna's new album is such a different landscape from the first one but this one blows them all away. bizzare and beautiful and thesaurus

tear drop - ok so yeah mostly cos it's the theme to house but it's amazing on it's own and i wish that lady from the cocteau twins would do all of massive attack's material.

smiley faces - was my favourite track on the album when it came out. this song is made of happiness.

speak slow…