Winter Hymns

To be honest, I haven't listened to Charlie Simpson for quite some time now. His debut album, Young Pilgrim, was great and all, but it got overplayed eventually. Nevertheless, there he is again with fresh material. Musically, it's nothing new, this road has been walked down many times before, but it's still quite pleasant, and as a long time fan of Charlie's, I'll always be interested in whatever he's up to. I only wonder if he's ever gonna release another album with Fightstar. Your thoughts?

Five Star Songs: Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)

Tonight, I'm gonna share with you a song, that's been stuck in my head for these past few days.

When Melanie Safka, a twenty-two-year-old singer from New York and a prettier version of Carrie Fischer, was walking up the stage at Woodstock at 10:50pm on the first day of the festival, she was pretty much unknown. Half an hour later, she went down as a celebrity. During her set, people started lighting candles and lighters to fight the rain that had been falling. It must've been a powerful view to behold. Melanie later wrote a song about that experience and released it as a single from her third album, Candles in the Rain, in 1970. It became her breakthrough hit, reaching top ten on charts all around the world.

This is one of the best songs ever written about the festival. It's up there with Joni Mitchell's Woodstock and its cover by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The gospel chorus is what really gets me, I just can't get enough of it. Your thoughts?

Five Star Songs: Ballad of Easy Rider

It was only a matter of time before one of The Byrds' songs appeared here. I just didn't know which. Many of the band's songs hold the five star rating in my library, and it's too difficult to pick only one. Well, at least it was before I stumbled across the wiki page of the song Ballad of Easy Rider, featured prominently in the film Easy Rider, and set my eyes on the following paragraph.

The star and script writer of Easy Rider, Peter Fonda, had initially intended to use Bob Dylan's song "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" in the film but after failing to license the track, Fonda asked Roger McGuinn of The Byrds to record a cover version of the song instead. Fonda also wanted Dylan to write the film's theme song but Dylan declined, quickly scribbling the lines - "The river flows, it flows to the sea/Wherever that river goes, that's where I want to be/Flow, river, flow" - on to a napkin, before telling Fonda to "give this to McGuinn. He'll know what to do with it." The lyric fragment was dutifully passed on to McGuinn, who took the lines and expanded upon them with his own lyrical and musical contributions to produce the finished song.

I think it's an interesting fact from making one of the quintessential films of the New Hollywood era, and it gives an idea about the relationship between Dylan and The Byrds.

I've been listening to the band all day. All twelve studio albums arranged chronologically, played front to back. It makes up for over seven hours of incredible listening experience. Right now, I think I like The Byrds a little bit more then every other band, including the Fab four.

Great White Pirate Wonder

Today at work, while browsing the music news on Pitchfork, I stumbled across an article from last September about Bob Dylan's famous 1969 album, Great White Wonder. I say famous, but the truth is I've never heard of it before, and it might've as well stayed hidden for anyone who isn't a die-hard Dylan enthusiast or who's knowlege of the folk singer's discography starts and ends with his biggest classics. (I may be just guessing.)

The reason why Great White Wonder is famous and significant, beside being a Dylan album, is that, at the peak of the vinyl era, it represented the beginning of the piracy phenomenon in the music bussiness. In today's words, it was one of the first leaks ever.

"While history records Great White Wonder as rock's first widely circulated bootleg, underground releases of its ilk are like the cool uncle of the digital leak."

The article starts with the emergence and history of the bootleg, which then waited six more years to be released in the usual manner, and at the end turns into a contemplation about piracy, its origin and present state. If you're interested, I highly recommend reading the whole thing, it won't take you more than half an hour. It is really an engaging piece of journalism.

...

In related news, the amount of piracy in Norway has fallen significantly. Perhaps there is a way after all. If only Amazon, Spotify and others would remove their country restrictions for Czech Republic. Something like Netflix would come in handy too. Whining and filing nonsensical lawsuits isn't the answer.

Christopher Owens: Lysandre

First of all, I have to confess that I didn't know Christopher Owens nor was I familiar with his band Girls before the release of his debut solo album. I had little to no idea what to expect and the only thing that made me listen to it was the reviews on pretty much every musical website I follow. It appeared to me that the man must be quite an important and interesting figure to the indie scene.

Well, I soon learned that Girls had released two well-regarded full-lengths and one extended play which gained them considerable fan following. Thus, it was obvious that it would be rather difficult for Owens to step out of his former band's shadow. I'll leave up the question, whether he did or not, to more eligible people, but I certainly won't try to hide my enthusiasm for this particular record...

With its running time of meagre 29 minutes, Lysandre might be the shortest concept album I've ever encountered. And it's a fun ride from start to finish. Consisting of eleven tracks, it is rather fast-paced, deeply emotional, uplifting, quite refreshing and also heavy on flute. It is, surprisingly, about a girl, and, as Owens himself put it, "a coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story", which pretty much says it all.

The record is tied together by the beautiful Lysandre's theme, which appears in various arrangements in most of the songs, and gets me every single time. With his newly acquired freedom, Owens is keen to experiment with all kinds of instruments, although he never really wanders outside the indie pop/folk territory. And it's also immediately clear, that, like with Girls, Owens stays true to the aesthetics of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Lysandre is, without a doubt, one of the pleasant highlights of the beginning of the year and it shouldn't go unnoticed by any avid indie pop listener.

Best tracks: Here We Go, Love is in the Ear of the Listener, Part of Me

A bunch of new music videos...

First, let's kick off with the French indie pop band Phoenix, who reached international fame with their latest record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The band will continue its quest for world domination with their next album, Bankrupt, that comes out on April 22nd.

Then, we have The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Yeah, I completely forgot they were still a band too. But I recall quite well how much I enjoyed their song Face Down back in the day when I used to be into post-hardcore. Well, it's actually not heavy at all, but it's still pretty good. They will be releasing a new EP that will be produced by David Bendeth (producer of Don't You Fake It) which is due out March 15th.

And finally, some new She and Him. Volume 3 comes out on May 7th.

Jake Bugg

After reading NME's top 50 albums of the year, I decided to listen to the bands I had not heard of before.  There was one artist who really stuck out and I have just fallen in love with, and that is Jake Bugg.  His self-titled album was ranked #9 on their list.  The genre is folk/country and to me that is partially right.  His sound reminds me of some oldies and I think that is the main appeal.  It's a sound that has been done, but he adds his own touch to it.  Listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

Here's his music video for, "Two Fingers."

However, I do love the tracks "Seen it All" and "Note to Self."

Presenting: Nick Drake

For Marry. I'll just throw in a couple of videos and then write some description later... There's the link to Drake's Wikipedia profile.





My personal favourite from The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, Fly from his sophomore album, Bryter Layter.

The Very Best Of The Byrds

Although I've been a huge fan of The Byrds for over a year, it wasn't until recently, that I have finally "acquired" all of the band's studio albums. This whole time, I was spinning their 1997 best of compilation almost constantly, and it gradually became one of my all time favourite CDs.

Notice the trademark glasses of the frontman Roger McGuinn :)

I haven't grown tired of the band's versions of the Dylan's classics, for which they became famous in the first place, such as their first single ever Mr. Tambourine Man, or Pete Seeger's adaptation of the Book of Ecclesiastes Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) featured prominently on the Forrest Gump soundtrack. The Byrds crafted some of the best covers in the history of rock music. With richer intrumentation and Roger McGuinn's distinctive vocals, they had the ability to take those already brilliant songs to a whole new level. Not to speak about their originals, such as I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better, Chestnut Mare or perhaps the first proper psychedelic rock anthem Eight Miles High.

Not unlike The Beatles, The Byrds introduced a unique amount of talent in each of its members. Most of whom found new success in their subsequent careers and inspired countless musicians of the generations that followed. Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) or Gram Parsons were all highly influential personas in the genres of psychedelic rock, country rock and folk.

The band's unmistakable sound owed a lot to Roger McGuinn's jangly guitar, the twelve-string Rickenbacker. The main reason I was hooked instantly, though, were the ethereal melodies. The Byrds were masters at crafting them, and were true equals to their contemporaries, The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

The CD is a selection of 27 songs from the first five years of the band's career (1965 to 1970) and really doesn't miss anything essential. Although the band's style changed significantly over the course of the years, from blending the folk revival and Beatlesque rock to psychedelia and country, the whole compilation still feels like a cohesive album. I'd even go as far and say that The Very Best of The Byrds is what "1" was to The Beatles. The ultimate collection. I'd strongly recommend it to anyone with at least a vague interest in the '60s music. (Or anyone, who still thinks today's indie folk rock bands do something special.)

Well, I had to get this out of my system. Since the first time I heard Turn! Turn! Turn! to this day, my love and respect for The Byrds have been only growing. They are one of the reasons why the music of the '60s was the best. And that's not an opinion, it's a fact.

Born and Raised

Remember the time before st. tropez started his journey into the history of '90s and '00s music? There was an album we all talked about and were looking forward to... Yes, the latest John Mayer effort. Here are my thoughts. Don't consider this to be a proper review, though, because I'm no John Mayer expert...

Firstly, I just love the artwork.

Anyways, half a year ago, I wasn't exactly a John Mayer fan. The amount of praise his albums were getting repelled the little hipster in me. Besides, this solo singer/songwriter stuff was never my cup of tea. But then a friend of mine forced me to actually give his albums a shot and I did. Well, I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to give it a few spins and enjoy it for the while. Then suddenly, as the release date of his new album approached, I found myself looking forward to Born & Raised.

It's the folkier sound which I find most appealing about the new album. Many great musicians go folk eventually, and hardly ever there comes anything bad out of it. This isn't the case either. Although it wasn't that big of a change for Mayer as he still stays clearly recognisable and never wanders outside his own niche...



...with a notable exception, of course. The song Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967, as st. tropez already mentioned, isn't like anything we ever heard from Mayer. So let's give the man some credit for that. It's a fantastic song. If only he did something like that more often, because it shows everything I miss in the rest of Mayer's music. If only I knew how to put it in words... Stronger melodies? More passion? Probably. Nevertheless, when Mayer hits the strings, you know it's always worth the time. In the end, this is an all-around great record and the folkier sound shouldn't put anybody off.

Best tracks: Queen of California, Shadow Days, Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967

Queen of California

Listen to the new John Mayer song. His next album, Born and Raised is due out May 22. To read a track-by-track review, head over to st. tropez's blog.

Presenting: The Tower and The Fool

It's not often a disc comes along that moves me from start to finish. As I sit here trying to recall, I am hard-pressed to think that the last CD that struck me this hard was The Dangerous Summer's Reach For The Sun. Sure, other releases like Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra strike me for awhile, but the lasting value in minimal and the songs became just that, songs. They don't carry their emotion from listen to listen throughout the days/months/years.

The Tower and The Fool released their first EP in 2010. Drawing influence from artists like Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Counting Crows, the band pushed forth in 2011 to record their first full-length with ex-Hot Rod Circuit member Mike Poorman on drums, and a few other members covering everything from slide guitar to the ivory. Over the year, they wrote, recorded, and produced what would become their first full-length, How Long, released on Run For Cover Records. With a week of listening under my belt, I can't promise that it will be one of those long lasting CDs like The Dangerous Summer, but after first listen, my heart felt like it did when I first heard Reach For The Sun, which is a good indication that this CD has lasting value for me. So, for clarities sake, I will pencil it in as a lasting listen, but due to time restraint and minimal time with the disc, I won't ink it yet. 

With a dose of Ryan Adams-indie-twang mixed with the feel of The Horrible Crows, lyrical content that is heavily influenced by Adam Duritz, and vocals, at times, reminiscent of AJ from The Dangerous Summer, this disc has won me over. It is one hell of a sad record, but sad in a good way. It's not depressing, it's just heartbreaking. Songs of lost love, songs of anguish, songs of brokenness, songs of relationships. The band has started to gain a notice on absolutepunk, being featured as an ABSOLUTExlusive, gaining praise from staff members and reviewers, and threads filled with listeners who are blown away by the bands work and claiming to as a early candidate for many AOTY lists. I encourage everyone to give this disc a listen from front to back, then again and again and again. It is powerful, and it seems like every new spin, I discover something else golden. Below is a stream of the CD, available courtesy of Bandcamp.

Personal favorites: "Dive Bar", "How Long", "Breach", "Scoliosis", "My Heart is Dead in NYC"

Farmer & His Gun

...and in case you missed it, there's the new music video from Charlie Simpson's latest single, Farmer & His Gun.

Charlie Simpson Unplugged

Watch Charlie Simpson perform an unplugged version of the song Farmer & His Gun from his debut solo album.

Cemetery

Charlie Simpson's new music video.

Young Pilgrim

Finally, we've been given a chance to listen to the much anticipated Charlie Simpson's debut album, so it struck me wondering why we still don't have a single post or even a label dedicated to him. Well, here it is. Express your love in the comments. What do you think of the album, which are your favourite tracks?

One thing is certain, though. The man sure loves walking...

The Decemberists

Wow, indie really is the new mainstream. The Decemberists' new record The King Is Dead only confirmed the fact, by selling more than 93 thousand copies in its first week and making it to the top spot on the Billboard 200. Congrats to the band, which I hadn't know before. Shame on me. The new record is great.



Band's MySpace

The Monday Mornings

I stumbled across their video today and instantly liked them. Even though I don't usually listen to folk. The band is a brainchild of singer/songwriter Michael Mearns, but it also features ex-members of Lydia or The Fall of Troy. Perhaps an unlikely combination, but it works very well. The Monday Mornings are set to release a new album Fireweed Parade this January.



Band's MySpace

Tired Pony

There is a band I discovered just today...

"Tired Pony is a new supergroup, led by Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody and featuring Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Richard Colburn of Belle and Sebastian. If the band's actual lineup didn't have enough starpower already, debut album The Place We Ran From also features contributions from folks like M. Ward, Editors frontman Tom Smith, and some lady named Zooey Deschanel." (Pitchfork)

Band's MySpace
Band's YouTube channel
Official website

Conan, the Musician

Whether you're on team Coco or not, I hope you'll enjoy these videos.

Sparkle's little indie corner

If I have one subject I would like to talk about it's the TV show "The OC", created By Josh Schwartz. This TV show has changed my life really. First time of my life I was addicted to a TV show; first time I was opening a computer; first time I was hearing from bands I totally fall in love with. If I have to make a selection of my favorite OC songs will have choose these ones.

The Killers
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song



Coldplay

Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
Never heard about Coldplay after the OC episode went to buy all the albums !!!!

Death Cab for Cutie
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song



Finley Quaye Ft Beth Orton
Dilandau Song
One of my favourite OC song.



Rachael Yamagata
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
I have searched who was singing this song everywhere because I was in love with it and I found it. I am stubborn as you know.



South
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
Used to listen to it in circles
Dilandau Song





Lou Barlow
Band's Myspace
Band's Myspace
This song thrilled me



Mazzy Star
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song



Jem
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song



Ryan Adams
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
Even if you're not a romantic kind this song is making change your mind Tribute to Oasis.



The Midway State
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song



Joseph Arthur
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
This song is at a very touchy moment of the TV show and it's exactly the song I will have choose.


Youth Group
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
Was having Alphaville album quiet the same interpretation Alphaville is an old band for old like me but you can check them out Band's Myspace



Aqualung
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
Aqualung has a special place in my heart. Memory Man is an awesome album.



Patrick Park
Band's Myspace
Dilandau Song
The last song of the TV show the one that makes me cry everytime I am listening my girly way. As it's the last song of the show will be the last song of my selection.



Jeff Buckley
Artist's MySpace
Dilandau Link



A very very very special thanks to Lenwë that will post all this for me. And a special dedicace to my Angel Care that used to provide me all the OC songs it was thousand years ago....