holding steady.™

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david byrne and fatboy slim created an amazing concept album. you can read about it here, and here.

now, go get it. and listen to it, over and over again.

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i’ve been extra-appreciative of the type of music that fits the mood of this really great spring weather we’ve been having lately (a post on this to follow). the entirety of the jack johnson catalogue always fits the bill there, as does that of kings of convenience. the most serene republic has been a beloved band for a while, but i was recently on a train for a while from NYC to new haven, connecticut, and somehow i ended up locked onto “…and the ever expanding universe.” gorillaz just released an album a couple of weeks ago, and i had never considered how much i like them until i heard it. and, to complete the roundup, i’ve been obsessed with the roots and stars for years, so there’s hardly a day that goes by that i don’t listen to at least one song by both groups.

as a throwback to my #songs-of-the-day phase, i thought i’d link to some songs by each artist that especially reflect a warm, sunny, relaxed sensibility. enjoy!

jack johnson, “wasting time“
kings of convenience, “boat behind“
moby, “downhill“
iron & wine, “red dust“
the most serene republic, “no one likes a nihilist“
gorillaz, “welcome to the world of the plastic beach (feat. snoop dogg & hypnotic brass ensemble“
stars, “the beginning after the end“
the roots, “act too (love of my life) (feat. common & queen latifah)“
BONUS: mos def, “history (feat. talib kweli)“

(inspired pretty directly by kitsune noir’s music monday feature) here’s what i’ve been listening to this week:

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i made this killer playlist a while back (i tend to do that when i have periods with a lot of work coming up), and let me tell you how LOUSY it is with songs by radiohead, moby and daft punk. i think i included each artist’s full catalogue, and i have to say, it’s been a productive few days.

i was in a really somber, sing-a-song-of-sixpence-and-heartbreak mood last week…and i suppose, if i’m honest, for like two years. ryan adams is an old stand-by, as far as male vocalists who manage to really convey haunting emotional trauma even while singing about prostitutes go.

listening to the roots actually came about because i was going through my pictures the other day, and saw a bunch of my shots from langerado (2008), where those guys performed one of the best live sets i’ve ever seen. one group that i still haven’t gotten to see live is tegan and sara. they’re coming into my area of the state pretty soon, but school and work are probably going to take precedence.

if you ever lived somewhere with routinely dreary weather, then you can understand why jack johnson consistently has a high play count for me. it’s not actually that depressing here, but we’ve been having a lot of overcast cold snaps in the past couple of months, including a nasty one this week. in fact, listening to local natives is a pretty good work-around for that as well. i had never heard of them before about two weeks ago, and gorilla manor is an out-of-control-good album, with tons of eccentric beats and jam-tastic vocals.

[cautionary tip: careful with listening to the album while parked at the scanner in the library. you may accidentally start singing along, and this will attract stares.]

to get through what can be a hellish workday, i created a working playlist based upon my top-rated songs from the following artists:

• alicia keys
• band of horses
• coconut records
• death cab for cutie
• hot chip
• jack johnson
• jenny lewis
• john mayer (for you, simon)
• lykke li
• metric
• mgmt
• moby
• modest mouse
• radiohead
• rilo kiley
• the roots
• ryan adams
• sam sparro
• stars
• tegan and sara
• the whitest boy alive

the result is nearly 600 songs, or over a day and a half of music that i happen to adore.

the favorite from today: sam sparro, “too many questions“

sam sparro