Today’s tracks are ones introduced to me by a fellow Mountain House resident, Mr. Jon Perry. Jon is someone I consider a luminary of our generation. He is constantly working on something new and creative, and his enthusiasm gives me continual cause to reexamine my own passions. These are but three of the many bands he has recommended to me over the years.
Andrew Bird – Sovay [play][buy]
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Such a gentle song, one that would fit well in a well-meaning indie film. Definitely indie, with the suicide reference. There have been some t.v. ads lately that use a chopped up version of a song from later on in the album, and a song I like, but this song is the whole album wrapped into four minutes. Andrew Bird was a revelation to me, someone who sounds a little like Rufus Wainwright, but with whistling, keyboards, and violin. Its tough to hear from this song, but Bird is first and foremost a violin player. He was trained in a way I want to train my own kids, the Suzuki method, with his instrument placed in his hands at one year old, learning to play music while learning to speak english. Enough rambling for me, go play ride of the Valkyries.
The Denver Gentlemen – Blue Parrot[play][buy]
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Heh heh heh. This album is amazing, its dirty, its lonesome, its a little scary, like a skeleton shuffling across the floor in a slow waltz with the open air. The legend of the band is that they were only together for one night when they recorded this album, and they’ve never met again. Now that’s not entirely true, since AllMusic places certain members together before that fateful night, but its not a stretch of the imagination to picture the band hacking away at the various parts of each newly minted song until it fits with the atmosphere of the evening. The songs call to mind lamplight, injured racehorses, all things 1800′s and perhaps some gin and tonics mixed by a pirate. Amazing.
The Notwist – Solitaire[play][buy]
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I’m not sure if the band would care, but for the first year I had this album, I called them The No Twist. They’re german, and so its pronounced Not Veist. Either way, they’re interesting storytellers. This is my second favorite song on the album, and it gives me a buzz just to hear it. It calls to mind for me two young japanese kids, half steampunk, half gothic lolita, wandering the streets of Tokyo, with their feet NEVER TOUCHING THE GROUND. Strange ones they are, with heads in the black clouds, filling their silent eyes with soft, lovely music. I wish I was more like them.