Half Gone 2013 (or maybe ...lost but not forgotten)

[Davey]

Hilarious!

I'm reading the list marveling at how fun and cool and in tune with what I like it is with no clue that it was posted by our old buddy maf. Man being over 50 is a *****. How do you recall this stuff Davey?

That is a riot

I do still have a decent memory, and I did recall recommending that Rickie Lee Jones Volcano EP around here, and I was just listening to it lately which is why I tossed that track up to the song of the day link that Snowbunny was perusing, and so after I read her post I did a google and the later thread below showed up first (which you'd never guess based on the title, but threads used to go off topic all over the place here), but it also included the link to that maf guy's old thread ... so it's really just google turning a little ghost of an old memory into something real, not so much me.

Pitchforkmedia.com's Top 50 for 2005

[Snowbunny]

I've come to the realization that I suck at picking music.

Recently, I bought a couple of new albums online, by two Malaysian-born artists, Zee Avi and Yuna. Both are a little better than okay.

So why can't I find artists like Patty Griffin on my own? After listening to Davey's pick, Ohio, I happened upon one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I've heard in a long time, Not Alone.

Not Alone (Acoustic Version)

She sees him laying in the bed alone tonight
The only thing a touching him is a crack of light
Pieces of her hair are wrapped around and 'round his fingers
And he reaches for her side, for any sign of her that lingers

And she says you are not alone
Laying in the light
Put out the fire in your head
And lay with me tonight...

And what is her connection with Robert Plant?

[Snowbunny]

Hilarious!

I'm reading the list marveling at how fun and cool and in tune with what I like it is with no clue that it was posted by our old buddy maf. Man being over 50 is a *****. How do you recall this stuff Davey?

Heheheheh... ELT, you goofball!

Being a fellow member of the 1/2 Century Club, I'm trying to fill in the blank in your quote:

Being over 50 is a shock? A dream? I always liked that maf guy.

[Davey]

LOVING the band, Hiss Golden Messenger.

But feels like a guilty pleasure somehow. Am I listening to Christian Rock? I see they're from N. Carolina, is that a bible belt state?

Whatever! The lead singer's voice is deep and growlie and how can I not like a song called, "Jesus Shot Me In the Head"?

This latest one from HGM will surely be one of the very best albums this year. Extremely high quality music. I was talking about it recently in another thread here (just searched and it is here, but I see you were there too soon after that post, so I guess that might be called a nevermind ).

Anyway, love this record. Love Bless You too by their previous incarnation. Given enough exposure, I would probably love just about anything these guys do, I'm kinda easy when the sound is right. And I do have a few more that still need some of that extended exposure, but "Haw" is just the best. And while the CD leaves a bit to be desired because of the needless compression applied, especially compared to the very nice sounding "Bless You" (which goes back to the turn of the century), I've a feeling the vinyl of this one is very nice, as is "Bless You". And as a matter of fact, I just ordered it, along with a few other recent and upcoming vinyl releases ...

Haw

• by Hiss Golden Messenger
• Format: Vinyl LP

Surrounded

• by Richard Buckner
• Format: Vinyl LP
• Pre-Order available on 09/03/2013

Stitches

• by Califone
• Format: Vinyl LP
• Pre-Order available on 09/03/2013

Loud City Song

• by Julia Holter
• Format: Vinyl LP

Tales of a GrassWidow

• by CocoRosie
• Format: Vinyl LP

[Snowbunny]

This latest one from HGM will surely be one of the very best albums this year. Extremely high quality music. I was talking about it recently in another thread here (just searched and it is here, but I see you were there too soon after that post, so I guess that might be called a nevermind ).

Anyway, love this record. Love Bless You too by their previous incarnation. Given enough exposure, I would probably love just about anything these guys do, I'm kinda easy when the sound is right. And I do have a few more that still need some of that extended exposure, but "Haw" is just the best. And while the CD leaves a bit to be desired because of the needless compression applied, especially compared to the very nice sounding "Bless You" (which goes back to the turn of the century), I've a feeling the vinyl of this one is very nice, as is "Bless You". And as a matter of fact, I just ordered it, along with a few other recent and upcoming vinyl releases ...

Haw

• by Hiss Golden Messenger
• Format: Vinyl LP

Surrounded

• by Richard Buckner
• Format: Vinyl LP
• Pre-Order available on 09/03/2013

Stitches

• by Califone
• Format: Vinyl LP
• Pre-Order available on 09/03/2013

Loud City Song

• by Julia Holter
• Format: Vinyl LP

Tales of a GrassWidow

• by CocoRosie
• Format: Vinyl LP

I may just have to buy that Haw myself. I really enjoy that "sound". Not sure what the genre would be called, but other bands like the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons have a similar sound. (It looks like it might be defined as "Roots" music.)

I have, and really enjoy, The Lumineers self-titled first album, but for some reason, Mumford and Sons has never appealed to me.

I'll be interested to see some reviews of Califone's - Stitches, and I really like the video for the song on your Half-Gone by Ed Harcourt. Do you have the entire album, and if so, what do you think?

Snowie

[Davey]

I may just have to buy that Haw myself. I really enjoy that "sound". Not sure what the genre would be called..

Loosely alt-country, but the songs are so mysterious and evocative, makes it hard to easily characterize. Country, rock, soul, folk, gospel, I just let it flow around me and don't think about it all that much. Nice getaway, like some faraway beach...

... and I really like the video for the song on your Half-Gone by Ed Harcourt. Do you have the entire album, and if so, what do you think?

Good record, pretty much just Ed and a nice piano (and sometimes a guitar) live in the studio. In this case, the one on Abbey Road. Very nice sound, good dynamics. Probably more a treat for fans than a grab for new ones. I like it a lot, but wouldn't be something I'd recommend to just anyone. That out of the way, you are obviously not "just anyone", so I would highly recommended it to you, but be forewarned that it could take a while before you realize how good it is. Something below from another big fan, Tony Van Dorston at fastnbulbous.com ...

Ed Harcourt – Back Into The Woods
Ed Harcourt has been the most consistently great singer-songwriter of the past 13 years, no contest, and it pisses me off that everyone doesn’t recognize it. The most press he got was probably after his 2001 debut Here Be Monsters, when the young 22 year-old musician already had hundreds of songs written. Influenced by Bowie, Waits and Buckley, he only got better since then. Rather than overwhelm his audience with a slew of releases, he kept the quality control standards high and stuck to a release schedule of an album every few years, each one as impressive as the last. Not counting EPs and limited self-releases, this is his sixth album, another must hear for anyone not completely satisfied by the output of Rufus Wainwright and Patrick Wolf.

And what you love most I could well destroy
Because the pretty girls always fall for the baddest boys...
The pretty girls always fall for the baddest boys

[jonnyhambone]

I'm also on the Hiss Golden Messenger bandwagon!...the vinyl is very nice, lush sound with little compression and a warmth that lends itself nicely to the country-gospel-roadhouse vibe. I've talked up the collaboration they did with guitarist Steve Gunn earlier this year 'round here too - nicely titled, Golden Gunn. It's a bit more late night, juke-box, AM radio feel to it but certainly in a similar vein to the Haw release. Both releases are definitely two of my faves from this year.
Otherwise, I tried the new Julia Holter after adoring her Extasis lp last year, but it seems a bit too 'Bjork via Broadway musical' to me...maybe deserves a few more tries.
On the other hand, the new Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe, is utterly entrancing to me. She does very ethereal, almost church choir-sounding, vocals that she sings and loops over ambient sound collages. On this new one, she recorded with some of the Sigur Ros crew at an actual studio in Iceland (as opposed to her previous lp's recorded in her bedroom), with lots of beautiful reverb and atmospheric contributions from other people and from the spaces they recorded in (like next to the outdoor empty pool at the Sigur Ros recording studio with a choir of Icelandic elementary school girls singing backing...!). Very pretty thing that I can't get enough of lately.

Otherwise, in two sides of a musical spectrum, two other absolute highlights of 2013 so far for me are Deafheaven, Sunbather and Daniel Romano, Come Cry With Me.
Deafheaven is three guys who play some pretty heavy deathmetal-style stuff, screaming vocals and big chords but with the subtlety and atmosphere of a post-rock group like Godspeed You! Black Emperor. If I'm not in the right mood it's too much and feels contrived but mostly, I can't get enough of this album.
Daniel Romano is a Canadian dude who sings like a Canuck Hank Williams Sr. Great instrumentation and overall sound, whiskey-soaked and heartfelt country from someone who listened to enough Gram Parsons and George Jones to get it, and did it in their own way...
Daniel Romano - " A New Love (Can Be Found)" [American Songwriter] - YouTube

[Davey]

On the other hand, the new Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe, is utterly entrancing to me. She does very ethereal, almost church choir-sounding, vocals that she sings and loops over ambient sound collages. On this new one, she recorded with some of the Sigur Ros crew at an actual studio in Iceland (as opposed to her previous lp's recorded in her bedroom), with lots of beautiful reverb and atmospheric contributions from other people and from the spaces they recorded in (like next to the outdoor empty pool at the Sigur Ros recording studio with a choir of Icelandic elementary school girls singing backing...!). Very pretty thing that I can't get enough of lately.

Thanks, hadn't heard of her before but sounds interesting. On the Dead Oceans label with Califone and Phosphorescent and a few others I like.

[Snowbunny]

Loosely alt-country, but the songs are so mysterious and evocative, makes it hard to easily characterize. Country, rock, soul, folk, gospel, I just let it flow around me and don't think about it all that much. Nice getaway, like some faraway beach...

Good record, pretty much just Ed and a nice piano (and sometimes a guitar) live in the studio. In this case, the one on Abbey Road. Very nice sound, good dynamics. Probably more a treat for fans than a grab for new ones. I like it a lot, but wouldn't be something I'd recommend to just anyone. That out of the way, you are obviously not "just anyone", so I would highly recommended it to you, but be forewarned that it could take a while before you realize how good it is. Something below from another big fan, Tony Van Dorston at fastnbulbous.com ...

Ed Harcourt – Back Into The Woods
Ed Harcourt has been the most consistently great singer-songwriter of the past 13 years, no contest, and it pisses me off that everyone doesn’t recognize it. The most press he got was probably after his 2001 debut Here Be Monsters, when the young 22 year-old musician already had hundreds of songs written. Influenced by Bowie, Waits and Buckley, he only got better since then. Rather than overwhelm his audience with a slew of releases, he kept the quality control standards high and stuck to a release schedule of an album every few years, each one as impressive as the last. Not counting EPs and limited self-releases, this is his sixth album, another must hear for anyone not completely satisfied by the output of Rufus Wainwright and Patrick Wolf.

And what you love most I could well destroy
Because the pretty girls always fall for the baddest boys...
The pretty girls always fall for the baddest boys

Hey Danger Davey,

Sounds like my kinda album. It always surprises me when I go away for a while, and come back, artists like Harcourt are just chugging along, no more or less popular than before.

But then again, I guess I'm happy for his fans that he doesn't get eaten by the popular music monsters.

Listening to some happy, upbeat stuff right now, after dealing with a terrifying accident in the family. Let's just say that "stop, drop & roll" isn't always the best advice!

Can you guess what's playing . . .

As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for

And this is the room
One afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go

Of course, based on most of the lyrics, it might not read as a happy, joyful song.

[Slosh]

Not really a Dodos fan but did you see they have a new album out? New Califone next week is the first album in many months that I'm looking forward to. Not much new stuff this year so far that has any staying power for me. Good thing I have other hobbies too. Replaced my 10 year old Mazda daily driver with this in May...
Still have my Challenger. Now I drive nothing but muscle cars

[Snowbunny]

Not really a Dodos fan but did you see they have a new album out? New Califone next week is the first album in many months that I'm looking forward to. Not much new stuff this year so far that has any staying power for me. Good thing I have other hobbies too. Replaced my 10 year old Mazda daily driver with this in May...
Still have my Challenger. Now I drive nothing but muscle cars

Pretty car! You good in chemistry, by any chance?

I was just thinking about you. Oh Comely was on the playlist. And I'm still strangely attracted/repulsed by the lyrics. Pretty brave rec for a guy.

Although now that I think of it, I may have got it from the late Ms.Nomer.

Snowie

[Slosh]

You good in chemistry, by any chance?

No, but I have been watching Breaking Bad. My favorite current show by far is Justified. Too bad about Elmore Leonard. I wonder if they'll continue with the series?

Okay, so I really have nothing to add to this thread.

[Swish]

Hey Danger Davey,

Sounds like my kinda album. It always surprises me when I go away for a while, and come back, artists like Harcourt are just chugging along, no more or less popular than before.

But then again, I guess I'm happy for his fans that he doesn't get eaten by the popular music monsters.

Listening to some happy, upbeat stuff right now, after dealing with a terrifying accident in the family. Let's just say that "stop, drop & roll" isn't always the best advice!

Can you guess what's playing . . .

As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for

And this is the room
One afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go

Of course, based on most of the lyrics, it might not read as a happy, joyful song.

Oh, guess I did.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Not really a Dodos fan but did you see they have a new album out? New Califone next week is the first album in many months that I'm looking forward to. Not much new stuff this year so far that has any staying power for me. Good thing I have other hobbies too. Replaced my 10 year old Mazda daily driver with this in May...
Still have my Challenger. Now I drive nothing but muscle cars

Nice Slosh, I got back in the muscle car scene in July with this.

[Slosh]

My girlfriend keeps joking her next car will be a Camaro SS so we'll then have all three of current muscle cars. She'll actually probably buy some sort of small SUV since unlike me she can't take off of work due to bad weather (she works in a cardiac ward at one of the big hospitals around here). Hey, someone around here needs to have a practical car and it sure isn't going to be me!

I've yet to drive a Camaro. Not sure why yet as I know a couple of people that have them. I wasn't actually looking to buy a Mustang GT but I stumbled across this one for a too-good-to-pass-up price. My Challenger R/T is fast but the Mustang is an absolute beast. I now actually look forward to driving to work. Having a fun-to-drive car (or two) is a big quality of life thing for me, considering how many hours I end up driving each week.

No new music I can talk about right now so I'll shut up and leave this thread alone.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Yeah we don't want to get accused of hijacking the thread.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Did I tell you I have a ticket to see them on their reunion tour in January?

So DO I! I haven't been this excited to see a show since I had tickets to Wire in '85ish.