song of the day: may 30/2011

The Weakerthans ~ Left and Leaving
Album: Left and Leaving [2000]

from winnipeg's more punk propagandhi, john samson followed a more melodic and introspective path while retaining much of the politics for the weakerthans follow up to their 1998 debut, "fallow". constructed of vignettes of precise moments in time and place which manage nonetheless to speak volumes, "left and leaving" deftly mixes social commentary with folk and punk rock. this is an intelligent, literate album, and lyrically, samson comes off as a wordsmith that could draw comparisons to the likes of elvis costello or ron sexsmith. the album is never heavy-handed, but simply illustrative of another way of life, the path not chosen or hopefully avoided. the title track is a departure from their work musically, as it's got a much slower pace, the kind that fits walking at night. again, the lyrics are what stand out the most.

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song of the day: may 29/2011

Beirut - Scenic World
Album: Lon Gisland EP [2007]

one of 2006's most unexpected indie success stories, beirut combines a wide variety of styles, from pre-rock pop music and eastern european gypsy styles to indie folk and lo-fi, homemade psychedelic experimentation. at the heart of this sonic hybrid was a teenager from albuquerque, a fact that made beirut's debut album, "gulag orkestar", all the more surprising. something of a musical prodigy, multi-instrumentalist zach condon began making one-man bedroom recordings in his early teens; while conducting interviews several years later, he claimed to have recorded an entire album of 1950s-style doo wop material and a collection of electronic pop songs inspired by the magnetic fields. after dropping out of high school, condon claims to have traveled through europe at the age of 16, in the process becoming exposed to the folk and gypsy music that's at the heart of his debut. back home in albuquerque, he crossed paths with fellow new mexican jeremy barnes, formerly of neutral milk hotel, and together they worked on the sound of beirut. condon recorded the songs that would make up "gulag orkestar" largely on his own, playing accordion, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, mandolin, ukulele, horns, glockenspiel, and percussion. following its release in May 2006, critical approbation quickly moved from the smallest blogs to mainstream media outlets that pegged condon as a one-man cross between jeff mangum, conor oberst, and sufjan stevens. the EP "lon gisland" followed in 2007, leading up to the full-length "the flying club cup" later that year. there are two versions of the song "scenic world". the version on his debut uses a keyboard to generate the instrumenation, while this second take, from the EP, contains lots of strings. both are great in their own right, especially the end of the song which can help to soundtrack your daydreaming - "when i feel alive, i'll try to imagine a careless life / a scenic world where the sunsets are all breathtaking.

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song of the day: may 28/2011

Devendra Banhart - I Remember
Album: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain [2007]

in the early days of devendra banhart's career, his ghostly voice singing down the phone and captured on four track was more than enough to lend the eerie mysticism required for his nonsensical material (of course, it didn't hurt that his voice was bewitching no matter the lyrical content). as he gradually acquired confederates and the ability to record in studios, the clear problem was going to be retaining that same ghostly personality that made his early recordings so special. recorded in a home studio built within a woodsy compound in topanga canyon, banhart has weathered the storm of accessibility very well. "smokey rolls down thunder canyon" is many things - perhaps too many things, but its successes outnumber its failures, and it essentially solves the problems inherent in confining a free-form singer to time signatures and arrangements and rhythms imposed by outsiders. however, amongst the more ambitious material are several gems - "i remember" can easily be missed as the second last song on a 16-song album, but once you find it, you'd be hard-pressed to name a more beautiful piano song. the atmosphere is ridiculously aparent, and it's almost as if you're listening to someone playing in a big cave in the middle of nowhere. it's eqaul parts melancholy, reflective, intimate, and brooding, and the lyrics are some of the best he's written - "i remember the never-ending summer rain / please don't let what was get in the way of what's next, and don't forget that what's to come hasn't come yet". five stars.

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song of the day: may 27/2011

Emily Haines - Eau de Toilette
Album: Cut in Half and Also Double [1996]

an oldie from 1996 that showcases emily haines' strong songwriting ability at an early age. it's got tons of swagger with a simple drumbeat, a soft-sounding acoustic guitar, and a memorable horn section. the lyrics are as earnest and bittersweet as anything she's done as a member of metric and broken social scene. her way of delicately moving her voice from very high to very low and vice versa is also quite impressive and, above all else, it's much more accessible than her solo work with the soft skeleton.

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song of the day: may 26/2011

Wilco - Via Chicago
Album: Summerteeth [1999]

any song that begins with the lines "i dreamed of killing you again last night/and it felt all right" would certainly be shocking, and "via chicago" is no exception. the entanglement of romantic complications and self-definition is the core of jeff tweedy's lyrics, and he does a great job here. wrapped up in a simple but powerful folk-based melody, the song rises and falls with a grace that is quite engaging. it's a great example of modern-day confessional songwriting, and there is a vulnerable, neil young/lou reed rawness to it, making it one of "summerteeth"'s highlights, as well as a fan favourite.

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song of the day: may 25/2011

Silverchair - Emotion Sickness
Album: Neon Ballroom [1999]

as i pay homage to the recently-disbanded silverchair, i thought that it'd be fitting to choose the song that first marked their re-invention in the late 90's, and ultimately, may go down as their most important release. silverchair's third full-length release was a confusing affair that revealed a band more talented than their critics realized and more confused than their "frogstomp" fans could tolerate. the australian trio never made any secret of their respect for nirvana, and on "neon ballroom", they did some of the best impersonations of their seattle counterparts on record. it would be easy to convince any kurt cobain fan that "spawn again" and "dearest helpless" are believable "in utero" outtakes, and quite good ones at that. when the weepy ballads, like the beautiful "miss you love," pulled neon ballroom into a more radio-friendly direction, all the promise of a gritty grunge tribute faded, and silverchair appeared to be serving two masters. essentially, they probably were - it's an impressive balancing act of keeping their label happy with their familiar sounds while busting daniel johns' ambition wide open. the resultingly incongruent musical textures stifled the flow of the album upon it's release and assured a certain amount of fan disenchantment (despite the minor airplay success of "ana's song"). however, as time went on and the band went on to release more ambitious material, revisiting "neon ballroom" became a very rewarding trip, and continues to be as more time passes. "emotion sickness" will go down as a microcosm of silverchair's bravery to turn the tables on their previous efforts, and though they lost a lot of casual fans in doing so, they gained a mammoth cult following that allowed them to always fully re-invent themselves. with a back catalogue that contains virtually zero throwaway tracks and every musical influence from punk and 90's grunge rock to elton john, the beach boys, and the beatles, it's safe to say that they will be missed :(

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song of the day: may 24/2011

Joni Mitchell - Coyote
Album: Hejira [1976]

in early 1976, joni mitchell traveled with friends who were driving cross country to maine. afterwards, mitchell drove back to california alone and composed several songs during her journey which would feature on her next album, 1976's "hejira". the album was written mostly while she was traveling in the car, which is why there were no piano songs. "hejira" was arguably mitchell's most experimental album, due to her ongoing collaborations with legendary jazz virtuoso bass guitarist jaco pastorius on several songs including the first single, "coyote", the atmospheric title track, the disorienting, guitar-heavy "black crow," and the album's last song "refuge of the roads." the album climbed to number 13 on the billboard charts, reaching gold status three weeks after release, and received airplay from album oriented FM rock stations. while the album was greeted by many fans and critics as a return to form, by the time she recorded it her days as a huge pop star were over. however, if hejira did not sell as briskly as mitchell's earlier, more radio-friendly albums, its stature in her catalogue has grown over the years. mitchell herself believes the album to be unique and in 2006 said, that though she supposed a lot of people could have written a lot of her other songs, she felt the songs on hejira could only have come from her. hejira was the last in an astonishingly long run of top-notch studio albums dating back to her debut.

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