For the past few days I have been up at Spencer Lake with a great deal of my family relaxing alongside the still ripples of the lake, under the majestic heights of the the towering Olympic mountains to the west.
In between laughing fits over Apples to Apples and my slow but sure chipping away at Eclipse I have found myself immersed in the Kings of Convenience's latest endeavor - Declaration of Dependence.
Kings of Convenience are like a great pairs of shoes...
the ones that aren't necessarily your favorite but that often are your saviors in a fashion crisis....
....one of those pairs you've had forever that are always comfortable and never seem to go out of style.
KoC are Steady. Reliable. Dependable.
Now I know, this makes them sound a little boring, predictable at the very least. But I've gotta say, I continue to love the stuff they turn out. Their harmonies are always gentle and smooth, their guitars perfectly complementing each other.
And they always seem to tuck a little groove under it all.
I'm not going to say much about this song. There isn't so much a singular memory that draws me back to this song - I just ALWAYS get excited when it comes on the radio in December.
When I first entered kindergarden, school seemed like a huge place. The 8th graders looked like freshman in college (one even cornered me against a wall at recess and burped in my face which was traumatizing, to say the least), everyone wore the same thing, and there were multiple buildings. I warmed up to the place quite fast and by October I was double-dutching with 2nd graders.
In December I was introduced to advent and all the catholic traditions surrounding it. Every morning before school started, all 186 students - ranging from kindergarden to 8th grade - piled into the cafeteria and unveiled the day's teaching on the advent calendar. A reading was read, the candles on the advent wreath were lit, and we would all join in in singing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".
So here you go, #2 on my "holiday cheer" playlist:
As I was running out the door this morning, late for work as usual, I quickly perused my cd collection in hopes of finding something either a) super old that I hadn't heard in ages or b) something new that I never really given a chance.
I bought this album on one of my many Amoeba trips and mainly got it because my dad had suggested it. The minute I put it into my cd player I immediately skipped to track 10 - Brass in Pocket - and listened to it a couple of times before shelving the poor thing.
See this is one of my problems.
When I'm first introduced to an album I have to be in an "album-listening- mood" otherwise I get way too impatient and ditch the thing before I've had time to give it a real chance.
Anyhoo, as I was driving to work this morning I instantly fell in love with it. It's right up my alley... it has that totally late 70's/early 80's feel. It falls somewhere between brit punk and new wave sharing space with the likes of Elvis Costello.
I'm very excited to tell you that one of my best friends has just recently had one of his essays posted over at ThisIBelieve.org. So go check it out and while you're at it hit up his blog.
ps Hopefully I'll have a music post up later today!
This is the first "series" I am attempting here at The Clear Spot. I started to compile a list of my favorite Christmas songs - based on musical merit but mostly based on sentimental value. I'm going to space them out which will hopefully give you incentive to check back regularly.
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Maybe it's growing older. Maybe it's not having family around. Maybe it's LA. These past few years December has not felt nearly as Christmas-y as it once did.
However, I have high hopes for this year. I will spending a good two and a half weeks at home.
This means I'll get to go skiing. I'll get to help at my aunt's bakery during the holiday rush. Who knows, I may even be compelled to stop by St. C's.
So before I get too carried away here you go, the first installment of my Holiday Playlist.
I decided, against my best judgement, to start out with my favorite Christmas song of all time. Now I know, it's like eating dessert before dinner but I figured this way it would give you all the maximum amount of time to play this lovely gem.
So yes, the obvious sentimental reason for loving this song is it's connection to A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, it's more than that.
The brushes dance along the top of the snare sounds like snow softly falling... each piano note acts as footsteps through a winter wonderland... the bass hums at the opening of the song as if fueled by carolers.
It captures that bittersweet taste of Christmas.
So go forward and be merry. And if you don't have the whole A Charlie Brown Christmassoundtrack you must put it on your holiday to-do list!
ps Check out the song Skating... in 1996 me and my brother used it to choreograph a floor exercise routine. That was the same year I used tape to create a balance beam in my living room...
I was setting my sights on becoming the next Bela Karolyi.
So right now, if you sign up for emusic (which requires a subscription) you get 45 FREE DOWNLOADS! That is 20 more than usual.
If you buy music on a regular basis or are finally ready to support bands you love, I highly suggest you head on over there right now and get a subscription.
So a couple of weeks ago my friend Pat sent me the most wonderful link. It was to an article on the Los Angeles Times Blog about the couple of LA Swell Season shows in November. Now, you may be thinking I'm going to spend the rest of this post talking about The Swell Season and how I loved the music in Once and yada yada yada.
Well, I'm not! So ha!
For me, the highlight of the article was when the reporter started to talk about Jason Segel's appearance at Wednesday's show and how, at the end of the set, he waltzed out on stage, sat down at the ivory keys, and proceeded to play an original tune.
So of course, I HAD to call that number..... and to my pleasant surprise, Jason's voice greeted me on the other line - MY HEART MELTED!
So here it is, a playlist dedicated to that feeling.
I absolutely love the simplicity of this song. It's carefree. It's wispy. It's exactly how I want to feel these days. For whatever reason it really pulls me back to the beginning of this century. Now that might be a kind of weird thing to say seeing as though we have yet to close out this decade. But unlike most songs this one feels very "present".
Now, I have yet to write about the music collective known as Ra Ra Riot (a Barsuk act! yay Seattle!) but I am a huge fan of The Rhumb Line. I was lucky to catch them when they opened for Andrew Bird a few months ago (thanks to my friend Hillary) and ever since have been in love. Butterflies. This song is all about butterflies... and anticipation... and wanting.
Unlike her undying love for Carole King, my mom "can't stand" Joni's voice - it's "too whiny". I love my mom. To her credit, it took me a while to warm up to Mitchell. But once I did, it was over. She has some of the best lyrics when it comes to writing about love. Don't even get me started on "All I Want" - hmmm, maybe I should have added that to the list.
Bjork'sDebutalbum is absolutely fantastic. It always reminds me of the trip I took to San Francisco my freshman year of college. It was an interesting journey to say the least. In fact, it marked my first Amoeba experience (I bought a used copy of Debut at the Haight-Ashbury location).
To get the full effect of this track you have to blast this in your car as you drive fast, in the dark of night. Magic!
Chet Baker only sung about love. Maybe because it perplexed him so. Maybe because he never seemed to be able to hold onto it for long. The perpetual heart-broken heart-breaker. Like on most of his tunes, he brought - in equal parts - the power of his trumpet and the spell-binding softness of his voice. I will forever be mesmerized and in love.
