Songs
What Was It You Said About Luck
James Blake - What Is It You Said About Luck
B-sides are always a bit of a mystery, what may once have been considered lesser tracks, left off a full length album are now seen more often as those hidden gems by artists only found and known by the true fans. Seems to me these days a song can have just as much weight as a full album as far as its weight is concerned. In this case I feel as though this song stands well on its own and it deserves to be heard. It’s less genera pushing than some of the work on his full length album. Clocking in at just over two minutes its easy to overlook but with its humble, simplified approach it leaves me coming back to it again and again.
Artists site
Paper Street
Airhead - Paper Street
While this musician seems to have slipped in under the radar for many, this song found it’s way to sit comfortably among my favorite music from 2010. The incredible long breaths of air the song takes between movements is nothing sort of perfection. A few months after first hearing it I still cannot hear it enough. It is sitting comfortably between a slow wandering dub beat and does not pretend to be anything other than what it is. The track progresses beautifully through movements and leaves you crazing another listen. I can’t wait to see what this artist has in store for the future.
iTunes Link - Artist Page (label)
It Ain’t Fair
Cat Power - It Ain’t Fair (from the EP Dark End Of The Street)
I finished setting up a large sound system flow in the air at a half coliseum show today and was digging through my laptop for music to play to the empty room and I initially chose some upbeat Jamie Lidell songs and some Phoenix but settled into an EP from Cat Power that I had not given much of a chance called Dark End Of The Street, more specifically the last song on the EP called It Ain’t Fair. As soon as the first pluck of the stand up bass in the song was struck the large empty hall came alive as the song snuck into the room and gave my mind a much needed rest after all the work. There is nothing quite like playing music you enjoy on a big fancy PA in an empty music hall before a show. I often take the chance to sneak in favorites when I can. Anyway, after hearing it in this way I got home and put it on again and the same effect was layered into my room when I played the song. Its just a beautiful soft blues song that is hard not to enjoy while slowly nodding your head. The EP it is from is full of covers, something Cat Power is no stranger to and while I have not enjoyed her last few releases as much as her older albums this song may have me taking a closer look at what she has been up to lately. I was sad to see that it was sold out on vinyl but who knows, maybe one day I will get lucky wandering through a record shop somewhere...
iTunes Link • Artist Page
Just Say When
Kate Micucci - Just Say When (from Songs EP)
I found Kates music after my brother pointed me to the fact that she had a short little album available online. She is a comedian/musician/actress. Typically found with a ukulele in hand she often sings short songs with a cute style filled with little puns and quirky stories and situations and its what I expected when I got my hands on the EP but was pleasantly surprised to hear the last song on the 10 minute release. A little mini piano ballad that I keep listening to over and over and thought, why not post it here on You Disappear. It’s a simple enough song but it has surprising depth coming from a typically comedic artist. I Can only hope that she will expand on her songwriting and explore it more in the future with and without the quirky humor. (you can hear the song streaming on her myspace page here)
iTunes Link • Artist Page • CD Baby Page (where you can buy it digitally straight from the artist)
To Build A Home
The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home (from the album Ma Fluer)
It would have been easy to write about the album this song is from but I wanted to feature a song from it here before I get around to adding the album here because its just such a brilliant song in my eyes. It’s a subtle masterpiece really and is one of those songs you should not be without. Well, if you are able to feel it the way that I do. The original version of this song as it appears on the album Ma Fleur is sort of a living, breathing thing, fragile and calling out for you to listen as it plays. Relatively simplistic at first with voice and piano the music quickly evolves and carries you forward through its story. Honestly, I cannot speak highly enough of this song. It was a collaboration between the Cinematic Orchestra and singer Patrick Watson and while there are a few versions of it around there to hear this is the best way to hear it and I highly suggest you do if you are not already familiar with it.
iTunes Link • Artist Page
Casanova 70
Air - Casanova 70
A while back I found a suggestion sent to me for the site for an air song and I sat on it for quite a while before deciding to post it and I am not exactly sure why. Maybe I was just trying to decide if it had that certain feeling that I look for when picking music for You Disappear but I am finally coming around after waking up this morning and putting this song on. As it began I found myself waking up to this soft bass melody which, about half way through the song, drops off only to return with a wonderful combination of horns to fill it all in and pull it together. Air has been around a long time in the electronic music world and I had never quite understood the appeal but I can say that after waking up to Casanova 70 this morning I will be digging a little deeper into their catalogue. I think what initially threw me off was the fact that it was so clean sounding and for whatever reason I find it harder to get into music that is to clean or glossy if you know what I mean. It just takes a little time to realize what I am missing I suppose. This is music for a sunny morning...
iTunes Link • Artist Page
Trouble Weighs A Ton
Dan Auerbach - Trouble Weighs A Ton (From the album Keep It Hid)
Dan Aurbach is best known for his work as one half of the Black Keys. A blues band full of grit and edgy blues rock. This solo effort contains much of the same edge that his work with the Black Keys contained only with a more somber, smoother sort of a feel to it I think. While the album as a whole does not belong among the pages of You Disappear, the first track immediately grabbed me as something I wanted to share here. Rather than try and describe the slow driving impact of the songs Simply click play in the player above if you have not already and if you enjoy it support the artist and check out the rest of the album through his site or iTunes.
iTunes Link • Artist Site
Venice
Beirut - Venice (from the ep Realpeople-Holland)
I have been a fan of Beirut for some time now because of his unique approach to music and songwriting. Before he started making music under this name he had a more electronic solo oriented project called Realpeople and in his latest release as Beirut he has merged these two worlds and released an album that is actually considered to be two EP’s released as one album and one of the two EP’s features a more electronic type fare. One of the songs on the Realpeople-Holland side of the album has been haunting my mind for the last day or so and so I decided to take a moment and share it here. I recommend you take the time to listen to the rest of the album as there are a lot of other great songs on there, some lying outside of the calm universe of You Disappear but are still wonderful songs.
I think the moment the horns started fading into the synthetic sounds I was hooked, it’s such a surprisingly natural sounding combination and I love it.
iTunes Link - Artist Site
Dust and Water
Antony & The Johnsons - Dust and Water (from the new album The Crying Light)
If hearing this does not make you go and buy this album then I don’t know what else will. If you enjoy it then take a moment to preview the whole album. My other favorite from this release is the song “Another World, beautiful music.
iTunes Link • Artist Page
Been So Long
Vetiver - Been So Long
When I first heard this song I knew immediately it would become a favorite. It’s a song about meeting friends after a long period of time apart. The mood of the song matches the sentiment perfectly and as it navigates its way through your mind it leaves you feeling sentimental and reflecting on the people you have lost touch with or have not heard from in a while. It’s a joy to hear really and puts you in such a good mood as you listen. There are a couple of versions out there of the song and my favorite is the first track on the album ‘To Find me Gone.’ The rest of the album is equally good and I will add it here eventually but thought I would point out this great song first.
iTunes Link • Artist Page
Black Pear Tree
Black Pear Tree - The Mountain Goats & Kaki King (from the Black Pear Tree EP)
I remember reading quite a while ago that The Mountain Goats and Kaki King were going to collaborate and at the time I remember wondering what that would possibly sound like. Turns out the result is a wonderful collaboration that evidentially was only ever released as a small run for a tour which is just beyond reason. Because of this I had to find this by other means online but I am glad I did as it lead my ears to a wonderful EP. The push and pull from these two is perfect and their styles somehow match a lot better than I had expected. Here in the title track of the EP the delicate little voice from Kaki King is accompanied by piano and she sings as though channeling the vocal timing of John from the mountain goats. It’s a great match and if you can get your hands on this great music I suggest you do because its great and I hope to hear more from the two together in the future.
Mountain Goats Artist Page • Kaki King Artist Page
Wolly Mammoths Mighty Absence
The Microphones - Wolly Mammoths Mighty Absence (from a japanese import of ‘Recorded Live in Japan’ )
This version of this song went a little further than most songs manage to get inside of my head. I have played it over and over a million or so times and for good reason. Its just a great song, simple as that. The recording of it on this random live japanese import version of his Live album all recorded in Japan sat unassumingly at the end of the album as one of the ‘bonus’ tracks for that version of it. I picked it up at a live show a few years back and I mention this because you cant get the song anywhere else. Their has been other versions of this song recorded including one stripped down version on his album ‘Dawn’ but the timing of how he sings the song is just not quite right in my mind on that version. This specific recording somehow lands in that mystical world of perfection and I’m not sure it will ever be captured in that way again. Or maybe its just me. Also, here is the version of the song for you to enjoy and the iTunes link to the newer recording of the song on ‘Dawn’. (The player here is hopefully temporary until I can get it tweaked to fit my desires)
iTunes Link (pleas note that the itunes version does not contain the song I’m talking about here but it is the rest of the album which is great too in many ways. Check out the song Great ghosts, so very good.) • Artist Site
Everything In Its Right Place
RadioHead - Everything In Its Right Place (from Kid A)
A higher profile group than many I may mention on this site but you just can’t deny they are a great band. Anyone reading this that is not already familiar with this song but enjoys the kind of music I feature here should most certainly check out Kid A but this is easily my favorite song from that album. It’s constantly coming to mind in my life somehow as it has such a specific and simple statement.
iTunes Link • Artist Site
Avril 14th
Aphex Twin - Avril 14th (from Drukqs)
I love following the evolution of electronic music. When I started listening to it the challenge seemed to be who could come up with the most original, strangest, fastest, or unique sounds out there. Many artists broke new ground for music as a whole in this period but as electronic music grew in popularity and became increasingly easy to produce thanks to the introduction of computers you could start to notice a shift in priorities among many of these musicians. I started to see more and more acoustic elements being brought into the music and many musicians started to realize that just about anyone could make a weird sound into a beat but how many electronic musicians were making music that took it a step beyond that. In this period Aphex Twin, a musician known for his marketing and typically trend setting music released a double album called Drukqs that was home to a number of songs created with a prepared piano which broke up the albums otherwise typical fast, loud, experimental IDM tracks.
The songs, in my mind, were brilliant little short works that have always stood out in my mind. Among these songs my favorite was always Avril 14th. A short piano piece that I have heard more times than I can count. I think this song holds the record for most consecutive listens in my personal book as I remember hearing it on repeat for somewhere close to six hours on a road trip once. It’s one of those songs that grafted onto my conscious somehow and whenever it stopped playing I felt as if I may fall to pieces. I love songs like that.
iTunes Link • Artist Site (it’s the old promo site for the record, closest thing to an artist site)