Swinging London!

So I just got back from a whirlwind trip to London. I was technically there for educational purposes (I was taking a course on e-publishing), but between the tours of libraries, museums and other antiquities I managed to squeeze in a some time for music and music-oriented musings. Here are the highlights:

-I finally saw the Avett Brothers live. Of course it's only logical that my friends and I see a band that excels at crafting twangy Americana when travelling across the pond. This totally ruled for several reasons... A) the crowd was epically friendly and polite (a massive departure from the typical Brooklyn hipster scene I've apparently grown immune to) B) it only cost 10 pounds! (that's like 14 American dollars, a fraction of the price I'd pay to see them in the States, which is like over 30 bucks) C) in a venue a fraction of the size I'd see them here (they're scheduled to play the cavernous Radio City in October). Oh and naturally they sounded great, bounding with energy dressed to the nines in their vests and ties.

-Speaking of vests and ties, Harrods (while terribly overrated in my book) was having a 25% off sale on Etro clothing. For those of you who don't know, that's Mountain Goats' bassist Peter Peter Hughes favorite brand for tour wardrobing. And we can't really blame him despite the high price, the designs are so intricate and the fabric so sumptuous. In other words, I'll take any excuse to post this photo of his vest:

-Being able to identify Tube stops from song, i.e. Mornington Crescent and Waterloo Station. Shout out to Belle & Sebastian and the Kinks!

-Hearing Okkervil River's The Stage Names its ENTIRETY being played in an airport gift shop at Heathrow. Instead of waiting at the gate for my flight, I just loitered in the store and enjoyed hearing one of my favorite album's of 2008 being played in the most random of public spaces. I finally got up the nerve to thank the clerk behind the counter for playing it. We chatted about music for about 10 minutes and he even showed me The Hold Steady tattoo on his index finger, (basically just the words "the hold steady" in lowercase typewriter font). If you happen to find yourself in the HMV in Heathrow's terminal 4, tell the man behind the counter I say hi.

And now the only song I know that references both London AND Libraries:
Swinging London - The Magnetic Fields

Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in!

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately. I've just been busy settling into a new place in the indie mecca that is Brooklyn. YES, I've finally moved to Brooklyn! And I'm having trouble hiding my elation, It's only been three days but I've fallen in love with my neighborhood (and I'm not even living in a trendy area, take that Williamsburg!), have a part-time job lined up and most excitedly am starting grad school (WOO shout to Library and Information sciences!).

(These are the pretty houses down the block.)

And given this crazy awesome transition, there is only one song that fits the mood. The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You" is a siren song to the city I now call home.

I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

You've got to Paste to play ...

So what are your picks for album of the decade? Go tell Paste here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/whats-your-favorite-album-of-the-decade.html

After reviewing their list, mine are as follows:

Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Avett Brothers: Emotionalism
Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlantacism
Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers
The Hold Steady: Boys & Girls in America
Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
Sondre Lerche: Faces Down
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Check back later for track links and liner notes.

The Avett Brothers @ The Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida, 07.18.09

The Avett Brothers, Scott and Seth, are still good. The are also (still?) crazy, because who but the crazy would willingly play an outdoor show in Florida in July? Sheer madness. People from the Carolinas, that's who.

There were some very sweet touches added to a song or two in honor of the recent birth of Scott Avett's daughter. He didn't look nearly as tired as I would expect a new parent to look, but life on the road probably prepares you for late nights and little sleep better than most other lifestyles.


They've got a new album coming out in September (so start your engines!) but the I and Love and You single deserves to be celebrated in its own right, and is totally worth the $2.97 it will cost you to obtain on iTunes. Heck, you might even be able to find it in your local record store, because they're Major Label now! The shot below was taken during the earnest "Salvation Song" sing-a-long, Joe Kwon (whom we are always pleasantly surprised to see) and Avetts' regular Bob Crawford belting it out arm-in-arm ...


We came for salvation
We came for family
We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away
We came to break the bad
We came to cheer the sad
We came to leave behind the world a better way

The craziest part was how much everyone seems to mean it. It almost felt like being at church. In a good way.

Sadly, we suffered from Show Fail, i.e., we showed up four songs late. It was a kind of crucial miss for me. The show (see the playlist here) followed the "hook them with the opening numbers, then mess around in your back catalogue for awhile" formula, and we missed the hook. Seriously, who goes on stage at 9:30?

Anyway, in honor of our (my) Show Fail, I give you the four songs we missed:

Laundry Room
Paranoia in B-flat Major
Distraction #74
Living of Love

If the first link doesn't work, or if it works just fine but you can't play the song, blame the almighty Apple. Seriously, though, it's worth the three bucks.

Julie's Top Songs of 2008 (part the first)

1. My Year in Lists - Los Campesinos!

I listened to this song for about four months solid this year. I retitled my personal blog after it. I watched the video nearly obsessively. This was undoubtedly the song of the year for me. The hook, the twee, the nostalgia, it was unstoppable. Thanks, Danny.

2. Murder in the City - The Avett Brothers

I have been extremely remiss in not writing about the Avett Brothers show we saw earlier this year in Gainesville, Florida.



Thanks to a tip from my old pal Curtis, I had already started listening to Emotionalism pretty obsessively as early as February of this year, but their studio work left me completely unprepared for the live show. Raucous bluegrass hoedown, indeed. Although this year's release, The Second Gleam, left me a little bit cold, this particular track is just so sweet and family-oriented, it melts me every time.



3. Fools - The Dodo's



This is another twitchy genre mash-up that I found completely impossible not to listen to over and over again earlier this year. They may be sweaty, but they sure can put together four-plus minutes of music.

4. Bleeding All Over You - Martha Wainwright

The song doesn't start until about three and a half minutes into the clip, but it's worth it. Something about her music is so classic and timeless, a little Rickie Lee, a little Neko Case, a little twang, and a lot of bitter cynical melancholy. And we all need that sometimes, right?



5. Here's the Thing - Girl Talk

In the interest of ending this on an upbeat note (with a positive jam), and because it is so damned well-deserved, a little slice of genius from the brilliant minds at the Case Western Reserve University bioengineering department: