In Memorium

On Saturday, March 6, 1999, my best friend Salomé Holly was brutally stabbed to death by her stepfather Dayva Cross in an attack that also killed her mother and little sister. We were seniors in high school in Snoqualmie, Washington, not far from Seattle. Cross still sits on death row in Washington state. Ten years ago to the day, and the pain still burns deeply.

She was a passionate and brilliant fledgling biologist who loved amphibians, a Mormon, a beautiful clarinetist, a devoted recycler, a lover of reggae music and camping, and her beautiful French-Moroccan heritage.

Here's a mix of songs: Some are namesakes, some were her favorites, some helped me cope at the time, and some are what help me cope now.

Old 97's - Salomé.mp3
Chayanne - Salomé.mp3
Greenland - Salomé.mp3
Peter Doherty - Salomé.mp3
U2 - Salomé [Zooromancer Remix].m4a
Bob Marley - Jammin'.mp3
Stevie Wonder - I Just Called.mp3
Billy Joel - Only the Good Die Young.mp3
Tori Amos - Happy Phantom.mp3
Sarah McLachlan - Angel.m4a
Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark.m4a
Sage Francis - Hell Of A Year.mp3
Chodoutans - My Beautiful Friend.mp3
the Mountain Goats - Song For an Old Friend (live).mp3
Elvis Costello - God Give Me Strength.mp3
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven.mp3
Elliott Smith - Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands.m4a
I'm From Barcelona - Ola Kala.m4a
The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.mp3
Jens Lekman - How Much You Mean To Me.mp3
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends/Bookends.m4a
Sarah McLachlan - I Will Remember You.m4a

Yet another song about Paper Planes...

Everyone's favorite 20+ member, geographically confused Swedish pop collective (ok, so the ONLY 20+ member, geographically confused Swedish pop collective) are about to release a new single off their upcoming sophomore album Who Killed Harry Houdini? out October 14th. Well we got the preview. The song's called "Paper Planes" and, get this, it's NOT an M.I.A. cover. Given that this is a band that sings about treehouses, chicken pox and stamp collecting, the subject matter shouldn't surprise you. And while it might not have gunshots for its chorus, it does have a clarinet solo and lots of shiny, happy Swedish people singing about the joys of "throwing paper planes to clear your head".

Paper Planes - I'm From Barcelona

Oh and what the heck, sure you've all heard it before but it's JUST THAT DAMN GOOD:
Paper Planes - M.I.A.

It's a you and me house

Just got back from vacation, but while in Washington I saw an actual treehouse on the Evergreen campus. Just marvel at its awesomeness while you listen to these songs:

I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse.m4a
The Fiery Furnaces - Evergreen.m4a

Barcelona Loves You!

As I'm From Barcelona took the stage at Brooklyn's Southpaw for their third and final show in the United States, I witnessed what could possibly be the cure-all for the deepest, most painful of depressions: twentysome-odd* Swedish people dressed in superhero capes and "Make Music Not Missiles" T-shirts sang and danced and nah-nah-nah-ed away the worries of a sold-out crowd of hundreds. As the confetti manically flew and the sound of kazoos and xylophones filled the air, it was impossible not to smile.

Lead Barcelonian Emanuel Lundgren even surfed into the crowd on massive yellow raft. Also the played a brand new song inspired by the Wes Anderson, Bill Murray flick "The Life Aquatic". It rocked.



If you still haven't heard the geographically-confused pop collective, take a listen:
We're From Barcelona - I'm From Barcelona

For more Barcelona photo action, including the setlist and Emanuel's awesome floral sneakers, check out my Flickr page

*I know technically there are 29 members, but a handful were unable to tour. At my best estimate, I counted about 21 or 22 people on stage total.

Mix tape!

There's about 23,984 birthdays happening right now, so what's better than the gift of music? Here is a mix a made for one person. (Another will follow shortly.)
21 tracks / Total time: 1:17:04 (yes, it fits onto one Audio CD!) Enjoy!

Side "A"
I'm From Barcelona - The Painter.mp3 (from Let Me Introduce My Friends)
a 29-member band from Sweden. They are so happy with their limited English!

Little Horse - Running Just Ahead Of The Devil.mp3 (from Perils And Thrills EP)
This is how Ben Folds would be if he were brothers instead of one guy, and some Spanish flair.

Cibo Matto - Birthday Cake.mp3 (from Viva! La Woman)
"Cibo Matto" meaning "strange food." Who wouldn't want a birthday cake with "extra sugar, extra salt, extra oil and MSG!"

Franz Ferdinand - Michael.mp3 (from Franz Ferdinand)
Namedropping for the person this mix is for.

Sufjan Stevens - In the Words of the Governor.mp3
You wouldn't believe this was Sufjan if I didn't tell you, but it's his newest song. Harkening back to his "Enjoy Your Rabbit" days, does the phrase "screamo" mean anything to you?

Saul Williams - Grippo.mp3 (from Saul Williams)
The last song reminds me of this one, sonically.

Patrick Wolf - The Libertine.mp3 (from Wind In The Wires)
Taking it down a notch somewhat, I love the pulsing rhythym, the unusual instrumentartion and strained strings.

Joe Jackson - Angel (Lust).mp3 (from Heaven & Hell)
"Heaven&Hell" came out nearly a decade ago and it still awes and amazes. Seven songs for seven deadly sins, each lyrically and acoustically appropriate to its topic. Here, we have a saucy Suzanne Vega on vocals catcalling men.

Lyle Lovett - Here I Am.mp3 (from Lyle Lovett and His Large Band)
I have long considered performing the spoken parts as a monologue. Perhaps at an audition. Anything. I just want to say these words in front of large groups of peole with the passion that Lyle delivers here.

Jeff Buckley - New Year's Prayer.mp3 (from Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk)
Jeff Buckley needs neither reason nor explanation, expecially for such a darkly ethereal track.

Side "B"
Bascom Lamar Lumford - I Wish I Were a Mole in the Ground.mp3 (from Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Sons of Western North Carolina)
BLL was a lawyer during the Great Depression. He wrote one fantastic album, and this is my favorite cut off it.

Daniel Johnston - Etiquette.mp3 (from Continued Story)
Daniel Johnston speaks to me. Here he offers the lowest-of-the-fi kind of song with his buddy: simple, happy and fun with some good advice on "how to make friends and influence people."

The Mountain Goats - Golden Boy.mp3 (from Ghana)
More ultra low-fi. John Darnielle must REALLY love these peanuts. I've never had them myself, but I'm obsessed with the funniness of the song, so I think today I might go out of my way to find a pan-Asian supermarket to find those golden boys from Singapore.

The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers.mp3 (from Holiday)
This song contains such amazing imagery.

Les Sexareenos - Everybody Sexareeno!.mp3 (from Live! In The Bed)
They are putting the FUN back into RAWK. I especially love the "Hang on Sloopy" part in the middle.

The Beatles - What Goes On.mp3 (from Rubber Soul)
Some classic but not cliche Beatles, to sort to tie things together with a shred of familiarity.

Nickel Creek - Spit On A Stranger.mp3 (from This Side)
This is their cover of a Pavement song. It's much better than their cover of a Britney Spears song.

The Divine Comedy - Gin Soaked Boy.mp3 (from A Secret History)
The happiest, most positive and rhymingest song, with the BEST second-to-last-line EVAR.

The Smiths - Reel Around The Fountain.mp3 (from The Best Of The Smiths, Vol. 2)
Awwww, Morrisey attempts to be somewhat non-melancholic!

Mirah - La Familia.mp3 (from Joyride: Remixes)
A song I am obsessed with from an [Ever]Greener Grad. It's always important to distinguish, with a chorus like this, that it is a PONDERANCE ONLY and not a proposition.

Future Bible Heroes - The Lonely Robot.mp3 (from The Lonely Robot EP)
Epic story-songs always make for the best end credits.

Barcelona Cares About Britney

While the entire planet has been on collective Paris Hilton watch this week, I'm From Barcelona have opted to memorialize the world's other favorite falling pop star -Britney Spears. Everyone's favorite geographically-challenged 29 piece twee collective recently premiered their brand new ode "Britney" on their myspace page. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing lead singer Emanuel Lundgren via e-mail for CMJ (full disclosure: I'm an editorial intern there) and got the scoop on his tabloid headline fascinations.

"When the big news hit the world that Britney had shaved her head I was a bit confused," explained Lundgren, "I was confused that it was such big news. But I was even more confused that I was so interested. I think Britney looked cooler than ever with her new haircut. She should keep it, she's a punk rocker. I hope she'd be glad if she heard the song."

Barcelona have also scheduled a handful of U.S. tour dates for later this summer, marking their first ever shows in the States. "We're very happy about finally flying across the Atlantic," said Lundgren. "But yeah, it's a real nightmare to arrange the trip. We're 20 people coming over, and we're gonna have the time of our lives."

Tour Dates For I'm From Barcelona:
08/04 - Chicago, IL- Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08/05 - Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Park Pool
08/06 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw

Here's hoping they run into Miss Spears during their visit!

Stream "Britney" on their MySpace Page.

Don't Give Up on Your Dreams, Nobody!

Finally, finally, finally, after nearly a year of filling your earbuds with delectably Swedish, twee-pop goodness, I'm From Barcelona are finally touring the states. Well, maybe touring is an overstatement -but the band has scheduled two US summer appearances -one at Lollapolooza and another at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool slated for August 5th. Wow, I guess it takes an abandoned, Great Depression era, Olympic-sized swimming pool to contain the 29 member collective.

For those of you unfamiliar with the band's debut album "Let Me Introduce My Friends", you've been missing out on pure candy-coated sonic sunshine. Think an emasculated Stuart Murdoch (if that's even possible) multiplied by 29. Sure the lyrics don't stray very far from kindergarten territory (treehouses, stamp collections and chicken pox are the album's prime subject matter), however, like all good twee-pop, there is a melancholic naivete that belies the music's surface. Handclaps and teardrops abound.

I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
I'm From Barcelona - The Painter
Buy Let Me Introduce My Friends