zolac_no_miko | Land of Music and Indecisive Weather

Today's weather went like this:

-Rain with some slush.
-HEAVY SNOWFALL.
-Snow melts. Sunshine!
-Overcast.
-Five minutes of HAIL.
-Light rain, a single gust of wind, and THUNDER. One thunder. One.
-Overcast.
-SLUSHFALL.
-Slush melts. Overcast.

...Wtf. Just, wtf, Portland. I don't even.

In other news...

sirona_gs did this meme and I was like, OH RIGHT, I signed on to do this back in OCTOBER, ffffffffff. So, technically stolen from

drownedcities, but Sirona bullied me into it.

1. reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. list (and upload) 5 songs you love that begin with that letter.
3. post them to your journal with these instructions.

...Screw uploading. EFF YEAH YOUTUBE!

1. "June Hymn", The Decemberists, The King Is Dead. Had to start off with The Decemberists, duh. They are my favorite band after all. CONCERT THIS SATURDAY YES YES YES!! I've been meaning to do a thorough track-by-track review of this album, but I haven't had time, so this will have to do for now. This one's not one of my favorite favorites on the album, but I do love it. It's just... sweetly pleasant. And the chorus is catchy. And it contains the word "panoply". What's not to like?

[Error: unknown template video]

2. "Julien", Placebo, Battle for the Sun. HEY LOOK, NEVE, I BROUGHT PLACEBO TO THE PARTY! :D I <3 Brian Molko and I <3 Placebo. Battle for the Sun is one of my current musical addictions, and this is my second-favorite song off of that album. It's... it's just... SO DELICIOUS. Incidentally, I have a line from this song stuck to my bedroom door, written in Sharpie on electric flamingo-colored duct tape.

[Error: unknown template video]

3. "Jezebel", Iron & Wine, Woman King [EP]. Guh. One of my most favorite Iron & Wine songs ever. I don't even know what to say about this one, except that I just want to close my eyes and curl up in this song like a warm fuzzy blanket fresh out of the dryer. So beautiful. ...Also, banjo in the bridge. Instant win.

[Error: unknown template video]

4. "Jupiter", Jewel, Spirit. The artist on this list I've loved longest, for the nostalgia. Ahhh, Jewel. Your songs still hold up after all these years. And gods-damn but you can sing.

[Error: unknown template video]

5. "Jen Is Bringin'The Drugs", Margot & The Nuclear So And So's, The Dust Of Retreat. A great song from one of my favorite bands; there are songs I like better, but this song is beautiful in its pared-down simplicity. Of the artists on this list, Margot is my newest addiction. ...I think this band will always be, to me, a symbol of my time here in Portland. I acquired the habit from Dar when we came to live together in the Land of Port. The very first concert I ever went to in Portland was the Margot concert, and damn was it memorable. Among other adventures, we took one of the opening bands, Everything, Now!, home with us; they slept on our floor and Dar made them waffles in the morning. This concert introduced me to the joys of living in a city with a fabulous live music scene; I've been a concert addict ever since. Getting up close and personal with bands like Margot is one of the things I know I'm going to miss the most about living here.

[Error: unknown template video]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I love that the Monkeys seem to ahve taken the last 50-odd years of music and COMPLETELY SUBVERTED THEM so that there's this unique sound that borrows from all sorts of genres and styles. I heart the Monkeys so damn much! *____*

DUDE, YOU CAN SPAM ME FOREVER IF YOU'RE SO INCLINED. I adore listening to strange new music -- two of my favourite soundtracks are (500) Days of Summer and Garden State! My favourite radio station is BBC 6 Music (I listen to it online), which is this totally hipster-ish station that showcases indie music from all sorts of walks. I've not heard of at least 70% of the bands they play, but I still adore it, because I'm all for that sort of sound, and I've picked up so many favourites from there -- Florence and the Machine, MGMT, Adelle, La Roux, Owl City... I can go ON AND ON. So, you know, EDUCATE ME about the bands all the cool kids listen to! :D

I did not forget about this, in case you were wondering. I WOULD NEVER FORGET ABOUT SPAM.

"The Crane Wife 3" - The first song off of the album The Crane Wife. This is not the first Decemberists song I ever heard, but this is where I started paying attention. This is the song that made me fall in love, from the album that made me fall in love hard; it's one of their most beautiful songs and still one of my favorites. It's the companion piece to "The Crane Wife 1 & 2"; when played in order they tell Colin's version of the classic Japanese folktale.

[Error: unknown template video]

"On The Bus Mall" - I feel like you must have heard this one at some point, since it's popped up on Riverside, but now that you're paying attention, here it is again. This is the Star/Jaime theme song. And gorgeous and emotional in its own right, and one of the kind of unusual stories Colin likes to tell. I mean, seriously, who else writes songs about teenaged male prostitutes living homeless in the city?

[Error: unknown template video]

...Let's wade into somewhat stranger waters, shall we?"

"The Culling of the Fold" - The fact that this is my favorite Decemberists song is solid proof that I am a disturbed individual. But Colin does villains so well! And I really cannot get enough of the discordant piano and wailing violin. Also, how much do I love that the song promotes equal opportunity? A sexist Colin is not. Anyway, I kind of think this is the sexiest song ever, wtf is wrong with me. This is the song that makes me want to do filthy filthy things to Colin Meloy.

[Error: unknown template video]

"The Mariner's Revenge Song" - Sometimes The Decemberists do a sea shanty. I mentioned Colin likes to tell weird stories? This is one of their most popular songs; it's the most ridiculous, amazing, epic song ever and it makes me so very very happy. It fills me with dark glee and makes me want to dance around the living room with my cat. It is also epically fun to see live, omg.

[Error: unknown template video]

"Dress Me Like a Clown" - Another excellent Margot song, for posterity. Erik, you do amazing things with a violin. And that is not even mentioning the creepy creepy noises you make with a lap steel.

[Error: unknown template video]

And since we're on the subject of bands with really unique sounds that you've never heard of (I specialize in Bands You've Never Heard Of)... meet Menomena! ...These guys are kind of weird. My love for them is all about their interesting style of musical composition and the cool instruments that they use in very effective ways.

"Evil Bee" - This is a good example of what I like about this band. Their sound is so pared-down and clean, simple but arranged beautifully. They make very effective use of their piano and saxophone. They've got a bit of a dark, creepy sound.

[Error: unknown template video]

"Air Aid" - Another favorite Menomena song. Again with the dark and creepy sound, and excellent use of piano and sax, now with excellent bass.

[Error: unknown template video]

"Muscle 'n Flow" - Great piano in this, as usual, plus excellent organ, bass, guitar, and steel guitar. Ffff, I dunno, I just find these guys so musically interesting.

[Error: unknown template video]

"The Pelican" - That piano again. Hrrrrrr. Great guitar, too. This one's all full of discordant crashes and booms, it's very satisfying.

[Error: unknown template video]

"Weird" - This one's got a very... gritty sound? Guh, that saxophone. And what sounds like a lap steel. And is that a dulcimer?

[Error: unknown template video]

...That's probably enough of that for one spamming. ^_^;;

Land of Music and Indecisive Weather

no subject

Florence and the Machine and MGMT! <3! High five!