new tunes

so this semester I've come across a lot of music that is new to me.... not necessarily to everyone else, but it is some good stuff. all of these artists I'm listing I most likely found out from a friend. so, I thought I'd share some of my new favorite albums, in no particular order:

ben kweller - changing horses
ben kweller made me like country. he usually does pop/alternative stuff, which is great, but this album is all country. and i guess I like it because it's not "typical" country. my favorite two tunes on this album are "sawdust man" and "gypsy rose."

balmorhea -balmorhea
this is great instrumental music. i love listening to it when I'm in a chill mood or need to study.

jenny lewis & the watson twins - rabbit fur coat
lately, I've been listening to a lot more female artists. jenny lewis is fabulous. she's also the frontwoman for the band Rilo Kiley, if you've ever heard of them. standouts on this one for me are "You Are What You Love" and "Rise Up With Fists!!!"

she & him- volume I
continuing on the female track, this is a standout album with zooey deschanel taking the lead (she's also an actress, and you've probably heard of her). m. ward produced this album and also sung on it. it has a really ole timey feel. at first, I couldn't really appreciate zooey's voice, but after a few listens it definitely got a hold on a me. they do a great cover of the beatles song "I Should've Known Better."

regina spektor - begin to hope
i just recently started listening to regina when a group in my old testament class did a presentation on her song "samson." in addition to that song, I love "On the Radio."

monsters of folk - monsters of folk
so this is actually a new album. this a SUPER group. conor oberst (bright eyes), m. ward (who is also part of she & him) , jim james (my morning jacket), and mike mogis. I love all the songs on here. every single one.

eisley - fire kite ep
anyone that knows me knows that i love eisley. they just released this ep this fall, and it has 5 songs. 2 of them are mixed tracks (but not mastered) that will be on the next album. these two tracks, "ambulance" and "the valley" are amazing - some of my favorite eisley songs ever. the other tracks are garageband demos and aren't so hot.

sufjan stevens - the BQE
this album consists of all instrumental tracks... it's actually the soundtrack for a film made about the brooklyn-queens expressway in new york. I havent seen the film yet, but the music is amazing. i mean come on, it's sufjan. who wouldn't like it?

rosie thomas & sufjan stevens - these friends of mine
I love sufjan stevens, so naturally I'd love anyone that he collaborates with. I got to see a documentary about the making of this album at a local theater which sparked my interest in rosie. she is really endearing and her passion for music is amazing. all the tracks on this album are great, but i particularly love "much farther to go" and "kite song." her christmas album is amazing as well.

the avett brothers - emotionalism
I just recently started listening to these guys. they are a great folksy band, and there's a lot of banjo, which I love. my favorite track at the moment is "paranoia in B major."

dave rawlings machine - a friend of a friend
if you wanna see real musicians, go see these guys live. they all are incredibly talented. dave rawlings is probably one of the most talented guitarists I have had the pleasure to enjoy live from just a few feet away. gillian welch also sings on this album.

beirut - gulag orkestar
this album feels really easten european. i love all the instruments. apparently the lead guy went around recording street musicians. i don't know this album really well yet, but I love listening to it.


that's it for now. thanks friends for sharing your love of particular artists with me! I'd love to hear more... I do have a ten hour drive back to texas ahead of me. happy sunday and happy studying!

xx

indianne

p.s. if you love Christmas music and you don't have sufjan steven's "Songs for Christmas," then you're missing out. get it!

p.p.s. there are a couple of great sites I also use to find new music... pandora.com and last.fm. pandora is an internet radio station that streams new music according to the music you already like. last.fm keeps track of all of your play counts on itunes (and your ipod, when you plug it in), and will make suggestions for you based on your top play counts. it's also interesting because it will tell you what you've been listening to the most over the past week, month, three months, etc. if you click the link on the right hand side of this page that says "what i'm listening to," it will take you to my last.fm account.