friday five - 10.10.08 - two (or more) sides to everything

Opinions are never objective. When people approach issues, things, even other people, they automatically judge them based on their own interests or experiences, often choosing to adhere to a single perspective. In public, we project different sides of ourselves than we do to those who know us (and similarly, we have another side to us that we only reveal when there's no one around). It's not a bad thing. It's a part of being human.



The Unbearables - The Darker Part (mp3|5.29MB): For a group telling the story of someone nervously approaching the unknown within their significant other, The Unbearables don't seem to be too concerned about repercussions. Instead, their bouncy, brass-peppered pop gives the situation an overall positive outlook. The song ends with your eyes are more than enough for me, which makes me wonder if the subject in question was at all receptive to his inquiries, or if he just gave up. I don't know. Maybe it's just that modern love isn't so blind, after all.

The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied to Me (mp3|10.09MB): Now this is the kind of music you'd expect to be associated with finding out something surprising about someone you thought you knew. It's forboding at first; the vocals echo subtly, muffled as if trapped behind glass (go ahead, have a metaphorical party with that one). This song seems like a peculiar homage to Pink Floyd - what with the march-on riot guitar and prog-ish riffs - and I think that's one of the reasons I like it so much. Of course, there's always the fact that the Besnard Lakes are one of the bands that I can always rely on to fuel my slightly-frightening Jagjaguwar obsession, but hey, I don't really need a reason for my selections, do I? (Insert pause, then a whiny, vocal vindication of"my blog, mine.")

Marching Band - Makeup Artist (mp3|6.48MB): Swedish pop. Yes. I blame it all on Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster. Two years ago, I would have never seen myself desperately seeking channels in what seems to be an ongoing Swede invasion throughout the indie-rock world; now, however, I'm reluctantly accepting yet another musical addiction. Marching Band delivers to us a story of a girl with a double life (or a life drastically altered - I'm terrible with lyrical interpretation) with a poppy tune that's so infectious it should be quarantined. (The bad puns will continue until morale improves!)

Hercules and Love Affair - True False/Fake Real (mp3|6.24MB): Hercules and Love Affair sez: time to disco in the circus tent. No, seriously. I love this album more than I care to admit. And this song, which boasts lyrics that consist of nothing more than True false, fake real and I know you know I know, is dance-y ear candy that seriously tempts my geeky sweet tooth. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I'm going to pretend I didn't buy it because a certain behemoth music site told me to. So there.

My Brightest Diamond - The Good and the Bad Guy (mp3|5.85MB): Shara Worden's voice is absolutely amazing. With years of operatic training, she (along with the rest of My Brightest Diamond) manages to make some of the most beautiful rock music I've ever heard. They played this song when I saw them live in 2007, and it was incredibly compelling - the dilemma of a woman who's still in love with her ex, but only projects the bad side of him to people she knows in order to make herself appear stronger. In truth, she wants him back. There are two sides to every story - even the ones told by a single person.

Bonus Because I Fail (Yet Again):
Spoon - The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine (mp3|6.80MB): Am I getting too predictable? I don't care. Have some Spoon.


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