friday five - 25.09.09 - death death death!

There's been a lot of talk about death recently. For that matter, there's been a lot of death this year period (not that people don't die every year - I'm just saying that there have been a lot more famous people kicking the bucket than usual, or so it seems). Dom DeLuise, Michael Jackson, David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, Ted Kennedy, Les Paul, Mollie Sugden, Patrick Swayze, Walter Cronkite, Bea Arthur, John Hughes --

-- oh yeah, and btw we're all going to die in 2012 blah blah blah --

-- the list goes on. Seriously, this has been one of the most morbid years I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Add to that a completely random conversation I had with my supervisor about the afterlife, reincarnation, and the Big Bang, and now you have the reason behind this week's theme. Death death death, life after death, death after death, nothing after death, blah blah death.

So, enjoy celebrating the death of another workweek and the death of this summer (ooh! that would have been a good one! too bad it would have killed my bandwidth! ha ha ha!) by listening to some songs (et cetera) about death. Yippee!



Bat for Lashes - "The Big Sleep" (mp3|4.17MB): If this album doesn't make it as one of my top ten albums of 2009, I will consider the shit to be officially shocked out of me. (Five seconds for you to recover from that mental image. Five, four, three -- PSYCH, you only get three.) Aside from "Daniel," which holds my personal vote for being one of the most moving tracks of the year, the entire album is filled with such lovely, haunting melodies that could either be accused of putting someone to sleep or keeping them awake. On this track, a slightly different feeling of unease overtakes the inherent beauty that lies in this song's simplicity. It's not bad, it's just Scott Walker. My God, that man is creepy.
(from the 2009 album Two Suns)

Carina Round - "For Everything a Reason" (mp3|7.28MB): What the hell is wrong with me? Following up a soft, gorgeous song with another soft, gorgeous song? It's all part of my master plan. No, I don't know what this plan involves, but trust me, it's going to be epic. Like the thought of those who loved before being brought back together. Just trust me.
(from the 2009 album Things You Should Know)

Modest Mouse - "The Parting of the Sensory" (mp3|8.05MB): First off, I want to diss on all you haters (THAT'S RIGHT, I'M DISSING ON HATERS) who expressed even the meagerest form of disapproval to Modest Mouse's 2007 release, calling it "too polished." I was quite pleased with the return to a rougher Mouse, so I don't know what y'all are talking about. Anyway, this song's basically about the fact that we're all going to turn into worm food so it's probably not a good idea to waste your time on Earth hating on an album that was made by a better band than yours with better production equipment than you own. (Oh yeah. I went there.)
(from the 2007 album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank)

The Notwist - "Off the Rails" (mp3|3.17MB): Sometimes simple is better. With repetitive, minimalist lyrics and a feather-light, staccatoed harmonic structure, this song drives home a book's worth of feeling in slightly more words than exist in haiku. In fact, I don't think I need to say any more than that.
(from the 2002 album Neon Golden)

Regina Spektor - "Human of the Year" (mp3|4.57MB): To me, Regina Spektor exists in a realm of artists (mostly female) that seem to make music solely to encourage me to focus on all the details of humanity and my relation thereto that make me emote like a motherfucker. (Please don't try to analyse that sentence. Nothing good can come of it.) Following in the footsteps of the entirety of 2004's Soviet Kitsch, this song takes appreciation of individual reaction and utter humanism to the point where it seems like it could evoke empathy in even the coldest of hearts.
(from the 2009 album Far)

Bonus: Logan Whitehurst - "The Death of Sid Sheinberg" (mp3|6.88MB): Satan is called "Beelzebuddy." There's no way I can justify this song past that.
(from the 1998 album I Would Be a Biggest Octopus)


Okay, I'm done. You can now enter the kingdom of plenty with your seventy-two virgins.

Or, wait. No guarantees. Um. Just forget I said anything.

HEY, LOOK OVER THERE, IT'S A GHOST.



SEND US MORE MAIL, SLACKERS. MY GOLDFISH SENDS ME MORE EMAIL THAN YOU DO AND HE DIED EIGHT YEARS AGO. Ahem. fridayfiveradio@gmail.com. Commit it to memory.

friday five - 18.09.09 - gratuitous b-sides and rarities dump #1

First: I want to dispute the legality of me being sick this many times in one month.

Three. Three times. Seriously? Seriously? Oh my god. I'm suing the universe.

Second: I really need to take a class in blog-writing. Other than succeeding at making my posts at least marginally cohesive/intelligible to those whose native languages don't begin with "BLORT" (not to discriminate against you Blortburfians, no really, you're among our most cherished readers), it might enable me to use this blog for homework, with which I have experienced an unfortunate inundation.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've posted something truly pretentious (or anything, period), but prepare to be amazed by my off-the-cuff eloquence and inconsequential fluff nonetheless.



Mew - "Like Paper Cuts" (mp3|3.76MB): There is no reason why this band should not get an award for being the Best Band to Listen To at Night. Almost everything they've done carries with it a very nocturnal sense of being - and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with listening to them in company (especially songs with the atmosphere of "Like Paper Cuts") - it seems a little superficial whenever I listen to them when I'm not alone. Maybe I'm an emo/indie/shoegazing snob, but I take so much out of it when I don't necessarily have to talk about it. (Let's play make-believe. Scene: That last sentence made sense. GO.) Sort of an odd choice for a music blog, but just let the subtle, staccato piano brush over you like fingers tapping on your shoulder. It'll be obvious in a while.
(a b-side from the 2002 UK 7" single Am I Wry? No)

Muse - "Futurism" (mp3|4.75MB): Some songs were created within a studio environment and then tossed because they couldn't be easily played live. This has happened a lot more in recent years due to the improvement of layering technology and synthesizer voices; sometimes, your vision for a piece extends far beyond the capabilities of the number of people in your band. And you know what? That's totally okay. Sure, I'm going to be sad that you can't play it live, but I'll deal. This is a song by Muse that falls into that category, and, for all its gory guitar grinding, has also fallen into my icy hipster heart. (Don't worry, my surgery is next week.)
(a bonus track from the JP release of the 2005 album Origin of Symmetry)

Radiohead - "I Am Citizen Insane" (mp3|3.28MB): There is no excuse for me. (Actually, yes, yes there is. NyQuil. That's my excuse. NyQuil and sleep deprivation.) I don't know why I'm the one who always throws out the trippy instrumentals, but we all have our roles in life. And this trippy instrumental just happens to be awesome. I don't recommend a lot of trance to people, but since Radiohead does no wrong, it might as well be trance by them.
(a b-side from the 2003 album Hail to the Thief)

The Smiths - "Money Changes Everything" (mp3|6.37MB): PREPARE TO FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNEW ABOUT 1980s NEW-WAVE. Okay, now that you've forgotten, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about. (HA HA OH GOD MAKE IT STOP.) If you've ever heard Bryan Ferry's hit single (one of Bryan Ferry's only hits, period), you'll find that this song sounds quite familiar. It should. The only things Ferry added were words. Still, it doesn't matter if you love it or hate it; just remember, a little lovin' is a dangerous thing.
(a previously unreleased instrumental from the 1993 compilation The World Won't Listen)

Sunset Rubdown - "The Weather Can Turn on You" (mp3|4.37MB): I could go on about this band all day. No, wait. PLEASE let me go on about this band all day. I swear I'll be more informed and educated. I don't sit in the bushes outside their practise space with binoculars. Often. (If only.) Actually, the reason I chose this song was that Spencer Krug's voice actually deviates the most from his trademark shrillness here; the lyrics "and I know / that you'll be looking for the heat when the sun goes down / yes I know / that you'll be kicking yourself when the sun goes down" almost sounds like a completely different person is singing it. Either way, he's come a long way, baby.
(an early release, not from an album)

Yes, yes, you're welcome. And now I shall endeavour to be a good student spinster wino and pretend I'm actually smart enough to explicate Coleridge on a level higher than "dude was old / had a beard / was from the sea / smelled like fish." HEY, d'ya know what Coleridge would sound like if he were a 12-year-old AOL user?

"MET AMBLAMS THAY OF INOCENC3 AND LOV3!!1!!!!!1 LOL"

NEXT WEEK: EVANESCENCE. STAY TUNED.

Send stuff to fridayfiveradio@gmail.com or MEETETH THY DOOMETH. ETH.