Sunday, December 22, 2013

Judging a book by its cover

I've always loved the opening credits and scores to movies and t.v. shows. Movie scores, if done well, have the one piece that you instantly associate with the image, as soon as you hear it. 2001, Clockwork Orange, Gallipoli all have permanently claimed the works of Strauss, Beethoven, and Albinoni. Within the first few notes a stream of images flood my mind's eye - It matters not the history they held before.

It seems of late that the opening credits of t.v. shows have become as important as the shows themselves, even if the openings are as short as Breaking Bad's. True Blood would not be the same without that song or those visuals, nor would Homeland. So, here are a few of my favs.
















Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday is always a trip-hop kind of day

By the end of the week I'm fried. Friday night means good food, a glass a red wine, and something smooth coming from our kitchen speakers. Here are a few of my favs, both old and new.

Zero 7... Of course with Sia. She's really gone south of late, and they have disappeared, so we stick with the first two lp's by them both.

I listed Little Dragon on my last post. I first heard the lead singer with this one man 'project' group SBTRKT. The lp is a couple years old, but still is a great Friday night listen.
The Beastie Boys are known for their rap, but their instrumental lp was a masterpiece. Much of the music influenced by their man... Money Mark.

Can't leave out DJ Shadow

or Tricky
Thievery Corp
Imogen Heap
Caia
Fink


And again, I could keep going till there would be no more room on the page. Wait, this page is set to infinity, so I could keep going, but I won't. Dinner and the glass of red is waiting for me, 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Notebooks full of women...

Having two daughters has left me with a very large library of music by women, and not top 40 gals like Beyonce or Miley (gag). I have always listened to female artists - from my dad's Janice Joplin LP's to the soft, smooth sounds of Ella Fitzgerald. But, it was made very clear to me by my oldest, at the age of three, that all we could listen to in the car was music by women - so the hunt was on! I'm gonna skip most all the modern decades, and jump to the 00's, or even the teens, since most of you reading this are old enough that we don't need to review the last 70's years in women's music. Will we be calling the 20's the twenties again? So here are a few lesser-known artists that are on heavy rotation at the house, other than say Fiona Apple, Cat Power or Ani Difranco.

Ane Brun is from Norway (look for the pattern here). She's been around for about ten years, but my oldest just discovered her about a year ago.

Next is First Aid Kit. Swedish sister duo with already two lps under their belt.
Canadian singer Austra.
Another sister duo. CocoRosie
Grimes.
Feist.

Little Dragon. Not a female artist, but a whole band, with the traditional female lead, but what a lead! She's awesome, so I will bend the post rules just a bit.
Thao & Mirah.
Thao on her own is not bad either.


I'll stop there, since I could go on and on... So much music and so little time!


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Music...

After chatting with an old friend, she suggested that I start a blog, of sorts, about the music that I listen to. I can't fathom life without music - it's the soundtrack to my day, the cream in my daily cup of java. So, here I am reviving my old Blogger (Tumblr was not cooperating) and giving the idea a whirl. 

I could just start rattling off the names of bands and musician I suggest, but that would be pretty dry. So, instead I will try to group a few artists at a time, and share either which songs or albums of theirs I love. I will start with a few of my current favs from this year.

I first heard Alt J a little over a year ago, and they have been in heavy rotation in the B'man household ever since. There's not song on their debut LP, An Awesome Wave, that I don't love. The mesh of literary influences and rich sounds, both human and instrumental, make for a treat. From what I hear, they are actually popular! Yup, some of that cream rising to the top for a change. 

Another band I have listen to a lot this year is Stateless. They only have two LP's to their name, but both are well worth a listen. 
Next is Sarah Jaffe. Having to girls has always pushed me into fining good music by women. From birth, both liked the female voice better. And while I had lots of female artists in my collection of tunes, it was neither enough. There's just so much Tori Amos one can listen to. She has two LP's out, and both are very different, and well worth a listen.  

This is just a taste so far... I will need to plan this better! At least this is a start.