maandag 10 juni 2013

Mixtape Monday (3): X

The theme of this mixtape was suggested by my friend Adrianne, who gave me the challenge of “X”. I interpreted that X in the following ways: kiss, cross, maths, quit and ‘unknown’. Of course, the first one is easiest, there are a lot of lovesongs around but I didn’t want a sappy tape ;)
You can find the playlist HERE

1. Robert Johnson – Crossroad Blues - Some good ol' blues!
2. Jamie Lidell – Multiply - I've always liked this song, especially in summer.
3. Bright Eyes – Nothing gets crossed out - I just love this song.
4. Eagles of Death Metal – Kiss the Devil - Because I love contrasts and this is such an awesome band.
5. Gossip – Heavy Cross - What can I say. Beth Ditto is amazing.
6. Elliott Smith – Waltz #2 (XO) - One of my favourite Elliott songs.
7. The Baseballs – Quit Playing Games - Because it's summer! (sort of).
8. Black Keys – Unknown brother - One reason: guitarssss.
9. Sixpence None the Richer– Kiss Me - Actually the first song that came up in my head. Lovely classic.
10. White Stripes – Black Math - This was my theme song for Maths in my final year at secondary school. I just didn't get it.
11. The Hollies - Jesus was a crossmaker - I like to listen to the Elizabethtown OST when driving, this is on it.
12. Queens of the Stone Age – You Can’t Quit Me Baby - I've been a QOTSA fangirl the past few weeks so they had to be on it. Killer Song!
13. Laura Marling – Cross Your Fingers - Another lovely contrast ;) Cute song.
14. Guillemots – Last Kiss - I think this is one of the few decent songs on their second album Red.
15. Horse Feathers – Elergy for Quitters - Beautiful little piece of music to close it off.

Well, I hope you enjoy it and I'd like to know your opinion/ suggestions for the next one! XO!

zondag 9 juni 2013

Album of the Week: Portugal. The Man- Evil Friends

I had to travel more than usual the past week, so I had plenty of time to check out some new records while driving. Combined with the sunny weather and the new Portugal. The Man, those trips weren’t that bad at all.

Portugal. The Man is a band from Portland, Oregon but has its roots in Alaska. They are quite productive: 8 releases since 2003. You might think: do they put quantity over quality? Well, they’ve managed to keep the quality on quite a high level as well! Not all albums are equally great, but there’s a certain consistency in PTM’s work.
Their newest effort, Evil Friends, was produced by Danger Mouse and this can be heard in the poppyness of the album. Portugal. The Man has never sounded so radio-friendly, a lot of their other works are weird and psychedelic. But the good thing about Evil Friends is that it unmistakably has the PTM sound. You just wish they’d play tunes like Creep in a t-shirt, Modern Jesus and Atomic Man on your local radio station instead of all those generic pop songs. The aforementioned songs are super catchy and easy to sing along with. Warning: they might get stuck in your head..

It’s not that I’m evil... I just don’t like to pretend I could ever be your friend.



Lines like these (with some small alterations) are the lyrical core of both Creep in a t-shirt and Evil Friends, which makes the songs flow nicely. The entire album has a lovely summer-vibe, and some songs (especially Atomic Man) have a slight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- sauce over them (it must be the guitars and John Gourley’s vocals). Modern Jesus is quite different from what PTM has done in the past, and is one of the standout tracks on the album. It’s laidback, catchy and instantly makes you happy when singing “the only faith we have is faith in us”. The entire album has quite a lot of quirky oneliners, which suit the uplifting music quite nicely.

It is the first half of the album that stands out, but that doesn’t give the other songs enough credit. Evil Friends is a 9 out of 10 album: only Holler Roller (Hallelujah) is a bit off. It's a good thing it's followed up by the amazing Someday Believers (that choir! that piano!) and Purple Yellow Red and Blue which is just wonderfully weird.



I just hope Portugal. The Man will get some more recognition and airplay, because they sure as hell deserve it! Maybe Evil Friends is their ticket to a bigger audience.. it’s already my Summer ’13 soundtrack.

maandag 3 juni 2013

Mixtape Monday (2): lyrics

I’m a sucker for lyrics. I like listening to them, looking them up and I always want to know what someone's singing. This mixtape has a lot of "sad" songs, whenever I feel sad it's just good to know other people are worse ;)
It was hard to pick 15 songs, because there are so many good lyrics around. (And I've probably forgotten a lot of "classics"...)

1. Leonard Cohen – AvalancheI stepped into an avalanche and it covered up my soul” --> gets me every time I hear it. Damn. Mr. Cohen is godlike.
2. Patrick Wolf - The Tinderbox dark to one spark and I have your heart”. I love the fact it is about one of my favourite fairy tales :)
3. The Mountain Goats – Never Quite Free “It's so good to learn that from right here the view goes on forever/ And you'll never want for comfort, and you'll never be alone”. This song gives me hope.
4. M. Ward – Poor Boy, Minor Key. Just love the line “one day they’ll be as giants/ stronger than the sun/ but that day ain’t yet come”.
5. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the aeroplane over the sea. “how strange it is to be anything at all”. Jeff Mangum writes amazing lyrics. Fact. Listen to the entire album, it’s soooo good.
6. The Low Anthem – The Ballad of the Broken BonesSo my friends if you're worried / Don't worry about me /The grasses are green here /The winters are mild/ And the hunger is passing /It's just a sensation/ And over the world am I”(Reminds me of the movie Into The Wild)
7. Andrew Bird – Armchairs. One of the most cryptic songwriters I know, and I love the fact his lyrics can be interpreted in many ways. This song makes me tear up every time, and the image of “a cosmonaut of the space between our chairs” is just amazing.
8. Johnny Flynn – The Wrote and the Writ. Mr. Flynn is a true troubadour, a storyteller. This is his masterpiece!
9. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Gardener. Cool song about a guy who kills the new love of his girl and buries him in his garden ;) “Death will grow my jasmine
10. Of Montreal – The Past is a Grotesque Animal “in its eyes you see/ how completely wrong you can be”. I once heard a live version of this song, it’s got a lot of lyrics but it just grabs you.
11. Mark Lanegan – Bombed. A perfect love song, in just 1:08. Marvellous.
12. Bowerbirds – the Ticonderoga. “Dreaming on my pillow – of high tide”. That’s been my motto for quite a while.
13. Megafaun – The Longest Day. Banjo FTW, but the lyrics are even more win. Perfect song for when you miss someone dearly.
14. Phosphorescent – Wolves. Another example of lyrics that can be interpreted in many ways. I like to think of a person who’s in trouble (mentally) and turns to someone (his mother, because that’s what we all do, don’t we?) for help. Mom knows best.
15. Bright Eyes – Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Loved and to be loved). Truly amazing (and political) song, from 2002 – when Conor Oberst still wrote decent songs ;) Don’t care much for his recent material.

Enjoy! You can find the Spotify list here.