Blog Post 45

I'm taking a little break. I'll be back.

FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake
FutureSex/LoveSounds
2006
Pop
Zomba

1. FutureSex/LoveSound
2. SexyBack
3. Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk To You
4. My Love
5. Lovestoned/I Think That She Knows
6. What Goes Around.../...Comes Around
7. Chop Me Up
8. Damn Girl
9. Summer Love/Set The Mood
10. Until The End Of Time
11. Losing My Way
12. (Another Song) All Over Again
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I'm not a saint
I'm just a man
Who had Heaven and Earth
In the palm of his hand
But I threw it away

"(Another Song) All Over Again"

Out of all the stuff I listen to on a regular basis, what I probably get the oddest faces when people find out that I'm a huge Justin Timberlake. I don't totally love his first album, Justified, or his boy band era, but everything from FutureSex/LoveSounds and his guest appearances are pretty perfect. He's one of those rare gems in the top 40 who can manage putting together an entire album of songs that are just as good as the singles. And tastefully.

Tastefully? This is an "concept album" about lust and romance. Can it really be done tastefully? Yes. Mostly because of the incredible production by Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Rick Rubin. The beats bring thoughts to my mind about a modern day Thriller, with tons of layers of sound mixing perfectly to make one, thick sounding groove for a good hour and 6 minutes. It's very contemporary pop, but still fresh sounding even after the mid-2000s hip hop sound has evolved into something else. Doesn't lend itself to being dated at all.

I really apologize for giving such a lame summary of how FutureSex/LoveSounds actually sounds like. I'm really really tired at the moment and no words are entering my head. So this is a little mystery meat. Just trust me this time, okay? I think Justin Timberlake is the best top 40 artist making music right now, and this album is probably the best pop album of the 2000s.

I'll maybe come back and rewrite this blog when I'm a little more awake...

Click here to download part 1 (80.57 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (59.22 MB)

There's like 2 F-bombs on the album so they thought it would be a good idea to put an Explicit logo on the cover. That's really all that's keeping this from being clean.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy / Vinyl

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1999
Indie
Merge

1. The King Of Carrot Flowers (Part 1)
2. The King Of Carrot Flowers (Part 1 & 2)
3. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
4. Two-Headed Boy (Part 1)
5. The Fool
6. Holland, 1945
7. Communist Daughter
8. Oh Comely
9. Ghost
10. Untitled
11. Two Headed Boy (Part 2)
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

And when we break
We’ll wait for our miracle
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
And when we break
We’ll wait for our miracle
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life.
Two-headed boy
She is all you could need
She will feed you tomatoes
And radio wire
And retire to sheets safe and clean
But don’t hate her when she gets up to leave

"Two-Headed Boy (Part 2)"

Along with uploading this album, I have a few apologies to make. One is that I have been slacking on posts. This one is a few days late, and the last one was about a week late. Mostly because I've been listening to a lot of new stuff that I don't own yet and have had a hard time deciding what to upload. And the second thing is that I have gotten into a bad habit of uploading classic albums instead of more obscure stuff. I posted Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, OK Computer, and Thriller all one after another. All very hyped and very celebrated pieces of work that I am the thousandth person to blog about. This album is absolutely no break from that trend. But those of you who haven't heard of it, you can now crawl out of your rock you must be living under.

There have been so many things said about In The Aeroplane Over The Sea that no matter what I say, I won't be the first one to say it. It's definitely one of the most praised albums of all time, and it definitely lives up to a good deal of the hype. All of it? Probably not. But this is a great record. What it all boils down to is Jeff Mangum's visionary songwriting. The lyrics mean both everything and nothing, making little literal sense other than general ideas, but perfectly convey emotion, dreams, and thoughts in a very universal way. The words personify being in love, mourning a death, traveling the world, being in the middle of a war, and a thousand other states of mind that I don't have the energy to get into at the moment.

The music is what is now commonly associated with the word "indie," but I think of it as really aggressive folk. All the songs are focused around an acoustic guitar playing mostly open chords, but the arrangements are huge and, according to the liner notes, incorporate over 25 different instruments, including accordion, trumpet, organ, shortwave radio, fugelhorn, zanzithophone, and bowed banjo. That sounds like it would come together to make a really scatterbrained style of music, but Neutral Milk Hotel's overall sound and feel has become a staple in the music scene. They've heavily influenced ridiculous amounts of people, including my favorites: Okkervil River and Modest Mouse.

I personally am a big fan of the way the songs are mapped on the album. The first two tracks are 3 parts of a larger picture, "The King Of Carrot Flowers." Also, "Two-Headed Boy (Part 1)" is actually continued by "The Fool," which might has well be a part of the Two-Headed Boy saga. "Untitled" is basically a continuation of "Ghost," and could very well be called "Ghost (Part 2)." And to close out the album, there is "Two-Headed Boy (Part 2)" which starts as a very different song and slowly transitions into a reprise of the theme, but not exactly bringing closure to the album, leaving everything very ambiguous.

I like what I did with that. In fact, if I had to describe this album in one word, it would be exactly that: "ambiguous." You'll like it.

Click here to download (83.86 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Catch For Us The Foxes by mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou
Catch For Us The Foxes
2004
Post Hardcore
Tooth & Nail

1. Torches Together
2. January 1979
3. Tie Me Up! Untie Me!
4. Leaf
5. Disaster Tourism
6. Seven Sisters
7. The Soviet
8. Paper Hanger
9. My Exit, Unfair
10. Four Word Letter (Pt. 2)
11. Carousels
12. Son Of A Widow
(Also included is a 499x500 album cover .jpeg)

My life's a cup of sugar I borrowed before time began and forgot to return

"January 1979"

mewithoutYou is one of my favorite bands, and I really can't choose which one of their records is best. It's either Brother, Sister (also on the blog, take a look around) or Catch For Us The Foxes. This is a huge sounding record, with a rumbling, ethereal sound akin to Radiohead's OK Computer. (Again, on the blog) The music completely demands your attention. And if that isn't enough, their "singer," Aaron Weiss, demands it very loudly and very explicitly.

If you've never heard of mewithoutYou before, you're in for a surprise when the vocals come in. There's very little melody or tune to what he's saying, if at all. Actually, "saying" is a pretty accurate description of how the vocals go. It's difficult to describe, but he kind of rhythmically mumbles, speaks, shouts, and panics. But not in a screamo or scene way. It's actually very tasteful, and he's one of my favorite vocalists.

Most of all, if the music doesn't convince you that something special is going on here, and the vocals don't convince you that something special is going on here, the lyrics will. What makes Aaron Weiss' unique vocal style "work" is his message. It's heavy stuff. Most people would simply call it christian and be done with it, but I don't see it in such a two dimensional way. Aaron's lyrics are self loathing and God questioning. And always jaw dropping and thought provoking. I really can't say any more without ruining it...they're more than faith based lyrics. They're existence based lyrics.

Listen to it.

Click here to download (52.30 MB)
Click here to download (46.04 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Thriller by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson
Thriller
1982
Pop
Epic

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady In My Life
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

She told my baby we'd danced till three, then she looked at me
Then showed a photo--my baby cried--his eyes were like mine
Cause we danced on the floor in the round

"Billie Jean"

R.I.P. Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Regardless of what you think of Michael Jackson, Thriller simply is one of the best produced and most iconic albums ever released. I'm not going to say much about it, because I'm sure whatever I say won't do Michael Jackson justice. His goal in making the album was to make a record where "every song was a killer," and he has accomplished this perfectly. It's a masterpiece from start to finish with no filler.

It was produced by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. Eddie Van Halen plays guitar on "Beat It." Paul McCartney sings on "The Girl Is Mine." Janet Jackson sings on "P.Y.T." Vincent Price gives a monologue on "Thriller." It's the best selling album (worldwide) of all time. And Michael is spot on without fail. This is the pop album, and every pop star wishes they made it. If you don't have this yet, it's time to change that.

Click here to download (92.04 MB)

Buy it!
CD / CD+DVD

OK Computer by Radiohead

Radiohead
OK Computer
1997
Alternative
Capitol

1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. The Tourist
(Also included is a 953x953 album cover .jpeg)

Fitter, happier, more productive
Comfortable
Not drinking too much,
Regular exercise at the gym
3 days a week
Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries
At ease
Eating well
No more microwave dinners and saturated fats
A patient, better driver
A safer car
Baby smiling in back seat
Sleeping well
No bad dreams
No paranoia
Careful to all animals
Never washing spiders down the plughole

"Fitter Happier"

I was with some friends the other day and the OK Computer CD case was sitting nearby. One of them asked, "which Radiohead album is that?" and the other responded, "that's the Radiohead album." I'll be the first to admit that OK Computer is not my favorite Radiohead album, (just wait for my epic Kid A/Amnesiac double blog post) but it's definitely what they'll be remembered for most. And on top of that the music is incredible. So you should really already have this in your collection. But if not, I am here to share the wealth.

Radiohead has gone through a lot of stages in their music through the years. They started as pretty raw, raunchy, almost garage rock with Pablo Honey and The Bends. They took a very dangerous but much needed step in a more psychedelic and hard rock direction with OK Computer, and then took a complete U-turn with their next companion piece, Kid A and Amnesiac. Those two albums used barely any guitar (something Trent Reznor picked up for Year Zero) and implemented a lot of electronics and ambiance to create a totally unique sound that had never been heard before. OK Computer is what got them huge, and is still seen as their best work almost unanimously by fans (myself not included however).

It's a big, awesome sounding record. Right when you first press play, the fuzzy bassline to "Airbag" demands your attention and then slowly swirls around into the mix of other floaty guitars. Orchestrated perfectly to fill every single empty space in the mix (and your ears). It progresses very naturally like this, and the whole album has a very classic sound that is very often imitated (Muse? Looking at you.) but never duplicated. Download this record if you've never heard anything by Radiohead. You need it.

Click here to download part 1 (66.96 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.43 MB)

Buy it!
CD / 2 CDs+DVD / 2 CDs / Digital Copy / Vinyl

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
2000
Post Rock
Kranky

1. Storm
2. Static
3. Sleep
4. Antennas To Heaven
(Also included is a 900x900 album cover .jpeg)

"...The only thing is, they see it
Not through the light of God, and the way I show you,
I show you to see it through the light of God,
And the understanding of God.
Because when you see the face of God, you will die
And there will be nothing left of you
Except the God-man, the God-woman,
The heavenly man, the heavenly woman,
The heavenly child!
There'll be prayer on your lips day and night.
There'll be a song of jubilee waiting for your king.
There will be nothing you will be be looking for in this world
Except in for your god.
This is all a dream.
A dream in death..."

"Static"

I bought Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven without ever hearing one note of it. I was just so struck by the name of the band, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the name of the album, along with the eerily ambiguous cover art. I ordered my copy offline, not knowing what to expect. To tell you the truth, I had a strange feeling that I was going to be listening to some epic, progressive math rock band. I was very happily mistaken. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is the post rock band to end all post rock bands.

When the package arrived, it came with two other CDs I had ordered at the same time. Madvillainy by MF DOOM, and Things Fall Apart by The Roots, two other albums that I had never heard before in my life. I normally don't buy music this hastily, but I was so interested in these 3 bands that I felt like I would ruin the experience for myself if I didn't have everything in front of me when I listened for the first time.

I listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor last, as I was going to sleep, because I knew I couldn't stay awake through their ridiculous track lengths. The next day, my dad was getting on a plane to be taken to a hospital. He was going to undergo a serious spinal corrective surgery, and he was worried that he would come back worse than he was, along with the rest of my family. When I listened to this album for the first time, with all these thoughts spinning around my head, trying to fall asleep, it was perfect. I think about it every time I listen.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of those bands that I have a very hard time trying to describe to people properly. Their music is so good that you have to hear it to believe it for yourself, otherwise you will be convinced that it's just simply not for you. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven is their best album, and it is a 2 disc double album consisting only of 4 songs, 2 of which take up each CD of the set. The shortest song is nearly 19 minutes, and the longest is 23. However, they somehow aren't boring. Their songs consist of many movements, much like in classical music, that flow into each other seamlessly.

Their sound is also heavily influenced by classical music. I like to describe them as being a classical rock band, but they aren't classical sounding at all, and they aren't rock sounding at all. They actually teeter on the edge of ambient from time to time, but their music is altogether very melodic. It's ridiculously hard to describe and I apologize for doing so.

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven is split up into several movements for the sole reason that it's an experience. Listening to it all the way through creates a mood and a mindset that I don't think I've ever seen be done in any other album. It opens with "Storm," which begins as a triumphant march, like a holy band playing to exhaustion, welcoming and accompanying your first steps in heaven. And everything progresses naturally after that, oftentimes taking more grave turns. The entire album is littered with recordings of people (and places) speaking, which serve as reference points to exactly where you are in your journey through it all.

It's altogether very moving.

Click here to download part 1 (46.67 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.18 MB)
Click here to download part 3 (88.46 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Eye To The Telescope by KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall
Eye To The Telescope
2006
Pop
Virgin

1. Other Side Of The World
2. Another Place To Fall
3. Under The Weather
4. Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
5. Miniature Disasters
6. Silent Sea
7. Universe & U
8. False Alarm
9. Suddenly I See
10. Stoppin' The Love
11. Heal Over
12. Through The Dark
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I used to talk
With honest conviction
Of how I predicted my world
I'm gonna leave it to stargazers
Tell me what your telescope says

"Through The Dark"

I started listening to KT Tunstall in 2006 when this album charted because of the success of "Suddenly I See." When my friends who were just too cool for school found out that I listened to a pop singer, they made fun of me for listening to something that they considered girly and bubblegum. I'm sorry to say that out of peer pressure I quit listening to her music just so no one would judge my music taste by it. And about half a year ago, I rediscovered her music, and I was floored. I can't believe what I was missing that whole time. This is not girly, this is not bubblegum, this is barely pop. KT Tunstall is one of the best singer-songwriters in the music industry today, and probably the absolute best that gets radio play.

I'm somewhat of a guitarist myself, and I was trying to get into "looping." It's a style of playing where you use an effects pedal to record yourself playing something in a rhythm live, then play it back infinitely and play over yourself to become a sort of one man band. In my googling for loop pedals and people who use them, I stumbled upon KT Tunstall's breakthrough performance on Later With Jools Holland, where she performed "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" all by her lonesome, but with every layer of the song intact. She looped herself beating on her guitar to make drum noises, a miced tamborine, and her own voice, to create a totally unique sound that I had never experienced before. I strongly suggest you prowl through Youtube to find that video if you're at all on the fence about KT's musical abilities.

She's quite a guitarist. And singer. And lyricist. And overall just a fantastic musician who I absolutely love to listen to. There's not a bad song on the record, it doesn't wear itself out like most albums that you may have discovered through heavy radio rotation. She has a wonderful voice that is both powerful and soothing, and if that isn't enough, the production on all aspects of the music is great. I can't recommend this enough. Download it.

Click here to download part 1 (53.85 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (41.04 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Change by The Dismemberment Plan

The Dismemberment Plan
Change
2001
Indie
DeSoto

1. Sentimental Man
2. The Face Of The Earth
3. Superpowers
4. Pay For The Piano
5. Come Home
6. Secret Curse
7. Automatic
8. Following Through
9. Time Bomb
10. The Other Side
11. Ellen And Ben
(Also included is a massive 1425x1425 album cover .jpeg)

I'm an old testament type of guy
I like my coffee black and my parole denied

"Sentimental Man"

Emergency & I is hailed as one of the best albums of the '90s all the time, and the rest of The Dismemberment Plan's catalog is really overshadowed by the greatness of that album. It's very true that Emergency & I is an awesome record, but in my opinion, Change is a little superior and never got the attention it deserved. It is also the band's last album before calling it quits on good terms, and serves as the perfect swan song for one of the best bands of all time.

There's plenty of good humor in this album, just like there is in the rest of The Dismemberment Plan's music. But Change is also more matured, and deals with heavier subjects, like politics, religion, and divorce. Before I had ever heard the music, I read a review that mentioned that Change helped the writer deal with September 11th, which I found very poignant. It was, after all, released a month after the tragedy. The music just seems to have an overall more serious tone to it, while still retaining all the quirks that make the band what it is.

I wish I could think of more things to say about Change. But I'm drawing a blank. I truly believe that these guys are one of the best bands out there, and that this is the cream of the crop. Please check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Click here to download part 1 (53.25 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.06 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Sin-A-Matic by Louis Logic

Louis Logic
Sin-A-Matic
2003
Hip Hop
Solid

1. Sintro
2. Street Smarts
3. Freak Show
4. Celph Hatred
5. Diablos
6. Dos Factotum
7. Coochie Coup
8. Postal
9. Mischievous
10. Halfway Stretch (Sinterlude)
11. Best Friends
12. Revenge!!!
13. Fair Weather Fan
14. The Rest
15. The Ugly Truth
16. Idiot Gear
17. Dust To Dust
(Also included is a 342x342 album cover .jpeg)

You're just another asshole
Who wants to see me dressed up in my dad's clothes
Working underpaid until I'm mad old
As far as that goes
You'll never live to see it take place
I've brought a little present for you in my attache case

"Postal"

Scroll to the bottom of this blog post and click the download link, right now. After you've done that, continue reading. Ready...go.

There are a lot of rappers on the scene right now who are trying to differentiate themselves from the mainstream by putting a serious message in their lyrics, as opposed to rapping about material possessions and women. Louis Logic takes a step in the opposite direction. It's apparent that he's trying to become noticed by being as offensive as he possibly can towards anyone he can. He gets this message across as soon as the album starts, with the opening statement: "Perfection is rhymer, it's only 'cause I'm such a dick you always find me next to vagina."

The title of the record, Sin-A-Matic, refers not only to the lyrical content, but also is a play on words of "cinematic," to describe Louis Logic's visual delivery style. He's quite a storyteller, and his lyrics are very easily understood and followed. This works great on songs like "Postal," "Best Friends/Revenge!!!" and "Dust To Dust." Narrative lyrics are even more apparent on his follow up album, Misery Loves Comedy, but this is by far a superior disc.

Though Louis Logic tries to offend for shock factor every chance he gets, it's all in good fun. Most songs are satire on the common radio rapper, like "Coochie Coup," which is probably the most obscene piece of music I've ever heard in my life. His lyrics are absolutely hilarious because of this, though. I dare you to sit through Sin-A-Matic without having a good belly laugh or two. He doesn't let the album end without a serious note or two though. "The Ugly Truth" is a very thought provoking song about the average middle aged white man's prejudiced views on the world around him, and "Dust To Dust" is a story of a married man's scuicide, induced by years of adultery.

Apart from Louis Logic's awesome writing and delivery, there's another huge plus to this record, and that's the very fresh beats, mostly by J.J. Brown, who is currently Louis Logic's partner-in-crime on his new record label, 5G productions. I can't brag on this guy enough. Every beat he does is ridiculously catchy and full of energy. Check out Misery Loves Comedy and Sin-A-Matic: The 80's Edition for 100% J.J. Brown produced beats on Louis Logic records.

Sin-A-Matic is my favorite hip hop album of all time. However, it's not perfect. There's but one flaw, and that's the song "Freak Show," which keeps in tune with Louis Logic's theme of shock-and-awe obscenity. But I think this song takes it just too far, and is far from being actually enjoyable. I think that if this song from the record, or maybe placed in a different order in the tracklisting, the album would be very near perfection. I'm sure someone will be able to get into it though. Just not me.

Click here to download part 1 (63.2 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (72.85 MB)

Louis Logic has an entire song dedicated to keeping his music out of the reach of children, and he means it. Very vulgar.

Unfortunately, Sin-A-Matic is out of print, both for physical copies and legal digital copies. If you really want a physical copy of the album, you can look on amazon marketplace (like I did) and pay over 20 bucks for a new copy. It's worth every penny, though.

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust by Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós
Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
2008
Post Rock
EMI

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur ("Within Me A Lunatic Sings")
3. Góðan Daginn ("Good Day")
4. Við Spilum Endalaust ("We Play Endlessly")
5. Festival
6. Með Suð Í Eyrum ("A Buzz In Our Ears")
7. Ára Bátur ("Row Boat")
8. Illgresi ("Weeds")
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright
(Also included is a 400x400 album cover .jpeg)

At light speed
Inside a heart explodes, an airplane crash
Down on the earth sings
I make a wish and close my eyes
Yes do that, a silly dance
All is forgotten in very little time and yet begins
Open eyes
Oh no

"Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" English Translation

I love Sigur Rós. I do not love that every time I blog about Sigur Rós, I have to copy+paste a thousand Icelandic words back and forth from Wikipedia.

They said it couldn't be done. Well, they didn't expect it done. A band as moody and greyscale and atmospheric as Sigur Rós, releasing an incredibly organic sounding summer record? Ridiculous. But last summer, the band released Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, which not only seems like an incredibly natural progression in the band's catalog, but also contains some of the happiest music of the year. And they did an excellent job.

Happiest music of the year might be an understatement. I dare you to sit still during "Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" or "Festival." The first five tracks of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust really bring to mind an icelandic version of Animal Collective. The backbone of the songs are acoustic guitars, as opposed to Jónsi's signature reverb soaked bowing on an electric guitar. Also, many of the songs feature a standard tenor vocal range, unlike the band's frequent use of falsetto in the past. It's so incredibly different, yet it still feels like Sigur Rós.

My only complaint with the record is the pacing of the last half of the album. After the insane buildup and release that is the coda of "Festival," every song after that gets gradually slower and calmer, until finally the band has reached it's all time softest intensity for the closer, "All Alright." All of the songs are great. Don't get me wrong. But I think that because they were put in this order, the listener slowly becomes disinterested as the record closes out. Especially because of the extreme amound of energy behind the first five tracks. However, give the B-side of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust a chance. It's the same quality as the A-side, it just takes an extreme detour in mood.

This is the definition of a summer album, and I've waited to post it until now for a reason. Listen to this outside, driving or running or working, on a humid summer afternoon or evening. Completely perfect accompaniment.

Click here to download part 1 (65.16 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (54.5 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Alive 2007 by Daft Punk

Daft Punk
Alive 2007
2007
House
Virgin

1. Robot Rock/Oh Yeah
2. Touch It/Technologic
3. Television Rules The Nation/Crescendolls
4. Too Long/Steam Machine
5. Around The World/Harder Better Faster Stronger
6. Burnin'/Too Long
7. Face To Face/Short Circuit
8. One More Time/Aerodynamic
9. Aerodynamic Beats/Forget About The World
10. Prime Time Of Your Life/The Brainwasher/Rollin' And Scratchin'/Alive
11. Da Funk/Daftendirekt
12. Superheroes/Human After All/Rock'n Roll
13. Human After All/Together/One More Time (Reprise)/Music Sounds Better With You (Encore)
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

RroooOoooooOOooOoobBoOoOootTttttttTtTTtTtt
HhHuUuuuuuUUUuUuuuuuMmAMMaaaAaAAaaaaaaaANnnnnnnNNannn

"Robot Rock/Oh Yeah"

This is the first and probably the last album that I will ever say this about: Alive 2007's only flaw is that it is so good, that every time I listen to it, I can't help being sad that I wasn't actually there. When an album is so good that being good becomes it's only flaw...I'd say you have one incredible album on your hands. This is the best house/electronic/dance/techno/whateveryoucallit album you will ever hear in your entire life. And I am aware that them's fightin' words.

What is Alive 2007? It's a live recording of Daft Punk playing at the Bercy arena in Paris on June 14th, 2007. What makes it so special? Here's a rundown of what Daft Punk's live show: it's almost every song that the group has ever released, sampled and played on top of each other in one singular, stream-of-consciousness mash-up song. To top it off, (no pun intended) Daft Punk is putting together this music as it happens at the point of a gigantic glass pyramid. Inside the pyramid are hundreds upon hundred of lights and screens, which are being controlled along with the music to create a light show for your dancing enjoyment.

Obviously this is audio and you can't see the light show, but the music is plenty visual. It's also incredibly well produced for a live album, and you really should do it some justice by listening on a pair of good headphones with high bass response. Sorry I can't describe the music in more detail, but I think it really speaks for itself. You will be blown away. If you aren't familiar with any of Daft Punk's music, then this is a great place to start. If you already know most of their catalog, then you'll be pleasantly suprised at the vast amount of songs and samples included in this show.

Click here to download part 1 (89.48 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (90.77 MB)

I own the standard edition of Alive 2007 that you can pick up off of any record store shelf today. However, at the time of release, it was also offered in a Deluxe Edition that included a huge photo book, a heavy duty booklike CD-case, and a bonus disc, containing the Finale from this show. The Deluxe Edition is no longer being made, or I would have a copy. But thankfully, one of my good friends got it as soon as it came out, and so he has given me a copy of the Finale. Ususally I don't upload anything to the blog unless I have paid for it and have a physical copy myself, but this is an exception because I really don't feel like the album is complete without it. The Finale is the best track, and it definitely deserves to be heard by everyone who downloads Alive 2007.

Alive 2007 also contains the only profanity ever uttered by a Daft Punk recording, and I quote: "fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it." In that order and that many times.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

blink-182 by blink-182

blink-182
blink-182
2003
Pop Punk
Geffen

1. Feeling This
2. Obvious
3. I Miss You
4. Violence
5. Stockholm Syndrome
6. Down
7. The Fallen Interlude
8. Go
9. Asthenia
10. Always
11. Easy Target
12. All Of This
13. Here's Your Letter
14. I'm Lost Without You
(Also included is a 492x500 album cover .jpeg)

Like violence, you have me
Forever and after
Like violence, you kill me
Forever and after

"Violence"

I've had a hard time convincing people that blink-182's final and self titled album is actually legit. Most people can't look past the boner jokes all over the band's first four albums, and most notably the megahit Enema Of The State. However, it's very clear to me that the band found on this release, blink-182, is a much more matured group of guys, both mentally and musically. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I think it's not too much short of being a perfect record.

How has the band changed exactly? Lots of ways. For one, the lyrics are actually good. It's no Shakespeare, but these songs are the most personal that blink-182 has ever written. "Here's Your Letter" is a song about communication and how people are incapable of being able to explain what they truly feel to someone. Would you find those lyrics on Take Off Your Pants And Jacket? I'll give you one guess.

Also, the production quality is incredible. Listen to this album on a good set of headphones. The guitars are huge, Travis Barker's already machine-gun drumming is even more pounding, and all of the vocals are crystal clear and sparkling. It almost has a psychedelic feel very often, with lots of pretty sounding swirling layers and effects. Huge props to the late Jerry Finn for putting this together so well.

My favorite part of the album is that it just sounds powerful. The first time the chorus blasts through the mix in "Obvious," everything gets turned to 11. This album is incredibly dynamic. And apart from getting your blood pumping with heavy beats, blink-182 really figured out how to affect their listener emotionally using only music with their self titled finale. Listen to the beautiful guitar sounds after the intro of "Asthenia" or the dissonant bells at the beginning of "I'm Lost Without You" and tell me that it didn't tug your heartsrings just a little bit.

GIVE THIS A SHOT. The album blink-182 might as well have been done by a completely different band.

Click here to download part 1 (51.98 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (52.38 MB)

A couple f-bombs still made it onto this album, despite the major changes that blink-182 has gone through.

Buy it!
CD

Madvillainy by MF DOOM

MF DOOM
Madvillainy
2004
Hip Hop
Stones Throw

1. The Illest Villains
2. Accordion
3. Meat Grinder
4. Bistro
5. Raid
6. America's Most Blunted
7. Sickfit
8. Rainbows
9. Curls
10. Do Not Fire!
11. Money Folder
12. Shadows Of Tomorrow
13. Operation Lifesaver A.K.A. Mint Test
14. Figaro
15. Hardcore Hustle
16. Strange Ways
17. Fancy Clown
18. Eye
19. Supervillain Theme
20. All Caps
21. Rhinestone Cowboy
(Also included is a 455x455 album cover .jpeg)

Who rock the house like rock and roll
Got more soul than a sock with a hole
Set the stage with a goal
Or have the game locked in a cage getting shocked with a pole
Overthrow it like throwing over a biscuit
A lot of bitches think he overly showmanistic
Let go his dick if that’s the case
Rats want to waste
There’s more cats to chase
Dogs, we got to light new powers
Woke up broke, spit shit, few hours
Sheesh, been unleashed since the Greek club
Have the fans saying please make me a dove
Well, since you asked kindly
Where you been behind the mask you cant find me
Ya blind, in the wine zone leave ya mind blown
When he shine with the nine
He’s a rhinestone…cowboy

"Rhinestone Cowboy"

Derek Dumile goes by many different names. For example: Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Supervillain, Madvillain, and Danger Doom. However, his most famous and encompassing emcee alias is Metal Face Doom, or MF DOOM. ("Use all caps when you spell the man's name") So that's how I tag the "artist" section of Madvillainy. On this record, MF DOOM teams up with producer Madlib, under the alias "Madvillain," to put together an album themed around old-school superheroes and supervillains. Most of the beats have a retro feel to them, as if they were playing from a phonograph or a mechanical television.

For a long time, MF DOOM was my favorite emcee, and while that spot is currently occupied by Louis Logic (or Louis Dorley), Madvillainy is still one of my favorite hip hop records, and it's something that I put on a lot when I'm stressed out or just want to relax to a nice beat. MF DOOM has a very calm voice, (wonder why? see: "America's Most Blunted") and Madlib's beats are smooth and tight on every track. Most of the music behind the raps is very jazz and swing oriented. It's not exactly something The Roots would put out or anything, but to a less extent.

One of my only criticisms of Madvilainy is that there are too many short or instrumental songs. Despite the whopping 23 tracks on the record, it's only a little over 45 minutes, and few of the songs are over 2 minutes. 4 are instrumental, and many of the rest have no room to breathe in the short time they're allotted. Could have been majorly improved, in my opinion.

Adjectives to describe Madvillainy: calm, cool, collected, random, retro, smooth, fresh, quick, clever, mysterious, intoxicated, witty, and thick. Check it out, it's one of the best hip hop albums to come out in the last 10 years.

Click here to download part 1 (55.6 MB)
Click here to downoad part 2 (43. 58 MB)

Not as profane as your average rap album, but it still was awarded a Parental Advisory logo.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

March by Goodbye Sons

Goodbye Sons
March
2003
Folk
Independently Released

1. Apart
2. March (Lion)
3. More Of The Same
4. Fullgrown
5. Good Work
6. Clockhammer
7. Periwinkle Springs
8. Close Encounter
9. Part Of The Wind
10. Streets & Avenues
11. Sanctuary From The Wasp
12. All About You
13. March (Lion)
14. Someday Or Later
(Also included is a 599x599 album cover .bmp)

Your smile's already told me
"Mark me off your page"
Well, I don't care, I wish I did
Next week I'll be okay
The way I see, it's gone
The way I looked at you
A drunken haze is good for the eyes
But never true

"Clockhammer"

I'm really trusting you guys, here. Goodbye Sons is a completely independent band, and they don't get paid very much for the great music that they put out. This album was put together in their own studio and released completely by the band. However, it is possible to buy a copy from CDBaby.com, (see the link at the bottom of this post) so I'm begging you to buy a copy and support the band if you like what you hear. However, if you don't, and this just gives people a way to pirate their music, then I could get in quite a bit of trouble. But like I said, I'm trusting you, and I'm hoping that this blog post will help rather than hurt. It's in your hands.

Goodbye Sons have been described by CDBaby.com as "a whiskey soaked wall of sound," and I completely agree. Their songs are very much still just simple folk tunes that could be played by anyone with the know-how and an acoustic guitar. However, the production quality and the atmosphere provided by their many instruments and subtle use of effects creates a very unique feel. The sound is very visual, and almost trancelike in some cases. However, they don't wander too far from their roots, and maintain a very natural, organic vibe.

Time for one minor complaint: I truly believe that March would be a near perfect album if the band had chosen to omit one song, "Good Work." It sounds so strange and out of place that it ruins the great pacing created by the song before it, "Fullgrown." (Which is the best song on the album, in my opinion) I will never understand why that song is on the record...but reguardless it is so I uploaded it anyways. I'm sure someone will appreciate it. Besides that song, I can't stress enough how good the rest of the album is musically.

Enjoy the fabulous music on March, it's really a great album. Please support the band if you like it.

Click here to download part 1 (57.93 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (71.09 MB)

Buy it!
CD or Digital Copy

The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West
1997
Indie
Up

1. Teeth Like God's Shoeshine
2. Heart Cooks Brain
3. Convenient Parking
4. Lounge (Closing Time)
5. Jesus Christ Was An Only Child
6. Doin' The Cockroach
7. Cowboy Dan
8. Trailer Trash
9. Out Of Gas
10. Long Distance Drunk
11. Shit Luck
12. Truckers Atlas
13. Polar Opposites
14. Bankrupt On Selling
15. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation, drinks, and gets mean
He's gonna start a war
And he hops in his pickup, puts the pedal to the floor
And says, "I've got mine but I want more"
Because Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation, drinks, and gets mean
Goes to the desert, fires his rifle in the sky and says
"God, if I have to die, you have to die"

"Cowboy Dan"

I don't really know how to describe The Lonesome Crowded West. I guess the best way would be to say that it's THE Modest Mouse album. Every indie band that surfaced after they hit the scene wishes that they had written it. This is where everything is at it's best. Great lyrics, great guitar work, great vocals, and just great songwriting. The production is a bit better on their "commercial" albums that they put out after The Moon & Antarctica, but it's certainly nothing to complain about here.

When I first heard The Lonesome Crowded West, I was on a hiking trip with my dad. So when I think about the album's sound, I think about autumn trees, leaves, dirt, and rocks. And looking at the songs now, I think that's a very acceptable way to think about them. The instrumentation is gritty, but beautiful. I still get a bit bored with Isaac Brock's repetitive atheistic messages, but the lyrics to these songs are much more tasteful than usual, and I actually really like them most of the time.

I have a hard time trying to explain the sound that Modest Mouse achieves here, so I'm sorry that I can't pitch it to you. Just trust me on this one. Good songs with soul.

Click here to download part 1 (87.01 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (69.66 MB)

Pretty vulgar. Not for sensitive ears.

Buy it!
CD

Hi, Everything's Great and Hey, Everything's Fine by Limbeck

I am such a nice guy. Today is my birthday, and instead of taking the day off to play with my shiny new guitar amp, I'm going to give you a present. Yes, you, my loyal music addict blog reader. I've decided to upload two albums that go hand in hand for you to download, one of which I don't think you can get anywhere else on the internet.


Limbeck
Hi, Everything's Great
2003
Alternative Country
Doghouse

1. Honk + Wave
2. Silver Things
3. Julia
4. This Place Is Deserted
5. I Wrote This Down
6. The Sun Woke The Whole State
7. Tan + Blue
8. Gamblin' Man
9. In Ohio On Some Steps
10. Brand New Orange
11. Albatross + Ivy
12. Comin' From Tuscon
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I'm not ready for some burned down bridge just yet
And I'm not saying that I want anything from you
The only thing I really want now, if I see you, Suze
Is if we drove side by side on a highway
In the beehive state, and we could honk and wave

"Honk + Wave"

Limbeck is one of my favorite bands of all time, just like this album is one of my favorite albums. They're called "indie" and "alternative country" a lot. But I would describe them as just good old fun. Limbeck writes perfect little pop songs with a noticeable southern influence in their music and lyrics. They're not overly country, but it's there.

All the songs on this album are about traveling, and meeting people in different places around America while on tour with a semi-successful rock and roll band. Even the title, Hi, Everything's Great, seems like something that you'd read on a postcard from someone's road trip. It's wonderfully enjoyable music that is just brilliantly enjoyable. I can listen to it no matter what mood i'm in, and it always relaxes me. Just feel good stuff.

I can't begin to describe how much I love this album. There's not much I can say that will immediately make you want to download it, but I think this is something that you just have to hear for yourself to appreciate it's charm.

Click here to download (78.28 MB)



(This is not the actual cover for Hey, Everything's Fine. Apparently, a scan of the cover doesn't exist on the internet. This is a photo of the inside sleeve, however, which shows pictures of all the guests that appear on songs for Hey, Everything's Fine.

Limbeck
Hey, Everything's Fine
2004
Alternative Country
Doghouse

1. Honk + Wave
2. Silver Things
3. Julia
4. This Place Is Deserted
5. I Wrote This Down
6. The Sun Woke The Whole State
7. Tan + Blue
8. Gamblin' Man
9. In Ohio On Some Steps
10. Brand New Orange
11. Albatross + Ivy
12. Comin' From Tuscon
(Also included is a 590x572 album cover .bmp)

Hey, Everything's Fine is a more personal and warmer sounding Hi, Everything's Great. When I bought the first album, I had no idea that I was actually going to be getting this one as well absolutely free, until I opened the package and this fell out. I must say, it was one of the best musical suprises I have ever had. This album is every song from the studio album, performed acoustically, live at a small party that Limbeck held with only their close friends. It's very quaint, modest, and just an all around awesome performance that I listen to even more than Hi, Everything's Great.

The audience is very small, and most of them have a small part in the music of these performances. Each song has it's own guest star or guest stars, including Nate Ruess from The Format, Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack, and close friend Rachel Cantu. The recording really makes you feel like you're there. Limbeck didn't edit out any of their mess ups, including having to start "Gamblin' Man" three times because of honest mistakes, and restarting "Albatross + Ivy" because the singer "heard a funny noise." There's something about it that just really hits me the right way.

Click here to download (89.11 MB)

These two albums together are probably the most listened to in my entire music library. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Buy it! (You may or may not get both if you order the CD...I got lucky with mine.)
CD / Digital Copy

808s And Heartbreak by Kanye West

Kanye West
808s And Heartbreak
2008
Pop
Roc-A-Fella

1. Say You Will
2. Welcome To Heartbreak
3. Heartless
4. Amazing
5. Love Lockdown
6. Paranoid
7. RoboCop
8. Street Lights
9. Bad News
10. See You In My Nightmares
11. Coldest Winter
12. Pinocchio Story
(Also included is a 420x420 album cover .jpeg)

My friend showed me pictures of his kids
And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs
He said his daughter got a brand new report card
And all I got was a brand new sports car

"Welcome To Heartbreak"

Kanye had a rough year. His mother, who has been the subject of more than a few songs of his, passed away, due to complications with a cosmetic surgery. He was also arrested for getting a bit too jumpy with the paparazzi, and had a bad breakup with his fiancee of a year and a half, because he was spending too much time on his music and not enough with her. Though, if you look on the bright side, the product of all this misery is 808s And Heartbreak, one of last year's best albums.

When hip hop artists like Akon, Flo Rida T-Pain, and Lil Wayne started becoming the new craze on rap radio, I stopped listening. There was just no soul behind it. Hip Hop in the mainstream had hit a major low. However, Kanye has always been one of those rappers whose music has really hit me the right way. And while it took me a long time to warm up to the idea of his putting out a pop record instead of a rap one, now I love it. He took the ideas of the aforementioned rappers and used them as a springboard for something truly meaningful, expressing real emotions about real loss through simple yet very classy music.

808s And Heartbreak features no real rapping. All the vocals are sung by Mr. West himself, through extreme levels of auto-tune, and in some cases, more rock-like effects such as distortion or reverb. This may be a put-off to some, but Kanye isn't using the auto-tune because he can't sing (he's a fine singer, especially for someone who is primarily an MC) but because it can actually sound really cool. He uses it to compliment the electronic beats, which are all made with old Roland TR-808 drum machines (does the title make sense yet?) and squeaky lo-fi keyboards. It all comes together to make a very modern yet un-cliche sound that towers above what most mainstream rappers are putting out currently.

Click here to download part 1 (67.2 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (42. 02 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Relationship Of Command by At The Drive-In

At The Drive-In
Relationship Of Command
2000
Post Hardcore
Grand Royal

1. Arcarsenal
2. Pattern Against User
3. One-Armed Scissor
4. Sleepwalk Capsules
5. Invalid Litter Dept.
6. Mannequin Republic
7. Enfilade
8. Rolodex Propaganda
9. Quarantined
10. Cosmonaut
11. Non-Zero Possibility

A vivid dissection that mocked the strut of vivisection
Semi-automatic colonies and a silencing that still walks the streets
In the company of wolves was a stretcher made of cobblestone curfews
The federates perform their custodial customs quite well
Callous heels, numbed in travel, endless maps made by their scalpels
On my way, nails broke and fell into the wishing well

"Invalid Litter Dept."

I got into At The Drive-In after becoming a huge fan of The Mars Volta, and then looking into the history of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. When I first heard them, I thought their music was great, but it would never be equal in my mind with some of the music put out by The Mars Volta. While I still think that albums like Frances The Mute or De-Loused In The Comatorium was the duo's creative peak, At The Drive-In's music has grown on me a lot more than I thought it would. They have a lot more lasting potential than The Mars Volta does, and don't lend themselves to sounding dated.

Relationship Of Command is one of At The Drive-In's best albums. All of the instrumentation is top notch, and in my opinion this was the peak of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar playing. While the songs may not seem complex at first listen, there are a ton of off-kilter things going on in the guitar department that really add to the craziness of the songs. This is also Cedric's strongest album with At The Drive-In. His vocals got a bit better for The Mars Volta's first two albums, but his delivery is spot-on here, and it's hard to believe how he's able to keep his voice from wearing out while screaming out the words to songs like "Rolodex Propaganda" or "Enfilade." His lyrics are as cryptic as ever, and he sings with a passion that's simply not found in The Mars Volta's music.

Relationship Of Command is pure, raw energy. This is both one of it's strong points and one of it's weanesses, in my eyes. On one hand, it is impossible not to shake your fists and stomp around during the opening of "Arcarsenal," but the power that this album has comes with a price. The only rest stops along the way are the verses to "Invalid Litter Dept." right in the middle of the album, and "Non-Zero Possibility," the finale. This is probably not going to be an issue for those used to listening to heavier music... but I'm a fan of mellower stuff, and I think Relationship Of Command can be a bit of an exhausting listen.

Click here to download part 1 (49.45 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.74 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

In The Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda
In The Heights
2008
Hip Hop (incorrectly labeled as "Soundtrack")
Ghostlight

Act 1:
1. In The Heights
2. Breathe
3. Benny's Dispatch
4. It Won't Be Long Now
5. Inutil
6. No Me Diga
7. 96,000
8. Paciencia Y Fe
9. When You're Home
10. Piragua
11. The Club
12. Blackout

Act 2:
1. Sunrise
2. Hundreds Of Stories
3. Enough
4. Carnival Del Barrio
5. Antencion
6. Alabanza
7. Everything I Know
8. Piragua (Reprise)
9. Champagne
10. When The Sun Goes Down
11. Finale
(Also included is a 460x460 album cover .jpeg)

Yo, if I won the lotto tomorrow,
Well I know, I wouldn't bother going on no spendin' spree.
I'd pick a business school and pay the entrance fee,
Then maybe if you're lucky you'll stay friends with me.
I'll be a businessman richer than Nina's daddy,
Donald Trump and I on the links and he's my caddy!
My money's makin' money, I'm goin' from po' to mo' dough,
Keep the bling, I want the brass ring like Frodo!

"96,000"

I've had this album for about 2 or 3 months now, and I fell in love with the music and the story of this show. Last weekend on my vacation in New York I finally got the chance to see In The Heights, and I was blown away. Everything was perfect. However, I think the music speaks for itself, perhaps even more so than the visuals. It's based on latin hip hop, with some dub, rock, and reggae thrown in every now and then for good measure. I've never heard anything like In The Heights, to be honest.

The story is really easy to pick up from the music, because there aren't very many parts of the play that aren't put to music. The storyline is more of an interconnection of about 4 storylines that come together in the end to tie everything up nicely. It all takes place in a small slum neighborhood of New York city called Washington Heights. The main character, Usnavi, is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote all the music, the storyline, the script, and directs the play. He is an aspiring rapper who runs a convenience store with his cousin, Sonny, and dreams of one day moving back to his birthplace in the Dominical Republic, where his parents lived before they moved to Washington Heights and died shortly after.

The lady who raised him is named Claudia (referenced by the characters as Abuela), and she is slowly dying when she learns that she has won 96,000 dollars in the lottery, unknown to the rest of the characters. Usnavi's love interest is Vanessa, a woman who stops by the conveniece store every morning, but Usnavi thinks she is too beautiful to go out with a chump like himself. She also dreams of leaving Washington Heights to get away from her low-paying job at the neighborhood salon.

There are also another very important character, Nina. She is hailed as being the brightest person in Washington Heights, and is expected to go on to accomplish great things, unlike the rest of the neighborhood. Nina has been away at Stanford University in California, but dropped out because of finances and falling behind in her classes. She's now at home, afraid to tell her parents why she is no longer at college. Her father, Kevin, feels that his life was a waste of potential, and sees Nina as his former self when he strived to be successful. When he learns of Nina's problems, he sells his business to put her back in school, leaving many people out of work, including Nina's boyfriend, Benny, who doesn't appreciate losing his future to account for Nina's.

I'm sure it doesn't sound like much now, but trust me...the music is incredible. Very modern and very innovative.

Click here to download part 1 (41.69 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (72.21 MB)
Click here to download part 3 (73.95 MB)

I know that 3 parts is a little much, but the downloads are really quick this time around. It was just about 1 MB too big to fit in 2 files.

There's a bit of profanity and sexual references. Not much, though.

Buy it!
CD

Brother, Sister by mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou
Brother, Sister
2006
Post-Hardcore
Tooth & Nail

1. Messes Of men
2. The Dryness And The Rain
3. Wolf Am I! (And Shadow)
4. Yellow Spider
5. A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains
6. Nice And Blue (Part 2)
7. The Sun And The Moon
8. Orange Spider
9. C-Minor
10. In A Market Dimly Lit
11. O, Porcupine
12. Brownish Spider
13. In A Sweater Poorly Knit
(Also included is a 600x600 album cover .jpeg)

"I do not exist," we faithfully insist
Sailing in our separate ships and in each a tiny caravel
Tiring of trying, there's a necessary dying
Like the horseshoe crab in its proper season sheds its shell
Such distance from our friends, like a scratch across a lens
Made everything look wrong from anywhere we stood
And our paper blew away before we left the bay
So half-blind we wrote these songs on sheets of salty wood

You caught me making eyes at the other boatmen's wives
And heard me laughing louder at the jokes told by their daughters
I'd set my course to land, but you well understand
It takes a steady hand to navigate adulterous waters
The propeller's spinning blades held acquaintance with the waves
As there's mistakes I've made no rowing could outrun
The cloth low on the mast to say I've got no past
But I'm nonetheless the librarian's and secretary's son

With tarnish on my brass and mildew on my glass
I'd never want someone so crass as to want someone like me
But a few leagues off the shore, I bit a flashing lure
And I assure you, it was not what I expected it to be
I still taste its kiss, that dull hook in my lip
Is a memory as useless as a rod without a reel
To an anchor-ever-dropped-seasick-yet-still-docked
Captain spotted napping with his first mate at the wheel
Floating forgetfully along, with no need to be strong
We keep our confessions long and when we pray we keep it short
I drank a thimbleful of fire and I'm not ever going back

Oh, my god

"I do not exist," we faithfully insist
While watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew
If ever you come near me I'll hold up high a mirror
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you

"Messes Of Men"

Why has it taken me so long to upload a mewithoutYou record? I have no idea. They're definitely one of my favorite bands of all time, and I truly believe that they're one of those bands that I'll listen to for the rest of my life. Their music resonates with me not only creatively but also at a personal level. Aaron Weiss (the band's frontman) writes what are in my opinion the greatest lyrics ever written on Brother, Sister and delivers them in such a way that pounds the words deep into your chest for you to digest the best you can with all your heart. The wordplay and messages behind the songs of this album are definitely my favorite part of this band, reguardless if I agree with all of them. Aaron is truly a genius lyricist and spokesman.

Aaron's singing rarely follows any melody. In fact, it's mostly talking, or could also be described as either "yelling" or "rapping." But somehow, the vocals of this album are catchier than any Michael Jackson or Justin Timberlake single. (I love both of these artists, for the record)

If you have never heard of mewithoutYou until now, just download this album. You don't need to know anything about them. This album is essential.

Click here to download (93.66 MB)

You don't have to believe in any God to appreciate the lyrics of this album. Don't let the christian overtones stop you.

Buy it!
CD / Digital copy