+++every once in awhile

You find a song that fits you so well you listen to it more than appropriate. For me, it’s a rare sensation. I’m going to enjoy it.

++does anyone listen to Enon?

I first heard “Knock That Door” a few years ago and was massively impressed. I don’t know why some of this stuff falls by the wayside. Maybe it was really huge and I just never heard anyone talk about it.

Enon has dealt with a lot of steam, for better and worse. They’ve shuffled a few band mates to other projects since Believo! came out in 1999. I got into them after they picked up Toko Yasuda (vocals on Knock that Door) and after Believo!’s release. Since then, I went back and checked out what I missed. Their work may not be everyone’s taste, but they’re creative and I like that. It’s not enough anymore these days to just have an act, and Enon knows that.

Bottom line, bands like Enon that stick through thick and thin, maintain a style, and keep touring are worth a listen. They’re passionate musicians at heart and deliver for their fans over and over. They’re on play all day for me.

Enon – Knock that Door

Enon – Rubber Car

Enon – Conjugate The Verbs

Enon – Disposable Parts (video is a random by somebody… not official but the song is there)

+++late to the party v.1

I’m late to the party on this one. I actually heard this awhile ago (I think back in Sept. of ‘08) but glanced it away. Turns out, it’s freaking fantastic.

++max again

I’ll be done with Max Tundra once I share this one. It’s a great album. I think there were a good number of people who weren’t into it. This is my last attempt at conversion. If you didn’t hear my first entry with my favorite of his, “which song”, then try this one.

Max Tundra – Will Get Fooled Again

+++The many faces of Phoenix

Not a lot of people sit and talk music with me anymore. I have less of those friends  hovering. However, I used to have many of those. We talked music all the time.

A few years ago I was dirt broke. Well, I’m often dirt broke. I ran out of reasons to justify pleasure spending. I wasn’t getting any papercuts from the bills in my wallet.

A friend of mine called me up and told me Phoenix was coming to Seattle and asked if I wanted to road trip. I had no money and couldn’t even fathom the costs. Either way, it didn’t stop me. I would have done anything to see them play. The came around so rarely (being French and all) and I was ready to make the sacrifice.

Long story short. I love Phoenix. Their albums vary enough to be interesting. Their style is their own, however. They stick with it and the music is always good. Here are cuts from each album.  You tell me what you think. I’m stoked to buy this new album, as I’ve never once been let down. They’ve always been a top 5 for me. These go from oldest to newest, so make sure you go to the bottom for Phoenix’s new single.

From United (2000)++

From Alphabetical (2004)+++

From It’s Never Been Like That (2006)+++

From Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)???

>–The Lodger – The Conversation

My google reader gave me this. I explored a bit, and the song has been around. It’s delightful.

The Lodger – The Conversation

+++yeah yeah yeahs_zero

I put this up because people posting the MP3s are having to take them down all over. It’s a great song, albeit the weird image here. From their new album, It’s Blitz!

Enjoy

++shugo tokumaru

Beautiful video and song. It’s really a beautiful album as well. I haven’t heard such complex and charming melodics since the last Sufjan album.

++_the newer is better

I recently found a band called “The Pains of Being Pure at Heart”. I like them. It’s a blatant candy coated shoegazer band revival, yes, but a pretty great one. Purists will assert that you can get the same sensation by listening to The Smiths or some classic Pale Saints. I never understood why those fan types aren’t welcoming of more music to a genre they clutch to so dearly.

Either way, I have to say this band ranks above a lot of the orignial shoegazer material that came out of the 80’s. I’m sure i’ve killed off some anti-revivalist somewhere out there. I’ll start clapping to bring him back to life. In the meantime I think this band deserves a chance… even if you’re so cool you need to defend their predecessors as “the TRUE inventive shoegazer bands”.

++oh, pitchfork

I wonder why some websites take and others don’t. I wonder about pitchfork. With mediocre design, an uninventive approach, and a propensity to self actualize and assert their magnetism to music solely on the merit of it’s obscurity or weirdness… I don’t think I completely get it.

Doesn’t matter, I don’t read often. However, I did want to see how they tackled the review of Max Tundra’s most recent album. Don’t ask me why.

I think, on some level, it’s because I grew to like Max Tundra amidst a lot of “meh” attitudes ab0ut it from my peers. I know that a lot of my friends assume I have a “Pitchfork” approach to liking music. I will go to my grave denying that… I tend to think that the deeper you broaden your interests in an artform, the more you crave something different from what you’ve seen before.

I guess that nullifies my third major argument about Pitchfork then, eh?

I also watch American Idol.