Here we are towards the end of the year bringing you our favorite albums of 2006. We've had a lot of different contributors since we started all the way back in April, but I thought it would be nice to get lists from most of the ones who've been a part of this blog for some time. I'll probably devote the majority of this week to lists, but the only list from me you'll see here is just albums. I think a couple of others here might be compiling different kinds of lists as well, so [...]
My admiration for Neil Hannon and his The Divine Comedy is no secret. Their most recent album, Victory for the Comic Muse , is one of my favorite releases of 2006 for good reason. For over thirteen years, Hannon has been a devastating but quiet force in the music industry, being wildy consistent and entirely innovative throughout his discography of nine albums. I have posted plenty of original tracks by Hannon, so I figured it would be a good time to demonstrate Hannon's astute ability to cover a song as well. Hannon has [...]
Up On The Roof, 19/11/06 And now, Dear Readers, the word of the week: turbidity. That is, cloudiness. Murkiness. Sediment stirred up and suspended. Last week the Greater Vancouver area was lashed by a particularly virulent winter storm. The wind and rain knocked out power (in some places for up to 48 hours), felled trees, damaged buildings, and closed roads. Chateau FiL escaped relatively unscathed; the lights stayed on and the three stratospheric fir trees in our back garden stood strong. There were a few fallen branches that would have given me [...]
This week's releases contains three of what will probably be in my end of the year list that i'll start compiling sometime soon. I'm sure everyone knows of the masterpiece that is Joanna Newsom's Ys . It's finally here and like I said in a previous post, it's absolutely flawless. The string arrangements from legendary Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks are absolutely amazing and pretty much killed me upon listening. Despite being only five tracks long, each are of the highest quality with [...]
Ok, so perhaps this musical act isn't SO fresh, especially to those in the UK, but nonetheless, it is relatively new to me. While spending a two day sabbatical at the monastery in Montserrat in September, I watched a program about the revival of crooners. The show featured Adam Green, Robbie Williams and extensive interviews with a rather charming fellow calling himself The Divine Comedy . Neil Hannon makes up the sole permanent member of The Divine Comedy, a group he first began with friends from home in Northern Ireland when he [...]
Ted Leo Hope everyone had a good Halloween ! While I'm enjoying my Hot Tamales (the candy kind, yo) I guess I can dish out a mix : Minotaur Shock Six Foolish Fishermen Shout Out Louds The Comeback Fischerspooner Ritz 107 The Divine Comedy Diva Lady The Concretes [...]
Through the 6 years that I was active in the gig promotion business there was much that gave me pleasure as well as some rather more painful moments. I personally was more than satisfied when I saw and talked to the happy members of the public as they left the hall and when I chatted with the band members as they were on their come down after their on stage adrenalin high. Though maybe the biggest pleasure I received was discovering new artists that were in the process of defining themselves. Way back in 1993 I was proposed a bill [...]
I gotta change things up for a post. I know things here are usually the standard 3 chord garage beat with the occasional soul thrown in. Lately I've been having a little "high school renaissance." The fantastic Pulp reissues came out and I started going through my itunes library and remembering the good ol' days. Those carefree, happy high school times when I ate the NME and Melody Maker for breakfast lunch and dinner. My friend Don ate them for snacks as well. He worked in the local record shop [...]
100 Years (in Ten Jumps) 1996: Uri Caine, Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Funeral March. Kazmi with Rickies, Hugs. The Divine Comedy, Songs of Love. Quad City DJs, C'mon 'N' Ride It (The Train). Koerner, Ray and Glover, Deliah's Gone. Revelino, Step On High. Mark Morrison, Return of the Mack. Amy Rigby, Down Side of Love. LeAnn Rimes, Blue. OutKast, Wheelz of Steel. Pavement, No More Kings. Vic
[mp3, The Divine Comedy, indie pop] Ella formaba parte del exclusivo cÃrculo de los famosos y acaudalados. Pasaba sus vacaciones con reyes y estrellas y sólo asistÃa a fiestas en Capri, Nueva York, el Lago de Ginebra o la Côte d’Azur. Evidentemente, se casó con alguien muy rico y de alta sociedad. Tuvo dos hijos, enviados a escuelas privadas en el momento conveniente. Hélas, la buena vida no duró para siempre. Su estilo de vida y la administración fiscal acabaron con su fortuna, su marido murió [...]
I think I pretty much came to the conclusion that I don't really like to write anything here on the weekends. Maybe once in a while I will, but I think it'd be nice to have a little break for those couple of days. Saying that though, I still don't want to leave everyone here with zilch. So I came up with an idea for Sundays to shuffle my mp3s and just post whatever comes up. Does it sound interesting? I think for the first shuffled batch it turned out pretty [...]
The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse No need for words with Neil's lyrics around The Divine Comedy - Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (mp3) music planet of spaceballoon world
"...I got my cheeky back...like Justin" So said Neil Hannon and new album " Victory for the comic muse " certainly finds him in rude health, sounding confident and relaxed. Free from record company hassles The Divine Comedy appear happy in their own skin once more. " Diva Lady ", " To Die A Virgin ", and " A Lady of A Certain Age " are at least the equal of anything they've done so far. Unsurprisingly then I jumped at the chance to loiter around in the background as Neil, accompanied by John [...]
Upon the release of their 2004 album, Absent Friend, The Divine Comedy put a show at the London Palladium with a large orchestra. The performance was then released on DVD . The song here, Sunrise, is the set closer. It appeared originally on 1998' Fin de Siecle. At the time, I was a bit disappointed with this record, to a point that I had never heard Sunrise (the album closer) before I got the DVD.... MP3: Sunrise (Live Palladium 2004) Recommended Record: [...]
Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy has been around for ages, as it's hard for me to believe that Victory For The Comic Muse is his ninth album. I can't say that i'm completely knowledgeable of his entire discography as I was first introduced to him with 2004's Absent Friends . I haven't heard much about his new album, and sadly i only happened to hear about it randomly by chance. I guess that's a prime example of how under the [...]
The Divine Comedy have just released another fine album in the Uk/Europe "Victory For The Comic Muse" which as far as I can make out currently doesn't have a US release date. It's got some good reviews over here already though with Pitchfork singing its praises today. Quite rightly to, throughout his career Neil Hannon has produced a string of wry pop masterpieces but is definitely an artist
One of the reasons why I enjoy listing my favorite albums from a certain year is that it's so highly debatable. There are rarely two publications who have exactly the same order or number one album. There will always be arguments about year end lists, whether it be from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, or Stylus... it will never change. For example, here is my Top Fifty Albums of 2005 . At the end of this year, I will do my traditional top fifty albums, but for now, I just thought I'd share my top ten of the year so far [...]
The Yellow Stereo
Obscure Sound
pogo a go-go
the music slut
indiechristoph
sound of the suburbs
radams ad nauseum
Locust St.
Sound Gymnastics
musikoon
music like dirt
Superb Live
Turquoise Days
Pictures Of Andre 3000 As Jimi Hendrix
Today I Feel I’ve Sprung A Leak
Video: Chromatics - "These Streets Will Never Look The Same"
10 Free Songs You Should Download Right Now
