Blog: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Caption: Lake Buckatabon in Conover, Wisconsin First of all, I just want to apologize for the lack of posts over the past two months. I was working as a camp counselor for 9 weeks in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and internet access was limited. But now I'm back and I've got some great bands to tell you about.

For the past few weeks now, I've intended to get a hold of Janove (pronounced ya-no-vah) Ottesen's debut album, Francis' Lonely Nights . Janove reigns from Norway, but you would have no idea when listening to his voice. He's got a Noam Gallagher-Oasis type feel to him, but perhaps more delicate. What I love about Ottesen is what I would call his versatility. On the first song, Black and White Movie, he's able to sing beautifully over a lush orchestration of trumpets and cellos, all brought together by [...]

Reigning from across the pond, Alexi Murdoch has managed to infiltrate many an iPod with his deep baritone voice. Murdoch released an 4 song EP about two years ago, entitled Four Songs . The standout track from the EP is most definitely "Orange Sky", which has Murdoch describing a dream in which his brother is beside him under an orange sky. The imagery is really just fantastic-it's simple but powerful. What Murdoch lacks in complexity, he makes up for with his smooth voice that seems to lull the listener into a deep sleep-much like the [...]

Perhaps I wouldn't classify Zero 7 as an "up and coming" band, but they still remain relatively unknown despite their appearance on the Garden State soundtrack. Zero 7 is really the duo of Henry Binns and Zam Hardake-two Brits who have come together to make music that (in my opinion) represents a feeling . They have the impeccable ability to evoke emotions through their lyrics but also through the melodies. Zero 7 actually got their start doing remixes, and their remix of a Radiohead song "Climbing Up the Walls" actually got British airplay. [...]

Here at CSV, we are dedicated to offering readers a wide array of indie music. Personally, I am not a big rap fan, but once in a while, my brother directs me to some good hip-hop. And so, my brother and I have conceived the idea to have a "Big Brother Beat" (BBB) segment where we explore some up and coming rap groups that are sure to make your ears tingle. Big Brother beat, of course, refers to track 13 on De La Soul's 1996 release, [...]

You will have to forgive my lack of accents here, as there should be one over the "e" in Jose and the "a" in Gonzalez. This Argentinian Swede-he lives in Sweden but his parents are from Argentina-has been around for a few years but he has remained relatively unknown on this side of the pond. Jose Gonzalez has met with relative success in the UK, and Zero 7 (another one of my favorite bands) has him singing nearly half the songs on their own album. Gonzalez's voice is quite voluminous, but yet [...]

Right now, Chicago is a great scene for indie bands, and one of them that has really stuck out is Office . Their brilliant pop songs are the perfect accompaniment to the fluctuating weather of their hometown: they burst with positive, warm energy, but also have a cool, "windy" sound to them that carries you away into their music. For me, the two standout tracks are The Big Bang Jump! and Dominos . The Big Bang Jump! is an uptempo rock-anthem-like song that invites you to join a new "scene-a [...]

Ladies and Gentlemen, something may be rotten in the state of Denmark, but nothing is wrong in the state of Swedish rock! Indeed, swedish rock has really become a bastion of great music. The Caesars ("Gonna Kick You Out" and "Jerk It Out" from that iTunes commerical), The Cardigans, and now Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. An odd name indeed, from this swedish duo of nerds. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names actually comes from the lyrics of a Silver Jews' song "People". The song isn't that good, but this band sure is. To [...]

I would first like to start off by explaining the meaning behind my blog title. Often times, I'm reading music blogs and I have no idea how the hell they get their names. I first must tell you that I am a huge Sufjan Stevens fan. I have been listening to him for about a year now, and I find the lyrical and musical quality of his music to be amazing (amazing will be referred to as chamazing at times). He really is one of the great songwriters of our [...]

This is officially the first post for Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream (to be referred to as CSV from now on). It is somehow unwise of me to start this blog now, as I am leaving to be a counselor at an overnight camp (camp Ramah in Wisconsin) in only a few days. The internet access there is somewhat sluggish but I was too eager to create this blog to wait. That said, welcome. This blog will primarily serve as a forum for me to tell you, the reader, about some up and coming [...]