Blog: the torture garden

if you're looking for something to listen to before sleep...

This recording of a special performance by the ever-wonderful Peter Broderick is the perfect thing to accompany you as you drift off. It's kind of like he's using his loop pedal on different emotions, rather than sounds. It's also about an hour long, so there's no rush to it whatsoever, and it is meant to be played to your sleeping self too. See here for more details. And if you're the kind who falls asleep in minutes, here's my favourite song of his. Peter Broderick - Games Again

i've been running

i've been running Arcade Fire - A Change is Gonna Come {Sam Cooke, live} This song, in all its incarnations, is beautiful and peaceful and angry all at once. It comes over you like a hot summer's night, lit only by a crescent moon, warm and close and insistent. I know this is an old cover, but I rediscovered the original recently, and it feels good to listen to, like a different understanding of the same experience.
Artist:Arcade Fire
Title:A Change Is Gonna Come
Link Text:A Change is Gonna Come
File Name:afachangeisgonnacome.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps

a lot of effort went into this...

University of Guelph Lipdub - Rebellion (Lies)
This is a tribute to Arcade Fire by some students from the University of Guelph, and I really can't stress how fun it is. I particularly love the 'underneath the covers' bit. { via }

from the corner

from the corner Ava Luna - Black Diamond I We employ several workers here at the Torture Garden. Mostly they do heavy labour, the kind of stuff I can't do myself: changing the titles of the latest post, handing letters to one another, suddenly child-sized in scale. They're the ones who painted the banner from my design, and hoisted it up with ropes and ladders, fitting it to the top there. They sort out the electricity and the heating (it gets cold here sometimes, especially lately), and they deliver the t-shirts and hoodies. They even look after me [...]
Artist:Ava Luna
Title:Black Diamond I
Link Text:Black Diamond I
File Name:blackdiamondi.mp3
Bitrate:320 kbps
Year:2009

read at night

read at night Inlets - Bright Orange Air So, I've moved house, and I know live even closer to the sea than before. I only mention this because this song has that kind of air to it - an odd mix of the beauty nature has to offer and the mundane practicalities of human invention. A little like looking at the the open empty sea by night, and noticing a helicopter in the distance, a single skipping white light, like a pebble thrown over the waves. Inlets ' debut album is finally here, and it's called [...]
Artist:Inlets
Title:Bright Orange Air
Link Text:Bright Orange Air
File Name:brightorangeair.mp3

later in the day

Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly,  Beth Orton and Owen Pallett - Union Chapel 25 Jan 2010 - Part 6
Last week, Owen Pallett played a concert in London's Union Chapel, with the following super special guest: Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly, and Beth Orton. It was super special. They played a new song by Beth Orton, which sounds as fine and affecting as wind in your hair - this song is the one above. They also played one of my favourite folk songs ever, ' Sugar Baby ' - preceded by an odd rendition of a German folk song. This stuff is all as good as it sounds, and clearly, it sounds very good.

Benefits for Haiti

Benefits for Haiti There are two Haiti benefit concerts in Dublin over the next few days. The first is a concert/cake sale in The Twisted Pepper this Thursday, featuring the very solid line-up of Bats, Groom, and Hunter-Gatherer. All the proceeds go to GOAL, who are working to provide aid in the aftermath of the quake. The whole thing starts at 7pm. Hunter-Gatherer - Nerve-Ending Love One week later, in Vicar Street, is another benefit - this time aiming to draw attention to the absurdity of Haiti's debt to other countries, and the [...]
Artist:Hunter-Gatherer
Link Text:Nerve-Ending Love
File Name:nerveendinglove.mp3
Bitrate:320 kbps
Year:2009

St. Vincent covers The National

St. Vincent - Mistaken for Strangers (BV Haiti Benefit 1.23.10)
I think I'd almost forgotten what an amazing song it is. The National will release their new album in May, accompanied by dates in London, Paris and Berlin. You can read more here .

when you're sleeping

when you're sleeping The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now I read somewhere that this song was written over one horrible week, while the singer waited on the results of an HIV test, and his doctor flew abroad on holiday. I'm not sure if it's true, but it sounds about right: this whole song is about worrying things better, wishing for the good things in your honest little life not to be outweighed by anything else, and wishing it so bad that you'll do anything. As Internet-era songs go, this is an oldie but a goodie. [...]
Artist:The Cloud room
Title:hey now now
Link Text:Hey Now Now
File Name:heynownow.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps

The Last Dinosaur on Mount Eerie

The Last Dinosaur on Mount Eerie Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire - Grave Robbers This is a guest post by Jamie of the previously-mentioned great band The Last Dinosaur , in which he talks a little bit about his favourite album of his recent years. In this digital age I've found myself longing for the days where, on the long bus journey to college, I would deliberately sit alone, pushing the mini-disc player headphones into my ears, [...]
Artist:Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire
Title:Voice in Headphones
Link Text:Voice in Headphones
File Name:voiceinheadphones.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Artist:Mount Eerie, Julie Doiron & Fred Squire
Title:Grave Robbers
Link Text:Grave Robbers
File Name:graverobbers.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps
Year:2008

bands I want to see do well in 2010 + TG clothing

bands I want to see do well in 2010 + TG clothing The Luyas The Luyas - Spherical Mattress This is because I have heard their new record, and it is fantastic. Their debut, Faker Death , I have already praised as one of my favourite albums of the decade , and they haven't disappointed with the follow-up. They've grown more comfortable with their unique sound (horn, drums, mumbly singing and moodswinger) and figured out the best kind of songs to [...]
Artist:The Last Dinosaur
Title:Fool
Link Text:Fool
File Name:fool.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps

Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Action, live

Studio 360: Owen Pallett performs "Lewis Takes Action"
I may be obsessing over Heartland a little, but it's all I'm listening to at the moment - when I'm not working on this mammoth songs-of-the-decade list. That'll be here soon, and then we'll get back to normal, non-list-based writing.

Owen Pallett - Heartland

{This review was recently published on State } Final Fantasy - The Great Elsewhere (FM4) There are a couple of good reasons why Owen Pallett isn't one of the most popular artists in the world. His former moniker, Final Fantasy, rendered him a little un-Googleable, and marked him as overly nerdy from the outset. He titled his last record He Poos Clouds . And up until now, his [...]

the songs of 2009

Animal Collective - My Girls
So here we are, my favourite songs of the year. What be they? How sound them? All is revealed. I think what strikes me about the music of the last twelve months is the blizzard of originality. An awful lot of new sounds were made. It's a little like the melting-pot at the centre of western music worked very well this year, because a lot of these songs have influences that are wide and disparate. Is this list, taken as a whole, better than that of 2008? I think it just might be. But only just. The artwork is what [...]
Artist:Auld Lang Syne
Title:Red Feather
Link Text:Red Feather
File Name:redfeather.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Artist:Deradoorian
Title:You Carry The Deed
Link Text:You Carry The Deed
File Name:youcarrythedeed.mp3
Bitrate:187 kbps
Year:2009
Artist:DM Stith
Title:Braid of Voices
Link Text:Braid of Voices
File Name:braidofvoices.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Artist:Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Title:Home
Link Text:Home
File Name:esharpehome.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Year:2009
Artist:Final Fantasy
Title:The Great Elsewhere
Link Text:The Great Elsewhere
File Name:thegreatelsewherefm4.mp3
Bitrate:175 kbps
Year:2009
Artist:Sharon Van Etten
Title:Much More Than That
Link Text:Much More Than That
File Name:muchmorethanthat.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Artist:Thao With the Get Down Stay Down
Title:Know Better Learn Faster
Link Text:Know Better Learn Faster
File Name:thaoknow.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Year:2009
Artist:The Rural Alberta Advantage
Title:Don't Haunt this Place
Link Text:Don't Haunt This Place
File Name:donthauntthisplace.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008

Heartland: a nerdy lyrical analysis

Heartland: a nerdy lyrical analysis Final Fantasy - E is for Estranged (live, FM4 Session) As of yesterday, Heartland is now available to buy online. There's a lot to this album, apart from it having just set the standard for 2010 exceptionally high. While I'll be going on and on about the music at a later date, the album has a storyline that's worth a closer look. "Spectrum! Is anything more beautiful than failure?" Essentially, Heartland is about a fictional world, by the [...]

Richard Reed Parry's music of 2009

Nic Jones Canadee-I-O
Richard Reed Parry - Music Boxie #6 Multi-instrumentalist, noisemaker, and all-round nice guy Richard Reed Parry {of Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire} is the man responsible for some of my favourite moments in song over the last decade, and will probably continue that trend into the next. He was also nice enough to talk a little bit about some of the music he enjoyed in 2009. Here it is. Clues - Clues [...]
Artist:Bon Iver
Title:03 Skinny Love
Link Text:Skinny Love
File Name:skinnylove.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Clues
Title:Remember Severed Head
Link Text:Remember Severed Head
File Name:rememberseveredhead.mp3
Year:2009

a mix for winter

a mix for winter Now that this harsh Irish winter has caught up with my end of the country, I figure it's time to come up with a soundtrack that properly matches the blue and white blanket of colour that seems to be covering everything. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal Spokane - Proud Graduates Peter Broderick - Games Again Uzi & Ari - Don't Black Out Taxi! Taxi! - Belle Winter Aid - The Painting Golden Holy - Sons [...]
Artist:Spokane
Title:Proud Graduates
Link Text:Proud Graduates
File Name:proudgraduates.mp3
Artist:The Arcade Fire
Title:Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Link Text:Neighborhood#1 (Tunnels)
File Name:tunnelswhite.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2005

the songs of 2008

Happy Alone, Earlimart
Yes, this is a little late, but it doesn't really matter anymore. I've made some very slight changes to the list - some songs I lost interest in after a while, some I moved around, but the top thirty have remained the same. 2009 has been a good year for music, perhaps better than its predecessor, but these songs take some beating. I think the best thing to do is to stream the tracks while reading. Or just download them all, whatever's good for you. All the rather lovely artwork for this list is by Anika , who also [...]
Link Text:And The Party Was MY Suggestion
File Name:andthepartywasmysuggestion.mp3
Link Text:Get Go
File Name:getgo.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Link Text:Love Don't Change
File Name:lovedontchange.mp3
Artist:A Classic Education
Title:Badlands & Owls
Link Text:Badlands & Owls
File Name:badlands.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:Arms
Title:Shitty Little Disco
Link Text:Shitty Little Disco
File Name:shittylittledisco.mp3
Bitrate:224 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Bell
Link Text:Brown Bear
File Name:brownbear.mp3
Artist:DM Stith
Title:Just Once
Link Text:Just Once
File Name:dmstith_-_curtain_speech_-_jus t_once.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Final Fantasy
Title:Blue Imelda
Link Text:Blue Imelda
File Name:blueimelda.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:Grizzly Bear
Title:While You Wait for the Others
Link Text:While You Wait For The Others
File Name:while.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Inlets
Link Text:Your Good Arm
File Name:yourgoodarm.mp3
Artist:Laura Barrett
Title:Deception Island Optimists Club
Link Text:Deception Island Optimist Club
File Name:dioc.mp3
Bitrate:224 kbps
Artist:Lotte Kestner
Title:fineline
Link Text:Fineline
File Name:fineline.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Artist:My Brightest Diamond
Title:From the Top of the World
Link Text:From The Top of The World
File Name:fromthetopoftheworld.mp3
Artist:Parenthetical Girls
Title:A Song For Ellie Greenwich (live at Maps)
Link Text:A Song for Ellie Greenwich
File Name:asongforelliegreenwich.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Peter Broderick
Title:Games Again
Link Text:Games Again
File Name:gamesagain.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:Peter Delaney
Title:Pariah Chimes
Link Text:Pariah Chimes
File Name:pariahchimes.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:Plants And Animals
Title:Good Friend
Link Text:Good Friend
File Name:goodfriend.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:Richard Godwin
Title:Josie
Link Text:Josie
File Name:Josie.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:The Gorgeous Colours
Title:Locksmith
Link Text:Locksmith
File Name:locksmith.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:The Moulettes
Title:Devil Of Mine
Link Text:Devil of Mine
File Name:devilofmine.mp3
Bitrate:320 kbps
Artist:The Physics of Meaning
Title:Aeroplanes and Hurricanes
Link Text:Aeroplanes and Hurricanes
File Name:aeroplanesandhurricanes.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:The War On Drugs
Title:Taking The Farm
Link Text:Taking the Farm
File Name:takingthefarm.mp3
Year:2008
Artist:The Whiskers
Title:Cogs
Link Text:Cogs
File Name:cogs.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2008
Artist:Tisso Lake
Title:The House By the River
Link Text:The House by the River
File Name:thehousebytheriver.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps
Artist:Tune-Yards
Title:Fiya
Link Text:FIYA
File Name:fiya.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps
Artist:Vampire Weekend
Link Text:M79
File Name:m79daytrotter.mp3
Year:2007

album of the decade: a second opinion

Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) Official Video
{Guest post by Gemma } The strings take a deep breath, the piano tiptoes in, and after a moment the singer begins. Or really, continues; Funeral starts mid-sentence, the hushed conversation with another is already well underway by the time we've wandered into earshot. They're making plans to run away, these two, and plans for the plan just in case. It's a lover's conspiracy we're overhearing, and though we're welcome to listen in - co-conspirators for now - they mean to see it through with [...]
Artist:The Arcade Fire
Title:Haiti
Link Text:Haiti
File Name:haitilive.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2005
Artist:The Arcade Fire
Title:No Cars Go
Link Text:No Cars Go
File Name:10_No_Cars_Go.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2007

my favourite albums of the decade

Radiohead -- Idioteque (Music Video)
Following our tradition on this blog, I've waited till after the whole wonderful Christmas experience is over to start finishing artwork and writing up lists. Following from this, it's entirely possible you've had enough of lists and countdowns, but I doubt it. I don't present this list as an absolute and exact account of the best music of the decade; that would be silly. But these are the albums that meant most to me, and in the decade where I moved from listening to albums to favouring songs, they meant a lot. There are three more lists coming [...]
Link Text:Family Tree
File Name:familytree.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Link Text:It's 5!
File Name:itsfive.mp3
Link Text:Safe Travels
File Name:safetravels.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Artist:Andrew Bird
Title:Happy Birthday Song
Link Text:Happy Birthday
File Name:abird2005-04-09d2t03_vbr.mp3
Bitrate:172 kbps
Artist:cathy davey
Title:sing for your supper
Link Text:Sing for your Supper
File Name:singforyoursupper.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Artist:Grizzly Bear
Title:Reprise [Acoustic Version]
Link Text:Reprise
File Name:reprise_acoustic.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2006
Artist:Joanna Newsom
Title:Bridges And Balloons
Link Text:Bridges & Balloons
File Name:bridgesandballoons.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2004
Artist:Sufjan Stevens
Title:Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
Link Text:Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
File Name:comeonfeeltheillinoise.mp3
Artist:Sunset Rubdown
Title:Stadiums and Shrines II
Link Text:Stadiums + Shrines II
File Name:stadiumsandshrines.mp3
Year:2006
Artist:The Luyas
Title:Bumb Blood
Link Text:Dumb Blood
File Name:dumbblood.mp3
Year:2007
Page   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 40 41 Next >
Location: Cork, Ireland
Posts: 801   Tracks: 1170   Last Crawl: 13 mins ago

Hot Artists

  • Yeasayer
    Yeasayer parecen haberse deshecho por completo de los clichés para el que será su segundo álbum de estudio, “Odd Blood” (Secretly Canadian, ’10). Y es que este “O.N.E.” (que [...]More about Yeasayer
  • Hot Chip
    Illustration borrowed from barkingbirdart I may not be consistent but I’m not giving up! The whole daily/single song post thing just [...]More about Hot Chip
  • Massive Attack
    brazils gui boratto released one of my favorite tracks of 2009, the ebbing and flowing “no turning back”. he does a great job of managing listener [...]More about Massive Attack
  • Vampire Weekend
    Hype, it’s a bitch for your band. At best, you’ll get lots of attention, which hopefully will bring with it legions of music lovers who will buy [...]More about Vampire Weekend
  • Phoenix
    Phoenix – Fences (Delphic Remix) Phoenix – Armistice (Yacht Remix) PS. Delphic Modcast Related posts: [...]More about Phoenix
  • St. Vincent
    I don’t know about you guys, but for me there’s no better time of the year than late January to sit back, contemplate and assess the [...]More about St. Vincent
  • Beach House
    Beach House’s Teen Dream comes out in a little over a week, and I can’t give enough praise for this album. It’s been on repeat for [...]More about Beach House
  • Spoon
    Mussels. Chorizo. Polenta. Just reading those ingredients and you know the recipe featured on eating/sf today is hearty, flavorful and sooo satisfying. This recipe had an abundance of [...]More about Spoon
  • Kid Cudi
    KiD CuDi who's set to be featured on Snoop's "Snoop Dogg: Malice N Wonderland (More Malice)" on a track called 'That Tree', doesn't only work on his sophomore album [...]More about Kid Cudi
  • Gorillaz
    Yes, this is the first song off the Gorillaz' new album. As you might know Mos Def is also a member of the band now, under the [...]More about Gorillaz