Blog: Loft And Lost

Lana, Oh Lana

Nov 7, 2011, 5:36pm Loft And Lost
Lana Del Rey - Video Games (live on Jools Holland, Oct.11, 2011)
Being horrendously behind the times does have some benefits. I'm not one of those people that foolishly went out and bought an iPad or an iPhone when a newer, shinier, better one was just around the corner. I never had a Minidisc player. Betamax? No, sirree. Having better things to do with my life than finding out what was the new hot thing was this summer meant that when I finally discovered that it was Lana Del Rey , I could watch her performing "Video Games" with a sense of perspective. [...]
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Artist:Lana Del Ray
Title:Video Games
Link Text:Video Games by Lana Del Rey
File Name:videogames.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps
Year:2011

I’ll Be A Bachelor Boy

Oct 22, 2011, 8:17am Loft And Lost
Hank Williams I'll be a Bachelor Till I Die
Minds being funny things and all, a recent period of having Cliff Richard's "Bachelor Boy" in my head (which surely must rank as one of the most egregious earworms in history) has driven me toward Hank Williams' "I'll Be A Bachelor Till I Die". Now if you've never listened to ol' Hank, you really need to. Like, now. And if you have, well, you know what treat is in store, don't you? MP3: I'll Be A Bachelor Till I Die by Hank Williams [...]
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Artist:Hank Williams
Title:I'll Be A Bachelor Till I Die
Link Text:I’ll Be A Bachelor Till I Die by Hank Williams
File Name:1-22-ill-be-a-bachelor-till-i- die.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Genre:Country

I’ll Be A Bachelor Boy

Oct 22, 2011, 8:17am Loft And Lost
Hank Williams I'll be a Bachelor Till I Die
Minds being funny things and all, a recent period of having Cliff Richard's "Bachelor Boy" in my head (which surely must rank as one of the most egregious earworms in history) has driven me toward Hank Williams' "I'll Be A Bachelor Till I Die". Now if you've never listened to ol' Hank, you really need to. Like, now. And if you have, well, you know what treat is in store, don't you? MP3: I'll Be A Bachelor Till I Die by Hank Williams [...]
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The Work Keeps Working

Oct 19, 2011, 6:40pm Loft And Lost
So, I’ve been b….there’s not really any point in saying it, is there? Joining me in returning from The Land Of The Otherwise Engaged are Frightened Rabbit, who have returned from their 2 year long World Tour and have punted us, dear listeners, free EP. You have to sign up to the mailing list but as their emails are some of the funniest, wittiest and genuinely pleasant promotional emails you could wish for, this is in no way a hardship. The songs themselves seem to have been largely written on the bus , but this [...]
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Artist:Frightened Rabbit
Title:The Work
Link Text:The Work by Frightened Rabbit
File Name:03-the-work.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps
Genre:Alternative
Year:2011

The Work Keeps Working

Oct 19, 2011, 6:40pm Loft And Lost
So, I’ve been b….there’s not really any point in saying it, is there? Joining me in returning from The Land Of The Otherwise Engaged are Frightened Rabbit, who have returned from their 2 year long World Tour and have punted us, dear listeners, free EP. You have to sign up to the mailing list but as their emails are some of the funniest, wittiest and genuinely pleasant promotional emails you could wish for, this is in no way a hardship. The songs themselves seem to have been largely written on the bus , but this [...]
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Up To The Stars

Oct 5, 2011, 5:15pm Loft And Lost
Up To The Stars Sad news came today of the death of Bert Jansch. One of the finest guitarists of all time - and I'm not being hyperbolic here - he rose to prominence in the 602s along with John Martyn and Davey Graham. Like them, he was astonishingly talented, and like them, he liked a drink or two. Or twenty. Saying that, unlike the somewhat difficult Martyn or the tragically lost Graham, he reined in his drinking and continued to record and perform, as well as being a gentleman who graciously accepted the plaudits rained upon him whilst giving the distinct impression he [...]
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Artist:Bert Jansch
Title:Angie
Link Text:Angie by Bert Jansch
File Name:05-angie.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Genre:Folk

The Whole Love, Wilco – Review

Sep 26, 2011, 3:33pm Loft And Lost
The Whole Love, Wilco – Review Clattering, grinding. The sound of Garageband or ProTools or C-Lab being abused by a recalcitrant teenager. The sound of KidA refracted through ten years of crystalline experience. That's the sound of "Art Of Almost", opener of Wilco's new album. And then, and then. Palliative strings relieve the ache, soothe the clatter, oil the grinding. And you remember that Wilco have form, what with Kid A compatriot Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (and arguably, bits of predecessor Summerteeth). After all, they've been doing this whole rebirth thing as long as our maudlin, pale-faced Radioheaders. To my mind, a damn [...]
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Ostatniego Polskiego Sniadanie

Sep 25, 2011, 2:47pm Loft And Lost
Ostatniego Polskiego Sniadanie Until about a fortnight ago I'd never heard of Michael Chapman . Browsing a review of Glenn Jones's The Wanting , and searching for the CD on Amazon, the recommendation engine did it's usual "People who browsed for this also shopped for" and Michael Chapman's "Trainsong" caught my eye. Don't know about you, but I usually ignore this, but for once I thought I'd give it a try. How glad am I. For this record is a work of huge beauty. Chapman, now 70, has re-recorded 26 of his songs from his [...]
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Artist:Michael Chapman
Title:The Last Polish Breakfast
Link Text:The Last Polish Breakfast by Michael Chapman
File Name:1-01-the-last-polish-breakfast -1.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Genre:Country & Folk
Year:2011

It’s The Predictable Blog Post Title (And I Feel Fine)

Sep 21, 2011, 8:05pm Loft And Lost
So, R.E.M. That's it, is it? We've finally reached the end of our road together? Yes, I know the magic has been gone a long, long time. I know we've gone our separate ways. Yes, you were so special, back in our younger days when you could throw out albums like Out Of Time and Automatic For The People as easy as breathing. Those days when just hearing a single note could make my heart rush and beat like crazy. But we both know those days are far behind us. And you [...]
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The Morning Kills Us All

Sep 21, 2011, 5:54pm Loft And Lost
Cheery miserablists The Twilight Sad have been one of the high points of the musical world in the last few years. Unlike friends and compatriots Frightened Rabbit they aren’t for everyone – in that, if someone tells you they don’t like Frightened Rabbit you know for a fact they are cloth-eared buffoons, whereas you can understand that James Graham’s catharsis overlain by the kind of noise that would make even mid-80’s Swans band members go “Steady on there, chaps” isn’t for everyone. But when you are in the mood, the likes of “ I Became A [...]
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Artist:The Twilight Sad
Title:Kill It In The Morning
Link Text:Kill It In The Morning by The Twilight Sad
File Name:kill-it-in-the-morning.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Genre:Punk Rock
Year:2007

It’s Not Too Late To Just Turn Back

Sep 13, 2011, 6:13pm Loft And Lost
Fanfarlo - Replicate [OFFICIAL]
Fanfarlo’s “Fire Escape” is one of those songs that sits on my iPod, and once in a while, as I’m idly scrolling around looking for something to play, makes me go “Ooooh, now that’s a good song, I might listen to that”. And I do, enjoying it greatly. From the opening Grandaddy-style keyboard arpeggios to the closing whistles, “Fire Escape” is a song you can’t help but love. Yet for some strange mental blocking reason, I’ve never gone the whole hog and bought the album from whence it stems. So it pleases me no [...]
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Artist:Fanfarlo
Title:Replicate
Link Text:Replicate by Fanfarlo
File Name:s5m9fy1l0yhoi7kpb3xq.mp3
Bitrate:256 kbps

Being Boring

Sep 12, 2011, 5:03pm Loft And Lost
Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
There's much to be said of music that isn't too exciting. Apropos of The Word's recent review of Jonathan Wilson's Gentle Spirit , sometimes all you want from music is a nice mid-tempo, easy-rock Laurel Canyon sound to sooth those frazzled neurons trounced by a day of deadlines, interpersonal crises, political shenanigans and people just being, without being too rude, bloody idiots. Look, I like - scratch that, I love - Russian Circles and Psychic Paramount and PJ Harvey and other such challenging music 1 , but not every [...]
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Artist:Jonathan Wilson
Title:Desert Raven
Link Text:Desert Raven by Jonathan Wilson
File Name:desert-raven.mp3

The Songs That Win Awards

Sep 6, 2011, 5:51pm Loft And Lost
Congratulations to PJ Harvey, who tonight won the 2011 Something Something Mercury Award, the most important music award in the UK. It's the second time she's been the winner; first time round, in 2001, announced on that fateful day, for an album that was a love letter to New York. This time, she's won for an album that distills the last ten years of war, putting them in historical context of England's role in previous wars (mostly The Great War). And you have to say, she's [...]
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Artist:PJ Harvey
Title:The Words That Maketh Murder
Link Text:The Words That Maketh Murder by PJ Harvey
File Name:04-the-words-that-maketh-murde r.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps

Where Have You Been All My Life?

Aug 26, 2011, 7:04pm Loft And Lost
Ron Sexsmith - "Get in Line"
Once in a while you get one of those Barney Gumble moments, where you listen to a song and exhort: “Where have you been all my life?”. Last night, I’m catching up on all those Later…With Jools “Boogie Fucking Woogie” Holland 1 I have recorded. There I am, thinking to myself “Ah, Ron Sexsmith, heard of him, singer-songwriter’s singer-songwriter, could be worth a try so I won’t fast-forward it”. A few bars later, I’m thinking “I’m enjoying this” One verse and chorus later, I'm trapped. Come the end of [...]
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Artist:Ron Sexsmith
Title:Get in Line
Link Text:Get in Line by Ron Sexsmith
File Name:01-get-in-line.mp3
Bitrate:320 kbps
Year:2011

Catchup Verify

Aug 24, 2011, 5:46pm Loft And Lost
The National - Exile, Vilify (PORTAL2NATIONALEXILE - Portal 2 Music Video Contest)
After many months of being too busy, tired or otherwise unavailable to write my usual well-thought out, pertinent and damn witty posts, I have a huge backlog of albums, songs, and random oddities to pontificate about. I realised the other day that some of my favourite records of the year have been totally unposted about, such as Low. I’ve been to great gigs, like M Ward, which have likewise been unposted. And some great tracks have popped out over the months, which I’ve totally missed. [...]
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Artist:The National
Title:Exile Vilify
File Name:SoundCloud

Blg Pst

Aug 19, 2011, 8:05pm Loft And Lost
Blg Pst My word, is Torontonian Abel Tesfaye hawt right now. A day or so after posting his new mixtape (ha! tape!) as The Weeknd, entitled Thursday, the music blog world is all bejiggered with excitement. Just head over to Hype Machine and look at those hearts . Look at them! Don't Fancy Friday Much So who am I to say any different? Usually, I am, but not so much in this case. Cos whilst I'm not a massive fan of modern [...]
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Artist:The Weeknd
Title:Rolling Stone
Link Text:Rolling Stone by The Weeknd
File Name:08-rolling-stone.mp3

Black, Black! (or WSTISNAITMB Part Two)

Aug 17, 2011, 6:00pm Loft And Lost
Sweetest Smile - Black
Readers of a more, shall we say, greater number of years on this sweet Earth may recall a dapper chap with the voice of a particularly morose angel named Black (or, to give him his proper name, Colin Verncombe), who released a pair of singles in the late '802s. The best known was "Wonderful Life" was one of those wonderfully miserable, yet uplifting songs, and was something of a European hit. On a (largely non-musical) forum I frequent, I mentioned this song and people of all ages and musical preferences united to say what a great song it [...]
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Artist:Black
Title:Sweetest Smile (2011 Re-Recording)
Link Text:Sweetest Smile (2011 Re-Recording) by Black
File Name:sweetest-smile-2011-re-recordi ng.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Genre:Halloween Dark Industrial
Year:2011

Let’s Go There

Aug 12, 2011, 6:56pm Loft And Lost
Let’s Go There Come the glorious revolution, not liking Feist would get you put up against the wall and shot quicker than you could say "But Sea-Lion Woman is incredibly annoying!". How can you not love her wonderfully warm, smoky voice, her marvellous way with words, and her superb let's-all-dance-right-here videos? What's more, she's a captivating live performer, capable of making the toughest of crowds eat from her hands. But it has to be said that she's never made a great album. Some of her songs are amongst [...]
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Artist:Feist
Title:How Come You Never Go There
File Name:SoundCloud

Do You Remember The Good Old Days?

Aug 9, 2011, 5:43am Loft And Lost
Living in a city currently wracked by rioting driven more by wanting a nice new telly than any overriding political motive is something of an odd experience. The fires and looting haven't touched my part of the city (yet), but the police sirens and helicopters were going well into the early hours. Stories coming out this morning include the destruction of family businesses that have traded for over 150 years and two Michelin starred restaurant (and L&L fave) The Ledbury being attacked by masked looters (thankfully the author of the piece was only robbed of her [...]
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Crazy! Horses!

Aug 5, 2011, 4:25am Loft And Lost
Sweden's I Break Horses tick lots of my boxes. Swedish. Named after a Smog song. Purveyors of dreamy psych-pop. Errr.....that's about it. I'm easily pleased. Neigh Except I'm not that easily pleased, of course. It's just that they are quite good 1 . Having heard some demos last year and liking them , I'm glad to hear they have an album out this month, named Hearts. Here's a track from it, named "Winter Beats". In typical [...]
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Artist:I Break Horses
Title:Winter Beats
Link Text:Winter Beats by I Break Horses
File Name:i-break-horses-winter-beats.mp 3
Bitrate:320 kbps
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