While You Were Sleeping Your Babies Grew
Hey, remember a few weeks ago when I was obsessed with that one song and I played it over and over and over again until my neighbors threatened to evict me, and then in the comments you were all like, oh yeah, totally, I do that too?
Well, I've stopped playing that one song over and over again now---in fact, I think I played it over and over again one time too many and now I can hardly even stand to hear it, actually---and so the obsessive-compulsive part of my brain had a vacancy after that, and this song applied for the job. And got it.
I can't stop listening to this one now, see, and I'm sorry that the best recording I've found of it is during a Letterman taping, but you've sort of got to admit that it's a little bit awesome how first the man playing the upright bass (is it an upright bass?) wanders on during the middle of the song, and then the drum guy creeps in shortly after that, then some dude comes in from the left and starts doing god-knows-what, and then a trumpet man comes on too, and they're all smiling sheepishly the whole time, like oh hey, don't mind us, just here to play some music on live TV. (Also, the upright bass guy looks uncannily like my brother Luke if you squint a little, which provides a whole other level of humor. For me, at least.)
And when you've played that one a few dozen times, you might also enjoy the version below, which was apparently taped at Lollapalooza in 2007---wow, how behind the times am I? (Hey, kids, have you heard of this fresh new band called "The Beatles"?)---and is even better, I think, despite the fact that it cuts off in the beginning. Excuse me while I go listen to it for the 86th time.
Apr 29, 2009
Wow, that IS a great song. It can now join Mandy Moore's "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week" in my current repeat-until-ears-bleed playlist. My roommate must love me.
Apr 29, 2009
Okay, so you and I have the same taste in music, so I'm just going to list some bands just in case you haven't heard of them. (You were pretty behind the times on The National and now Elvis Perkins, but DAMN. THOSE BANDS ARE SO GOOD)
Anyway, bands you will most definitely enjoy and may already enjoy (and songs to get you hooked):
Frightened Rabbit (The Twist)
Soft Club (Christmas TV)
The Boy Least Likely To (A Balloon on a Broken String. Actually I'd be surprised if you don't already know of TBLLT, since they did that song "Be Gentle With Me" that was EVERYWHERE)
Those Dancing Days (Home Sweet Home)
I may add to that list later tonight.
Apr 29, 2009
Love it! What a great discovery. I just downloaded the whole album and I think it's gonna end up on repeat for me, too. :-)
(Also, the post verification code for me is currently some very complex looking math equation. No one told me there would be math on this blog!)
Apr 29, 2009
I think the dude on the left is playing something similar to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samvadini.jpg you can also see a bit more of a close up of one in the second clip at about 4:20 into the video.
Oh yeah, great song too . ..
Apr 29, 2009
Two things:
1. I had a friend a while back who dated Mr. Perkins. Sorry, I can't remember any juicy gossip, though.
2. Do you listen to Grizzly Bear? I think you would really love them, if you don't already. Download the song "Knife". If I ever get married, I want to walk down the aisle to that, as cheesy as it sounds. I saw them play about a year ago at Disney Hall and it blew my freaking mind.
Apr 29, 2009
I love this song! Thanks for introducing me to it.
And don't feel bad about being behind. I get all of my band tips from you. I can't even be bothered to discover people who look like John Lennon and sang at Lollapalooza two years ago.
Apr 29, 2009
I like!
Apr 29, 2009
Love this. It's like Leonard Cohen and Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel and Buddy Holly had some weird, nature-defying orgy and had a baby.
Apr 30, 2009
This song is great. And I love how the other members slowly join him on stage. The whole thing is beautiful - even if it is from a late night talk show.
Also, dude totally looks (a teeny bit) like your brother (from the pictures I've seen, not that I'm stalking your family). Except, does upright bass player have a mustache?
Apr 30, 2009
I love this song too. I got it free from I tunes as their free single of the week last year sometime, and I have to say their selections are usually pretty spot on.
Oh and I totally do that song on repeat thing, at the moment I am obsessively listening to Daughter by Loudon Wainwright III which I just discovered.
Apr 30, 2009
Vicki, that was my on-repeat song from last week! I grew tired of it quickly though.
Apr 30, 2009
I la-la-love this song! Glad you posted it for all to hear.
PS: I also la-la-love your site!
Apr 30, 2009
Glad I'm not the only one who felt instantly compelled to answer your recommendations with my own.
My love of the week is Fred. They're awesome. Not available on US itunes, yet. But their website has a player (fredtheband.com)
"The Lights" and "Good One" are amazing, fun songs.
Apr 30, 2009
You know how you keep saying to yourself that you're not going to make any New Year's resolutions, but then you go ahead and make them anyway?
That's how I am with listening to music that people post on their blogs. I keep saying I'm never going to do it again, because I never like it.
But it's like a train wreck.. can't look away... can't not click the shiny button.
Annnnnnnnnnd?
I didn't like it.
I just can't seem to get into these bohemian, hippy-style, Beatle-esque repetetive rhapsodies everyone is so entranced with these days. I miss actual melodies, bands that have amazingly talented musicians, singers who have really great voices, and songs that don't whine about everything.
I think that while *I* was sleeping, popular music went right down the tubes.
Apr 30, 2009
Like it. Has something of Iron and Wine's "Trapeze Swinger" structure and feel about it which I know you also like and featured before.
The boxed instrument is a hand-pumped harmonium. Very commonly used in Indian classical music, together with the sitar and tabla, but brought to India from Europe - probably by missionaries - in the 19th century. The samvadini, mentioned by Bob above, would be a posher version of the basic harmonium with the addition of a course of tunable strings on the top.
Loved the guy playing two trumpets at the same time in the second video!
Apr 30, 2009
Does anyone know if the sad story of this guy's life is true? Don't want to burst the listen-till-your-ears-bleed bubble, but it adds a whole other 10-foot thick layer of meaning to all of his stuff. Great lyrics, though, which like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" are just set off by a really simple harmonic progression with a pretty straightforward repetitive melody...oh, now I'm tearing up.
Thanks for the great tip!!