It’s Elspeth’s birthday today. She may not wish to reveal her age to you, dotty old thing that she is, but I can tell you that she hasn’t quite reached the stage of dying her hair blue and dedicating her life to bingo. As the older sister, that’s my department.

Happy birthday Elspeth. I hope you spent the day kicking up your heels and painting the town red. Enjoy the rest of your evening – don’t drink too much pink wine. I’m off to play bowls with Norm and Elsie. Cheers!

Birthday – The Bird And The Bee If you need an explanation, you’ve drunk too much pink wine

All The Wine – The National Because all the wine is all for you

Inner Smile – Texas Because it’s the closest I could get to that fake smile you used to do when we were kids and someone stuck a camera in your face

Good Day – Jewel Because I hope you had one

To the small handful of you who may have wondered where I’ve been the last few days – mucho apologies. For those of you who don’t know already, I am a teacher and things at school have been pretty frantic lately. I’ve finally found a few minutes to throw together a few random tracks that I’m liking this week. Though the first track may contradict this next statement, their existence in this post signifies that I am still alive. And kicking. Just.
 
Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying - Belle & Sebastian

All The Way Down - Nik Freitas

The Arm - Islands

Wow. These guys have quite the circle of friends. Instrumental rock outfit Unwed Sailor have played with a power of people, most of which I’m not familiar with. I reckon there’s over 50 on the list though, which you can view in their little corner of Wiki land.

2008 marks Unwed Sailor’s tenth year of existence. Sometimes I’m annoyed when I come across a band and discover that they’ve been around forever - I feel like I’ve been missing out. Overall though I think it’s pretty cool to know that you’ve got an entire catalogue to check out, full of unknown gems ready to be explored. By the time you’ve had a chance to fall in love with your favourites, a new album will hopefully be ready, just in time for you to do it all over again.

Unwed Sailor (top band name by the way) released their latest album Little Wars in March. It was recorded over a period of five years, in three seperate sessions, involving a rotating cast of over a dozen musicians. While I haven’t heard a lot of their gear yet, I am a sucker for instrumental music of the (mostly) non-classical kind, and I’m liking what I’ve heard from these guys so far.

I don’t know if the track I’ve posted below, ‘Aurora’, refers to the coloured light displays that can be seen close to the North and South Poles, but I think that seeing those lights in real life would be big and majestic, and I can imagine watching the aurora flicker and fade under an open sky, with Unwed Sailor playing quietly in the background. Go forth and listen.

Aurora - Unwed Sailor

I love the slightly sardonic tone of voice and the half-laugh that drifts to the surface every now and then. Reckon these guys had some fun with this one.

Kokomo - Adam Green & Ben Kweller

I really want to do a proper feature on DeVotchKa but I’m tired and the chances are that you already know plenty about them anyway. I will say that, while I’m a relative newcomer to the wonders of DeVotchKa, I bloody love them and am keen to find out more. I’ve been trying to pick up a CD copy of A Mad And Faithful Telling but I haven’t found one at any of my local record stores - maybe it’s not out in Australia yet. I would google it and find out, but I’m feeling way too slack. The few tracks I do have include ‘Blessing In Disguise’ and oh my lordy, what an absolute cracker of a tune it is. Beautiful.

Blessing In Disguise - DeVotchKa

 

 

 

It’s a simple idea, where I post songs that all have one thing in common - the letter that they begin with. Original? Not at all. Pointless? Probably.

Having said that though, every song is highly recommended and should be checked out by your good self immediately!

Some MAGNIFICENT tracks today..

Mahna Mahna - The Muppets Because my almost-three nephew thinks it’s hilarious

Mariella - Kate Nash Because she’s got a cool accent

Midnight Monday - The Cotton Jones Basket Ride Because their band name is awesome

Milano - Sigur Ros Because it’s Sigur Ros

Monsters - Band Of Horses Because I love them twangin’ banjos

My Tears Dry On Their Own - Amy Winehouse Because the girl can sing

Mr. Jones - Counting Crows Because I love the conversational lyrics

Musicology - Prince Because I can

Check out the rest of the alphabet here.`

So for the last few mornings when my alarm has gone off I’ve woken up to the sounds of alternative radio station Triple J. The breakky show hosts have been flogging MGMT lately, and the last three days I’ve heard them either talking about Oracular Spectacular, advertising the album, or playing a song from it. Today it was a combination - a quick plug of the album again, plus a listen to ‘The Youth’, which I promptly downloaded and added to my Ipod while I was getting ready for the day. I played it several times in the car on the way to work and consequently had it floating around my head for the rest of the day.

And that’s exactly the right word for it - ‘floating’. It’s a dreamy track, lush and fresh and so damn catchy. Get it, hear it, love it.

This is a call of arms to live and love and sleep together
We could flood the streets with love or light or heat whatever
Lock the parents out, cut a rug, twist and shout
Wave your hands
Make it rain
For stars will rise again

The Youth - MGMT

I’ve been bagging remixes forever, as this post can attest. I’ve never liked ‘em, and have always thought they were nothing more than a cheap rip off. Now though, with some help from Lost In Your Inbox, I’ve gained a new appreciation for them. I’ve even gone so far as to download one all by myself, willingly, without complaint or duress.

I’m so proud of myself I could leap a tall building in a single bound. Oh wait. That’s already been done. Instead I’ll have to beat my sister about the head with a wet fish. Not really, she’s just reading over my shoulder and I thought that might encourage her to find something else to do with her time. Like download this (recently individually acquired) excellent remix of MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’, for example.

Paper Planes - MIA (Holy F*** Remix)

Image courtesy of Jim Bradshaw Illustration. This guy does some amazing stuff - drawing, sculpture, computer art, and has even started making cute stuffed toys. Definitely worth a squizz.

This post features The Flaming Lips covering Kylie and David Byrne covering Whitney Houston - two divas for the price of one! Enjoy.

I Just Can’t Get You Out Of My Head - The Flaming Lips

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - David Byrne

      

Courtney Kaiser + Benjamin Cartel = KaiserCartel. This Brooklyn based duo have been tooling around the US in their Toyota Prious since 2004, accompanied by “The Crayons“, who are, from what I can tell, soft toys that have unusual pet peeves and food habits. In fact, The Crayons seem to be just as much a feature of the band as their infectious acoustic folky rock/rocky folk, with a bonus pack of crayons included with every purchase of their latest EP Double Standard.

A browse around their excellent website illuminates the eccentricity of KaiserCartel, a band that clearly don’t take themselves too seriously. Their bio includes statements such as Courtney gets her inspiration from having no biological roots and her psychic ability to predict her breakups and Benjamin gets his inspiration from crowded subway stations, local watering holes, and New York Femme Fatales. He has played with The Heartdrops, Zombie Squad, and Benjamin Cartel. This is the kind of stuff that makes me interested in a band before I even hear their sound.

Luckily, in the case of KaiserCartel, their down to earth attitude is not the only thing they’ve got going for them. Their simple instrumentation and harmonies result in music that is both catchy and soothing at the same time. ‘Nobody Home’ is understated and seemingly effortless, showcasing Courtney’s caramel vocals that range from soft to strong in a matter of minutes. ‘Okay’ features a fantastic call and response section, with both singers combining to create a mood of heartbreak and longing in the space of five or six lines.  

Though they’ve been touring fairly consistently in the last few years, including a recent stint at SXSW, they only have two dates booked in the next couple of months in New York. If you get the chance check them out - by all accounts their live gigs are both intimate and uplifting. If you’re lucky enough to get to see them, let me know how they go!

Nobody Home - KaiserCartel

Okay - KaiserCartel

Dream All Day - KaiserCartel

Season Song (Live) - KaiserCartel