A Trip Through My iTunes Library

I’m not really sure at what point my iTunes library became the memoirs of my life.  For as far back as I can remember I’ve loved music, and specifically collecting music.  It all began when my parents bought me a CD player when I was in fifth grade, along with my first CD (Billy Joel’s Storm Front).  As I grew older my musical tastes changed, as did the common media for music.  I went from tapes, to CDs, to burning my own mixtapes via my dad’s CD burner, and finally digital media.  By that point my collection exploded and I was hopelessly hooked to collecting music.

Each album in my iTunes library tells a story.  Whether it be a CD found while scouring my local Hastings on my weekly visit, or an album I downloaded on the recommendation by a friend.  They all remind me of specific times in my life.  Some bad, but mostly good.  Music though has been the foundation that has held it all together, and simply hearing a song while scrolling through my library can take me back to whatever exactly moment and emotion that I have related to it.

I recently have been going back through my library as I moved all my music and subsequently lost a good majority of my album artwork.  My musical OCD will not allow me to put the music on my iPod without having artwork, so I’ve been hard at working going through all 24,756 songs.  This has led to me being reminded of some gems that have been hidden on my iPod for years, so here they are…

Atlas Genius – “Trojans”

I know I am totally behind the boat on Atlas Genius.  I finally picked up their debut album When It Was Now, and dang is it good.  It has been on heavy repeat on my iPod, and I’m pretty sure I found one of my go-to albums for the summer.

Ecovillage – “Before We Knew The Cross”

I came across a new band today called Ecovillage.  They are two from Sweden, and are really making some interesting music.  Filled with some shoegaze and chillwave elements mixed with a little bit of Animal Collective their track “Before We Knew The Cross” really has a lot going on.   The chorus really has some beautiful elements to it, making me come back to it over and over again.  I don’t know if it’s that little bit of a sad element to it with the lyrics,or the guitar chords swirling around in the background.  Regardless these guys are worth checking out.

School Of Seven Bells – “Windstorm”

The last week or so I’ve been thinking about tweaking the feel of the blog.  While I will continue sharing all of the music that I love, I thought I would make it a little more autobiographical.  Sharing not only what I’ve been listening to, but also the events in my life that happen to be corresponding with the music.  Kind of an intersection of music, faith, and my life.  I just feel like I need to take the blog a new direction, and maybe sharing a bit about my life and who I am might be more interesting/helpful/I’m not really sure what to whoever is reading what I’m writing.  There are plenty of other blogs that sharing music (Check out http://indieshuffle.com, a website I happen to write for) at a much more consistent rate that I just can’t keep up with.

With that, I was doing my daily rounds through Soundcloud when I came across a new track that Teen Daze had put together.  Now I’m not sure if he’s coming out with a new album, or what, but it was to raise awareness for Benjamin Curtis.  Benjamin Curtis is part of the band School of Seven Bells, and was just diagnosed with cancer.  You can check out/help him out on this page right here.  I’m praying for a full recovery for Benjamin as he fights cancer.

It’s always crazy seeing someone young have to fight something like cancer, making you think about your mortality and the world around us.  No matter how deep I get in my walk, I wonder why stuff like this happens.  I’m sure God’s got a bigger and better plan, but it doesn’t make it any less confusing here on earth.

Here’s a track by Benjamin’s band, and here’s to some strength for him as he goes through this “Windstorm.”

Wildlife Control – “Ages Places”

The bi-coastal indie rock partnership that is Wildlife Control just released their brand new track today called “Ages Places,” as they get ready to make an appearance at SXSW.

The track is filled with booming bass and enough indie synth pop to definitely get you moving.  I think one of the coolest things about the song though is the lyrics, especially if you’re a literary nerd.  The lyrics are made up of various modified haiku stanzas.  Pretty genius if you ask me, especially since the lyrics can still be coherent despite this ambitious, poetic lyrical styling.

Their new album doesn’t drop until this summer, but keep your eyes out for these guys.

Joe D’Amico – “Where Does the Time Go?”

Sometimes you just need a good pop song.  Enter Philadelphia’s Joe D’Amico.

D’Amico just recently released his album A Short Time’s a Long Time introducing the world to his own blend of acoustic, folk, Americanism.  The album is filled with laid back tracks that could be comfortable on 70’s am radio or floating around the blogosphere today.

One of the highlights is a track called “Where Does the Time Go?”  Listening to it, I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite singer-songwriter Josh Rouse.  With sunny melodies and grooving bass, “Where Does the Time Go?” is a perfect throwback track to the glory days of pop music.  Before the Twitter, or the Internet when good music simply made you feel good.  What more do you need?

Postal Service – “A Tattered Line of String”

As promised, there will be two new songs on the reissue of Postal Service’s classic album Give Up.  One of those tracks was released today via SubPop’s Youtube channel.  Check it out below.

Iron and Wine – “Lovers’ Revolution”

I have to say I was pretty excited to see a new Iron and Wine track up on Soundcloud today.  It has been a long time since Kiss Each Other Clean came out, and you never know what approach Samuel Beam is going to take.

The new track, “Lovers’ Revolution” is what I can only call a jazz piece.  Filled with smoky horns, some chords beat out of a piano, and Beam backed up by some female vocals.  There’s even an improvised trumpet solo.

So is the next Iron and Wine album going to be a jazz influenced album?  Who knows, but it’s definitely an interesting approach.  Guess will have to wait until April 16 when Ghost on Ghost drops.

Top 5 Albums of 2012

Now that Christmas is over I thought I’d finally get around to putting together a Best of 2012 list.  This is my top 5 albums, in no particular order.  I also picked one of my favorite tracks from each respective album.  These five have been on heavy rotation for me much of the year, in a year filled with some great releases.  Hope you enjoy!

Tanlines – Mixed Emotions

Japandroids – Celebration Rock

Loud Harp – Self Titled

Teen Daze – The Inner Mansions

Beach House – Bloom

25 Days of Christmas, Day 20

I know it’s almost the end of the day, but I haven’t forgot Day 20 of 25 Days of Christmas.

Today I’ve got a track from the indie rock band Hey Rosetta!  It’s called “Carry Me Home,” and it’s the bands own unique flavor of Christmas songs.  They have recently released a collection of holiday tracks you can get for free off their Noise Trade Page.  They have opted to do things their own way, and “Carry Me Home,” is a great example of it.  A little bit folk, a little bit indie, but all Hey Rosetta!  It’s a fun upbeat track, with plenty of oh’s to sing along with.