Label Day: Narnack Records

"Narnack is every band we have worked with; their music, art, personalities & stories. All the people and friends who gave everything and nothing. Everybody and nobody who understands what it is and what it means.
Narnack is whatever you want it to be."

This is really bittersweet and lovely. Bob Marley meets Ryan Adams meets sweet-as-pie blues. Langhorn Slim, Worries

I don't know what to say for this one except it's awesome and it reminds me of Sunny Day Real Estate. Sisters, Sky

This has that 60s-style gentle, quiet madness. It's brilliant. Women And Children, Oranges


Mollxx

(Showtune) Music Monday

I'm in that kind of mood. You know, the mood when you just want to watch something so ridiculously awesome that you nearly explode with it? And what better fits that than a few crazy showtunes?

This is one of my favourites. It's nearly always playing in some part of my brain. Perhaps I have a gay homunculus hiding my head.  

Calam! Ain't she just the best? Doris Day and Howard Keel from Calamity Jane

I've never actually seen Fiddler On The Roof (mind you, I'm not certain if I've seen Annie Get Your Gun, and that never stopped me) but my mam sings this quite a lot. If I Were A Rich Man.

Bonus Song! I absolutely love this song, and while it's not a showtune, it should be! Regina Spektor, Us

Mollx

Branching Out

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

                    -The Walrus And The Carpenter - Lewis Carroll

I've often thought that I need another, more multi-purpose blog. And now, after spending a few months deciding on a title, I have one! It'll be full of (hopefully) book reviews, film reviews, the occasional rant, and fabulous derring-do! Yes, derring-do! 

My new blog, Of Shoes And Ships.

Mollx 

In My Defence,

I have been doing constructive things in my absence. Such as learning how not to figure out the inverse of a composite function, and writing the first 737 words of a new novel. That's right, folks, SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN! It usually takes me a month to write seven words, let alone seven hundred and change! So, I think it's only fair I share some of my writing playlist (but not all of it. I don't want you pinching all of my inspiration).

Eet, Regina Spektor. DO NOT take this to mean I am writing a book about a failing romance. It is FAR from a romance. (although there is a failed relationship hiding in the background).

Love More, Sharon Van Etten. I use it for the same character as Eet, but this makes the whole thing a bit more obvious.

Autumn's Child, Devendra Banhart. This is more for the main character, this one, and less the lyrics more the music. It's nice and earthy, which fits rather well.


I can't think of any more now, so I'll try and top it up when I've remembered more!

Mollx

Pie Day

Ya see what I did there? Not predictable, am I?

I feel like something a bit light and floaty. Cue a Band-From-THE-LIST. The History Of Apple Pie, You're So Cool

More light! More sunshine! More awesome! Pete and the Pie-rates, Half Moon Street

And, although I have posted this before, it too puts me in mind of sunny-ness. Piemal Scream, Movin' On Up

Mollypie x

PI DAY!

Happy Pi Day people! (yes, I am a geek. Not [usually] a maths geek, but a geek all the same)

Not a big fan of Colin Melloy's voice (have I said this before? I forget) but this song is lovely. The Decemberists, January Hymn

This makes me feel better. I haven't listened to "proper" punk in ages. The shame. (N.B. This works in principle, because the real song goes on for nine more seconds, and by telling you, I've kinda ruined the mystery element of this post.) The Broadways, Fifteen Minutes

I like The Black Lips. Remind me to look for this in HMV. I forgot last time. (these brackets serve no purpose. It's just to point out and continue the unintentional joke that I've used brackets in every intro-thing today)The Black Lips, The Lie

Moll. (did you get the theme?)

AOTS: Apple Rabbits, Kilburn State

Have you ever tried to guess a band's sound from their name? I have. I've practiced and refined this skill, useless as it may be, and I'm pretty good at it by now. Apple Rabbits? Something a little strange. Warm. Familiar. Mental. Not unlike a psychotic teddy bear. I wasn't that far off. Warm? No. Familiar? Kinda. Mental? Certainly. More The Termianator Goes Hawaiian than pyscotic childhood friend. And that's the long and short of it. Full of darting bleeps and occasional woozy vocals, unusual samples and spinning feedback. Discordant in parts and melodic in others, it's an album that tries to pull at everything you might call soothing or meditative, and fit as much in as possible. It's cramped and it isn't - is that possible? It must be, I suppose, because that's what it's like. It bewilders the ears and the mind, while ostensibly being as chilled as the Dalai Lama on Sunday afternoon. Strange, as I said. Addictively so.

The album on Bandcamp

7/10

Moll x

What I Have Been Doing Today, Or, Looking For A Theme

Sometimes, I look for theme inspiration in the music news. Other times, I use what happened in my day.  What happened today? Not much, as it happens.

1. Finished the notebook I've been making this week.
2. Wanted to watch Serenity again at lunch, so the Reavers wouldn't scare the bejeezus out of me like they do when I watch it at midnight, River Tam or no River Tam.
3. Got mad at geometry, because I'm sure it changed the question when I wasn't looking and got me all mixed up.
4. Went online, found the perfect pair of boots. Bemoaned high shipping costs and lack of money.
5. Still wanted to watch Serenity.
6. Had to make dinner, because Hovis Biscuits and tea isn't adequate nutrition, apparently.*
7. Started writing this post between the ad breaks in Castle. Realised it's too late to watch Serenity without getting my bejeezus blown all over the room.

 *couldn't think of a Hovis/dinner song, so you get a clip of Firefly instead. I'm good to you, aren't I?

Moll x

Wensday. Wedensday. WEDNESDAY!

I cannot spell today. (Honestly, I can't. I made five mistakes in that sentence alone, for god's sake) This is because my fingers aren't working. Thus, I can't trust myself to write a whole epic, so I'll just throw songs at you until you submit.

Song 1

Song 2

Song 3

Song 4

Mlol (OH FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! WHEN WILL IT END?)

Label Day: Sacred Bones

"Sacred Bones Records was born in Brooklyn, New York in early 2007, with the intention of bringing our friends’ music to light, as well as unearthing music lost to time. Our main focus is on vinyl, but our releases are also available in digital formats. We have released almost 50 records (and counting).
We are deeply fortunate to have a co-operative of gifted people working with us: a filmmaker who directs our music videos, a print maker who handles the production of our complicated packaging and a graphic designer who is responsible for our album layouts, website and one-sheets. We put as much energy and care into the presentation of our records as each band does to their music.
We look forward to continuing to release albums by artists who we truly believe in both aurally and spiritually."

I really like this. It has something a bit White Stripes, something a bit Sonic Youth, and something very, very EPIC. The Men, Open Your Heart

 This is scary. This is so scary, Nick Cave is shaking in his boots. Mind you, it does get a bit repetitive before getting to the my-backing-singer-is-a-werewolf awesome bit. Pop.1280, Bodies In The Dunes
No, it's not your speakers. It really does sound like that. For those of you who do have problems with their speakers, this sounds like an elephant is standing in front of the microphone. Perhaps there was. War, Brodermordet

Moll x

The Results Are In...

Best British Band: Kasabian.0/7

Best International Band: Foo Fighters. Well, I suppose they didn't want to upset Mr Nicest Man In Rock. Still, 0/7. Not doing well here, am I?

Best Solo Artist: Florence And The Machine. I got one right! *dances* 1/7

Best New Band: The Vaccines. There goes another one! HALLELUJAH! 2/7

Best Live Band: Arctic Monkeys. Well there you are. 2/7

Best Album: The Horrors, Skying. I must say I'm rather pleased. It's still 2/7 though.

Best Track: Florence, Shake It Out. Ah well, never mind.

2/7. PITIFUL, Molly, PITIFUL. Well, I haven't been doing this music journalism that long! I can't get everything right!

Moll