Welcome To Night Vale

Welcome To Night Vale is really bloody strange.

It's like H.P Lovecraft had a kid with Douglas Adams, which was then adopted by Lemony Snicket and raised on those Fact or Faked! shows that SyFy does.


I should explain. WTNV is, in case you haven't heard about it, a free podcast done to sound like a community radio show. There's Cecil, the narrator, Carlos, the scientist he has a occasionally stalkerish crush on, The Apache Tracker, Old Woman Josie and the angels-who-aren't-meant-to-exist, the dog park, the hooded figures, the Sherrif's Secret Police...

It's funny, weird, sometimes scary, often creepy, and occasionally existential.

-

And now, for the weather.

Talented bastard. Co-writes weird podcasts, plays guitar, writes songs, sings...I bet he can juggle geese, too. Some people have to, I suppose. Joseph Fink, These And More Than These.

A slight departure from our regular programming, here. Nerdcore Rap, I believe. Satellite High - The Bus Is Late.

 Really, really, really love this. Two Gallants, Despite What You've Been Told. 

-

In the words of Cecil:

"There is a thin, semantic line between weird and beautiful, and that line is covered in jellyfish."

Mollx

N.B. The pilot episode is very good, but I feel, as with most things, that it properly hits its stride after episode 2 or 3. So if you like it but you're not *sure*, give it a couple of episodes. Also, it's done in a way that I'm told is very NPR - that is, monotone. Cecil gets more animated after the first few episodes, though.

It's Sunday. Cut Me Some Slack.

HEY!

So, no theme. But it's Sunday and I feel far too sleepy for ten-past-six. I'm relying on black tea to keep my eyes open, and themes are hard, so I'm just going to do a load of songs I've been meaning to share and leave it at that. How's that sound?

Wonderfully sunny electro-rock, with a few splashes of rain here and there. The Dodos, Substance

The nineties called, they wanted their C86 back. Mikal Cronin, Shout It Out

I love this. Not that I don't usually like the songs I post, but I don't always want to climb onto the roof and shout about it. Anyway, here, have a bit of rockabilly. Ida Maria, Cherry Red

Perhaps I should start labeling posts that feature music recommended by that friend I keep mentioning. Yo, Heather, you have good taste. Jeffery Lewis, Anxiety Attack

Also. I mentioned to my Dad earlier today how eclectic this blog is - that yes, I often post the same kind of music, but it's not as if I've never posted any hip-hop, because I have. Once. In a post-script. So, here's a bit more. Aesop Rock (yes, I know it was Aesop Rock last time, too), Zero Dark Thirty.

Mollx

Thursday Blues

Actually, no. I've been okay today. Though I was surprised to find it was Thursday and not Tuesday, because this week's gone crazy fast, even if this morning felt like it was on pause for three hours.

SO!

Blues songs. Three of 'em. Because I'm good to you like that.

This is fabulously awesome. A bit of blues, a bit of soul, a lot of brilliance. Jessie Mae Hemphill, Standing in My Doorway Crying.

Okay, yes fine, I lied, it's not three blues songs, it's two blues songs and one Tom Waits song, but I don't know how to classify Tom Waits. Drunk-folk? Anyway, I'm not a big fan of yer man Tom, but there are a couple of songs I really like, and this is one of them. Tom Waits, Hold On

And a return to our regular programming to give you a bit of regular, wonderful, good old-fashioned blues. Robert Johnson, Crossroad Blues

Mollx

Eight Tracks From 8tracks

So, of late, I've been all over 8tracks, and I'm not sure why.

I mean, you can't see tracklists, so you've no idea what's coming up and whether you'll like that particular playlist or not. But then again, you don't have to start with more than just a vague idea in mind of what you want to listen to, and the whole playlist thing makes it easier to narrow it down than Last.fm or Jango.

So I like it, I do - there are just a few kinks I think it needs to work on.

But onwards and upwards with the Eight Tracks from 8tracks!

I've been listening to a lot of what gets tagged as 'southern gothic'. Essentially, it's blues rock with swampwater in its shoes. Firstly, The Silent Comedy - Bartholomew

Secondly, The Devil Makes Three - Old Number Seven. Which is blues rock with swampwater in its shoes and a directions to the nearest crossroads.

Thirdly, Noah Gunderson - David. I wasn't so keen on this at first but now I always go yess! when it comes on. Reminds me a bit of a raspy voiced Conor Oberst.

Fourthly, Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Nothing But The Water (I). I have this going in two tabs at the same time the delay sounds awesome. It's all the above plus a bit of soul.

Fifthly,  Frank Turner - Love Ire and Song. I heard this once on 8tracks, I think, and I loved it, so. It's British, so it's not blues, it's folk. That's your general rule of thumb, by the way - on one side of the Atlantic, it's blues, on the other it's folk. Though this really is folk, complete with wordy lyrics and strum-my acoustic guitar.

Sixthly, The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow. Yes, more southern gothic. Shush. Also, one of the singers looks like Johnny Depp.

Seventhly, The Heavy - How You Like Me Now. I honestly don't know whether this fits or not, but I like it, so there.

Eighthly, Delta Rae - Bottom Of The River. I had no idea this was as popular as it is, but she has a hell of a voice, so if you haven't heard it, go listen, and if you have, go listen again.

Also, I recently watched Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's so good. I mean. So good. Also I finished it with a crush on Felicia Day, so, fair warning.

Mollx

Apparently I've Lost My Knack For Titles

An extra long post for you today, just to clear my list. So, eleven songs from all corners of the interwebs. There's no order to it; There's electronica. There's folk. There's rock. There's blues (sort of). If anyone ever wants you to define 'eclectic', send them here.

I'll start off with something pretty normal for me, just to ease you in. Nice hat, Lucy. Lucy Spraggan - Lighthouse

Ah, Franz Ferdinand. This is the problem with a band who only really have two well-known songs. You forget they've ever done anything else. Franz Ferdinand - Bite Hard

Is it blues? Is it folk? Who cares, eh? It's very good, either way. Castanets - Sway

Straight up alt-rock. Fab. Mike Mains & The Branches - Noises

I adore this. Sort of Faustus-meets-Mawkin-Causley-meets-The-Lumineers-with-a-girl-behind-the-mic. Lovely, lovely, lovely song. The April Maze - Don't Let The Bastards Bring You Down

I suppose it's pretty electro-rock-ish? Very nice. MS MR - Hurricane

Black Keys-ish blues rock. Hanni El Katib - You Rascal You

Hazy, sixties tinged folk-pop. Amarante - The Manic

Very far out for this blog - very eighties, but hey, pretty good. Sick Gemini - Discolo
 
A bit more eighties electro for ya. Color Theory - What You Said

A return to my more usual fare - rather nice summery folk-punk. I'd say at points it gets to be a bit of a cacophony, but nice regardless. The Tin Can Collective - I Can't Hold On

So that's that, folks! Remember, if you ever want me to listen to something (as you can see, I have rather varied taste) whether that's a new band you've heard, a new band you're in, or an old band you'll adore until the end of time but no-one else seems to know, GET IN TOUCH!! I won't bite, I promise. Either email me: musicalmartyrdom(at)gmail(dot)com, or tweet me, @EmEmBlog.

Also, new chapter of Gargoyle!

Thanks everyone!

Mollx

Album Of The Second: The National, Trouble Will Find Me

Yeah, yeah, Molly is reviewing the new National album, no surprises there.

-

If High Violet was shot through with a fear of love, its reality versus its ideal, then Trouble Will Find Me is about the fear of losing that love, real, imagined, strong, fragile, destructive, healing. That's what the album feels like - the beginning of a recovery, complete with doubts and sneaking fears. Demons says it best: "I get the sudden sinking feeling / Of a man about to fly" There's simultaneously an ease to it and a fragility, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop but willing to see that you've got a good thing going. Even if it feels like the slightest slip could shatter it."I don't want you to grieve / But I want you to sympathise / I can't blame you for losing your mind for a little while / So did I,"  sings Matt, on Slipped. And a little later, in I Need My Girl; "I know I was a lot of things / But I am good, I am grounded." The music itself, as nuanced as ever, is gentler, this time around. It's cooler, calmer; more about the contrast between the clean open space and the shadows intrinsic to their sound. Where Boxer was shrouded, Trouble Will Find Me is exposed to the light, in spirit as well as sound. The metaphors aren't as oblique, and every line tastes of a confession. It makes the album accessible, relatable; but still the metaphors are there, still strange, still them.  It's still a warm record, though, for all that - but it feels more at ease with itself than any album before it. It's something to while away the afternoon with, not something to listen to in the middle of the night with nothing but the glow of your computer screen to keep you company. But the darkness of their previous albums is still there in songs like the glorious This Is The Last Time, and the rain-slicked Fireproof.  

It's different, this new, more open sound - but it's still unmistakably a National album. More cohesive, yes - the songs so interwoven that listening to it in pieces feels almost like blasphemy - and some will say more mature. But that's just one of those phrases, isn't it? The truth is that they've always had that maturity, hiding away in songs like 29 Years and Lucky You; it's just that with every song from Secret Meeting onward they've been shifting, through raucous Abel to majestic Mistaken For Strangers and from there to Anyone's Ghost - it's a progression, and as different as Trouble Will Find Me seems it's also nigh on inevitable. The band have become more and more comfortable with themselves as time has gone on  - and this is the result. An album made up of great song upon great song, confident and self-assured. Like every album of theirs it benefits from repeated listens, benefits from burying yourself in it and not surfacing for a week - but, that said, there's an immediacy hiding in Sea Of Love and Graceless that grabs you from the very first note. I don't know how they do it - how every album is better than all those that went before - but they've pulled it off. Again.

And the next one will be even better, you'll see.

-

Logo! Twitter!

So guess what?!

The blog has a LOGO!


(I know it's just a quick little thing but I wanted a profile pic for twitter so I knocked it up in Paint)

And a TWITTER!

You wanna tweet me? Go ahead!

Mollx

A Random Collection Of Songs With No Connection Whatsoever, Apart From Perhaps Long Hair

Hi!

 It's a lot better than it sounds like it's going to be; a bit KOL-y, southern rock with a bit of a saxophone jive and a rather grand bassline. It's very cool and well worth listening, so go on. Click the bloody link, you lot. The Weeds, Brother In The Night

Airy Elliott-Smith-tinged americana-pop! (I like that, americana-pop. Nice phrase). Kurt Vile, Never Run Away. 

This is Elbow back when they were just beginning to get popular and weren't yet obsessed with that one bit of violin-work  and choral singing that makes all their other singles sound EXACTLY THE SAME. Anyway, I love this song, it's kick-ass northern pub-rock and it is FABULOUS.Not to be confused with the other Grounds For Divorce that I love. Elbow, Grounds For Divorce

And speaking of long hair, Sam Winchester.
I started watching Supernatural again earlier this week, and seriously? Are haircuts not a thing in America? Dean and Cas seem to manage not to have hair like Rapunzel, though. Or do they cut each others' hair? Or do angels not need haircuts? I don't know.

It's possible I'm over thinking this.

Moll x

P.S. Chapter eleven of The Gargoyle Of St John's is up - please read, please vote!

If you read Gargoyle at any point before chapter twelve goes up, either comment on this post or send me an email (address in the side bar) with your favourite song that I have or haven't posted and I'll mention them all in one big reader-appreciation post, because I love you all and you're all brilliant. :)

mx

Coachella!

Hello!

Got some very good stuff for you today! I think the title pretty much sums it up - bands featured on the Coachella line-up.

Firstly, The Shouting Matches. I'm not a big fan of Bon Iver (don't like falsetto all that much), but I heard Justin Vernon sing with Annie Clark (St Vincent)once and who knew? Once he drops the whole falsetto thing, he's awesome. A fabulously growly, Southern, blues-rock guitar fest. My only complaint? It's far too short. The Shouting Matches - Another Man Done Gone

In fact I love it so much I'm just going to listen to a few more times before I move on.

Right. This is a fair bit poppier (although it's not exactly pop)and it's had A LOT more views, but my friend likes it and I like it and I've seen photo manips featuring it all over tumblr and Pinterest, so. Hope you like it, and I hope I haven't lost all my indie cred. Of Monsters and Men - King And Lionheart

Back to the growly blues-rock now! I didn't know how much I missed it until today! He's a bit heavy on his effects but he plays the drums at the same time and that's not half cool, so it all evens out in the end. (I say that as though being heavy on effects is a bad thing. It's not) Reignwolf - Electric Love

Mollx

Right Then (Two Things)

Hello!

Um, yeah. So. It's about time I did this, yeah? Call it a pre-proper-posting round-up. (I'm not saying I'm going to be posting with any regularity, but I will be around with a bit more than Gargoyle updates.

1) Simon Joyner's new one. I say new. It's been out since August. And I did get an email about it, when it was new out, but I didn't check my MM email for ages because I didn't think anyone would be emailing me after I went on hiatus. I'm only in the middle of Vertigo at the moment, but it's very good. Quite Eighties.

2) New song from Dead Social Club! Again, I say new. It's not really, it's been out since September. Anyway, I really rather like it. Very Cure, and it reminds of something but I can't place it.


So yeah! Now I can start with new new stuff, yes? Or at least a nice clean inbox.

Catch you later!

New Chapter

The new chapter of 'The Gargoyle Of St Johns' is up, if there's anyone that wants something to read. It's TOTALLY free, but you have to register to read beyond the first couple of chapters. Please vote if you like it - you can vote for every chapter, too.

Thank you!

Well, There's A Surprise

So, I was listening to music yesterday. And I discovered that much to my surprise the chances of me being a hipster are quite high. I hope you can forgive me.

And anyway, the surprise is that I wanted to share a song with you! It's a bit mad but it's lovely.

Dagne, Bērnības Milicija.

I've recc'd them before, I know, but you really should listen to them. If you lot can get the views up to 700 by next Tuesday I'd be very much obliged. (But honestly that's just to see whether anyone listens to the songs I post or whether you just read for my sparkling wit.)

~Alice

  

Just letting folks now that the new chapter is now up!

'Gargoyle' on Goodreads

Hello!

'Gargoyle' now has a page on Goodreads!

Also I now have 144 votes on JukePop, so thanks everyone!

Mollx

Chapter Seven

Hope nobody minds me mentioning this here, but I posted Chapter Seven of my novel The Gargoyle Of St John's on Monday.

Please read! Please vote!

Mollx

Some News, I Suppose

Right. Well. Yeah.

This isn't a I'm-back-from-hiatus-post. This is a 'I've had tons of visits and I want to thank you all' post.

Because I do. You're all brilliant. And I am sorry I stopped doing this blog, but I was too busy. I still am, to be honest.

But I thought, since this blog is still getting loads of hits (!!!) I'd check in anyway and let you know what I've been doing.

Studying, and THIS. I've been writing bits and pieces of various things since I went on hiatus, but this is the first thing that's progressed past the honeymoon stage - it's a magical realist mystery/crime novel, and I'm really proud of it. So please-please-please, give it a read. You have to register to read Chapter 2 +, but it's free to do so. And I'd really appreciate it if you could vote for me. And maybe send it to your friends?

I update on Fridays between 7 and 10 GMT, and if I'm late I'll post on my writing blog beforehand. I shouldn't be late, though.

And! There's more! As an extra, I've had a few emails from people about their music - so I'll be posting about that soon.

 Thank you so much, 

Moll x