Meanwhile... I'm Still Thinking » 1998

Ringo Starr-Vertical Man

sfaubert — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:00:43 +0000

All of the post-comeback Ringo records are good ones – nothing on them is bad, and there are usually a couple of standouts.

Keepers:

Vertical Man
La De Da

Vertical Man

PJ Harvey-Is This Desire?

sfaubert — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:36:33 +0000

Keepers:

Angelene
The Sky Lit Up
A Perfect Day Elise
The Garden
The River
Is This Desire

Is This Desire

Belle And Sebastian-Boy With The Arab Strap

sfaubert — Sun, 15 May 2011 09:00:39 +0000

Keepers:

A Summer Wasting
Chickfactor
Is It Wicked Not To Care
It Could Have Been A Brilliant
Seymour Stein
Simple Things
Sleep The Clock Around
The Rollercoaster Ride

Boy With the Arab Strap

Cowboy Junkies-Miles From Our Home

sfaubert — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:00:23 +0000

Keepers:

New Down Coming
Blue Guitar
Miles From Our Home
Good Friday
Summer Of Discontent
No Birds Today

Miles From Our Home

Eels-Electro-Shock Blues

sfaubert — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:00:54 +0000

Keepers:

Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor
Going To Your Funeral Part 1
Cancer For The Cure
Efil’s God
P.S. You Rock My World

Electro-Shock Blues

Shakira-Dónde Están los Ladrones?

sfaubert — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:00:15 +0000

I know what you’re thinking.

Yes, she’s one of the most beautiful women ever, she can dance like there’s no tomorrow, and she’s a mega-superstar that probably hangs out with other mega-superstars.

None of that matters… she’s really good. Good to the point that I wish she were around a few decades ago when an artist released a couple of albums a year – quantity of output changes the conversation.

First of all, her voice is just astounding – she could be singing the Columbian phone book for all I know and it would be making my palms sweat. Secondly, while the production on this album at times veers dangerously close to cheesy chorused guitar hell, her songwriting is concise and exceptional enough to overcome it, and the overall feel of this album is closer to early 70′s soft-ish rock than you might expect if all you’ve ever heard is “Hips Don’t Lie”.

I know what you’re thinking and you’re probably right, but you might want to listen anyway. Can’t hurt.

Keepers:

Ciega, Sordomuda
Si Te Vas
No Creo
Octavo Dia
Que Vuelvas
Donde Estan Los Ladrones?
Ojos Asi

Dónde Están los Ladrones?

Brian Forden-The Tiller’s Lament

sfaubert — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:00:17 +0000

A while back Gary Pig Gold and I decided to create a music label dedicated to putting out compilations of home demos. We called it “The Unsound Series” and we actually were able to get a couple of albums out the door before the bottom fell out of the CD market. Once we made the announcement that we were going ahead with this project we were literally swamped with homemade CDs, tapes, press kits etc. We listened to everything that came in, and a lot of the music we received was really good.

One of the packages came to me from a place called General Ludd Music (lots of good music there, by the way), and there were several CDs included, one of which was “Tiller’s Lament” by Brian Forden. I listened to it and was utterly blown away. I tried my best to find out more about the artist with very little luck, but I did import the songs into iTunes with all of my “normal” music and soon found myself listening to “Tiller’s Lament” all the time. I listened when I ate, when I wanted to nap, when I was depressed, when I wanted to wind down… in other words, practically every day… literally hundreds of times. In the last 10 or so years this is the ONLY album that I’ve given this kind of treatment to, which leads me to think:

“Tiller’s Lament” is one of the best albums released in the last dozen or so years. For real.

So what does “Tiller’s Lament” sound like? First of all, Forden’s voice is a quiet sigh – smooth, tuneful and completely unaffected. The album is mostly just this voice coupled with a lush, non-rhythm acoustic guitar – at times other instruments are in the mix (recorder, bass and drums), but always the music is full-sounding, confident and just right. The songs are all short, melodic and instantly hummable. One thing I just realized while writing this: after all of the times I’ve listened to “Tiller’s Lament”, I still don’t know any of the words – the album puts me into a state where words don’t matter.

There is a kind of song that makes you feel a certain way: songs of longing and tranquility, songs that give you the space to remember and wonder. This is an album full of songs like that, and you’ve got to hear it.

I don’t know Brian Forden and I gain nothing from giving “Tiller’s Lament” this kind of recommendation. I just truly believe that everyone needs to hear it.

General Ludd Music has graciously made “Tiller’s Lament” available as a free download here. I’m telling you… get it and pass the link along to everyone you know who even has a smattering of interest in music. May you listen hundreds of times and love it like I do.

Keepers:

La Belle Epoque
Scarecrow
Where the Wind Will Blow
A Cloak of Elvenkind
Simon
Madrid
Adelaide
Olivia
The Tiller’s Lament

Download “Tiller’s Lament”

Billy Bragg & Wilco-Mermaid Avenue

sfaubert — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:56 +0000

Keepers:

Walt Whitman’s Niece
California Stars
Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
Birds and Ships
Hoodoo Voodoo
She Came Along To Me
One By One

Mermaid Avenue