Certain Songs

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will probably never be able to catch the lightning in the bottle that was the success of their film 'Once' and it's soundtrack again...and I am totally ok with that. I just hope they keep making music together(as long as it doesn't mean we have to wait TOO long for the next Frames album.)

Their new Swell Season record is a beautiful effort of stripped down songs. Gorgeous sunset music indeed.

Here is one of my favorites...enjoy.


* 'Paper Cup' MP3

BEST SHOWS/SETS I SAW IN 2008:
5) Langhorne Slim (Columbus)
4) The Hold Steady (Cleveland)
3) My Morning Jacket (Coachella and Columbus)
2) The Swell Season (Coachella and Columbus)
1) Prince (Coachella)


BEST SONGS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET A CHANCE TO HEAR LIVE, THAT I DID ACTUALLY GET TO HEAR IN 2008
4) 'Cactus'(Pixies cover) - The Swell Season @ Coachella



3) 'It Could Be Sweet' - Portishead @ Coachella
2) 'Bittersweet Symphony' - The Verve @ Coachella
1) 'Creep'(Radiohead cover) - Prince @ Coachella

BEST STALKING OPPORTUNITY REALIZED IN 2008
1) Minnie Driver @ the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood (And I didn't even rush the stage...I was really proud of myself)

* Minnie Driver - 'Down' MP3

MOST PLEASANT LIVE MUSIC SURPRISE OF 2008
1) Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip @ Coachella - I wandered over to their stage most accidentally and was blown away!
* Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip - 'Rappers Battles' MP3

BIGGEST LIVE MUSIC DISAPPOINTMENT OF 2008
1) Jens Lekman @ Coachella - Maybe it was too early in the day, or maybe I built him up too much in my music obsessive mind...either way, it just fell flat :-(

LOUDEST SHOW OF 2008
1) Stephen Malkmus @ Coachella - What??? Seriously...my ears haven't been the same since April.


BEST STAGE BANTER OF 2008
1) Glen Hansard - In a LANDSLIDE! I have never seen somebody so genuinley happy to be on a stage playing music in all my life.

WORST STAGE PRESENCE I WITNESSED IN 2008
1) Bill Callahan - I LOVE your music Bill, I really do...you just looked painfully uncomfortable up there. To make it up to you I will play one of my favorite songs of yours.

* Smog - 'Dress Sexy At My Funeral' MP3




In conclusion...it was a very,very, VERY good year! Can't wait to start all over again in 2009

*Los Campesinos! - 'My Year In Lists' MP3

Pretty self explanatory, no? So without further ado...(OK, the third one on my list was probably actually recorded in 2007, but I caught it live twice in 2008...so it will forever be linked with this year in my mind)

Thea Gilmore and Dave McCabe(The Zutons) - 'Old Soul' MP3

She & Him(Zooey Deschanel and M Ward) - 'Sweet Darlin' MP3

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - 'Into The Mystic' MP3

Dozens of ounces of beer consumed....

Glen starting the show off busker style....no microphone needed for an amazing version of 'Say It To Me Now'

3 new songs....

Van Morrison covers....(Astral Weeks)

Black Sabbath covers....(War Pigs)

A stirring version of Fitzcarldo to close the show...or so I thought....only to be topped by an EVEN more stirring version of 'People Get Ready' prefaced with an impassioned Glen Hansard plea to do the right thing, and vote for Obama...

Monday nights don't get much better....

The Swell Season - 'Lies' MP3

I have seen Glen Hansard 4 times now(twice w/the Frames and twice w/Swell Season) and on three of those occasions he mentioned his love of the Pixies. In fact at two of the shows he played Pixies songs, 'Where Is My Mind' and 'Cactus'.

After seeing the Swell Season again at Coachella in April I came home and I've been listening to Surfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim ever since...such a brilliant collection of music. EVERYONE should own these records...everyone.

Here are a couple of clips of Glen paying tribute...with the Pixies originals right behind the video clips:



Pixies - 'Cactus' MP3



Pixies - 'Levitate Me' MP3

Further video documentation of my Glen Hansard obsession - some killer covers here of Van Morrison and The Pixies:

Alas, only 3 weeks until my annual pilgrimage to Coachella, and three days of nothing but incredible music and great people as far as the ears can hear and eyes can see.

To help me kill time, I will post a song a day by a Coachella '08 artist.

I picked two today, The Swell Season & The National...both very high on my 'can't miss' list for the impending festival weekend.


The Swell Season - 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere'

The National - 'Abel'

Sorry to anyone who check this blog semi-regularly, I know there has been a sad lack of new content. Having some internet issues at the new place, and my internet web connection is sporadic at best. But I did want to take a second and post my thoughts on 'I'm Not There' the Dylan biopic that has been out for awhile and I JUST got around to seeing. I will preface these words by saying that while I didn't like the movie, it has most definitely kept me thinking and has rekindled my appreciation for what an incredible songwriter Dylan is.



*-*

I wish I hadn't been there. Positively trainwreck street. And I wanted to like this movie SO bad. I love Bob Dylan, and I was even buying in on the gimmick of having 6 different actors playing the 6 different 'versions' of the singer/songwriter, but the execution of the idea was painful to watch at times.

This movie just couldn't get out of it's own way. Every time it started to pick up steam, it would cut to Richard Gere as the 'cowboy/rancher Dylan' and totally screech to a halt. The entire movie, but the Gere scenes especially were filled with overly dramatic, self-gratifying symbolism that was over my head and at times hard to watch.

All of the Dylan's were lacking too I thought. They ranged from laughably bad(Christian Bale as the early folkie) to so-so impressions(Cate Blanchette as the androgynous Dlyan, who just finished every sentence with 'man')...honestly, I thought the most interesting scenes were the ones about the movie star, iconic Dylan played by Heath Ledger and those were far too few and far too short.

I think a total of 4 people actually walked out before it was over, and there was a dog in the theater...yes, a dog. Not sure why, the guy wasn't blind, but whatever...and even the dog started howling at about the half way point. Not one person got up and complained, we all just laughed...it was the first time we had been entertained for about an hour.

Thanks Todd Haynes, for taking the career of the greatest songwriter ever and turning it into your failed film school thesis...i want my $6 back.

PS
The only reason it gets the second star is because of the incredible performance of 'Going To Alcupocco' by Jim James of My Morning Jacket...by far the highlight of the film.

I think the guy who taped these stood right in front of us at the show, big thanks to him for posting these so quickly...great quality!

Glen's solo opener:


Falling Slowly(w/classic intro):


Lies:


Leave:


Fogtown(Michelle Shocked cover):


If You Want Me:


You Ain't Gone Nowehere(watch for the stolen kiss)

I closed my eyes for a second during 'Falling Slowly' and I swore I was in a music shop somewhere in Dublin watching Glen and Markéta sing. Then the full band(the bassist and violin player from The Frames, as well as a Cello player) kicked in and as Glen stopped singing and 2500 people picked up the chorus, I got chills...and chills were a recurring theme all night.

I have to give major KUDOS to the crowd at the Wiltern. I have never heard a crowd that big be so quiet and so respectful at the appropriate times, but spark to life when prompted by the band. And there is no underestimating how well that movie has done...when I saw the Frames two months ago at the Fonda, there were maybe 500 people there...maybe. The Wiltern was sold out tonight and has been for weeks. Oh, and apparently 'Once' comes out on DVD Dec 19...someone yelled the question to Glen, who (awesomely in my opinion) had no idea when it came out...but several people in the audience did and happily yelled back.

The set list was as you'd expect, leaning heavily on the songs from the 'Once' soundtrack. The show started with a solo glen ripping through a passionate performance of 'Say It To Me Now'...incredible...then Markéta joined him for a beautiful duet on 'Drown Out'...then the rest of the band came out, and the show was ON.

After about an hour an fifteen minutes...the really amazing moments started with the first encore. First off was Glen and Markéta rocking out to a GREAT Michelle Shocked song, 'Fogtown'. Then joined again by the band, 'Star Star', 'I Want My Life To Make More Sense', an incredible Irish song that I need to find called 'Ragged Road(i believe that was the title)...then they took one last break, came back and played the title track from 'Once' then finished off the night with an insane version of Dylan's 'You Ain't Going Nowhere'...with the whole crowd once again singing along!!

One of the best nights of live music I have ever seen. I didn't even get into Glen's charming pre-song rambling introductions or Marketa's adorable shyness...or the way they looked at each other as they played. The sweetest moment of the night came right at the very end, when during the Dylan tune he slipped her a little peck on the lips, right in mid song...crazy kids in love!