Of Good Report, 6 | Music

I've loved music from a very early age… mom even says that I danced before I walked. So it's no surprise that with school came jazz choir and stints in a couple musicals and that church brought Sunday morning choir practice… nor that I was the first in my school to listen to this or that group, or that much of my allowance went into vinyl. Music touches my mind and heart in a way that nothing else can.

Today, my iTunes library comprises nearly 6000 songs (all legal), and it continues to grow as I come across new artists. Below, I've selected a few artists / albums that I think are particularly interesting / talented / obscure…

Wikipedia Article | Album on iTunes

Andrew Bird | The Swimming Hour


Beirut | Gulag Orkestar


The Boy Least Likely To | The Best Party Ever


Dodos | Visiter


Hairspray | Soundtrack


The Innocence Mission | We Walked in Song


The Jayhawks | Rainy Day Music (Album Not on iTunes)


Kings of Convenience | Riot on an Empty Street


Koop | Koop Islands


Lhasa | La Llorona (Album Not on iTunes)


M. Ward | Transistor Radio


The Magnolia Electric Co | Trials & Errors


The Mollies (MySpace) | My Sentiments Have Just Begun
Local Salt Lake Band


Ray Lamontagne | 'Til the Sun Turns Black


Squirrel Nut Zippers | Hot!


They Might Be Giants | No!
One of my favorite albums for children, evah!


Vampire Weekend | Vampire Weekend (Here's a fun video.)
Heads-up: Light smattering of f-bombs.


Ojos de Brujo | Techari


Okkervil River | Black Sheep Boy


Ollabelle | Ollabelle


Once | Soundtrack


Over the Rhine | Snow Angels
Perhaps the best original Christmas music since the 50s.


Pink Martini | Sympathique


Pizzicato Five | Music Is Organized by Sound
Japanese Hipster Music

I hope you find something wonderful among these two dozen artists — something that inspires or delights you. Please let me know if you do.

And that's today's good report: music I love.

This post is part of a week-long series focusing on the good and praiseworthy in my life… please consider reading all seven: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger… Videos

So I'm online some 12 hours a workday, so you shouldn't be surprised that I see more than my fair share of videos… and it's always fun when you see a trend develop.

Let's first start with the song: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (iTunes), by Daft Punk.

I first heard the song last year I think, on a video put out by a French inventor:




But the real fun started, I believe, when a couple of girls decided to be living lyrics:




… and then a couple guys responded:




… of course the Simpsons picked it up:




… but I think these two killed it off, well-and-good:




Only to have these two kids breathed new life into it:




It's kind of gone full circle.

Kinda.

A Very Waxy Christmas

I'm mentioned before that I love Christmas music — and have some 900 songs in my holiday library. Well, I just found 78 new ones.

Or, perhaps I should say "not so new" ones.

Paul, over at Paul's Ramblings, has a couple posts where he's collected a treasure trove of Christmas music from the early 1900s — all captured from wax phonograph cylinders:

Vintage Christmas Wax Parts I, II, III, IV, V (2006)
Vintage Christmas Wax: Revisited (2007)

Way cool.

Go! Download! Enjoy!

Los Angeles > London | Part III of Driving to London

I awoke early Saturday morning to shower and gather my things together. The concierge had hired a car for me, and it was to arrive at 6:30am. Too early for breakfast — too early for much of anything — but the drive was pleasant and fast. My driver and I chatted along the way, which made the trip all the more of both.

A quick check-in (I never have more luggage than a single carry-on), and I was boarding... and from there, I can't much remember what happened when — or on which leg of the journey. Of the trip East, I remember a delay in Chicago due to a storm in New York that kept me from making it to church in London. I also remember Felecia joining us in Chicago — an engaging, lively, and beautiful woman on her way (via a short holiday in London) to South Africa to complete a Fullbright Scholarship... and I remember spending two hours (TWO HOURS!) in customs upon arriving at Heathrow.

But the rest, well, I can't recall exactly.

Some time during my trip — Los Angeles to London, or the other way around — I saw Little Miss Sunshine, which was a delight that brought me to tears and to laughter a few times — and whose soundtrack I've since purchased and listened to many times. I saw The World's Fastest Indian, which was wonderful and which reminded me of home and friends who had been extras in it (part of it was shot in Utah). I saw Marie Antoinette... which would have been twice as good had it been just a little bit shorter. I saw pieces of Man of the Year, and agreed with the assessment of one reviewer who said it was Wag the Dog minus the insightful political commentary. And I saw Running with Scissors, which somehow held my full attention despite being filled with unlovable characters and suffering from a pace which could only be described as glacial. It did, however, sport a wonderful sound track — which I also purchased upon my return home.

And that's it: a fog of memories at 36,000 feet, interrupted by bags of peanuts, orange juice, and two perfectly horrendous in-flight "meals". The strange thing in all of this, is that I love to fly... and loved my flights… I just can't recall why.

Next Stop: The Flat!

You go... No you go... Okay.

So I don't know when I first encountered OK go — a British alternative pop quartet — but I do remember how: a home-made video they shot in one of their back yards. It was great. It was so great, in fact, that it inspired a slough of fanflix... from Vietnam (or maybe a Vietnamese cultural center...), to state-side Christian Youth Groups, and high school BMOCs.

And now they've done it again.



I fear what this may inspire.

: )

My First iMix. ( Aww... )

So, I posted about my Valentine's date back in February... and I mentioned a mix-CD that I'd put together for our trip up the Canyon for dinner.

Well, I just figured out how to create an iMix, so I posted my Valentine's Day 2006 playlist for all the world (and you, my loyal fans) to enjoy.

Um... enjoy!

Meme: Four in the Morning

I got the idea from my good friend Listless Lawyer, who is continuing the Four in the Morning meme from somewhere else.

As usual, if you decide to pick-up on the meme, leave a comment!

Four Places You’ve Lived

• Spokane, Washington


• Clovis, California


• Cap Rouge, Québec


• Salt Lake City, Utah

Four Jobs You’ve Had In Your Life

• Baker's Assistant (It was a nice place when the baker wasn't drunk, his son wasn't pouting, and his wife wasn't high on weight-loss drugs.)


• Bag Boy (I still can't get over being told that I was too helpful.)


• Shoe Salesman (I still can't get over being told that I was too helpful... yeah, I know!)


• Bill Collector (I understood why "helpful" wasn't what they wanted here, though.)

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over (and Over and Over)

• It's a Wonderful Life


• Sixth Sense


• Phenomenon


• Rear Window

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch

• West Wing


• House


• Lost


• Battlestar Galactica

Four Places You’ve Been on Vacation

• Copenhagen, Denmark


• Reykjavik, Iceland


• London, UK


• New York City, USA

Four Websites You Visit Daily

• Salt Lake City Tribune


• Cute Overload


• For Better or For Worse


• PVP Online

Four of Your Favorite Foods

• Saag Paneer


• Wasabi Peas


• Sushi


• Butternut Squash Soup

Four Places You’d Rather Be

• Fez, Morocco


• New Zealand


• Boston


• With Friends

Four Albums You Can’t Live Without Adore

• Soundtrack: Brokeback Mountain


• Squirrel Nut Zippers: Hot


• Andrew Bird: Swimming Hour


• Soundtrack: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Four People to Tag With This Meme

• The three people reading this... and one of their friends.

Meme: The Shuffle

Johnny Martz, over at RobotJohnny is revisiting his SHUFFLE meme... and I thought I'd play along. It's simple, really, put your MP3 player on shuffle, and then post the first 15 songs that come up:

1. Dueling Banjos: Arthur Smith & Jeff Whittington | Destination Appalachia


2. You Are My Love: Jamiroquai | Travelling Without Moving


3. Spain: Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin | Play


4. One More Angel: Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - 1982 Broadway Cast


5. Thick As Thieves: Natalie Merchant | Ophelia


6. Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?: Bryan Adams | Don Juan DeMarco


7. Rushing: Moby | Play


8. L'autre nous: Autour De Lucie | Immobile


9. Don't Get Around Much: Bobby Darin | Mack the Knife (The Best Of, Vol. 2)


10. Old Grey Mare: Tin Hat Trio | Helium


11. I Dream Of You: Bing Crosby | WWII Radio Christmas Show


12. Find A Way: Ponticello | The Escape Artiste


13. Ne m'oubliez mie: Anonymous 4 | Love's Illusion


14. Freedom Cry: Deep Forest | Bohème


15. How Indiscreet: Andrew Bird | The Swimming Hour

(I don't have time to hotlink the songs tonight, but will probably be back to do that another day.)

As always, be sure to leave a comment with a link to your post if you choose to take the baton.

VeggieTales is on iTunes!

OH MAH HECK!!

I am a such a fan of VeggieTales... I can't believe that iTunes has, like, 20 VeggieTales albums.

When I first saw the link to VeggieTales on the iTMS home page, I hoped against hope that VeggieTales had inked a deal to have all of their VIDEOS found there... but it looks like it's just the music, for now.

* does a little jig *

Time to download "The Song of the Cebu" and "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything".

( Okay... and would _someone_ please tell me how to craft a link to an iTMS item?! )

( Thanks, Nonny! )

Sigur Rōs : Glōsōli

An absolutely mesmerizing video, from a remarkably talented group.

Man. I miss Iceland.

...

Hat tip: SeeKyleDraw

Meme: The Music Baton

Douglas Bowman over at StopDesign joins an interesting meme... and, well, I can't help myself:

Total volume of music on my computer:

2592 Songs... 9.12 GB... 7.1 days of music... and all of it legal.
I have a few more gigs that I've recently purchased on iTunes... but it's all on my work computer.

The last CD I bought:

Working Man's Dead — Grateful Dead
Oh baby.
(Hey... anyone know how to craft an iTMS link?)

Song playing right now:

It's late at night, and I have the music off... but I was listening to Christmas music before I left the office tonight.

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

I sorted the library by highest play count and picked a few from that...

Sleeping with the Lights On — Teitur | Poetry & Aeroplanes
Tchorba — Les Yeux Noirs | Tchorba
The Blower's Daughter — Damien Rice | O
Bellissimo — San Ilya | They Died for Beauty
Complainte de la Butte — Rufus Wainwright | Moulin Rouge

Five People to whom I Pass the Baton:

All five of you reading this... When you've written-up your response, let me know and I'll link back to you.

People who've responded:

• Susan M took the baton.