the insanely beautiful

Apr 30

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] In 2007, Sigur Rós created a film about themselves and their attachment to their home country, Iceland. The film excelled in showing the common beauties of the land, and the closeness of the people within its communities. The band recorded several pieces of music live in different locations for the film, including today’s track Heysátan. That the music was recorded live should bear testament to the sound of the band and their incredible capabilities. Watching the band play this song in the bitter cold was an experience that could only be trumped perhaps by actually being there.

Apr 29

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] Adrian Belew’s Men In Helicopters V4.0 from his solo album Side Three. This track is heavily drawn from Beatles influence, though it’s unique enough to call his own. It’s brilliant.

Apr 28

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] Orbital, famous for songs like “The Box” and “Halcyon & on & on”, is easily my favorite electronic group. Funny Break (One is Enough) is a track from their 2001 double-album “The Altogether” showcasing their ability to bring together the analog and digital in a way that makes similar groups jealous.

Apr 25

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] “I Wish My Baby Was Born” written and performed by Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus and Tim O’Brien. This bluegrass tune helped set the mood in the 2003 film Cold Mountain, which was set during the Amercian civil war. If you haven’t seen it, be prepared it’s heavy. Really heavy.

Apr 24

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Edgar Meyer is a bassist—a classical bassist—whom also loves to play bluegrass. He’s recorded with the likes of Yo Yo Ma, toured with the best of the best, and he’s finally putting out some recordings of his own. His eponymously titled 2006 album, in which he’s the master of each instrument including mandolin, piano, and many others, is a collision of classical stylings, bluegrass sensibilities and audacious experimentalism.

Today’s track is “Roundabout”.

Apr 23

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

In 2000, just before they broke up, the Smashing Pumpkins sent a big “fuck you” to the record industry by releasing Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music without restrictions. While only 25 copies were printed, the songs were immediately ripped and released onto the internet by the fans without fear of retribution.

Today’s song is Satur9, a variation of Saturnine, a song that embodies the abused spirit of rock. Lo-fi and unhappy, this recording sets the blood to boil.

Apr 22

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Pass By from B. Fleischmann’s 2003 Welcome Tourist is a great sampling of the ambient moods Fleischmann creates. Listening to an entire album front to back is an experience not to be missed, so grab a pair of headphones, find a comfortable chair and close your eyes. You’ll feel better in an hour.

Apr 21

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

American Dollar just popped onto my radar today while listening to SomaFM’s Digitalis. The track played was Twelve Days Awake, a masterful composition of atmospheric guitars, pianos, and others, layered on one at a time until you hit the crescendo.

This track, Rudiments of a Spiritual Life, is a bit less ethereal though all the more evocative. The backing electronic beat sums up a rainy day theme, morose yet inspired.