My Lovely Mockney
Kate Nash’s new album is an album I recommend but not to everyone. I understand that what I really love about this album is what could easily turn off others. But I love Nash’s mockney accent. In reading up on Nash, I saw her constantly cited as the next Lily Allen, but after listening to some of Allen’s tracks, I think Nash is much better because her music carries a more vibrant and personal tone. Her songs explode with personality and it comes down to whether or not that personality works for you. Nash, as heard through her songs, seems like a girl who is prickly, acerbic, wise-cracking, but all of it as a kind of defensive mechanism for an admitted insecurity. So while Nash may force some rhymes and take some odd melodic detours, it all just works for me and her songs magically find substance in frivolity.
From her new album Made of Bricks, I’ve uploaded the track “Mariella” because 1) if you have heard of Nash, then you’ve probably heard her single “Foundations” and I like supplying deeper cuts that you haven’t heard before; and 2) I think this song best encapsulates the tone of the album. Enjoy!
If you’ve seen The Fountain, you understand that title. If not, then you’re one of the many unfortunate souls that didn’t get to see last year’s best film. It wasn’t the best just because of the story, the structure, the performances, the cinematography, but Clint Mansell’s hypnotic score. I could listen to this track every day (and I pretty much do). After hearing it, you’ll understand why. Here’s “The Last Man” by Clint Mansell with the Kronos Quartet from the score to Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain.
This song was from the best score of last year. It’s almost as good as Clint Mansell’s score for The Fountain (don’t believe me? Then I guess you may have to come back tomorrow and compare…). It’s a sorrowful score but it works perfectly in the film and unlike Jonny Greenwood’s excellent score for There Will Be Blood, you can also listen to it outside the film (unless you’re in a fit of lunacy, Greenwood’s score would be slightly out of place on your iPod shuffle). The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was just a beautiful film all around and hopefully this score will give you a taste of that. If you find yourself with a craving, then mark your calendar for February 5th when the DVD hits and the film finally starts to build the audience it always deserved.
Credit for this song goes to Alice because otherwise we would be listening once again to the dour “The New Year” by Death Cab for Cutie which has the uplifting lyrics of “This is the new year/and I don’t feel any different” That may be true, but I’d rather sing “I’m gonna make it/through this year/if it kills me” Maybe that’s because I had a 2007 that leaned towards the shitty side (although getting to go to the Bahamas was pretty amazing) and 2008 has to be better. I don’t say that as a matter of odds; I say that as a matter of necessity. So for all of you struggling and worried and apprehensive about this rotation around the sun, here’s The Mountain Goats with “This Year” from their album “The Sunset Tree”. Enjoy and have a good 2008 and hopefully it won’t kill you to do so.
I do not envy movie-lovers this weekend. However, I do ask that they envy me because I have seen Charlie Wilson’s War, Sweeney Todd, Walk Hard, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and for folks in Atlanta, Juno. All five open on Friday and while I enjoyed all of them to varying degrees (you’ll see those degrees tomorrow when I do a massive post of movie reviews), the one I can recommend to all is Juno. It’s a charming movie that I’ve been describing (as required by the Fox Searchlight marketing department), this year’s Little Miss Sunshine. I actually think it’s sharper than Sunshine and it’s also better than director Jason Reitman’s rather enjoyable previous film, Thank You For Smoking. The cast is tremendous, writer Diablo Cody has given Hollywood a desperately needed unique female voice that isn’t menopausal, and the soundtrack is also a lot of fun. Here is the song that plays over the opening credits and really helps set the tone.
Some people appreciate Once as a whole film. They connect with elements beyond the music. While I don’t connect with the movie as much as these people, on my only viewing of this film, the music leaped out at me. I immediately asked when the soundtrack would be available. I wasn’t familiar with actor/musician Glen Hansard’s previous work with The Frames and his previous albums that include almost every song that’s in this film. And even if I had known, it wouldn’t matter because all the songs are used brilliantly.
When you hear this song, you’ll find yourself wondering, “Is Matt a dude? I could have sworn he was a dude. But then he posted this song and now I think he’s a eunuch at best,” That may be (I’ve misplaced my balls along with my keys), but I still love this song to death. I first heard it on Friday Night Lights (not as strong in its second season but still a show worth watching) and it’s now it’s a permanent staple in my Dreamland-playlist (that’s right, I have a playlist of songs to help put me to sleep; I believe we’ve covered my wussiness so let’s move on). It’s not boring, but it’s wonderfully soothing and, well, I’ll just put it like this: it’s like rain in musical form.
No, it’s not another Neko Case solo track, but it is from her band The New Pornographers and it’s the title track off their latest album, Challengers. The entire album is fantastic but this is one of my favorite tracks (along with “Unguided”, “Go Places”, and “Solitude”).
I’m trying to find my confidence with music. For the longest time, I had no faith in my ability to discern good music from bad music. My response to what music I liked was simply, “Whatever sounds good,” And while I still can’t effectively argue about why I like certain songs or artists as well as I can argue about movies, I feel like I can now at least begin to talk and share my opinions. I’m not going to get self-righteous, but just as others have tried opening my ears to new music, so too do I hope that what I like will be songs that you like too. Group hug. So today I’d like to showcase Neko Case, who not only allows me to have fun with her awesome name, but is a woman with a spectacular voice and a unique sound. She makes me think of Bob Dylan if he was a hot chick. She’s got a great blend of rock, country, and folk to her music and while her albums were very hit-and-miss with me, it’s rare that I’ll find an album we’re I’ll love all her tracks.
