Hiatus

We are going to be in sunny Naples (Florida) throughout the next 2 weeks for the holidays. Hope all of you stay warm and safe and enjoy your time with family and friends! We'll miss posting and look forward to sharing pictures and anectdotes upon our return :)

Happy Holidays

Stars fill up my eyes

While eating countless Pizzelles (I prefer vanilla to anise) and checking my email, a few Laura Veirs songs resurfaced on my iTunes player. . .

Well, Jose can tell you all about my mixed feelings toward Laura Veirs -- although she possesses all the qualities I love in a musician (being quirky yet introspective, atmospheric yet lyric driven, etc.) there just seemed to be something missing. She even messaged me on myspace and I wasn't close to being sold. Even so, I wanted to give her a fair chance and thought perhaps seeing her perform live would make me a fan. However, I think it was her complacent stage presence that left me dissatisfied despite the fact that she sounded fantastic. Fast forward several months later, to this particular evening actually, and I finally feel like I've come to terms with her music -- really, why was I so resistant?

Laura Veirs - Bedroom Eyes Highly Recommended

Laura Veirs - Galaxies (video)

Sleep Better

Just sent Jessi, from Lost on Purpose, this old favorite and thought I'd share:

Pete Yorn - Music for the Morning After (rar file)

Sweet Dreams*

Sunday Songs

We just returned from Columbus, where we spent Saturday evening attending Andrew and Kacy's beautiful wedding ceremony and reception :) Definitely enjoyed all their personal touches, especially the buffet-style chinese food and delicious holiday cookies -- and, we love the "goodie bag" they put together with Jones Soda and Ghirardelli Chocolates.

Upon our return to Cleveland, we had the opportunity to soak in some new music from the iPod. Here are some current favorites:

The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers - Concerning Lessons Learned from the Aliens Love this song but still trying to memorize the band's crazy long name. Learn more about them on their website.

The Owls - Air A warm, breezy, and mellow song. . .too catchy for its own good!

Goldspot - Rewind You Aint No Picasso and Rock Insider introduced us to this band, among so many others. Download a couple other songs on YANP's post here and RI's post here.

Juan, Pablo, Jorge, umm, Santiago??

There has been quite a bit of hype surrounding the musicians, José González and Miguel Mendez. Although, based on their names you may be surprised with what you hear.

José González, pictured above, is from Sweden and heavily influenced by the works of Nick Drake and other forlorn troubadours. His music is lush and tender. Definitely check out his cover of Heartbeats, originally by The Knife.

José González - Heartbeats

Also, check out his trippy video -- can someone please offer some insight?

Video: Stay in the Shade

As for Miguel Mendez, he is from Brooklyn (via LA) and sounds eerily similar to David Bazan of Pedro the Lion. You may have first been introduced to his song, You've Got Me All Wrong, when performed by close friends, Dios Malos, on one of the O.C. Soundtracks.

Miguel Mendez - You've Got Me All Wrong

Check them out on myspace to stream more music:
José González
Miguel Mendez

A Jolly, Happy Soul

While watching A Charlie Brown Christmas this evening with Jose, I was reminded of one of my personal favorite stories for this season: The Snowman. Growing up, I had many fond memories associated with the book and its short "silent" film. Such a simple yet moving story. . .

And, since we're talking about snowmen, download Fiona's playful rendition of Frosty the Snowman:

Fiona Apple - Frosty the Snowman

As well as her beautiful cover of Hendrix's Angel, which I ended up finding yesterday while backing up an ancient computer:

Fiona Apple - Angel

Arbitrary Discoveries

Sundays are for being lazy, and for watching the Browns lose (as us Clevelanders have gotten used to saying: "There is always next year"). While capitalizing on our laziness, there were a few discoveries made.

The first discovery being that Stanley Kubrick was a photographer prior to his career in film. His engaging photographs taken, while working at Look Magazine in the 1940's, have been compiled in Drama & Shadows by Rainer Crone. Which was recently released just in time for the holidays, providing the perfect gift for the ultimate Kubrick fan.

While checking out various Kubrick related items on Amazon, we came across Full Metal Jacket Diary by Matthew Modine. This intrigued us since we are both fans of the movie and also reminded us of Pony Up's highly entertaining song, "Matthew Modine."

Pony Up! - Matthew Modine

Pony Up! toured and released a split single with Ben Lee earlier this year, which inspired him to start covering it at his own shows, including the one we saw in April.

Ben Lee - Matthew Modine

Our last discovery is completely unrelated but equally cool. While reading the New York Times, Jose happened upon a feature about video blogs (officially referred to as vlogs). One particular vlog that was mentioned is Rocketboom, which is hosted by Amanda Congdon, and just celebrated its one year anniversary. Some of their webcast topics include: Remembering John Lennon, Internet Explorer vs. Firefox, and a trip to the Brooklyn Brewery.

Enjoy! :)

Lure of the Underground

Jose's Review:

Back in May, thanks to Torr, I discovered The Hourly Radio. I will admit that I enjoyed their music so much that I actually bought the EP, which can now be found on iTunes here. It may be a bold statement -- however, I feel as though this band is one of my favorites of 2005 (along with We are Scientists). The Hourly Radio has recently gained more notoriety due to opening for the likes of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Stellastarr*, and being added to woxy's rotation. While their sound isn't anything groundbreaking, there is clearly something unique that draws you in. If you tend to enjoy early U2, The Verve, early South, and Doves -- definitely check out their "Dublin via Texas" sound on myspace and below:

The Hourly Radio - Lost + Found

Slow like Honey, Heavy with Mood

Last night was spent at the House of Blues, where we were witness to a phenomenal performance given by Fiona Apple. Unfortunately, neither of us were brave enough to attempt smuggling a camera inside the venue -- however, we will keep our eyes open for pictures that others have taken. . .

She played a long set (nearly 2 hours!) and sang most everything we wanted. . .with the exception of Never is a Promise and First Taste -- while keeping true to her original setlist outlined here.

Check out these favorite rarities:

Fiona Apple - Paper Bag (Live)

Fiona Apple - Never is a Promise (KCRW Acoustic)

PS - By some chance, if anyone reading this happens to have Fiona's (live) rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel", I would so appreciate it if you could send the mp3 to: kellygatta@gmail.com

Wine makes for good posting

For those of you who don't know -- the creator of Calvin & Hobbes, Bill Waterson, is from Jose's hometown: Chagrin Falls. And, if anyone is struggling with gift ideas for him, consider getting him this.

Onto the music -- today felt especially Christmas-y due to the peaceful snowfall in our neck of the woods. As a result, we felt compelled to listen to Holiday music and share some unconventional favorites of ours:

Cheech and Chong - Santa Claus and His Old Lady Jose relates to this song b/c of the Latino in him. . .although, he is pretty white (especially in the winter!)

Soul Coughing - Suzy Snowflake Kelly thinks this sounds like Bloodhound Gang, but Jose INSISTS that it is Soul Coughing

No Doubt - Oi to the World Originally by the Vandals, but we prefer this version. . .and makes us both really hyper :)

Reindeer Section - When I Come Home For Christmas Melancholy and soothing, highly recommended

Echo's Answer

If you haven't already discovered the dream pop landscapes of Broadcast, and if you are a fan of Sing-Sing, Ladytron and Lali Puna -- check out these hypnotic tracks off of their latest album, Tender Buttons:

Broadcast - Tears in the Typing Pool

Broadcast - America's Boy

Bonus Track: Broadcast - Pendulum