New song from That Ghost: "In House"

Upon listening to "In House" by That Ghost, I was immediately transported to the Roosevelt Hotel in the 1920s. Images of the ghosts of actors and actresses of the day as they roamed about the hotel filled my mind, and sepia tones abounded.

It's a wonderfully sleepy track with earnest and somewhat haunting vocals. The lightness and subtlety of the song itself called to mind Grizzly Bear, ever so slightly, in their earlier days. Furthermore, the song casts a somber yet very warm and inviting tone, beckoning to be listened to more than once. If you have been following Ryan's music at all, you will notice his pleasant progression as an artist from his early recordings to now. However, if you are not so familiar with That Ghost, I urge you to take a listen.

myspace.com/thatghost

Los Angeles Freeway Opera

It could be purely coincidental, but I seem to be noticing a trend here when it comes to projects having to due with concrete lanes and automobiles. First, it started in New York with The BQE from Sufjan Stevens, which was originally commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Now, we move to the West Coast, where the Los Angeles Opera is undergoing a project entitled "The 110 Project".

Commissioned by the Education and Community Programs department of the LA Opera, "The 110 Project" is centered around four main characters as they make their way through seventy years worth of Los Angeles history, which according to Current.com, begins with "the birth of the space program in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco in 1939 to downtown Los Angeles at midcentury. It concludes at the port of San Pedro in the present day."

Keeping true to the history of LA, the company has decided to include true events and authentic documents. As for the music, multiple composers are on board and the final project will be comprised of various original scores. Of course, it wouldn't be a true freeway opera without the use of freeway sounds. According to the L.A. Opera, the singers will form "a freeway chorus that scats and honks its commentary."

photo credit: nimarazfar.com

New EP from Animal Collective

According to Paste Magazine, Animal Collective is set to release a five-track EP entitled Fall Be Kind. The digital release will be available November 23rd, and a physical copy (either in compact disc or vinyl format) can be obtained in stores on December 15th.

Remember when Animal Collective made headlines this summer by gaining rights to a Grateful Dead sample? The song ("What Would I Want? Sky") featuring the sample will be available on this EP, as well as "Graze", a more recent live track from the band.

Videos: Jookabox & Animal Collective

Though Halloween has long since passed, I can't help but enjoy this video.
"You Cried Me" by Jookabox, from their latest album entitled Dead Zone Boys.
Asthmatic Kitty Records 2009.

In other news, Animal Collective has released a new video for "In The Flowers" off of their early 2009 release Merriweather Post Pavillion. It is (quite fittingly) very whimsical and colorful. Click here to view it.

Ready, Able

The video for "Ready, Able" off of Grizzly Bear's 2009 release,Veckatimest, was released recently. Simply put, it is a beautifully constructed video for a beautifully constructed song. Enjoy!

To the Pacific Northwest We Go.

Just some images of Phil Elvrum from when he was in the Washington-based band The Microphones.

Lately, I've been dreaming of the Pacific Northwest, and these photos only make me think of traveling to Oregon and Washington even more. It all seems wonderful. I can't wait to embark on that journey.

For now, though, I'll be here, listening to The Microphones and Helios (a wonderful Portland-based one-man band lead by Keith Kenniff that I haven't been able to get enough of for the past few years).

On a different note, Iceland (and essentially ever other Scandinavian country) always puts forth some great musicians. I've been listening to a lot of bands from that region lately. They're not new discoveries by any means, but rather old and familiar bands that I'm getting re-acquainted with. I love it when that happens. Maybe I'll devote a post to the great countries of Northern Europe soon.

Viva Voce

I've been constantly listening to the song "Octavio" by the Portland-based husband and wife duo (although they have added two more members for their latest album, so duo might no longer suffice) Viva Voce for the past few days. Though the song was released earlier this year, I can't help but play it on repeat. It brings me joy, and I thought that I might share a bit of that joy with you all.

The song if from the album Rose City which was released this year (2009) through Barsuk Records.

Sufjan Stevens

I recently came across an interview with Sufjan Stevens in The Guardian. Naturally, he discussed his inspiration for The BQE. He also mentioned his upcoming project entitled Music for Insomnia, which according to the article, is "an improvised synth-based album".

As for the 50 States Project, it's possible that we will not be seeing any more albums paying homage to all the American states. When asked about it, Sufjan responded with "I have no qualms about admitting it was a promotional gimmick". I'm not entirely surprised with this statement, but I did hold out hope for at least a few more albums for the project.

While Stevens is no stranger to grand projects, he mentioned that "I've feverishly, consistently, obsessively recorded, so now I've begun this self-imposed hiatus, where I'll stop releasing records and focus on writing. It's healthy for me to shake off all these pretensions and these epic conceptual endeavours."