song (obsessions) of the week
This is a second edition of this column. Song obsessions are those songs that we listen to on repeat. I noticed that my obsessions are often a week long. I also thought that other people might have similar obsessions. I’ve collected a panel of a few like-minded individuals and gotten their “song obsessions of the week.” Maybe you’ll become obsessed with one of these.
–
Adrian (me):
French Quarter - Brotherly Love and Judgement (mp3) (buy)
–
Edwin:
Destroyer - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Sea of Tears) (mp3) (buy)
–
Scott:
Amps for Christ - Old Shepherd (buy)
i’ve been listening to ‘old shepard’ by amps for christ a lot lately
(from the sur la mer comp that’s on the a-file). i love folk that
smolders underneath a sparse and bare structure, so amps for christ
was one of my favorite finds from the past couple years[1]
–
Dave, store manager of Crossroads Music:
Mute Math - Noticed (mp3) (buy)
These guys are probably too poppy for you, but their album is so
freaking well done that I can’t help love it. Bet you can’t not tap
your foot or nod your head to this song.
–
Natalie:
the Finches - The House with Two Front Doors (mp3) (buy)
i made a request for this song when they played live on my show tuesday night
–
Chris:
The Loves - Xs and Os (mp3) (buy)
A retro-rock gem rolled up into 2 minutes of poppy goodness. It’s not really suited for obsessive listening since everything is right there on the surface, but it’s catchy as hell and the background vocals are really fun. Pretty much guaranteed to get stuck in your head.
–
Andy:
American Analog Set - Fuck This…I’m Leaving (mp3) (buy)
–
[1] Read Scott’s full explanation after the jump.
Scott says:
i’ve been listening to ‘old shepard’ by amps for christ a lot lately
(from the sur la mer comp that’s on the a-file). i love folk that
smolders underneath a sparse and bare structure, so amps for christ
was one of my favorite finds from the past couple years (i’ve listened
to the people at large far too many times, and ‘proof man’ is pretty
much the theme song for my show). last winter, i went on a roadtrip
to joshua tree national park with a couple friends. as we were
passing through claremont on the way from the desert to the sea, i
somehow convinced them that we needed to visit henry barnes at the
music shop where he works as a luthier. the place was fairly busy (i
guess for christmas), and the clerk at the desk seemed less than
pleased when we asked if we could meet him. after ignoring us for
about twenty minutes in hopes that we would lose interest and leave,
they finally retrieved him from the back room. he ran out and shook
our hands, and energetically, but quietly, spoke for a few moments (i
think he thought we were a traveling band). he then announced loudly
about how he really was getting work done, apparently so that the
tyrannical management (who had ignored us earlier) would not beat him
later for leaving his slave labor. he then whispered to us, like a
giddy little kid, that he was working on ’something badass’. we
encouraged him to show us, so he jogged through the back door, and
then came back a moment later with a banjo that he had modified to
sound like a sitar. barnes played a sweet melody (not really a song)
for a minute or two, and then politely excused himself, so that his
overlords would not discover his little secret project and lock him in
a cage or exact some other cruel punishment for being behind in
building guitars. someday, i want to free him from the fetters of
capitalism. but i need to get back to homework, so maybe some other
time. so….yeah, ‘old shepard’ is a cool song.
