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.

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Adrian (me):
The Morning Benders – Boarded Doors (mp3) (buy)

These guys played this during their set on KZSU earlier this week and without me really knowing it I’ve been listening to it, humming it, or just letting it circle around my head ever since.

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Scott:
Steffen Basho-Junghans – Inside the Rain (mp3) (buy)

i’ve been listening to ‘inside the rain’ by steffen basho-junghans. about a month ago, i played a set where i layered a bunch of stuff. near the end, i was playing ‘yamantaka’ by the gyuto monks underneath a recording of kurt vonnegut reading slaughterhouse five. that got distracting and muddy after a few moments, so i switched on ‘inside the rain’, and it worked pretty well, although i don’t know why. maybe because it’s so militant and innocently human at the same time (although those aren’t necessarily contraries). it kinda gave an urgency, but also a warmth, to the devastating narrative. i’m not sure why it’s a happy song, either; it shouldn’t be. also, my confession is that i haven’t actually read slaughterhouse five. i’ll get to it this summer…and put this song on repeat.

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Rob
the Mountain Goats – Oceanographer’s Choice (mp3) (buy)

I’ve been listening to The Mountain Goats’ “Tallahassee” a lot recently, especially the track “Oceanographer’s Choice.” The off-the-cuff sincerity of John Darnielle’s unique vox is really flushed out by the added bits of sliding noise, and I love the way that the lyrics perpetually turn in new directions; it doesn’t hurt that the overall feel that is considerably more hopeful than his usual stuff. Also: best first line ever.

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Dave:
TV on the Radio – Province (mp3) (buy)

I love these guys’ quirky style of rock; it’s original without being unlistenably weird. “Return to Cookie Mountain” was definitely one of my top albums of ‘06.

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Andy:
Ida – Late Blues (mp3) (buy)

Once an album, Ida puts out a song that is essentially perfect. On The Braille Night, it was “So Long.” On Heart Like a River, it’s this song. If you can listen to this song and think otherwise, I can’t help you.

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Natalie:
Neko Case – The Tigers Have Spoken (mp3) (buy)

it’s hard to write a tiny blurb about someone like neko case…let’s just say, i want to swim in her voice!

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Chris:
High Contrast – Brief Encounter (mp3) (buy)

This one’s been stuck in my head quite a bit. Nice pumping DnB with a catchy bassline, hazy vocals and synths. I first heard this on the way to a Warriors game with one of our sports guys. Not the best pump-up music, but tight nonetheless.

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Edwin:
Luomo – Tessio (mp3) (buy)

I’ve been in a huge ambient phase for awhile now. (Ambient defined rather loosely I suppose) Specifically, I love any song that makes me forget about the existence of time altogether. This week it’s been “Tessio” by Luomo, a wonderful example of ambient house. It builds incredibly slowly, and the various pieces that come in and out are extremely sparse, but so carefully calculated that it’s simply thrilling to hear come together. It waxes and wanes up to the 9 minute mark, when every part that’s been hinted at before comes together in a glorious release. Every listen is more fun.

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Pretty eclectic this week.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 12:37 am Posted by adrian in mp3s, song obsessions. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.