Song obsession friday! (for the week ending august 17)
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.” Quite often it’s easy to explain why the song is good; it’s much hard to explain why we’re obsessed. Maybe you’ll become obsessed with one of these.
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Adrian (me):
Magnolia Electric Co - Shiloh Temple Bell (mp3) (buy)
I’ve liked the last couple of Magnolia Electric Co albums but I haven’t loved them, but when I heard some tracks a month or so ago from the Sojourner box set, I knew I’d have to get it. I picked it up last weekend. When I first heard this track I almost forgot where I was, that I was driving–I needed to hear this song more and I wanted to hear it without interruption at all: just go home, shut my door, shut my eyes and listen to it on repeat. Jason Molina has written some really amazing songs, but there’s something about this one–every note, every word, every warble in his voice builds and makes it better. The melody during the chorus and the lyrics throughout are so perfectly melancholy.
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Keith:
Jon Brion - I Believe She’s Lying (mp3) (buy)
Jon Brion’s superlative production skills have turned many an arid record into an powerpop oasis. His 2000 self-released solo record got little press or promotion, but it’s wall-to-wall with winners from the shady side of the sun. This aural burst rides a glitchy drumbeat’s frenetic pace into a web of poker-faced romantic strategy. It seems fated to fail yet somehow everyone benefits from the pleasure extracted before the abrupt conclusion.
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Oz:
Ferraby Lionheart - Small Planet (mp3) (buy)
I’ve been obsessed with Ferraby Lionheart’s EP from early this year and now I’m just starting to plunge into Catch the Brass Ring, his debut LP . I caught this guy at the Brooklyn Vegan party one morning at SXSW and he was one of my biggest surprises of the week. A gifted songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
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August 17th, 2007 at 9:57 am
[…] It’s a short list today, but two very enjoyable mp3’s. I’m really digging Adrian’s Magnolia Electric Co. track. Head over to I Pick My Nose for the original. […]
August 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
oz gets my pick the second week in a row, despite my fondness for the vocoder vox on the jon brion track.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:22 am
[…] I raved previously about “Shiloh Temple Bell” and I was holding back. I really think this is one of the best songs Molina’s recorded and he’s both prolific and very good at songwriting. Perhaps if you don’t like the spare acoustic stuff, you won’t hear the genius in this, but if you don’t like the spare acoustic stuff what are you doing reading this blog? Here’s some of what I said about it last week: When I first heard this track I almost forgot where I was, that I was driving–I needed to hear this song more and I wanted to hear it without interruption at all: just go home, shut my door, shut my eyes and listen to it on repeat. Jason Molina has written some really amazing songs, but there’s something about this one–every note, every word, every warble in his voice builds and makes it better. The melody during the chorus and the lyrics throughout are so perfectly melancholy. […]
January 10th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
[…] Magnolia Electric Co Shiloh Temple Bell (original post) This song breaks my heart every time I hear it; I am arrested in whatever I’m doing or thinking for the three minutes and nine seconds of the song (and probably a few afterwards). Jason Molina (also of Songs: Ohia) has written some pretty amazing songs in his time, but this might be his best and it is certainly among my favorites. It’s deadly simple: just a guitar and his warbling voice; it’s not even recorded that well (his vocals clip) but somehow it’s so much more than just that. […]