Gift Six – Teresa

First, I would like to extend my sincerest apology to The Collective. My gift is very late and although I have excuses in my head as to why, there is no excuse in my neglect. However, I am hoping that my gift will more than make up for it. My offering this week is “Elvis Costello”.

When I was growing up, I really wanted nothing to do with Elvis C. I wasn’t a huge fan of Elvis Presley and felt that Mr. Costello’s name was too close to Mr. Presley’s. Guilt by association. I am still lukewarm on the “King of Rock n’ Roll”, but I discovered my deep passion for Elvis Costello in high school.

I had many other ideas in my head, but I found out last week that, even though the concert is technically sold out, tickets to the Police concert with Elvis as the opener were available to me if I could talk my husband into paying close to half our mortgage payment for said tickets. I had a great Elvis compilation that I donated to a friend’s collection. I never seemed to keep any of my cds because I always felt music was so important to share.

So, today, I share my love of Elvis Costello. And I say to him, “Mr. Costello, I’m giving you a longer look everyday I write the book…”

Everyday I Write The Book

 

Oliver’s Army

 

What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace And Love

Gift Five – Hosh

Greetings, I had a few things on the burner for The Collective. However, I felt that a playlist was a touch ambitious for me (I find myself to be the novice in this group I have neither Teresa’s MANY, MANY YEARS of experience nor Kate’s creativity . . .) So I wanted to just offer up an album that I came across this past week. I have listened through it a few times and I like it. I think a lot of different things about it, but I will save that for the comments . . .

Here is what their website says:

The New Frontiers are a band on the front lines of this battle with their debut full-length offering, Mending; they wisely let their music do the talking. Sonically, the band once known as Stellamaris offers up their take on a quieter, more introspective brand of indie rock. Anchored by singer Nathan Pettijohn’s emotive vocal delivery, and complemented in kind by an equally skilled Dallas-based supporting troupe, The New Frontiers present tunes with a quiet sense of majesty that still manage to pack a colossal emotional footprint. Their pacing is deliberate, but never sedate and their sound is at once both contemporary and traditional. The overall musical stew is one that combines dashes of alt-country, brit-rock, and indie-pop (among others) towards a final mélange sure to win over sets of ears for years to come.

From the opening swells of “Black Lungs,” Mending grabs a hold of its listener, but not at all in a forceful, brutish way. It is instead the type of prompting that begs for acquiescence, and the rest of the LP only cements that notion. Whether it is in the heartbreaking emotion of “The Day You Fell Apart” or the patient reflection of “Man Down,” The New Frontiers pack an abundance of poignancy into their entrance onto the world’s stage. It is all necessary, though, as exposure to the work’s later pieces requires preparation. For as listeners delve into the unassuming anthemics of “Mirrors,” the sparse acoustic/falsetto magnetism of “Passing On,” the sweeping grandeur of “This Is My Home,” and the ethereal moodiness of “Walking On Stones,” it is readily apparent that this is not your typical radio-rock fodder. This is not to say that the tracks on Mending wrestle with issues of accessibility, instead that they maintain a profound depth beneath their lustrous surface appeal.

Songs:

Black Lungs

The Day You Fell Apart

Who Will Give Us Love?

Gift Four – Dustin

Space Music

(Shoegazer, dream pop, space rock, psychedelic, and freak-folk.)
Shoegazer is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s, peaking circa 1990 to 1991. Bands that embodied this sound, such as My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, and Slowdive, often maintained a motionless performing style, standing on stage and staring at the floor while playing their instruments; hence, the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The shoegazing sound featured extensive use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blended into the creative noise of the guitars. Few shoegazers were dynamic performers or interesting interviewees, which prevented them from breaking through into markets in the United States. A lump description given to shoegaze bands in London in the early 1990s was “The Scene That Celebrates Itself” In the 1990s, shoegaze groups were pushed aside by the likes of American grunge and Britpop, forcing bands to breakup or evolve into a different style. Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the genre, among so-called “nu-gaze” bands.

While the bands I have picked don’t belong to the original shoegazer movement, their sounds all borrow heavily from this style. From the heavily synthesized vocals, blending into the guitar fuzz, to the reverb of instruments sounding like they were played in a huge expanse… the main ingredient is major echo that gives the impression that the music is floating to you, maybe from a long way off. Also included, are bands that belong to the revival of psychedelic/freak-folk genres that blended the resurgently popular folk and shoegazer ideas.

1. “Untitled” – Interpol
2. “One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21” – The Flaming Lips
3. “Brother” – Annuals
4. “Is There a Ghost” – Band of Horses
5. “Static Waves” – Pacific UV

All of these tracks are awesome, but my personal favorite is Static Waves by Pacific UV. Enjoy!

Pacific UV – Static Waves

Gift Three – Mark

I had originally prepared a different gift than the one before you today. The gift changed over the weekend after a certain event unfolded on Friday.

February First, Two-Thousand and Eight

So here I have five songs to offer. I am finding it very hard to listen to and enjoy any other music right now. These are songs of therapy for me. There are two from Bleach, whom I have listened to since I was a young teenager. Bleach have always been a go-to band for me.

The list may be short but the last two songs are fairly lengthy so you will get your money’s worth.

The relevant track from this gift will be “Sufficient” by Bleach. I was thinking about bringing only this song but found solace in the four others also.