Look, Ma, I made a mixlist!: "No Amount of Whiskey, No Amount of Wine"

I've been in a mellow-music mood lately, I've found. When I'm not listening to that cover of "Gimme More," that is. I finally got Bishop Allen and the Broken String, which is the first record I've completely fallen in love with in a while, and while it's still a rock record, it's quite acoustic. Also, have been listening to Of Montreal's Cherry Peel a lot, plus that Shout Out Louds tune, and some others.

This is actually a shuffle mix that my iPod popped out- well, almost. I added "Peace and Hate" in lieu of a Jason Falkner song that I didn't particularly care for. Some of it is super-mellow, some of it is a little more rock, but it all seems to fit together pretty well.


[1]The Weepies - Gotta Have You
I listened to this on the train to New York the other day. It was a gray morning, and as well pulled away from the Somerville station, or maybe it was Bound Brook, there was a huge American flag out the window, waving in slow motion as we passed. It was a perfect moment. I wish I could have captured it.

[2]Cut Copy - Bright Neon Payphone
I saw this lot open for Franz Ferdinand way back in October 2005. (Remember October 2005? Yeah, that was a good month for shows. I saw three of my now-favourite bands within the space of about two weeks. And then I saw one of said bands again about a week later. Craziness. I wonder if something like that will ever happen again.) This song is a little more rock, a little more wandering. It's the kind of thing you might play on an early summer road trip as you cruise down the freeways.

[3]"Matchbox" - The Beatles
This is from Live at the BBC, which I openly stole from Travis' iTunes. According to Wikipedia, that's Ringo Starr on vocals.

[4]"Peace and Hate" - The Submarines
Somebody's had The Submarines on his 'Space for a while now, and they're quite good, although I didn't realise/remember I had any of their songs on my iPod until this one came on during a shuffle. And then I was like, "Oh, The Submarines. That's cool." And then I listened to this song a bunch of times on repeat, as I'm wont to do.

[5]"In Dreams I Dance With You" - Of Montreal
Also stolen from Mr. Business. Thanks, Travis. Anyway, this little ditty is like two songs in one! And it's only two minutes long! Which I love! Because God knows I have the attention span of a gnat! And it makes no sense! But it's about dreams! And nothing in dreams makes sense! /exclamation points

[6]"Minor Detail" - Sondre Lerche
I love this boy, and I'm sad that I missed him when he came through NY/NJ just a few weeks ago. This sounds so much like something you'd hear in a hotel lounge, the kind of piano-based thing that could fade into the background if you let it, but bears a lot of sense and significance when you pay attention to it. I'd like Sondre Lerche be playing in my hotel.

(Wow. That sounded a lot dirtier than I intended it to do.)

[7]"Nothing Rhymed" - Gilbert O'Sullivan
I must have gotten this when I downloaded the full Breakfast on Pluto book soundtrack from a friend about two years ago. That movie had such an impact on me, musically and otherwise - I re-listened to the movie soundtrack just recently and was reminded of how fabulous it is.

[8]"Reasons Unknown" - The Killers
I didn't like Sam's Town so much. I thought the Killers were trying too hard. This song sound strangely good here, though.

[9]"Don't Wait" - Dashboard Confessional
Dusk and Summer is probably my least favourite DC record. It sounds more like "Vindicated" (which I actually love to pieces, but that doesn't mean I'd like a whole record of it) and less like the classic Swiss Army Romance. Or maybe I'm just growing out of DC.

The Scandinavians are out en masse.

While I was researching another band (not from Scandinavia) about whom I want to post, I noticed that our shores are soon going to be invaded by some very lovely Scandinavian (mostly Swedish) artists in the coming months.

First up are the Shout Out Louds, who have actually been here since early October. I'm clearly totally unobservant. In any case, I got their song "Shut Your Eyes" on a free iTunes sampler ages ago and I just love it. Their second record, Our Ill Wills, dropped on 11 September in North America. Here are the remaining US/CA tour dates:

19 October Logan Square Auditorium Chicago, IL
20 October The Basement Columbus, OH
22 October The Mod Club Toronto, ON
23 October Cabaret Montreal, QC
24 October Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
25 October Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
26 October Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
27 October Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
28 October 9:30 Club Washington, DC
29 October First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
30 October Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC
31 October The Loft Atlanta, GA
2 November The Parish Austin, TX
3 November Granada Theatre Dallas, TX
5 November Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Support for all shows is Johnossi and Nico Vega.





Next is indie pop darling Jens Lekman, who also just dropped a new record, Night Falls Over Kortedala, which you probably all know about already and which I keep meaning to pick up but never do. His tour dates:

23 October Jake's Bloomington, IN
25 October Black Cat Washington, DC
26 October First Unitarian Chrch Philadelphia, PA
27 October Webster Hall New York, NY
28 October Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY*
29 October Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
1 November Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH**
2 November Logan Square Auditorium Chicago, IL**
3 November Triple Risk Social Club Minneapolis, MN**
6 November Nectar Lounge Seattle, WA
7 November Someday Lounge Portland, OR
9 November Bimbo's 365 Club San Francisco, CA
10 November The Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
13 November Granada Theatre Dallas, TX*
14 November The Parish Austin, TX*
15 November Club Down Under Tallahasee, FL*
16 November Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, GA*
All shows are supporting Viktor Sjöberg EXCEPT
*solo show
**with Dave Fischoff



And lastly, the lovely Sondre Lerche will be making his way over here. Oh, goodness, am I excited. I had intended to see him play the Nouveau Casino in Paris in May, but as my ear had decided to start ringing bloody murder, I decided that maybe a concert wasn't such a good idea. So yes, I am glad that Mr. Lerche will be gracing us with his presence this fall (and so close to my birthday, too!). Dates:

7 November	The Red Room	Vancouver, BC
8 November	Nectar Lounge	Seattle
10 November	Doug Fir Lounge	Portland, OR
11 November	Swedish American Hall - Cafe du Nord	San Francisco
12 November	The Troubadour	Los Angeles
13 November	The Troubadour	Los Angeles
15 November	Club Dada	Dallas, TX
16 November	The Parish	Austin, TX
18 November	The Waiting Room	Omaha, NE
19 November	The Varsity Theatre	Minneapolis
20 November	Park West	Chicago
21 November	Cambridge Room	Cleveland, OH
22 November	Lee's Palace	Toronto, ON
24 November	Le Gymnase	Montreal, QC
25 November	Paradise Rock Club	Boston
26 November	Music Hall of Williamsburg	Brooklyn, NY
27 November	Bowery Ballroom	New York City
28 November	World Cafe Live	Philadelphia
29 November	Maxwell's	Hoboken, NJ

All shows are solo shows.
(Or, rats, that list looks so much nicer than my first two. :P)




Just look at the pretty.


I seriously need to pay more attention to who's touring in my area. Although, admittedly, I've been out of the concert loop for a while now, owing to my ear and the surgery. Now that I'm feeling better, hopefully I'll be able to start heading to some shows again...