::School Week:: Fountains of Wayne - Too Cool For School

Although they may have written "Stacy's Mom," that ridiculous song from the early 2000s, Fountains of Wayne are still pretty cool. Its just fun to listen to their goofy style of pure power pop. Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger can write some catchy tunes.

This song was taken from the Scary Movie soundtrack and has a bit of a 60s vibe from the very first distorted chord that sounds exactly like the opening to "A Hard Days Night." It keeps up the fun 60s pop feel as it plays out, even including an organ solo.

He walks alone under the big city lights
He always knows just when the time is right
He never shows what he's thinking
He keeps it inside
Because he's too cool for school

He comes alive when the sun goes down
He gets it right
You know he's always down
He's got one eye open and his ear to the ground
Man he's too cool for school

He's an operator
He's a real player
And if you mess with him
You know you'll never win
He's an instigator
Enemy eliminator
And when he knocks you better
You better let him in

He's got his own way of getting things done
He's always looking out for number one
Don't try to beat him 'cause he's already won
Man he's too cool for school

He's an operator
He's a real player
And if you mess with him
You know you'll never win
He's an instigator
Enemy eliminator
And when he knocks you better
You better let him in

He walks alone under the big city lights
He always knows just when the time is right
He never shows what he's thinking
He keeps it inside
Because he's too cool for school
Because he's too cool for school
Because he's too cool for school 

::School Week:: Vampire Weekend - Campus

Well, I give up on the whole finding a positive song about school. And you know what? Its because school sucks. Sure you learn some stuff and I'm definitely not advocating dropping out of school, but I'm not advocating not dropping out school either. Learn what you want to learn for the love of Pete. And who knows, maybe something good can come out of school. Like a fling with a foxy professor, which is what our next song deals with.

Vampire Weekend's first self titled album blasted them into fame after they graduated from a New York prep school. Sure they may be a couple of smart rich J.Crew kids who sing about Oxford Commas, rickshaws, diplomats and ion displacement, but, hey, its good music. "Campus" is, as stated, about a lustful semester with a purdy prof. The ascending bass and bright, cheery synths give this song a very happy energetic feel, and who can resist cracking a smile at the line "I spilled kefir on your keffiyeh?"

I wake up
My shoulder's cold
I've got to leave here
Before I go
I pull my shirt on
Walk out the door
Drag my feet along the floor
I pull my shirt on
Walk out the door
Drag my feet along the floor

Then I see you
You're walking cross the campus
Cruel professor
Studying romances
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?

Walk to class
In front of ya
Spilled kefir
On your keffiyah
You look inside
And turn to the door
Drag your feet across the floor

Then I see you
You're walking cross the campus
Cruel professor
Studying romances
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?
How am I supposed to pretend
I never want to see you again?

In the afternoon
You're out on the stone and grass
And I'm sleeping on the balcony
After class

::School Week:: Supertramp - Logical Song

Ok, so school's not all bad right? I mean the whole purpose is to gain logic, yeah? So let's focus on that. Enter, Supertramp's "The Logical Song". Supertramp are a British rock band from the 70s, who's album, Breakfast In America  made it big in...America.

So it starts off nice with a synth melody, and some description of a fine childhood with singing nature and playful attitude. And... oh come on. Yup. More negativity. I mean sure it's all true, what with the forcing children to fit into this predetermined mold of society but there's gotta be something good about it. Right? Anyway the song continues on with some great rhyming patterns, digital sound effects and a killer sax solo near the end. The search continues.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, oh responsible, practical.
And then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am
I said now watch what you say they'll be calling you a radical,
a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!
Oh Take it take it yeah!

But at night, when all the world's asleep,
the questions run so deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am,
Who I am x 3 !!!

Who knows who's so logical.

::School Week:: Steely Dan - My Old School

YACHT ROCK!!! Yes, I admit it. I LOVE Steely Dan. Perhaps I may be a little biased on this considering my dad and his 10 brothers and 3 sisters all basically raised me on this music, but they are an incredibly talented band. Family events seldom go by without either Pretzel Logic or Cant Buy a Thrill being played at least once.

Anyway, this song, "My Old School," is finally one of those positive songs I was talking about. Donald Fagen gets all nostalgic about his old school during the verses and then the chorus...wait. Crap. "Im never going back to my old school." So I guess this isn't a positive song about school. And it turns out the song is also about how a girl dumped him. Well, shucks. Next song will have to be a positive one then.

 I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes
When you put me on the Wolverine
Up to Annandale
It was still September
When your daddy was quite surprised
To find you with the working girls
In the county jail
I was smoking with the boys upstairs
When I heard about the whole affair
I said oh no
William and Mary won't do
CHORUS:
Well I did not think the girl
Could be so cruel
And I'm never going back
To my old school

Oleanders growing outside her door
Soon they're gonna be in bloom
Up in Annandale
I can't stand her
Doing what she did before
Living like a gypsy queen
In a fairy tale
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do

CHORUS

California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go
Back to Annandale
Tried to warn you
About Chino and Daddy Gee
But I can't seem to get to you
Through the U.S. Mail
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do

CHORUS 

::School Week:: Andrew Bird - Measuring Cups

Andrew Bird the whistling minstrel from Chicago has been on this blog before, but this song fits the week so well. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of this album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs but the more and more I listen to it, its probably becoming my favorite.

This song, "Measuring Cups" immediately grabs you with the "bum buh buh bum" hook at the beginning and holds you all the way to the final abrupt ending. It's also about something that I myself agree with which is that some methods of learning and the act of censorship are ruining some children's development. You have no idea how mad I was when I heard that some school tried to ban Mark Twain from their curriculum. Anyway here are the lyrics, which are probably some of my favorite ever. Also, I promise there will be some scholastic themed songs that are positive this week. Just let me find some first.


get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
come to the front of the class and we'll measure your brain
we'll give you a complex and we'll give it a name
get out your measuring sticks and we'll play a new game
can't have the cream when the crop and the cream are the same
liquid or gas no more than the glass will contain
so you talk about a hand of glory
a tale that's rather grim and gory
is it just another children's story
that's been de-clawed?
when the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey
have been outlawed
I think they're gonna make you start over you don't want to start over
put your backpack on your shoulder be the good little soldier
take your places now
'cause we're all predisposed
measuring cups play a new game
front of the class measure your brain
give you a complex give it a name
put your backpack on your shoulder
be the good little soldier
it's no different when your older
you're predisposed
that's all for questions now
the case is closed!

::School Week:: The Smiths - Headmaster Ritual

This week, since most colleges are kicking off another semester, I thought I'd look into songs about school. Songs that reminisce about the good old days, songs that sing the joys of learning, or, perhaps the more accurate topic, songs about how much school can suck.



First off, I will not be putting KISS on this list. I'm sorry to any KISS fans, but I don't consider them a real band. A real band, The Smiths, did however put out an album called Meat Is Murder and that is where my first entry is from. The Smiths are a very influential band that led rise to many indie bands of today.

This song is called "Headmaster's Ritual." Morrissey, the lead singer, croons in every sense of the word here as his eccentric voice sings of how awful school can be for a child between tortured puppy dog moans. Johnny Marr's distinctive guitar arpeggios float along with a shiny, bright tone that give the song that Smiths feel. I suppose not really the best, happiest song to kick off a semeseter, but still a good song.

Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless swines
cemented minds
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old suit since 1962
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up education
as a bad mistake
mid-week on the playing fields
Sir thwacks you on the knees
knees you in the groin
elbow in the face
bruises bigger than dinner plates
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay

Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless bastards all
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old jokes since 1902
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up life
as a bad mistake
please excuse me from the gym
I've got this terrible cold coming on
he grabs and devours
kicks me in the showers
and he grabs and devours
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay

::Names Week:: Flight of the Conchords - Carol Brown

And to finish off Names Week is the grand finale: Flight of the Conchords - Carol Brown, from their second album I Told You I Was Freaky. This album accompanied the second season of their short lived hit show which portrayed two struggling Kiwi musicians trying to make it in the Big Apple. This is the song with the  most names dropped in it all week so I thought it'd make a good culmination entry.

Just watch and laugh and let the sappy hilarious lyrics and the bosa nova, 8-bit sounds tickle your humor button. Bret and Jemaine are truly the kings of humorous folk duos. Ooo, we can eat cereal.

Loretta broke my heart in a letter
she told me she was leaving and her life would be better
Joan broke it off over the phone
after the tone, she left me alone

Jen said she’d never see me again
When I saw her again, she said it again
Jan met another man
Leeza got amnesia
just for got who I am

Felicity said there was no electricity
Emily, no chemistry
Fran ran, Bruce turned out to be a man
Flo had to go, I couldn’t go with the flow
Carol Brown just took a bus out of town
But I’m hoping the you’ll stick around

[Ex-Girlfriends]
He doesn’t cook or clean
he’s not good boyfriend material
[Jermaine]
Ooh, we can eat cereal
[Girlfriends]
He’ll lose interest fast
His relationships never last
[Jermaine]
Shut up, girlfriends from the past
[Girlfriends]
He says he’ll do one thing
and then he goes and does another thing
[Jermaine]
Oh, who organized all my ex-girlfriends
into a choir and got them to sing?
[Girlfriends]
ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh ah-ah
[Jermaine]
Mmm Shut Up
[Girlfriends]
Ahh ahh ahhh aha ah
[Jermaine]
Shut up girlfriends from the past

Mimi will no longer see me
Britney, Britney hit me
Paula, Persephone, Stella and Stephanie
There must be fifty ways the lovers have left me
Carol Brown just took a bus out of town

Love is a delicate thing
It could just float away in the breeze
[Girlfriend]
He said the same thing to me
[Jermaine]
How can we ever know
we’ve found the right person in this world?
[girlfriends]
He means he looks at other girls
[Jermaine]
Love is a mystery
It does not follow a rule
[Girlfriends]
He’ll always be a boy
He’s a man who never grew up
[Jermaine]
I thought I told you to shut u-u-up
Ahh ahh ahhh ah-ah-ah [continued]

Mona you told me you were in a coma
Tiffany you said that you had an epiphany
Would you like a little cereal
Who organized this choir of ex-girlfriends?
Was it you, Carol Brown Was it you Carol Brown

Carol Brown just took a bus out of town
But I’m Hoping that you’ll stick around
Stick around do do do do do do
Stick around do do do do do
Srick around do do do do
Stick around

::Names Week:: Mister Heavenly - Charlyne

Mister Heavenly is a new hodgepodge of musicians from Man Man, Modest Mouse and The Islands and one actor you may have heard of before. The awkward king of everything indie, Michael Cera on bass. The strange combination makes for a great supergroup though. Nick Thornburn's (The Islands) soft crooning voice paired with Honus Honus' (Man Man) rough growl make for an interesting vocal sound.

This song "Charlyne," is a reverby rock'n'roll doo wop song that beckons back to songs like "Sandman" or anything by Chuck Berry. I'm really looking forward to see where this band goes because they show a lot of promise. Lyrically its about that girl who you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try, even though you know she'll ruin you. Come on we all know one.

 Behind every single heartbeat
is another unsung malady
You don't know, but you hum along like you do
Play the fool

You thought you could learn to love me and rule me
and hide all your sorrows in a Harley
and get all your kicks off acting crazy
When push comes to love,
you just ain't strong enough to let it go

Before you know it,
you're wrapped up in her web

Before you know it,
you're way in over your head

Before you know it,
you're finally in her bed

In the middle of the night,
in the middle of the street,
and you tear your hair
and you burn your sheets

Screaming
Charlyne, Charlyne! (x4)
and I always play the fool for Charlyne

::Names Week:: Brian Eno - Cindy Tells Me

This is the second track I've taken from this album on this blog. It's a bit of a surprise to me that Brian Eno would be the first to accomplish such a feat, because lets face it, some of Brian Eno's stuff is just a little too weird. However, he is a ground-breaking musician, and can write some dern tootin good songs.

"Cindy Tells Me" has so much going on in the verses. The fuzzy guitars, reggae upstroked guitars, chopsticky piano and "Woooo's" then give way to a stripped down chorus until a static-y Brian Eno noise once again breaks the simplicity of it. Great lyrics too!

Cindy Tells Me, the Rich Girls Are Weeping
Cindy Tells Me, They've Given Up Sleeping Alone
And Now They're So Confused By Their New Freedoms
And She Tells Me They're Selling Up Their Maisonettes
Left the Hotpoints to Rust in the Kitchenettes
And They're Saving Their Labour For Insane Reading.

Some of Them Lose - and Some of Them Lose
But That's What They Want - and That's What They Choose
It's a Burden - Such a Burden
Oh What a Burden to Be So Relied On.

Cindy Tell Me, What Will They Do With Their Lives
Living Quietly Like Labourer's Wives
Perhaps They'll Re-acquire Those Things They've All Disposed Of

::Names Week:: Simon and Garfunkel - Cecilia

Simon and Garfunkel are one of those duos that transcend their duality by becoming a whole. You can't have one without the other. I mean, Paul Simon made a pretty good career on his own cranking out albums that topped charts and were great albums to boot, but his work with his gangly, afro-ed pal are where the magic was made.

Their best known album, Bridge Over Troubled Water contained most of the hits, including this one, "Cecilia." Its stomp, stomp, clap off time rhythm and chug along acoustic guitar combine with their perfect-pitch harmonies to craft a song about the troubs and tribs of a cheating girl. I couldn't help but put this song on the list.

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 
Come on home 
[ 
Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia 
Up in my bedroom (making love) 
I got up to wash my face 
When I come back to bed 
Someone's taken my place 

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 
Come on home 

Jubilation, she loves me again, 
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing, 
Jubilation, she loves me again, 
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing

::Names Week:: Guster - Ramona

Ahh, Guster. I used to listen to a lot of Guster in my high school days. I must have listened to this album, Keep it Together, 5 times a day for a few weeks during one stretch. I just remember loving their sense of not taking themselves so seriously and just making music because it was fun. Since then we've grown apart a little bit. I mean we still talk now and again and catch up over some coffee and assorted pastries, and its a lot of fun, but we're just so busy its hard to coordinate our schedules. I mean I've got Radiohead, and Wilco to take care of now on top of my numerous other favorite bands. And Guster's got its own thing going on now too. But we make time still and that's all that counts.

This song, was one of my favs from said album. "Ramona" is a soothing acoustic bongo-ey sing-a-long song that moves you to sway back and forth even though you hate it when people sway back and forth to a song, especially all those girls you see on the MTV that start swaying, close there eyes and stick their hand in the air shouting "OH my god, this is my song." Then they sing the first few lyrics of the song and completely forget about it and start making out with the nearest guy. But I digress. I guess I'm just mad because I'm never the nearest guy. I have lousy luck when it comes to proximity. Anyway. Its got a bluegrass vibe to it too that only adds to the tranquility. Ryan Miller and Adam Gardener have voices that fit so well together its like peanut butter on a playing card. I have no idea what that simile is supposed to mean.

Ramona, where have you been?
I couldn't go to sleep till you came in
Ramona, you're Miss Oklahoma
and you miss Oklahoma
I'll get you what you want
There were days when a refrain
Would brighten our corner of Hickory Lane
When you would sing that song for me
Just like your favorite singer
Why'd you have to be so nice?
A wink and a girlish smile
And why'd you have to punch my eye?
That was something
but I still want you to stay
When I was younger and thought of myself
[ From : http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/guster-lyrics/ramona-lyrics.html ]
I never dreamed I'd become like this
A snap of your fingers,
and end to the arguments
Anything for you, love
There were days when a refrain
Would brighten our corner of Hickory Lane
When you would sing that song for me
The only one you know
But I know now, not at the start,
We're going to pieces, we're falling apart
So won't you sing that song for me
just like your favorite singer?

::Names Week:: Franz Ferdinand - Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On

Franz Ferdinand are one of those early 2000s "popular indie new wave revival" bands along with The Kaiser Chiefs and  The Bravery. Not necessarily ground-breaking by any means and sometimes annoying, but they can write some pretty good songs. Hailing from Scotland, these guys hit it big with their first, self-titled album and then released their second album You Could Have it So Much Better and then kind of lost steam after that. They released a third album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand and are apparently working on a new one, but I'm not really that interested in finding out to be honest with you.

This song is from their second album and is a departure from their usual energetic guitars and dancy drum beats. It focuses on their soft side a bit with the ponderous piano and gather-'round acoustic guitar. The best parts of this song are the reverby-spy guitar and synth interludes that burst out from the choruses and make you feel like you just jumped and are drifting slowly back to Earth much like the lyrics suggest. This song also just made me realize there are a lot of really good songs about Eleanors.

Eleanor put those boots back on
Kick the heels into the Brooklyn dirt
I know it isn't dignified to run
But if you run You can run to the Coney Island rollercoaster
Ride to the highest point and leap across the filthy water
Leap until the Gulf Stream's brought you down

I could be there when you land
I could be there when you land

So Eleanor take a Greenpoint three-point turn
Towards the hidden sun
You know you are so elegant when you run
Oh if you run
You can run to that statue with the dictionary
Climb to her fingernail and
Leap, yeah take an atmospheric leap
Let the jet stream set you down

I could be there when you land

So Eleanor put those boots back on
Put the boots back on and run
Come on over here 

::Names Week:: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Colleen

What's in a name? Well, turns out a lot. This week I'm going to focus on songs that blatantly call out a girl's specific name. What better way to get their attention than calling out their name in a song, yeah? Girls love that stuff right? And lets face it guys, a major factor in us picking up guitar is to swoon women. Name dropping in songs may not always have romantic intentions though as some of my picks may show. It could also just be a big F-you to said person. Anyway, here's a few songs that make use of monikers.



This was the song that made me want to do Name Week. It popped up on my iPod today and I hadn't heard it in a while. I'm not a huge fan of all of Ted Leo's music, because sometimes its a bit too pop-punk for me, but he's got a few jems here and there. He's got a style that on the outside that's kinda gooey, catchy safe-punk, but looking deeper there's a lot more going on. Plus he's just an all around cool guy.

This song is from his 2007 album with the Pharmacists called Living With the Living. Its, like I said, a catchy fun pop punk song about a girl named, you guessed it, Colleen. Its a standard, verse chorus verse chorus and pretty expected instrumentation, but its just so happy. Plus, only using things that rhyme with Colleen through most of the song takes some talent.

Colleen – never to be crowned queen, never an evergreen
Floating above the scene as still as a figurine
Expressionless, so serene, but I know what makes you scream
So don’t you run out of steam – I know you, Colleen
It’s been all messed up since the very beginning
But you act so tough, people think that you’re winning
And everyone wants something from Colleen
Colleen - perpetually between what is and what could have been
Floating through your routine every day since you were fifteen
And as rosy as you make it seem, I know life for you ain’t been a dream
To have to deal with the things you’ve seen while they work you like you’re a machine
Machines break down, but you can’t break with them
It’s too late now, so don’t break the rhythm
And everyone wants something form Colleen
Colleen, if ever you walk into a dead-end street, come clean –
Don’t say that it’s all in your mind because I know what you mean – Colleen
It’s been all messed up since the very beginning
It’s too late now, ‘cause we’re already in it
And everyone wants something from Colleen
(and no one gets ‘cause she’s no one’s Colleen)

Wilco - I Might

I am on a huge Wilco kick right now. You don't even know, man. Since the early 90's this band has been cranking out tunes of all sorts of genres and making albums that sound like what an album should sound like. Each different record has its own different feel and mood but still manages to keep a sense of Wilco-ness to it.

This new track from their upcoming 8th studio album, The Whole Love. I am really, really looking forward to this album simply because of this cut from it. "I Might" sounds a little like it could be from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born era, but its got something else to it too but I'm not really sure what it is. I'm excited to discover what it is when I hear the rest of the album. Its got a happy-poppy bass line that jumps all over the place and the rest of the instruments come and go as they please offering some organ here and a guitar burst there. The doodoodoo's combined with the vibraphones at the end are just plain brilliant. Buy this album when it comes out. There are some strange choppy lyrics too that are very different from Wilco, but still great. Im guessing at a few of them here.

Was i wrong
All night long
Was so hot
I was thinking sun
I can’t deny that I felt oh oh oh
Some guys a little thing I know
It’s alright
I done a lot of crawling all around..
It’s alright
It’s so cold
And i was pissing blood
It’s in the ... everybody
Let it taste let it go
I don’t know
Cut his neck bad shaving and low blow slow mo
It’s alright
You won’t set the kids on fire
Oh but I might
Come on …
Come on I am home
..slim gym … clean .. is a murder
That’s right
When you’re gonna find .. 
oh, you're still mine
It’s alright
It’s alright
It’s alright
You won’t set the kids on fire
I might
It’s alright
It’s alright 

The Slip - The Soft Machine

The Slip is a three piecer from Massachussets consisting of two brothers on drums and guitar and a bassist. You may recognize them from the terrible game Guitar Hero (I cant really criticize here, I was obsessed with it for a while too). They had a song you could unlock called "Even Rats" on there that got me in to them.

Anyway, they have other music than that one song it turns out and its not all that bad. This song, "The Soft Machine" is pretty neat. Its got a great slide guitar slipin' and slidein' all over the place and a tinkerin' vibraphone plinkin' about. And the distortion on the rhythm is a nice touch as well. Check it out. Also, if you want to hear the cool psychedelic intro song to this song called "First Panda in Space" click here. Its molds from chaotic noises perfectly into the calmer "Soft Machine."

Love is homeless
Where is
Love is shapeless
Who needs
Love is dangerous
Love is true

The more you give the soft machine
The more you give the song
I would live for you with all my
Give to you with all my
Daggers and swollen kisses
And so that is proof that love is death


There's no ear that would or could Listen to all there is to say
About small wooden toys
Or broken shells, tiny bells or songs about a lady

The more you clean the soft machine
The more you lead me on
I would live for you with all my
Give to you with all my
Daggers and swollen kisses
And so I think that that is proof that love is death

Portugal. The Man - Sleep Forever

Portugal. The Man is a strangely punctuated band from Alaska, and by far one of my favorite bands of all time. They've got so much soul it hurts and a groove to match it. John Gourely's vocals are as smooth as a bowl of pudding. Chocolate probably. Maybe butterscotch. Or a combination of the two. Chocoscotch. Either way he can match wits with any singer from the motown era and easily give them a run for their money.

Their new album In the Mountain, In the Cloud is fantastic. Its got a grandiose, infinite feel to it that leaves you feeling fulfilled and OK with the world. This song "Sleep Forever", the closing track, solidifies that feeling of acceptance with the idea of existence and what it means to be human, even if this means coming to terms with the fact that we aren't immortal.

As I finally meet my end

I won't be scared, I won't defend

The things I've done

I don't need him like you do

I don't fear him like you do



As the world revolves the sun

I hope the light that I become can

Sleep for once

I will leave it like you do

I won't lead it like you do

I won't leave it like they do

I don't need him like they do



I just want to sleep forever

Never see tomorrow

Or lead or follow

I don't want to work forever

Know what I know

Or beg or borrow



Just like our mothers

Who gave us our homes

We'll be just like our fathers

And go out on their own

'Cause we are the colors

Of all that you see

We'll be just like our brothers

And take to the streets

Take to the streets



I just want to sleep forever

Never see tomorrow

Lead or follow



As my world it hides behind

The words only your wars define

They read a lot like news

But I fear it more than you

I fear it more than you

Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 


I just want to sleep forever

Never see tomorrow

Or lead or follow

I don't want to work forever

Know what I know

Or beg or borrow



Just like old lovers

Who never leave home

We'll forget the city

And forget the roads

'Cause we are all rebels

Never do what we're told

We may not grow money

But man we grow old

Man we grow old



I just want to sleep forever

Never see tomorrow

Or lead or follow

I don't want to work forever

Know what I know

Or beg or borrow



Just like our mothers

Who gave us our homes

We'll be just like our fathers

And go out on our own

'Cause we are the colors

In all that you see

We'll be just like our brothers

And take to the streets



'Cause we are all children

Yeah, we are all man

It may not be much

But we do what we can

Don't need no preacher

To make us believe

That everything's perfectly

Fucked up like me

Antlers - Parentheses

The Antlers are a Brooklyn based bunch of buddies who have been in the spotlight since their debut full length Hospice. I personally couldn't get into it that much because it was extremely artsy. But their new album Burst Apart is rather good. Its still pretty artsy, but their are some catchy pop influences that burst through. Get it? Burst.

Anyway, this song is a mysterious head-bobber that glitters about with synths and high pitched guitar effects. The bass comes in at the perfect moment creepily throbbing through the noise and high pitched vocals. Then. The chorus. Oh the chorus. If you want to call it that anyway. Its a rough radiohead-ish riff with sloppy distortion that makes you want to place a smug look on your face and and nod slowly in some dark corner like a future version of Strider from Lord of the Rings. Im a nerd.

One broken wing, 
Soaring and suffering, 
Arm in a sling, 
I don't owe you anything.

I'm a bad absentee, 
You know when I want to leave.

So close up your knees, 
And I'll close your parentheses.

I'm a bad amputee, 
With no phantom memory.
So close up your knees, 
And I'll close your parentheses.

Andrew Bird - Skin is, My

Andrew Bird is a virtuoso. Not just at violin, but at guitar. and whistling. and just about every other instrument he picks up. I want this talent badly. Relinquish your powers to me, Bird.

This is a cool rendition of the song "Skin is, My" off of the album Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs. The album's cover is hilarious to me for some reason:

Anyway, the song sounds like it belongs in some saucy lounge on a Caribbean island with its Bossa Nova rhythms and its jazzy drums. I love the part near the end where it just rocks out to the line "Oh what a lovely sound! Oh how it shakes the ground!"

My skin is
White as parchment
Drier than a downtown office building
Where the air is tight
There's time spent
Resting on her bones
Waiting for the telephone to ring
Ba-ring ba-ring ba-ring . . . 
Bo-ring bo-ring bo-ring . . . 

My skin is
Cold as her toes on the bathroom floor
Run back to bed and slam the door
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh how it shakes the ground
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh what a lovely...

Skin is my
It's the only thing
That doesn't really fly in my land
And love, oh love 
Is my love is
It's the only thing that
Butterfly in Thailand

Let it be printed on every t-shirt in this land
On the finest of cottons and the hippest of brands
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/andrew-bird-lyrics/skin-is,-my-lyrics.html -]
In bolder letters than the capital I
It's the only thing, it's the only thing
It's the only lonely, whoa

My skin is
White as parchment
Drier than a downtown office building
Where the air is tight
There's time spent
Waiting for that
Macrame bird of prey
To come down and sing
La-ling la-ling la-ling...
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh how it shakes the ground
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh how it shakes the ground
Oh what a lovely sound

Oh what a lovely sound
Oh how it shakes the ground
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh how it shakes the ground
Oh what a lovely sound
Oh, oh what a lovely sound

Bon Iver - Beth/Rest

Bon Iver is a band...well, I guess technically it's a guy from Wisconsin. Justin Vernon is his name, and he has a knack for creating some really relaxing psych-folk that shares a bed with art rock. For his last album, For Emma, Forever Ago Vernon made it pretty big with the song "Skinny Love" and the woodsy folk album sold incredibly well.

His new album, simply titled Bon Iver is much of the same goodness, but with a little bit of other genres thrown in to the mix including electronic and prog-rock. The weirdest, but also I think my favorite is this song, which sounds like it could be at the end of a John Hughes movie. You know the part I'm talking about? When the main character (I'm assuming Molly Ringwald) finally gets asked to dance by the nerdy, yet lovable love interest. Then they share a dance under the cheesy lasers and disco ball reflections while the synths and echo-ed Vernon lulls them along to a dreamy fade-out. This is a strange direction for Bon Iver, but it still has that Vernon touch to it. Give it a listen, its kind of funny, but also a decent song.

Errant heat to the star
and the rain let in
the hawser rolls, the vessel’s whole and Christ, it’s thin

well Iʼd know that you’d offer
would reveal it, though it’s soft and flat
won’t repeat it, cull and coffer’s that
for the soffit, hang this homeward
pry it open with your love
sending lost and alone standing offers

it is steep / it is stone
such recovery
from the daily press, the deepest nest, in keeper’s keep

all the news at the door
such a revelry
well, it’s hocked inside of everything you said to me

it was found what we orphaned
didn’t mention it would serve us picked
said your love is known
I’m standing up on it

aren’t we married?!
I ainʼt living in the dark no more
it’s not a promise, Iʼm just gonna call it

heavy mitted love

our love is a star
sure some hazardry
for the light before and after most indefinitely

danger has been stole away
…
This is us 

Arctic Monkeys - Baby I'm Yours

Here's an arctic monkeys jam in celebration of their new (yet mildly disappointing) new album Suck it and See. This track is from an older EP but, hey its better than their new stuff. Don't get me wrong though, Suck It is still pretty good its just, eh. Here listen to this, my favorite track from it, and see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKK9JP7UOb8

But this post isnt about the new stuff. Its about "Baby Im Yours." A cover of a motown hit made popular by Barbara Lewis and written by Van Mccoy. I dont feel like describing it so just listen to it, baby.

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the sky,
Yours (yours) until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the sun no longer shines,
Yours (yours) until the poets run out of rhyme
In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side,
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothin' in the world can drive me away
'Cause every day, you'll hear me say

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until two and two is three,
Yours (yours) until the mountains crumble to the sea
In other words, until eternity

Baby, I'm yours
'Til the stars fall from the sky
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the rivers all run dry
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the sun no longer shines
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the poets run out of rhyme
(fade out) 
 

She & Him - I Thought I Saw Your Face Today

She & Him (ampersand!) are one of music's greatest collaborations. Zooey Deschanel's baritone voice (maybe. correct me if i'm wrong here music majors) and M. Ward's rough voice are a great combination and when you throw in his virtuoso guitar stylings and her soulful, 50s songwriting you can't lose.

This track is an upbeat piano rumination on falling in love at the sight of someone. Her sorrowful yet playful voice lulls you in to the orchestra swells and swishy drums. The cheerfully sad mood of the song pops out especially  in the surprise whistle solo! Suprise! Whistle!

Also, check out Zooey Deschanel's interview with the guys from Nerdist here:
http://www.nerdist.com/2011/06/nerdist-podcast-97-zooey-deschanel/

I thought I saw your face today 
but I just turned my head away 
Your face against the trees 
but I just see the memories 
as they come 
as they come 
And I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again 

I saw it glitter as I grew 
and love did what I never knew 
I thought this place was heaven sent 
but now it's just a monument 
in my mind 
in my mind 
And I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again 

The cars and freeways implore me to stay way out of this place 
My mother said just keep your head and play as it plays 

(whistling) 

The cars and freeways implore me to stay way out of this place 
My mother said just keep your head and play as it plays 

I somehow see what's beautiful in things that are ephemeral 
I'm my only friend, am I? 
Love is just a piece of time 
in the world 
in the world 
And I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again 
No I couldn't help but fall in love again