and the little ones chewed on the bones
So a few people mentioned wanting to get into Nickel Creek when I uploaded a song of theirs yesterday. This means that instead of reading my O'Casey play and getting started on my paper due at 11 AM tomorrow, I am going to pimp some bluegrass. Here goes.
I blame my obsession with Nickel Creek entirely on puppetoflove, although one of my RL best friends had been trying to hook me on them since 2002. So when Regina uploaded a bunch of their live and album tracks, I was gone.
The band's made up of three SoCal twenty-somethings: Chris Thile, the superhotprodigygenius mandolinist [among other instruments], Sara Watkins, the adorable violinist, and Sean Watkins, Sara's brother who happens to be amazing at guitar. They were produced by Alison Krauss for a while, but I believe their latest album wasn't. Eh, enough backstory.
Onward and upward! Further up and further in! Whatever Reepicheep says! Um -- THE SONGS!
The Lighthouse's Tale. Ohhhhhh. Absolute gorgeousness. Told from the POV of a lighthouse. The lighthouse's keeper falls in love, she dies at sea, the keeper kills himself. So, y'know, cheery.
House of Tom Bombadil. Yes, that Tom Bombadil. Seriously, you want a weird image in your head? A theatre full of people jigging and clapping along to this song...in the middle of Times Square. It's an instrumental track but it doesn't need any lyrics whatsoever.
Robin and Marian. Another instrumental piece, very Olde Country. Sounds like you could turn around and see Robin Hood sneaking Marian through the trees. [Not Kevin Costner's Robin Hood.] It speeds up in the end and gets all jiggy, which I love.
The Fox. I swear this is a traditional American folk song or Irish folk song, because it's sounded familiar from the first time I heard it. It's literally about a fox invading a town and eating all of everyone's farm animals. When I saw them play it, there was an interlude where the man who had playing their standup bass through most of the songs started tap dancing. You can't listen to this and not want to dance.
Pastures New. Oh goddddd. Yet another instrumental, and it's so damn longing, and it feels like you're sitting around a fire at the end of the day...only this campfire isn't anywhere near home, and you're getting nostalgic and looking into the west. Sigh.
-
Should've Known Better. Oh, this song is SASSY. And funky, almost. My studio group used it in a movement project last year, and it is just so much FUN.
Green and Gray. One of their first songs I would listen to on repeat. I never really got that "between green and gray" is talking about a dartboard until recently...but it's a all a metaphor, really. I'm still surprised that the lyric 'voted most likely to be loved to death' hasn't been iconned, well, to death. Absolutely gorgeous songwriting and music.
Beauty and the Mess. Faster paced, but definitely not one of their happier songs. Very cleverly syncopated and all that.
Sabra Girl. Sad, rainy day, lamenting song. But I don't like listening to it on rainy days in Manhattan, because it makes me think of the way the drops echo in eucalyptus and oak and pine and redwood...not cement.
Brand New Sidewalk. For some reason I never really listened to this song until sometime around last week, when my roommate's boyfriend pointed it out to me as one of his favourites. And now...oh my goodness. The lyrics are almost bitter...and it sounds like an end, it sounds like the death of the year and the beginning of winter. Waaah.
-
Jealous Of The Moon. This song is irrevocably tied to the image of them performing this song live. The lights were all dark and purple, and they were basically all silhouettes, and it was absolutely gorgeous and made me fall even more in love with the song. Beautiful harmonies that make up a lovely waltz.
Scotch & Chocolate. This was my first outright favourite song of this album when I first listened to it. It's another instrumental, and it's even jiggier than Tom. It's just so fucking fun. Starts out with Chris soloing, then Sara joins him, then Sean comes in, all repeating the same theme until it builds and builds then just explodes into a jig.
Can't Complain. When Regina got me hooked on this band, this was one of the live tracks she uploaded, before it had been recorded for this album. They've layered onto this song and it's 5 billion times more lovely. But it's all about cheating. Heh.
Eveline. A darker, moody song -- not in lyrics but in the way it sounds. Makes me thinks of dark shadows and the autumn. It starts out slower then layers into a wonderful rhythm by the end.
First And Last Waltz. Oh, definitely another autumn song. It's a perfect instrumental lullabye. It seems to swing back and forth, and is marvellously atmospheric. My only problem with it is that I wish it were much, much longer.
-
Be Thou My Vision. Ahhh, gorgeous. Traditional Irish song. Pulls at the heartstrings and all that.
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Wilco cover. [Complete with a surprise interlude.] This song...holy fuck. I didn't ever imagine anyone could make this song more full of conflicting emotions than Jeff Tweedy, but...Chris Thile, take me now.
Just. Radiohead cover. Take that amazing guitar solo in the middle of the song...play it on violin.
Taxman. The Beatles cover. Amaaaaazing! It's so completely different from the original, which is makes it so good.
The Lighthouse's Tale/Yellow. Yeah. Now don't you wish Chris Thile was in Coldplay? Well, not really. ;)
Right-click, save-as, comment. [And go back to yesterday's post and download Why Should The Fire Die?, if you haven't.]
Now back to actually reading Cock-a-doodle Dandy.
I blame my obsession with Nickel Creek entirely on puppetoflove, although one of my RL best friends had been trying to hook me on them since 2002. So when Regina uploaded a bunch of their live and album tracks, I was gone.
The band's made up of three SoCal twenty-somethings: Chris Thile, the superhotprodigygenius mandolinist [among other instruments], Sara Watkins, the adorable violinist, and Sean Watkins, Sara's brother who happens to be amazing at guitar. They were produced by Alison Krauss for a while, but I believe their latest album wasn't. Eh, enough backstory.
Onward and upward! Further up and further in! Whatever Reepicheep says! Um -- THE SONGS!
The Lighthouse's Tale. Ohhhhhh. Absolute gorgeousness. Told from the POV of a lighthouse. The lighthouse's keeper falls in love, she dies at sea, the keeper kills himself. So, y'know, cheery.
House of Tom Bombadil. Yes, that Tom Bombadil. Seriously, you want a weird image in your head? A theatre full of people jigging and clapping along to this song...in the middle of Times Square. It's an instrumental track but it doesn't need any lyrics whatsoever.
Robin and Marian. Another instrumental piece, very Olde Country. Sounds like you could turn around and see Robin Hood sneaking Marian through the trees. [Not Kevin Costner's Robin Hood.] It speeds up in the end and gets all jiggy, which I love.
The Fox. I swear this is a traditional American folk song or Irish folk song, because it's sounded familiar from the first time I heard it. It's literally about a fox invading a town and eating all of everyone's farm animals. When I saw them play it, there was an interlude where the man who had playing their standup bass through most of the songs started tap dancing. You can't listen to this and not want to dance.
Pastures New. Oh goddddd. Yet another instrumental, and it's so damn longing, and it feels like you're sitting around a fire at the end of the day...only this campfire isn't anywhere near home, and you're getting nostalgic and looking into the west. Sigh.
-
Should've Known Better. Oh, this song is SASSY. And funky, almost. My studio group used it in a movement project last year, and it is just so much FUN.
Green and Gray. One of their first songs I would listen to on repeat. I never really got that "between green and gray" is talking about a dartboard until recently...but it's a all a metaphor, really. I'm still surprised that the lyric 'voted most likely to be loved to death' hasn't been iconned, well, to death. Absolutely gorgeous songwriting and music.
Beauty and the Mess. Faster paced, but definitely not one of their happier songs. Very cleverly syncopated and all that.
Sabra Girl. Sad, rainy day, lamenting song. But I don't like listening to it on rainy days in Manhattan, because it makes me think of the way the drops echo in eucalyptus and oak and pine and redwood...not cement.
Brand New Sidewalk. For some reason I never really listened to this song until sometime around last week, when my roommate's boyfriend pointed it out to me as one of his favourites. And now...oh my goodness. The lyrics are almost bitter...and it sounds like an end, it sounds like the death of the year and the beginning of winter. Waaah.
-
Jealous Of The Moon. This song is irrevocably tied to the image of them performing this song live. The lights were all dark and purple, and they were basically all silhouettes, and it was absolutely gorgeous and made me fall even more in love with the song. Beautiful harmonies that make up a lovely waltz.
Scotch & Chocolate. This was my first outright favourite song of this album when I first listened to it. It's another instrumental, and it's even jiggier than Tom. It's just so fucking fun. Starts out with Chris soloing, then Sara joins him, then Sean comes in, all repeating the same theme until it builds and builds then just explodes into a jig.
Can't Complain. When Regina got me hooked on this band, this was one of the live tracks she uploaded, before it had been recorded for this album. They've layered onto this song and it's 5 billion times more lovely. But it's all about cheating. Heh.
Eveline. A darker, moody song -- not in lyrics but in the way it sounds. Makes me thinks of dark shadows and the autumn. It starts out slower then layers into a wonderful rhythm by the end.
First And Last Waltz. Oh, definitely another autumn song. It's a perfect instrumental lullabye. It seems to swing back and forth, and is marvellously atmospheric. My only problem with it is that I wish it were much, much longer.
-
Be Thou My Vision. Ahhh, gorgeous. Traditional Irish song. Pulls at the heartstrings and all that.
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Wilco cover. [Complete with a surprise interlude.] This song...holy fuck. I didn't ever imagine anyone could make this song more full of conflicting emotions than Jeff Tweedy, but...Chris Thile, take me now.
Just. Radiohead cover. Take that amazing guitar solo in the middle of the song...play it on violin.
Taxman. The Beatles cover. Amaaaaazing! It's so completely different from the original, which is makes it so good.
The Lighthouse's Tale/Yellow. Yeah. Now don't you wish Chris Thile was in Coldplay? Well, not really. ;)
Right-click, save-as, comment. [And go back to yesterday's post and download Why Should The Fire Die?, if you haven't.]
Now back to actually reading Cock-a-doodle Dandy.