The Decemberists @ The National

Friday night, I took the trek from DC down to Richmond, VA to see The Decemberists at The National. The band has been touring for quite some time now promoting their relatively new album, "The Hazards of Love." It was a night of firsts--first time to travel more than a couple of hours to get to a venue, first time to see The Decemberists live, first time in The National. As such, there's a lot to say.

I should have known that the show would be spectacular when the TicketMaster tickets said "The Decemberists with Special Guests." Special guests, indeed. Rebecca Stark of Lavender Diamond and Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond joined Colin et al. for the tour. It was crazy good. At the close of the evening, Shara and Rebecca sang a killer version of Heart's Crazy On You. If it hadn't been The Decemberists, they easily could have stolen the show.

As for the band themselves, they amazed me. The show was a really intriguing mix of songs--old and new. The Decemberists' previous work was still, just, golden. The new material, which is great on the album, is even better live (a thing, in my opinion, is difficult to achieve). Colin played the songs exactly as they are on their respective albums, right down to the smallest inflection. But then, in between songs, Colin would become this massively charming, suave (yes, suave!) entertainer. We experienced Colin in his greatest glory...and I swear, I fell in love...again.

The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid - "The Hazards of Love" - [mp3] (iTunes)

Road Trip Mix

A couple of people (including GFP's own Lise) are going on road trips soon, so I thought I would make a little road trip mix. I have about 8 driving mixes that I've made in the past few years, despite the fact that I drive about 4 times a year. I find that music really improves the experience though while driving. Here are some songs that are fun to drive to and that will keep you energized when you're on the road for a while.

12345678 [mp3] - The Hard Lessons - B&G Sides (iTunes)
I Feel It All [mp3] - Feist - The Reminder (iTunes)
Tell Me How You Want It [mp3] - Julius C - Julius C Says (iTunes)
Lego [mp3] - The Maccabees - Colour It In (iTunes)
Cowbell [mp3] - Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon (iTunes)
The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA The Ballad of Sheriff Shorty [mp3] - The Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols (iTunes)
Hey [mp3] - Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Elvis Perkins in Dearland (iTunes)
The Sweat Descends [mp3] - Les Savy Fav - Inches (iTunes)
You Don't Love Me [mp3] - The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out (iTunes)
Golden Star [mp3] - My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me the Workhorse (iTunes)

And if you happen to be driving through the mountains, I randomly discovered that just about anything by Frontier Ruckus is really perfect for that while I was in Utah.

Honorary Mentions of 2008

There were some albums that just didn't quite do it for us as a whole, but maybe they had that one really good song that we played on repeat. Here are (lucky number) 13 songs that we think deserve Honorary Mentions for 2008 (again in no particular order).

Polite Dance Song [mp3] - The Bird & The Bee (iTunes)
We couldn't stop blasting it everywhere, and although it technically debuted at the end of 2007 on the Please Clap Your Hands EP, it was put on the 2008 album Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, so it still counts.
EDIT: So when I (lise) looked up this song on iTunes, the Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future was listed on iTunes with a release year of 2008, complete with song list and samples. Then I was reading Pitchfork's Guide to Upcoming Releases and was shocked to discover that that album is set to release for the first time later this month! Not believing my eyes, I immediately went back to iTunes and found that the Ray Guns album is no longer listed. So...either I was celebrating New Years really early without knowing it, or iTunes lies to us and then laughs fiendishly while we appear shame-faced to the rest of the world. Whatever. The song stays.

Be Mine Everyone [mp3] - Sam Champion (iTunes)
This catchy rock tune had everyone in the blogosphere talking (and dancing) this year. Em first heard the song when she saw Sam Champion perform at Prospect Park this summer and it still never fails to make us rock out.

Be OK (mp3 removed by request)  - Ingrid Michaelson (iTunes)
This song could've been another Hurt Myself-esque song, given different instrumentation and slower tempo, but Ingrid took these lyrics and made it a piece of upbeat catchy pop gold.

Kill The Lights [mp3] - Britney Spears (iTunes)
Simultaneously sexy and creepy, this is our favorite track off of Britney's rather fascinating, strange "comeback" album (personally, we liked "Blackout" better...)

Days Go On [mp3] - Greg Laswell (iTunes)
One of Lise's gfps, and a perfect example of how a song can carry a repetitious hook if it just keeps on moving forward.

A Song for Ellie Greenwich [mp3] - Parenthetical Girls (iTunes)
Parenthetical Girls brought in sounds from just about every era imaginable on their last album. This interesting single has stayed on our playlists since we got it in the summer.

Handlebars [mp3]- Flobots (iTunes)
This seemed to be the song that more people than you realized knew. All that needed to be said was "I can lead a nation with a microphone, with a microphone, with a microphone," and you'd hear someone else sing "and I can split the atom of a molecule, of a molecule, of a molecule."

Jager Yoga [mp3] - CSS (iTunes)
While it's no Alala or Music is my Hot Hot Sex, CSS still knows how to make a catchy dance tune.

The Stoop [mp3] - Little Jackie (iTunes)
We love our summer songs here at GFP, and this was definitely one of top. Nevermind that Little Jackie pulled in New York from Flava Of Love/I Love New York to do backup vocals (really?!?), this song is still great and makes us bob our heads along.

Losing Myself [mp3] - Brazilian Girls (iTunes)
We're not sure anything could top their 2006 hit Jique, but this is a fun, slightly dark, multi-lingual dance song anyway - Brazilian Girls' specialty.

Inside a Boy [mp3] - My Brightest Diamond (iTunes)
Haunting and dramatic. 'Nuff said.

White Shade [mp3] - Lukestar (iTunes)
This one took a little while to grow on us but now we're listening to it on repeat. Part breathy ballad sound and part sexy rock, this song has something for everyone.

Can't Shake It [mp3] - Kate Miller-Heidke (iTunes)
The relateable story of not being able to look gorgeous while dancing in the form of a wonderful pop-electronic hit from an Australian ex-opera star.

Tainted Love

It's pretty rare that I post covers because I tend to like whatever version of a song I hear first the best, but I thought this one was interesting. It's My Brightest Diamond covering the '80s classic Tainted Love, made famous by Soft Cell. This song is part of a whole album of pop songs covered and revamped by indie artists. It's volume 2 of a project called "Guilt By Association." The album also features artists such as Matt Pond PA and Robbers on High Street. The album comes out February 17th.

Tainted Love [mp3]

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Bands That Sound The Same: St. Vincent & My Brightest Diamond

Annie Clark's haunting voice is one of the main reasons St. Vincent has become so well known today. The song "Marry Me," is one of those rare finds where you can't figure out why you can't get it out of your head, or for that matter, why all the sudden you have the urge to find a guy named John and ask him to marry you. When I first heard My Brightest Diamond, I thought it was none other than St. Vincent and Annie Clark's unique voice ringing through my ears - and then I found out it wasn't her.

It was none other than Shara Worden, a girl whose father was a National Accordian Champion and whose mother was a classical organist (oh, and one of her grandparents was a Epiphone-playing traveling evangelist). Coming from a quirky musical background alone makes me curious, but knowing that she sounds like Annie Clark puts her in a whole other spectrum. I'm utterly fascinated. Have these two women met? Do they sing backup for one another? Will they sing a duet? Are they secretly twins? I want to know.

Listen to to eerie similarities yourself.

Inside A Boy by My Brightest Diamond [mp3]
Marry Me by St. Vincent [mp3]

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