rilo kiley

Next up in our magical mystery tour though the magical mystery of music...
Rilo Kiley
(and Jenny Lewis is up next- she gets her own post)


What a a bunch of badasses! I was originally roped into loving Rilo by the Album More Adventurous, which remains my favourite of theirs. They could accurately be called the band that first won my heart (after the classics, but that ought to go without saying). I received it with a bunch of albums (among them Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and The Postal Service's first album) at Christmas, but I didn't listen to it for a good three months... and when I did, I didn't like it. I was just coming out of my middle school mainstreaming phase, so anything without an infectious beat and faux-claps was pretty much an F-minus in my book. But one day, on one fateful car ride, I popped the CD into my walkman to give it a second try.

What followed was an affair of love and betrayal, and of reminiscence and lingering affection. I started out loving the singles (as usual), but by the time I'd listened to More Adventurous so many times I could recite all the lyrics by heart, I loved all the sings. My top picks nowadays are the title track ("More Adventurous") and the last, "It Just Is".

I recommend the group's younger records, as their newest (Under the Blacklight) was a disappointment to me, though it had some good tracks. While it maintains some of their blunt and artistic style, it has some seriously disco undertones that don't agree with me. After giving More Adventurous a listen, I definitely suggest the album that came before it, The Execution of All Things. This one and their first feature Blake Sennett more prominently as one of the lead singers as well- I prefer Jenny, but some of his emotive qualities better fit the songs.

Okay, I've rambled, so I'd best sum up their music quickly. While they lack the harmonies I'm so fond of (which Jenny make sup for on her solo albums), they have solid rock vibes in addition to some really affectionate-sounding acoustic bits. Their lyrics are also fantastic, very story-like, are rarely fail to inspire some thought. The thing I think I love most about their style is how innovative it first sounded to me. Though it may be a staple nowadays to include odd synth over a more classic sound, I feel that even if they didn't do it first, they did it best.

sun giant/ fleet foxes

I was going to make an entire list of bands that I (rightfully) worship, but then I realized that that would take up like five pages of the blog if I did it in one post- so I'm going to post one at a time.
I'm starting with my current obsession (as well as the band that's gotten pitchfork.com's winkies all hard): The Fleet Foxes


First, I have to say... I found them at Starbucks. Yes, shameful as it may be, I was ordering a mocha frap with a shot of magic the day that I spotted their album at the counter. I admit I was skeptical, because the last album I'd seen in that particular store was of Jakub Dyaln, whose music can best be described as the lovechild of Jack Johnson and John Meyer. For lack of a better word, he's bad. Really, really bad ("Something Good This Way Comes"? Seriously?). Anyway, I digress; The Fleet Foxes caught my eye for two reasons:
a) The cover art
It's beautiful and unsusual... but that doesn't necessarily make it good.
b) The little red sticker on the front that said something like "10/10 from pitchfork.com!"
That threw me off- Pitchfork actually thought someone was good? Someone sold at Starbucks? Good?

Wrong.
More than good.
Magnificent.

You ever hear a song so amazingly orchestrated and sung that it makes you cry? I have. Try track ten of their self-titled album on for size. "Blue Ridge Mountains" remains my favourite song of the year (take note that I have only ever been this moved by a song before when listening to The White Album for the first time), and the Fleet Foxes my favourite band.

Their harmonies (an aspect of music that I personally adore) are flawless, creative, and beautiful. Each song has the feeling of being its own work of art, and only after obsessively listening to each can I say that I know every aspect of them (even now, there's a good chance I don't). The music itself is- for lack of a better word- epic. The songs are dramatic, but I consider that a good thing, unlike many others in the business of professional criticism.

Also, I really dig the lead singer's beard.

trendyhip douchebaggery/sweetness

I'm going to start us off with something that's been on my mind lately... Bands I like that I (really, really, really) ought to despise. If you can look at me without cringing after seeing this, I won't feel completely worthless.

COBRA STARSHIP

As far as music goes, they suck. I mean, as far as my nitpicky tastes go, they suck. But that's also why I can't stop loving them. I don't have a single infectious/childishly written dancebop electric club almbum in my entire iTunes library- except them. And the reason? They're okay with being less than perfect. I quote:
"I came here to make you dance tonight; I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you"
So there. All my arguments ("They suck!" "I like good music!" "Keytars aren't supossed to be cool!" "They're too tall to be musicians!" "I'm too white to dance!")? Null and void.

THE ACADEMY IS...

A BUNCH OF GIRLS. Namely, their lead vocalist, Willam Beckett (second from the right). He prances, wears tight jeans, sings about love, looks entirely too womanly to be a man... and is inexplicably one of the hottest things since the discovery of fire. What's wrong with me? Dunno, maybe I was dropped as a child. That's probably it. I mean... their lyrics are cringe-worthy ("I wait here everyday/ In case she scratches her face/ she'll never notice"), but... goddamn if they aren't lovable. The whle group of people involved in "Fueled by Ramen" (whose title makes me squirmy and uncomfortable- I can't voice it in public) are simply oozing charisma. The bands, all fairly mainstream, warp-tour-types (Cobra Starship, The Academy Is, Gym Class Heroes, Panic at the Disco, etc.), are all pretty dismal (although, to their credit, I have yet to so much as listen to PATD for fear of liking them). However; one look at their tour pictures and videos and you will find yourself charmed by the trendyhip douchebaggery/sweetness of it all.


I promise to follow up next time with a list that outlines my true loves of music... for now, you'll have to deal with my mainstreamies.