Soup Mix - July 2008

I thought I might put together a compilation of music I think you should hear this month. Download these songs and give them a spin, I dare you!

01. Bright Eyes - Train Under Water
02. Devendra Banhart - Seahorse
03. Sea Wolf - Black Dirt
04. Feist - Sea Lion Woman
05. Voxtrot - Kid Gloves
06. Islands - Swans (Life After Death)
07. Desparecidos - Greater Omaha
08. Coldplay - 42
09. The Postal Service - Recycled Air
10. Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker
11. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Mostly Waiving
12. India.Arie - The Heart of the Matter
13. Whiskeytown - Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart
14. Denison Witmer - Castle and Cathedral
15. Iron and Wine - Resurrection Fern

Here's the breakdown:

01. Bright Eyes - Train Under Water - This is the quintisential Bright Eyes song about New York City from an album that is absolutely obsessed with The City. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning will probably always be my favorite Bright Eyes album. It's flawless in its flaws. This song always made me want to visit Greenwich Villiage. Now I can.

02. Devendra Banhart - Seahorse - Banhart is not an artist for those of you who do not love ecclectic music. He is pretty all over the place, as is this track. Banhart has a knack for combining classic rock, soul, afro-carribian beats, latin music, and acoustic folk. Listening to Seahorse is like ridining a rollercoaster - It is slow to begin but takes off at the top of the arc. For more "different" music check out the rest of Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.

03. Sea Wolf - Black Dirt - Another song that seems to have many different phrases to it. I first heard this on the listening station at Vinyl Fever and bought the album Leaves in the River fifteen minutes later. This is just sensible indie pop with catchy hooks. I made the mistake of listening to it as I set up my classroom one morning, and was singing it for the rest of the day.

04. Feist - Sea Lion Woman - Don't get me wrong, I love Feist's first album, Let It Die, for all of its jazzy acoustic goodness, but she has really found her groove on her latest album The Reminder. This is my favorite track off the album even though I thought the mantra in the song was "see the light" and not "sea lion" for months.

05. Voxtrot - Kid Gloves - Voxtrot got some pretty bad reviews for their first full-length, self-titled album. Not because it was bad, but because it wasn't as amazing as their three self released eps. The hype was too much for this baby. I thought the album was actually a lot more solid and fluid than the eps, but what do I know? This is the track to listen to off the album. It combines emo sensibilities with piano licks and jangly indie rock guitar. Great songs.

06. Islands - Swans (Life After Death) - I've included this song not necessarilly because I even like Islands all that much, but because it is an excellent subway riding tune. It's one of those songs that seems to keep up with the train and blend its sounds into the the music. It is also another song with extreme phrasing. I'm going to have to try that out here when I start recording again.

07. Desparecidos - Greater Omaha - Desparecidos combines my love for Bright Eyes with my love for loud obnoxious punk rock. This album, Read Music/Speak Spanish, simply rocks from start to finish. I wish the Desparecidos would do another album or a tour or something, but they unfortunately are not.

08. Coldplay - 42 - I know I've already pushed the new Coldplay album, but you've got to give this song another listen. Yet another song with sweeping phrases on the list, 42 sums up the new Coldplay rather well. It starts off with a great beat, typical Coldplay chords and lyrics, then launches into a rollicking instrumental of a midsection. The ending is a gang vocal party followed by typical Coldplay falsetto and piano minimalism. Perfect.

09. The Postal Service - Recycled Air - I picked this song from an album of great songs, Give Up. Another band that will unfortunately not be recording again, or so they say. This is the pick of the litter because the imagery in the lyrics is just so phenomenal. See for yourself.

10. Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker - I know, I know. This album was not at all what Rilo Kiley fans were expecting. But Under the Blacklight seriously grew on me after I gave it the chance. The Moneymaker drops a great bass line, and I love the soul in Jenny Lewis' vocals. Give this album another chance, you won't regret it.

11. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Mostly Waiving - I first checked out Emily Haines and Metric because Andrew Burgess told me I had to. I'm glad I did. This is my favorite song off of the Emily Haines album, but if you really want a treat, check out her their EP and the remix of this track. It's pretty spectacular.

12. India.Arie - The Heart of the Matter - A break from the rest of this list. I have always really like India.Arie, and heard this cover on the Sex and the City Soundtrack. We played it on the overhead at Borders over and over and over. My wife plays it over and over. It's a great cover. Does the song justice.

13. Whiskeytown - Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart - This is the song that turned me on to alt-country. I wish I could write music like Ryan Adams. The lyrics and the instrumentation of this song are so self depricating you just want to twang along and shed a tear. This is as close to emo as country music gets. I love it.

14. Denison Witmer - Castle and Cathedral - Denison Witmer has a quiet way to say big things. This is just one of the many great tracks from Are You A Dreamer?. I'd pick up that album if I were you. For a great alternative verison of this song, check out Denison Witmer featuring Rosie Thomas.

15. Iron and Wine - Resurrection Fern - Lastly, Iron and Wine wraps up the mix. I had the pleasure of seeing Sam Beam perform with his band earlier this year. Iron and Wine is one of the artists I needed to cross off of my "must see this band live" list. Even though he is originally from Tallahassee and plays there at least once a year, I never managed to catch him until this year. The show was pretty amazizng. A bit more jam-bandish than his recorded material, but good all the same. This is my favorite track off of The Shepherd's Dog. The imagery in the lyrics, like most Iron and Wine songs, tell a vivid story. This probably has something to do with Beam's background as a film professor at Florida State.

I hope you enjoy my selections for the month. Let me know if there's anything I must absolutely hear. I'll start working on next month's list.