look what i got in the mail

yes, i've got friends in high places. :) it came with lisa germano's latest, 'magic neighbor' too. haven't listened to it yet - think it deserves full attention.

i hear there's a new cocorosie album in the making.. but i'm not too sure what the whole situation is - please enlighten me if you know more. :)

cocorosie / milkman

*

[myspace]

monday is the worst day of the week, part. 2

mgmt / kids

and while you're at it, watch the folks from breakfast at sulimay's talk about the song & video. 'this offends 2 senses' - hahaha.

*

[mgmt]

[oracular spectacular]

everything i love gets lost in drawers

[photo sasha nikitin]

*

wintersleep / dead letter (and the infinite yes)

tegan & sara / downtown

the walkmen / new country

the national / slow show

jenn grant / dreamer

electrelane / to the east

dan mangan / robots

mates of state / california (phantom planet)

*

put these songs together when i came back from england a couple of months ago. about longing and.. longing? do enjoy. :)

*

[wintersleep] [t&s] [the walkmen] [the national] [jenn grant] [electrelane] [dan mangan] [mates of state]

magic is might

alright. i'm going to be really geeky for a bit. i figured, sunday is geeky enough so it's now or never.. i'm going to tell you about wizard rock.

yes.
what the hell is wizard rock, you ask? well, wizard rock is a musical genre inspired by the harry potter books/movies/world whatever. now, for all of you non-magical folks.... what-are-you-waiting-for?!? go and grab the books, damnit! i know, the hype is annoying. the movies are sorta boring. the acting could be way better. right. i know all of that. that being said, the books will make you feel all warm inside - better than cupcakes, better than kittens. you will cry and laugh, swear, get angry and you will love it. believe me, i've been there. :)

anyway, back on topic. most wizard rock bands write songs from the point of view of a given character, dress up on stage and act like teenagers and it's all really funny. :)

ginny & the heartbreakers / volde-who?

ginny & the heartbreakers / harry got naked

the parselmouths / what kind of name is hermione?

draco & the malfoys / my dad is rich

you got my favorite songs here. :) they're kind of... catchy.

ginny is harry's on & off sweetheart, ron's sister, hermione's friend so she's like... the coolest kid around. (or the opposite depending on where your loyalty lies, i guess) i partially named my ipod after her so here you go. (geeky, uh?) voldemort is the bad guy. 'harry got naked' is a reference to daniel radcliffe's nude scene in the play equus. never fails to make me laugh, mwahaha.
a parselmouth is someone who can speak parseltongue, ie can talk to snakes. so you know this band is gonna be quite mouthy and nasty. that song is absolutely hilarious!
draco malfoy is a spoiled kid from one of the oldest wizard families and harry's best enemy - that song is spot on, fits draco really well.

and you know what, my timing is actually really good! cos w-rock will be in the spotlight this week with the beginning of the wizard rock 4 equality rally - it's an international event bringing bands together in order to fight for equal rights and marriage equality in maine, usa. with support from actress evanna lynch. totally awesome. more details here. :)

[ginny & the heartbreakers]

[the parselmouths]

[draco & the malfoys]

[more about harry & co]

i wish you'd care

i don't feel bad about letting you go, i just feel sad about letting you know

billy bragg / a new england

*

[site]

[mermaid avenue]

Florence & The Machine @ Glastonbury 2009

Between Two Lungs

Hurricane Drunk

Kiss With A Fist

My Boy Builds Coffins

The Girl With One Eye

Howl

The Drumming Song

Dog Days Are Over

Cosmic Love

If I Had A Heart (Fever Ray)

Blinding

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

You've Got The Love

you better run!

and my heart stood still

ellie greenwich / you don't know

ellie greenwich / baby

*

the ronettes / be my baby (live @ sha na na show)*

*

blondie / out in the streets (the shangri-las)

spend a bit of time listening to 60's pop music, especially the girl groups from the early years, and you will come across a few names : phil spector, carole king, gerry goffin, jeff barry, ellie greenwich all worked together to shape the decade and open the door to the british invasion. i don't know about you but when i'm learning about something new, i'm always trying to focus on a few particular points and grow from that. start with the basics, right?
my journey was something like : i loved the supremes, then i got into the shangri-las, from there got a copy of the One Kiss Lead To Another compilation and started obsessing - which tends to happen a lot when i come across cool music like that anyway. i ended up getting a bit of a musical crush on jeff barry & ellie greenwich - they made the coolest tunes with the coolest bands, as simple as that.
later in the 70's and after her divorce to barry, ellie greenwich went on to record 2 albums, also singing background vocals for dusty springfield, bobby darin and frank sinatra while writing songs for blondie and cyndi lauper.
to make a long story short, ellie greenwich is one of the most gifted songwriters you will ever come across and because she passed away a couple of months ago, i thought she deserved a shout out. i'm so grateful and this is a bit of a thank you, i guess - thank you for the music and thank you for the dreams. :)

i was young, it was exciting, and i cried when i heard my songs on the radio. but i don't think it was until many years later, when i saw how the songs have lived on, that i really understood. when i hear 'be my baby' now, when i hear that boom! ch-chik! boom! intro, i get goosebumps. i really do.

great interviews here and here.

*this is a very late recording (probably around 1980) and it's actually Ronnie Spector & the Ronettes, ie not the original line up. Video can be found here. Ronnie Spector looking mighty good!