Support the Official ReleaseYou can listen to Carpenters’ self-titled 1971 release on:
Or purchase the LP on:
Notes Carpenters’ discography up to their self-titled: + 1969’s Ticket to Ride + 1970’s Close to You * Carpenters’ Christmas Portrait, which we discussed at length in Episode 18. * Eagles’ Desperado, which Michael wrote on at length here. * The Beatles’ self-titled, most commonly referred to as simply The White Album. Marc mused off-hand that Carpenters’ strikingly simple album art reminded him of The White Album’s cover art. * Craig Braun—credited for the design of Carpenters’ iconic typographic logo—is most well known for his work on the The Rolling Stones’ “Tongue and Lips” logo. * Michael mused that Carpenters’ logo reminded him of Lucasfilm’s logo, which similarly showcases typographic symmetry. * Richard’s ridiculous shirt in the LP’s gatefold. * Despite his love of the record, Michael said Lord Huron’s Strange Trails sometimes drags (mentioned when noting how brisk and easy Carpenters is for any given listen). Listen to Episode 2 for a full deep-dive. * John Bettis, who shares in songwriting credit with Richard throughout the album. * Gerry Rafferdy, Randy Newman, and Devendra Banhart to Marc’s ears all had similar inflections or delivery to Richard. * Paul Williams and his original performance of “Rainy Days and Mondays”, which caught Michael’s ire since to his ears Paul’s delivery had an unusual cadence and timing that failed to properly match the backing instrumental. * The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. Fun song, terrible anchor for a Jimmy Buffett concert. * Lord Huron’s Vide Noir & Tame Impala’s Lonerism Michael felt both rode the fine line of being almost too over-baked, but were able to stick the landing and make it work. * “Groupie (Superstar)” by Delaney & Bonnie, which while performed adequately, Marc & Michael both felt didn’t capture the track’s core essence like Carpenters did. * “Superstar”’s backing instrumentals were performed by none other than the Wrecking Crew, famous collection of studio musicians who performed for the likes of Sonny & Cher, The Mamas & The Papas, and of course the Beach Boys on Pet Sounds. * Don’t lie, you love that scene from Tommy Boy, too. * Abbey Road’s Side 2 Medley, arguably the most well known rock medley in history. * Lonesome Dove, the miniseries Michael mentioned on the show and has been trying to get me to watch for years. * The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle, which Marc felt “Druscilla Penny” could slip right into. * Henry Menchini, highly regarded as one of the greatest film composers in history. * Go home, Apple Music, you’re drunk. * 1970’s Lovers and Other Strangers, featuring the original recording of “For All We Know” by Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin. * Michael found Fighting Shadows by Jefferson Bethke and Jon Tyson to share similar themes in its use of “shadows” as Randy Sparks’ use in “(A Place To) Hide Away”. * In “For All We Know”, Michael found it shared some lyrical connections with Fleet Foxes’ “Montezuma”. * Lord Huron’s Lonesome Dreams*, a record Michael similarly finds to be extremely familiar, comforting, and extremely easy to listen to start to finish.
References Karen’s performance on “Superstar” was recorded in a single take: the first one. * The Wrecking Crew getting their name from the grey hairs at the company that felt “Rock ‘n Roll” would ruin the industry. * Carpenters were indeed the first to record Sometimes. The instrumental recording Michael referenced was released in 1972, a year after Carpenters’ performance on their self-titled. * “Sunday Firesides: Be Someone’s Atmospheric Getaway” on Dying Breed, which Michael said exactly described the way Carpenters makes him feel; Carpenters* is an emotionally warm sonic getaway.
“What are you telling your partner? Well as far as I can tell if you live with someone [prior to the commitment of marriage] here’s what you’re saying to each other: ‘you’re the best I can manage at the moment’.”
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson in “Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Live With Your Significant Other Before Marriage”
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Support the Official ReleaseYou can listen to Jimmy Buffett’s Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes on:
Or purchase Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes on:
Links Michael’s writeup on Jimmy Buffett’s A1A mentioned during the show. * Kenny Chesney, the other artist that was on heavy rotation during family vacations while growing up. * Only you can stop ruining songs by mindlessly repeating them: + “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, among the heaviest played Journey tracks and one which Michael famously detests as a result. + “Yesterday” by The Beatles, among the heaviest played Beatles tracks and one which Marc famously detests as a result. * Steve Goodman’s “Banana Republics” * Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography A Pirate Looks at Fifty, which Michael references throughout the episode. * “Johnathan Baham, songwriter of Lovely Cruise”, the BuffettNews.com forum discussion of the mysterious songwriter mentioned on the show. * “In the Shelter”’s many appearances + 1971’s High Cumberland Jubilee + 1977’s Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes + 2003’s Meet Me in Margaritaville* * Jesse Winchester’s “Biloxi” * The Toledo Blade front-page interview with Fingers Taylor on his departure from the band.
References
“Key West is like an old dirty carpet; you shake it out and everything falls to the bottom. Everybody from the whole East Coast wound up at the end of the road in Key West at one point or another.”
Jimmy Buffett quoting friend P.J. O’Rourke in the Delaney “I Have Found Me A Home” video interviews“The pavement runs out at the little village of Tambor, and we stop for cold drinks. Where the pavement ends and the dust begins is also the place where the time warp takes over. It has been only two days since we were opening Christmas presents in Palm Beach, but now we are bouncing along a dirt road in another world. When you are traveling on a trip like this in the right frame of mind, time and space will change. Things that seemed absolutely necessary two days ago slip from your mind. You find yourself looking out the window of the plane, boat, or car and daydreaming about going native. Time becomes something to be used, not saved. Many years ago, when I first experienced this feeling, I wrote a song about it called ‘Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes.’ It worked then, and it’s working now, as we drive west to the ocean in the land of pura vida.”
Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Fifty“As we drive to the airport the next morning [in Guadeloupe], we talk about the sentimentality we both seem to hold about the places we came from. Kino is a world traveler, but he is still attached to his roots in Guadeloupe. That kind of connection to the land is also a very Southern trait. I too move around the globe in an almost constant state of motion, but when I think of home, I think about Pascagoula and the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, not Long Island or Florida. Home is where you come from. It is not where you live at the present time, and though I doubt I will ever live in Alabama again, I will always think of it as home.”
Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography, A Pirate Looks at FiftyTaylor is proud of the musical achievements of Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, particularly the first three albums, but he feels that somewhere along the line their leader became more interested in making money and using gimmicks onstage than in making quality music.
“We had a lot of fun, but we were always negotiating for more money and of course he’s never been one to let go of that stuff,” Taylor said. “I had some issues with him over money and a retirement fund, which we never had, although he did put a little something together for us eventually.”
The concerts began to lose their appeal for Taylor.
“It had all gotten to be a rote deal. The same old crap, the same show biz stuff, dancing girls and exploding props, this that and the other. I was tired of that. He’s a big-time businessman now and I think that’s what he really enjoys the most. Music is secondary. And music has always been the most important thing to me.”
Fingers Taylor in his interview with the Toledo Blade“Life is a journey that’s measured not in miles or years but in experiences, and the route your life takes is built not of roads but of songs. How far is it from Key West to Miami? To some it is 147 miles. To me, it is about eleven songs.”
Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Fifty
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Support the Official ReleaseYou can listen to Band of Horses’ Infinite Arms on:
Or purchase Infinite Arms on:
Links Marvis Pro, the iOS music player Michael mentioned using to see his play counts. * Vacationer’s Relief, the only album that came close to Infinite Arms’s play count number in Michael’s library. You can read Michael’s previous review on the record here. * Michael mentioned having a Fracture print of Infinite Arms, which is a picture printed directly on glass for a minimal, sleek presentation. This is his current collection. * Sun Kil Moon’s Benji, the album Marc claimed to be a perfect foil to the easily digestible and repeatable Infinite Arms. You can listen to our previous discussion on the record in Episode 8. * Band of Horses’ new lineup during Infinite Arms, and would remain unchanged for years—the first “true” Band of Horses lineup: + Benjamin Bridwell + Creighton Barret + Ryan Monroe + Bill Reynolds + Tyler Ramsey * The star at the center of the pivot point in the album art is Polaris (more commonly known as the “North Star”). The star seems to stand still in long exposure photography while the rest of the northern hemisphere stars spin around it due to the North Star being in a (mostly) direct line with the Earth’s rotational axis with respect to the North Pole. * Christopher Wilson, the Photographer for Infinite Arms’s cover art and all the band’s album art up to that point. (information courtesy of the Albums app on iOS). * Michael’s insane graph of “vibrancy”/”energy” by track number * Infinite Arms was nominated for “Best Alternative Music Album” for the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011, the same year Arcade Fire famously secured Album of the Year with The Suburbs. You can read Marc’s thoughts on The Suburbs here. * Marc found “Factory” to share similarities with Paul McCartney and Wings’s “Let Me Roll It” off 1973’s Band on the Run and Vacationer’s “Turning” off 2018’s Mindset. You can read Marc’s review of Band on the Run here or listen to our discussion on Mindset in Episode 14. * “Factory” utilizes both a Memotron and Theremin. The Theremin also appeared in Lord Huron’s “Love Like Ghosts” & “Way Out There” off 2015’s Strange Trails, and you can listen to our previous discussion on that record in Episode 2. * Michael’s writeup on Jimmy Buffett’s A1A mentioned during the show can be found here, the finest publication on the site thus far. * The Last Bison’s Quill, a record Michael felt was similar to “Compliments” since they both are high in character and charm in large part because of their imperfections. * Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House, the record Marc felt similarly leaned into “everything & the kitchen sink” production. * Eagles, a classic rock band Michael could very easily see playing “Laredo” * ChrisCorradi’s comment on the “bullet in my Kai Lorenzo” lyric on genius.com * “Band Of Horses Survived… Barely”, The SPIN interview Marc mentioned where Ben touches on his then-recent separation with his spouse. * “Grumpy Old Men” (the 1993 film) and “Old City Bar” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra both evoked similar feelings and visuals in Michael as “Blue Beard”. * The Explorer’s Club, a classic rock & roll and classic pop-influenced band that Marc found strikingly similar to Band of Horses’ experiments in “Blue Beard” and “Dilly”. * “I need more cowbell!” * Long in the Tooth and Repo Records referenced in the show are Marc’s favorite record haunts in the Philly area. Support your local music stores! * Marc kept saying “Dilly” was very “70’s” but meant to say “60’s” (oops). * Ludo’s “Good Will Hunting by Myself”, the song Michael mentioned takes the stereotypical “I’m better off without you, anyway” attitude from pop breakup songs and cranks it up to a comical extreme. * Admiral Fallow, the band Michael mentioned was also sometimes similarly “rough” in vocal delivery like in “Evening Kitchen” and also works because of those edges. * Arcade Fire’s “We Used To Wait”—which explicitly and intentionally makes the audience “wait” for a final chorus that never again returns—Michael cheekily claimed to be the antithesis to the infinitely repeating chorus in “Older”. * “Basement Shows” (also known as “House Shows”), a staple of Philadelphia college life. * “Are You My Neightbor?”, a deep cut Marc made to the classic VeggieTales episode. Yes, this was a real thing. * Grizzly Bear’s “Colorado”, a song Marc found just as boring as “Neighbor”. Yes Michael, I will* put it down there. * The Arcade Fire lyric Marc was flopping around trying to remember is “Took a drive into the sprawl / To find the house where we used to stay”, where their usage of “house” instead of “home” is meant to communicate emotional distance and lack of attachment to the physical place they grew up. * Please use a good podcast player! * Rooibos tea is best tea. * Premium Steap and August Tea are incredible tea suppliers and are “Marc & Michael Approved”. Don’t just drink Lipton and say our tea tastes like soap, anonymous coworker of Michael’s.
ReferencesListed in order of reference on the show.
“We actually started with a tonne of songs—about twenty-five or so—so we didn’t even know which ones would make it, or which ones were good or bad really. So you don’t really know until you’re recording them, because we weren’t really playing a lot of them live, so once they’re recorded you’re like, ‘Okay, this actually sounds like a real song, and this one sounds like a joke’—we’re just taking the piss out of some soul song or something, you know? So we kinda learned as we went, like, ‘Oh wow, is what the record sounds like’.”
“Band Of Horses Interview”, CLASH“‘We have this time off before we gotta go back out on the road again—let’s just go do it ourselves. We’ll get another engineer… We think we know what the songs sound like—let’s just go for it’. And so we were like, “This is actually really fun”. That’s when we really discovered we don’t have to beat each other up on this, we can just have fun with it and enjoy the process.”
“Band Of Horses Interview”, CLASH“I did stretch myself pretty much to being broke, at the same time we didn’t have to worry about anybody even coming in and hearing mixes or anything, we could really take our time with it.”
“Band Of Horses Interview”, CLASH“It’s the first time the line-up hasn’t been this revolving door. With this record it’s a real band that I’m part of. No one’s going anywhere, everyone’s contributing to the songwriting process and this is our coming-out party.”
“Band of Horses: Infinite Arms Q&A with Ben Bridwell, Uncut Magazine (archive)”“… But that’s the best part about it—the fact that it is a mystery. People get the lyrics wrong—I do that all the time with my favorite songs. You read the lyrics five years later, or hear it differently, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I always kinda sang something to that effect when I was singing along, but I didn’t really realize what they were talking about’, you know? In a way it’s like little hints come around and the mystery kinda reveals itself, but the fact that people don’t really know is my favorite part, because that’s what I appreciate about songs as well.”
“Band Of Horses Interview”, CLASH[With Regards to “Factory”] “I was listening to a lot of Nick Drake and was really enamored by the string arrangements in his songs. Also, I was trying to make it a bit dramatic sounding in a Bittersweet Symphony kinda way.”
“Track-byTrack: Band of Horses’ Infinite Arms”, THE SKINNY“I was actually out writing songs for the new record, and I had some crazy stuff going on. That song just kind of ended up tapping me on the shoulder. Even though some of it is a bit maybe too autobiographical for my own tastes, a lot of it dances around subjects like all my songs do. I try not to be too specific.”
“Infinite Arms: A conversation with Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell”, Mike Ragogna of HuffPost Entertainment“We got to the point where we were touring so much that nowhere was really home. So I figured, at least if I’m gonna come home after these long stretches of traveling, it would nice to be around my family; my parents, and my brother and sister are having babies. So it was like, when I come home, at least I’m close enough so I get to see them at least twice a year compared to like maybe once a year.”
“Band Of Horses Interview”, CLASH“This song [‘Infinite Arms’] deals a lot with the major theme of the record, and being the title track that’s maybe a little obvious, but this is one I’m not quite ready to unveil the mask on. But I can tell you that it almost didn’t make the record.”
“Track-byTrack: Band of Horses’ Infinite Arms”, THE SKINNY“We went bonkers with Infinite Arms, because we could. It was a challenge to see what we could do, but we also overcooked some shit.”
“Band of Horses: Mystery Riders”, Magnet Magazine
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You can listen to Carpenters’ Christmas Portrait on:
Or purchase Christmas Portrait on:
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Our shuffle results (Spoilers!)
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You can listen to Lord Huron’s Vide Noir on:
Or purchase Vide Noir on:
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: EMERALD STAR CC SERVICESQuotes
“Balancer’s Eye” is one we created ourselves, making up our own myths as we go. We’re trying to keep it so all that stuff is still around in this world too. You’ll see things that appeared on other records, ideas or names cross over to [Vide Noir]. In movies and literature and comic books, I’ve always liked where there’s connectedness or crossover. We need someone to control the lore and keep tabs on it [laughs].
Inverview with Ben Schneider in Stereogum’s “A Look Inside The Insular World Of Lord Huron”, by Ian Cohen
SCHNEIDER: You know, I guess I haven’t had to yet, so I’m not sure, at least with “Strange Trails.” On “Lonesome Dreams” there was kind of a central character named George Ranger Johnson, who is this really underappreciated, prolific author.
BLOCK: Who you invented, yeah.
SCHNEIDER: Who I invented, yes. But he - yeah, I do kind of miss George. You know, he might pop back up again some time.
BLOCK: You haven’t seen the last of him yet?
SCHNEIDER: Haven’t seen the last of George Ranger Johnson, no.
Interview with Ben Schneider in NPR’s “Lord Huron Wants You To Dance At The Apocalypse”, by Melissa Block
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You can listen to Grizzly Bear’s Shields on:
Or purchase Shields on:
Quotes
Chris Bear and I went to Mexico for a month. It was in Baja, this cute little cheap place. There was no one around, no cell reception. We could focus on doing stuff. We wrote ten songs and were so stoked. Then we brought it to the other two guys and they were like, “We’re not understanding what you’re going for here. This isn’t really our vibe.” We were deflated. The only song from the Mexico sessions that made it was “Yet Again.”
Ed Droste, genius.com
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You can listen to Supertramp’s Breakfast In America on:
Or purchase Breakfast In America on:
Quotes
“And that’s one of the things that I really enjoyed, was that first time I’d hear him hunting for a chord change and I’d think ‘Man, he’s just gone right off the edge because he’s not ever gonna get close. He’s way out there in some area that’s just–he’ll never get back. And if he’s successful, gets out of there, people are going to say, I’ve lost my tone center, don’t know where the hell I am and stuff. And then, eventually, he’d figure out what it was he wanted to do. A lot of it was just hunting and pecking, the way some of us type.”
“Tony Asher Interview”, AlbumLinerNotes.com
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You can listen to Supertramp’s Breakfast In America on:
Or purchase Breakfast In America on:
References
Q: Was the goal going into the sessions to create the kind of record that could be that sort of huge commercial breakthrough for you?
A: Well, you know, it was no different to other albums. I was usually the one who chose the songs and tried to create the best 40-minute listening experience. With “Crime of the Century,” it was a much more introverted kind of deep. I don’t know what to call it. It was an introspective journey, maybe. And then with “Breakfast in America,” Rick (Davies), the other songwriter, we wrote separately, and I had to really look at what songs he had and he wasn’t as prolific as I was. I’ve always had 40 or 50 songs in my pocket to choose from. And so, I kind of saw what he had written and then kind of dipped into my bag and chose the songs that matched his and created the best kind of listening journey. ‘Cause that’s how I viewed it. It wasn’t, “What’s the hit on this album?” The song “Breakfast in America,” I wrote that 12 years before I chose it. But it felt like “OK, this is the collection of songs that this song might belong on.” So we included it. And obviously it was a great album title so we chose that.
Q: What was the appeal for you of leaving England for America? What brought you over?
A: I loved America as a whole but when I landed in California, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I was raised in England. I’d been in England for 23 years. And I was really a young, confused man who really needed to kind of reinvent himself. I was doing a lot of experimenting. I’d become a vegetarian. I was looking into spiritual things. And that was not in vogue in England at the time. So it was very hard for me to be either, a vegetarian or interested in spiritual things. But I landed in California and there was a health food store on every corner. It was like “Wow.” Everyone spoke my language. I just loved it. The space and the weather. For a very introverted Englishman, it was wonderful. It was very medicinal. And I kind of started to reinvent myself and reawaken sides of me that had been dormant up until that point.
“Interview: Roger Hodgson of Supertramp looks back on ‘Breakfast in America’”, azcentral
“In three days with the band, I don’t think I saw Davies and Hodgson converse once, other than to exchange courteous greetings.”
Harry Doherty in The Supertramp Book, by Martin Melhuish
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You can listen to Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy on:
Or purchase The Epic on:
Art
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You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:
Or purchase The Epic on:
Referenced Quotes
“Malcolm’s Theme”—when I was younger I got caught up in gangs and I was headed down that path. I had two things that brought me out of that, I had a cousin give me an Art Blakey mixtape and I was in this program and we read Malcolm X’s autobiography. I always wanted to give that same thing back. It had such a profound effect on me that maybe I could help someone else. If I could do something that people would look back on the message he was giving during his life, with the music.
“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture
Michael’s Track Order Volume 1: The Plan
Volume 2: The Glorious Tale
Volume 3: The Historic Repetition
Marc’s Track Order Volume 1: The Plan
Volume 2: The Glorious Tale
Volume 3: The Historic Repetition
Art
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You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:
Or purchase The Epic on:
Referenced Quotes
I also loved “Leroy and Lanisha,” it had a similar calm energy to it. For some reason it reminded me of a lullaby. Like, I had never heard it before, but it felt like I had, like someone had sang it to me, or something.
That was my homage to Charlie Brown, it was my version of “Linus and Lucy.”
That makes sense! When I was listening to it, it reminded me of the books my mom read to me when I was a kid, it felt very nostalgic.
Yeah that’s exactly what that was. I always loved Charlie Brown growing up—Vince Guaraldi, you know? I was listening to that and I started playing around with that melody.
“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture
“The Magnificent 7” is actually about a homage to a band I was playing with a lot. That was the band I started writing a lot of songs for this album with. “Henrietta Our Hero” is about my grandmother, who was a very powerful figure in my family. She was a little small woman, but she did a lot with a very little. She struggled with some mental illness and stuff like that, but even with all that, she helped my dad and all his brothers buy their first homes, she got me my first car, she got my brother his first car, she did a lot for someone who didn’t have much to work with.
“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture
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You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:
Or purchase The Epic on:
Referenced Quotes
His recent triple album, “The Epic,” is a nearly three-hour suite for a 10-piece jazz band, backed by a 32-piece orchestra and a 20-person choir.
“Kamasi Washington’s Giant Step”, The New York Times Magazine
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You can listen to Sun Kil Moon’s Benji on:
Or purchase Benji on:
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You can listen to The Explorers Club’s Grand Hotel on:
Or purchase Grand Hotel on:
The Explorers Club’s debut LP, Freedom Wind
What exactly is “music production”?
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights
“The Girl From Ipanema”
Marc’s suggested, alternative album order:
Side 1:
Side 2:
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Note: Some of the singles picked and sampled throughout the episode contain explicit lyrics and/or content.
Aimee’s Singles The mixtape
Mistakes
Marc’s Singles The road-pavers from the iTunes catacombs
Mistakes
Michael’s Singles Familiar, old favorites
Mistakes
Referenced Songs, Albums, and Artists * The J. Geils Band - “Centerfold” * Coldplay + Mylo Xyloto + Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall EP + Example electronic “stepping stone”, “Midnight” + Example experimental “stepping stone”, “Easy To Please” * Radiohead * MisterWives * LUDO + “Ode to Kevin Arnold” + “Lake Pontchartrain” * Ninja Sex Party. They’re not good. * Tommy & The High Pilots + American Riviera + Only Human
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You can find Caity Cooper at caitycooper.com. You can also find her every Thursday updating her thrilling paranormal investigation web comic, Bloodhound.
Caity’s Top 3
1st Pick: Final Fantasy X (Remastered)
2nd Pick: Mario Odyssey
3rd Pick: Night In The Woods
Honorable Mentions:
Michael’s Top 3
1st Pick: The Last of Us
2nd Pick: LittleBigPlanet
3rd Pick: Kingdom Hearts II
Honorable Mentions:
Marc’s Top 3
1st Pick: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
2nd Pick: Pokémon: Black and White
3rd Pick: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (The Twilight Symphony fan cover album)
Honorable Mentions:
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Sturgill Simpson Discography 1. High Top Mountain (2013) 2. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (2014) 3. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (2016)
Referenced Quotes
My paternal grandfather, when he was in the army in World War II — he was over in the South Pacific and he thought he was gonna die. And he wrote a letter to my grandmother and their newborn son, thinking he wasn’t gonna come home. And years later, after he was dead, and then once she’d passed, I was at her house and I just decided, “I’m gonna read this letter.” And I probably learned more about him in those few pages than I ever could have sitting in a room with him. I remember going down the road on the [tour] bus one day and thinking, “What if I could just write a letter to my kid, telling him exactly who his dad was?” Like, everything I’m going through right now, at this point in my life. It was just like, “Ok, I’m gonna go make this really pure and beautiful thing for my son and incorporate all this music that I loved, outside of and other than country or bluegrass,” which is all I’ve really had a chance to represent up until now.
NPR Interview: Sturgill Simpson Shares His “Guide To Earth”
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Look, up in the sky! It’s an EP! It’s a holiday draft! It’s BOTH!
With the fire roaring and hot cocoa piping, join the Barrowclift siblings as they go head-to-head to see who can create the best Christmas EP. Whose is the best? You decide!
Be sure to let us know which EP is your favorite! Also, what would your Christmas EP be? You can reach out on Twitter, with an email, or on badmusichertz.com’s contact form. Merry Christmas!
SPOILERS Michael’s EP Focused on capturing the “distinct sound” of Christmastime by utilizing beloved classics and instrumental pieces.
Listen to the full Youtube playlist
Marc’s EP Strived to make a cohesive, well-paced EP composed of both nostalgic favorites and new favorites alike.
Listen to the full Youtube playlist
Aimee’s EP Honored fond memories of decorating the tree when we were little with an emphasis on cozy, chill nostalgic favorites.
Listen to the full Youtube playlist
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Definitions * Reprise: “The repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition.” (Wiki) * Theme (Also called “Subject”): “A recognizable melody upon which part or all of a composition is based on.” (Wiki) * Rockabilly: “One of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South … The term ‘rockabilly’ itself is a portmanteau of ‘rock’ (from “rock ‘n’ roll”) and ‘hillbilly’, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style.” (Wiki)
Referenced Quotes “Yeah I definitely let things spin off into fiction. But, my sort of approach or philosophy has always been to begin with something that happened to me, or to someone close. There’s always something at the centre that’s from a real experience. To me that feels like the only way for the work to be true.” - AAA Backstage interview with Ben Schneider
“All the stories on the album are either about my life or the lives of people who are close to me. I look at them through a fictional lens, but they all come from stuff that’s happened to us.” - LA Music Blog interview with Ben Schneider
Marc’s Sophomore LP Categories and Examples: * Sophomore Slump 👎🏻 + Mumford & Sons - 2009’s Sigh No More → 2012’s Babel + Florence + The Machine - 2010’s Between Two Lungs → 2011’s Ceremonials * Sequelitis 😐 + Real Estate - 2011’s Days → 2014’s Atlas + Phoenix - 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix → 2013’s Bankrupt! * Transformative 👍🏻 + Fleet Foxes - 2008’s Fleet Foxes → 2011’s Helplessness Blues + Sturgill Simpson - 2014’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music → 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
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A celebration and analysis of Lord Huron’s debut LP, Lonesome Dreams.
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