bullfighter jacket

can't get enough of this poppy tune. seriously. how can you not dig these lines: "you've got your bullfighter's jacket on, with nothing beneath. i had to take my mask off to kiss you in the street"? for me, there's nothing like bizarre love songs.

(every semester i assign my students the task of writing a bizzare/odd love poem. it's a great way to get them using more interesting metaphors. as in, no you cannot describe someone's eyes as being like the sky. unless it's another planet's sky? then maybe.)

crash years

the new pornographers put me in mind of ithaca--: of the greenery & gorges of a central new york spring (closely followed by the heatwaving lushness of summer). of bars in may & meeting Z for the first time. of rocking out in my car along cayuga lake. of making garland after coffee filter garland for our wedding. so last week, in celebration of our third anniversary, i gifted Z the crash years. & we've been listening on repeat (across continents) to its guitarshine sweetness. i have to say: what a kicking goodbye soundtrack. what a welcoming hello hello.

(p.s. we finally got our wedding photos. & oh my!)

pop couplets

here's a sugar-poppy tune for you this sunny bank holiday (in england)--i've been listening to it quite a bit since reading this article. who knew lily allen & poetry would end up in the same space?!

sexy covers

a sexy (& sinister) clash cover for you this brilliant monday.

big echo

what with this weekend's newly sprung-forward light*, i thought i'd kick the week off on a slow & sweet note. something about the dreamy quality of the morning benders' new album tells me it will be a summer driving staple. i love the sound of this track's laid-back guitar lines/vocals mixed with the movie-love-scene orchestral swells--it makes me think equally of beaches & waltzing. a little bit beatles, a little bit buddy holly, a little nostalgia-inducing--all in good measures.

*daylight savings just happened here. oh england.

bright & kitschy

this morning london is bustling & unusually sunny. in honor of this, i thought i'd start the week off with something a little sugary & british--a retro-cute new song/video by kate nash. i love the idea of listening to this while driving into work with the windows down. happy monday!

beware the ide(a)s of march

oh middle of the month, how did you get here so fast?!! i thought i'd start off the week with a little monday morning jam. Z & i are pretty obsessed with thao & the get down stay down (the fake-out slow part of our first wedding dance was to their cover of you've really got a hold on me). it's some of the best cheer-up music on the block & makes me think of spring spring spring.

swinging into your week

happy first day of march! the sun is warming up london & february has finally been shed for another year. what a relief. here's a tune to get your week started on a swinging note. kitty, daisy & lewis (siblings) are a band from north london whose music rolls on the rockabilly sounds of 1950s pop. it makes me want to grab Z & lindyhop away.

charlotte, meet beck

this is a truly fantastic collaboration. sultry french + creepster folk = perfection. the video, produced by keith schofield, was composed by recreating snapshots from 50 different music videos. so strange & cool. i know it's been making the rounds, but it's worth posting again.

have love, will travel

this morning we are off!! i love traveling by train (not to mention just being in the stations!). there is something romantic about the old-school-travel feel of it--the startling & rushed scenes outside the windows, the boatlike sway of the cars (without the seasickness), the bulleting speed along click-clacking tracks. everything seems possible (including writing, which usually i am stubborn about only doing at my own desk). the sad-happy part is that the trip is just a little over two hours.

throughout the week i'll be posting about our parisian adventurings (as long as the internets hold up). and in the meantime, since travel & love are two things i get all hot & bothered about, i thought i'd start your week with a kick-ass tune. happy monday!

spektor expectations

everybody has one or two things that they prioritize in their budget no matter what. something that makes them feel their lives are more carbonated, more filled-up with light. for me, one of those things is music. i am a certified junky. i feel emotionally flat without it. so when we first moved to london (knowing we'd be living on a thin slice of a budget in a notoriously money-sucking city) we advance purchased tickets to a few concerts. that way, when the time came we wouldn't have to find the cashes to go. (we know ourselves so well). so today we are hitting the rails to birmingham to see this kickass lady perform. and i can't wait. shizam!

hanging onto the vine

this tune was inspired by a 1964 magazine ad that claimed hunt's ketchup was a better brand because they urged their tomatoes not to despair, to hang onto the vine a little longer, to wait until they were absolutely ripe. my sister has called me little tomatoe forever (as seen in the last post's comments, and yes with an 'e'). this has become a running joke in my family because Z hates tomatoes with a passion.

i'm taking the rest of today and tomorrow off from the land of blog but i'll be back this weekend, so don't go away. happy thanksgiving statesiders! and happy thursday to the rest of you!

pirated hearts!

last night we saw coeur de pirate at the luminaire. it was fantastic and small and the sound was clear and pianoed. it was romantic and it cheered us up after a gloomy wednesday. i first heard coeur de pirate on myspace and since a full album wasn't out yet, i would leave the page open and listen on repeat. then, last march, a blogging father posted a time-lapse video of his son playing in the dining room and he chose the song ensemble for the soundtrack. and it just happened to be viewed over 800,000 on youtube (do you remember when this clip was all the rage?!). this chance event launched béatrice martin far outside the ears of montreal. so far out that last night she was in london singing her sweet and sad and cheeky tunes. and it was phenomenal. her album is the perfect background for writing. or wistful-ing. or cooking. or pretty much anything.

and when we got home, after months of waiting, i found out that i won a small grant for traveling and writing!!

the world is in a crazy hazy hue

i can't help myself. i heard this song the other day and i can't stop listening (or making the funny chorus sounds). it's a lot more treacly than my usual taste in music--but somehow i really dig the whole nancy sinatra meets bjiork meets sugar-pop hipster. it's killer for getting in a good cleaning. hello much less dusty flat! and, it's the perfect i'm finally feeling better music. things are looking up--last night's bonfiring was a blast and Z's parents are flying in sunday. many rocktastic things. so, here's to health and a happy friday to you all!




(p.s. go and check out who commented on my last post. how f-ing cool?!).

you've got me running

this morning we are running off to the national portrait gallery for some more research. i thought i'd leave you with this little clip of ryan gosling's band, dead man's bones, doing a killer-creepy song. i love the children chorusing in their strange costumes/masks.