4. Rise Against – Worth Dying For (169)

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Set me off like dynamite strapped tight around my waist
We are the ones in competition but claim this ain’t no race
Take a breath and explode like bullets tearing through the wind
Cut me up with a razor blade that tries to separate the skin

this was one of those songs that was on the set of 4 mix tapes that my boy made me about 2 months into dating; he’s introduced me to a lot of music, and i’ve introduced him to a lot of music. We’ve shared our tastes quite a bit – and we both have similar views about downloading and have massive CD collections which, if we move in together, will become one massive shrine. We’ve already stopped buying duplicates. Continue reading 4. Rise Against – Worth Dying For (169)

The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow

Posted on by bekswhoknits

The second album from The Shins was always going to have a lot to live up to after ‘oh inverted world’ but the characteristics that made that album so complete and wonderful are still all here.
James Mercer’s impossibly complex lyrics with their shoe gazing style of pop make this a good listen.
And upon a second, third, fourth, listen it will work its way into your heart.
It has become a comfort album of sorts for me – an album that I can come back to, no matter how I’m feeling, and it will reinforce my feelings.
From melancholy to uplifting to a sense of calmness – this album can make me feel so much and for that, I love it.

It’s full of a quiet, poppy, indie, shoegazing sound which can be incredibly catchy. So Says I, Pink Bullets, and Saint Simon and favourites.

If you love the shins you’ll love this.
If you don’t yet love the shins – watch garden state.
As they say – this song (new slang – and the shins) will change your life

1. Children Collide – Say You’re Wrong (262)

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Coming in at number 1 with a whopping 262 playcounts…
“i’ve locked myself inside my head until you’ve gone away”

This was the first children collide song i ever heard and i still frickin love it.
Continue reading 1. Children Collide – Say You’re Wrong (262)

i love my lists

Posted on by bekswhoknits

there’s nothing i love more than a list – except perhaps an automatically generated list.
The smarts at apple have provided me with an automatic playlist to fall back on since i got my first ipod (poodle) at 18…
Since then i’ve had to reset the play counts a couple of times due to computer failures, iTune upgrades gone wrong once or twice… But i haven’t had to do that for a good couple of years so most of the top 20 are well and truly in the 200+ plays column.
What surprised me about this list is the same artists popping up… Muse, Birds of Tokyo, Rise Against, Zero 7… I would count myself as a muse fan from way back – but zero 7 is a sunday morning / going to sleep album – Rise Against is a running album – Birds of Tokyo got hershed when i last went travelling (i had just seen them live and was reliving it over and over again)
Also there’s 5 songs that i haven’t even listened to in the last month…
I can’t see those top 2 songs getting knocked off any time soon…

The top 20 Most Played Songs on my iPoodle… Continue reading i love my lists

album reviews – the avalanches & the shortwave set

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in my ongoing struggle to support my CD buying addiction i’ve turned to writing reviews in exchange for CDWow vouchers…

The Avalanches – Since You’ve Been Gone
I first listened to this album when the hype around ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’ was palpable. It’s a great song on its own but to fully appreciate the thought behind it you need to listen to the album from start to finish.
It takes you on a journey through someone elses world. If i had to compare it to anything, it’s similar to ‘the eels – daisies of the galaxy’ in that it tells you a complete story. But the way it tells you it’s story is what makes it so special, and is one of the reasons why it was recently voted number one album of the 00’s on inthemix.com.

I love to listen to this album from start to finish whilst soaking in the sunshine and just relaxing.
It truly is a wonderful album that can be listened to over and over again…

The Shortwave Set – The Debt Collection
A brilliant debut album from an indie collective. If you’re a fan of Broken Social Scene or The New Pornographers definitely check this out.

Songs like “Is It Any Wonder?” show their poppy catchy side whereas “Better Than Bad” takes a country hook and will keep you singing all day.

They take sampled hooks, tie them with soft vocals, put a bow on them with catchy lyrics and create a listening experience rather than individual songs. A wonderful debut which was followed up by the fantastic Replica Sun Machine.
If you want to hear what came before “No Social” and “Glitches and Bugs” this album will give you the answer you’re looking for…

summer playlist – a work in progress

Posted on by bekswhoknits

I’m having trouble coming up with my summer playlist this year…

Last year it was easy – I had bought a lot of EPs at gigs, was listening to a lot of community radio, going out a lot to ‘one-song’ bands (you know where you hear one song and want to check out what they have to say but they don’t have an album yet)…

This year I feel like ive been suckered into the commercial world – I’ve been to a lot more ‘big’ ($50+) gigs (them crooked vultures, brand new, dead weather, spoon, silversun pickups, new pornographers, ACDC) add in festivals (southbound, laneway, big day out, soundwave, futuremusic, on the bright side), a few small aussie acts (messhall, whitley, gyroscope, sugar army)… a lot of my CD money has been going on back-catalogueing and matching my digital library to my physical one… (my last 10 CD purchases – The Shins (Chutes Too Narrow) – The Rapture (Out of the Races) – Shortwave Set (Debt Collection) – Sparkleshorse (Vivadixiesubmarinetransmission) – Wavves (Wavves) – The Avalanches (Since I Left You) – The National (National) – Presidents of the United States of America (Presidents of the USA) – Tom Jones (What’s New Pussycat) – AFI (Sing the Sorrow)… there’s nothing there that was released this year… )

Ok so I spent a lot of money on music this year (should I try and remember which band shirts I bought this year?? Hmm… placebo, sspu, them crooked vultures, spoon, future of the left- and of course a stubbie holder from each festival I could) I still regret that they had sold out of Decemberist’s hoodies at BDO…

But I still feel like it was all pretty much commercial music – when I already have the EP, or even recognised the WAM Song of the Year winner, I knew that something had gone wrong this year…

So to get back on track I think it’s time to catalogue the southbound and laneway lineups… and I think from there I’ll get a pretty good summer playlist… also I might listen to the radio a bit more this week…
I think that’ll be a start…

if it turns out i’m not blogging into thin air – any summer playlist suggestions can go in the comments…

what a beautiful day…

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What a beautiful face
I have found in this place
That is circling all round the sun
What a beautiful dream
That could flash on the screen
In a blink of an eye and be gone from me
Soft and sweet
Let me hold it close and keep it here with me, me

the perfect day for listening to neutral milk hotel was actually Saturday night – in a campsite in the middle of nowhere National Park with my number one love of my life, my boyfriend J – but i hadn’t started blogging again then so it will have to do now…

i’m still lost as to the purpose of this blog – i love the concept of fashion blogging but there’s only so many ways to wear a work uniform – i love music, but was never talented enough to produce it, nor well educated enough to write about anything except what i loved – i love technology but fail to understand the underlying concepts – i love watching sports but not playing them which renders most opinions invalid to the sports lovers – i love to sit down and read a book but never high literature – i am a lover of many things and a master of none of them….

one of my many nicknames is sparkles and my sparkles-ness is what makes me, me.
im still not sure why i was dubbed sparkles – the best i’ve been told is because that’s what i do, i sparkle…  i suppose like sparkling wine – it’s the sparkles that make it something fizzy and delicious…

the highlight of my day was cycling down to the river, with half a packet of strawberries and cream lollies, half a bottle of passion-pop in a sports bottle (oh so classy), a maggie alderson novel, and a picnic blanket. i recycled an old white dress with a lace detail over a new pair of grey shorts with a grey belt from a different pair of shorts. an awesome bulky pink necklace and a bow in my hair…
pics aren’t great – but they capture the mood, the blue sky, and the stillness of the river…

 

monday afternoon laziness