February 27, 2009

Quasi//Two by Two

Being in a two person band with your ex-husband: DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!

Yes, yes, I decided we should start the weekend with a rare treat! That rare treat is Janet Weiss singing AND playing the drums, something that doesn’t happen very often at all.

I love Janet Weiss. That’s why (in addition to a very drunken phone call of Kot’s) I named my first and only shot at a record label, I AM JANET! (pardon our mess of a site--I am planning to update it, in my free time!!!).

The times I’ve gotten to see Ms. Weiss on the kit at a slew of Sleater-Kinney and Quasi shows, I’ve always been blown away. In both cases, all members of these groups more than pull their weight. That said, it’s impossible to take your eyes off of Janet, as she kicks the ass of the kit in a way I have never seen before. It is a sight to behold.

Unrelated to almost any of this: I have a pin of Janet holding a Koala bear on my leather jacket. Most people are very confused by this.

This song is a lot mellower than most SK or Quasi songs, but it’s still quite enjoyable.



Two by Two.mp3

Double Trouble: Some other bands that have double word names: Duran Duran, Man Man, Lisa Lisa, The The, The Go Gos, Taxi Taxi, Goo Goo Dolls, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Talk Talk, Frou Frou, Tom Tom Club, Was Not Was, Bow Wow Wow, Xiu Xiu, Mr. Mister,Tap Tap!


You've left at last,
I knew you could,
Leaving nothing to remember you by
Except how to be happy
And how not to care anymore.
Two by two - these things weren't meant for you.

February 26, 2009

Liquid Liquid//Optimo

Wow! Wow!
Double! Double!
Liquid! Liquid!

I believe my introduction to Liquid Liquid was on some comp. Perhaps a Rough Trade Post Punk thing, perhaps some kind of New York No Wave thing. I had kind of forgotton about their unique brand of minimalist funk until Travis put this song on the mix he made me around Christmastime.

Liquid Liquid, in addition to being a very influential early 80s NYC Avant Garde outfit, has seen its members do some pretty cool things. From Wikipedia:

Dennis Young is still active and producing music, and has been remixed by Hot Chip and Tussle. Richard McGuire is well-established graphic designer with frequent contributions to both The New Yorker magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. Salvatore Principato is active in various electronic music recording projects, as well as DJ'ing professionally around the world.



Optimo.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a character in the animated television series She-Ra: Princess of Power, a game for the 1999 FIRST Robotics competition and a Hardy Boys novel.




Double your purpose, double your pleasure?

February 25, 2009

Fugazi//Repeater

Double Trouble! REPEAT! Double Trouble!

Remember this much-beloved high school tape? Well, this song was on that tape too and I loved it immediately, although it never really influenced much further exploration into Fugazi on my part (something to remedy, perhaps?).

Ian MacKaye is something of a DC punk legend, having also been a major player in the hardcore and straight edge Minor Threat. Fugazi was majorly influential as a band on culture and music. In regards to the former, they carried punk’s banner of anti-consumerism and a diy aesthetic. In regards to the latter, they are a prime example of the highly influential “Dischord sound” (for Dischord Records) and are certainly regarded as forebears of modern art rock, indie and emo.

Yeah, Fugazi!
Say it again!
Yeah, Fugazi!



Repeater.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a 1980s teen sitcom, the 64th episode of the French animated television show, Code Lyoko and a 2008 Australia television series.




You say I need a job,
I've got my own business.
You want to know what I do?
None of your fucking business.
But now I'm lying here,
Knowing that business had a name,
But now I'm a number:
1 2 3!
Repeater!
1 2 3!
Repeater!

February 24, 2009

Blonde Redhead//In Particular

It’s it’s double double trouble trouble week!

I don’t love everything that Blonde Redhead does, but oh my god, this song is so, so worth it.

Talking about signing my name XX yesterday reminded me of this supreme jam, most probably first introduced to me by one Jill Dembowski, who deserves to be honored on this day above all days (I’ll say no more than that), through perhaps her legendary September mix? This is all speculation on my part, since this time was a hazy era of nightly over consumption of Popov vodka and cheap red wine, which seems even more apt considering this song’s fairly melancholic and slightly trashy vibe. I do clearly remember repeatedly yelling “HYSTERICAL! PARANOIAC!!!” on some wasted evening with Jill and Soma on North Campus. This definitely happened.

Yes, yes, the glory of Freshman year, spent carelessly and drunk in one particular smoke-filled dorm room, the East Quad courtyard and hand-me-down cars making trips to shows in Detroit, in the company of pretty-much exclusively art students, rc’ers and assorted queers. I will forever associate this tune with that surreal period of bohemian youth that was at once horrendously depressing and amazingly eye-opening.

A few years later, I saw Blonde Redhead open up for Sleater-Kinney in New York on the day of the first giant Iraq War protest. A lot of things had happened between then and the first time I heard the band on headphones. This dark and seductive recording cannot be beat, and nothing they did live even came close.



In Particular.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a 1958 song by Otis Rush, an album by American country music artists George Jones and Johnny Paycheck and the soundtrack to the 1967 Elvis Presley film.



Lying on my back, I heard music.
Felt unsure and catastrophic.
Had to tell myself it's only music.
It blows my mind, but it's like that.

Some place safe, I would imagine.
Someone new would be so cruel.
Incurable paranoiac, hysterical depression.

X.
X, X.
Alex, I'm your only friend.
X.
X, X.
Alex, your love will sing for you.

February 23, 2009

Motel Motel//Harlem

You might think this is a cop out, but yesterday was 2.22, and this seems like as good a reason as any to get a little themey. It’s been a while since we had a “week,” so let’s kick it. I officially declare this last week in February (the SECOND month of the year), Double Trouble Week! Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!

For those new to OSS and unfamiliar with theme weeks, you might want to check out Michigan Week, Expletive Week, Queer Week and Friends and Family Week.

Double word band names are a thing almost as much as animal band names are a thing. Wolf Wolf doesn’t exist yet though. Anybody game?

Enough with the snark. I really like this song. It’s melancholy and it’s got a hell of a piano line. Where do I sign? If I was to sign this week, would I sign my name or just XX? Hahaha. I mean, ha ha.

I found out about this band because the woman who cuts my hair is friends with their drummer. Oh, New York, you’re alright. Nothing like finding a new cool band while getting bangs. What if the woman who cuts my hair was friends with the band Bangs? I think my head just exploded.



Harlem.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a dance group from the late 1980s and early 1990s, a hip hop duo from the late 1970s South Bronx and a DJ Haze/Nu Jerzy Devil album.



She says I’m lucky,
Because I’ve always had a home
And a woman to hold me
When I get stoned.
I may feel lonely,
But I don’t know what it’s like to be alone.

February 20, 2009

Karl Sturk//The Carpenter and The Lumberjack

We're back again with
[Local! Music! Friday!]

Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays?


I feel comfortable saying that Karl Sturk is one of my very best friends. He’s a wonderful human being and is always reliable for late night runs to the local Fro-Yo joint (my standard order is regular with Oreos and raspberries...thanks, bro).

That said, please do not let my professed personal relationship diminish your opinion of this song or willingness to give this track a listen. Karl’s songwriting talent, ear for arrangement and musical ability more than speak for themselves.

Karl Sturk has been playing music for quite some time and has been involved in all kinds of different projects, from the Hardcore Drop Jaw to the Bluegrass Ambitious Brothers (with Chris Bathgate and Michael Beauchamp). Full disclosure, Karl also plays guitar in my band, Palmyra. The point is that Karl is a seasoned musician with great performance and composition chops, all very evident.

I love the intro build on this particular track, with layers and layers of guitars gradually opening up to the drums. The double-track vox work particularly well for Karl’s voice and, while the lyrical content is depressing, it’s incredibly well-crafted.



The Carpenter and The Lumberjack.mp3

Karl plays a solo acoustic show tomorrow night at The 50/50 in Brooklyn.

February 19, 2009

CocoRosie//Terrible Angels

I’ll be perfectly candid about this: I think CocoRosie is a kind of a sham. Most of the time, it just seems like they got really high, covered their faces in glitter and pushed some buttons on a those electronic toys that make animal sounds while strumming acoustic guitar and whispering inane nonsense about Santa Claus and other miscellany. Caveat: I’m down for the freak folk thing in fits and spurts, which probably has something to do with why I feel this way.

Anyway, all trash talk aside, I really do like the lofi weirdness and the bizarre lyrics of this song. It also sounds different in a way in which I can find some value.

A the height of its popularity (circa 2005) amongst a certain group of friends, it would come on a lot at low key hang out sessions.
Ryan always used to say, “IS every angel terrible? DO I welcome them?”
It does make you wonder…



Terrible Angels.mp3

They got angelic tendencies,
Like some boys tend to act like queens.

February 18, 2009

Tori Amos//Talula

Speaking of harpsichord, “Golden Brown,” seems like a perfect transition to my favorite song by the Queen of Harpsichord from my youth, Tori Amos.

Tori Amos was such a jam for me in high school and Boys for Pele remains one of my top ten of all time/desert island discs. Many of her songs have been a soundtrack to notable life incidents that probably deserve their own posts (“Cornflake Girl” was blaring from Annie’s car stereo, when we got into a truly horrifying/hilarious auto accident sophomore year of college; “Bells for Her” on headphones, while dozing off in a sleeping bag in the hay loft of the barn at my summer camp, provided me a cathartic personal moment; a Tori concert brought us to Toronto for one of the funniest roadtrips of my life).

That said, this song brings me to a few places. I remember listening to BFP on my Discman obsessively at that first summer of Ball State, when I met Maria and Nick. This song also brings me back to Kot yelling “heeee!” between the verses in our Freshman year dorm room in East Quad (we went to see her at The Fox almost the first week of school with, guess who?, Rufus). Finally, and perhaps most intensely associated with this particular song, I remember driving around with Liz a lot, to and from high school, volleyball games and, of course, Dunkin’ Doughnuts (oh, adolescence in New Jersey). Liz and I had a thing about naming her cars. Her first car, a beat old Volvo station wagon hand-me-down from her dad, was Walter (for boring reliability and his slightly stuffy “old professorial” air). Her second, a shiny new leased black Jeep Cherokee, was named Dante (because he kind of reminded us of the cocky, tough and sleazy Jersey Italian boys we went to school with). Finally, there was her mom’s brand new sleek silver Volvo. I think it was an S-something (sorry, my car knowledge is limited). We named it Talula, after this song. It had turbo. And a sunroof.



Talula (The Tornado Mix).mp3

Also, worth noting, there are two versions of this song. Some issues of BFP has the original version (like my CLEAR! double vinyl copy), and some have this “Tornado” mix, which I think is the far superior version of the two.

Ran into the henchman that severed Anne Boleyn--
He did it right quickly, a merciful man .
She said one plus one is two
But Henry said that it was three,
So it was.
Here I am.

February 17, 2009

The Stranglers//Golden Brown

I love this song! Like, really, really love it. The vibe is totally unique and the harpsichord sound is unmatched in its awesomeness.

This song has been popping up on various mixes (my own and others) over the last 8 years or so for me. I’ve been reminded of it more often recently, as it makes a prominent appearance on an older mix that has been in heavy rotation for me lately.

I was under the impression that this was the only decent song by this pioneering UK punk/post-punk/new-wavey outfit (there have been a lot of genre innovations from the 70s to today!), but a quick scan of the internet proves me (mostly) wrong. While I’m not sure that any of the other tracks I’ve heard exactly measure up to this one, the rest of the canon is certainly not bad.

This 1981 song got some extra exposure from an inclusion on the Snatch soundtrack. Apparently The Stranglers are STILL touring, which is kind of amazing, considering their drummer is now 70 years old. Tuesday’s lesson: KEEP “ROCKING”!



Golden Brown.mp3

Every time, just like the last,
On her ship, tied to the mast.
To distant lands,
Takes both my hands,
Never a frown,
With golden brown.

February 16, 2009

Rufus Wainwright//Rebel Prince, Matt Jones//Threadlines

A random tidbit, to start the week, One Sweet Song got a nice feature in Chicago’s Cul de sac Magazine. You can read it here.

On to tunes; unfortunately, I wasn’t able to post on Friday, due to internet issues. To make it up to you, I’m posting double the songs today.

I had an epic weekend of shows—three in as many days!

The middle show was Rufus Wainwright, which I attended with my stepmom (she asked me to post “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” here—sorry, Cake, not my favorite!) and my sister (first concert, what what!). In addition to providing a nice opportunity to explain the word “flamboyant” to a 13-year-old, Wainwright really knows how to put on a show, despite the fact that he may have drug-induced ADD. I was pleased that he played plenty of tracks of off my favorite album, Poses, which always reminds me of driving around with Kenny in high school. I was particularly happy that he went for this song, in addition to “Grey Gardens.” Love both of these tracks very much. He also played "Hallelujah," which nearly reduced me to a puddle of pathetic tears.

Of course, it’s no surprise that Wainwright is another product of the Brion golden touch.



Rebel Prince.mp3

The other two of the three were friend and fellow Ann Arbor scene veteran Matt Jones, who was also the first L!M!F! Feature, and who is currently on a month+ long tour in support of his freshly released full length The Black Path. I highly suggest that everyone buy this album. Definitely one of the best things I’ve heard this year so far.

In addition to “Threadlines,” “Holy Light” and “Waltzing With Lady Dawn” are totally stellar tracks. How can you not like a song that starts out with the lyrics, “I’ve been drinking like it’s Mother’s Day.”?

Also, catch Matt live, if you can. He’ll probably be in or near your city in the next month.



Threadlines.mp3

That’s right,
I’m cutting loose from winter.
I’ll leave her frozen in ponds and city lights.

February 12, 2009

The Postal Service//Such Great Heights

Ain’t love grand? Doesn’t distance make the heart grow fonder? This is a song about being in love and being separated from the person you love. These are both feelings I am currently very familiar with at the moment. Take from that what you will.

I like this song because the lyrics really touch on a lot of great things. First of all, there’s that feeling of just matching up with someone completely, of just feeling right with them, which is so fucking cool when it happens! Second, there’s a shout out that comes in the form of a song on the radio while cruising in a car. And we all know how I feel about music and cars. Third, there’s a subtle homage to high audio production quality, and pseudo-sound nerd that I am, I get off on this.

As for The Postal Service, the band is an electro/indie rock super group composed of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, James Figurine). More history, courtesy Wikipedia:

The band's name was chosen due to the way in which they produced its songs. Tamborello wrote and performed instrumental tracks and then sent the DATs to Gibbard, who edited the song as he saw fit (adding his vocals along the way), sending them back to Tamborello via the United States Postal Service…
In 2004, the United States Postal Service sent the band a cease and desist letter, citing its trademark on the phrase "postal service". After negotiations, the USPS relented, allowing the band use of the trademark in exchange for promotional efforts on behalf of the USPS and a performance at its annual National Executive Conference. Additionally, the USPS website sells the band's CDs.
In 2007, "Such Great Heights" appeared in the background of the "Whiteboard" advertising campaign for one of the federal establishment's private competitors, the United Parcel Service.


Actually, this song is a perfect choice for a USPS ad. Is there anything better than getting real mail from someone you miss dearly? What if that someone is Ben Gibbard and he’s mailing you a demo of his song “Such Great Heights,” with his new band The Postal Service on a TDK CDR via the postal service? OH MY GOD, WHAT THEN!? I think the indie rock universe may have just imploded.



Such Great Heights.mp3

True, it may seem like a stretch,
But its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you're away,
When I am missing you to death.
When you are out there on the road for
Several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio,
I hope this song will guide you home.

February 11, 2009

Beach House//Gila

I missed a chance to see Beach House with my friend Ethan a few years ago and I still kick myself for it. I’m not sure when I’ll have the chance to see them again, but whenever that chance comes up (unclear from their site), I’ll definitely be taking it.

I’m a big fan of Devotion for its soundsets, which are at once lush and stark. So damn pretty, and just a little sad, I’m not sure you could really justify listening to Beach House in an actual beach house, unless it was a grey winter’s day on a northern coast, and you were planning on cozying up and zoning out to the distant sounds of waves crashing .



Gila.mp3

Hoping for the last ship to arrive,
I’ve been blessed with a kingdom, half-mine.

February 10, 2009

Leonard Cohen//Chelsea Hotel #2

Alright, it’s not fair, I know, but yesterday got me on a Leonard Cohen kick.

Here’s my favorite song from the man whose songs I took too long to start enjoying.

I like this song because it captures a very specific moment and crystallizes it into verse. The fact that that moment involves an affair with Janis Joplin in an older, more romantic version of New York definitely doesn’t hurt. This method of lyric writing speaks deeply to me—music and memory, emotion, nostalgia.

Often too dark to be a mainstream commercial success, Lou Reed said Cohen was in the “highest and most influential echelon of songwriters." I have to say, I wholeheartedly agree.



Chelsea Hotel #2.mp3

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel.
You were famous, your heart was a legend.
You told me again you preferred handsome men,
But for me you would make an exception.
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
You fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
We are ugly but we have the music."

February 9, 2009

Jeff Buckley//Hallelujah

While my true motivations for posting this song today honestly may be too personal to share, I can say a lot about it, because it’s wonderful.

This is, in my opinion, the best version of this song—and there have been many (the track has now been recorded more than 180 times by everyone from KD Lang to John Cale to Rufus Wainwright).

To start like an anthropologist, the original version of this song was written and recorded by Leonard Cohen, who elicits feelings in me similar to the feelings elicited by a Bob Dylan or a Neil Young; that these men are fantastic songwriters (most likely some of the best around), but are often not the best singers/performers of their work…or more specifically, that especially with Young and Cohen, it has taken time and maturity for me to appreciate their own performances of their masterpieces. My love for Leonard Cohen began with covers by Tori Amos (Famous Blue Raincoat), my dear friend Michael Beauchamp (who does mean versions of Chelsea Hotel #2 and Bird on a Wire), and of course, Jeff Buckley.

So then, on to Jeff Buckley, who recorded the cover for his one and only incredible, near perfect 1994 studio album, Grace. Really, I could put any song from this collection up here and be wholly satisfied, as there is no filler on the album. Buckley, who drowned mysteriously and tragically while swimming in a river in Memphis in 1997, had serious soul. His vocals would feel overdramatic, if not for the sincerity that belies his performance and lyrical composition skills. His rendition of Cohen’s classic track is no exception, as Buckley doesn’t even have to convince you of the truth in the content (that love can be simultaneously richly holy and somewhat broken, perfect and flawed and that the underlying broken bits and flaws of human nature, however painful, may be what make for all that beauty).
On the contrary, the truth is just there, effortlessly bleeding through the track like the heartbeats we don’t notice sustaining our bodies: involuntary, but vital.



Hallelujah.mp3

I've seen your flag on the marble arch,
But love is not a victory march;
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.

February 6, 2009

Louise Attaque//Amours

(Perhaps) lucky for you, I decided to abandon my SF punk theme. Yes, yes, I’ll save the Buzzcocks track I had poised next on the playlist for another day…a rainy day. A day that needs SF Punk.

Quel dommage! Let’s switch gears and go to a more French-speaking place. Actually, I found out about this band in High School French class and was instantly interested, since they were self-proclaimed Violent Femmes fanatics. You can definitely hear the influence. It’s also apparent in their name( Violent is to Attaque as Femme is to Louise). You know they must be dedicated if they got Gordon to produce some of their albums.

This song is a bit raucous and upbeat, but also sophisticated (hey, they're French!)—a perfect way to start your weekend!



Amours.mp3

Amour, serait-ce un jeu
d'enfants à crier tout'l temps ?

Personal translation:
Love is the game of a child
Who yells all the time.

February 5, 2009

Dead Kennedys//Holiday in Cambodia

Oh no, guys. I’m on a bay area punk kick. Someone please stop me! Or else prepare for more!!!

Last night, while recording vocals for the next Palmyra EP, Kenny started singing like Jello Biafra. Then we both broke into this awesome DK song. Sean was only mildly amused.

Kenny was actually my first exposure to the idea of Dead Kennedys, because he used to wear (what I assume was) his brother’s iconic DK tee shirt around school. You know the one:



What a cool guy. Later, this girl who I totally thought was the neatest/was completely crushed out on (two years older and two years cooler) put this song on a mix tape for me (which I still definitely have and still definitely listen to, because it’s a great tape).



Holiday in Cambodia.mp3

It’s a holiday in Cambodia!
It’s tough, kid, but it’s life!

February 4, 2009

Operation Ivy//Sound System

Last night, I walked by Tompkins Sqaure Park on my way to Sidewalk. This reminded me of the C-Squat, which in turn reminded me of my days of high school punk rock.

Yeah, I really loved punk rock back in the day. Loved it. I went to a lot of shows, mostly at the Wayne Fire House (classy) to see bands who were friends or friends of friends. My current bandmates were in an awesome outfit called The Voicecracks, who had a song whose only lyrics were, “Hey emo kid/How’s your girlfriend?/Hey emo kid/I fucked your girlfriend.” I can also remember paying a kid to lick the ground. Glory days: don’t let them pass you by.

One of my favorite moments from this era of my life was this party thrown by some rich girl in SmokeRise. The party consisted of a lot of bands playing in her basement and a lot of 16-year-olds “cooking” vegan food (read: cutting up some carrots and spooning half-baked vegan brownie mix into their mouths with their fingers). She invited Leftover Crack (speaking of C-Squat) to play as the closing band. Of course they totally tore the place up—I distinctly remember a hole getting punched in one of the walls of her ridiculous mansion. When most of the band you invite to play your suburban birthday party has some kind of criminal record, you can’t be all that surprised when your house gets wrecked. We hightailed it out of there before the serious shit (i.e. the girl’s poor parents getting home) went down.

As an adult, my tastes have definitely veered more toward the classic late 70s/early 80s version of punk/post-punk (like Blondie, Patti Smith, Velvet Underground, Televsion, etc…), but as an adolescent, I would take whatever was the “baddest” I could find. My most loved record of this teenage punk era was definitely the self-titled combo reissue of Hectic and Turn It Around by Operation Ivy. This may make me a nerd, but I loved these records and I unabashedly loved listening to them on repeat. There’s something so raw, pissed off and alive in Jesse Michael’s voice. A lot of it is definitely youthful naïveté and swagger, but there’s something so seductive about it just the same.

This song is perfect for OSS, because it’s all about how music can have that special ability to restore you, regardless of whatever heinous things are happening in your world. I also like how this can be thought of as an appreciation for music or an enjoyment for performing. I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment regarding the emotional transcendence of sound.



Sound System.mp3

Sound system’s gonna bring me back up, yeah;
One thing that I can depend on!

February 3, 2009

Kimya Dawson//My Rollarcoaster

I found out last night, at roughly 10:30 pm, that I am playing a show tonight at The Sidewalk Cafe, otherwise known as the hub of the New York antifolk scene.

All this made me think of my favorite antifolk star, Kimya Dawson, who writes funny and wonderful songs and who also once crashed at my house in Ann Arbor after playing a show (uh yes, that one). You may know her from her contributions to the soundtrack of last year’s wildly popular and wildly hilarious Juno.

Of course, this song makes me think of my dear friend Emily Bate , who I am playing with tonight (in celebration of a new split EP with a sadly ill Dave End) and who once put this song on a mix for me.

ALSO, I just know you’ve all been aching to hear that Third Eye Blind song again.



My Rollarcoaster.mp3

You were on my mind at least nine tenths of yesterday.
It seemed as if perhaps I'd gone insane.
What is it about you that has commandeered my brain?
Maybe it's your awesome songs or maybe it's the way
When I look at your face I can tell that you're not going to be stopping soon or even slowing down
And if we keep up this pace pretty soon we'll know the name of every kid and every grown up booking house shows in their town.

For more details on the show tonight, check out Sidewalk Cafe’s site.

February 2, 2009

Roxy Music//More Than This

I went on a really awesome trip to Vermont this weekend with Anika. It was cold and snowy and perfect. We saw friends, snowshoed up a mountain and visited Magic Hat Brewery (where I got a growler of my favorite, #9!).

I love roadtrips. I love getting out of town. I love the crappy food you feel entitled to eat at rest areas. I love driving, because living in the city keeps me from doing it much these days, so I’m not ever sick of it. Most of all, I love the opportunity to break out mixtapes and CDs past, or make brand new ones for the occasion. There’s something special about being in cars. It’s a small, closed space that lends itself to the manufacturing of nostalgia-worthy moments. Of course, sucker that I am, I buy right into this.

This song came on an older mix and it got us talking about nostalgia, because the track is so thick with it. While Anika isn’t a fan, I think this is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard (and Sara agrees!). There’s something that just makes you want to die about it, in the most beautiful way possible. According to Wikipedia, the word nostalgia “is made up of two Greek roots (νόστος nostos ‘returning home’ and άλγος algos ‘pain’), to refer to ‘the pain a sick person feels because he wishes to return to his native home, and fears never to see it again.’” I think that speaks for itself.

This song goes out to Becky, who is feeling nostalgic today.



More Than This.mp3

It was fun for a while.
There was no way of knowing.
Like dream in the night,
Who can say where we´re going.