Archive for the 'sigur ros' Category

Vitamin String Quartet cover Sigur Ros

Published
by
billy
on March 8, 2010
in cover, mp3, music, sigur ros and vitamin string quartet
. 1 Comment

Strange things happen when you’re a music blogger with a passionate stance on what constitutes “good music” and you’re seeking to reconcile those views with what is “wedding appropriate.”  You’ll find yourself watching endless youtube clips and scouring the web for anything that remotely meshes your personal taste with something passable in a formal setting.  Believe me, this is no easy task.

In my intrepid wanderings I stumbled upon a collaborative effort that goes by the name of Vitamin String Quartet.  Chances are you’ve heard of them, but for me it was a new revelation and I’ve been enjoying listening to their compositional renditions of more contemporary artists (check out their wikipedia page for a “partial” discography which is quite ridiculous in the amount of artists they’ve covered).

mp3 : Vitamin String Quartet - Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros Cover)

I love the beautiful simplicity of this track and the string arrangement is divine.  Now if only they sold their sheet music I would be set.  And for those that are wondering the rest of their canon, available largely from either amazon or itunes, is solid as well.

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Tiesto track Kaleidoscope

Published
by
billy
on October 14, 2009
in jonsi, mp3, music, sigur ros and tiesto
. 5 Comments

Whether or not you actually like Tiesto (or the copious amount of remixes, mixes, dance tracks, beats, etc., that he’s made) we can all agree on one thing.  The lead singer of Sigur Ros, oft called Jonsi, is brilliant at almost every single turn.  So when Tiesto teams up with Jonsi and asks him to sing over the title track to his new album you just know it’s going to be epic.  And trust me, epic it is.

mp3 : Tiesto - Kaleidoscope (feat Jonsi)

Honestly I’m not sure if there is anything I would change about this song.  Let’s see.  It’s over seven minutes.  It’s atmospheric.  It changes moods and builds to an ending that can only be described as euphoric.  It has Jonsi dripping his voice all over for good measure.  And the last two minutes are nothing sort of sublime.  Really, I mean really, is there anything even slightly disappointing about this song?

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We Are Scientists cover Sigur Ros

Published
by
billy
on May 29, 2009
in cover, indie, mp3, music, sigur ros and we are scientists
. 8 Comments

I havent’ had a chance to really fall in love with We Are Scientists but this cover they did just might work at changing my mind {and heart}.  According to my sources this track hails back a long ways, but seeing as how I just discovered it this week I thought the least I could do was throw it up for everyone to enjoy.  It’s not quite as, well, impressive as the original, but it just might be the best cover of a Sigur Ros song to date.  Actually, and this is a direct challenge, has anyone actually heard any other band cover Sigur Ros?  Ever?

mp3 : We Are Scientists - Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros Cover)

It’s a simple acoustic rendition of an amazing song.  And while it never quite reaches the heights of a true Sigur Ros masterpiece it’s nice to hear a band really give it a go.

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The Best Albums of 2008

Published
by
billy
on December 23, 2008
in 2008, best albums of 2008, best of the year, boty, cloud cult, coldplay, dodos, frightened rabbit, greg laswell, mates of state, mgmt, mp3, music, sigur ros, snow patrol and tv on the radio
. 27 Comments

If for some reason I thought it was hard last year to decide the top ten albums then this year has been a nightmare compared to that walk in the park.  Quite honestly this year has produced a veritable slew of brilliant albums.  From up and coming acts to bands on their forth or fifth album 2008 has seen some incredible music released.  Here is my personal list of the top ten albums of this past year.  If you’re still looking for a gift for someone special I suggest snagging few of these albums and stuffing their stockings with the best of what came this year.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

01 : Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum end (amazon) (itunes)

I’ve long been a supporter of all things that Sigur Ros has done.  From the first time I heard their music when I was in university there has been something special about these boys from Iceland.  This year they released their most easily accessible album to date and they’ve literally stolen the show.  There are a great many artists who have put their best foot forward this year, but although many came close, none of them quite live up to this masterpiece.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Fljótavík

02 : Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (amazon) (itunes)

This album is a perfect combination of melancholy and clever lyrics.  The music sets the mood perfectly on this trip through lost love and a true feeling of being sad.  Although a bit of a downer emotionally it never strays too far into the realm of depression to leave you wallowing in your own self pity.  If this is what Frightened Rabbit will sound like in the future you can be sure to see them appear on best of lists for years to come.

mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper
mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - Fast Blood
mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - Poke

03 : Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (amazon) (itunes)

Last year Cloud Cult topped my list for the best album of the year.  To think that less than one year later they went out and made an album that is literally better than their last is simply mind numbing.  What other band puts out this high quality an effort in back to back years?  Literally no other band is producing at such consistently high a level.  If there was one band on this years list that everyone should immediately start listening to I would recommend Cloud Cult.

mp3 : Cloud Cult - Journey of the Featherless
mp3 : Cloud Cult - The Ghost Inside Our House
mp3 : Cloud Cult - Love You All

04 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida (amazon) (itunes)

I’ve been a fan of Coldplay since the first awkward steps Chris Martin made to the microphone and it’s been a delight to watch them move from behind the U2 and Radiohead curtain out into their own worldwide acclaim.  And rightly so I might add.  Viva La Vida found this foursome out of England reaching a new height and a cohesion of sound that was only alluded to on their previous albums.  It’s great to hear a band really starting to use their full potential.

mp3 : Coldplay - Lost!
mp3 : Coldplay - Death And All His Friends

05 : Greg Laswell - Three Flights from Alto Nido (amazon) (itunes)

Greg Laswell has a streak of brilliance not often found in the overflowing singer/songwriter set.  He has a mind for clever arrangements built upon relatively simple, but elegant, melodies and in this regard he reminds me a bit of Sufjan Stevens {they definitely have very different musical tastes, but their gift for arrangements is the parallel I see here}.  Regardless of who or what this album reminds you of one thing is certain; this is the best Greg Laswell has done and it’s easily one of the best albums of the year.

mp3 : Greg Laswell - Comes And Goes (In Waves)
mp3 : Greg Laswell - I’d Be Lying

06 : The Dodos - Visiter (amazon) (itunes)

When you pare down a musical group until it contains a simple guitar and a simple drum kit you either get garage based disaster or you find that within a minimalistic setting true brilliance shines through.  In the case of this duo it’s easy to hear the talent that lies behind this album.  From track to track Visiter flips through well written stories with a sense of quiet urgency that never leaves your mind, and yet never becomes a frustrating distraction.  There is a fragile and perfect balance to be heard.

mp3 : The Dodos - Fools
mp3 : The Dodos - Ashley

07 : Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us (amazon) (itunes)

This year the top ten seems to be filled with established acts who just now are releasing their best album to date.  This is the case of Mates of State.  Their previous albums have largely been forgettable with a few random acts of brilliance sprinkled throughout.  This album, on the contrary, is solid from start to finish and it’s refreshing to see an older act pull their formidable talent together and focus it on a full album.

mp3 : Mates of State - The Re-Arranger
mp3 : Mates of State - Blue and Gold Print

08 : MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (amazon) (itunes)

MGMT found a way to make space rock and classic rock throwback into an insanely enjoyable acid trip of mashed up tracks.  There’s no simple or easy way to quantify this album as it caterwauls from proggy futuristic beat heavy pop to songs that remind me of a mythical pairing of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.  Whatever words you find to describe this album I’m sure they’ll be of a positive nature.

mp3 : MGMT - Weekend Wars

09 : TV On The Radio - Dear Science (amazon) (itunes)

Their previous effort, Return to Cookie Mountain, began to hint that this eclectic gathering of talented musicians just might be onto something.  With Dear Science the boys that make up TV On The Radio proudly display their particular brand of music.  I’m willing to put money on the idea that twenty years from now this album will be listed as one of the most influential albums of this decade.

mp3 : TV On The Radio - Lover’s Day

10 : Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns (itunes) (amazon)

Somehow Snow Patrol’s latest album found a way to sneak into the top ten.  This is probably largely due to the fact that the final sixteen minute mega-track is insanely well constructed I kept listening to this album over and over again.  Snow Patrol has found a way to consistently make solid albums.  They might not be as attention grabbing or as trendy as their counterparts but the find a way to impress with each album they release.

mp3 : Snow Patrol - If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

And that’s it.  That’s the top ten albums of 2008 in my humble and rather correct opinion.  I’m sure you’ll find a way to disagree with me {even going so far as to claim you’ll delete me from your feed reader}, but in the end you’ll see the wisdom of my discretion.  Granted there are two other bands that I really wanted to include on this list, The Walkmen and Nada Surf, and for their effort they easily deserve an honorable mention.  Amongst the letdowns of the year were the fact that both Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service failed to make good on rumours that new albums would drop this year, Weezer put out a really great half of an album and then mucked it up with three or four tracks that are just terrible, and Death Cab, Ben Folds, The Killers, and Phantom Planet put out decent albums but not really the quality that deserves a spot on the top ten.

Until next year so long.  I’ll keep posting as long as you all continue to listen to good music.  If you’d like to see my 2007 list you can click here.

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Sigur Ros

Published
by
billy
on October 20, 2008
in indie, mp3, music and sigur ros
. 5 Comments

On occasion I allow my personal life to bleed over and contaminate the lovely and witty pages of TWF.  It doesn’t happen all that often, but I do feel as the sole author, writer, and creative personality behind this blog that I can afford myself the luxury to pretty much say whatever the heck I want.  As some of you may remember, and as a scant few of you worried, I talked about landing a job in the wonderful city of Shanghai and possibly moving there soon.  Let me simply say that the amount of ma fan {trouble in Chinese} involved in this process reminds me a lot of movie Waterworld; I’m struggling to find a piece of land to put my feet on.

For a long time I’ve found comfort and peace in the songs of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros.  If you’ve been reading, or just listening, here on TWF for any amount of time at all I do hope that you’ve found yourself enjoying their music as well.  During the past month I’ve really been loving the sounds of their latest album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum end (amazon) (itunes), and I’ve come to appreciate the track Ára bátur more and more throughout successive listening.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Ára bátur

What makes this track even more impressive, and what proved to be the deciding factor in me posting it here today, was what I recently read about this track.  Ára bátur was recorded in a live format, in one take, with over 90 musicians on the track {including the London Sinfonietta and the London Oratory Boy’s Choir}.  This song encompasses the magic of Sigur Ros and has worked to calm my mind and heart as I attempt to stumble my way into a job decision.  I hope it helps you as well.

If you’re interested in listening to the entire album, which I quite strongly recommend, Sigur Ros has graciously made this possible by following this link.

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Sigur Ros

Published
by
billy
on July 28, 2008
in album, indie, mp3, music and sigur ros
. 0 Comments

For starters let me apologize for how much TWF has been sucking as of late. Three weeks vacation could be considered a dry spell {a small death if you will}, but to return from the great state of Colorado with three lackluster posts in the span of a week is weak even by the most lackadaisical of standards. I shall persevere and endeavor to return The World Forgot to the glory that it was before my heart was reminded, yet again, of how much I love the mountains. On with the show.

Sigur Ros is one of the most brilliant groups currently making music. Their sonic soundscapes can be cited as influences in every band from Smashing Pumpkins to Radiohead {and they’ve done it all while singing in Icelandic - or in one case Hopelandic}. Listening to a Sigur Ros album is akin to watching a master painter lovingly craft his masterwork stroke by exacting stroke. With their latest effort, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (amazon) (itunes), Sigur Ros has taken their already trademark sound and expanded and elevated it to heights even they have not reached before. Every single minute of this album is filled with emotion and when taken as an entire album you cannot help but come to realize this is truly a work of art.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Fljótavík

It’s a rare breed today that crafts an entire album so carefully to fit and flow together into one big swath of sonic superiority. Somehow the boys from Iceland have found a way to capture this magic time and time again {and yet they continue to improve and innovate with each and every album they release}. It is my opinion that this album is the best, to date, that Sigur Ros has made. It stays true to their roots; lengthy soundscapes, soaring harmonies, a stratospheric falsetto, and yet on this album they’ve found a way to take their unique sound and make it accessible to virtually everyone. Sigur Ros has taken their dominance of what was once a niche market and thrust it upon the main stage of modern music.

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BOTR vol 07

Published
by
billy
on June 30, 2008
in 3rdst4r, 50 cent, best of the remix, botr, chark mu, coldplay, cryptonites, daft punk, danger tv, diplo, dmx, la riots, late of the pier, louis armstrong, mashup, mgmt, mmmathias, mp3, music, mystery jets, nirvana, plimsouls, prince, radiohead, remix, sigur ros, switch, telemitry, we are scientists, we plants are happy plants and weezer
. 10 Comments

Well it’s the end of another gorgeous month here in the heartland of the States.  Gasp, I am an American blogger.  I live in the armpit of America where nothing unusually awesome ever happens.  Which is probably why I have so much free time to listen to music and play like my opinions matter {which we all know they really do}.  Once again, though, the time has come for me to post my favorite remixed tracks I heard this past month.  These aren’t the best songs in the world, they’re simply good enough to garner the attention of Best of the Remix {volume 07 I might add}.  For those of you interested {cause I still pretend you care and you still pretend you’re reading this} you can check out all of the previous volumes of BOTR on one easy to read page by clicking here.

As one of my heroes would sing, “on with the show.” As a reminder, if you’re a blogger please refrain from linking directly to any songs hosted here on The World Forgot.  Bandwidth ain’t free homies.  Also, and you’d be surprised how oft I am asked about this, each and every song you see here on TWF is available to be downloaded directly from this blog.  Simply right click and choose “save target/file as.”  Some files {especially older ones} will be removed after awhile to make room on this site for the new tracks.  Grab ‘em whil you can.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : Coldplay - Violet Hill (Cyrptonites Remix)
There are times in this remix when I forget what song is allegedly being mixed around.  And I like that.  Cryptonites add just enough of their own flavor to make Violet Hill into something a little more danceable, a little more epic, a little more club worthy.

mp3 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida (Chark Mu Electric Remix)
This almost sounds like Viva la Vida would sound if you rapidly swing your head back and forth while listening to the original recording by Coldplay.  Try it, it’s better than drugs, it’s free, and you get to listen to music at the same time.  It also reminds me of elevator music mashed up against ruling the world.

mp3 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida (Telemitry Remix)
If the Chark Mu remix was easy listening for elevators this is easy listening for any car currently driving the streets of this desolate world.  I think I should use more bigger words in my writings.  Anyway, this remix combines the original track with just the right amount of technology to make a new piece of art.

mp3 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida (We Plants are Happy Plants Remix)
Best Coldplay remix I’v heard yet.  Hands down.  WPAHP brings the heat with this little slice of remix heaven.  I know the album has only been out for a little slice of time, but this remix hits all the right buttons at all the right moments.

mp3 : Daft Punk - Superheroes (We Plants are Happy Plants Remix)
WPAHP scores a magic remix yet again with this little ditty.  Absolutely delicious music.

mp3 : DMX, 50 Cent, MGMT - Pimp Feel The Electric Floor
I can’t find who made this little mashup.  I seem to have lost the email or blog I scored this track from.  If anyone knows who made it send me a note or leave a comment.  In the meantime enjoy the brilliant mix of rap over MGMT’s music.

mp3 : Late of the Pier - Focker (Pete Carvell’s Fockin’ Gash Remix)
I’m  fan of Late of the Pier, let’s be honest.  I love their robot drummer in their music video {and most of all I love the dance break he brings to the song.  This is essentially that dance break in extended format.

mp3 : Louis Armstrong vs Radiohead - What A Wonderful Surprise
Yet again another remix {mashup actually} for whom I have no author.  This was sent to me in an email and the sender didn’t know who made this mix either.  Enjoy it anonymously I suppose.

mp3 : Mystery Jets - 2 Doors Down (Plimsouls Remix)
This remix could be preformed live by !!! and you’d love it.  You’d love every single second of it.  And yes, being preformed by !!! would be a massive compliment because those kids can put on a show.

mp3 : Mystery Jets - Hideaway (Switch Remix edited by DIPLO)
I can honestly say I’ve yet to listen to an actual Mystery Jets album.  So far I’ve been so inundated with excellently remixed tracks I’m almost scared to go back and listen to the original material.  Regardless, this remix is hopping.

mp3 : Nirvana - Incesticide (Anuerysm Remix by 3rdSt4r)
I’m going to go ahead and say 3rdSt4r is pronounced ‘third star’ for those of my readers who aren’t fluent yet in 1337 sp34k.  There are times when I listen to this remix and I wonder if I’ll ever play it again.  Then there the days when I hate everyone and this is the perfect track.

mp3 : Prince vs Daft Punk - Kiss (Daft Punk Remix)
I think Daft Punk should be given more accolades, more power, and more love.  Sure they’re huge at their own shows and they have a passionate following, but they are so much more than just that one band that Kanye thought he should use to make a song.  They are masters of everything they touch.  Everything.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Saeglopur (MMMathias Remix)
I love Sigur Ros {their upcoming album is unbelievably brilliant} and I also have a penchant to like anything MMMathias works on.  This is a bit of a minimalist take on a classic Sigur Ros song and I think it adds a great effect to the song {think Imogen Heap’s standard MO slammed down over the boys from Iceland}.

mp3 : We Are Scientists - Chick Lit (Danger TV Remix)
This song would be at home in an eighties movie {starring Don Johnson to be sure} or out over the dance floor of your favorite club {mine being any that involve a beach in Thailand}.  Well done all around.

mp3 : Weezer - Automatic (LA Riots Remix)
This remix takes one of the weaker tracks from the latest Weezer album {by weaker I mean of course not being sung by Rivers} and turns it into something that’s halfway memorable.  That in and of itself should be worth a listen.

Once again, please do not link directly to the songs posted here.  Feel free to link to the zip file hosted on zshare or directly to this blog.  If you’d like to see all the other volumes of Best of the Remix click here.

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BOTM vol 08

Published
by
billy
on May 31, 2008
in acoustic, best of the month, botm, cloud cult, coldplay, cover, death cab for cutie, debbie gibson, emilie simon, eugene francis jr, flaming lips, indie, kylie minogue, live, magnetic fields, mp3, mstrkrft, music, regina spektor, say hi, sigur ros and weezer
. 3 Comments

I’m actually committing to doing this month’s Best of the Month volume actually at the end of the month {volume 07 came out about five days after April was a bygone, so this is a change of pace}. Once again I present to you the best tracks that I heard during this month. This is my no means a completely exhaustive list of all the great music floating around on the interwebs, but it’s my personal slice of thirteen delicious tracks. Enjoy them on at a time or grab the entire volume in one convenient download. For all previous volumes of this series click here.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click} {link broken}

mp3 : Cloud Cult - Love You All
I’ve been listening to their latest album almost nonstop since I got it a few months back and I’m starting to think that this is my favorite track from the disc. Granted it has arguably the most simple lyrics on the album but the complexity of emotions portrayed through the arrangement is quite amazing.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Coldplay - Can’t Get You Out of My Head (Live Kylie Minogue Cover)
Although they might not be the biggest band of all time I would argue that they just might be the biggest band of this year. They’ve masterfully promoted their new album and somehow they’ve kept the lid on the leaky pipes which plague so many other big bands. This is a great cover.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida
Although Violet Hill was the first single dumped on the world, and the music video for that song is quite well done, I think it’s Viva la Vida which shows a nice maturity for these four boys fronted by Chris Martin. My only question is how they produce the strings in a live setting. Quite a brilliant start for their upcoming album which I am greatly anticipating.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Death Cab for Cutie - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Live Cyndi Lauper Cover)
With all the hype surrounding bigger, or at least more blogged about, acts I feel as if the launch date of the latest DCFC album passed by without much ado. In all actuality I guess I didn’t even post a review {although I love it}. Regardless I love Ben Gibbard’s special take on this classic song.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Emilie Simon - To The Dancers In The Rain (Live)
Sometime during this month I started listening to the more melancholy female singers on the market right now and I found myself falling in love with each of them in turn. Sometimes being sad is what you need to feel and sometimes listening to sad music is the right choice.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Eugene Francis Jr - Poor Me
Kind of like a mashup of Frou Frou with The Shins, Eugene Francis Jr seems like the golden reason to make a sequel to Garden State {if only for the soundtrack}. I love this song.
myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : MSTRKRFT - VUVUVU
I haven’t really listened to this genre of music since the days of undergrad all nighters spent studying architecture. Energy drinks of tomorrow will still fall short of the punch packed into any MSTRKRFT song. Ever.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Regina Spektor - The Call
Although I’m not a big fan of The Chronicles of Narnia movies {they’re a bit childish and the CGI is almost as bad as that found in the new Indiana Jones} it’s quite a treat to hear Regina Spektor on the soundtrack. And I really like the lyrics in this song. Kudos to you Ms. Spektor.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Say Hi - We Lost The Albatross
After dropping the To Your Mom from his title and, arguably, dropping some of the silliness from his musical creations as well, Eric Elbogen’s music has grown up quite a bit. I love this song off his latest album and I hope it’s a sign of even greater ideas yet to come.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook
I’m officially a sucker for all things Sigur Ros {much to the chagrin of many of my friends}. I don’t know how I first heard of this band from Iceland {a land I’ve long wanted to visit}, but I’ve loved them from that first listen. This song hails from their upcoming album {hot on the heels of their last effort Hvarf/Heim} and they’re giving it away free from their website.
site myspace amazonmp3 itunes

mp3 : The Flaming Lips - Knives Out (Radiohead Cover)
The Flaming Lips caught my attention when they sang about robot killer Yoshimi {for an entire album} and it’s great to hear them cover another of my favorite bands. This performance hails from a 2002 set they played at the esteemed KCRW studios.
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mp3 : The Magnetic Fields - Too Drunk To Dream
I really hate the latest album by The Magnetic Fields. It was such a departure from the melodramatic beat and cello filled pop of their previous two efforts. Somehow songs from that album keep sneaking into my favorite lists though. It’s as if taken one at a time the songs are alright, but when put together for forty five minutes they’re simply too much to handle.
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mp3 : Weezer - Pink Triangle (Live Acoustic)
I love me some Weezer and I really love what I’ve heard so far from their upcoming album. Pink Triangle hails from what may be my favorite Weezer disc of all time, Pinkerton, and this is a solid live version of the song {even if the crowd gets picked up by the mics a bit much. Cut them some slack, obviously they’re drunk. Right?}
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It’s My Birthday and I’ll Blog If I Want To

Published
by
billy
on March 18, 2008
in birthday, blog, bushmills, cheers, dawson's creek, editorializing, gary portnoy, gossip girl, halo 3, heman, life, love is a mix tape, mp3, music, one tree hill, orco, qwerty, rock star, sigur ros, standard, super powers, the oc, the world forgot, theme song, twenty six, twf and xbox live
. 4 Comments

I always wanted to be Heman {or Orco, it was always a toss up}. We all want to have super powers of some sort. That’s the sole reason anyone has ever been a rock star. Ever. It’s the closest we get to real life super heroes {even Hollywood doesn’t come as close as the local bar act who gets up there every weekend and hammers through a set that they just know is the best music on the planet}. Bear with me on this post, it’s going to be a bit out there {I mean honestly, I led with Masters of the Universe}.

I really hate blogging using someone else’s computer. Or at least when that computer is a futuristic computer with a hard as beans to use keyboard. Honestly, sliming down the height of each key in no way makes it faster or easier to type. I wish they would standardize the location of all extraneous which fall outside of the standard QWERTY arrangement because no one should have to suffer the amount of backspace whiplash I’m incurring upon my right hand. But really, let me rant, it is after all my twenty sixth birthday today {TWF will be two years old in about a month}, so I think I deserve a little self indulgence this day. Especially considering that so far I haven’t seen a single real friend of mine {about eighty percent of them live hours and hours away}, I spent all day substitute teaching a kindegarten class {which I do find to be wicked amounts of fun, but not really in a birthday-centric way}, and I played around on my guitar for awhile wondering if a gift certificate I just got to a local guitar store will go towards an amp or a ukelele. But back to my main point, the standard layout of all keyboard keys. We have standards for USB 2.0, Blu-Ray, Divx, mp3, ad naseum, but we can’t all agree on where the delete button should be placed in relation to the backspace? Is there some global conspiracy of CEO’s scheming to permanently hook all of there first time customers on their specific arrangement of keys so that they’ll never move on and buy a new/better/Asian brand?

Just to let you know that’s not all that goes on in my mind. I’m seriously trying to write an epic song about the life of a snowflake {I contemplated writing an entire concept album about the life of a snowflake from snow to water to river to ocean to evaporation to snow, but I’m not Sigur Ros and I don’t have the talent to create soundscapes. Yet}. I also finished reading an excellent book, Love is a Mix Tape, which spins an interesting weave of music history, mix tape making history, love, grief, and loss. Basically it’s everything I ever wanted a two hour read to be. It has music and it has melancholy; what more could I possibly want? {Well I guess I could ask for more useless uses of the semicolon but I believe I’m covering my need for those in this post}. I agree with the statement that love is a mix tape. I think that in the end love is really the desire for someone to know you completely and still desire to sit across from you at a diner {sitting next to each other is for the bus or the front seat, nowhere else}. And a mix tape allows you to take things that you passionately love, sometimes secretly, put them together in an order that you think is perfect and shamelessly shove it into someone else’s life, hoping that they too will think that it is great. It takes a lot of daring to put together a mix tape and even more moxie to give it away {and maybe even more to hope that it makes a difference}.

So tonight I’ll probably sit at home, play some video games on Xbox Live {halo3 seems to be my drug of choice as of late - and I’m decent at it}, and watch the latest episode of One Tree Hill {only because Dawson’s Creek had the worst ending of a series ever, The OC was rightly canceled, new episodes of Gossip Girl haven’t started to air yet, and I’m hoping One Tree Hill will redeem the high school drama genre in the end}. Last weekend I threw a killer party with loads of friends, drinks, and some fire thrown in the mix. I remember staying up until four, we finished a bottle of Bushmills, and there was generally a lot of fun passed between good people {so don’t go thinking I’m doing something lame for my birthday, I already had most of my fun}.

And, yes, this still is a music blog although over the past week or so I’ve been editorializing like it’s my job. But in a sense this is my job {I currently average, after expenses, -2 dollars a month on running this little slice of heaven so I reckon I’m functioning about as well as most other business in the US}. Here’s a song that I love and I hope you love it to. It always brings back the best of all memories, however I’m currently remembering them, and I hope it hits a warm spot in your life too.

mp3 : Cheers - Opening Credits

This is the song from the television show called Cheers. If you’ve never heard of the show you better either live across the pond, be under the age of 13 {in which case it’s obvious your parents don’t care about you, I mean you are reading this blog, so go watch Cheers, it can’t hurt}, or be on your way to the closest retailer to fix this mistake in your life. I recommend season one and season two. They’re both classic. I also opted to include the actual opening credits for the show as opposed to the original song by Gary Portnoy. The full track is simply too lame and doesn’t go near as far as the theme song at conjuring up wonderful memories.

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The Best Albums of 2007

Published
by
billy
on December 29, 2007
in 2007, arcade fire, band of horses, beirut, best albums of 2007, best of the year, bishop allen, boty, cloud cult, foo fighters, indie, mp3, music, radiohead, rock, sea wolf, sigur ros and weakerthans
. 9 Comments

At long last here are my top ten albums released during the past twelve months. Download all the tracks and play them loud, support the artist by buying their albums, merchandise, or concert tickets, and most of all continue to enjoy great music. This list was ridiculously hard to create due to the amount of talent in the musical realm, but, these are the albums that I was most excited about in 2007. {note : in the list below the artist name links to their website, the album title links to the album on amazon, and the iTunes link will open iTunes to the appropriate information}

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}


01 : Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8 (iTunes)

Easily the most cathartic album I’ve ever heard the general storyline of this album chronicles the path frontman Craig Minowa took while coming to terms with the death of his son. Most of the tracks on this album have to do with what little Kaidin’s life would have been like {he would’ve turned eight this year} or how he inspired his father and those he met with the joy of life. It was a very close call between Cloud Cult and The Weakerthans for album of the year, but this band from Minneapolis pulled it out in the end. From beginning to end there is not a single note that I would change about The Meaning of 8.

mp3 : Cloud Cult - Take Your Medicine
mp3 : Cloud Cult - Your 8th Birthday
mp3 : Cloud Cult - Purpose


02 : The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour (iTunes)

Second place, and by a very slim margin, goes to one of my favorite bands of all time, The Weakerthans. Coming a full four years after their previous effort, this studio album had a lot of fans wondering if rust and age would tamper with the signature lyrical and melodic brilliance of The Weakerthans. All fears were laid to rest after one listen, though, with the only complaint being it clocks in under forty minutes. John Samson tells these wonderful vignettes about empty rooms, curling tournaments, and runaway cats that are filled with a sense of forlorn truth. Something in this album rings true on every listen. If you’ve never heard The Weakerthans their newest disc is easily a wonderful starting point.

mp3 : The Weakerthans - Tournament of Hearts
mp3 : The Weakerthans - Virtue the Cat Explains Her Departure
mp3 : The Weakerthans - Sun in an Empty Room


03 : Radiohead - In Rainbows

Not much else could be written or said about this album other than what has already been said. Radiohead tops many of the best of lists across various publications and blogs. They released their album completely on their own, with their own website, and charged nothing for the music if that’s what you chose to pay. They bucked convention with this release, just as they’ve continually created new and innovative sounds on each of their albums. This, their seventh studio album and first in four years, is an amazing musical achievement even without the marketing {or lack thereof} hype.

mp3 : Radiohead - Reckoner
mp3 : Radiohead - Videotape


04 : Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (iTunes)

Although many a rabid fan and critic balked at the slightly new direction Arcade Fire went on their sophomore effort I challenge you to find another band that made this interesting, layered, and talented a second studio album. Moving away from stories involving apocalypse and funerals this album instead finds its voice in a social commentary of sorts {which is perfect when you’re influenced by Bruce Springsteen}. I thought this album was a perfect follow up to Funeral. Yes, it is different, but so are we.

mp3 : Arcade Fire - (Antichrist Television Blues)
mp3 : Arcade Fire - Intervention


05 : Bishop Allen - The Broken String (iTunes)

Throughout 2006 Bishop Allen, which is a collaborative effort between Justin Rice, Christian Rudder, and various backing musicians, released twelve EP’s; one for each month. It was with much anticipation, then, that I awaited their first proper studio full length this past July. And Bishop Allen did not disappoint with The Broken String. From start to end the storytelling, the music, the melodies, and the undeniable fun of the album had me playing it for anyone who would listen. Over five months later it still amazes me that this amount of quality music was put on one album.

mp3 : Bishop Allen - The Monitor
mp3 : Bishop Allen - The Chinatown Bus


06 : Foo Figthers - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (iTunes)

Foo Fighters released their most mature and grounded album to date while finding a way to showcase Dave Grohl’s massive talent without the use of a sprawling double album. From start to finish this album shows the diversity of the entire Foo Fighter’s cannon while always keeping you on the edge of your seat, anticipating what song is coming next. From a pure rock anthem like Come Alive, to the bombast of The Pretender, down to the the ecstasy found on The Ballad of Beaconsfield Miners, there is no stone left unturned on this, the best rock album of the year.

mp3 : Foo Figthers - The Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners
mp3 : Foo Fighters - Come Alive


07 : Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim (iTunes)

Sigur Ros is easily my favorite band that I cannot seem to describe to others. Or for that matter get other people to listen to. They’re a band out of the great land of Iceland and lead singer Jonsi sings in one of the most beautiful falsetto voices I’ve ever heard. If the angels from on high sang in Icelandic then this is what the music backing them would sound like. This release was a double album with the disc labelled Hvarf containing studio versions of previously unreleased tracks and the disc called Heim containing acoustic versions of previous favorites.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Heysatan
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Staralfur


08 : Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (iTunes)

Originally scoring much higher in my list Beirut fell to number eight after repeated listenings. Although this album didn’t have the staying power I thought it would have it still is a solid effort from Zach Condon throughout the mix as he brings his particular ecclectic/gypsy/folk/balkan style of music and makes it a true edition to the great new American Folk wave. There’s something in his music that cannot be found anywhere else. Due most likely to his extensive traveling throughout eastern Europe during his developmental years and the fact that a wrist injury keeps him from playing the guitar properly.

mp3 : Beirut - Guyamas Sonora


09 : Band of Horses - Cease to Begin (iTunes)

The critics who hated and/or panned this album when it was released have almost nothing in common with me. I, for one, cannot fathom what they were looking for in the second studio album from Band of Horses. Cease to Begin showcases a sound and style that are uniquely theirs; from the driving guitar rhythms to the unique crooning style of frontman Ben Bridwell. I thought this album was solid from start to finish with the inclusion of a few incredible tracks like Island on the Coast and Is There A Ghost. Band of Horses is one of the best bands in the past couple of years and I’ve been excited about their music since their first release.

mp3 : Band of Horses - Island on the Coast


10 : Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River (iTunes)

Rounding out the top ten albums of 2007 is this little gem by Sea Wolf. This band is the brainchild of Alex Brown Church, who formerly played with the band Irving, and he incorporates a variety of devices and sounds to tell his stories. Although at times the record can sound like a smooth amalgamation of various sources, in the end it is a blissful thirty five minute mosey through Alex’s life, music, and stories.

mp3 : Sea Wolf - Leaves In The River

Download all the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

And there you have it. In my humble opinion those were the best albums of 2007. Other noteworthy albums that didn’t quite make the top ten include In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars, Wednesdays by Wakey!Wakey!, From Here We Go Sublime by The Field, Sawdust by The Killers, Magic by Bruce Springsteen, B Sides Live by Zach Williams, Graduation by Kanye West, and We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse. As talented and wonderful as this past year has been I’m looking forward to 2008 when there will be new albums by my favorites Sufjan Stevens, Cloud Cult, the Magnetic Fields, the Postal Service, and Weezer.

For those of you who just found my blog take a minute a peruse other posts here at The World Forgot. I hope you enjoyed yourself this year, 2008 is sure to bring something amazing to everyone.

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BOTR vol 01

Published
by
billy
on December 27, 2007
in andy williams, bee gees, best of the remix, bloc party, botr, britney spears, daft punk, go team, gwen stefani, justice, kings of convenience, mp3, music, radiohead, remix, sigur ros, thom yorke and tv on the radio
. 8 Comments

Welcome welcome welcome to a new series I hope to be posting at the end of each month. Some of you are already aware that I have a Best of the Month (BOTM) series that I maintain here on The World Forgot, but this is something new. I present to you Best of the Remix, or BOTR for short. I’ve noticed a wonderful trend lately that has made the remix of a popular song almost as ubiquitous as the original recording. It seems as if anyone with a laptop and a few spare hours manages to remix, reblip, or rework a song into something new. Now, granted, not all of these remixes are any good, but how are you to know the good from the bad? That’s where I come in. Presented here for your listening pleasure are the best remixes I heard during the previous month. Enjoy these tracks and come back next month for vol 02.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : Andy Williams - It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year (A Shrift Remix)
mp3 : Bloc Party - Flux (GoodBooks Magnetism Mix)
mp3 : Britney Spears - Piece of Me (Bimbo Jones Club Mix)
mp3 : Daft Punk - Da Funk (Armand Van Helden’s Ten Minutes of Funk Mix)
mp3 : Daft Punk - Human After All (Peterdragontail Remix)
mp3 : The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice (Mojib Remix)
mp3 : Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl (Think Quick 8bit Remix)
mp3 : Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (CFCF Remix)
mp3 : Kings of Convenience - I Don’t Know (Mojib Remix)
mp3 : Radiohead - Videotape (Ring Trick Mix)
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Staralfur (Mojib Break of Dawn Remix)
mp3 : The Bee Gees - Stayin Alive (Teddybears Remix)
mp3 : Thom Yorke - Analyse (Various Remix)
mp3 : Thom Yorke - The Clock (Surgeon Remix)
mp3 : TV On The Radio - Staring At The Sun (Bryan Hyde Remix)

Notable standouts in this crowded first class are the Justice, TV On The Radio, Gwen Stefani, and Bloc Party remixed tracks. The rest are solid as well and I hope you enjoy them all. And for fans of my Gossip Girl series fear not, vol 09 will be posted later today or early tomorrow. After all I do have three volumes to go to catch up. Also, later this week I’ll be posting my best albums of the year. You might be a little surprised at my choices {as in you might have never listened to my number one and two slots}.

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