Song of The Day #134

"The More I See You" by Chris Montez

I like this song for its meekness, its bounce, its proto-Yo La Tengo sloppiness, its unique timbres, its diverse styles, its cleverness, and its lack of pretension. But, more importantly, I like it because it makes me happy.

Song of The Day #133

"Track 05" by Panda Bear

I liked this song, from Panda Bear's underheard Young Prayer, for a while just because of its catchy, multitracked, repeated, minimalist vocal hook. It's catchy. It sounds cool. But after really concentrating on the lyrics for the first time last week and hearing what those voices are actually saying, I like the song ten times better. When taken in the context in which the song was written (shortly after the death of Noah Lennox's father), the song becomes unbearably beautiful and heartbreaking (in addition to being catchy and sounding cool).

Song of The Day #132

"Snake Mistakes" by Dan Deacon

Listening to Dan Deacon gives you the best kind of headache you could ever want--but, as noisy as he gets, Deacon knows when to pull back those hard-hitting, primitive electronic blurps and prove that he's a truly gifted artist/composer. "Snake Mistakes" contains a few of the most manic, maximalist minutes on my hard drive, but it's most memorable for its stunning vocoder'd breakdown: "My dad is so cool..."

Song of The Day #131

"Amazing Grace" by A.C. Roberts

What? You don't know A.C. Roberts? I'm just kidding. I bought his CD, Bagpipe Classics, at a gas station in Arkansas about five years ago because, weird little 13-year-old I was, I was obsessed with bagpipes and rural gas stations. This rendition of "Amazing Grace" is actually pretty nice, though; he and his bagpipes do justice to one of Western civilization's most recognizable tunes. (P.S. I can't believe I found that image.)

Song of The Day #130

"Whenimondamic" by Lootpack

This song sums up my eighth grade year quite nicely. Seriously though, I spent that whole year listening to Stones Throw and like-minded hip-hop. Looking back on this track, though, I still dig it.

Song of The Day #129

"Gone Beyond" by Akron/Family

"Gone Beyond" is just a really pretty, simple folk song. It's got just a few words, some fancy guitar-work, and a bunch of quiet but driving percussion. And in the context of Meek Warrior, the moderately challenging free-folk album from which it comes, it's especially refreshing. Over the last few days, actually, it might be my most played song.

Song of The Day #128

"Phenomenal Cat" by The Kinks

Leave it to The Kinks to make a song this bizarre and yet accessible and endearing.