how to be pretentious - part 1
october '05 mix
this month there is no need to corrupt/enrich a punk fan. so we're starting right where i feel this month... mellow, reflective, soulful, electronic. yes, i feel electronic. but don't worry, i don't feel all synth-pop-beat electronic. you'll like. These artists are so under the radar that I know nothing about any of them. I don't even have most of their albums. So the only thing I can tell you is the music and how it makes me feel.
How To Be Pretentious
the best songs no one's ever heard.
-disk one
1. Enon-Kanon (3:20)
You're driving at night. The windows are down, even if you have to blast the heat. The road is winding and deserted but softly lit by the moon shining clearly through the trees. Your closest friend is by your side and there is much to be said. Important questions to ask and things they need to be told. Favors when you need them and a hand to hold. There's a destination you can't remember but the path is taking you there slowly. With Enon's Kanon, you sit back a little lower in your seat. This is the beginning of a mix that reminds you why silences are golden. That sometimes the less you say, the more you mean. You are both silent through the long journey ahead, but you realize you are comfortable in the silence, as only a good friend can be.
2. French Kicks-The Trial Of The Century (4:14)
the hours they go in front of me
reminded how it used to be
and you down in the grass with me
the hours of choking century
i blame you.
i thank you.
i blame you.
wasn't fit to have you but i
will never run and hide
i feel so bad and then i
will not apologize
...yeah, you come to mind
3. Great Lake Swimmers-Moving Pictures Silent Films (5:31)
awake me please, when this is over
oh when the ice has melted away
and the hunger returns
i will be the same but older
and maybe twice the man
that i thought i was
where have you been?
and what have you done?
i've been under the ground
reading prayers from this old book i found
under the ground
saving it all and spending it all
on moving pictures and silent films
oh is this the dream i've been saving?
oh where the heart beats slower and slower
to almost nothing
almost nothing
i took it for love
or at least something beautiful
up there in the spotlight
but turned around suddenly
turned around squinting
there in the headlights
and in the truth,
the truth was unbearable
oh and in the end
bearing down on
these two shadowed lamposts
caught between the dotted line...
4. Hobotalk-Little Light (4:01)
help me be a better man.
5. Husky Rescue-New Light Of Tomorrow (4:52)
The best part of this song comes two and a half minutes in. Maybe telling you that spoils it, but it made me gasp, even though it's subtle. I find this song hopeful and regretful at the same time. Much like my October.
6. Ida-Laurel Blues (4:50)
I've written about Laurel Blues before. We've gone over to the regret completely by now. I don't know exactly what it is I regret or what it is I've lost. But it's there. Or it was. If I can figure it out, I might be happier, but then of course, this song wouldn't mean as much to me.
Keeping it to yourself
Away from the ones who could help
Leaving only a reflection of the anger
that you could not wane
Drowned in the rising tide
Scared of the override
Was it only a reflection of the love
of the dimming sky?
And you never saw it come
--taken away
And you never saw it come
--taken away
And you never saw it come
--taken away
And you never saw it come
--taken away
And you never saw it come
Dreaming of what was lost
Forgetting about the cost
Just as flawed as the perfection of a memory
A beautiful mirage
Harder than any song
Waiting for the morning sun
Seeing only a reflection of the hunger
that you could not brave
Seeing only the reflection of the wonder
that you could not name
And you never saw it come
--take it away
And you never saw it come
--take it away
And you never saw it come
--take it away
And you never saw it come
--take it away
And you never saw it come
7. Jeff Hanson-Losing A Year (7:53)
This is the peak of the album for me. All roads lead here. The regret and the pain and finality crescendo until we put a stop to it all and then wonder where the last year of our lives went?
oh, what i could say
to you again
i've never really understood
what you need from me
so i'll light the way from a trail
so you can see all of this
and know, i was there
i never meant a single word
that i said
sometimes i just look around
from something else
somehow i just lost a year
but we all make our promises
i'm not the same
as how you might remember
now i see how this is turning out
and i'm sure because everyone
still tells me what i want
and what i am not,
to make it stop
oh, when morning comes
who will be the simple one?
and i can see how all your plans
are carried out
somehow i just lost a year
but we still make our promises
i'm not the same
as how you might remember
now i see how this is turning out
and i'm sure 'cause everyone
still tells me what i want
and what i've got,
to make it stop
8. Keren Ann-Not Going Anywhere (3:37)
And refreshed from all the catharsis on the floor, we are once again renewed. Ready for a fresh start but without losing what we've learned along the way.
This is why I always wonder
I'm a pond full of regrets
I always try to not remember rather than forget
This is why I always whisper
When vagabonds are passing by
I tend to keep myself away from their goodbyes
Tide will rise and fall along the bay
and I'm not going anywhere
I'm not going anywhere
People come and go and walk away
but I'm not going anywhere
I'm not going anywhere
This is why I always whisper
I'm a river with a spell
I like to hear but not to listen,
I like to say but not to tell
This is why I always wonder
There's nothing new under the sun
I won't go anywhere so give my love to everyone
Tide will rise and fall along the bay
and I'm not going anywhere
I'm not going anywhere
People come and go and walk away
but I'm not going anywhere
I'm not going anywhere
9. Michael Martin Murphey-Wildfire (4:48)
This one might be recognizable to anyone from the hippy era. It's a folk song telling a story of loss. But it's never over. Losses no longer feel gone. Something of that loss lives on in the memory and the tale and this song.
10. Phil Roy-Melt (3:47)
This one continues the theme. Things are gone and lost, over and dead... but last night, I had a dream.
11. Rachel Fuller-Into My Heart (3:25)
If you like Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Vienna Teng, Charlotte Martin, Anna Nalick, Shannon Wright, and all those other identical female pianists, then this is your girl. We're still picking up from our journey through loss and regret and on over to recovery. I think Rachel here, has the strength to stick to it, despite the obstacles she faces. It's uplifting while realistic.
12. Say Hi To Your Mom-Lets Talk About Spaceships (3:03)
And now we've dwelled on this for entirely way too long. We're not solving anything anymore, we're now only obsessing over it. So let's take some advice from our friends Say Hi To Your Mom and change the subject.
And whats that saying again,
They're only words
and words can't kill me
Well, I can't even spell them
and cadence to what she says is well.
Let's talk about spaceships,
or anything
except you and me
Okay?
Let's talk about spaceships,
or anything
except you and me
Okay?
Okay.
And don't look now,
But theres a spider crawling on the wall behind you.
I should of paid attention in algebra.
Let's talk about spaceships
or anything
except you and me
Okay?
13. The Album Leaf-On Your Way (4:31)
Now we're back in the car with our best friend. But it's early in the morning this time. The sun is rising through the forest and the colors of the shining leaves are illuminating your friend's face. So much has happened and looking back, we loved every minute of it. There's smiles and laughter as we recount the past and the pains are forgotten. Why can't life be this all the time? "Yes, why can't it?" you say with a shrug. Because it can.
14. Trespassers William-lie in the sound (5:42)
I love you more than i should
So much more than is good for me
More than is good
Oh the timing is cruel
Oh i need and don't want to need
More than i should
I am falling
Say my name
And i'll lie in the sound
What is love but whatever
My heart needs around
Oh my sheet is so thin
So i say i can't sleep because
It's so very cold
But i know what i need
And if you were just near to me
Would you go....
I am falling
Say my name
And i'll lie in the sound
What is love
But whatever
My heart needs around
I am falling
Say my name
And i'll lie in the sound
What is love
But whatever
My heart needs around
And it needs you
Too much
Now.
15. Tywanna Jo Baskette-happiness and misery (2:03)
And now we've come to an understanding. A realization. An acceptance. Life has ups and downs. Feeling the highs and the lows is natural. Emotion and reflection are healthy. A whole person has happiness and misery.
16. Nedelle-Tell Me A Story (1:44)
And years down the road, we remember the loss. Like the family pet of our childhood, it will always be with us. And it's our closest friends that take our mind off of it and get us through.
Tell me a story that lasts for hours
17. Willard Grant Conspiracy-The Ghost of the Girl in the well (4:50)
And sometimes the tale is so haunting that the loss never leaves us.
18. Cue-Handful Savants (6:00)
Posted by heydomsar
2005-10-20
go back | random brainstorm | go forth
Rachel Ray - 2009-05-03
The cold wind was the reason - 2009-03-02
The Collected Wisdom of Angela Chase - 2009-02-15
All's well that ends well. - 2009-01-07
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - 2008-10-04
