A Side Note

In an uncharacteristically bold move (which could easily be interpreted instead as shameless self-promotion), here is a song I wrote, produced and performed.

And here is another blog I have been keeping. I registered the domain name in November, but keeping this blog is what drove me to start writing in it.

http://wordsatnight.blogspot.com

Folk Rock Rocks.

Going back through this blog, I've noticed that the focus has been mainly on extensions of punk and alt-rock. Loud, hard, noisy, depressing stuff. Here is a video montage of some amazing weird modernish folky rock. It's a genre that's recently consumed most of my interest, and I'm not sure why I haven't acknowledged it in this blog.

Now, a few things are appealing about this stuff. First of all, I've always been a sucker for anything acoustic. Second, and more importantly, it seems like the lyricists in these bands are better at telling stories than their darker rock counterparts. Those of you who are writers, take note of these lyrics as poetry, as short stories, or as whatever you wish them to be. Use them to your advantage.

Neutral Milk Hotel - "Holland 1945"



mewithoutyou - "The King Beetle on the Coconut Estate"



Mountain Goats - "This Year"



Manchester Orchestra - "Sleeper 1972"



Lauren O'Connell - "White Noise"



Kevin Devine - "Jesus Christ" (Brand New cover)

Envy on the Coast - Lowcountry (2010)

More love for Long Island.

Envy on the Coast is a band that came out of the whole Long Island pop-punk/post-hardcore scene, and they've always had their own distinct sound. Their debut album, Lucy Gray, had a nice mix of the standard crooning vocals with some pop-sensible screaming, heavy and effected guitars and bass and the occasional electronic beat or synth hook. Their new album, however, takes their sound somewhere new, and it's hard to even call it punk rock (despite how massive a genre that has become).

Lowcountry is an album with astounding production value. The mix is incredibly intricate, and if you listen through good speakers you'll probably catch something new each time. Envy's sound has changed drastically. This album is much more pop sensible, the bits of synth and electronica are closer to the forefront, and the vocals are extremely radio-friendly. Now, rather than waste time trying to describe their new direction, I'll just sum it up: Envy on the Coast has turned into Incubus.

Here's a track from their first album:



And here's one from the new one.