Melancholy Play List for the New Year

I receive a number of interesting music suggestions from my melancholy music website. Since I have neglected to blog for a while, I made a resolution to do better in 2012 (so expect more posts for the next couple months before I begin to lapse on my pledge). Here is a play list of songs that viewers have sent me, see if you like any of them:

• Trifonic – Lies
• Trifonic – Broken
• A. A. Bondy – Down In The Fire (Lost Sea)
• Sufjan Stevens – Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)
• Joe Purdy – Falling Down
• Fink – Foot In The Door
• Shearwater – Meridian
• Shearwater – Missing Islands
• The Shins – Black Wave
• The Cure – Apart ( LP Version )
• Doug Burr – Blood Runs Downhill
• Chris Garneau – Relief
• Chris Garneau – Saturday

Ólafur Arnalds

I saw an extraordinary dance piece that used really nice classical/fusion music as the basis for the work. It turned out that the composer was Ólafur Arnalds. This is not the first time that a choreographer has introduced me to a composer- I found Arvo Pärt in a similar manner.

Ólafur Arnalds is yet another Icelandic composer musician featured here. There must be something about that place that inspires sublime melancholy. Ólafur is a young composer who hopefully continues to produce more works. Thusfar, my favorite is his simple piano-based work, “Við vorum smá”. I have no idea what that means, but I like it. The superimposed mechanized voice states, “I remember it well. I asked you not to go. But all I heard was the screaming silence of the wind. And just like the wind will always blow through the leaves, I will always remember this as our last lost chance…”

Le Gibet – perhaps the most melancholy piano music ever written

Maurice Ravel wrote “Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand” in 1908. “Le Gibet”, the second piece in the trilogy, has been described as: “It is a bell tinting at the walls of a city under the horizon and the carcass of a hanged man reddened by the setting sun”. Of course, le gibet is the gallows. Valentina Lisitsa captures it beautifully in this video:

A dose of cool

In the latest batch of suggestions came another band that has a very cool sound.  On the site, The Raveonettes are described as “Lesley Gore meets the Jesus and Mary Chain sound”. By that I mean that they have a 50′s vocal styling (though Blondie also came to mind) paired with a guitar-based sound that definitely has a sound reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain. It’s great to have some melancholy sounds coming from Denmark, home of the happiest people on Earth.

The Raveonettes

The song that was suggested to me was “Aly, Walk With Me” and was a great suggestion for the site. I have not yet listened to the entire Raveonettes catalog, but like everything I have heard thusfar. Look for more additions to the site as I find more gems like this.

Adele

I usually am not a huge fan of popular music, but Adele seems to be the type of artist that can appeal to my tastes and still gain great popularity. Her soulfully honest performances and huge voice seem to work in both the Jazz/Blues and popular genres. While I thought her debut album, 19, was decent, her second album, 21, is superb. It is really strong across the entire album. I rarely find an album that I can just play the entire album and like it all.

My list of favorites from the album include:

• “Someone Like You”
• “Rolling In The Deep”
• “Turning Tables”
• “Don’t You Remember”
• “Set Fire To The Rain”
• “He Won’t Go”
• “Take It All”
• “One And Only”
• “Lovesong”

I was pleasantly surprised with her cover of the Cure’s “Lovesong”. Adele has had a great run from just a few years ago when a friend created a MySpace page for her music to now with a #1 selling album in both the U.S. and U.K.. It will be interesting to see if she can keep the streak going by the time she writes “23″.

Manchester Orchestra

One of the great things about running MelancholyMusic.com has been that so many people take the time to suggest new songs for the site. One person (we’ll call them 333) in particular gave me a wonderful list of artists/songs to give a listen a couple weeks back. The first band on the list was Manchester Orchestra. Oddly, Manchester Orchestra is from Atlanta, Ga. USA, but seemly identifies with the bands or sentiments of the bands that derive from Manchester, England.

I was blown away by Manchester Orchestra’s first album, “I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child”.  They feature Andy Hull’s lead vocals and guitar, sometimes richly orchestrated by a single set of keyboards.  “Where Have You Been?” alternates between bare vocals/drums and keyboards with drums in a very interesting manner.  There is a certain minimalism to many of the songs, but nothing seems missing and nothing is ever overdone.

There are four songs on the album that really appeal to me in particular: “Where Have You Been?”, “I Can Feel Your Pain”, “I Can Barely Breathe”, and “Sleeper 1972″. Honestly, I don’t know which is my favorite as my favorite has changed three times. See what you think.

Sigur Rós

Some musical groups are acquired tastes.  Sigur Rós has been one of those groups for me.  On first listen, the high, falsetto vocal treatments came across as howling canines.  There are still songs in the catalog that I find annoying, but after listening to some of their songs here and there over a couple years, I have managed to find a great number that I now find very appealing. I should have given them more benefit of the doubt- Iceland is a great musical incubator that has given us Björk, Emiliana Torrini, and Amiina, among others.

The slowcoresque beat of many of Sigur Rós‘ songs such as “Svefn – G – Englar” and “Nyja Lagio” and the songs’ ability to transport the listener to another place and time is what makes them special.  This band is unique and innovative if nothing else.  For me, their music is great music to work by: slow, ethereal, melodic vocals wail, holding long tones with words that I find meaningless.

A list of my favorite Sigur Rós songs (in no particular order):

• Svefn – G – Englar
• Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa
• Nyja Lagio
• Syndir Guos
• Godan daginn
• Vid spilum endalaust
• Fljotavik
• Straumnes
• All Alright
• Hljomalind
• Von
• Samskeyti [Live]
• Staralfur [Live]
• Von [Live]
• Hoppipolla
• Seaglopur
• Milano
• (njosnavelin)
• (alafoss)
• (dauoalagio)
• (popplagio)
• Flugufrelsarinn
• Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa
• Avalon
• Myrkur
• Mistur
• Syndir Guos (Opinberun Ferlsarans)

If you are already a Sigur Rós fan, you might try giving Low a try. They have a prolonged slowcore sensibility and are from Minnesota, which is almost like Iceland (at least as far as most Americans know).

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

A visitor to Melancholy Music was kind enough to leave a suggestion for “Reckless Burning” by Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter.  Though not a country fan, I am an alt-country fan and Jesse Sykes has a great stylized alt-country sound that I find really listenable across all of her albums.  “Reckless Burning” is hauntingly beautiful and is now one of my favorite songs.  “The Dreaming Dead” has a great vibe and reminds me a little of OP8′s “Sand”, another great alt-country song.  If you are a fan of Neko Case or Jenny Lewis, you might Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter has some of the same vibe that make those artists interesting.  Check her out and let me know what you think.

Richard Butler

I’ve been a fan of the Psychedelic Furs since the late 1970s, but I tend to look at new releases from 70s or 80s bands with a great deal of skepticism.   Many bands, such as the Rolling Stones, have become self-perpetuating parodies of themselves.  It was with low expectations that I listened to Psychedelic Furs lead vocalist, Richard Butler‘s solo release.  I was, however, delighted at what I heard.  His album is fresh and modern.  His depressed undertone is subtle at first, but the lyrics ensure it is not missed:

…
Breathe
Start the engine, wind the windows down and breathe
Breathe
Put a blanket at the door and let’s just breathe

When you wake up in the morning of the last day in the world,
What the hell they gonna say?
…

For me, three songs stood out most: “Breathe”, “Good Days, Bad Days”, and “Nothing’s Wrong”.
Give the album a listen and see what you think.

Rosi Golan

I promised more on Rosi Golan. I must have been quite busy because here it is three months later before I finally get around to delivering on the promise. I heard Rosi play as the opening act for William Fitzsimmons and also as his accompanying vocalist when I was lucky enough to hear them in concert. I bought Rosi’s CD after the show. She now is also on Rhapsody. There are two songs on the album I very much like: “Hazy (featuring William Fitzsimmons)” and “Come Around”. Honestly, though, her live performance outshines her album. This is a rare thing for me as I many times find that I prefer the artist’s work in the studio. In Rosi’s case, her live performance is intimate and her songs thrive when played only on two guitars (or one and a half guitars as William Fitzsimmons pointed out- Rosi plays on a small (child’s?) guitar). I found the album over-produced except for the two songs mentioned above which are perfectly rendered on the album. Hopefully after being on the road with WF, she will just capture the simplicity and authenticity that makes her a great live performer.