So we’ve had this “classic” tag for ages, and have only used it once… until now! Oooh, exciting. I’ll try to give it some more regular use, and goodness knows there are enough classics to cover to last us several lifetimes. Harry Nilsson was an American musician who has not received the level of adulation that he deserved. Despite being the writer and original performer of One, everyone assumes it’s a Three Dog Night song as it’s the song that made them famous. To that, I say harumph! Since I’m posting Without You as well, I will head off all the proclamations of hypocrisy by saying… I know it’s a cover! It was originally done by Badfinger! His song Good Old Desk is perhaps the best example to show how different Mr. Nilsson is from other songwriters (unless writing a song about their good old desk is a common theme). He is something of an oddball in that regard, but his songwriting abilities are top-notch, and that should be enough for all of us.

It’s worth mentioning that I uploaded these songs with YouSendIt, which means the links expire in one week, which means grab ‘em while you can.

From Nilsson Schmilsson
Without You – (MP3, 4.7 MB)

From Aerial Ballet
One – (MP3, 4.1 MB)
Good Old Desk – (MP3, 3.6 MB)

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It seems that we’re at the part of the cycle where I post a lot! Hurray! At the same time, this one has been in my inbox since June and I’m just now getting around to it. Aww, boo! But as lazy procrastinators always say, better late than never. While I’m on the subject of better late than never, I would like to bring your attention to the swish new logo that Ant made for the site; you can read all about that intrepid journey if you are so inclined.

Onto the tunes! I’ve written about Lily Frost before, nearly two years ago. For those of you who are unaware, she’s an undeniably saucy Canadian singer. With a voice that could soften the hardest heart, she has released an album of Billie Holiday cover songs entitled Lily Swings. Because I am a fan of idiotic puns, I will go further and say that she hits, at the very least, a double. As you might imagine from the title, the music is rather… swing-y! Besides that, she brings her pop sensibilities to classic songs, and the result is more than satisfactory!

From Lily Swings
Lover Come Back To Me – (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Love Me Or Leave Me – (MP3, 2.4 MB)
I Cried For You – (MP3, 2 MB)

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Although I wrote about Hafdis Huld back in June, I’m writing about her again because she has a new single out and it is impeccable. It’s actually a cover of Sam Brown’s song Stop, but having not heard the original, all I can say is that this version is amazing. Being Icelandic, she brings a certain sweetness to the song that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. I don’t have a free download of this one, so you should go to her last.fm page and listen there, or even give her Myspace a whirl. Just make sure to check out the damn song!

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If Hugh is the proverbial Master of laziness, then I would surely have to be the Apprentice. I do have an excuse though, so I guess that makes it ok. R-right? Furthermore, I don’t know if anyone actually listened to the music I posted, but hey, onwards we march.

Today I have for your delectable listening pleasure the dulcet tones of Ms. Zooey Deschanel, a.k.a. the She in She & Him. Having seen her in the totally awesome “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, the news that she also sang was enough to pluck away at my heartstrings! Or something like that. Zooey is joined by M. Ward (whom we haven’t written about for some reason!) to provide us all with some lovely folkey, country tunes. There’s even a Beatles cover in this album (I Should’ve Known Better), and it’s pretty darn good.

Oddly enough, I even have media for you all, and it’s not some dodgy Flash thing either. It’s an actual MP3! Along with this, I would go ahead and check out the aforementioned cover, as well as This is Not a Test, all of which can be found on their debut album, Volume One.

From Volume One:
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – MP3, 5.7MB

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I was going to post something a bit later, but after noticing my last piece of pie has been stricken with the precursor to penicillin, I figured that now was indeed the time to write about a lovely singer named Leerone. She’s from California and mixes her slightly unpredictable piano ballads with her lovely voice. That voice will help for those among you who don’t like or can’t get into songs that surprise you with the musical turns that they make. For instance, her song Care For Some Whiskey? has the catchy pop vibes that would make it on mainstream radio, but it is nowhere near formulaic enough. And slightly off the subject, it also has a rather strange and awesome music video which you should look on Youtube for.

My favorites of her songs, JUNK/Peace of Mind and Here on Earth/The Opening are, well, amazing. The first opens with a simple, repetitive, but oh-so-enjoyable piano bit that I could listen to for half an hour and not get tired of it. The second’s opening doesn’t entrance me as much, but the closing does with its layered vocals that I could listen to for another half hour and love it the whole time. I can’t find any links for the first, but you can listen to the second on her secondary Myspace.

And yes, I would most certainly care for some whiskey, please.

From Imaginary Biographies
Care For Some Whiskey? – (MP3, 2.1 MB)
To Fill The Void – (MP3, 2.6 MB)

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I heard Hafdis Huld for the first time on Aurgasm quite some time ago, which means it’s high time that I wrote about her on here. She’s Icelandic, which made me assume that her music would at least be inside the realm of “weird,” and indeed, it is. It’s not as odd as Bjork, though, which is to say that I actually derive enjoyment from Hafdis Huld’s music. She has a very calming voice which suits her slow songs well. It is the charm she displays on songs like Ice Cream Is Nice that makes me a fan.

Sadly, these songs are only 64 kbps, which I realize is pretty crappy! Hopefully they’ll be enough to get you interested enough in her music to check it out further.

From Dirty Paper Cup
Ski Jumper – (MP3, 1.5 MB)
Tomoko – (MP3, 1.5 MB)

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The band I have for you tonight is one that e-mailed me way back in February, Admiral Twin. Four months later is as good a time as any to write something about them, I think. They’re a great power-pop band out of Oklahoma, which surprises me as much as it does you. They have a few albums under their belts, and while I haven’t heard any of them, it is likely one of the reasons why their music seems so comfortable. They don’t sound like they’re trying too hard, and they’re not playing random music and hoping for the best. Instead, they’re fully in control of their musical destiny and it shines through in their music.

From The Center Of The Universe
In My Veins – (MP3, 3.1 MB)
Renegade Planet – (MP3, 3.5 MB)

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For those of you not in the know, Emma Pollock was one of the singers for the now-defunct band, The Delgados. While they released quite a few good albums in their time, I think Emma’s solo album, Watch The Fireworks, completely and utterly puts them to shame. This is partly due to my strong preference for her beautiful singing, which I felt was criminally underutilized on many of The Delgados’ albums. She’s not just an incredible singer, though; she writes the most intelligent lyrics you’ll find in modern pop music, and the music itself it outstanding.

If I’d bothered with making a best-of list last year, Watch The Fireworks would almost certainly have topped it. If you’ve yet to hear the album, do yourself a favor and start now with Acid Test.

From Watch The Fireworks
Acid Test – (MP3, 2.7 MB)
The Optimist – (MP3, 3.4 MB)
Paper & Glue – (MP3, 2.6 MB)

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If all the differences in music I’ve been posting lately strikes you as a bit erratic, that’s because it is. I’m having a bot pick bands out of the list of bands I want to write about. Kind of prevents me from going “well I need to write about THIS band” before writing about another band. It’s all random, and I think that will help boost my productivity. As always, send me your music recommendations at eitheror.hugh (at) gmail.com. I’ve got some great stuff in my inbox lately, but there’s always room for more. One of the bands that found its way to my inbox lately is Dream Bitches, and I dig their retro-pop sound. They have the harmonious melodies of retro-pop but their lyrics do not match the flowers and lollipops image that retro-pop generally conjures. That is, their lyrics are quite a bit deeper than that.

Anyway, if that wasn’t enough to entice you to listen to these catchy, perfect-for-summer tunes, perhaps their excellent cover of Belle & Sebastian’s Me And The Major will. And if that doesn’t, well, I tried!

From Coke-and-Spiriters
Bad Luck Bill – (MP3, 2.8 MB)
Me And The Major – (MP3, 3.1 MB)
Mother’s Day – (MP3, 3.5 MB)

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How I let these talented folk slip by me for something like ten years is utterly beyond me. I’d always hear their name floating around here and there, but I never, ever paid any attention to it for some reason, even when I started getting into music properly (you know, beyond listening to the junk on the radio). Anyhoo, most Aussies would probably be familiar with Something for Kate (I’m hoping). For you international folks (who could very well be scratching your collective heads), this could possibly be the start of something new!

There’s something about this group that just makes me think of pretty things: even the name makes me go all “awww!”. Luckily enough, the music does more than enough to backup this bout of mushiness, with a wonderful blend of chilled out, night-time rock tunes, complemented with a bunch of crazy alternative rock tunes with some electronic hints floating around in the back somewhere. These guys also bring to our musical table some really great lyrics: take, for example, the very first song of theirs that I heard, The Astronaut, from the album Beautiful Sharks:

Ooo, I can hear you
On a clear night
I can see you
Singing circles away

Aww! Anyhoo, starting on the album The Official Fiction is a good start for some more friendlier stuff (their most famous tune, Déjà Vu features on it), but if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, take a look at Beautiful Sharks.

And without further ado, you can find some videos from those albums here.

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