CUE SYNTHESIZER
by Sean
Please note: MP3s are only kept online for a short time, and if this entry is from more than a couple of weeks ago, the music probably won't be available to download any more.


 

Jim Holland painting


Eleanor Friedberger - "The River (Destroyer cover)" [buy on bandcamp]

Tougher times, these days. There's something circadian about it - you're up, you're down, eventually you're up again.

"There's something circadian about it!" I've shouted this now: shouted it in an alley, at a friend six-and-a-half feet away. What a world.

"You study your braille / you listen to the hail outside," Eleanor Friedberger sings. When Dan Bejar recorded this it was shiny, sturdy, blasted by cloud-coloured light. Here now it's a doomed demo, a recording never finished or properly released. Here now it feels like a coronavirus tune, a dirge for this comedy, this tragedy, these 224 spilling seconds.

I thought I could handle repetition. I thought I flourished in repetition. Scheduled days, habit. But tonight these groundhog days are wearing me out. Not loss, grief, worry: just the ache of a groove worn down. I'm nearly a broken record.

It hailed yesterday. Why didn't I register it as a splendour? Why was it just one more thing?

You're living, you're breathing
You try to believe in, but you don't believe

I'd like it to hail inside the house.

(painting by jim holland)

Posted by Sean at April 22, 2020 9:12 PM
Comments

Purchased, thank you for the tip!

Posted by Bryan at April 25, 2020 11:05 AM

I just wanted to say thank you for continuing to make these posts and put effort into this publication! It was a huge part of my adolescent life :)

Posted by Francisco at May 8, 2020 6:32 PM

been visiting since 2008/9. thanks so much for still updating.

Posted by Kristopher at May 15, 2020 9:37 AM

sean come back I need you

Posted by moka at July 30, 2020 1:25 AM

Long time listener, first time commenter...I have been a looooong time reader of your blog and it has introduced me to so much wonderful music. I hadn't checked in for a long time, figuring it was done updating (understandably). I instinctively came back today while feeling the need for new music and I was thrilled to discover the 2020 posts. Thank you so much for all of your past work and whatever future bits we may get.

Posted by Megan at August 28, 2020 12:45 AM

Hope your OK....

Posted by Conor at December 4, 2020 7:29 PM

Have been checking this blog every year since 2011 for the top songs of the year, and each of my Decembers this past decade has been defined by not just the songs but the writing you've done on each. I checked again today hoping for the end of year list, and realize eventually it will have to stop, so wanted to at least let you know how much I've loved those (and other) posts! Thank you for all you've done

Posted by RS at December 6, 2020 6:22 PM

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about said the gramophone
This is a daily sampler of really good songs. All tracks are posted out of love. Please go out and buy the records.

To hear a song in your browser, click the and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'

All songs are removed within a few weeks of posting.

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"And I shall watch the ferry-boats / and they'll get high on a bluer ocean / against tomorrow's sky / and I will never grow so old again."
about the authors
Sean Michaels is the founder of Said the Gramophone. He is a writer, critic and author of the theremin novel Us Conductors. Follow him on Twitter or reach him by email here. Click here to browse his posts.

Emma Healey writes poems and essays in Toronto. She joined Said the Gramophone in 2015. This is her website and email her here.

Jeff Miller is a Montreal-based writer and zinemaker. He is the author of Ghost Pine: All Stories True and a bunch of other stories. He joined Said the Gramophone in 2015. Say hello on Twitter or email.

Mitz Takahashi is originally from Osaka, Japan who now lives and works as a furniture designer/maker in Montreal. English is not his first language so please forgive his glamour grammar mistakes. He is trying. He joined Said the Gramophone in 2015. Reach him by email here.

Site design and header typography by Neale McDavitt-Van Fleet. The header graphic is randomized: this one is by Neale McDavitt-Van Fleet.
PAST AUTHORS
Dan Beirne wrote regularly for Said the Gramophone from August 2004 to December 2014. He is an actor and writer living in Toronto. Any claim he makes about his life on here is probably untrue. Click here to browse his posts. Email him here.

Jordan Himelfarb wrote for Said the Gramophone from November 2004 to March 2012. He lives in Toronto. He is an opinion editor at the Toronto Star. Click here to browse his posts. Email him here.
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