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Much Different Than The Walls I See Now
by Dan
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.
Micah P. Hinson - "The Leading Guy" (I had Sean and Jordan over to my house yesterday. We played scrabble (Jordan won), we sat on a pink carpet by a fire, and listened to these two songs. I recorded our conversation, and here's a transcript of what we said) Me: I chose this one because it just felt like the penultimate example of gramofolk. Jordan: Penultimate? Me: Yeah.. Jordan: So what's the ultimate? Me: Oh. Did I misuse that? Sean & Jordan: Yes. Me: Oh, oops. Sean: Is that the only reason you like it? Gramofolk was kind of a joke. Me: No, it's like a really good Mars bar. 'Cause you're going along, and everything seems pretty normal, and then you realise you're listening to a really great song. It took a few listens before I got the narrative about letting go. Jordan: You mean the chorus? Me: Yeah, I guess. But it took a while to sink in. I can hear him missing someone. Everyone who's gone. Jordan: Yeah, I'll agree with that. Is that Rochester I hear in the background? Me: Rochester...from the Jack Benny Program? Jordan: Yeah. Me: I don't think so. Jordan: I think it is. Sean: No, no, no. There's no Rochester, there's no Mars bars, this is a story told by a Giant to his nieces and nephews, all giant children, about their father who was run out of town. The story goes that he turned evil, but the Giant gives a wink and a smile as he tells it, and you can hear the giant children clapping in the middle. There's hope for the worst of us. Me: Hm.. Uh, yeah. Jordan: An argument for this song's being good: 1) I think it's about Bob Dylan, 2) Every song about Bob Dylan is good, therefore 3) This song is good. Me: Uh, I like the song, but can I contest premise 2? Jordan: No. It's an axiom. -- Kimya Dawson - "My Rollercoaster" Me: Too precious? Jordan: Possibly. I don't know if it's time for a medley. Me: But I thought it was fitting-- Jordan: That since her singing style is that of a double-dutch rhyme, that her song structure begins to mimic that? Me: Yeah. I find it endearing. Sean: Yes, she's cute. She takes our hand and we jump into a mine cart that travels backwards through our high school top 40s and radiobuzz hummings. And she likes video games! Me: Yeah, see? Sean agrees. Jordan: Is it a novelty song? What else moves you? Me: I think it's her love of fearlessness. When I think about her loving that in someone, I imagine that maybe she's kidding herself, and that everybody that loves me loves something that might not actually be there. Sean: Her frenetic pinball synapses are like the ADD kid in elementary school before ADD was something diagnosed. Just hilarious, hyperactive, constant infatuation. One second drawing on the wall with marker, the next running down the hall after a friend who passes by. (long pause) Jordan: Okay. I still won, though. [site] -- it's also my sister's birthday. happy birthday, meg. Posted by Dan at February 21, 2006 1:44 AMComments
Sean: Yes, she's cute. She takes our hand and we jump into a mine cart that travels backwards through our high school top 40s and radiobuzz hummings. And she likes video games! ... Sean: Her frenetic pinball synapses are like the ADD kid in elementary school before ADD was something diagnosed. Just hilarious, hyperactive, constant infatuation. One second drawing on the wall with marker, the next running down the hall after a friend who passes by. ... Love the blog, but I pray Sean doesn't talk like that in real life. Posted by Robbie C. at February 21, 2006 1:55 AMhe doesn't. and i don't talk like this. Posted by dan at February 21, 2006 2:50 AMHilarious! Great songs too! Posted by Karin at February 21, 2006 5:08 AMThe above is both entirely true and utterly false. (Wouldn't we be playing Danagrams, anyway?) love the Micah track. Posted by Sean at February 21, 2006 9:06 AMDan, you're hilarious. It's nice to be with Sean (and Jordan), even for a little while, isn't it? Is the pink carpet shag? Posted by Sean's Mum at February 21, 2006 9:16 AMthat's fun ! Kimya speaks with a warm honesty via crisp whispers in the mouth of a rose but. Posted by swatt at February 21, 2006 12:48 PMThanks for the birthday songs Dan! today's post reminds me of a film review column i used to read once upon a time... it's like a hug from an old friend who you haven't heard from in a long time, and then you get an email. 'man, great to hear from you! how ARE you?' :) (this was similar to the familar warm emotion i was feeling when i listed to kimya flip through old songs like she was in a record store.) Posted by meg at February 21, 2006 5:42 PMDan didn't misuse the pen- prefix. Well, he did, but not in the way y'all think he did. He just said "ultimate-ultimate" which is redundant, not wrong, but everyone says stuff like "the best of the best", he just said it fancy. Just so you can brag. :) Posted by Ian at February 21, 2006 6:25 PMIan, penultimate means next-to-last. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penultimate "Diamonds and Rust" proves the truth of your point #2, Dan. Posted by Anonymous at February 21, 2006 8:14 PMi WANT TO KNOW IF THE CARPETS PINK, TOO. Argh! this is sooo good! This is the first I've heard of Kimya Dawson and It's so so so good!! I love it and now I must search for more kimya dawson songs!! Thank yous!!! XX Posted by Crabby at February 22, 2006 3:07 PMThe Kimya song does kind of sit on the line between adorable and annoying, but I do kind of like that I somehow buy "the life I love is making music with my friends" more from her than from Willie Nelson. Posted by Mike K at February 23, 2006 12:07 PMPost a comment |
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this is a daily sampler of really good songs. all tracks are posted out of love. please go out and buy the records!
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all songs are removed within a week or two of posting. said the gramophone launched in march 2003, and added songs in november of that year. it was one of the world's very first mp3blogs. if you would like to say hello, find out our mailing addresses or invite us to shows, please get in touch: montreal, canada: sean toronto, canada: jordan montreal, canada: dan please don't send us emails with tons of huge attachments; if emailing a bunch of mp3s etc, use a service like MailBigFile. if you are the copyright holder of any song posted here, please contact us if you would like the song taken down early. please do not direct link to any of these tracks. please love and wonder. "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." we are a member of MBV.
about the authors
Sean Michaels lives in Montreal, where he is writing a novel. His work also occasionally appears at McSweeney's. Follow him on Twitter or reach him here.
Dan Beirne is an actor and writer living in Montreal. He writes fiction fiction fiction on here. It may feel true, but it is never True. He is most proud of his most recent project The Bitter End. Email him here Jordan Himelfarb lives in Toronto, where he is editor in chief of The Mark. Jordan's posts appear at Said the Gramophone only on the last Wednesday of every month. Email him here. Site design and header typography by Neale McDavitt-Van Fleet. The header graphic is randomized: this one is by . 
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