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NEAR AND ALSO FAR
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.
 Travels - "My Funny Valentine". One of the first postings at Said the Gramophone to achieve any recognition was a contest we held for the song "My Funny Valentine". It is my favourite jazz standard and I asked for covers that rivaled Chet Baker's. Nobody really did. And so I am happy that in Travels' version of "My Funny Valentine", released special for Saint Valentine's Day, they take their inspiration from Baker. This is a song undersung, underplayed. It is not whispered, but there is a scared tremble in Mona Elliott and Anar Badalov's hearts. (I can't tell if this song is a cinder or a bud.) Travels - "Dogs". On their 2nd album, Travels travel a little more widely. From noisy flare-ups to ticktock murmurs, it's a music that recalls Hood and Logh as much as it does the members' previous bands, Metal Hearts and Victory at Sea. There's something beautiful & familiar in a mutter that feels like a shout, a shove that feels like a kiss, and I like how "Dogs" reminds us of this. It's a photo raising papercuts. [Travels launch their album in Somerville, MA on Saturday night. / MySpace/BUY!] --- The Sarcastic Dharma Society - "You Swan Go On (by Mount Eerie)". I am usually hostile to covers, when those covers are close to the originals. And on Other People's Songs, a collection of covers, Mat Vuksinich does not diverge far from most of the originals. However he is redeemed by two things:
[download the Sarcastic Dharma Society's discography, and more, here] (photo source and, related, best library internship ever [tuwa!]) Posted by Sean at February 12, 2009 12:33 PMComments
kudos for the mention of the sarcastic dharma society. mat is a faraway friend i have not seen in quite some time. Posted by phil at February 12, 2009 1:59 PMFans of mat's stuff would probably also dig this manipulator alligator album: http://cllct.com/release/weraisedthem Posted by Tinyfolk at February 14, 2009 11:05 AMHi there, Saw your post for Clem Snide a while back. Thanks! Hope to hear from ya! My Funny Valentine is my favourite too - apart from maybe Billie Holiday's Come Rain or Come Shine. And I never fail to clamor for more versions of it. Thankyou. Posted by Laura at February 24, 2009 7:54 PMPost a comment |
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 toronto, canada: dan please don't send us emails with tons of huge attachments; if emailing a bunch of mp3s etc, send us a link to download them. We are not interested in streaming widgets. 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."
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 Toronto. Any claim he makes about his life on here is probably untrue. Email him here Jordan Himelfarb lives in Toronto. He is an opinion editor at the Toronto Star. 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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