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.

January 12, 2005

Silly and Crazy and Hard To Do

Arthur Russell - "A Little Lost"

New York dance music producer and cellist, Arthur Russell died from AIDS in 1992.
___

In ?A Little Lost,? Russell?s cello never settles into a single mode, doesn?t stop surprising. It alternates between providing long notes (a bed for the lightly strummed, low-mixed acoustic guitar), quick stabs of lead melody, and playful harmony or counterpoint to his amorphous vocal line.

There are no points of reference for a song like this. (Except that) as Joni Mitchell?s songs sound like her own and Neil Young?s songs sound like his own, so too does this song sound like Arthur Russell?s own, the sound coming from within him and belonging to him alone.

***

Animal Collective - "Leaf House"

Animal Collective blends unadulterated insanity, acid trip psych jamminess, rich harmonies and a surrealist lyrical approach to make something tense, propulsive and beautiful. When they sing ?kitties,? my kitty (Bruno the Berber (purr-purr) kitty) listens, and so should you (and your kitties (and their kitties)).

Posted by Jordan at January 12, 2005 4:13 PM
Comments

Nice use of nested parentheses! You don't see that every day. (In fact you never (or hardly ever) see it.)

Good choice of songs, too -- as if THAT were what music blogs were about, ha.

Posted by: richard at January 12, 2005 6:24 PM

Leaf House is maybe the best thing Animal Collective have ever done. Tied with 'Who Could Win a Rabbit', maybe, but that line- "there's no one to say MEOW"- just really puts Leaf House over the top. Now if only someone could record that cover of Stevie Wonder's "I just Called to Say I Love You" that they do live...

Posted by: Kevin at January 13, 2005 8:14 AM

both songs are among the top ten records purchased this year.

Posted by: at January 13, 2005 2:49 PM

please post something we dont' all already own.

Posted by: at January 14, 2005 2:27 AM

hey,
just stumbled upon your blog, been cruising around a bit, you got some awesome stuff on here!!
keep up the good work, im slowly trying to put a blog together myself.. slowly slowly..!
im bookmarking this place.
love idleheart.

http://credcentral.blogspot.com

Posted by: idleheart at January 14, 2005 8:14 AM

excellent animal collective song

Posted by: b pilla at January 14, 2005 6:17 PM

Yesterday I came across some other Animal Collective songs on the WWW, and now this. I like it! I'll have to find more of this...

Posted by: Jack at January 16, 2005 5:53 AM


good juxtaposition of gauzy songs by like-minded great artists.

to the n00bs complaining they already own the albums (as do I), please fuck off back to the Other Music 7" bin.

Posted by: nice one at January 18, 2005 6:11 PM


oops, forgot to mention I picked up Arthur Russell's 24-24 Music back in '92.

+50 to teh score

Posted by: nice one at January 18, 2005 6:18 PM

"A Little Lost" is simply gorgeous - thanks for posting on Arthur Russell. Winter the perfect season for it, too.

Posted by: Linus at January 19, 2005 12:14 PM

my kitty listens too.

Posted by: miss meow at January 20, 2005 5:45 PM
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