Up And At 'Em
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.


 

François Virot - "My Head is Blank". With a squeal, strum and thump that reminds me most-and-only of the Animal Collective, Virot shows that Lyon, France has as many cornfields as Brooklyn, and as many girls with cornflower eyes. Here's the sound of a basement temper tantrum, pop shaken crazed from a cheap acoustic guitar. In three minutes and eleven seconds he goes from madness to serenity, giving up on lunacy in favour of sweet contentment. "And-oh-uh-ooh-oo-ooooooh...", like all you need to stop from going mad is to notice the bluejays, bluebells, clouds.

(Mille mercis á Chryde.)

[MySpace]


The Giggles - "Alarm Clock, I Hate You". I was told yesterday that "Illinois is Indiana's Wales". Which makes Indiana the England of Illinois. And it makes The Giggles - who hail from Bloomington, IN - the Franz Ferdinand of Illinois. Or the britpop of the Shetland Islands or... I'm really not sure. I'm woozy. I was woken this morning by a part-kraken alarm clock and so it's with delight that this tune comes tumbling into my hands - a track that wants so much to be played fast that it hired a better drummer just for this reason. Someone to hit the high-hat so often that the floor pot-holes, someone to organise a hundred metronomes all around the studio. The Giggles do not reinvent the wheel but there's something really nice here: some fellows who love their favourite albums with all their hearts, who found a melody along the side of the road and try to give it all the credit it's due.

[website / MySpace]

---

So ballot-boxes are now open for the 2007 Weblog Awards long-list. Last year we were pretty astonished to make the final shortlist for Best Writing Of A Weblog. We have you to thank. This year the Best Music Blog category is back, but to be honest we don't stand a chance: there are bigger fish out there, many of whom have Sufjan Stevens glamour-shots. We encourage you very much to nominate our friends listed on the right, especially blogs like Marathonpacks, Shake Your Fist, Zoilus and Moistworks, which have had remarkable years, have never been nominated, and didn't make the PLUG nominations either. If you would like to vote for Said the Gramophone (and oh, we'd be flattered), please consider again voting for us in the Best Writing category. That is, if you like us.

I forgot to mention it at the time but at the end of November, Said the Gramophone celebrated it's third birthday since we started the mp3blog format. Leaps and bounds. Thanks to everyone who's helped us get this far.

Posted by Sean at January 4, 2007 9:09 AM
Comments

congrats!

Posted by ru at January 4, 2007 10:03 AM

Yes! Congrats!
I've had you bookmarked ever since I was referred to this site :]

Posted by hannah at January 4, 2007 4:43 PM

hey congrat! I love the two songs for today, I downloaded them both and I can't stop listening to The Giggles.

Posted by Julie at January 4, 2007 6:47 PM

A few years back, when I'd made it a mission to read all the Vonnegut books in the library, I found my writing started to come out like his. Now, every now and then, I see suspiciously STG-esque prose popping up in it. Which is a backhanded way, I suppose, of saying you guys are wonderful writers, you've got my vote (both conscious and subconscious).

Posted by Mark at January 4, 2007 9:00 PM

Happy Birthday Sean...we luv ya !!
Bubbie & Zaidie

Posted by ZAIDIE at January 5, 2007 2:45 PM

Happy Birthday STG !
Thanks for everything.

Posted by Garrincha at January 5, 2007 7:09 PM

As an American who resides in the midwest I have feel obligated to point out that Illinois is not the Wales of Indiana. In fact, Indiana might be the Wales central midwest. I mean... Illinois has a metropalis (Chicago) and Indiana does not. I live in Ohio right now and I hear people insult Indiana all the time... they never insult Illinois. Anyway, that's the word from the street. Illinois more England, Indiana more Wales.

Posted by Marlon Frisby at January 8, 2007 7:18 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.

Said the Gramophone launched in March 2003, and added songs in November of that year. It was one of the world's 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: Emma
Montreal, Canada: Jeff
Montreal, Canada: Mitz

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 like soundcloud: Said the Gramophone posts are always accompanied by MP3s.

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 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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