Brandon Records

Welcome!  The site's home for Myspace pictures, half-finished poetry, and eclectic arrays of tunes I enjoy, as well as, if we're lucky, lengthy rants on exactly why it is that Nickelback sucks.  Of course, generalizations like that are usually indefensible, but you get my drift.  Also, please shoot me if I turn into someone like those music critics obsessed with finding bands' influences spouting things like, "Their third track pays homage to (or rips off, depending on your level of cynicism) an early Bowie crossed with 1980s U2 with a dash of Nelly Furtado."  Sometimes noticing roots of songs can be interesting, but generally it's like psychoanalyzing Shakespeare based on the Queen Mab speech.  

Top 10 Songs for the Past Month
	"Lost Coastlines" by Okkervil River The Stand-Ins
	"Bubbles" by James Hey Ma
	"The Comeback" by the Shout-Out-Louds Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
	"After Hours" by We Are Scientists Brain Thrust Mastery
	"Wake Up" by Arcade Fire Funeral
	"The New Year" by Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism
	"Entering White Cecilia" by the New Pornographers Challengers
	"Can You Feel It?" by the Apples in Stereo New Magnetic Wonder
	"To the Dogs or Whatever" by Josh Ritter The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
	"Don't Forget Sister" by Low vs. Diamond Low vs. Diamond

The five albums I most recently procured: 

September 17, 2008

James - Hey Ma:  A more cohesive version of Mika, and infinitely catchy.  Check out "Whiteboy." 
Okkervil River  - The Stand-Ins:  I love this companion to last year's "The Stage Names," and I listen to "Lost Coastlines" constantly.
Johnny Flynn - A Larum:  This Irish folk singer (who sounds like a twangy Fionn Regan) is responsible for my new second favorite album of the year so far (maybe my overall favorite).
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line:  Rolling Stone described them as Vampire Weekend + Arcade Fire, and I can't think of a better explanation. 
We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery:  I think one of the songs is used in all the ads for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Artist Spotlight:

The Kooks

I missed an artist last month, so I'll try to do two this time around.  Which means, it's way easier to pick a new band with just one album.  And of my options, one of my favorites of the past couple years is the Kooks, with their debut LP annoyingly named Inside In/Inside Out.  Obviously part of their appeal is that they are younger than I am, have British accents and adorable hair, and have successfully made music I like.  On the other hand, the album as a whole isn't quite as captivating as some of its songs.  In other words, I do like most of their songs, but there are parts that I'm not that into.  Which is okay.  Because what I do like, I love.  Songs have consistently made my top 10 since I downloaded the album this summer, and frankly, I'm just a big fan of songs that sound sweet but whose chorus refrains, "Jackie Big Tits."  The Kooks are such a great summer band; they go down easy and don't really make you think.  And again, that's not a fault.  I gotta have my pops, so to speak.  Besides the key tracks and the aforementioned Jackie Big Tits, favorites include the Rooney-ish "Eddie's Gun," and the succinct "Seaside."  But then, I'm pretty much a sucker for any song that purports to be about the ocean.  "Time Awaits" is both a cool draw and what partially led to the score being lowered, because it fades out and fades in just a few too many times at the end.  And the hook's just not quite as fun as some others.  Anyway, check out the above video, and go back to when everything was better. 

Songwriting Hall of Fame

I wanted a place to include my favorite song lyrics, so this is it.  I'm kicking it off with five songs from five current bands whose lyrics I love and five classic rock songs, so check it out. 

Latest Addition:  Led Zeppelin - The Battle of Evermore

Liner Notes:

7-28-08

Take a long drive with me

For Ryan's westward expedition, I began with one playlist slot--I didn't want to overload myself, you see--and I only knew that it must be the first playlist of the day, so as to complement the opening song, "Circle of Life."  The movie version, too, not the spectacular Elton John one.  I also joked about incorporating various tribal chants on my playlist.  But as I went on, like everyone else, I realized I needed more than one hour.  And I refused to give away any information about the songs therein, with the exception of what I think are fun hints.  So, here for the first time on the internet (btw, internets and interweb are so yesterday, but strangely Information Superhighway is still totally retro-sweet), I present my playlists. 

Day 1:  California - I wanted to avoid the biggest California-related songs ("California Dreamin'," "California Girls," the Phantom Planet one, "Hotel California"), because I figured other people would cover them.  And when I realized the California songs I had left were very folky, the rest fell together easily. 

1.  "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin - Ryan said he wanted this to be the first song he listened to, and I was already aiming to have the first one on Day 2, so I figured I'd continue the theme with the opening slot on each of the first three days.  Didn't happen for Day 1, but it's still the best introduction to my California-theme playlist. 
2.  "Across the Universe" by the Beatles - As far as I'm concerned, we should all be listening to this daily.
3.  "Another Travelin' Song" by Bright Eyes - Obviously.
4.  "The Underdog" by Spoon - A bit shoehorned, it remains my favorite Spoon song off their latest album.
5.  "Broke Window" by Gary Jules - An old folk favorite that transitions well, I think.
6.  "California" by Josh Ritter - L and I doubled up on this one accidentally.  I bet it sounds better here.  But the song namechecks so many California sites I couldn't drop it. 
7.  "California Stars" by Billy Bragg and Wilco - Have I told you about my late Wilco obsession?  It extends to this almost-country album.
8.  "Neptune's Net" by M. Ward - An instrumental transitional song that works great on its own.  I was surprised how well it leads into the next one.
9.  "Death Prayer in Heaven's Orchard" by Howlin Rain - I have no clue what this song is about, but I love it so.
10.  "Los Angeles" by the Rosewood Thieves - For the obvious reasons.
11.  "John Allyn Smith Sails" by Okkervil River - Perhaps a bit depressing, but it's awesome nonetheless.  "This is the worst trip I've ever been on" should not be taken literally.  Or figuratively.  Just enjoy the sound.
12.  "Earthquakes and Sharks" by Brandtson - I will forever credit this song with getting us to go Disneyland instead of Big Bend. 
13.  "This Train Will be Taking No Passengers" by Augie March - Perhaps not the best introduction to Augie March (it's not the best representation of their sound), it's nonetheless one of my favorites.
14.  "Panama" by Van Halen - Superbad.
15.  "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade" by the Decemberists - One of my top few Decemberists songs, and it's about a gorgeous California highway.  And the deliberate pacing positions it as a perfect finale.

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My 10 Favorite Albums of 2007

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