Svetlana stuff: Progress

Gwynn and I recorded some vocals and she played organ on it. This is going to be on our band's upcoming album. This is only one verse... Lyrics are as follows:

sleeping...

it's all i do

to forget you


when i miss you

i think of the bad times

you gave me like a

trojan whore

We finished all of my vocals on Tuesday, and we plan to finish Gwynn's this weekend. :)

Mix 44:44

Had some freetime today, so I made a mix of the stuff I've been listening to lately. Here's the track listing:

1. anna ternheim - lovers dream
2. the shins - turn on me
3. sandie shaw - hand in glove (smiths cover)
   
4. rocketship - naomi and me
5. rumbskib - springtime
6. daylight's for the birds - worlds away
7. interpol - not even jail
8. magnetic fields - all the umbrellas in london
9. guided by voices - the best of jill hives
10. her space holiday - key stroke
    
11. jenny lewis and the watson twins - the big guns
12. sufjan stevens - let's hear that string part again...
13. sufjan stevens - in this temple as in the hearts of man for whom he saved the earth
14. ladytron - all the way

Now a disclaimer: I didn't really have the capability to edit the songs together so they flow since I wasn't at home when I put this together. Here's a link to the .zip file containing the mix. Enjoy!

Cover Versus Original: The Smiths' Last Night I Dreamt

It took me a while to get into The Smiths, but now after years of listening to them nonstop I love them. Initially, I was a big fan of the earlier and more Rockabilly-influenced Morrissey stuff. (Many of his early b-sides are the best solo material he's released.) The other night a friend sent me this string version of Last Night I Dreamt and I decided to pull out the original as well as the Low version from a few years ago. Which is better? Doesn't matter -- it's a solid song.





The Smiths

Low

Strings

Monster Movie

When Slowdive broke up in 1995, most members went on to form Mojave 3 and change their approach to writing from Shoegaze/Dream Pop to a more songwriter style ala Leonard Copeland. While Halstead, Goswell, and McCutcheon were off doing their thing, Christian Savill and her friend Sean Hewson were collaborating on their new band called Monster Movie.

With not nearly as much publicity around them as Mojave 3 (they were almost immediately signed to 4AD), it makes sense that Monster Movie is not a well-known group outside of the circle of Slowdive fans. That said, they write more in the vein of the later Slowdive material while adding a bit more pop and solid song structure. They also create beautiful ambient soundscapes ala Slowdive, but there's something very different about their sound. Their music just feels a lot different. It's less haunting and much more structured. Not to say one is better than the other -- it's totally dependent on your mood. If you want to just space out and loose yourself, put on a Slowdive album. If you want something a little more simple and sweet, put on some Monster Movie.

Here are some tracks from Monster Movie's 2004 To The Moon album:

1. Sweet Lemonade
2. Dream About You
3. Beautiful Arctic Star
4. From a Distance

Of these four songs, Sweet Lemondade and Beautiful Arctic Star are my favorite. All of Monster Movie's releases are solid, so if you pick one up, you know what to expect.

Enjoy.