Fox Fur

All the songs below here were songs I first heard in 2011, though they might not have been released this year. They all rocked my world…and made me feel less afraid of my mortality.

Here’s my top 6 songs (out of 12).

1. Fleet Foxes- Grown Ocean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgv6dKV03dA

This song was the first song on my playlist when I went on my whale-watching trip in Boston this past Fall; it was the perfect whale-watching song, evoking to me the  immediacy of our human journey from life to death, and the awe and wonder that come along with each of these moments.

2. Slow Runner-Devil Moon

I most likely will be biased, since Michael Flynn of Slow Runner was my college roommate and is one of my closest friends…but I’ll say it anyway. From the arpeggiated notes you hear in the beginning, to the wistful harmonies intertwined with the lyrics and drum arrangement,to the entrance of the electric guitar in the end, this gorgeous song conjures up feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. This was the most repeated song on my iTunes playlist for 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwZC-WMd4d4

favorite lyrics: held together by some chords and caffeine/I wanna trade my piano for a time machine…

3. Sam Amidon - Relief (R. Kelly Cover)

Sam Amidon takes American folk songs from the mid 19th century and then reinterprets it for these times….except for this stunning cover of an R. Kelly song.  And when he played this song last at Rockwood Music Hall 2, the whole crowd sang the chorus.

favorite lyrics: What a relief to know we are one/what a relief to know the war is over/what a relief to know there’s an angel in the sky/what a relief to know love is still alive…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhryN1hSJKg

4. Barr Brothers  - Water and the Windmill (?)

I saw the Barr Brothers twice: the first was in September as I waited to see my friend’s band Aunt Martha play at the Mercury Lounge;the second was this month, with my brother, his girlfriend, and a new friend, at Union Pool. At both performances, my jaw dropped upon hearing this song (not sure of the title, but he says Water and the Windmill twice in the song). The harp player plays the guitar, the drummer brother plays a manjo (cross between a mandolin and a banjo) and they all gather around this condenser mic to play the softest, yet most beautiful tune they have (and they have a couple of beauties).

favorite lyric: I bring to you with reverent hands the books that my lover binds..

5. Jose Gonzalez -Hand On Your Heart (Kylie Minogue cover)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucOjx01zwrE

Heard this song (released in 2009) during the beginning of the year while watching the hypnotic video late at night. From the imperfectness of the recording, the intricate yet urgent guitar arrangement,  to what I perceive to be seagulls sampled in the background (though it could also be sampled strings being bowed at a high register), Mr. Gonzalez knows how to make a cover song (and recording of said song) his own.

favorite lyric: put your hand on your heart and tell me it’s all over/I won’t believe it til you put your hand on your heart and tell me that we’re through…

6. Darwin Deez - Radar Detector

Darwin Deez looks like what would have happened if John C Reilly had a baby with….John C Reilly. But don’t let all that handsomeness fool you; Mr. Deez makes ridiculously catchy, brilliant pop songs. Like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pbdLqTh_x4

favorite lyrics: you and I go shopping and find exactly what we’re looking for/you and I go shopping and fall asleep inside a mattress store