I'll pass on the vacation.

Admittedly, I can be "one of those". Originally I'll write off acts and then once the hits roll in - there I am jumping on the bandwagon and heralding genius. I don't like myself when this happens - I feel like a cheater. Gnarls Barkley was one of these cases. When the ridiculous promo shots started popping up putting Cee-Lo and Mouse in Clockwork Orange style and other various garbs, I thought it was gimmicky and said "Not this time, pals." Month or two later, "Crazy" is blowing up and I loved it just as much as the next guy. I hated myself that day.




But. There's been a turn, maybe for the better. I knew it was coming. A post on Beirut. Heard about originally again from my daily checklist, I was actually intrigued, but never sat down and listened. Well, I listened, and let me tell you, sad face Steve is making the post today.

Listen
Beirut - Postcards From Italy (artist's site)

Granted, the instrumentation on "Postcards..." is pretty swell (there was no guitar used on the record, but plenty of uke), but while the other bloggers are crawling into frontman Zach Condon's mouth to get a closer look at his apparently pristine vocal chords, I'll be the one slowly inching away from the pack and shutting the door behind me. It seems like a somewhat ungenuine attempt to be brilliant, somewhat contrived, and well, I just don't get the hype.

Try it for yourself, let me know, and hey, I may be wrong, and these are just opinions we're tossing around here, not bombs. Luckily, Zach's still got it going on, Pitchfork reports.


Visit
Beirut (official / myspace)

Till death do us part.

You know, I really never understood what the whole deal was with secrets. As a kid, I used to be told to keep my mouth shut in regards to certain ongoings, and chances are seconds later, any trust that was thrust into my hand was thrust back out quicker than an amateur in his first film. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, and no, that's not the direction this entry will be taking. Sicko.






I digress. I first heard of J Tillman after perusing one of my personal favourites, and pawned him off like so many I had before: another moper with a guitar (yes, I was one of those mopers at one point, and I know that there were a lot of me out there). But, after further review (and obviously listens), I've come to nearly fall for the mess that is Tillman, based currently out of Seattle.

J Tillman - Seven States Across (MP3 - artist's site)

I used to walk a lot as a kid - no matter where I was headed. Public transportation used to scare me. If I was a nomad, and felt the need to walk across seven states, and only had a dollar store MP3 player that could only hold a single melody, a single song - I would choose this should-be-literal gem released off of 2006's "Long May You Run, J Tillman". There really isn't a more descriptive way of saying it. This song gives you good chills.

Visit:
J Tillman (official / myspace)
Keep Recordings (official / myspace)

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As an aside, welcome to the blog. New venture really only used to keep myself occupied whilst at my daily call centre job. The idea behind the blog is to post re: bands that the bloggers have been yawning about for eons, but you know, never really reached you in the ways it should. So chances are when I finally check out Beirut, something'll pop up here. Be well.