Saturday, March 23, 2013

Life Songs: 2005-2009

Oops, been a while, hasn’t it? Okay, here’s the next list. I had a good long think about these...

2005

2006
  • Lily Allen — Smile — A pretty song with a reggae flair about an newly-empowered woman. Video’s fun too.
  • Amadou & Mariam with Manu Chao — Senegal Fast Food — I’ve never heard this on the radio, only via the website for a festival weekend. Love it.
  • Belle & Sebastian — White Collar Boy; Sukie In The Graveyard — There are people who don’t like this album, I’m not one of them. Although I have to say I don’t get why Funny Little Frog was their lead single. Saw them on this tour, they performed well but the venue was AWFUL.
  • Braces Tower — Eleven Twelve — AWESOME remix of the pinball song from Sesame Street — you know, the one sung by the Pointer Sisters?
  • Camera Obscura — If Looks Could Kill; I Need All The Friends I Can Get — Happy and sunny, this.
  • Captain — Glorious; Frontline; This Heart Keeps Beating For Me; Western HighThis Is Hazelville was an awesome album, my favourite of the year. And I have Russell Brand’s Favourite Bands to thank for turning me on to it!
  • Gnarls Barkley — Crazy; Gone Daddy Gone — Crazy was ridiculously popular upon its release, still up there too. Took a while for me to decide I really did like it, but I got there. Also, their Violent Femmes cover is fun.
  • Peter Bjorn And John — Young Folks — Another one of those songs that you couldn’t get away from when it came out, it showed up everywhere. I still love it.
  • Puppini Sisters — Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (From Company B); Wuthering Heights; In The Mood — How is it that I love this style of music so much? These ladies are the real deal.
  • Regina Spektor — Fidelity; Better; Edit — Regina Spektor is an odd woman, her music is different from anything else I’m hearing out there. Saw her play at The Phoenix with a friend on this tour and she was lovely.
  • KT Tunstall — Black Horse And The Cherry Tree; Suddenly I See — Very popular. Like it anyway.
  • Amy Winehouse — Rehab; You Know I’m No Good; Back To Black; Valerie — She was a hot mess, but what a voice.

2007
  • Bird And The Bee — Again & Again — Dreamy.
  • Andrew Bird — Imitosis — Melancholic.
  • Flight Of The Conchords — Business Time; If You’re Into It — I love these boys. Seriously. They are so much fun. You know when I’m down to just my socks, it’s time for business — that’s why they’re called business socks.
  • Puppini Sisters — Spooky; Jilted — The first thing I ever heard by them was their cover of Spooky, on an episode of Jonathan Creek. Before the episode was over I’d found them on the internet and downloaded the album.
  • They Might Be Giants — The Mesopotamians — Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal and Gilgamesh!
  • Vampire Weekend — A-Punk; Oxford Comma — There’s a sweetness there. Plus, how could I not like a song called Oxford Comma?

2008
  • Captain — Keep An Open Mind — Why didn’t this turn into another album?
  • Death Cab For Cutie — I Will Possess Your Heart — Long slow buildup (four-and-a-half minutes before Ben even starts singing!), but worth the wait.
  • Faded Paper Figures — The Persuaded — Never say YouTube surfing doesn’t get you anywhere. I happened across a makeup tutorial video one night and this was the song the user had chosen to back it. Loved it from the first note.
  • Flight Of The Conchords — Foux Du Fafa; Robots; Boom — I never get tired of this album!
  • Friendly Fires — On Board — Another song I first heard in a commercial, I think it was for the Wii. Fun.
  • Gresham Flyers — Everyone Has To Meet Somewhere; Suits; Foolscap; Clockwatching — I come back to Foolscap all the time…
  • Count & Sinden with Kid Sister — Beeper — A friend of mine wanted me to find this for her. It’s so not my style in anyway, and yet…
  • Ra Ra Riot — Suspended In Gaffa — Best Kate Bush cover I’ve ever heard.
  • Santogold — L.E.S. Artistes; Shove It; Say Aha; Creator; Lights Out — She later had to change her name to Santigold, but this was before that. Great album.
  • Curt Smith — Seven Of Sundays — Beautiful.
  • The Ting Tings — That’s Not My Name; Shut Up And Let Me Go — Newer loves for me, I might eventually decide I don’t like them anymore (they’re both catchy of the type that seem to come and go), but for now I’m enjoying them.

2009
  • Lily Allen — Fuck You — How many times have you wanted to say this? Me, I know it’s a daily struggle.
  • The Asteroids Galaxy Tour — The Golden Age — Another song from a commercial. Might hate it in a couple of years, but right now…
  • Band of Skulls — I Know What I Am — I never get tired of this. Xognya introduced me to it, forever grateful.
  • Big Pink — Dominos — It’s got a majestic feel to it.
  • Andrew Bird — Oh No — Not sure why. I just like this one, it kind of envelops you. It’s like a Sunday afternoon, bright and warm.
  • Caro Emerald — Back It Up — Another one of those ultra-popular catchy songs, but I have to say there’s something about it that has sticking power.
  • Flight Of The Conchords — Hurt Feelings; I Told You I Was Freaky; Demon Woman; Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor); Friends — The whole album is fantastic. The CD came with a poster, I should put it up.
  • Franz Ferdinand — Ulysses — Still has that whatever-it-was that made their debut album so infectious.
  • Lonely Island — I’m On A Boat; Lazy Sunday; Dick In A Box — Yep.
  • They Might Be Giants — I Am A Paleontologist — That’s who I am!
  • The Virgins — Rich Girls — Has a ’70s summer feel to me.
  • Zeus — How Does It Feel; Marching Through Your Head — They opened for Belle & Sebastian at Massey Hall, not bad. A bit to beard-y though.

Well, that’s a mix! My tastes do seem to wander about, don’t they? Once I get a Grooveshark playlist made I’ll put the link up here.

Previously: Life Songs: ’70s; Life Songs: ’70s, additional; Life Songs: The ’80s, Part One; Life Songs: the ’80s part two; Life Songs: the ’80s part three; Life Songs: the ’80s part four; Life Songs: the ’80s part five; Life Songs: the ’90s part one; Life Songs: the ’90s part two; Life Songs: A New Millennium. Did you miss them?

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