The National

My obsession with The National continues unabated. Consequently I've found it necessary to add some of the band's songs to my little mp3 player on the right. If you flip around the selection you should find both "Ada" and "Slow Show" off the 2007 album Boxer. "Slow Show", as well as another song called "Fake Empire", were featured on Chuck, which is why it occurred to me to post about The National in the first place.

I also added the song "Know When to Walk Away" by Jay Clifford to the player. Currently, I'm drawing a complete blank as to where I know it from, but it's a pretty straightforward rock song, which is such a good thing every once in a while, isn't it?

Well I hope you like the new stuff.

Rogue Wave

Well it seems like I haven't posted in a really long time yet again. I've been listening to a bunch of new stuff though. I finally got around to watching Chuck, which my friend had told me to see eons ago, but I never got around to, until now that is. It's a pretty hilariously awesome show. I suggest you check it out, if you're not familiar with it. It's sort of if The Office met Alias, with a whole bunch of absurd humor (courtesy of the supporting cast mostly - hehe) and lots of pop culture and geek references thrown in. All in all it's a very consistently good TV experience. The added bonus here is that Alex Patsavas, music supervisor extraordinaire, is picking the songs for the show. Naturally I've been checking up on what's been on the show. You can see for yourself here. There are a lot of favorites of mine like Spoon and The National to be had and I've also discovered a fair number of new and old (yay Eels) goodies. I wanted to mention Rogue Wave though. They used a song called "Lake Michigan" off the album Asleep at Heaven's Gate on the show and it's really fantastic. In fact that whole album is a real pleasure to listen to. Now fortunately, "Lake Michigan" and a few other Rogue Wave titles are available at betterPropaganda. I swear that site is one of the best things on the internet. Anyway go here to listen and download.

Well that's that for right now. Hope you like the music.

The National and Tindersticks and then some

Personally, I think the lead singer from The National has one of the sexiest voices ever. Check out "All the Wine" and you shall see the light. I really dig the song. See if you agree here.

Actually, while you're at it you should also take the time to listen to some Tindersticks. Their song "Trying to Find a Home" (available for download here) is just lovely and wonderful and calming and sweet.

Alright there are a bunch more bands that sort of go nicely with the above two. I found The Silent League while re-listening to The National and Tindersticks. They make orchestral pop. Listen and download their song "Breathe" here.

Also, these two songs are absolutely amazing: "The Ocean" by The Bravery and "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra. Once again, thanks Grey's for introducing me. Unfortunately these aren't available for free, although I'd say they're worth forking out a dollar for. Before you do that, though, you can listen to "The Ocean" at The Bravery's official site (it's track 12 on the "The Sun and the Moon" album) and "To Build a Home" is available here. The Cinematic Orchestra's song is probably one of the most brilliant songs I've heard in a long time, apart from "Toothpaste Kisses" by The Maccabees of course. They're very different songs, with "Toothpaste Kisses" being a lot more cheerful I should say, but somehow I reckon they're still kind of similar, I can't quite explain it. In any case The Cinematic Orchestra uses some truly wonderful string arrangements in their song and if you don't know it, you must absolutely check it out. The other songs by the group, also available at the aforementioned link, are quite good too. So have a listen to that also if you have the time. They're quite different from "To Build a Home" though, more jazzy electronica-y, but good, nevertheless.