2012 Discoveries

Got the pic of the old geezer with his birthday bone! Thanks, my friend. Yeah, I agree, I've made some great friends over the years here and this is a serious turn away from giving the enjoyment of the hobby the same social possibilities the site once had. Very sad, indeed. In spite of logging in twice already and asking the site to "remember me" I will still have to log in in order to post this. I'd have to log in yet again to view my forum threads. The selling interface appears to be going in the direction of eBay. Not good IMO. Tumbleweeds indeed.

Anyway, Beirut - I have two, one I like (The Flying Club Cup), and one just doesn't get to me yet (The Rip Tide). Per my email, I like Ryan Adams new one, Ashes and Fire (more like Heartbreaker, even more mellow still, than any of his others). Disappointed by Lioness/Winehouse. Don't think there may be that many fans of early music here, but a favorite Xmas gift from my in-laws was Jordi Savall's third recording of, El Cant de la Sibil La. The second version is stunning, and this one more than holds its own in that company (I don't particularly like the first one). This newest version has a mostly male choir which gives it a much weightier tone to the piece, while the second version is more light and angelic. I love both.

Mutemath "Odd Soul" is a new discovery for me= liking it so far......

Another:

Perfume Genius "Put Your Back N 2 It"

Don't let the title fool you, it's not a dance record. It's more a quiet, cloudy, atmospheric lofi singer/songwriter thing. I immediately thought of Antony & the Johnsons when I heard it, not just for the gender similarities but the tone and pace is very Antony like. Parts also remind me of Sufjan Stevens and Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), both some of my favorite artists. I really like this record and will be headed off to buy his first in hopes it is similar. This is one of the better records I have heard in quite some time.

Picked up the First Aid Kit and have been listening all afternoon. Thanks for this great lead, Richard. Similarities to Neko Case and a little of Emmylou Harris. The tunes are great and I like the expansive silvery feel to the sound. I really like Neko but find it fatigueing for more than about 30mins and some songs seem to be fill ins with weak tunes in places. The Lion Roar does not do that to me.