Thank You For The Music! (03)

LIKEOMG50THPOST!

It's been a while since I've done a TYFTM post, mainly because there have been so many good albums and songs I've heard over the past few months. So, seeing as it's coming up for the new year and all, I figured it'd be a good idea to make a compilation of sorts. So, rather than focusing on the one album, I'm gonna mention a number of songs and bands, that have had quite an effect on me this year. So, what I'm gonna do is make a list of SOME of my favourite musical discoveries/albums/songs/bands of this year - everyone else is doing it, so why can't I? I'll throw in some links as well for you to hear 'em too. (Song titles/Band names that are bold throughout this post'll have links on them, give them a click!)

First, the bands -

1. The Shins - Probably could now be regarded as one of my favourite bands. Although they've been about on my iTunes/iPod for a few years, I'd never listened to them once (I got a big bunch of music from my uncle a couple of years back that kinda lay dormant on my laptop for quite a while) - but then, as I happily shuffled through my songs, The Past and Pending came on out've nowhere - and I, as cheesy as I can be, was transported. This song is absolutely amazing. Stripped down to an acoustic guitar w/ vocals, and another few instruments, the song's got quite a calm feel to it, and it's perfect for reflecting/thinking/walking/writing/drawing/getting a train/sleeping/anything. And the lyrics are pretty awesome as well ("In matters of love loss, we've no recourse at all"/"lose yourself in lines dissecting love."). In short, this song is one of my favourite songs of all time, and the rest of them are pretty fantastic as well - New Slang, Pink Bullets and Caring Is Creepy. I've never gotten tired of this band, ever, and they're pretty well suited for any mood or time of day.
2. Citizen Cope - I wouldn't count myself a massive fan as I'm not too much into them, but the two songs that I really really like are pretty smashing - they were also both in One Tree Hill, incidentally. Sideways is my favourite of the two, it's moody, mopey and pretty damn awesome - also, Santana have done a cover, but the wailing guitars take away from the rest of the music a bit. "These diamonds they fade/Flowers they bloom" - bloody brilliant. Son's Gonna Rise is another, more up-tempo song of there's which is also pretty good. I'll need to find out some other songs of theirs...
3. Bob Dylan - Ha, yeah, believe it or not, quite recently I've started listening to this dude a hell of a lot more than I used to or would've before. There's not a lot I can say that other people haven't already, but Don't Think Twice, It's Alright and Hurricane are definite favourites.
4. Alex Day - Click here for his YouTube link - you might've seen him as nerimon on there as well. His music is absolutely amazing! Holding On and No More are the two favourites off of his album (I bought it 'cause he's THAT good) - the lyrics are cute, funny, amazing, great, brilliant - "Sat under this tree with you, the rain is on our faces and I can't think of a single place where I would rather be." - a freakishly odd coincidental lyric that happened to explain my exact feelings on the 1st of November. Nice one. Buy his music, you won't regret it.

They're probably my best discoveries as of late - album wise, for my favourites this year it'd have to be -

1. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
2. Elliot Smith - New Moon (Not necessarily this year, as I first heard Angel In The Snow [YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THAT SONG - it's amazing] in '08, but I started listening to the actual album more this year, and it's pretty phenomenal.)
3. Damien Rice - O (Again, not a new one, but it's been on more this year than it's ever been.)
4. Kasabian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum
5. Placebo - Battle For the Sun
6. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I
7. Ryan Adams - Demolition
8. Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit
9. Foals - Antidotes
10. The Beatles - Help!
11. Nobuo Uematsu - FFVII/VIII/IX/X/FFVIIAC OSTs and Piano Collections (lets face it, they're gonna be there every year)
12. The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
13. Aqualung - Aqualung
14. Harvey Danger - Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
15. Michael Buble - Crazy Love

Saying that, that's only a small taster of my favourite albums/bands this year. It's probably pretty damn impossible to track 'em all down, and I've more than likely forgotten some of them.

Mark, out.
xxx

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Now playing: Jack's Mannequin - Kill the Messenger
via FoxyTunes