Gary Numan - Cars

I spent my Independence Day evening in DC alone by myself and watching “Donnie Darko”, my self-proclaimed favorite movie, a fact which I have decided still holds true.

I think this night is best represented in a homage to amazing 80’s music. “Donnie Darko” honestly blows me away with the top-notch collection of songs it features, all at just the right moments and filmed in just the right ways. And the instrumental score is gorgeous as well. I have fantasies (don’t laugh) of being in charge of the soundtracks for films. Can you imagine having that job and getting paid for it? Maybe that’s a reason I always adore Sofia Coppola movies (I actually watched the “Marie Antoinette” trailer over and over for months on my desktop before it came out, the version that featured “Age of Consent” by New Order). I have a mental stash of songs like “Here Comes Everybody” by Autolux and “Utopia” by Goldfrapp that would be perfect in these little vague, yet dramatic, montages I’ve concocted. The idea of setting music to visuals is like a dream.

But away from my tangent, lots of great 80’s music in the movie because it is set in 1988, so here is one of my favorite new wave songs from that era, “Cars” by Gary Numan. And no, I still don’t actually drive (but I’ve decided that if I ever do my dream car is a Porsche, an automative crush that has slowly been fermenting over the years…who knew I’d be so cliche?). The synths here are to die for, and I love the way they are laid out in the intro chorus as one long steady note while the “background” instrumentation shifts around behind it, and then it catches up a bit afterwards. I hope that makes sense. And I can’t ever escape the visual from the music video of Numan looking in random directions dramatically at all the intervals of all the important slaps and then being freeze-framed for dramatic purposes. Corny yes, but kinda cute, also yes.

Rehoboth Beach, originally uploaded by Brandi!.

Time for Rehoboth Beach again, and it was lovely as usual!

Arctic Monkeys - 505

I know I know…the Arctic Monkeys *rolls eyes a little*. I know they had that one really popular song which I can’t even recall anymore a couple years ago that got totally played out, but this is a really good little song. I really don’t know anything about the Arctic Monkeys at all. I also know I’m doing a lot of Songs of the Day lately, but I really love using that new little flash player doodad. You can’t download anything so I don’t feel too guilty, but it allows my faithful bounty of return visitors to listen inline while reading. And Seeqpod was getting a bit too unreliable. People moving their own files…the nerve! So I guess I’m feeling newly excited and inspired.

I don’t know why I have this song, actually…maybe it was from adventures in RadioLover? It’s one of those songs that takes its time to build and then just lets it out on ya. Those are always good. I love his accent, too. It has that classic intangible desperation that always wins me over musically, as well. I like to hear people’s pain in melody-form. It makes me feel alive and full of passion. And I’m always worrying about something, so like attracts like!

“…I’m always just about to go and spoil a surprise, take my hands off of your eyes too soon…”

Republic Tigers - Buildings and Mountains

Republic Tigers - Golden Sand

I had been meaning to check out the Republic Tigers album a little closer, and I am really glad I finally did. I keep an Excel spreadsheet on my desktop at work to jot down songs I hear during the day while zoned out in design and coding expeditions, and I had several of their songs noted. These two, actually. So I guess I made the right decision on what to feature.

They sound very much like a mixture of Midlake, Interpol, the Shins and even Mew on some songs. Lots of good melodies, synths and guitar soundscapes, but grounded. These two songs are very different, but I like how they are so eclectic like that. I love the fragmented, orbital vocal interludes toward the end of the very deliberate (can you say hot?) main intro vocals on “Golden Sand”…totally gorgeous and gives me goosebumps. And I also love the dreamy, driving melodies on “Buildings and Mountains”. The whole album spans this range all over the place, always staying accessible and quality. Very rare these days! I still get such a satisfactory thrill out of discovering new music, *sigh*.

Beck - Chemtrails

I am totally in love with this song. I heard it start getting heavy rotation on WOXY.com a month or so ago, and it is probably my favorite sound I’ve ever heard from Beck. I know he likes to switch things up a lot, but if this is any indication of the new album’s general sound, I’ll be buyin’ that up quick! Dangermouse has done well here as a collaborator.

I realize it can be compared to a lot of ethereal sounds that are already out there, but I could really care less and think he’s done a good thing here. Very dreamy, but with a crazy set of drums and beats that push the whole thing up to another level. And then the end is just awesome…the whole fade out into nothing then coming back with crazy Jonny-from-Radiohead-esque guitar crunching, all ending in a sudden cutoff. Bold, very bold. I can easily forget Beck’s association with Scientology long enough to enjoy this little escape.

I featured RadioLover in my list of favorite Mac apps a few months ago, but I’ve just started using it again after a long lapse and wanted to do a full-fledged post on its genuine awesomeness again. This is such a cool little app for finding new music or jazzing up a stagnating collection. It allows you to stream internet radio stations through the interface and automatically breaks each stream into individual, tagged songs that are then dumped right into iTunes.

I’m the kind of person who is very big on finding hidden treasure in a pile of junk (thrifting, “surprise bonus bags” when shopping, etc.). For some reason I have a love of all things that form “kits” of any kind where I can take them apart and reconfigure to my exact needs, feeling thoroughly clever when all is said-and-done. RadioLover allows me to do just that: after amassing a small treasure trove of questionable new tracks and artists in the bottom of my iTunes library, I get the chance to delete any particularly corny sounding/looking ones and wiggle with excitement at some I can’t wait to listen to. The rest are all surprises which get thrown onto my iPod for experimentation during a day’s commute.

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