Music of the Day: Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

I have been listening to Jens and this album for over a year now, but as of late it is all I have been listening to. Jens sings about posing as a boyfriend of a lesbian for her fathers benefit, getting his hair cut by a tax evading hairdresser, drive in bingo games, and leaving women because he does not love them. All on one album!

He is currently the only artist I know of outside of Rap & Hip Hop to reference Warren G's song Regulate in a song.

I have become slightly obsessed with Jens as of late, checking for any news or signs of a tour. It has gotten to the point that if Jens was to have a show somewhere in the Western Hemisphere I would fly there. And I'm dead serious when I say that.

Unfortunately he has been suffering from depression for the past year or so and has not been touring nor creating at all and he lives in Australia. Some day I will see him I'm sure.

I leave you with a acoustic version of my favorite song, A Postcard to Nina. It takes a minute to get going.

Music of the Day: Red, Yellow & Blue - Born Ruffians

First of all I want to address a common misconception about this series of posts, it does not mean Music of the Day in the literal sense, I will not be posting daily. It means it in a figurative sense, more like "Music of the Moment".

Now in my last music post I mentioned how Red, Yellow & Blue by Born Ruffians

It is safe to say that I am slightly obsessed with this album almost as obsessed as I was a year ago when I was introduced to Vampire Weekend. And in a way like Vampire Weekend I just like the feel of the album, from song to song I just like it, no real reason to describe it. It puts me in a good mood and makes me want to sing along and bop to the beat (sorry for the visualization there, if you need medical attention please stop reading and go get some).

Now days after I started listening I checked to see when when and if they are coming to Boston. Much to my dismay it said that they came to Boston on October 29th (the day before my birthday and the Of Montreal Show! Damn it all!) so it appears as if they won't be coming back any time soon. Sad.

But not as sad as I was when Katy listened to them and told me that the lead singer sounded like the lead singer of Saves The Day. At first I thought this was just a dig at me, but she is right, he does, and I really don't like Saves the Day. I couldn't justify the difference in why I like one over the other, I thought I had finally been proven to like emo music, and ironically I felt like an emo kid at that moment (all I wanted was to look like a sad kitten!) Then I remembered the Born Ruffians sing happy songs and not depressing, I want to kill myself music like, their much less talented colleagues Saves The Day.

Plus they are Canadian, and I like Canadians (not to be mistaken with Canadiens, who I despise). They like hockey and I like hockey. Which means they aren't from New Jersey (take that!).


Hat Tip: John Strubing

Music of the Day: Medusa - Annie Lennox

New feature here! I listen to music a lot, and usually the specific artist comes in spurts and gets played a few times a day or week and the just peters out and isn't heard for a while. Some make it into the normal rotation, like Red, Yellow & Blue by Born Ruffians did. Others can just be nostalgic listens like today's post.

Before you start questioning my manliness let me explain. As a child I loved to play with toy cars on the window sills in my living room. For my mother this was awesome, because it left her to do what she needed to do (namely deal with my brother Brian who was not as independent as myself) all the while listening to her feminist music. I never realized until fairly recently how much female empowering music I was subjected to as a child; K.D. Lang, Bonnie Rait, Sinead O'Conner, Joni Mitchell and of course Annie Lennox.

A particular album sticks out in my mind when I reminisce about yesteryear, that album being Medusa by Annie Lennox. Besides having a cover of my favorite Clash song (Train In Vain) Medusa brings with it a hard hitting feminist style that I think subconciously put the fear of God (rather my mother) in me as a young child. The more I think about it I don't know if my mom actually liked that music as much as it was a form a psychological warfare. Regardless I know every word of every song Medusa and poor Mumkin (our cat) was privy to many examples last night and this morning.

I don't see this one making it into the rotation anytime soon but rather coming out when I'm alone and feel like I need a heavy dose of 80's early 90's female empowerment.