If You Listen to Me...

"THE EDITORS of this publication asked me to compile a list. They asked that I not be too esoteric, and I will try. . . . However, as most people are coming to realize, we as individuals are finding greater connections to smaller things; things smaller in scope and more specific to our tangible and imagined communities. I find that the music that transports me often has a community of admirers bound together only by the love of that music. When I take a look at the dominant music news and discover that, essentially, Bruce Springsteen = Radiohead = Yeah Yeah Yeahs = Madonna = Arcade Fire = Bat for Lashes, it compels me to turn away from the lot."

Read on for recommendations.
However, I believe the message here to be... find your own.

Will Says

"The first song that I remember dealing with death in a pretty direct way was "Ebony Eyes". When I was four or five, I listened to the Everly Brothers over and over again, acting out all the songs with the little plastic figurines I got for my birthday, and that was the last song on the record. I could tell that it was a sad song, but I didn't have any idea how sad. It's still something that I value a lot; music that gets in there. If I'm wondering about death and scared about life, then to find some song that addresses it is like, 'Well, if you feel that way the best thing might be to either obliterate consciousness, or to destroy yourself completely....' That's not the kind of music that I like to listen to. But if someone deals with the end of conscious existence in such a way that they're not just trying to ruin your day with it, then it can be pretty great."

A.World A.Part

Sometimes, on a short holiday, it is nice to sit and listen to an old friend.

Lie Down in the Light

Will Oldham’s new album has been out for a whole MONTH and I somehow let that pass without a word. For shame. This one is under the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy moniker. Critics seem to like it, as usual. Drag City even made it available through Amazon so that you can have a listen.