THE UPTO12 LISTENING STATION

MY HEART IS BEATING

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:59:44 -0700

I’d like to provide you with a variety of tracks from this album, something that maybe you might not have heard late at night on some random college radio station. But nothing sums up the brilliance of Emily Haines and her work on Fantasies like the first track on the album.

As an added bonus, I’m breaking some rules here and dropping a bit of video in the LISTEN section. But, if you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you to watch one specific section found in the embedded player below. So:

Scroll down to the bottom of the playlist.
Click on Help, I’m Alive Video Documentary.
Watch that little nugget.

I just can’t get enough of Ms. Haines talking about how making things more simple was an obvious choice. I think she says something like “I had already made things complicated and my life sucked.” Has there ever been a more perfectly logical statement? Amazing stuff. Really.

THE STORY I HEARD

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:52:43 -0700

Sometimes I can’t help but go along with the hipster current. I put up a good fight. I try not to buy into the hype. I try to believe that being 32 years old, living in a suburban townhome and driving a forest green minivan makes me immune to the tastes and pleasures of the Portland scene. But, seriously, listen to this song. Go find the album (it’s on eMusic or iTunes or at your favorite local record store). Listen to it all. Sometimes the hype is justified. Sometimes you can overlook the too-cute-to-be-true stories about touring on bicycles up and down the West coast. Sometimes you can wish for the impossible. Sometimes you can hope that the cool kids won’t move on to the next best thing... that they’ll stick on Blind Pilot for a little while and enjoy what’s happening right now.

And... if you live in a place where their shows don’t sell out in, oh, like 14.3 minutes, you should probably go see them live. Dainon did. And he knows what’s up. He does. I promise.

LATELY

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:53:28 -0800

I blame it on iTunes’ new-ish Genius feature, but over the last couple months I’ve been hearing Midlake’s Roscoe constantly. And I can’t get enough. I know it sounds like Fleetwood Mac. I even think it sounds a little better than the Mac, but I’m a poor judge of those things. Every time this track hits the Struck speakers, a quick discussion sprouts up about “Roscoe” being the ultimate dog name. Is it the ultimate dog name? Yes. Of course it is. Is this song wonderful? Duh. Soak it up.

If you’ve got a better dog name, I wanna hear it. Seriously.

I’M FABULOUSLY RICH

Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:43:28 -0800

I owe my relationship with the Tragically Hip completely to Chris Nilsson (aka Milk, Nilly, Milkus Maximus). Years and years ago, he spent a summer in Montana and some wily Canucks turned him on to the Hip. Shortly thereafter, the Milkman and I joined forces and soaked our lives in the atmospheric lyrics and bluesy tracks of Canada’s most popular rock band. Strangely enough, the Hip never found a mainstream audience here in the Lower 48. But that shortcoming only allowed for one of the greatest concert experiences of my life.

In the Fall of 1998, Chris and I (joined by another adventurous friend) drove to Denver for our first live Hip experience. Somehow, we stumbled and mumbled our way into the afternoon soundcheck at a club that might have held 400 people (the Hip sell out football stadiums and hockey arenas in Canada). We talked with the band. Gordon Downie loved Chris’ shirt featuring a strange illustration of Hans Christian Andersen. We ate fish tacos. We sang along and shouted and wiggled like madmen—4 feet from the stage. We took home setlists. We camped one night. We spent another in a scary-cheap motel. It’s all still one of my most beautiful memories. A classically carefree college roadtrip.

And, well, this song reminds me of that on a day when I’m craving exactly that sort of reminder. It’s a live version of Grace, Too (originally on the magnificent Day For Night album).

I MET YOU AT THE BLOOD BANK

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:35:10 -0800

The new Bon Iver EP hit stores today and it doesn’t disappoint. Yeah, I’m not exactly a reliable narrator when it comes to things related to Mr. Justin Vernon and his sad-sounding-but-still-merry band of music makers. But just listening to this track makes me giddy and points to great great things in the future for this band.

The other three tracks on the EP are just as great and hold some surprise twist that carve out territory completely unlike the mesmerizing tracks on For Emma, Forever Ago. Don’t get me wrong, the new stuff’s equally mesmerizing—just in a different way. Blah blah blah. I love it. You will too. Scoot over to iTunes or eMusic or your local record store to pick it up, yeah?

THANK YOU, ITUNES PLUS

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:32:58 -0800

For some unknown reason, I’ve been holding out on purchasing the new Bloc Party album, Intimacy. I kept thinking I’d buy it on vinyl. And then I saw that iTunes had a deluxe version with some extra tracks and an acoustic version of Signs (one of Intimacy’s standout tracks). But I was out of iTunes dollars... until the parents of UPTO12 came through this Christmas with a reload of my iTunes credit surplus.

So... with the added money in the account—and the fact that all these tracks are now DRM-free! woo-hoo!—I grabbed Intimacy and haven’t regretted the decision for even a second.

And, with a heart full of gratitude, I’m more than happy to share this peaceful and just-right-for-a-Sunday-evening version of Signs. Love it?

LOVIN’S FOR FOOLS

Sat, 3 Jan 2009 15:53:43 -0800

Don’t read this yet. This song shouldn’t be littered by my observations. Not until you’ve heard it all the way through.

Okay. Now you can read.

It’s no secret that I’ve had a serious Bon Iver addiction over the last 12 months. It’s been ridiculous, really. I can’t get enough. I’ve downloaded the MySpace Transmissions. I’ve stayed up late to watch them on Conan. I arranged a “business” trip conveniently to catch them at the Aladdin here in Portland before the UPTO12s had relocated to the great northwest.

In my Bon Iver obsession, I came across a breathtaking rendition of Sarah Siskind’s Lovin’s For Fools. Apparently, Justin Vernon loves her sound and had his merry band of boys performing the track as part of their sets. But at a tour stop in Nashville, Sarah Siskind stepped on stage and joined in the fun. The performance is true beauty, but there’s something at the end of the clip (WATCH IT HERE) that just floored me. It’s the way Justin hugs her. It’s a you’ll-never-know-how-much-that-song-meant-to-me-at-a-really-rough-time-in-my-life hug. It’s a thank-you-for-singing-a-song-that-says-what-I-can’t hug. It’s happy and sad and, well, just wonderful.

All of this leads to the original. From the Sarah Siskind album, Studio.Living Room. I’ll stop praising and let you listen again. You know you want to.

YOUR NEW FAVORITE SONG

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 14:07:50 -0800

A few months back, I finally got my act together (well, sorta...) and started listening to the This American Life podcast. What took me so long? No clue. Plain laziness, I guess, mixed with a smidge of hipster aversion. If everyone loves it so much, it’s probably best to steer clear...

Anyway, one thing led to another and I was soon a faithful subscriber to another Chicago Public Radio podcast: Sound Opinions with Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. Jim and Greg write about pop/rock music for the two big Chicago papers (Greg also wrote a book about Wilco that I’ve been meaning to read for the last 6 years) and their podcast is entertaining and informative. The two critics demonstrate a levelheadedness that their colleagues should embrace. They talk about music without pretending that they’re saving the world. Bubblegum is delicious, hipster cred is meaningless, AC/DC rules—these are the things Jim and Greg preach.

When the newest album (Receivers) from Parts and Labor (a band I admittedly had never even heard of) landed on both critics’ 2008 Top Ten lists, I knew I had to take a listen. And Nowheres Nigh, the album’s second track, is an out-and-out stunner. It’ll have your toes tapping and head bobbing in seconds.