Noah and the Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.
LESS-THAN-THREE!!!
And a mini-supergroup in Mister Heavenly with Nick Thorburn (Islands), Honus Honus (Man Man), and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse)? Hmm… I’m in!
Mister Heavenly – Mister Heavenly
Mister Heavenly – Pineapple Girl
Thanks Graf for the heads up!
Okay… that’s enough from me today. See you Tuesday!
Cheers,
T.
Noah and the Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (Thanks Scott!)
So so good!
*** UPDATED with actual album art!
Anyone else getting a total “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by Tom Petty vibe at the beginning of this??
Also, check out “Wild Thing“…. Mmmm… Can’t wait for this album!
Cheers!
Photography by Me!
Yes, I may be a winter with my hair & skin, but my green eyes say I’m an autumn. You all know I love autumn, but as the skies turn grey, the wind gets a bit of bite to it, seaping into the layers, and you start to think about studded tires on bike rides.
Though I do my best not to assign specific times of the year for an album, sometimes I just can’t help it and with winter on my mind, I found myself craving, not only hot cocoa & argyle sweaters, but also two albums from years past. Namely, Hometowns by The Rural Alberta Advantage and Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down by Noah & The Whale!
That’s not to say I only listen to these albums in the winter, just like I love a steaming bowl of soup at times in the heat of summer, there’s just something about the overall themes and aesthetic of this album, that call the imagery that is very much like what you see at the very top of this post.
Though I want to say it’s the death & broken relationships of Noah & The Whale and the wintery homeland of The RAA that pulls me into the world of no-slip boots and quilted jackets…
In reality, it’s probably just a matter of “discovering” these albums on a wintery bike ride.
Eggs or chickens, was it the winter that made me connect with the album or was it the album that made me connect it to winter? Who cares, all I know is that I needed them back on my iPod and STAT! Oh man….. it was like pulling on a big ass blanket — are you tired of the winter analogies yet? Me too! — or maybe one of them snuggie things!
Brains are weird things. Weird, weird things. Shouldn’t a good album, a great album actually, be something you should want to listen to whenever and wherever? Why would a few grey clouds and a need for a jacket make you want to listen to an album or two or 40? But here we are, ready to get our winter on!
*happy cozy lip-smacking smiling sigh*
What are your winter albums???
1. The Ballad of The Raa
2. Rush Apart
3. The Dethbridge In Lethbridge
4. Don’t Haunt This Place
5. The Deadroads
6. Drain the Blood
7. Luciana
8. Frank, Ab
9. The Air
10. Sleep All Day
11. Four Night Rider
12. Edmonton
13. In the Summertime
1. 2 Atoms in a Molecule
2. Jocasta
3. Shape of My Heart
4. Do What You Do
5. Give a Little Love
6. Second Lover
7. 5 Years Time
8. Rocks and Daggers
9. Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
10. Mary
11. Hold My Hand as I’m Lowered
12. Death by Numbers
MMmmm…….. winter.
Cheers,
Tsuru…
Photography by Me…
Okay… before we begin, check this out, originally tumbled by drowse, of the dad from Everybody Hates Chris doing a collection of the most random Old Spice body wash commercials. They are back-to-back-to-etc-etc without a pause, giving them an even greater sense of randomness and WTFness!
Awesomeness?
Yes…. yes it is.
Alright, the reason for the season, today’s mixtape. This one’s been brewing in my head ever since I first heard “You Were Born” by Cloud Cult. Every time I listen, all I can think about is my oldest daughter Saydi. Something about the tone, the lyrics, the theme of the album itself that when that song comes on, it’s only her I think about.
After falling in love with the album, I had the incurable urge to build a mixtape, with nothing but her in mind. Songs that make me think of her, songs that inspire me that I want to share with her, songs she loves but maybe with a new twist on them, songs to hopefully inspire her & her music, songs for Saydi, songs for my sunshine.
It’s been a long & tough journey, sweetie, a journey that in many ways is only just now beginning. I’m so proud of who you are, what you’ve done, the woman you have become, and all the places you are going. You are an amazing person & I love you so much! This is for you!
But…
Before we get to it, a very special call out. She will be playing A show THIS SUNDAY on August 22 at the Clubhouse in Tempe, AZ!
Go see her before she becomes bigger than Jesus! Okay, here we go!!!!
TSURURADIO Presents…
(Full Zip)
And for the love of jeebus…. PLAY GAPLESS!!!!
Clearing
01 Cloud Cult – You Were Born *removed on request
02 Drink Up Butterfly – Pink Sunshine
03 fun. – Be Calm
04 Julian Casablancas – Out Of The Blue
05 Fang Island – Life Coach
06 Suckers – It Gets Your Body Movin
07 Florence + The Machine – Cosmic Love
08 Violent Femmes – Crazy
09 Neko Case – Hold On Hold On
10 Bright Eyes – Papa Was A Rodeo
11 Noah And The Whale – The First Days Of Spring
12 O Brother – You Are My Sunshine
13 Len – Steal My Sunshine
14 Flotilla – Meet Me Outside
15 Yes – Heart Of The Sunrise
Holding
16 The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
17 Arcade Fire – Suburbs
18 Sunset Rubdown – Dragon’s Lair
19 Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan – Eyes Of Green
20 Jason Lytle – Brand New Sun
21 Weezer – Perfect Situation
22 Grant Lee Buffalo – Mockingbirds
23 Amy Millan – I Will Follow You Into The Dark
24 Basia Bulat – Heart Of My Own
25 The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
26 Cloud Cult – There’s So Much Energy In Us *removed on request
27 The Decemberists – Of Angels And Angles
Like what you hear? Go buy it!
Cheers,
Tsuru
Well, it’s Valentine’s Day. Now, Baby & I don’t celebrate it, not for any particular reason, I guess with her birthday, our anniversary, and the holidays JUST passing, we don’t feel the need to go out and buy each other another gift. Rather save the money for a little vacation action this year! But, alot of people DO celebrate and maybe tougher, a lot people EXPECT some kind of celebration. Want to hear a sad one? Yesterday on my rollcycling Twitter, someone in the cycling world gleefully tweeted how all his wife wants for Valentine’s Day is for him to do the dishes, no presents, just that.
Let me ask you. How awesome of a partner can you be, when all she wants, is just for this one day, that you get off your ass and give her a hand. Wow. Sad thing is… how many people DO wait til a holiday, say Valentine’s or Mother’s Day before they “do something”? Dude. Turn off the TV and go do the fucking dishes.
*sigh*
Well… that’s just one component of these awesome-O “holidays” The others can be worse. Why is being “alone on Valentine’s day” and worse than being alone on any other day? Why Valentine’s day to propose? Why not your own special day? I don’t know man.
Fortunately for you and me, we got AdventurerNeil, his letter, and an amazing compilation to help get us all through this holiest of holy days… Go on, Neil, TESTIFY!!!
Dear Aaron,
Why oh why do relationships come with absolutely miserable expiration dates like Nov 1, or Dec 25, or some other depressing wintery time? I don’t know. I think that the cold scares love away, and for that, I will never forgive it.
Have you ever noticed how relationships (and major moments in them) can come to be defined simply by a song or two? Further, I believe music is the way we come to love and accept all of the small moments in between. A number of the songs on this compilation were introduced to me by females who would later break my heart. I’d stop giving my heart away so freely… really, I would… but it seems to me that to do so is to DIE a little on the inside. And I’m alive to LIVE, goddammit!
This is a true romantic’s compilation, meant for the dreamers, sent for the feint of heart. And the lyrics… damn! Could they be any more fitting? I tried to make it 3 things: personal, timely, and timeless. If the music doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, you may want to see a cardiologist for a new set of strings.
One of the things I like about sad songs is that they are kind of trump cards. Not that this actually happened, but let’s say I play “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken” by Camera Obscura at the start of a game. She plays, oh, for example, “For Today” by Jessica Lea Mayfield. Blamo! Check mate! She wins all the pogs, sinks my battleship, etc. Or as the Avett Brothers might say… “But if love is a game, girl, then you’re gonna win. I’ll spend the rest of my life bringing victory in!”
You may ask why would I make such an exhaustive mix of painful emotional shit. Well, have you ever subconsciously resisted something? Then you know how it can grow and grow. I’ve noticed myself doing that with sad songs recently… tucking them away, fearing their power. The emotional skeletons in our closets can literally become the elephants in the room (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?). It is with great cathartic joy, then, that I bring out my dead! (heart) and present you with a compilation of songs that are beautiful, sad, and not easy to confront at all. Every sadness needs its catharsis – catharsis is truth. And the truth, my friend, will set you free.
Merry Fuckin’ Corporate Love Day,
AdventurerNeil
PS. If a lot of these look familiar, it’s because I’ve been listening to TSRURURADIO pretty much non-stop… I tried to avoid too many repetitions of already loved Tsuru tracks, but some were un-pass-up-able. Thanks again for all that you do, and please keep up the awesome.
Note to Readers: I kept that in to be true to the letter, not for an ego boost. But man, did my ego boost!
PPS. If you do host this, can you please introduce as: “AdventurerNeil’s Bring Out Your Dead! (heart) Compilation”.. thanks!
PPPS. READERS SHOULD NOTE that if they are depressed, bi-polar, suffering a recent heartbreak, having a miserable winter, etc., that they should SEEK HELP from friends/family/professionals, and not wallow in depressing music. I listen, I let myself feel. But I refuse to engage in extended wallowing, and so should everyone else! “It isn’t right to sit around and think about the awful things that get you down”
TSURURADIO Community Presents…
AdventurerNeil’s Bring Out Your Dead! (heart) Compilation!!! (Full Zip)
01 Frank Sinatra – All The Way
02 Dirty Projectors – Two Doves
03 Eels – Little Bird
04 Camera Obscura – The Sweetest Thing
05 Belle and Sebastian – i’m a cuckoo
06 Spoon – Anything You Want
07 Local Natives – World News — REMOVED ON REQUEST
08 The Avett Brothers – Paranoia In Bb Major
09 Phoenix – Love Like a Sunset Part II
10 Coconut Records – The Summer
11 Regina Spektor – Us
12 Bouncing Souls – Undeniable
13 RATATAT – Breakaway
14 The Police – Cant Stand Losing You
15 Everything But The Girl – Each And Every One
16 Noah And The Whale – Blue Skies
17 Jessica Lea Mayfield – For Today
18 The Fruit Bats – When U Love Somebody
19 Yo La Tengo – Today Is The Day
20 Flaming Lips – Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
21 Phil Collins – You Can’t Hurry Love
22 Coldplay – Warning Sign
23 Spoon – I Summon You
24 Girls – Lauren Marie
25 The Radio Dept – Strange Things Will Happen
26 Okkervil River – Red
27 Paolo Nutini – Rewind
28 Citizen Cope – Sideways
29 Camera Obscura – James
30 Eels – All The Beautiful Things
31 Do Make Say Think – Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
32 Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
33 Billy Bragg and Wilco – At My Window Sad and Lonely
34 Noah And The Whale – I Have Nothing
35 Yo La Tengo – Tears Are In Your Eyes
36 Bjork – Desired Constellation
37 Johnny Cash – Hurt
38 The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
39 The Shins – Pink Bullets
40 The Jackson 5 – I’ll Be There
Thank you so so much Neil! Another amazing mix! Cheers to everyone and have a wonderful Sunday!
Tsuru
contact me @ tsurumail
