Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers – “Shady Esperanto and The Young Hearts”
If the video enough of a tip off, this is a band that doesn’t always take themselves that seriously. That’s not to say that their music isn’t seriously good. Seriously.
Peter Gabriel – “Flume (Bon Iver cover)”
When I first read that Peter Gabriel had covered Bon Iver’s “Flume” I was skeptical. The original is lo-fi and full of falsetto with lyrics of “Only love is all maroon / Gluey feathers on a flume /
Sky is womb and she’s the moon.” Or at least, that’s what I’m told…it can be a bit tough to understand all of them. Gabriel’s rendition is a bit more refined, but still just as powerful.
Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
It’s quite likely that you know of this song from the recent VW PunchDub commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl. I had ignored the music blogs touting the band and despite being featured on several festival stages, it wasn’t until mid-2009 with their “Veckatimest” release that I actually started to listen. The impressive fan video below was created by Gabe Askew.
Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.
Matt Hires – “Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song”
I have Jamie again to thank for introducing me to Matt Hires’ “Live at Hotel Cafe” EP around this time last year since I somehow missed it on the Paste Magazine Sampler from Nov ’08. If I were to have made a mix cd that represented what I was listening to last year, this acoustic/pop track definitely would have been on there.