Thursday, February 26, 2009

Top 10 bass lines

Hello! Tilly here. I just wanted to get the word out there about the awesomeness that is the bass. Have you ever heard a song with a rockin' bass line that wasn't also a rockin' song? No. Bass is like the super power of a band...if they use it well, it leads to wonderful results. If they use it badly or not at all, thousands upon thousands of kittens are stuck in trees and the old ladies who own them cry for days. Who wants that?



It's not that a song is automatically bad if the base just melds quietly into the background, keeping the song going. But a song with a creative, interesting base line has so much more depth and coolness. Thankfully, there are quite a few bands out there who truly value their bassist. For reference, I provide a few exemplary songs of bands like this. Take a listen, and when you do, really listen to the bass. Oh yes. Sweet sweet bass.

Just for fun, these are in order of what I consider top 10 base lines. Social experiment! Leave a comment re-ordering them or adding new songs with fab bass.

10."Gamma Ray" - Beck
9."Faberge Falls for Shuggie" - Of Montreal
8."Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above" - CSS
7."A Million Ways" - OK GO
6."Stalemate" - Nada Surf
5."Black History Month" - Death From Above 1979 (who consist of only a bassist and a drummer!! Rad.)
4."Evil" - Interpol
3."Saint John" - Cold War Kids
2."The Lovecats" - The Cure
1."Only In Dreams" - Weezer (this is the true seven minutes in heaven, kids.)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

WE BOTH HAVE THE SAME BACKPACK



Gentle readers,

Tilly and Thom may sometimes seem different but the same, since they love so many of the same things. Including: backpacks!

Thom recently received a lovely red backpack from the local blood center, for giving away her lifeblood all the time. Tilly has had the same lovely green backpack since 7th grade that she purchased in Chinatown in San Fransisco. These two lovely backpacks are in fact the same exact kind of backpack! So take Tilly, Thom, and matching backpacks, and what do you get? Sexy results.

"Different but the Same" - Ben Kweller
"Sexy Results" - Death from Above 1979

BTW: New poll! Check it! *DJ scratch noise*

Monday, February 16, 2009

Mr. Bird and the Crazy Girl

Last Thursday, we saw Andrew Bird at The Paramount Theatre, as he tours his lovely new album Noble Beast.


As you can see, we are very reserved, serious concert goers.



Opening the show was Swedish band Loney Dear, who were pretty much cute. They have an ability to build and layer sounds into a nice cacophony, a bit like Andrew Bird himself, though they are less classically-influenced then him. The lead singer was quite charismatic and sweet. Halfway though their set, a girl exclaimed "I love suspenders!" in reference to his attire. He immediately replied, "They're called braces, honey."



But Andrew Bird! Oh, Andrew. Can we call you Andrew? Yes? Wonderful. Seriously, it was quite a show. With no backing band, he used a violin (a key part of his music, as his listeners know), an electric guitar, and (sparingly) a xylophone, not to mention his uncanny whistling and beautiful voice. What elevated his performance into another dimension was his use of a floor peddle system to create and control loops of what he was doing to amazing effect. Thom always assumed Andrew Bird would spout multiple limbs like some sort of Vishnu creature in order to play, but for the most part looping worked pretty well too.

Unfortunately for all present, one result of such beautiful music was the emergence of THE CRAZY GIRL. During the middle of a song, a woman struggled past us (the seating was cramped and so anyone who tried to escape had to uproot many during the process). We thought nothing of it at first, but then she stood in the aisle and waved at Mr. Bird. Thom's first thought was that the girl was going to rush the stage and embrace Andrew Bird during the middle of the performance.

Although this did not happen, Crazy Girl was clearly beyond normal Andrew Bird fandom. It's quite possible every single person during the show, at one point or another, wanted to make love to Andrew Bird; but, at least we kept our passionate thoughts SILENT. We did not scream extra loud to get his attention. Not even when he casually mentioned how he had on his "horsie socks," as he had removed his shoes. Most of all, we did not squat in the middle of the aisle, swaying erratically back and forth (where were the ushers by the way who told Thom she could not take pictures but still allowed this sort of behavior?!!!).


This picture was secretly taken while crazy girl was next to us in hopes of getting the ushers' attention.

We had a hard time not laughing too loud, but we definitely had tears in our eyes. Eventually, Crazy Girl went back to her seat, and the wonderful sounds of Mr. Bird continued.

"Fitz and the Dizzyspells" - Andrew Bird
"Anonanimal" - Andrew Bird

Saturday, February 14, 2009

L'Amour

Ahhh, love. Can't you feel it in the air tonight? We here at 2g1k, the romantic types that we are, want to wish you a very happy Valentine's Day. Here are some songs to get you in the mood, the mood for love.



From Thom:

I can't think of a more romantic evening than one with minimalist composer Mr. Philip Glass.

How much do I love you? Count the stars in the sky. Measure the waters of the oceans with a teaspoon. Number the grains of sand on the sea shore. Impossible, you say. Yes, and it is just as impossible for me to say how much I love you.

"Knee 5" - Philip Glass

From Tilly:

These songs set my heart aflutter, and yours as well...if you let them.

"Crown of Love" - The Arcade Fire
"Thirteen" - Ben Kweller

From both:

Quite possibly the most romantic and best song to sing duets with:

"Elephant Love Medley" - Moulin Rouge

Love,
Tilly and Thom

XOXO

Monday, February 9, 2009

F-f-f-favorites of the week!

Hello gentle readers,

We now bring you what I'm sure all (five) of you have been waiting for*...our favorite picks for this week! Oh yes. It is time.

Tilly:

WOW BEIRUT, quite possibly the most unique band of today. The band's amazing Eastern European-esque sound weaves a brass-ukulele-piano-percussion-and now electronic mix together effortlessly.



The following is my formula to describe the new Beirut double album, March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland:

1 part March of the Zapotec [19-piece Mexican mariachi band + Beirut recording in Oaxaca = beautiful and classic music that seems to defy categorization]

"The Akara" - Beirut
"La Llorona" - Beirut

+
1 part Realpeople Holland [synths/electronic experimentation + Beirut mastermind Zach Condon crooning = OH MY GAWD]

"Venice" - Beirut
"My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille" - Beirut

=
Supah fine music!


Thom:

Find the speakers nearest to you. Got them, good? Now turn them up loud. Crank up the bass (trust me, having the furniture in your room rattle is a good thing).

Now listen to these tunes from Goldfrapp.

"Happiness" - Goldfrapp
"Ride a White Horse" - Goldfrapp

You're welcome.

*Thom would like to add that she extended the deadline of the poll on the right. So vote! Confirm your existence to us!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Origins, pt. 1

Behind every super hero is their origin story. Be it the death of their parents, a bite from a radioactive spider, or the cosmic death of their home planet, something catalyzes heroes into the legends they become. I suppose some of this explains my fascination with bands names.

Death Cab for Cutie is an odd name and, from experience, discussing it with anyone over the age of 35 has always caused confusion.


Death Cab for what, for cutie? What?

A trip to your local wikipedia will tell you that the origin of Death Cab for Cutie comes from The Beatle's Magical Mystery Tour film. In it the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band perfoms the song. A song by a band in a film about another band? That's deep Death Cab.

During a long day at work I started watching The Beatle's Magical Mystery tour on youtube and stumbled across this.



It's not quite what I expect when I think of Death Cab for Cutie.

"Steadier Footing" - Death Cab for Cutie
"Wait" - Death Cab for Cutie