i’ve never found the music of breathe owl breathe sufficiently compelling to actively seek out their music on my ipod. but when it shuffles in, i’ve never found sufficient reason to shut it off. i heard this song on the way to work this morning. i found it pleasant. -d

*plus apparently they’re touring w/ Yann Tiersen. who, according to my old co-worker SuperLupes, puts on a devil of a show. so. that’s additional information.

i don’t remember there being a lot of motown in my parent’s record collection, but somehow i remember listening to and enjoying a great deal of it growing up. such that i find myself really digging the neo-motown resurgence of the past 5 or 6 years. these guys occupy a unique place in that movement, both as latecomers and as self-described purveyors not of neo-soul, but motown-inspired indie pop. either way, for a band that released their debut less than 2 years ago, their sound is incredibly confident, not to mention insanely catchy. check it out. - d

leave it up to jack white to convince a 73-year-old rockabilly icon cum born-again christian to growl her way through an amy winehouse cover. and she totally nails it. (so much so that if you try and picture a 73-year-old woman singing thorough the sultry breakdown about 3:45 in, it gets a little weird.) the whole album is a knockout. jackson is a force of nature. white’s an unequalled genius. end of story. -d

feeling a little tired this afternoon. at 530 this morning, my niece told her mom she wanted to call her grandma on the east coast to tell her she’d lost a tooth. instead, she picked up the phone, sneaked off to the other room and called me in LA. :) i wish i could be tired every afternoon. -d

still feeling thoughtful today… -d

an interesting song for an interesting day. this track from the minneapolis chillwave (zing) duo plays out with plenty of energy, but still manages to leave a decidedly pensive taste on the tongue. perfect music for that kind of deep thinking that can only be done on a long bike ride. -d (thanks for tip, rob)

*the full EP, plus a bunch of other stuff, is available for free download on their website.

or this one. which starts out as an acoustic phish jam and ends up glitched out of its brains. i want this song played at the dance party that follows my funeral. -d

…so i’m posting two. -d

it’s been a long week. i’m closing it out with something nice and easy. this is the first original track composed by flight facilities, who appear to be an anonymous indie dj duo of dubious origin. apparently it’s getting a lot of airplay in australia, i don’t really know, i’m kind of over scouring their wikipedia page for interesting tidbits. it’s a fun song. that should be enough copy to merit a listen. let’s get this weekend thing going already. sheesh. -d

still feeling a little experimental after yesterday’s track, so here’s something from the other side of the spectrum: a slipping, swooping instrumental from andrew bird via johnny greenwood. -d

*this is off a bonus disc he released as an “ambient experimental” companion to his absurdly good Noble Beast. both are worth owning.

a michigan-born, portland-based american singer/songwriter with an ear for ambience and a funny french pseudonym. (real name: thomas meluch. llgugll.) i dug a whole bunch of tracks off his last one (especially this eerie little guitar piece called ‘ragged tint’). and while this new one has a lot more of the atmospheric noise-song stuff he’d played with in the past, occasionally he still lets a melody or two sneak through, with really lovely results. -d

*and is it just me or is there more than a little XTC hiding in there?

groovy little monday tune from a EP full of the same. i liked their debut from a few years ago, and thought when i heard kcrw starting to give this track serious airplay, that they’d gotten their big break. but apparently these guys are everywhere: on episodes of chuck, reese’s commercials, even [llgugll] starbucks is hawking them. and here i thought they were some cool indie band. apparently i need to watch more tv. and drink more coffee. -d

the quality of pop music in the last 15 years has deteriorated to the point that in most musical circles, the phrase now connotes something negative. popular music and good music have somehow become mutually exclusive. so when an artist who makes good music becomes popular — or a popular artist starts making good music — those of us who like good music can sometimes feel stuck, like somehow we need to make excuses or apologize for liking the good music just because it also happens to be popular. adele is one of those artists. she has a tremendous voice and uses it to make music that is both good and popular. and this entire post was written in response to the fact that after finally deciding to post this song (which it’s taken me 2 months to do), my first instinct was to defend my decision. which i won’t do. this is a great song, and i am shamelessly chomping at the bit for the album. end of story. -d