I haven't heard this much sweetness in a song in a long time. Normally, I don't go for music with such girlish emotion, but it has a sweet breathiness that I was instantly charmed by. Maybe because she's Swedish, she can get away with almost embarrassingly romantic music that was created for teens everywhere to lose their virginity to.
The song exposes that oh so relatable new relationship hesitancy and you can't help but be a little touched when she tries to not bare all with the refrain of "I'm only a little bit in love with you."
If you want to fall a lot in love with this song, you can check out MySpace, or buy her EP on iTunes.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Feist's "My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Classic Mix)"
You know the song test. Hear a song. Buy / illegally download the song. Play a song. Listen intently. Repeat. If it starts to get stale and flavorless (much like gum after about an hour), then you appreciate it for what it is and move on.
But what if it doesn't? Those are the ones that you listen to, pick apart, digest, and potentially never listen to again, or don't listen to again until they come up on a playlist, or on the radio, but when you do hear it, it's like being reunited with an old friend where it's never awkward.
That's how I feel every time I hear this remix. I love the original. Feist's breathy voice curling delicately with electric guitar is damn near perfect.
But there's something about the Boys Noize remix that resonates one level beyond where a pop song can, and perhaps it's because of the dance undertones. A German producer best known for his deconstructed sound in the Kitsune / Because music vein, Alexander Rhida he could easily had torn this tune apart. But the gentle way in which he handles the original shows a well deserved respect, and makes for a remix that is refreshingly more about subtlety than an ego stamp.
Rhida smartly decides to leave Leslie Feist's vocals untouched, supplementing them instead with a deep digitized voice that provides a stark contrast to her plaintive whispers. The effect is definitely surreal, bordering on eerie but floats somewhere between pop, dance, chillout and ballad.
Rhida never loses sight of vocals, and will even pull away insrumentals to the point of acapella. What really gets me is when he drops out the electric guitar and adds analog blips which have a talking musicality to them that gives me faith in the idea of a soul in electronic music. The resulting version plays cool and calm at 6:42, unhurriedly, and punctuated with the right amount of electronica, as well as delicious airy bits of violin for a soundscape that is truly ethereal.
To listen to the remix you can watch the YouTube "video" here.
You can check out the original and video here.
Or just buy them. Seriously, it'll cost you less than two bucks.
But what if it doesn't? Those are the ones that you listen to, pick apart, digest, and potentially never listen to again, or don't listen to again until they come up on a playlist, or on the radio, but when you do hear it, it's like being reunited with an old friend where it's never awkward.
That's how I feel every time I hear this remix. I love the original. Feist's breathy voice curling delicately with electric guitar is damn near perfect.
But there's something about the Boys Noize remix that resonates one level beyond where a pop song can, and perhaps it's because of the dance undertones. A German producer best known for his deconstructed sound in the Kitsune / Because music vein, Alexander Rhida he could easily had torn this tune apart. But the gentle way in which he handles the original shows a well deserved respect, and makes for a remix that is refreshingly more about subtlety than an ego stamp.
Rhida smartly decides to leave Leslie Feist's vocals untouched, supplementing them instead with a deep digitized voice that provides a stark contrast to her plaintive whispers. The effect is definitely surreal, bordering on eerie but floats somewhere between pop, dance, chillout and ballad.
Rhida never loses sight of vocals, and will even pull away insrumentals to the point of acapella. What really gets me is when he drops out the electric guitar and adds analog blips which have a talking musicality to them that gives me faith in the idea of a soul in electronic music. The resulting version plays cool and calm at 6:42, unhurriedly, and punctuated with the right amount of electronica, as well as delicious airy bits of violin for a soundscape that is truly ethereal.
To listen to the remix you can watch the YouTube "video" here.
You can check out the original and video here.
Or just buy them. Seriously, it'll cost you less than two bucks.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Verve's "Love Is Noise"
So despite its already enormous popularity (or at least radio exposure), I can't help extolling just a bit more praise on this song for a couple reasons.
There's the fact that they hail from my old Northern English stomping grounds, and I was gently convinced with subliminal alcoholic messages that any Manchester or neighboring region musician was a god. There's the fact that "Love Is Noise" was one of the most memorable performances at Coachella with a barefoot Richard Ashcroft holding the mike to his heart in an earnest, meditative state. But what really sold me on this song is that in a musical time period where the dance rock wave has inspired trends towards that digitized, 8os, and (dare I say it) soulless sound, the Verve has cheerfully ignored that and come out with a tune so emotional it would border on embarrassing if it wasn't so damn good. It sounds like the band you love, despite the lack of a string ensemble and takes you on a comfortable ride back about a decade. The musical equivalent of putting on a plaid shirt and actually rocking it, the Verve reminds you that it's always in style to be yourself.
And then there are the actual musical elements of the song. That wonderful reverb / echo motif that frames lead singer Richard Ashcroft's brooding vocals oh so nicely. And the matter of Ashcroft singing the song like he truly means it; the chorus, which could be meaningless (and even a bit cliched) but goes so much further than that because the refrain "Love is noise" becomes a sort of mantra, a loving noise in itself. Is it self indulgent? Maybe. Do I care? Not in the slightest.
You can check out their video filled with pretty pictures here.
There's the fact that they hail from my old Northern English stomping grounds, and I was gently convinced with subliminal alcoholic messages that any Manchester or neighboring region musician was a god. There's the fact that "Love Is Noise" was one of the most memorable performances at Coachella with a barefoot Richard Ashcroft holding the mike to his heart in an earnest, meditative state. But what really sold me on this song is that in a musical time period where the dance rock wave has inspired trends towards that digitized, 8os, and (dare I say it) soulless sound, the Verve has cheerfully ignored that and come out with a tune so emotional it would border on embarrassing if it wasn't so damn good. It sounds like the band you love, despite the lack of a string ensemble and takes you on a comfortable ride back about a decade. The musical equivalent of putting on a plaid shirt and actually rocking it, the Verve reminds you that it's always in style to be yourself.
And then there are the actual musical elements of the song. That wonderful reverb / echo motif that frames lead singer Richard Ashcroft's brooding vocals oh so nicely. And the matter of Ashcroft singing the song like he truly means it; the chorus, which could be meaningless (and even a bit cliched) but goes so much further than that because the refrain "Love is noise" becomes a sort of mantra, a loving noise in itself. Is it self indulgent? Maybe. Do I care? Not in the slightest.
You can check out their video filled with pretty pictures here.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Spread Butter Music
Welcome to Butter Music, a blog dedicated to finding everything rich and delicious about music and spreading around the goodness.
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