Think of this as a pre-hibernation mix. Lots of sleeping, waking up, ghosts, and strange creatures take place in these songs. Instead of going with a Halloween theme, I took these monsters and ghosts down a more dreamy route. Maybe it's the leaves changing and that woodsy chill in the air, but I went for pretty in this mix. (Better than broke.) My husband thinks my fall mixes are slower--less "clapping" going on--and maybe that's true. But I do still think there are uplifting poppy songs in here. So, clap along. Even if it's a slow clap.
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Wintersleep / Weighty Ghost
This has definitely been my favorite song of the past few months.
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There are at least two artists/bands with this name. 1) Wintersleep are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. What started out as a side-project, eventually turned into one of the most popular live shows in Atlantic Canada. Wintersleep came together in 2001 and is composed of Loel Campbell (drums), Paul Murphy (guitar/vocals), Tim D'Eon (guitar/keyboards), Mike Bigelow (keyboards '05-'06/bass guitar), Jon Samuel (keyboards/backing vocals/guitar) and former member Jud Haynes (bass guitar). Read more on Last.fm more...
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Wild Sweet Orange / An Atlas to Follow
The ooh's are so pretty. I love how they break into "this little light of mine."
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Wild Sweet Orange was an American indie rock band from Homewood, Alabama, that formed in 2004. In early 2008 their song "Land of No Return" featured on the soundtrack of the TV show "Grey's Anatomy". In 2010, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were calling it quits. Members: Preston Lovinggood: vocals, guitar Chip Kilpatrick: drums Taylor Shaw: guitar Garret Kelly: bass Read more on Last.fm more...
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Regina Spektor / Don't Leave Me (ne me quitte pas)
How is this not a clapping song? I think she's brilliant.
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Regina Spektor (born Regina Ilyinichna Spektor on 18 February 1980 in Moscow) is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village. Spektor studied classical piano from the age of six, practising on a Petrof piano given to her mother by her grandfather. She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Record Summer / An Enormous Anger Grows in Brooklyn
Such a pretty song.
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The Record Summer is a new project by Bret Rodysill, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer. Rodysill's songwriting, singing and musical arrangements have earned him comparisons to Sufjan Stevens, Pete Yorn, and Midlake. Rodysill moved to New York as a teenager, and by nineteen was playing such iconic venues as CBGBs. After he gained experience collaborating with other talented musicians in New York, Rodysill played shows throughout France and Spain before returning to the U. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Faded Paper Figures / North by North
Reminiscent of Postal Service. I love the unexpected electronic sounds mixed with the more organic instrumentation.
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Bands typically break up after college. People move away, grow apart, or just shrivel up and get jobs. It was good while it lasted, right? But what happens when the music is so good, the band’s listeners so devout, the ambition to keep creating so strong that even the time-draining power of day jobs can’t get in the way? Such is the story of Faded Paper Figures, whose “day jobs” are not exactly easy gigs: Heather Alden is in residency after graduating from medical school (a real doctor!) Read more on Last.fm more...
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Chris and Thomas / You're the One I Want
I love the harmony in this song.
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Chris and Thomas is an American folk duo consisting of Christopher Anderson and Thomas Hien. With sounds gathered from the landscapes of the American Southwest, chris and thomas’ music could just as easily find its home in the rainy hills of the early 1970’s English countryside. Combining American roots instrumentation with soothing vocal harmonies, the duo’s rustic sounds and heartfelt songs are filled with thoughtful lyricism. chris and Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sydney Wayser / Dream It Up
She's been my new and go-to for the past few weeks. I'm trying to get her to play at Ode in the Spring. I had a hard time choosing what song. Atlas and Wolf Eyes are both really beautiful. Check her out here. If anyone can find a hat like that, let me know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLHDlrmruVM
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Sydney Wayser (born 7 October 1986) is a French-American singer-songwriter based in New York. Wayser was born to a French father and American mother. She lived her early life between Paris and Los Angeles. Wayser's music is rife with tales and adventure; her music quite simply draws you into her world, delicately and candidly. Her first album, entitled “Silent Parade”, showcases Wayser’s elegant blend of strings, piano, guitar and percussion, capturing enough of each without treading into overkill. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Margot & The Nuclear So And So's / Broadripple is Burning
I'm learning this on the guitar (poorly), so it's been stuck in my head. A little Conor Oberst lyrically. If anyone can explain the woman in the basement, I'd love to know. Makes me think of American Horror Story. With less gore.
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Margot & the Nuclear So and So's is a 6-piece indie-pop/orchestral pop band from Indianapolis, Indiana. The band, which was formed in 2004 by Richard Edwards and Andy Fry (formerly of Archer Avenue and The Academy, respectively), is currently signed to Epic Records. Their debut album, The Dust of Retreat came out in 2006. At this time, the band was signed to Artemis Records and had 8 members. In 2008 the band signed to Epic Records and (on 7 October) released two new albums, Animal! and Not Animal. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Delta Spirit / Ode to Sunshine
I love his voice, especially when he hits the higher notes.
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Delta Spirit is a band from San Diego, California, United States, beginning in 2005. This band is most known for their intense live performances, their congregational song-writing, and their driving rhythm. The group consists of Jon Jameson (bass), Brandon Young (percussion), Matthew Vasquez (vocals/guitars), Kelly Winrich (multi-instrumentals) and Will McLaren (guitar). "The raw spirit of indie rock. An amplified, rocking version of ’60s protest folk. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Maria Taylor / Clean Getaway
I'm a lyrics girl. These are simple but strangely compelling in their funny contradictions.
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Maria Diane Taylor (born May 21, 1976) is an American singer/songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray, with Orenda Fink, and Now It's Overhead, both on Saddle Creek Records. She plays several instruments, including the piano, guitar, and drums. Taylor plays with the high E-string removed from her guitar. Taylor previously dated Bright Eyes singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. She is married to Ryan Dwyer and has two children. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Wiretree / Big Coat
Good ooohs in this one too. I'm doing a study on the effectiveness of "oooh's" in a song.
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Wiretree is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas led by Kevin Peroni. Initially a solo project based on homemade recordings, Peroni released Bouldin in 2007, and later recruited other band members to solidify the project. Four albums later, the band has been featured on “Satellite Sets” (an Austin City Limits live taping), toured Europe and played numerous music festivals including SXSW and China’s biggest music festival, the Strawberry Music Festival. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Slow Runner / Trying to Put Your Heart Back Together
An it's-getting-darker-sooner song.
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Slow Runner got its start with Michael Flynn's writing and playing in high school. He played in a few bands but was mostly just having fun. He went to college and majored in English and Improving His Music and Writing. After college, Michael went to Boston for music school. He won 2nd place in a John Lennon songwriting contest. Also in Boston, he met fellow bandmate Josh Kaler. Josh and Michael moved to Charleston, SC, where they met local Danny Cassady, who joined Slow Runner on bass. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Generationals / Faces In The Dark
A thematically relevent and fun song.
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The two men behind the creation of Generationals - Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer - don't know what they've done. They couldn't possibly have that sort of clairvoyance to perceive the effect that one of the songs they wrote has had on the few and will have on the many before the year is up. The song in question - "When They Fight They Fight" - is a HIT recording the likes of which summers cream for, the likes of which makes everyone go a little woozy and a lot bananas. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Radical Face / Welcome Home
There are oooh's, aaah's, oooh's that turn into aaaah's, and some clapping here. I like the build up. I feel like they are actually climbing a mountain with their voices.
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Radical Face is the solo project of Ben Cooper (mainly of Electric President fame). Cooper, from Jacksonville Beach, FL is the sole member of the band, although he has enlisted the help of fellow Electric President Alex Kane, Cooper's friend Mark Hubbard and his brother Emeral. The album "Ghost" was originally scheduled to be released in late 2006, but was delayed to be remastered by the label (Morr Music), and it was subsequently released in March 2007. Read more on Last.fm more...
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John Fullbright / Nowhere to Be Found
I heard John Fullbright for the first time on Prairie Home Companion. He sounds like Tom Waits without the whiskey and smoke, and maybe a little Rufus Wainwright thrown in. I was driving at night with the windows down. I may have shed a tear. It was clearly the wind.
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John Fullbright (born April 23, 1988, in Bearden, Oklahoma) is a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter. A former member of the Oklahoma Red Dirt bands Turnpike Troubadours and the Mike McClure Band, he released his first solo album, Live at the Blue Door, in 2009. In 2012 he was awarded the ASCAP Foundation's Harold Adamson Lyric Award Fullbright began playing the piano at age five and taking piano lessons at the age nine. While still in high school, he performed at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in the nearby town of Okemah, Oklahoma. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Lumineers / Ho Hey
I had to pick it up a bit after Mr. Fullbright. You probably all know this song, but I've been really into The Lumineers since being introduced to them in a previous mix (I want to say John, but I can't be sure?). This song is undeniably catchy. I'm especially fond of the hey ho's. Trump the "oooh's" in this instance.
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The Lumineers is an American folk rock band based in Denver, Colorado in 2002 by Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing together in Ramsey, New Jersey in 2005. Cellist and vocalist Neyla Pekarek joined the band in 2010, and was a member until 2018. The band's debut self-titled album was released on April 3, 2012. The album's first single, "Ho Hey" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Greg Laswell / Comes and Goes (In Waves)
Dreamy song.
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Greg Laswell is an alternative singer/songwriter from San Diego, California. Laswell was the lead singer of the Escondido, CA based alternative rock band Shillglen. In 2001, they released their first and only album Sometimes I Feel. After Shillglen's breakup, Laswell released his first solo album in 2003, the critically acclaimed Good Movie. In 2004, Laswell won the San Diego Music Award for Best Local Recording and was later nominated for 2005's Best Alternative Artist. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Aidan Hawken / Innocent
A good walking through the woods on a snowy evening song. A bit of a Modest Mouse rip-off maybe, but I'm a fan of both. "Fall is on its way..."
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As the lead singer and co-songwriter of Highwater Rising, Aidan has written songs that have been featured in several feature films as well as virtually every major hit TV show including: THE OC, SEX and the CITY, NORTH SHORE, BOSTON PUBLIC, LAGUNA BEACH and ONE TREE HILL. The band's second album, The In Between, was co-produced by multi-platinum producer Eric Valentine (Smash Mouth, Queens of the Stone Age, Persephone's Bees). With 9 of its 10 tracks licensed, the album is one of the most licensed independent albums of all time. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Empire of The Sun / Walking On A Dream
I thought this was Scissor Sisters. I like the eighties (or late seventies) vibe. I keep thinking they're singing "Rihanna." I am.
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Empire of the Sun is an Australian electronic music duo that formed in 2006. The duo consists of Nick Littlemore of Pnau and Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson. Their debut album, Walking on a Dream, was released on 4 October 2008, and has been certified platinum in Australia. The album included the duo's similarly-titled first single Walking on a Dream and their second single We Are the People. The video for Walking On A Dream was shot in Shanghai and We Are the People was shot in Mexico. Read more on Last.fm more...