I've been obsessed with...

a few different songs this week. I mean literally, they're just about all I've been shuffling through.

The first two songs are the same but since I discovered the original artist through the cover I've got to provide both. Delta Spirit did a version back in February over on Daytrotter.com of A.A. Bondy's song "Lover's Waltz." I was so taken aback that I didn't even realize it was a cover at first.

Needless to say I found out that the amazing song is off of an older AA Bondy album, American Hearts. Very good, though "Lover's Waltz" clearly sticks out on the album above everything else like a sore thumb.

The other stuff has funny discoveries too.

John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" written to his son Sean, basically came about through a YouTube video of Paul crying over John's death on YouTube.

The Black Key's "The Lengths" is off their older album Rubber Factory which I just decided is one of my favorite albums of all time. Solid throughout, modern blues rock. Auerbach's guitar, I mean, good god. The guy can play. This specific song though has some of the best lyrics I've ever heard, sung right over a perfectly crying guitar.

"tell me where you're goin
what is goin wrong
I felt you leavin
before you'd even gone
hold me now
never ever hold me again
no more talk
can take me from this pain I'm in
pain I'm in"

And finally, Why?'s "This Blackest Purse." The band is based out of Oakland I believe, so they're locals too. But man, this song is beautiful with the beginning piano and all of the other elements incorporated later on - background vocals, synthesizer noises, and the rap-sound of the lead singer Yoni Wolf.

I think there's something to be said about finding things when you need them.
I'm not sure what that something is, but it's there.
I've got midterms next week, along with my birthday, and Treasure Island Festival Weekend.
And I get to finally see my woman.
Getting through this past week would've been quite hard without these tunes.

Here's to 18 years next Tuesday!

Delta Spirit - Lover's Waltz (A.A. Bondy Cover)
A.A. Bondy - Lover's Waltz
John Lennon - Beautiful Boy
Black Keys - The Lengths
Why? - This Blackest Purse

Foggy Wednesday Nights

My absence dragged on again, busy with school this week. I've been trying to fit music into my busy schedule still though. Bought the new, self-titled Monsters of Folk album yesterday, no surprise there- I'm a giant fan of anything Jim James lays his angelic, reverb-laced vocals on.



And I somehow found myself standing in a record store the past weekend looking for Brendan Benson, only to come across the new Beatles re-masters. Of course I couldn't resist, and quickly picked up the new (but old!) White Album. Very well-put together. Over on NPR's "All Songs Considered" podcast last week they brought on a Beatles historian to talk about what's new on the re-masters. Among the obvious sound quality improvements is notice to fine details. Certain songs have more of the original sounds on them (over time the vinyl to CD transformation lost details like that). Anyway, hard to go wrong with anything the Beatles have done. I mean, seriously folks, it's the Beatles.

I'm back from my late Wednesday night class now. Alive and kicking with energy. So I figured I'd post some new music that I've found especially brilliant this week.

New Alberta Cross (I'd call them a cross between Delta Spirit and Company of Thieves maybe?), new Girls (fantastic little pop/old school band from right here in SF!), new Land of Talk, and new Monsters of Folk. Here's to this weekend!

New Alberta Cross streaming over at www.albertacross.net

Girls - Lust For Life
Land of Talk - May You Never
Monsters of Folk - Whole Lotta Losin'

Delta Spirit at Bottom Of The Hill 2/4/09

Took my first ever trip to SF's famous Bottom Of The Hill concert house/club last night. I say house only because it's basically a converted house. Or at least that's how I saw it.

Lately I've been seeing things in a generally weird way.

Anyway, aside from that the show rocked. Openers Dawes (myspace.com/dawestheband) and Other Lives (myspace.com/otherlives) provided two nice sets before

 Delta Spirit came on. My one complaint is that Other Lives didn't have their cello player turned up enough or something because the poor woman sat in the corner and played beautiful-yet-barely audible cello strings.

Delta Spirit came on around 10:30 and played to what seemed like a full house (not the John Stamos kind). Lead man Matthew Vasquez provided a ton of energy - honestly the guy could be considered mentally unstable in some way, he uses a ton of crazy facial expressions and head nods while looking at certain audience members. They played about 4 new songs that they said "would be out later this year" and went through most of last year's Ode To Sunshine.

This show was also my first concert with my new Rebel XS D-SLR. I didn't take many pictures but still got a few decent shots of Vasquez. Once I buy a better lens I'll be set for that part of attending concerts (I'm still using the stock 18-55 mm lens right now).

Concert rating: 8/10

myspace.com/deltaspirit
(I'd post a song but I only have iTunes protected mp4s...boooo)