This was a poster from Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible tour that could be folded into what they described as a "shadowbox". Found it while searching for something to post alongside this song. Neon Bible is incredible, I still find it hard to believe they outdid themselves after 2004’s Funeral, but here we are.
Arcade Fire – The Well & The Lighthouse
[audio:well.mp3]
Aphex Twin is one of my favorite composers and his 1995 album "I Care Because You Do" will always hold a special place in my collection. I have to admit I really don’t care for some of his work; the more harsh experimental stuff is not really my style. But when he gets all melodic and ambient there is none better. This track here is one of my all-time favorites.
Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsalm
[audio:alberto.mp3]
An old favorite from Icelandic group Múm’s Finally We Are No One album.
Múm – We Have a Map of the Piano
[audio:mum.mp3]
My friend and yours, Dusty Brown, recently covered Elliott Smith’s "Can’t Make a Sound" for a tribute album and it turned out incredible, dare I say, better than the original. You be the judge, have a listen below.
Dusty Brown – Can’t Make a Sound (Elliott Smith Cover)
Available on the album Hope You’re Happy
Incidentally, the last two images above are of the wall in Los Angeles that was used by photographer Autumn de Wilde as the backdrop for the Figure 8 album cover. Since Smith’s death it has become a sort of memorial for fans.
![appelsap[1]](https://blog.iso50.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/appelsap1.jpg)
It’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone describe their music as "IDM", but at one point it seemed like anything that wasn’t House, Jungle, Downtempo, or one of the other random electronic genres, was thrown in that catch-all and labeled IDM along with everything else people hadn’t come up with an ultra-specific sub-genre for yet. In IDM’s heyday the Florida-based label Merck were definitely putting out some of my favorite stuff. Brothomstates sort of rose to the top of that group or artists for me, always enjoyed his more melodic take on the style. This song is the Brothomstates remix from MD’s "Appelsap" album. Sad to say, but this came out in 2000, so I guess I’d have to label it "classic" electronic. Sad because I remember buying this album and listening to it constantly like it was yesterday, but apparently it’s been 8 years.
MD – Brothomstates Remix
[audio:md-brothomstates.mp3]
Just a little Sunday theme music in the form of Jeff Buckley’s hauntingly beautiful cover of Leonard Cohen’s classic "Hallelujah". Always sad to think such a talent is no longer with us.
The image above is a woodcut by Stephen and Sabina Alcorn entitled "Jeff Buckley, Gregorian Punk".
Jeff Buckley – "Hallelujah"
[audio:hallelujah.mp3]
In keeping with the holiday (does this count as a holiday?) I thought I’d post a song from Belle & Sebastian (everyone’s favorite Scottish indie-folk outfit and perhaps my favorite band). I’ve always loved their album covers, usually very simple duotone photos depicting something to do with the album title. Always classic and fitting for the style of the music. I’ll be posting more from them in the coming weeks.
Belle & Sebastian – "Piazza, New York Catcher"
[audio:piazza.mp3]
Jakub sent me this image tonight which is, of course, amazing. It reminded me of my favorite Bossa Nova song "Aguas de Marco" so I thought I would post both. Note this is not the cover of the album this song is from. Impeccable style going on here, typography is top notch and the photographic composition is near perfection. That salmon color in the background is usually a dead giveaway for cross processing, wonder if that’s what’s going on here? If you look closely at his collar you’ll see a bit more evidence of the xp.
As Jakub pointed out, the original version has a black border as well as an alternatively effected version of the photo. Sort of torn on which I like best, the border sort of encapsulates the negative space which is nice, but there’s something about this version I think is a bit cleaner. There’s also a rather nice full vertical version here.
Antonio Carlos Jobim y Elis Regina-"Águas De Marco (Waters Of March)"
[audio:jobim.mp3]