The other day I was browsing through YouTube just like all of you were when I came upon a music video of Lisa Hannigan's. My thought process: Lisa Hannigan? Oh my god! Lisa Hannigan! I used to be in love with you!

I wasn't really in love with her. I was in love with her and Damien.

The combination of voice from Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan was really fucking spot on. Epic. EPIC. They have two of the best voices in the folk genre, but they were even better together. "Volcano" is the perfect example of this. Epic. EPIC. Maybe it's the sadness of both their voices. Maybe it's because Damien Rice is a musical genius and made songs that would perfectly exemplify their prowess. I can't really name it. But they just sound so good together... I wanted them to get married... They were perfect... Fuck Sonny and Cher...

... and then on March 25, 2007, Damien wrote on his website that "his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its course." WTF. Like really. WTF. I was heartbroken. And I knew Damien would live on and Lisa would fall to the backdrop forever...

... but I was obviously wrong. YouTube told me. I was watching the video for "Lille." I wanted to love it. I wanted to love her again. The music wasn't bad. Her voice was still the same. But the video began and she was just so clean and she was wearing make-up and I just kept on thinking back to the little Lisa Hannigan with the messy braids and layered necklaces and bracelets and... *sigh*

I miss Lisa Hannigan and Damien Rice.

Miss Miss Miss
mp3 Volcano

A for Effort
mp3 Lille

Actually, Spoon's got a plenty, and their latest, Got Nuffin, was recently released to remind us of that. Coming in as the first recorded release from the quartet since Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Got Nuffin showcases the continued progression of goodness that Spoon offers. Following a discography like theirs is nothing but an escalation of quality and craft, and serving only as a teaser of an EP, Got Nuffin's got me closely waiting on the edge for their next release, something that we're told is right on the heels of this EP.

Being a short piece of work, I can't really post anything from it with good conscience, but hopefully these tracks will be enough to keep you occupied until you get it for yourself.

Various Songs From Spoon (all songs are right click - save as):
Target [Live]
The Way We Get By [Live]
It's Gonna Take An Airplane [Dan Bejar Cover]

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - Apparently hosting rare tracks is disagreeable with some people, and I had to repost this with something else.

When it comes to Austinites, there are very few bands that can garner a collective swoon of appreciation the way Spoon does. It might not even be too farfetch'd[*] for me to say that for a good amount of people here, Spoon is a band first before a utensil. The fact is we love Spoon, and for some time now, they've awarded this appreciation of ours with a regular showing every July - this year was no different. Just like the Texans at the Battle of the Alamo[**], Spoon set off to hold a three night stand in the Lone Star State. Lord knows what's compelling them to hold three straight nights of goodness, but no one here's complaining. Even though you can't have too much of a good thing, I restrained myself to their first showing.

With the temperature that day being well over a hundred degrees, Spoon took to stage amidst a heat exhausted crowd, but you could never tell with the way we greeted their arrival. An untamable cheer rushed the dust and smoke clear out of the dirty air as Jim Eno camped at his drums while Britt Daniel, leviathan that he is, stepped forward to meet his towering mic stand. Without a word, they began their set, and so the night started. Not counting their one stint in Milwaukee two weeks earlier, it had been quite some time since the boys wooed a crowd with their song. With an experience that ranges well over a decade though, they hardly need some practice. By this point in time, Spoon are invariably rock stars, demi-gods in the niche of practice they chose to rock in. No need for the large stage crew, the fiery pyrotechnics, all the quartet needed to prove their stardom was the crowd and the one punk that brought a laser pointer "for effect." The first song played from the set fought for it's right to be heard over the crowd, until eventually, we remembered why we were there - to listen to some damn good music. In addition to the new discography inclusions from Got Nuffin' and their yet to be recorded album, Spoon played a hearty set that spanned their entire career, dipping into Soft Effects and even Series of Sneaks. Spoon never disappoints and with these three dates coming in as some of their last for '09, I would hardly hold any reservation that stops me from checking them out if they were to show up in my city in the future...

* I think that's just a pokemon...

** Davy Crockett and all them boys were actually there much longer than three nights.





Various Songs From Spoon (all songs are right click - save as):
June's Foreign Spell
Me and the Bean
Jonathon Fisk
The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine
The Underdog

Learn more at their site!
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - It's my birthday, and I'll post late if I want to - annual birthday mix comes tomorrow!

Labels: Retrospective, Stubb's

If there was anything that propelled me to watch Spoon on Thursday rather than the other two nights, it was the appearance of Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. Catering to my need to jive and gravy train, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears is a very rambunctious octet. With a full-time brass crew to back up the wails of a Wurlitzer and the bluesy vocals of Lewis shouting Lord knows what at times, it's hard not to get down. Pulling the crowd in almost immediately, Lewis and crew set us up and knocked us down with their deep, soulful sound. And the showmanship! Nothing stopped the sound for them that night - broken strings, out of tune guitar, even their bassist kept it coming despite a bad back and rocked it from a wheelchair. The brass would trumpet from the back while guitars picked their glory; the keys couldn't be any fuzzier if they tried while Lewis, behind a dark set of eyes, bellowed his soul. The stage was anything but stagnant, and neither was the crowd. In a finale that more than entertained us, Lewis set aside his guitar and opted to hold a pair of snakes instead. Doing the voodoo that he doo(es), Lewis interrupted song to approach his handicapped brother. "Do you want to walk!?," he would scream. "I say do you want to walk!?" Scaring the devil right out of him, his backbroken bassist rose miraculously rose out of his wheelchair to shimmy and shake with the rocking power of Jesus playing his puppet strings. Ladies and gentlemen, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears know how to work a crowd...




Various Songs From Black Joe Lewis (all songs are right click - save as):
Sugarfoot
Gunpowder

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!

Labels: Retrospective, Stubb's