AudioPlayer Updated!

Well, it’s been forever and a day since I updated the audioplayer. I’m off my covers kick (for now), and have decided to include a mix of songs. Well, artists I should say – the songs are all fairly mellow and laid back.

Almost everyone I know whose tastes I like has recommended Sufjan Stevens to me. And I’ve been a fool to ignore that suggestion for as long as I have. I purchased Come On Feel the Illinoise! a while back, and I’m still working my way through a lot of it (but loving every minute).

I had a hard time picking just one song from this album. One of the first songs I heard was “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”, which was a track that Ben shared with everyone in the office several weeks back. As far as my music compulsion goes, I was looping that track over and over incessantly, when I first heard it. I think it’s fair to say that track was the reason why I purchased this album.

This Saturday, I was listening to Chelsea on WLUW. She ended up playing “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!”, which I’ve been looping ever since. So I decided to share that one with you all.

Incidentally – his track names are pretty hysterical. Some of them (like “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!” and “Let’s Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don’t Think They Heard It All The Way Out In Bushnell”) are just downright hiliarious.

The second track is by Neko Case. I got a mix CD from Justin a long while ago, full of tracks that he thought I’d like (but may not have heard). I just purchased “Furnace Room Lullaby”, the title track being the one that Justin included on that CD. I’m still working through this album, but for me this song will be really hard to top.

The final track is by Rosie Thomas, who I saw a few years back at Shuba’s. I remember being totally wowed by her voice (and how, when seeing her, I didn’t expect her to sound the way she did). I came across her site several months back and one of the downloads was this track: “Wedding Day”.

I’ve since purchased the album, but this song is still my favorite. I don’t know why, exactly, I love this song so much… but I do. Which is really odd, since it seems the viewpoint is such a decidedly female one throughout the song. But for some reason, I just really really dig this song.

In particular, I love the opening – just her voice and the guitar, starting off. Once the drums and keyboards kick in more, I like the slow, constant rhythm, which makes me think a lot of slow, rolling road trips. One of my favorite moments in this song is about three minutes into it, when everything drops off except (you guessed it) just Rosie’s voice and the guitar. That particular moment makes my toes curl.

I’m listening to it right now, and god help me if it isn’t a totally girly song. But, dammit – I still love it, and damn the girliness. Every time I hear this song, I can’t help but imagine a car and an endless stretch of road. More than anything else, this is probably a sign that I should go on one last road trip, before it gets too cold.