"What good is it to sing helplessness blues?"

For no apparent reason last week, I decided to listen to Helplessness Blues, the recently released sophomore album by Fleet Foxes. I'd given it a couple listens when I first got the album a month ago, and I had more or less enjoyed it. I then purchased the vinyl when I heard the album played in a record store and found myself really enjoying it. But until last week, I really hadn't spent a lot of time with the album.

When I listed to the album again, it all felt so familiar, more than it should have with the limited time I had spent with it. Maybe it was the upturn in the weather that made the music resonate more with me. I don't know. It just clicked, and I've been listening to it heavily the past week. If you've never listened to Fleet Foxes, you are missing out. They play an Americana, folky type of indie rock -- I hesitate to call them rock; it just feels completely off. What really sets the band apart is Robin Pecknold's vocals and the soaring harmonies that accompany his melodies. Really amazing, beautiful music.

I've had a couple "moments" -- for lack of a better term -- with their music this past week. They've taken place while driving home from work, when I can just let the music wash over me and help me relax and put work behind me for a few hours. These moments occurred as I focused on the lyrics and really listened to what the songs were about. What resulted were powerful connections to the songs ("Helplessness Blues" and "Someone You'd Admire") that may not have drastically changed my worldview or brought about some miraculous transformation, but rather left me different, a little happier, a little more resolute to achieve what I need to achieve.

I highly recommend checking out this band and both of their albums. I've included links to these songs on Youtube.

Helplessness Blues

Someone You'd Admire

Monthly Mix: May 2011

May was an interesting month for me. It began similar to April, i.e. with me listening to pretty much just Sharon Van Etten. Whereas in April I was all about her latest album Epic for its more expansive scope in instrumentation and dynamics, I found myself listening to her debut album, Because I Was In Love, much more this month, for the very reasons I had initially put it off (sparse instrumentation, mostly just acoustic guitar and her vocals). I have to say this about Sharon Van Etten: I could listen to her sing all day. I'm conflicted because I am grateful that her music exists, but I can hardly fathom that someone would break her heart or cause her any of the emotional pain that is present in her songs. I listen to her and think to myself, "I would never do anything to hurt this woman." I realize she's just a normal human being, a very kind and humble one at that, who experiences normal human emotions, same as everyone else, but as a listener you marvel that anyone would treat her like some normal human being and not a musical goddess. So, person who treated her like a normal human being, thanks for inspiring her to create sublime music, but how could you hurt her?! How do you live with yourself? I wonder what life is like knowing that your break-up with someone lead them to create amazing music. Do you feel deserving of a little credit? I'll probably never know. I use three of her songs in this mix: one to kick things off, one in the middle, and one to close the mix.

Back to May. Things changed pretty drastically during the last week and a half of the month. I acquired some new albums and made a conscious effort to listen to them. (Too often I don't spend enough time with new music and it falls between the cracks and gets ignored). Two of these albums dominate my May mix, making up 9 of the 15 tracks. Smother, the third album from UK art-rock band Wild Beasts, could be considered my album of the month. Their track, "Bed of Nails", is easily my song of the month. I must have listened to it at least 40 times last week alone. Wild Beasts was one of those bands where I liked everything I had heard from them but never felt a desire to really dig in to their albums. Everything fell into place when I listened to Smother. I recognize that their style may put off some listeners, but I hope people will enjoy the songs I selected. Give them a few extra listens if you're not immediately a fan. It's impossible to escape Wild Beasts in this mix.

The other album that dominated the end of the month is Hooray for Earth's True Loves. I read some strong praise online for the album and decided I needed to give it a spin. I'm glad I did. I suppose I'd classify them as synth-pop, as they mostly use layers of synthesizers, drums, bass, and a few guitar parts here and there in each song, but I think that classification doesn't convey how good they are. Their music is dense and massive. It's not cold and sterile like a lot of music with strong electronic elements. Maybe that's because of the hooks, but I would urge you to not dismiss it offhand because of my description. "Sails" is my favorite track, but the whole album has grown on me a lot.

Enough rambling, right? Here's my May 2011 mix.

• Sharon Van Etten - "For You."
• Wild Beasts - "All the King's Men."
• Hooray for Earth - "Last Minute."
• Cults - "Abducted."
• Wild Beasts - "Bed of Nails."
• Hooray for Earth - "Realize It's Not the Sun."
• Wild Beasts - "Loop the Loop."
• Sharon Van Etten - "Have You Seen."
• Wild Beasts - "Hooting & Howling."
• Antlers - "Parentheses."
• Wild Beasts - "Lion's Share."
• Metric - "Hustle Rose."
• Wild Beasts - "We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues."
• Hooray for Earth - "Sails."
• Sharon Van Etten - "Keep."