These songs also work well for background music around the house, or for artistic inspiration for writing or drawing on my own time.
1. Parasite - Nick Drake
If I chose one acoustic artist to listen to from here on out, it’d be Nick Drake. I first heard him on the Garden State soundtrack and thought, "Wow, this guy's great. He's probably a small act... maybe he'll be at Summerfest, or some other music festival." Guess what -- he's from the early 1970s. He made a post mortem comeback only because VW decided to use the title track of his album "Pink Moon" for a car commercial a few years ago. He plays clean acoustic with a unique voice.
2. The Wolves (Act I and II) - Bon Iver
Anything by Bon Iver (His real name's Justin Vernon) is phenomenal; but also really mellow. He recorded his entire debut album on his own in the northwoods of Wisconsin. After that album "For Emma Forever Ago" was released, he gained international acclaim, and even made the Top 100 albums of the year according to Rolling Stone.
3. Cigarettes - Russian Red
I can't find that much out about her, but she has an amazing voice. She's originally from Spain, and every site I find with information on her is in Spanish, but she sings in English. Hmm.
4. Tiny Vessels - Deathcab for Cutie
The crescendo at the end of this song makes it a little louder for work, but it still keeps a slow tempo. Most Deathcab can distract me from the bustle sometimes going on outside my fabric walls.
5. Ada - The National
Great piano, and with Matt Berringer's soothing baritone voice, it helps drowned out any other crap going on around the office.
6. The General - Dispatch
I first heard this song my freshman year of college when a guy opted to play it on his guitar as his final project for Philosophy 110. I don't really know what his reason was, but I immediately went back to my dorm and downloaded the song, along with any other Dispatch song I could get my hands on.
7. The Breeze - Dr. Dog
Listen to this if you need to calm down. If you close your eyes and relax for a few minutes, you'll feel much better.
8. Sun It Rises - Fleet Foxes
My favorite new band of 2008. I usually listen to the entire album at work. This is the first track, and a great introduction to the CSNY-esque band.
9. Stranger Things Have Happened - Foo Fighters
Thanks to Gregor, I've been introduced to more Foo -- and I'm not complaining. I usually associate them with a rich, louder rock sound, but I knew they had a greater capacity when I heard the acoustic version of Times Like These a few years ago. This is my favorite song from their new album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
10. Take it Back - She & Him
Remember when Zooey Deschanel sang in the movie Elf? Well, she really can sing. She collaborated with M. Ward to form She & Him, which released their first album Volume One early last year. Sounds a little like something you might here on the radio in the 1970s.
Runner's Up: Sea of Love - Cat Power; Innocent Bones - Iron & Wine
2 comments:
I really, really like Zooey's voice. It sounds old-timey, and very unique. I used to listen to all the She & Him songs that were on Myspace every morning before work to put me in a good mood.
And it's kinda neat that Zooey and Ben Gibbard from Death Cab got engaged recently.
I agree. I also like her voice especially in the song "Sentimental Heart." I'm not sure what a good adjective would be, but old-timey hits it on the head.
For being a duo, I like that she sings more than M. Ward too.
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