SUNDAY MISCELLANY

it's time for another round of the recurring feature that requires less effort than a track-by-track! wahey!

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Why did no one tell me that BARR were unmissable until today? I mean, I'd known that they were meant to be good, but evidently I'd never heard that they were so amazing that I had to check them out. BARR are incredible. My favourite at the moment is Summary, the title track of their most recent album, but pretty much everything I've heard has been really good. It's spoken word, really, over music, but it's so great and compelling. There's this amazing bit in Summary where he talks about rules and something about it just hits me full-force.

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I think Johnny Foreigner have actually become my second favourite band. My actual favourite band, who I don't go on about as much here for some reason (it's not for lack of general zeal) is Los Campesinos!, but JoFo are drawing in. Er, not that it really matters where I rank bands, but still.

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I tried reading some Daphne Du Maurier to BARR today and it wasn't a very good idea. I could read to Fleet Foxes still, though. They're growing on me, I think, but very slowly. At this rate, I might start really rating the album in about a year's time.

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Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out Of This Country is a bit of an anthem (in a good way), isn't it? I keep playing it and dreaming of getting out of this country.

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I borrowed my Dad's headphones so now at least I can listen to CDs again. Johnny Foreigner and Robyn are good for listening to on ther bus on the way to the library.

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On Friday I was sitting on a picnic bench at some nowhere place in the country, CD player and lit magazines in hand. I read all of the latest issue of Succour and then listened to Bikini Kill's In Accordance To Natural Law at an extremely high volume. It was amazing. I love Bikini Kill, although not all of their songs. Carnival's my other favourite by them.

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I want to make a mix of songs about buses, and maybe another one about trains. Suggestions? For buses I'm thinking Routemaster by Fear of Flying, The Chinatown Bus by Bishop Allen, On The Bus Mall by The Decemberists... for trains, Lua by Bright Eyes, Train from Kansas City cover by The Shop Assistants, Steaming Train by Talulah Gosh...

weekend miscellany

I wanted to post something to keep this regular, because I'm tired of starting blogs and abandoning them. I don't want to do another track by track, though, since it's so late, so have some thoughts about music instead.

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Why are Los Campesinos! not currently one of the biggest indie bands in the country? I am genuinely curious. I was at a friend's 19th and was attempting to spread the word earlier tonight. They're just so much fun, and I want more people to understand! I think their new single, My Year In Lists, is finally out on Monday, but I'm not sure. I think everyone should buy it.

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Today I discovered Hefner's song A Hymn For The Postal Service. It's an amazing song, but I love the idea. I love the line 'every night I pray for mail in the morning' because I SO know that feeling. I spent a couple of frustrating weeks recently waiting for various things in the post, and I finally got them yesterday and it was magic. I'm currently reading one of them now, it's a massive poetry anthology, and it's so worth it. I'm so often waiting for things in the post though, it;s like magic, but a really frustrating kind of magic. Apparently, though, they may be stopping Saturday post altogether. Say it isn't so! I rarely get anything on a Saturday, but don't take away the hope! I love getting post. I seriously love it.

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Are there many songs out there that are better than 'Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same' by The Research? I never hear about them anymore, I have no idea where they're from or who they are, even, but that one song has to be one of the greatest songs of the last few years. It's like an even more desolate, lo-fi Magnetic Fields. Or Casiotone for the Painfully Alone after listening to Camera Obscura. Or just something goregous and lovely and sad.

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I'm going to come clean; I don't understand Belle and Sebastian. I understand the appeal I guess, but the music? I can never remember what it sounds like after listening. Only two songs jump out at me as favourites. I find it hard to connect with. Anyone want to tell me where I'm going wrong or which to listen to to try and get it? I like Lord Anthony, The State I Am In and Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying the best I think.

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Is it wrong to believe that Let's Get Out Of This Country and I Need All The Friends I Can Get by Camera Obscura are possibly better pop songs than pretty much any B&S song that I've heard? Then again, B&S are way above Camera Obscura in my last.fm charts, so...

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I did buy Tigermilk today. Vinyl. 1999, though, gutted. Obviously not going to find an original sitting around in Ipswich though, let's get real. Considering my attitude towards B&S I'd hardly deserve it if I did find it.

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I decided that I sort of like 'Bleeding Love' today. Huh.

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If I keep buying music on a whim then I will have no money for anything this summer. Or later, when I'm at university. Fail.

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I'm kind of excited about the new album from Annie, even thoguh I only really know two songs by her. You know, the ones everyone knows - Chewing Gum and the one about heartbeats. A lot of my favourite songs are about heartbeats, it's such a meme/cliche. Other ones I can think of on the spot: Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats, With Every Heartbeat, Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same...

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Lipgloss by Pulp must surely be one of their greatest? I really need to properly assess pulp, there are a few songs by them that I love but then a lot that... again, I just don't find memorable.

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My MP3 player is broken. This is not fun. I'm currently making myself a lot of mix CDs to try and make up for it. It's not really working, but the mix CDs are fun.

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I should go to bed. These thought trains are becoming smaller. I love The Wave Pictures. Good night.