Caren Explains "The Trapeze Swinger"

Last weekend I drove to North Carolina to spend time with the bride-to-be, Becky! It was a long ride (up and back), but luckily I had some good men in the car to keep me company: Ryan, Elliott, Jeremy and Sam (aka Iron & Wine).

Iron & Wine melts my heart. When he played in Atlanta a few weeks ago, he opened with "The Trapeze Swinger," a song I had never heard before. I cannot get over how beautiful and slightly devastating it is, especially live (the album cut -- clocking in at 9 minutes 32 seconds -- is found on the In Good Company soundtrack).

After some sleuthing I was able to track down a crystal-clear recording from the 9:30 Club (in my hometown!) but it can only be streamed through the trusty ol' Hype Machine... regardless, I hope you enjoy it.

LISTEN: Iron and Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
READ: Lyrics

Please, remember me
Happily
By the rosebush laughing
With bruises on my chin
The time when
We counted every black car passing
Your house beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision too removed to mention...
Read the rest

Caren Explains Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

At SXSW, Leila and Rachael and I got to catch a performance by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip at the NME party (this was funny and ironic, because in their UK hit song the hip hop/electronic duo advise, "Thou shalt not read NME").

Here's a video from the streets of SXSW right after the performance:



"Thou Shalt Always Kill" is a rad song, but late reaching the US. Dan Le Sac was handing out "Just a Band" stickers at SXSW and I may have stuck a few on posters of arrogant rock bands around town.

Read the lyrics while you listen.



Thou Shalt Always Kill - Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
(See original post for the embedded song)

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barret in vain.
Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile… Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thall shalt not stop liking a band just because they’ve become popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by it’s cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thall shalt not buy Coca-Cola products. Thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend’s best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyoakes.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave as soon as you're done just because you’ve finished your shitty little poem or song you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just ’cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you’re never gonna fucking talk to.

Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.

The Beatles - Were just a band.
Led Zepplin - Just a band.
The Beach Boys - Just a band.
The Sex Pistols - Just a band.
The Clash - Just a band.
Crass - Just a band.
Minor Threat - Just a band.
The Cure - Just a band.
The Smiths - Just a band.
Nirvana - Just a band.
The Pixies - Just a band.
Oasis - Just a band.
Radiohead - Just a band.
Bloc Party - Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys - Just a band.
The next big thing - JUST A BAND.

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.


Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”.
When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop”.
When I say "he say, she say, we say, make some noise" - kill me.
Thou shalt not quote me happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying “Is it”.
Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always kill.

Loney, Dear

I'd been told about the Scandanavian outfit Loney, Dear (aka multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanangen) a few months ago but only recently took a good listen to the album. Now I can't stop playing it. Really. It's on repeat, playing over and over and over again... my other iTunes songs are getting jealous.

It's been a good year for Scandanavia so far -- Loney, Dear, Peter Bjorn & John, Sondre Lerche, Ane Brun, Tobias Froberg, Teitur... makes me proud that I'm 1/4 Scandavian (or 3/8... it's hard to say...)

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, plus a link to listen to it (courtesy of Sub Pop)

"I Am John" (listen here) by Loney, Dear (from Loney Noir)

Johnny and I, we got lost tonight, we got carried away.
It takes someone like me to lose track like that,
To be troubled down,
Got a heart full of plans but nowhere to run.
There were seventeen dogs out to track us down
And I got some bruises and I got a scar but now,
Never gonna let you down,
And I got it wrong like I knew I would, and I told you,
Never gonna let you down,
I must never let you down,
Never gonna let you—

And everything must start from here,
In a sunshine with ease with somewhere to go,
With no sticky feeling of going wrong,
No heartbeat asking where you're gonna go.
With the trouble you wear, you want to wear it down,
You want to make something new of this but
Never gonna make it (home), never gonna make it.
Someone I want now, somewhere I want to go, and I told you,
Never gonna let you down,
Never gonna let you down,
But I will always let you down.

I said Johnny and I, we got lost tonight,
But we doubled our chances,
We've got somewhere to go.
We've got devils chasing us to hunt us down,
And we know we can't go like this from now.
I've got a feeling of you, and we danced for so long,
I want your arms around me, said
Never gonna let you down,
Was never gonna let you—
Someone I want now,
Somewhere I want to go, and I told you,
Never gonna let you down,
Never gonna let you down,
But I will always let you down.

I've got a feeling of you and we danced for so long,
I want your arms around me like lovers do,
And I'm never gonna let you down, gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down, gon' let—
I've got a feeling of you and we danced for so long,
I want your arms around me like lovers do,
And I'm never gonna let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down.

Johnny and I, we got lost tonight, we got carried away.
It takes someone like me to lose track like that, to be troubled down,
Got a heart full of plans but nowhere to run.
And everything must start from here,
In a morning with ease with somewhere to go,
With no sticky feeling of going wrong,
With no heartbeats asking where you're gonna go.
I've got a feeling of you and we danced for so long,
I want your arms around me like lovers do,
And I'm never gonna let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down.

I've got a feeling of you and we danced for so long,
I want your arms around me like lovers do,
And I'm never gonna let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down,
Gon' let you down.