Written by Chelsea Marie Hicks
Nails lengthening
in accordance with lunar waxing,
I ply strings to create booms and vibrations,
to tingle toes and tongues,
a tidal wave of hot sound comes crashing,
feeling less like water,
more like the assemblage of factory thumbs splintering,
collapsing.
Sheets of metal and glass shatter,
the noise overtakes us.
All we can do is sit there
and listen—
and wait for the wails to drown.
Tracklist : : Spring Sounds No.1
1. Sleigh Bells : : Riot Rhythm
2. Phantogram : : Mouthful Of Diamonds
3. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart : : Even In Dreams
4. The Weakerthans : : None Of The Above
5. The Weeknd : : The Morning
6. NewVillager : : Rich Doors
7. Cold Cave : : Villians Of The Moon
8. Adventure : : Rio
9. Cults : : Go Outside
10. Yelle : : C’est Pas Une Vie
11. Airlines : : Neon Moon
12. Throw Me The Statue : : Yucatan Gold
13. Twin Shadow : : Slow
14. Dum Dum Girls : : There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
15. TV On The Radio : : Killer Crane
16. Javelin : : Strawberry Roan
17. Panda Bear : : Alsatian Darn
18. tUnE-yArDs : : Bizness
Tracklist : : Winter Sounds No. 3
1. The Cardigans : : Do You Believe
2. Gold Panda : : You
3. OMD : : Of All the Things We’ve Made
4. Lykke Li : : Love Out of Lust
5. Leonard Cohen : : Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye
6. Destroyer : : Your Blood
7. Belle and Sebastian : : She’s Losing It
8. The Decemberists : : Calamity Song
9. Beulah : : The Rise and Fall of Our Hero’s Reward
10. Broken Social Scene : : Major Label Debut
11. Kurt Vile : : Smoke Ring for My Halo
12. Pj Harvey : : The Words That Maketh Murder
13. Johnny Cash : : Wildwood in the Pines
14. Bowerbirds : : Dark Horse
15. Radiohead : : Codex
Another month brings yet another playlist and this shall mark the last of the winter jams as Spring Sounds are soon to come. Though this will likely come off as quite coy, this particular playlist is dedicated to a special fellow (you, yeaaah you know who you are) that has warmed my winter and has come to be the conqueror of my every thought. These songs make me think of you, even the one about lesbians, oddly enough, because truth be told I’m losing it with you constantly dominating my days and the dreams I fail to remember. All right, so some songs don’t exactly fit (we could be clapping our hands or stomping while rocking out to Pj Harvey?), but even so this is especially for/to you and your undeniable influence in what brought me to piece this playlist together.
Tracklist : : Winter Sounds No. 2
1. Gang Gang Dance : : House Jam
2. Glasser : : T
3. Cut Copy : : Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat
4. Grizzly Bear : : Foreground
5. James Blake : : Willhelms Scream
6. Emeralds : : Now You See Me
7. Lykke Li : : I Follow Rivers (Dave Sitek Remix)
8. New Order : : Your Silent Face
9. Guided By Voices : : Don’t Stop Now
10. Destroyer : : Suicide Demo For Kara Walker
11. Javelin : : Shadow Heart
12. Rain Machine : : Hold You Holy
13. Prince : : Forever in My Life
14. The Replacements : : Answering Machine
Tracklist : : Winter Sounds No. 1
1. Pictureplane : : Cyclical Cyclical (Atlantis)
2. Caribou : : Odessa
3. Basment Jaxx : : Lights Go Down
4. Matthew Dear : : Slowdance
5. jj : : Pressure is a Previlege
6. Theophilus London : : Humdrum Town
7. Adele : : Rolling in the Deep
8. Crystal Castles : : Not in Love
9. James Blake : : I Only Know (What I Know Now)
10. Joanna Newsom : : ’81
11. Bright Eyes : : Shell Games
12. Bruce Peninsula : : Shutters
13. Dark Dark Dark : : Celebrate
14. Lykke Li : : Time Flies
15. A Sunny Day in Glasgow : : 100/0 (Snowdays Forever)
20. Gil Scott-Heron : : I’m New Here
Standout tracks: “Me and the Devil” and “New York is Killing Me”
19. Four Tet : : There is Love In You
Standout tracks: “Angel Echoes” and “She Just Likes to Fight”
18. Panthu Du Prince : : Black Noise
Standout tracks: “A Nomads Retreat” and “Stick to My Side”
17. Massive Attack : : Heligoland
Standout tracks: “Paradise Circus” and “Saturday Come Slow”
16. Das Racist : : Sit Down, Man
Standout tracks: “Return to Innocence” and “Rapping 2 U”
15. Crystal Castles : : Crystal Castles [2010]
Standout tracks: “Empathy” and “Not In Love”
14. Jonsi : : Go
Standout tracks: “Hengilas” and “Animal Arithmetic”
13. Foals : : Total Life Forever
Standout tracks: “Spanish Sahara” and “Blue Blood”
12. Nicki Minaj : : Pink Friday
Standout tracks: “Superbass” and “I’m the Best”
11. The National : : High Violet
Standout tracks: “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “Lemonworld” and “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks”
10. Sufjan Stevens : : The Age of Adz
Standout tracks: “Vesuvius,” “All For Myself” and “Impossible Soul”
9. Beach House : : Teen Dream
Standout tracks: “Walk In The Park” and “Silver Soul”
8. Sleigh Bells : : Treats
Standout tracks: this whole album, for real (my absolute favorite track, if I had to pick one, is probably “Crown on the Ground”)
7. Robyn : : Body Talk Pt. 1
Standout tracks: “Cry When You Get Older” and “Hang With Me (acoustic)”
6. The Black Keys : : Brothers
Standout tracks: These boys can basically do no wrong in my eyes, I unconditionally love them and every sound they produce, so I’d say just listen to the whole darn thing and everything else they’ve made for that matter.
5. The-Dream : : Love King
Standout tracks: LISTEN TO THIS ENTIRE ALBUM. NOWWW! The-Dream rocks my world in ways that few modern day hit-makers can and you know what, he has probably rocked your world too and you didn’t even realize it (see ‘Single Ladies’…composed by Terius Nash AKA The-Dream).
4. Big Boi : : Sir Lucious Left Foot
Standout tracks: LISTEN TO THIS ENTIRE ALBUM. NOWWWWW!
3. Deerhunter : : Halcyon Digest
Standout tracks: LISTEN TO THIS ENTIRE ALBUM. NOWWWWWWWWW!
2. The Arcade Fire : : The Suburbs
Standout tracks: LISTEN TO THIS ENTIRE ALBUM. NOWWWWWWWWWWWW!
1. Kanye West : : My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Standout tracks: If you haven’t listened to this album in its entirety on repeat then we probably aren’t friends and shouldn’t waste time trying to be. Basically everyone is voting it number one and for me, to be honest, any of my top 10 could have been my number one and definitely was at some point during the past year. With that said, MBDTF is an incredible piece of music that was clearly obsessively executed and is an absolute pleasure to listen to. This album really did hit me heavy and I’m sure I’ll continue to be excited about it in the years to come.
Tracklist : : Fall Sounds No. 2
1. Brenden Benson : : You’re Quiet
2. The Black Keys : : Oceans and Streams
3. Regina Spektor : : Hero
4. Billy Bragg and Wilco : : Remember the Mountain Bed
5. Blonde Redhead : : My Plants Are Dead
6. Softspot : : Irregularly Floating
7. Cat Power : : Metal Heart
8. Blitzen Trapper : : Wild Mountain Nation
9. The Replacements : : Unsatisfied
10. Dan Auerbach : : Goin’ Home
11. Fever Ray : : When I Grow Up
12. Foals : : What Remains
13. Four Tet : : Circling
14. Holly Miranda : : Waves
15. Jens Lekman : : Jens Lekman’s Farewell Song to Rocky Dennis
16. Jonsi : : Grow Till Tall
I suppose it’s technically winter, but fall is my favorite and I’m still in the mood to pretend for a little bit longer. The chill is starting to set in here in Seoul though I’d like to see Korea attempt to bring on the wrath of a Midwestern winter–after surviving enough of those, a body can get through just about any kind of cold. Anyhow, here are some sounds for you, so go get some.
I love rap music, but this wasn’t always the case. Growing up in the Northwest I was more privy to epic folk music (think of The Decemberists and Iron and Wine) and alternative, indie rock (I’m pretty sure almost all music is considered ‘indie’ rock now though, so this isn’t exactly a narrow scope of jamming). It wasn’t until living in the dirty south, ATL-Atlanta, that I grew to actually appreciate rap music and find value in it that was more significant than simply being something fun to dance and drive to. Yes, I’d listened to rap before and liked some artists of the genre quite a bit, but that was as far as my relationship to rap music went. Now though, as I’ve said, I love rap music. I certainly have a lot more self-schooling to do when it comes to my rap education, particularly of the founders, but rap is a genre that I consider to be very significant to our culture. Lately quite a few impressive albums have come out and the standouts for me have been two rap albums from two brilliant artists, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. Here’s what I’ve been listening to:
1. Kanye West : : My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
This album is amazing. I’ve had MBDTF since it leaked in early November and I cannot stop listening to it: it’s addicting, fresh, clever, absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching both lyrically and musically. Pitchfork gave the album a 10 (the last album to receive a perfect score was Wilco’s 2002 release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) and it is entirely deserving. Of all the outstanding tracks, I’m especially fond of “Dark Fantasy,” “Blame Game (feat. John Legend)” (and CHRIS ROCK!) and “All of the Lights.”
2. Nicki Minaj : : Pink Friday
I’m all about this chick; there are far too few female rappers in the game, particularly of her caliber. Her lyrics are witty, funny, empowering, flirtatious and often give that punch right below the belt that reminds everyone that she plays with the big boys and can dish it out just as well. After hearing her featured on innumerable tracks by just about everyone, I’d been anxiously waiting for her full length to come out and boy oh boy did it impress. Pink Friday goes beyond what I expected to hear from her. There are songs that are sweet, even romantic, soon-to-be pop hits immediately followed by her hard spitting, high force rap jams. On this record there are times where she is vulgar and vulnerable, honest and vindicated, silly and clearly having fun. It’s just a great album to listen to and if you’re not a rap fan, I can understand being uninterested in Nicki Minaj (you probably quit reading a while ago if this applies to you), but there are quite a few tracks on Pink Friday that I would argue easily appeal to the masses and are absolutely worth listening to (see “Right Thru Me,” “Save Me” and “Your Love”). In the words of Nicki, in her proud opening act “I’m the Best,” “I’m the best now/ anybody with some money should invest now”….no kidding.
Also worth mentioning:
Cee Lo Green : : The Lady Killer
Cee Lo’s third solo album is certainly a battered, romantic, lady killing set of songs. Obviously “Fuck You” is awesome, but I’m pretty wild about his cover of the Band of Horses track “No One’s Gonna Love You,” the soulful “Satisfied,” “Cry Baby” and “Wildflower.”
Four Tet : : There Is Love In You
Ohhhhh, this album is so good and not exactly new, but he’s playing in Seoul next week so I’ve been listening to this album quite a lot. This is the kind of music you listen to and you start staring at the ceiling for hours and kind of forget about everything. It’s really wonderful and mesmerizing and I cannot wait to see him.
Sorry if my playlists are deleted and/or inaccessible. I’ll do my best to re-post the files, but Fall Sounds No.1 has already been taking down twice and thus it might be a fleeting effort. Record labels man, why they got to be hating on me?
Tracklist : : Fall Sounds No. 1
1. The Avalanches : : Electricity
2. Girl Talk : : Make Me Wanna
3. Robyn : : Call Your Girlfriend
4. Chromeo (feat. La Roux) : : Hot Mess
5. Tanlines : : Real Life
6. Cee Lo Green : : Satisfied
7. Kanye West (feat. Kid Cudi and Raekwon) : : Gorgeous
8. Das Racist (feat. lakutis) : : rapping 2 u
9. Crystal Castles : : Empathy
10. Delorean : : Real Love
There is something to be said of the experience of music sharing and the evolution the gesture has undergone. As a child, I grew up stoked on recording radio hits onto tapes in my bedroom and feeling some sort of naughty success from the free loophole. I can recall trading CD’s with friends and the sweet obsession I had with the first mixtape a boy ever made me. The Internet has obviously changed the game a bit and in recent years I’ve grown particularly dependent on music sharing over the Internet (most likely you have too). Generally though, I’ve been a taker and not so much a giver. I certainly share and exchange music with my friends, but I’ve never been one to give a whole lot back over the Interwebs, I figured I’d leave that to somebody else. Well, say hello to ‘Get Some…,’ the new section of my blog dedicated to sharing hot tracks and playlists packed with jamz.
Though most of what I’ll share here will still be with my friends, seeing as y’all are the ones usually digesting this seafaringwoman’s non-sense, the playlists found on this here blog are to be sugar for the ears of any and all that want to get some.
This first playlist is pretty representative of what I’ve been blasting lately (mostly hip hop, pop and electronic) as a result of the absurdly great albums that have dropped recently (I’m thinking especially of Kanye’s Fantasy and Girl Talk’s All Day).
Stories From Untamed Waters 
