"The Earthquake"
"The Tooth Fairy"
Monday, June 25, 2012
Earthquakes & Tooth Fairies
These are a couple songs that will be on the album that I have started recording. I'm aiming to have it finished and ready to release at the end of summer/beginning of fall (as if recording EVER goes according to plan). I hope you enjoy! Please share and keep checking in for more new stuff.
© 2011 Seth Green. But Mom It's Just Music / ASCAP.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
March 20, 2012 - Salley Garden, Shanghai
A couple songs from my second biweekly gig at Salley Garden Bar in Shanghai.
"Piece-by-Piece"
"Mopey Bastard Songs"
Thursday, January 19, 2012
2011 in Songs
Seeing as how the world will apparently be ending this year (per usual), maybe it was the erratic ions of Mayan curses in the air, maybe global-warming, maybe the overdue demise of a certain North Korean theocrat—that whipped the creative air into a frenzy of electrifying output in 2011. Whatever the reason for this overabundance, it was particularly torturous to whittle down the mass of good music that bombarded me this year into a manageable survey. So as the excrement said to the toilet bowl, “I went with my guts…and here I am.” I had to cut songs from some of my favorite albums of the year in order to maintain my impressionistic vision of 2011. From the euphoric highs of M83’s “Midnight City” to the battered, world-weary David Bazan anthem “People”—this is my year in the words and melodies of others. A borrowed expression of a year wrought with, well, damn near everything.
There was a lot of truly terrific music that I have let go unpardonably unmentioned, and of course I am certain that my limited scope has some egregious oversights and dishonorable blind spots. Please, as always, educate me! I put this mix together with the unrealistic hope that people might actually procure said tunes and listen to them in said order. I emphatically encourage you to do so and sadly acknowledge the unlikelihood of that prospect. Viva la nueva música!
Tying Up Loose Ends—2010, What I Missed
LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
Theological Quandary No. 45: Will James Murphy forgive my ignorance of LCD Soundsystem if I did not know of its existence? What is the age of accountability? Is there a Vatican representative available to weigh in on this? Somehow (don’t ask how, my usual copouts—homeschooled, half-Canadian, half-deaf—don’t seem to cut it this time) I missed one of the greatest bands of my lifetime. Bringing the chic hypnotism of electronic music to the middle-finger-wielding bravado of punk to the wild unpredictability of indie rock, LCD Soundsystem has graced the music world with some of the most exciting, ground-breaking, just downright cool music of the past two decades. After all of the hype and deafening buzz that preceded its drop, This Is Happening could have only gone one of two ways—straight to the grave or straight through the roof. As it turned out, it did both with trademark panache. Shortly after its release (and shortly before my knowledge of its existence), James Murphy announced that LCD Soundsystem would be no more. Despite the fact that LCD Soundsystem is now in the past, This Is Happening is an album that will keep unfolding, revealing new aspects of itself, and getting your head bobbing like something that is still and will forever be ‘happening.’
Seth’s favorites: “I Can Change”, “All I Want”, and “Dance Yrself Clean”.
Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
If there were no other damning anecdotes exemplifying the obsolescence of the major record labels, this one would single-handedly cram them all into a hell-bound hand-basket. This album was shelved for three years, because Def Jam didn’t have a clue what to do with it. What should have been the hip-hop album of 2007 had to wait patiently to become the hip-hop album of 2010…and possibly the decade. Big Boi reaches far beyond the pigeon-holing Dirty South for influences, beats, samples, and artistic breadth without even marginally disowning his A-town roots. Instead he brings his broader perspective and international star wingspan home to show off to the neighborhood. The most Dirty track of all, “General Patton,” is set to an inspired sample of what sounds like military choral music. This is the kind of hip-hop album that makes converts to hip-hop.
Seth’s favorites: “Shutterbugg”, “General Patton”, and “Follow Us”.
James Vincent McMorrow – Early In the Morning
Carving out his spot in the rich new trove of Dublin troubadours, James Vincent McMorrow’s debut LP showcases a poised, steady-handed approach that boldly contrasts the emotive looseness of other Dublin songsters like Damien Rice. Beautiful, well-balanced instrumentation is expertly built up around strong, mature songwriting making it an incredibly impressive debut by one of the most exciting prospects in the industry.
Seth’s favorites: “Follow You Down To the Red Oak Tree”, “We Don’t Eat”, and “Sparrow and the Wolf”.
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
What can I say? I am constantly in battle with the little hipster inside me that balks pretentiously whenever something becomes that big. It took me too long to let this fantastic album win me over. As much as it pains me to credit an iota of genius or revolutionary invention to an ego so huge, My Beautiful…Fantasy is the blinding dawn of hip-hop’s new age. Architecturally, Fantasy moves like an undeniably charismatic and adept party host gliding effortlessly from guest to guest, cluster to cluster, niche to niche, West Coast hipster to East Coast hipster—keeping everyone well-fed, well-entertained and well-jealous. You hate Kanye West, but if given the opportunity, you would be him in half-a-heartbeat. I know I would.
Seth’s favorites: “Runaway”, “Monster”, and “Hell of a Life”.
2011 – The Albums
5. NewVillager – NewVillager
When a pair of installation artists announces that they are writing and recording an album, one is hard-pressed not to raise an eyebrow and write it off without even a cursory listen. I mean, come on, what kind of pretentious drivel is going to come out of a couple of guys who put on “integrative events” and “installation concerts”? Au contraire, brown bear. What they released was one of the most intriguing, beguiling, creative, and subtle albums of the year. The eponymous 10-track album is as controlled and steady as a neurosurgeon’s hands. The pacing of the album is expertly crafted to a degree that most bands/artists never achieve. Spanning a wide array of influences and stylistic swatches, NewVillager adeptly keeps everything grounded and accessible. NewVillager’s debut album finds a perfect balance between accessibility and innovation—keeping your ears working, your mind picking apart something truly new and innovative, and your head bobbing.
Seth’s favorites: “Rich Doors”, “Cocoon House”, and “Shot Big Horizon”.
4. J Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story
I am not going to pretend to be at all well-versed or knowledgeable about rap and hip-hop, and I should probably just slap a period at the end of that statement and tell you to just listen. However, I have become a connoisseur of the taste of my own foot. J Cole is, plain and simple, enthralling to listen to. What was once a very cursory and uncommitted interest in hip-hop, Cole World single-handedly turned into an insatiable hunger for anything even remotely comparable. The expert wordplay and instant quote-ability that peppers records by the throne-abiding giants of hip-hop like Jay-Z, Kanye, or Eminem saturates Cole World line for line. Jay and Kanye had best watch the throne around J Cole, hip-hop’s heir apparent.
Seth’s favorites: “Lost Ones”, “Nobody’s Perfect”, and “Cole World”.
3. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Anthony Gonzalez, the creative force behind M83, has made a career out of one-upping himself. Every majestic record that he has released in the past ten years has been preceded by the self-propagated buzz that it would be even bigger than the last. These high claims coming from anyone else’s mouth would sound presumptuous and arrogant. The magic of M83 is that not only does Anthony Gonzalez unfailingly deliver on those promises but he believes them whole-heartedly. One can hear in every M83 album, the commitment, unabashed excitement, and genuineness that Gonzalez pours into them. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming plays like a panoramic dream, dynamic and expansive—from the ethereal and hypnotic (“Intro” and “Wait”) to the surreal (“Raconte-moi Une Histoire” and “Echoes of Mine”) to the euphoric and celebratory (“Midnight City” and “Steve McQueen”). Hurry Up doesn’t hurry one bit—sprawling out over 22 tracks—but rather takes its time, in no rush to wake up, beckoning us to Hurry Up and fall into this beautiful dream.
Seth’s favorites: “Midnight City”, “Intro”, and “Steve McQueen”.
2. David Bazan – Strange Negotiations
After his highly personal, cathartic Curse Your Branches, David Bazan said that he wanted to just have fun making a rock record on his next album. When most artists make this disclaimer about an effort, they mean light songs about sex, booze, and romantic antics. For the most poignant and adept songwriter alive, a “fun rock record” means powerful social commentary on such “light” topics as politics, economics, ethics, and addiction. Even when he is having fun, David Bazan’s songwriting is a sharp and discerning blade that slices its targets apart more wholly and beautifully than any comparable social novel written in the last decade. While Curse Your Branches showed a man facing down the beast of his religious upbringing, Strange Negotiations shows a man finding his role in the world outside of religious faith and affiliation—a man searching for the truth and illuminating all that is not. “And when you love the truth enough / You start to tell it all the time / And when it gets you into trouble / You discover you don’t mind” (“People”).
Seth’s favorites: “People”, “Virginia”, and “Won’t Let Go”.
1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
After the massive buzz of his debut record For Emma, Forever Ago, the gluttonously spread story of its heartbroken-cabin-retreat genesis, and the high-profile collaborations that followed its success, Justin Vernon seemed impossibly set up for the quintessential sophomore slump. The eponymous record that was born into this climate of buzzing, jaded expectations was so far beyond anyone’s expectations as to guarantee it nearly automatic placement at the top of every single annual music list—my own notwithstanding. While Vernon easily could have slipped into the tried-and-true formula, trying to replicate For Emma, or swung to the opposite extreme of over-compensation, trying desperately to break out of any attempt to pigeon-hole him, he found the perfect balance between the two. Bon Iver is at once reminiscent and respectful of its predecessor and boldly divergent and evolved. The warm, organic quality of For Emma is not replaced but enhanced and augmented by the full sonic breadth of a professional studio. Vernon shows that he is not bound by the minimalistic, DIY aesthetic by exhibiting his unique vision and flair for inventive arrangement—the stunning opener “Perth” features the most unostentatious use of double-kick possibly in the history of music, “Beth / Rest” closes the album with an ‘80s keyboard voicing that hasn’t been used since Richard Marx…but Bon Iver somehow makes it not only work but swoon. The only negative thing that I should warn you of before this album forcibly takes over your IPod is this: you will not find anything anywhere like it. Bon Iver is a singular masterpiece of sound that many will try and none will succeed at imitating.
Seth’s favorites: “Perth”, “Michicant”, and “Holocene”.
2011 – The Mix
Disc 1
1. Conquering Animal Sound – Maschine [from Kammerspiel]
2. NewVillager – Rich Doors [from NewVillager]
3. Jay-Z and Kanye West – No Church In the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean) [from Watch the Throne]
4. Little Dragon – Ritual Union [from Ritual Union]
5. Cut Copy – Need You Now [from Zonoscope]
6. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Wrestler [from Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You]
7. The Joy Formidable – A Heavy Abacus [from The Big Roar]
8. Lykke Li – Love Out Of Lust [from Wounded Rhymes]
9. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream [from James Blake]
10. Radiohead – Lotus Flower [from The King of Limbs]
11. J Cole – Lost Ones [from Cole World: The Sideline Story]
12. Mogwai – Death Rays [from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will]
13. We Were Promised Jetpacks – Act On Impulse [from In the Pit Of the Stomach]
14. The Roots – The Lighthouse (feat. Dice Raw) [from Undun]
15. Wilco – Art Of Almost [from The Whole Love]
16. Iron & Wine – Walking Far From Home [from Kiss Each Other Clean]
17. Explosions In the Sky – Last Known Surroundings [from Take Care, Take Care, Take Care]
Disc 2
1. Bon Iver – Perth [from Bon Iver]
2. Feist – The Bad In Each Other [from Metals]
3. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys [from Codes and Keys]
4. M83 – Midnight City [from Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming]
5. The Strokes – Under Cover of Darkness [from Angles]
6. The Black Keys – Sister [from El Camino]
7. The Head and the Heart – Down In the Valley [from The Head and the Heart]
8. Bell X1 – Nightwatchmen [from Bloodless Coup]
9. Glasvegas – I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality Pt. 1) [from Euphoric Heartbreak]
10. Mélanie Laurent – En T’attendant [from En T’attendant]
11. Deer Tick – Chevy Express [from Divine Providence]
12. City and Colour – We Found Each Other In the Dark [from Little Hell]
13. The Weather Station – Everything I Saw [from All Of It Was Mine]
14. Adele – Someone Like You [from 21]
15. The Civil Wars – Poison & Wine [from Barton Hollow]
16. Ryan Adams – Lucky Now [from Ashes & Fire]
17. Beirut – Vagabond [from The Rip Tide]
18. Gillian Welch – Hard Times [from The Harrow & the Harvest]
19. David Bazan – People [from Strange Negotiations]
Have a listen, friends.
There was a lot of truly terrific music that I have let go unpardonably unmentioned, and of course I am certain that my limited scope has some egregious oversights and dishonorable blind spots. Please, as always, educate me! I put this mix together with the unrealistic hope that people might actually procure said tunes and listen to them in said order. I emphatically encourage you to do so and sadly acknowledge the unlikelihood of that prospect. Viva la nueva música!
Tying Up Loose Ends—2010, What I Missed
Theological Quandary No. 45: Will James Murphy forgive my ignorance of LCD Soundsystem if I did not know of its existence? What is the age of accountability? Is there a Vatican representative available to weigh in on this? Somehow (don’t ask how, my usual copouts—homeschooled, half-Canadian, half-deaf—don’t seem to cut it this time) I missed one of the greatest bands of my lifetime. Bringing the chic hypnotism of electronic music to the middle-finger-wielding bravado of punk to the wild unpredictability of indie rock, LCD Soundsystem has graced the music world with some of the most exciting, ground-breaking, just downright cool music of the past two decades. After all of the hype and deafening buzz that preceded its drop, This Is Happening could have only gone one of two ways—straight to the grave or straight through the roof. As it turned out, it did both with trademark panache. Shortly after its release (and shortly before my knowledge of its existence), James Murphy announced that LCD Soundsystem would be no more. Despite the fact that LCD Soundsystem is now in the past, This Is Happening is an album that will keep unfolding, revealing new aspects of itself, and getting your head bobbing like something that is still and will forever be ‘happening.’
Seth’s favorites: “I Can Change”, “All I Want”, and “Dance Yrself Clean”.
If there were no other damning anecdotes exemplifying the obsolescence of the major record labels, this one would single-handedly cram them all into a hell-bound hand-basket. This album was shelved for three years, because Def Jam didn’t have a clue what to do with it. What should have been the hip-hop album of 2007 had to wait patiently to become the hip-hop album of 2010…and possibly the decade. Big Boi reaches far beyond the pigeon-holing Dirty South for influences, beats, samples, and artistic breadth without even marginally disowning his A-town roots. Instead he brings his broader perspective and international star wingspan home to show off to the neighborhood. The most Dirty track of all, “General Patton,” is set to an inspired sample of what sounds like military choral music. This is the kind of hip-hop album that makes converts to hip-hop.
Seth’s favorites: “Shutterbugg”, “General Patton”, and “Follow Us”.
Carving out his spot in the rich new trove of Dublin troubadours, James Vincent McMorrow’s debut LP showcases a poised, steady-handed approach that boldly contrasts the emotive looseness of other Dublin songsters like Damien Rice. Beautiful, well-balanced instrumentation is expertly built up around strong, mature songwriting making it an incredibly impressive debut by one of the most exciting prospects in the industry.
Seth’s favorites: “Follow You Down To the Red Oak Tree”, “We Don’t Eat”, and “Sparrow and the Wolf”.
What can I say? I am constantly in battle with the little hipster inside me that balks pretentiously whenever something becomes that big. It took me too long to let this fantastic album win me over. As much as it pains me to credit an iota of genius or revolutionary invention to an ego so huge, My Beautiful…Fantasy is the blinding dawn of hip-hop’s new age. Architecturally, Fantasy moves like an undeniably charismatic and adept party host gliding effortlessly from guest to guest, cluster to cluster, niche to niche, West Coast hipster to East Coast hipster—keeping everyone well-fed, well-entertained and well-jealous. You hate Kanye West, but if given the opportunity, you would be him in half-a-heartbeat. I know I would.
Seth’s favorites: “Runaway”, “Monster”, and “Hell of a Life”.
2011 – The Albums
When a pair of installation artists announces that they are writing and recording an album, one is hard-pressed not to raise an eyebrow and write it off without even a cursory listen. I mean, come on, what kind of pretentious drivel is going to come out of a couple of guys who put on “integrative events” and “installation concerts”? Au contraire, brown bear. What they released was one of the most intriguing, beguiling, creative, and subtle albums of the year. The eponymous 10-track album is as controlled and steady as a neurosurgeon’s hands. The pacing of the album is expertly crafted to a degree that most bands/artists never achieve. Spanning a wide array of influences and stylistic swatches, NewVillager adeptly keeps everything grounded and accessible. NewVillager’s debut album finds a perfect balance between accessibility and innovation—keeping your ears working, your mind picking apart something truly new and innovative, and your head bobbing.
Seth’s favorites: “Rich Doors”, “Cocoon House”, and “Shot Big Horizon”.
I am not going to pretend to be at all well-versed or knowledgeable about rap and hip-hop, and I should probably just slap a period at the end of that statement and tell you to just listen. However, I have become a connoisseur of the taste of my own foot. J Cole is, plain and simple, enthralling to listen to. What was once a very cursory and uncommitted interest in hip-hop, Cole World single-handedly turned into an insatiable hunger for anything even remotely comparable. The expert wordplay and instant quote-ability that peppers records by the throne-abiding giants of hip-hop like Jay-Z, Kanye, or Eminem saturates Cole World line for line. Jay and Kanye had best watch the throne around J Cole, hip-hop’s heir apparent.
Seth’s favorites: “Lost Ones”, “Nobody’s Perfect”, and “Cole World”.
Anthony Gonzalez, the creative force behind M83, has made a career out of one-upping himself. Every majestic record that he has released in the past ten years has been preceded by the self-propagated buzz that it would be even bigger than the last. These high claims coming from anyone else’s mouth would sound presumptuous and arrogant. The magic of M83 is that not only does Anthony Gonzalez unfailingly deliver on those promises but he believes them whole-heartedly. One can hear in every M83 album, the commitment, unabashed excitement, and genuineness that Gonzalez pours into them. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming plays like a panoramic dream, dynamic and expansive—from the ethereal and hypnotic (“Intro” and “Wait”) to the surreal (“Raconte-moi Une Histoire” and “Echoes of Mine”) to the euphoric and celebratory (“Midnight City” and “Steve McQueen”). Hurry Up doesn’t hurry one bit—sprawling out over 22 tracks—but rather takes its time, in no rush to wake up, beckoning us to Hurry Up and fall into this beautiful dream.
Seth’s favorites: “Midnight City”, “Intro”, and “Steve McQueen”.
After his highly personal, cathartic Curse Your Branches, David Bazan said that he wanted to just have fun making a rock record on his next album. When most artists make this disclaimer about an effort, they mean light songs about sex, booze, and romantic antics. For the most poignant and adept songwriter alive, a “fun rock record” means powerful social commentary on such “light” topics as politics, economics, ethics, and addiction. Even when he is having fun, David Bazan’s songwriting is a sharp and discerning blade that slices its targets apart more wholly and beautifully than any comparable social novel written in the last decade. While Curse Your Branches showed a man facing down the beast of his religious upbringing, Strange Negotiations shows a man finding his role in the world outside of religious faith and affiliation—a man searching for the truth and illuminating all that is not. “And when you love the truth enough / You start to tell it all the time / And when it gets you into trouble / You discover you don’t mind” (“People”).
Seth’s favorites: “People”, “Virginia”, and “Won’t Let Go”.
After the massive buzz of his debut record For Emma, Forever Ago, the gluttonously spread story of its heartbroken-cabin-retreat genesis, and the high-profile collaborations that followed its success, Justin Vernon seemed impossibly set up for the quintessential sophomore slump. The eponymous record that was born into this climate of buzzing, jaded expectations was so far beyond anyone’s expectations as to guarantee it nearly automatic placement at the top of every single annual music list—my own notwithstanding. While Vernon easily could have slipped into the tried-and-true formula, trying to replicate For Emma, or swung to the opposite extreme of over-compensation, trying desperately to break out of any attempt to pigeon-hole him, he found the perfect balance between the two. Bon Iver is at once reminiscent and respectful of its predecessor and boldly divergent and evolved. The warm, organic quality of For Emma is not replaced but enhanced and augmented by the full sonic breadth of a professional studio. Vernon shows that he is not bound by the minimalistic, DIY aesthetic by exhibiting his unique vision and flair for inventive arrangement—the stunning opener “Perth” features the most unostentatious use of double-kick possibly in the history of music, “Beth / Rest” closes the album with an ‘80s keyboard voicing that hasn’t been used since Richard Marx…but Bon Iver somehow makes it not only work but swoon. The only negative thing that I should warn you of before this album forcibly takes over your IPod is this: you will not find anything anywhere like it. Bon Iver is a singular masterpiece of sound that many will try and none will succeed at imitating.
Seth’s favorites: “Perth”, “Michicant”, and “Holocene”.
2011 – The Mix
Disc 1
1. Conquering Animal Sound – Maschine [from Kammerspiel]
2. NewVillager – Rich Doors [from NewVillager]
3. Jay-Z and Kanye West – No Church In the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean) [from Watch the Throne]
4. Little Dragon – Ritual Union [from Ritual Union]
5. Cut Copy – Need You Now [from Zonoscope]
6. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Wrestler [from Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You]
7. The Joy Formidable – A Heavy Abacus [from The Big Roar]
8. Lykke Li – Love Out Of Lust [from Wounded Rhymes]
9. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream [from James Blake]
10. Radiohead – Lotus Flower [from The King of Limbs]
11. J Cole – Lost Ones [from Cole World: The Sideline Story]
12. Mogwai – Death Rays [from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will]
13. We Were Promised Jetpacks – Act On Impulse [from In the Pit Of the Stomach]
14. The Roots – The Lighthouse (feat. Dice Raw) [from Undun]
15. Wilco – Art Of Almost [from The Whole Love]
16. Iron & Wine – Walking Far From Home [from Kiss Each Other Clean]
17. Explosions In the Sky – Last Known Surroundings [from Take Care, Take Care, Take Care]
Disc 2
1. Bon Iver – Perth [from Bon Iver]
2. Feist – The Bad In Each Other [from Metals]
3. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys [from Codes and Keys]
4. M83 – Midnight City [from Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming]
5. The Strokes – Under Cover of Darkness [from Angles]
6. The Black Keys – Sister [from El Camino]
7. The Head and the Heart – Down In the Valley [from The Head and the Heart]
8. Bell X1 – Nightwatchmen [from Bloodless Coup]
9. Glasvegas – I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality Pt. 1) [from Euphoric Heartbreak]
10. Mélanie Laurent – En T’attendant [from En T’attendant]
11. Deer Tick – Chevy Express [from Divine Providence]
12. City and Colour – We Found Each Other In the Dark [from Little Hell]
13. The Weather Station – Everything I Saw [from All Of It Was Mine]
14. Adele – Someone Like You [from 21]
15. The Civil Wars – Poison & Wine [from Barton Hollow]
16. Ryan Adams – Lucky Now [from Ashes & Fire]
17. Beirut – Vagabond [from The Rip Tide]
18. Gillian Welch – Hard Times [from The Harrow & the Harvest]
19. David Bazan – People [from Strange Negotiations]
Have a listen, friends.
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