writhaus

In less than 10 days I will be headed off and will be out of pocket for two years. One of the myriad thoughts that passes through the mind when faced with something like that is simply, “How the heck am I going to find out what music I am missing and how do I keep that from happening?”

With that in mind, I have compiled a list of five songs from the summer of 2007 I feel are worth giving a listen if you’ve been overseas and missed the season’s sonic goodness.

1. Spoon – The Underdog
In a year where the classic cartoon was mined for a terrible movie, it’s nice to know something named Underdog didn’t suck this summer. From the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon’s The Underdog features tight lyrics, hand claps and blaring trumpets set the tone for my summer: the appearance of light and airiness with plenty of things going on beneath the surface.

2. Modest Mouse – Missed the Boat
Modest Mouse is always pretty pensive and the moody tone of this song summed up my feelings as this summer fades into fall.

3. The Starting Line – Island
I always liked The Starting Line. When I heard this single, I was both happy they were back and relieved they were getting airplay again. Thematically, who doesn’t enjoy a song about just getting away and starting over? Songs like this allow us to vicariously do the things life usually doesn’t allow.

4. Moonrats – FLM
Until I graduated from high school in 1994, I listened pretty much exclusively to country music. This summer, Sirius DJ Demos introduced me to alternative rock pioneers Archers of Loaf. I mention them because this song from LA’s Moonrats reminds me of them. It has the same raw vibe, the same “new” feeling which is saying something for a song recorded long after Archers broke up.

5. Brad Paisley – Online
I don’t listen to much country music anymore. It isn’t the same kind of music I grew up with save for a few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Brad Paisley. With Online, Paisley infuses a country song with a timeliness usually reserved for rock acts. He submits his critique of internet culture with a knowing wink and a great video.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Feature - Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.