Music Related

Last night, J. and I went to a late concert at the Doug Fir Lounge. The headliner band was the Cloud Cult, a weird little group out of Minneapolis that is neither a cult nor made of clouds. They sound most similar to The Arcade Fire or The Polyphonic Spree, with the singer’s voice reminiscent of Tim DeLaughter. Like both of these references, the Cloud Cult’s music has an inspirational (though mostly secular) message to it. There are plenty of sad themes, but hope as well. Musically, they mix orchestral, rock and funky dance loops, often in the same song.

I started listening to Cloud Cult the last time I was in Thailand, in part because of the praise they received on a blog called The Sneeze. The band never signed with a label, but they’ve been prolific over the years. A lot of their songs can be listened to at Hype Machine or on the band’s website.

Speaking of music while in Thailand, I also became hooked on my friend Daniel’s podcast The Sounds In My Head.

Daniel pulls together a lot of good music every two weeks and mixes it up into a tight, downloadable package. His back catalog of seasons provides hours of aural pleasure.

As for the dregs, I made these songs today based on two old Sad Poems from a while ago. More coming in a month.

Dance For Me.mp3
A guy has sung himself hoarse over fond memories. The drums are me playing a roll of papertowls and the desk with paint brushes.

Bird.mp3
A song about how easy birds have it.