Top 5 List: Instrumental Records

Again, a weather inspired top 5.  Inspired by the oppressive humidity and overall gray-ness of the day.  A top 5 of my favorite (moody) instrumental records:

1. Stars of the Lid - And the Refinement of Their Decline

2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#∞

3. Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

4. Six Organs of Admittance - For Octavio Paz

5. Brightblack Morning Light - S/T

So before you get all critical of Brightblack Morning Light’s inclusion on an instrumental list, I dare you decipher any of the actual “lyrics” from that album.  When I saw them in concert, you couldn’t even tell what the dude was saying with the absurd amount of reverb on his mic.  Stars of the Lid is #1 no question.  It is the most listened to album on my ipod because I listen to it almost every night to fall asleep.  Which does not, by any means, infer that the record is boring.  It is quiet with it’s hushed tones and lack of melodies.  But I often find myself lying awake in bed listening to it’s intricacies.  Tough call on which GY!BE record to include.  But the creepy monologue from “Dead Flag Blues” and the amazing cresendo from “East Hastings” put F#A#∞ over the top.  I was always amazed with how loud Explosions in the Sky are live.  The record has awesome dynamics, but the live show puts those dynamics over the top.  For Octavio Paz is not my favorite Six Organs record, but it’s his only fully instrumental album (but I did already break the “instrumental” rule for BML, but Ben Chasny sings recognizable words comparatively).  For Octavio Paz does contain one of my favorite Six Organs songs though, “V” (the songs are all called by their roman numerals, “V” is actually just song 5).

Top 5 List: Spring Mix

 

Inspired by the absurdly beautiful weather this weekend that is continuing into today.

Top 5 albums to listen to on a beautiful spring day…

1. Andrew Bird – …and the Mysterious Production of Eggs

2. Lucky Soul – The Great Unwanted

3. Built to Spill – The Normal Years (There’s Nothing Wrong With Love could easily be substituted)

4. The Blow – Paper Television

5. Ted Leo – Hearts of Oak

Honorable Mentions:  Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow, The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone?

 

No real surprises I don’t think.  Lucky Soul was in the “guilty pleasure” column for me for the last few years.  They are easy to write off as a 60’s throwback band, but when it comes down to it, I like every single song on that record.  They moved up to just “pleasure” I guess.  I had to choose The Normal Years because it has “Car” which is one of my favorite songs to crank and sing along to.  And The Normal Years version has the sweet Doug Martsch guitar solo where the cellos come in on the There’s Nothing Wrong With Love version.  Andrew Bird had to be on there with all the breezy whistles and glockenspiels and violins that make that record float along.  Paper Television is just fun.  And every time I have seen Khaela Maricich preform, she seems like she is having such a good time playing those songs.  I wish Ted Leo would release something comparable to Hearts of Oak because I haven’t been into another of his records since that one.  But Hearts of Oak really holds up and is as catchy as when I first got it back in 2003.