Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Eli (class of 2024) and features tracks by the indie folk/rock band Mt. Joy.
Mt. Joy
Indie rock band Mt. Joy is both an international sensation and an underrated group. If you are a fan of alternative, indie, or rock music, give the group a listen. Here are some of their greatest hits.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Everybody – and I mean everybody – seems to know the Killers from one song: “Mr. Brightside.” The song has become a party and nightclub staple, garnering tons of partygoer enthusiasm as everyone shouts the lyrics in unison.
But what if I said that although it is the group’s most popular song, it is not one of their best songs? What if I said that the Killers have been very prominent in the alternative rock industry for years, pumping out album after album over the years, with some of the core members remaining in the band for its entire existence?
I can go on for hours talking in-depth about every single one of the Killers’ albums, from Hot Fuss all the way to Pressure Machine. My favorite album of all time, Sam’s Town, is also by the Killers. However, in terms of popularity, I feel that Hot Fuss takes the awards. Therefore, to appeal to the general public of those reading this post, my focus will be on this 45 minute masterpiece.
Hot Fuss was released on June 7th 2004 and reached seventh on the Billboard 200. Although being extremely popular in America, the album was actually more of a commercial success in Ireland and England. This album, was the beginning of a 17 year (and counting) career. It was the very first album by the Killers and has been the one that most people adore most.
The track list is absolutely amazing. The four band members, Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning, and Mark Stoermer each had significant roles in writing most of the songs. Vanucci, the drummer of the band, had the least writing credits on the album, but only 3 of the 11 songs on the album were written alone by Brandon Flowers. The rest all involved some sort of mix of the 4.
Despite these being the most popular songs on the album, the tracks I have enjoyed the most are “Everything Will be Alright,” “Believe me Natalie,” and “Change your Mind.” The second of the trio is the most upbeat and encapsulates most of the rock elements the Killers were known for. The other two are much slower and are just as good in my opinion.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish Rock Band founded in Glasgow who’ve achieved worldwide success throughout the past decade and a half making post-punk revival music. Franz Ferdinand’s best work struck the world in their first ever album, you guessed it… Franz Ferdinand. Released on February 9th, 2004, the album launched Franz Ferdinand to international fame with over a million copies sold in both the United Kingdom and the United States and received a Grammy nomination for best Alternative Album in 2004.
The album has a quiet start with the soft intro of the first song on the album, “Jacqueline”, before the band explodes showcasing their eccentric talent. The album is rooted by its hit classics such as “Take Me Out” and “Michael” which blend the perfect combination of dance-rock rhythms and light pop hooks. Songs like “The Dark of the Matinee” and “Darts of Pleasure” surround your ears with a dark and soothing rhythm but almost juvenile lyrics which keep the bittersweet taste of the whole album. My personal favorite song “Auf Achse” appears melancholy at first glance but features a powerful background of instrumental talent that moves you along as if you’re feeling their world around you.
If you’re into any form of indie / alternative rock music and you’re feeling nostalgic for the early zips, this is the album for you. Even if you’ve already listened to it on repeat the past week like I have.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
The Black Keys have always been one of those bands where I couldn’t name a single one of their songs off the top of my head, yet I know all the words to nearly every one I hear. Looking back, they very well could’ve been considered my favorite band for how often I listened to their music and how much I liked it.
I can’t say exactly why I never committed titles to memory; it certainly wasn’t because they were forgettable songs. Rather, I think it was the sheer fact that, at the height of their popularity, their music was so genre-defining and omnipresent that I only needed to hum the melody or say a few lines from the chorus, and anyone would know what song I was referring to. Take the song “Tighten Up” for instance. If you don’t recognize it from the title, listen to the first few bars of the track and wait for the instant hit of nostalgia.
The group consists of two friends from Akron, Ohio: Dan Auerbach on guitar and vocals and Patrick Carney on drums. They started the band in 2001, and like all good grassroots garage bands, dropped out of college to pursue their bluesy-rock sound and slowly built an underground fan base through extensive touring, frequent album releases, and music festival appearances until their commercial breakthrough in 2010. This album, Brothers, catapulted them from garage indie band to one of the most popular and famous bands in their genre and winning them three Grammy Awards in the process.
For me, they defined a pivotal era in my music history. Being a child who grew up on her dad’s CD collection of alternative rock albums from the 70s and 80s, The Black Keys were one of the first bands that I discovered all on my own and shaped what I would listen to from then on. They drove me to find other music like theirs: the type of music that couldn’t have been written at any other time, yet still feels timeless.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
I’m fascinated by the vocal talent of musicians and for some reason, I discover a lot of artists that I enjoy through listening to covers of their songs by a cappella groups on YouTube. I had no idea who George Ezra was until I listened to the Trinitones perform a mash-up of “Barcelona,” “Budapest” and “Paradise” over a year ago. The all-male group surprised me with their impressive talent, but also with the arrangement of the songs. I was familiar with the song “Budapest” because it had been playing on radio stations at the time, but the artist behind the song had escaped my familiarity. After listening to Wanted on Voyage however, George Ezra has become a frequent artist on my Spotify playlists.
Wanted on Voyage is Ezra’s debut album released in the UK in 2014. He had first been discovered by Columbia Records in 2012 from his videos on YouTube performing his own original songs. After being contracted to work for Columbia Records, Ezra found inspiration for his album in 2013 when he traveled by train across Europe, writing about the places he visited and the people he met. From this collection of memories, Ezra sat down and penned the songs for the album, immortalizing his journey.
The album gained many positive reviews on release, attributing the success to the relatively simple composition of the songs that are dramatically enhanced by Ezra’s ability to sing. A vital characteristic to Ezra’s music is his voice, which is naturally lower than many popular artists. The pitch of his voice adds flavor to his songs that make it appear as if these songs only fit the register that Ezra is able to perform in. Some highlights of the album for me are “Budapest” and “Barcelona,” which is not a surprise considering these are the songs that led me to George Ezra’s music. The mix between Ezra’s incredible voice and the instrumentation and production on both tracks really drives home the idea of why I enjoy his music so much. Another track I enjoy is “Did You Hear The Rain?” which was released as the first single from the album.
Wanted on Voyage is a fantastic album that does not try to create complicated music. The purity of the instrumentation and vocals shine through on every track. George Ezra actually filmed a Mahogany Session video for “Budapest,” which is a video series that allows artists to acoustically perform some of their most famous songs for the world to gain a more intimate view of the artist. This particular video is great, because I honestly cannot tell the difference in the quality of Ezra’s singing between the video and the recorded song from the album. Wanted on Voyage truly shines as Ezra’s first step into the musical world and it manifested a popularity around him that still holds true to this day.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
I can’t remember how I first found Bibio, but it seemed like all of a sudden, his songs were all I listened to (69 hours worth in 2018 alone, but who’s counting?). His music, which blends acoustic guitars and mandolins with ambient nature sounds and funky jazz-electronic beats, has had a huge influence on me since the summer of 2014. His music might not be for everyone; a lot of it is instrumental, and it doesn’t follow a lot of the patterns that most modern pop songs do. I really love it though, and I’m so excited that my requests have been heard and we now have two of his albums: The Apple and the Tooth (2009) and Mind Bokeh (2011).
If you’re looking for music to study to, fall asleep to, cry to, or feel inspired by, chances are that Bibio has at least 20 songs that will fit your mood. He’s a great artist, albeit fairly unknown, so give him a listen if you want to try something new!
One of The Smiths’ most well-known albums, The Queen is Dead, is the quintessential album for anyone looking to get into this quirky indie rock band. The album, released in 1986 and re-released as a collector’s edition in 2017, has been unanimously praised, and even considered the “greatest album of all time” by major British music publication NME. The lyrics, sung by the famous now-solo Morrissey, are filled with clever imagery and sharp social commentary. Track 9, “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” was featured in the classic rom-com 500 Days of Summer and remains one of the most famous Smiths songs. This album is full of songs that take a few listens to really absorb all of the witty lyric details that often hint at social unrest, emotional struggles, and even anarchy. For someone looking to indulge in some of the best vintage fight-the-power music with hints of satire, this album is definitely worth the listen.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student worker Cole (class of 2021) and features Transatlanticism the fourth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie originally released in 2003. Thanks, Cole!
“So this is the New Year
And I don’t feel any different”
So begins Death Cab for Cutie’s 2003 album Transatlanticism, and so too begins another calendar year. I mentioned this record in my previous Arachnophonia post, so I found it fitting to further detail it for my first submission of 2018. Written entirely by front man Ben Gibbard and recorded at the same time as The Postal Service’s Give Up, Transatlanticism offers a darker and more personal rumination on love than the synth-pop optimism of Gibbard’s collaboration with Jimmy Tamborello. Whereas Give Up dwells on relationships past, it ultimately is a celebration of those experiences. Transatlanticism is principally about the distances from others–physical and otherwise – that prevent us from being happy. It condemns, rather than celebrates, past failures.
Gibbard’s obsession with destructive distance is evident from the first moments of the album, and indeed the record’s name itself. The aforementioned intro track “The New Year” finds him mocking the inane celebration of the New Year’s holiday. Eventually, the song drops its cynical façade and ends with an honest rumination about the first type of distance addressed in the album – geographic:
“I wish the world was flat like the old days
Then I could travel just by folding a map
No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways
There’d be no distance that can hold us back”
Gibbard has become disillusioned about the “magic” of the New Year. Rather than celebrating with his friends the progression of time, he chooses instead to lament about “the old days” when the world was flat, senselessly believing that this would somehow allow him to be closer to his estranged lover.
Further on, numerous songs wrestle with an entirely different form of distance – temporal. In “We Looked Like Giants,” the second to last track of the album, Gibbard reminisces over the novelty of first love.
“I’ve become what I always hated when I was with you then
We looked like giants in the back of my grey subcompact
Fumbling to make contact as the others slept inside”
He notes the irony of how much he’s changed in the days since his high school affair and views the entire experience with an acute awareness of their naïveté. Unlike most other songs from Transatlanticism, Gibbard doesn’t pine for anything here. “We Looked Like Giants” reminisces but doesn’t dwell. It examines an old flame for what it was, not what it might have been, and in doing so provides the closest thing to a sense of closure found on the album.
Contrarily, “Title and Registration” recounts a personal experience of Ben Gibbard, stumbling across pictures of an ex-lover he “tried to forget” while searching for a legal document in the glove compartment of his car. He reminisces about this love lost thus:
“There’s no blame
For how our love did slowly fade
And now that it’s gone
It’s like it wasn’t there at all
And here I rest
Where disappointment and regret collide
Lying awake at night”
Gibbard takes an intriguing stance in this verse, first asserting that there’s “no blame” for the end of the relationship, but still expresses “disappointment and regret.” He takes issue not with the ending of the affair, but with how both parties allowed their love to extinguish with whimper. It’s only now, since distance has developed from the ending of the relationship, that Gibbard is tormented by his failure.
The final form of distance addressed in Transatlanticism, and indeed the most crucial, is emotional. As suggested in “Title and Registration,” Gibbard’s deepest wounds are delivered not by betrayal, but the slow division that sedates love into apathy. In “Expo ’86,” he critiques the very pursuit of love itself:
“Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom then we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it’s worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
But if I move my place in line, I’ll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation’s got me glued
I am waiting for something to go wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve”
Like Sisyphus eternally rolling his boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back once he’s reached the top, Ben Gibbard feels trapped in a never-ending cycle of relationships. He desperately wants more than anything to just finish. This fixation with repetition prevents him from truly engaging in any meaningful way. Instead, he’s just “waiting for something to go wrong.”
This dissociation from romantic endeavors is what drives Gibbard in “Tiny Vessels.” Here, he confesses to his emotional detachment, painting himself in a selfish and potentially even misogynistic light:
“So one last touch, and then you’ll go
And we’ll pretend that it meant something so much more
But it was vile, and it was cheap
And you are beautiful
But you don’t mean a thing to me”
Heartbreak after heartbreak has driven Gibbard from seeking passionate love to purely physical stimulation – the very transformation he despises. While “Tiny Vessels” proves to be a moral recession, it exists to embolden the revelation of the next song, the title track “Transatlanticism.”
Just shy of eight minutes long, “Transatlanticism” stands as the focal point of the album. In many ways it proves to be antithetical to every other song on the record. Rather than a cynical dismissing of past relationships, the title track is a heartbreakingly honest plea for true love. While the song is literally about a man being separated from his lover by the birth of the Atlantic Ocean, in truth it details the death of a relationship at the hands of a widening emotional disconnect.
“Most people were overjoyed
They took to their boats
I thought it less like a lake
And more like a moat”
Gibbard makes use of all three forms of distance – physical, temporal, and emotional, – and in doing so, produces the most genuine and stunning track of the album. Unlike “Title and Registration,” in “Transatlanticism” the speaker hasn’t resigned to simply regret the death of his relationship, because a fragment of it still remains. Rather than accept the slow death, he fights tooth and nail to preserve the love that’s slipping through his fingers. The song crescendos with a simple refrain – “I need you so much closer” – repeated twelve times, and then finally climaxes with the outro:
“So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on”
In my personal opinion, this is Ben Gibbard at his absolute best. Sparse, honest, and absolutely agonizing.
Since its release, Transatlanticism has been near-universally accepted as Death Cab for Cutie’s greatest work, and a seminal album of indie rock. While the band’s fan base consistently ridicules them for their more recent, upbeat outputs (fans often ironically lament how they want Ben Gibbard to be miserable again), Gibbard himself remains realistic about the band’s necessity for evolution. In a 2015 interview with Medium, Gibbard offered this:
“I cannot be the 25-year-old who wrote Transatlanticism as much as the fan can’t be the 19-year-old college student going through a break-up again.”
So I implore you, while you have the opportunity to be that 19-or-20-or-however-old-college-student-going-through-a-break-up-or-whatever-else, listen to Transatlanticism and be it.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student worker, Cole (class of 2021) and features a 2003 album of the American indie rock supergroup The Postal Service. Thanks, Cole!
The only album ever released by early 2000’s indie pop/electronica supergroup The Postal Service, Give Up remains a staple of indie music and a testament to musical collaboration. The Postal Service consisted of electronic artist Jimmy Tamborello (also known as Dntel) and Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard, featuring additional vocals provided by Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis and Seattle-based indie rocker Jen Wood. Work on the album began in late 2001, and was accomplished by Tamborello and Gibbard sending CDs of the project back and forth through the mail (hence the band’s name) for just under a year. The Postal Service was always considered to be a side project by its members – during production Gibbard was also working on Death Cab for Cutie’s greatest album to date: Transatlanticism – which is why the collaboration’s quality and subsequent success are so profound. Give Up was released on February 19, 2003 through Sub Pop records, receiving near-universal praise and peaking at 45 on the US Billboard 200. The group toured in support of the album from April to August of the same year.
Gibbard and Tamborella circa 2003
While Give Up enjoyed moderate success in and around the year of 2003, it truly took on a second life once the group’s members returned to their primary acts. The album received platinum certification (signifying 1,000,000 units sold) in 2012, nearly a decade after its release. It was the second-ever release by Sub Pop (and currently is still their second-best selling effort) to achieve the status, coming after Nirvana’s 1989 album Bleach.
Many people believe Give Up to be Ben Gibbard’s greatest work, which only further salts the wound of The Postal Service being an entirely temporary and long gone affair. The Death Cab for Cutie front man’s voice arguably fits Tamborella’s 80’s inspired synths better than the four piece rock instrumentation of his main band. Lyrically too, Gibbard seems to have peaked with the intensely autobiographical songs featured on this album. One of my personal favorite excerpts from the first track, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” follows:
It seems so out of context
In this gaudy apartment complex.
A stranger with your door key
Explaining that “I’m just visiting”.
I am finally seeing
That I was the one worth leaving.
Or this excerpt from “Nothing Better,” in which Ben Gibbard trades verses with Jen Wood, together playing their role as a feuding couple. This verse arrives just as Gibbard’s character has just pleaded with his lover to stay with him. Wood’s response follows:
I feel I must interject here
You’re getting carried away feeling sorry for yourself
With these revisions and gaps in history
So let me help you remember
I’ve made charts and graphs that should finally make it clear
Prepared a lecture
On why I have to leave
While judging from those two excerpts it may appear that Give Up is entirely ruminations on doomed relationships, thematically a lot of ground is covered, including friendship, memories, and happy relationships. In fact, the most popular song off of the album, “Such Great Heights,” opens with:
I am thinking it’s a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and when
We kiss they’re perfectly aligned
The album’s impressive persistence post-release prompted The Postal Service to release a 10th anniversary edition of Give Up in 2013, accompanied by a supporting tour. Despite rumors of a second album in the works, Ben Gibbard announced in early August of that year that the group’s performance in Chicago on August 5th would be their last ever, and the group has since formally disbanded. Although saddened by the destruction of all prospect of a sophomore effort from The Postal Service, I can’t help but feel the ‘one-and-done’ nature of Give Up has helped elevate it into a mythical status within indie rock. It will forever be a personal favorite.
