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Time Out!

Listen Up will be taking some time out to find a better way to post songs. File Den has suspended us and imeem is being a straight up bitch. I would really like to focus mainly on local and independent bands. If you have music that you would like to share from your band, a friend's band or a local/independent band that you're cuckoo bananas about, please send them along to causticallyoptimistic@gmail.com. Thanks!

Sigur Ros: Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa

Good Weather For Airstrikes

I Slide Myself Forward

Through My Head

I Think Half Way

Backwards

See Myself Sing The Anthem

That We Wrote Together

We Had A Dream

We Had Everything

We Rode To The End Of The World

We Rode Searching

Climbed Skyscrapers

That Later Exploded

The Peace Was Out

I Leak Balance

Fall Down

Total Silence

No Answer

But The Best Thing God Has Created

Is A New Day

Click Here to Listen to Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa

Photography of Alicia Bock

Justice: D.A.N.C.E.

The song is absolutely infectious, but it's just as much the video that made we want to feature Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." The video mixes live action with a barrage of T-shirt animation. It could be mistaken for a Threadless commercial. The song is uniquely organic sounding for the club/house genre. Your inclination may be to think the voices used are samples, but nay nay friend, they are indeed the real deal recorded solely for the song.It makes me want to get some groove-friendly kicks and show the youngsters what's up on the floor.

The French duo appreciates strong imagery, tapping So Me to lend well over 500 illustrations to give the video its look. Get into it, it's gonna make ya squiggle and squirm in yo seat!

Song Breakdown:

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Talk the struggling wedding DJ into getting the party started with this rambunctious jam.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Mila Kunis. Really need a why?

Justice - "Dance" - Justice

At the Drive-In: Star Slight

Just as I began to think there was nothing under the "hardcore" banner for a guy like me, Relationship of Command came out and blew my mind man! So, I devoured everything I could by At the Drive-In and it was all good. The older albums definitely had a more lo-fi, indie sound, but all the same energy and aggression with a punk rock spirit.

Star Slight is off the earlier Acrobatic Tenement and full of the post-punk sound and hook that seperated them from the pack. It's a short romp of a song, but it's not always about size.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Getting ready to do something ill-advised.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Max, from Where the Wild Things Are.

Starslight - At The Drive-In

Brass Castle: Hamlet

Listening to Brass Castle is like getting punched in the face . . . but a good punch in the face, you know, the kind you just might drop a Hamilton for. The two-man Atlanta-based band, traces it's roots back to some of the most caustic, interesting and epic Jacksonville bands including Gizzard and Dampading.

At time it can seem slightly in disarray, but it's truly purposeful and noisily novel. Forget White Stripe comparisons, this music is amazingly raucous and dirty. I swear to God that I smell whiskey soaked breath and cigarette smoke laden clothes from just listening to these songs. "Hamlet" is off their album Get on Fire. Brass Castle also contributed a song to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Soundtrack.

Song Breakdown

Best Time and Place to Listen:

To prep for a night you won't remember.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

George C. Scott.

Hamlet - Brass Castle

L.S.U. The Fold

L.S.U. (Life Savers Underground) was truly an enigma among CCM bands and "The Fold" may be one of the best songs that you have never heard . . . OK, I know a couple of you have, but in general. L.S.U. was mainly Michael Knott and you never really knew what to expect from album to album, and The Grape Prophet was no exception. It is a rock opera or a concept album if you will about an orange picker trying to rescue his fellow pickers from a sinister prophet.

"The Fold" encompasses a lot of sound in a short amount of time. From hair rock to indie rock and chorale conclusion, there is truly nothing else like it. Tortured vocals, howling guitars and thunderous drums eventually meet a children's choir-that's just how L.S.U. rolls. Incendiary and unforgettable, it's one of the reasons why this album is a true classic.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

It's the perfect soundtrack for late night, in-house hide and seek . . . yes, with the lights out. It's a blast, just try it.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Nicolas Cage as Sailor Ripley in Wild at Heart.

Click Below to Listen to The Fold:

LSU - The Grape Prophet.wma

Bloc Party: So Here We Are

Fragile guitar notes layered on top of an upbeat drum line and thoughtful vocals make "So Here We Are" somehow simultaneously sentimental and cool. At its zenith, the lyrical refrain of "I Figured It Out, I Can See Again" lays a simple but meaningful proclamation of clarity over a jangly, exploratory guitar work. It's all completely endearing and it's one of those songs that has enough versatility to be fodder for teenage love mixtapes or alongside an elitist's collection of Thrill Jockey records. 

"Here We Are" is on the band's first record, Silent Alarm. 

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

During makeout club with your main squeeze.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Susan Dey.

Click Below to Listen to So Here We Are:

Bloc Party - So Here We Are.wma

Fleet Foxes: Ragged Wood

I know you're used to bad-ass music from the bad-ass Prafessa, but let's take a short sidetrip... This is one of the only songs from Fleet Foxes' 2008 self-titled album that doesn't sound like something you'd hear at a Ren Faire. Don't get me wrong, I love the entire album, but Ragged Wood has a certain joie de vivre that the other tracks don't really capture. It has the feel of Appalachian love lost. The harmonies are dead-on, the relentless drums flow easily along with a major tempo change, it's almost got a free-form quality to it.

"Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long. The spring is upon us, follow my only song. Settle down with me by the fire of my yearning....Tell me anything you want, any old lie will do. Call me back to you, back to you."

Song Breakdown

Best Time and Place to Listen:
Heading out for a long day hike, pocket-sized Walden in your backpack.

If This Song Was a Celebrity:
Naturalist John Muir

Click Below to Listen to Ragged Wood!

03 Ragged Wood.wma

The Cure: Inbetween Days

Trying to pick a song that best describes The Cure is a near impossibility and a task not for the weak at heart. So who better to have the The Prafessa ask to take on this epic adventure than LIL C? As I looked through my extensive collection of songs and records, I decided to go with one that I believe appeals to the widest variety of fans and critics alike.

From the brooding, yet optimisitic album Head on the Door comes the opening song "Inbetween Days," that encapsulates the Cure's mesmerizing lyrics and hooks. From the beginning, Robert Smith has changed the way rock music has looked as well as sounded. With "Inbetween Days" he works the love angle that only he posses, a simple lament over an insanely catchy beat. With hypnotic keyboards throughout the whole track, The Cure envelopes the listener over and over again. The cure's influence on music is immeasurable on many levels, From punk rock to what many would be called "emo," as well as the rock genre in general. A song of heartbreak, with just enough tough of optimI was priviledged to see the cure this past summer, and they were priviliged to have me scream like a school girl.

"Yesterday I got so scared I shivered like a child

Yesterday away from you it froze me deep inside

Come back come back don't walk away

Come back come back come back today

Come back come back why can't you see

Come back come back come back to me"

Song Breakdown

Best Time and Place to Listen:

Wembley Stadium, 7 consecutive nights, with 100,000 Brits screaming their heads off.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:
Bill Murray in Rushmore

Inbetween Days - The Cure

Sunbears! - Lovely Little Anecdotes

I'm admittedly sycophantic about the Sunbears and listen to "Lovely Little Anecdotes" repeatedly. The first time I heard it, I thought it was Muse due to the huge sound, vocal sound and anthemic chorus. This is another successful blend of the organic and electronic . . . they do it so well.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Whenever it's time to have a little church . . . it just does that for me . . . don't judge me.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Clive Owen as Theo Faron from Children of Men

Click Below to Listen to Lovely Little Anecdotes

SUNBEARS! - Lovely Little Anecdotes.mp3

Crank: Catherine Wheel

This is one of those songs I forgot about, heard recently and thought, "this song kicks so much ass." Rocking and pretty at the same time, "Crank" opens with a pretty standard progression that nears spindliness, but revived by bass and drum and then truly set apart by the gentle, high-octave vocals.

"Crank" is from Catherine Wheel's 1993 album Chrome, but doesn't sound stuck in that time, although it has a slight shoegaze bent. I'm not quite sure what the lyrics mean, but that's never been a sticking point, he just really wants someone to call him Crank. The sonic solo is also quite fabulous. Catherine Wheel had some gems in the form of a more accessible Ride or Stone Roses. Feeling nostalgic? Hit it. 

Song Breakdown

Best Time and Place to Listen:

Any out-of-the-way bar that happens to have it in its jukebox.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

J.D. Salinger, a brilliant curmudgeon. 

Crank - Catherine Wheel

Q-Tip: Won't Trade

The brilliant sample of "You Made a Believer Out of Me" by Ruby Andrews sets this song off on an undeniably infectious tip. Trademark Q-Tip style rhyming and riding the beat perfectly with a lyrical juxtaposition of professional sports and the music biz.

The Mark Ronson produced track is nearly perfect hip hop pop: catchy, danceable, short and distinct. Go on, get ya some.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Any time you're getting ready to school some suckas.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Lebron James . . . Lebron, have you met my friends the Orlando Magic? Seriously, not even staying on the court to shake hands? C'mon!

Q-Tip - Wont Trade.wma - Q-Tip

Viva Voce: Red Letter Day

Ok, I hadn't heard this song before today. Needless to say, I'm quite smitten. Apparently, this husband and wife duo have been making music for more than a decade. The opening melody had a Hooverphonic meets spaghetti western vibe and the double vocal gives the song a richness but floats just enough to keep the overall ethereal tone.

"Red Letter Day" is off the duo's newest album, Rose City. This is the kind of find that spawned the idea to start this blog. It's fantastic. Enjoy it, enjoy your Friday, enjoy your life. That sounded like a Sprite commercial. 

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

While exploring small town America.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Clint Eastwood as the Outlaw Josey Wales.

Click Here to Listen to Red Letter Days

The Prayer Chain: Fifty-Eight

Yes, the five-eight time signature is really interesting, but it's the soulful eloquence that this song is delivered in that really gets under your skin. The Prayer Chain was one of the few CCM bands of their time to reach to contemporary, cutting-edge acts for influence and one of the first to take a step beyond that, creating a sound all their own. 

This song is a gospel song, with the same reverence to anger and pain that great soul acts of the 70s were able to paint without sacrificing anything artistically. The unrelenting vocals, galloping beat and whirling guitar succussfully underscore the message, the demand. Just because you may be a child of God, life can still really suck . . . the sun can seem "so dark today." It's ok to be mad at God, to call God out, to not be a smiling, polite product of the proclivity that a lot of religious insitutions show for behavior modification. I think this song effectively portrays what real faith looks like, sometimes doubting, sometimes angry, but always alive. And yes, the five-eight time signature is really damn cool.

Song Breakdown:

Best Place and Time to Listen:

The morning after a real shit day.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Robert Duvall as Sonny Dewey from The Apostle.

03 Fifty-Eight.wma - The Prayer Chain

Pixies: Gouge Away

Ah, the seminal Pixies. The classic soft - loud dynamic, enigmatic lyrics and Pixie goodness. Gouge Away is on the near perfect Doolittle and encapsulates everything I love about them. Sychophantic? You bet your ass, it's the Pixies! 

The somehow off-kilter and infectious guitar melodies of Joey Santiago, ethereal backing vocals and solid bass lines of Kim Deal, snappy beats of Davide Lovering and songwriting genius and novel vocal stylings of Frank Black - has there really ever been a better rock band?

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Hiding underneath your desk as to avoid tedious busy work, while waiting for the boss to go to work.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Alan Arkin as George Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Gouge Away - Pixies

Halo Benders: Virginia Reel around the Fountain

A "take" on The Smith's "Reel around the Fountain," the Halo Benders capture Doug Martsch's iridescent guitar work and Calvin Johnson's trademark deep-toned, conversational style vocals. Leaving the typical quirkiness behind, they are able to capture something that is nothing less than rock epic. Yeah, I said it.

Take in the whirling guitars and contrasting vocals, because none of the other songs on The Rebels Not In offer the same significant statement of sound. While they were always able to make room for a purely Halo Benders sound, "Virginia Reel around the Fountain" definitely falls more into the Built to Spill camp than the Beat Happening one. At times, playful cacophonies and at others charming lo-fi, the Halo Benders are always interesting.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Sync with your favorite 6 minutes of your favorite movie. It is amazing! And of course it works. Yeah buddy, it works with that one too.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Schizophrenic mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John Nash.

Click Below to Listen to Virginia Reel Around the Fountain:

Halo Benders - Virginia Reel Around the Fountain.wma