Cubicle Tunes - Week of November 19, 2007

This week's offering of despair contains a Vox Acerbus first - the inclusion of a podcast. I am so cutting edge, you get paper cuts while you read my blog.

1. The National - NPR Concert Podcast (2007)

If I can't get enough of this amazing band, then neither will you. I found this podcast on iTunes this morning, and it is a pleasant rememberance of the show I attended this fall. You can get the podcast here (if you have iTunes), and it's free. Nice.

2. Shawn Colvin - Cover Girl (1994)

I appreciate her songwriting talent more than anyone, but I also appreciate her interpretations of the music of others. The most notable here is the cover of Talking Heads' "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)". Stripped down, it becomes one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

3. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (2007)

It should come as no surprise that I find NIN to be quite soothing. My favorite track from this album is "In This Twilight". The words are sung in major key and sound quite bright, accompanied by the music that sounds like someone shoved a blade through your ear and is slowly scraping away the inside of your skull.

4. Tori Amos - Tales From A Librarian (2003)

The cool thing about this collection from Tori Amos is that it isn't just a compilation of singles. The songs were selected by Amos, not the label, and in almost all cases, they have been remixed or rerecorded. In most cases, the changes are so subtle that a casual listener wouldn't pick up on them, but trust me - they are there. I have always thought that "Winter" and "Silent All These Years" are gorgeous songs. The dance remix version of "Professional Widow" was a mistake, but the remainder of the album is well worth your while.

5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin (2007)

Sad to say I missed their 2006 album "Everything All The Time", but not this year, dammit. The opening track, "Is There A Ghost?" sounds like it could open some early 80's anthem rock album before it evolves, and "No One's Gonna Love You" is one of the rare love songs I can get behind because it's written within the realm of reason instead of hollow impossibilities.

I'm out-
KWass