The Sleep Design

As some of you may know I am very partial to a little known genre called post-rock. Within this field of talented musicians are bands of epic proportions such as Sigur Rós, Mogwai, & of course Explosions In The Sky. Well post-rock just got a new player with The Sleep Design. Their debut release All That Is Not Music Is Silence is crafted from fine Birmingham, Alabama soil and it reins supreme over the latest releases by bands like Mono and Caspian. The Sleep Design have managed to compose over an hour of beautifully ethereal pieces of music that are able to transpose themselves into sequences that can only be described as epic. The members formed this band as a way for them to glorify god and it is apparent through their live performance as well as their album that they have achieved just that. If you are a fan of the genre or music in general I highly recommend this band.

So far these tracks really have caught my attention:

#5- Fire, The Grave, & The Eyes of Man
#9- A Time To Mourn, A Time To Dance




The Sleep Design @ Town Hall Part 2

The Sleep Design (Album Jan 30!) | MySpace Music Videos

Update: You can stream 4 of the Sleep Design song off of Reverb Nation

If you wish to purchase the album you can do it here.

Best of 2000-2009 Movies

I've been thinking a lot lately about what my favorite movies are and why they are my favorite films. When I finally had a list put together I realized there was an underlying theme in the movies that I am drawn to. The main character always has some sort of redemptive/life changing event that was sparked after looking into himself. I don't want to spoil these movies for anyone because they are my favorite films but they are quality movies that seem to have some meaning that reaches further than face value. It was just a coincidence that they all have come out in the past 10 years, so I deemed it fitting to have another decade list.

1. Almost Famous





2. Once





3. Stranger Than Fiction





4. The Family Man





5. Dan In Real Life

Best of 2000-2009 Music

These are my favorite albums from the decade of the zero's.

1. Bon Iver-"For Emma, Forever Ago"





2. Death Cab For Cutie-"Transatlanticism"





3. The National-"Boxer"





4. The Postal Service-"Give Up"





5. Band of Horses-"Cease To Begin"





6. Margot & The Nuclear So and So's-"The Dust of Retreat"





7. Explosions In The Sky-"The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place"





8. Sigur Ros-"Takk..."





9. The Flaming Lips-"Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"





10. The Arcade Fire-"Funeral"

Best of 2009

It's mid-January and I have forgotten to put up my best of 2009 list. I guess I was so burnt out on reading Pitchfork, Spin, Stereogum, and every other blogger's best lists but I've still got to have one too.

2009 Best Albums:

1. The Antlers- Hospice



2. The Temper Trap- Conditions



3. The Swell Season- Strict Joy



4. David Bazan- Curse Your Branches



5. Paper Route- Absence



6. Riceboy Sleeps- Riceboy Sleeps



7. Headlights- Wildlife



8. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix



9. Fanfarlo- Reservoir



10. Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca



2009 Best Songs:

1. Noah And The Whale-"Blue Skies"



2. The Temper Trap-"Sweet Disposition"



3. Passion Pit-"Sleepyhead"



4. The Antlers-"Bear"



5. Grizzly Bear-"Two Weeks"



6. Phoenix-"Lisztomania"



7. Death Cab For Cutie-"I Was Once A Loyal Lover"



8. Lykke Li-"Possibility"



9. Bon Iver-"Brackett, WI"



10. Matt and Kim-"Daylight"

Los Campesinos!

I just watched the new video from Los Campesinos! "Romance is Boring." I have to say that I am very disappointed in this band. They have some great songs and this is definately not one of them. On top of that the video doesn't make any sense. There is a housewife that lights birthday candles slower than her acid wash wearing husband can drink 2 beers, and they have a kid that puts on David Bowie makeup and a mexican wrestler mask. I have to say if they are trying to win fans by going weird like Lady Gaga has done then they need to have a better song to back up a poorly put together video.



Their video for their other new song "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" is much simpler and follows along with the music in a much more accompanying way. This video seems to express more of the band with young romances involved. Apart from the other that focuses on marital disputes. It even looks like it was shot with a Flip or some sort of pocket cam. I believe that a band doesn't have to go all out for a video. As long as they are getting the message across then they have done their job. Just compare the two and see what you feel does a better job expressing the music and what the band is about.

The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future from Los Campesinos! on Vimeo.

Fanfarlo

In 2009 I completely overlooked a very talented band known as Fanfarlo. They released their debut album Reservoir for only $1 on their website for over half the year in an effort to gain widespread accessibility. Even with this gimmick I still missed them somehow at CMJ and The Bottletree in 2009. Once I finally listened to Reservoir I realized it is just what the world has needed since Neon Bible's release in 2007. Fanfarlo keeps it simple with acoustic instrumentation and scaled down drum kits but do not think of this as just another singer-songwriter project. I would compare them to The Arcade Fire mixed with Noah And The Whale with the energy of Ra Ra Riot. Standout tracks are #1, #2, and #6





Fanfarlo-Reservoir-Download

2009 Pop Music

This is all you need

Neon Indian

If you like to get your groove on to 80's synth but you still wanna be a hipster then listen to Neon Indian. The song Deadbeat Summer is gonna be one of the big hits this spring break. I would like to say that it would be a great summer song but that is too far away. I have a feeling Neon Indian is going to be this years Phoenix or Passion Pit. I like this stuff but not as much as his more uptempo bands VEGA and Ghosthustler.





You may have heard Alan Palamo (Neon Indian) from his old band Ghosthustler or VEGA. I have loved this song for a couple of years now. If you haven't listened to it before then please check it out.



and a VEGA song



Neon Indian - Download