Welcome to another week of school/work/travel/life.  This past weekend I checked out the Dirty Bourbon Blues Band – a local group that was pretty damn fun, and went pretty well with all the beer I drank.  If you’re around the Rochester/Finger Lakes area and you get a chance to check them out, you certainly should.

Here are the next couple of tracks in my 1000 Minutes list.  If you have no idea what that means, catch yourself up over here.

113. Iron & Wine – The Trapeze Swinger (mp3) from Around The Well (9:30) [Time Remaining: 479:24]

There is an easy melancholy that runs through all of Sam Beam’s songs; it’s especially true for this one.  It unfolds slowly, deliberately, retelling the story of a couple – from the stupid adventures of two children to the eventual growing apart.  It’s a pretty obvious narrative that entangles the story with visions of the afterlife.

With the commercialization of music, it’s often easy to forget that it’s an art form.  Lots of people can try to create it, very few are actually good at it, but the ones who are good have the ability to render the listener speechless.  If this track catches me at the right time, it’s difficult not to cry.  And while I find plenty of songs good, fewer great, there are less than ten that have that power.

114. James Morrison – You Give Me Something (mp3) from Undiscovered (3:34) [Time Remaining: 475:50]

Thematically, this track is the complete opposite of the previous one.  Lyrically, it examines the uncertainty surrounding the beginning of a new relationship; both parties are still getting their bearings, still figuring out exactly what it is they are doing.  It’s relatable; everyone has felt that spark, experienced that trial period of a new relationship.  And James Morrison puts it into song form pretty damn well.

As of this post, I am more than halfway done with this project.  So, if you’ve been waiting to see the end of it, you’ve got about another 14 months or so.  Sorry.  If you’re hear and don’t know what I’m talking about, check my full list, and the rules, over here.  Be about it.

109. Andrew Bird – Armchairs (mp3) from Armchair Apocrypha (7:03) [Time Remaining: 499:02]

Multi-layered and literate, Mr. Bird’s lyrics are often more well read than I can claim to be.  Or, they may just sound that way, and not mean anything.  But either way, there’s a stark beauty running throughout his lyrics.  “Armchairs” is no different in that regard.

The centerpiece of Andrew Bird’s seminal work Armchair Apocrypha, “Armchairs” an absolute thrill to listen to.  It expands and contracts, building to a powerful final minute, and showcasing an artist that should be far more appreciated than he is.

110. Sunny Day Real Estate – Pillars (mp3) from How It Feels To Be Something On (4:57) [Time Remaining: 494:05]

I went backwards with Sunny Day Real Estate – getting their third album before their first two, so How It Feels To Be Something On has far more weight for me than Diary does.  (Which is why it has 2 songs on this list, and none for Diary, despite the widespread belief that Diary is more influential.)

“Pillars” is the opening track of the album, and it’s moody and downtrodden, and was definitive the 19 year-old version of me.  Even now, 12 years later, it’s still close to perfect.  And while I don’t need it for the same reasons I did (read: angst), the fact that I identified with it so strongly then makes it comfortable now.

We’re doing a bit of maintenance this morning, switching my weekly 1000 Minutes post from Tuesday to Monday, and moving our list of New Releases to Tuesday.  It’s nothing drastic, but in the States, new music comes out on Tuesdays, not Mondays like it does elsewhere, so it makes sense to rearrange.

Anyway, if you’re unfamiliar with what it is we’re doing with these posts, check out the backstory here, and once you’re filled in, read on.

105. Neutral Milk Hotel – The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One (mp3) from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (2:11) [Time Remaining: 518:50]

While it’s fashionable to be a fan of Neutral Milk Hotel’s seminal album, I’ve never been particularly enamored of it.  Re-listening to it after not bothering for a few years, I can see why people enjoy it, but I’m still unmoved on the whole.

With that said, “The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One” is the exception on the album.  It reminds me of a short story in Nick Hornby’s Speaking with the Angel collection by Patrick Marber entitled “Peter Shelley.”  The story is about a kid losing his virginity to a Buzzcocks single, and there’s no mention of a father in it, so for no real reason, the story and the song are connected in my mind.  I like the story, and I like the song because it reminds me of the story.  And then the line where Mangum sings:

“And this is the room one afternoon I knew I could love you, and from above you how I sank into your soul – into that secret place where no one dares to go.”

It’s pretty fantastic.

106. Nick Drake – Place To Be (mp3) from Pink Moon (2:43) [Time Remaining: 516:07]

When Nick Drake came back into fashion a few years ago, I got into him deeper than a cursory listen.  I bought up all three of his albums, and the posthumous Time of No Reply, fascinated with how broken Mr. Drake’s lyrics were, contrasted with how gorgeous his guitar playing was.

Just after the well-known “Pink Moon” on the album of the same name, is the lovely and heartbreaking “Place To Be.”  It’s unrequited, unreturned love at its most breathless, and the sadness that courses through it is contrasted by the striking music.