John Roderick new track Same Song

John Roderick is the lead singer and creative force behind the band The Long Winters.  You’re forgiven for not knowing who they are due to the fact that they haven’t had a proper album, tour, or really any output in roughly six years.  I was bored the other day and decided to look into what had happened.  To be blunt, not much.

One gem I did stumble upon is that John has been going on entertainment cruises and performing his music as a solo acoustic act.  And if you listen to enough of the bootleg live from a cruise boat sets you eventually stumble upon a new track.  A track that he explains is the first new music he’s created in four years.  A track that he calls Same Song.  It’s a gem of a song that I became so addicted to I looped the Youtube video on solid repeat throughout an entire work day last month.  For those that are new to John’s style this is a perfect slice of an introduction.  Hopefully he puts out a proper album sometime in the near future.

 

+ more John Roderick @ twf hype elbows site amazonmp3

The Long Winters track The Commander Thinks Aloud

A few days ago I wrote a post about a track called Boeing 737 by The Low Anthem.  In the lyrics of that song The Low Anthem intertwines the tragedy of the World Trade Center terrorist attack with hanging out in a bar with Philippe Petit (the man who strung a high wire between the twin towers).  In that track there is a certain beauty found in what is ultimately a melancholy and utterly tragic experience.  It takes a unique talent to capture the bittersweet emotions of certain events and forge from that fire something beautiful and worthy.

The Low Anthem succeeded with their song Boeing 737.  Sufjan Stevens somehow paralleled his own short comings with those of John Wayne Gacy, Jr., in a heartbreaking song.  The Weakerthans have a brilliant song called Night Windows which details the loss of a friend to the war in Afghanistan.  And although this list could probably continue, I am often reminded of the following track by The Long Winters.

mp3 : The Long Winters – The Commander Thinks Aloud (Live in the WOXY Lounge)

In The Commander Thinks Aloud, John Roderick, lead singer of The Long Winters, tells the story of astronauts on their way home from a mission.  He details their euphoria, the return of gravity as they descend, and the amazing and breathtaking view they are afforded from their seats.  And yet, just as they begin to descend, as he sings the line “Can you feel it we’re almost home? / Yay! Yay!” it all starts to fall apart.  The song ends as the space shuttle Columbia begins to disintegrate and fall apart.  Yet from this great tragedy; not only for the astronauts we lost (and their loved ones), but for the entire space program as well, The Long Winters have found a beautiful way to tell their story and commemorate this event.

It’s tracks like this that keep me blogging.  Originally recorded for their 2005 EP Ulitmatum (amazon) (itunes), the original version of this song is filled with guitar distortion and feeback.  The version I have posted today was recorded live in the WOXY Lounge (which no longer exists as both WOXY and their website went out of business and were closed permanently in 2010) and I believe it is the definitive version of the song.  I am fortunate enough to have snagged this version a long time ago and I wanted to make sure it was passed around the internet a few more times.  Enjoy the music, no matter how tragic it can be.

+ more The Long Winters @ twf hype elbows site last.fm amazonmp3 itunes

The Long Winters track Scared Straight

I did some driving today.  And, oddly enough, driving is where I listen to old music.  Yes I have a decent car. No I don’t have disposable income that would support an mp3 player and hookup to go with said car.  Sad really.  But it does allow me to listen to older tracks and albums while I’m driving about the countryside.

Today I put a track on one song repeat and listened to it over and over again.  It’s just that good.  The track hails from The Long Winters album When I Pretend to Fall (amazon) (itunes) and in all honesty is sublimely brilliant.  The music is catchy without being overdone and the lyrics, seriously, the lyrics are really where the brilliance of this track sets it.  Especially the bridge.  It’s so good I’m not afraid to tweet random snippets of this song on a regular basis.  It’s so good I’m still listening to it on one song repeat right now.  It’s so good you’ll download the track and then immediately buy their entire discography.

mp3 : The Long Winters – Scared Straight

It’s so good I thought I would simply include the lyrics here.  Enjoy.

Washington’s on the one
I’m in the middle of speaking
And you’re under the gun
Seething, leave it to the lone nut
It’s unappealing in someone so young

Plaintive, you’re feeling so washed up
And you mean it when you say you’re done
Five lanes of freeway
But it’s all gone dark
You called to say you’re gonna run

Well, Can you wait?
Can you stand it?
Are you brave or are you scared straight?

She didn’t want you to:
Speak right, be strong, act nice, take so long
Call time, seem tired, leave mad, get so wired

Maybe you belong to someone
Maybe you have finally met them
Maybe smoke belongs in the sky
Maybe I hate it when you cry

You were hurt so you got hard
You were cursed and scolded and scared
You were searched for, then ignored
You want to burn the liars?
You’ll set us both on fire

You’re faking, so I’m pretend sleeping
Waiting for this to be fun
It’s true little miss mean mini-bar guard
We’re gonna have to try something new

Let me breath fire down on you

+ The Long Winters @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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EA Mix vol 09 – Leftovers

Leftovers are all that is still good to eat, but wasn’t quite good enough to cram down your throat at the first meal. I’m not saying that aren’t quite delectable, they’re just not what you put on your plate the first time. Well, unless you come from a big family where everything is made, bought, packaged, and stored in bulk.

EA Mix vol 09 – Leftovers

zip file : no, really, you cannot direct download. right click, open the link in a new tab or window and follow their directions.

mp3 : The Postal Service – Be Still My Heart
mp3 : Superdrag – Sucked Out
mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Am I Awake
mp3 : Fields – Charming the Flames
mp3 : Colour Revolt – Mattresses Underwater
mp3 : Get Cape Wear Cape Fly – Once More With Feeling
mp3 : Beirut – Elephant Gun
mp3 : Foo Fighters – Times Like These (Acoustic)
mp3 : Jimmy Eat World – Drugs or Me (Styrofoam Remix)
mp3 : Paolo Nutini – Jenny Don’t Be Hasty
mp3 : The Fratellis – Ole Black n Blue Eyes
mp3 : Thom Yorke – Videotape
mp3 : The Long Winters – The Commander Thinks Aloud

vol 01 vol 02 vol 03 vol 04 vol 05 vol 06 vol 07 vol 08
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