Monday, December 15, 2008

The Twelve Days of Christmas - # 11

Song of the Year - # 11

5 Years Time - Noah and the Whale

Noah and the Whale is a British folk-rock band that loves the films of Wes Anderson. In fact, their album Peaceful the World Lays Me Down could pass for the soundtrack to Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums. The entire album is fantastic and just barely missed the Skog Blog Top 12. The video is a little tribute to Wes Anderson as well. Enjoy.






Album of the Year - # 11


Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It




Raphael Saadiq was the lead singer of the old band Tony! Toni! Tone! - a band that I loved enough as a kid that my sister, Kim, threw their cassette out of the window while driving one day because she had heard It Never Rains In Southern California one too many times. The Way I See It is a throwback to the old glory days of Motown. If you weren't familiar with Raphael you would think you had discovered some long lost classic from the 1960's. However, Saadiq is also smart enough to pair himself with contemporary artists like Jay-Z to remind us all that this album is indeed fresh and new.









10 comments:

Corbie said...

Reach into that bag of tricks and pull out the Tracy Chapman album...just do it.

brohammas said...

Saadiq's album is good but not album of the year. It's just a tad, mind you a tad is only a little bit so don't go all crazy on me here, but a tad gimmicky.
It's not quite so fresh and new and catchy or just plain GOOD that you can't stop listening to it.

It is good, but you can't ever lose yourself in the music, you stay in the "wow this is cool and retro" place.... but not as cool and retro as a jill scott album.

kg said...

You are right Brohammas it's not the album of the year. It is number 11. Jill Scott can oversing a bit for my taste.

brohammas said...

My bad... #11.
You want oversinging try Mary J.
Of course defending a negative with a negative is never a good thing.

Corbie said...

Two words both of you - Tracy Chapman. You have 10 more spots - put them to good use.

kg said...

Bro: The fact that you just spoke of Ms. Scott and Ms. Blige in the same sentence might cause a plague upon your home. Not a fan of Mary J in the least.

Corbie: Two words for you - too late. Ms. Chapman's album came out too late in the year for me to love it enough to add to my final list. I think I need an Honorable Mention or Best of the Rest list to share albums like this.

Corbie said...

Well, I guess I should be embarassed that I don't know this but I'm not so here goes...isn't Mary J Blige the one who did that rendition of In The Ghetto while decked out in bling and fur coats? If so, count me among the haters...gross. The King probably turned over in his grave (assuming he is really there and not living a life of anonymity somewhere in Ohio).

brohammas said...

must....keep...this...about...music

I admit when you said the King, my first thought was, what does B.B. King have to do with this.

Mary J. (of whom I am not a musical fan) and Elvis singing of "the Ghetto", is a touchy subject. Bling and fur coats, or bling and a jumpsuit with a cape... whats the diff?

lets just agree that Tracy Chapman is cool... in an "I wear dreadlocks to show I went to college" sort of way.

Corbie said...

must...admit...I...do...and...say...whatever...I...want

brohammas said...

and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I on the other hand, do and say whatever my wife tells me.

(the "..."s were my written version of a Captain Kirk immitation, ie must...keep...the starship...steady.)