urgency to bleed

Because they totally deserve it (I can't get the widget to embed here - lame). Also, go and see them on tour with Eisley if they're coming near you! If you don't already love them, you will definitely be won over. They're also playing several Warped Tour dates this summer so there are plenty of opportunities to try and catch them.

( EISLEY TOUR DATES )

So, I wanted to make a Halloween mix, an idea that I first tried out on here awhile ago (almost three years ago, what the hell?!?) but wanted to expand to a more CD-filling running time. At first, I was only using songs that had scary/Halloween-y words in the titles but then I ran out of those and focused on songs with a creepy/haunting vibe to them musically and, in the end, both of those groups ended up being pretty equally represented. So it's not exactly strictly Halloween-based anymore but it fits the spirit of the season well anyway. Enjoy the music!

( All hail the queen. Still, I've never seen a witch this mean. )

I've decided to make it my goal to post everyday this week until I've milked 2009 for all it's worth; this is a rather ambitious goal because I still have a lot of writing to do (and, as we all know, I am physically incapable of brevity) but I'm going to try to stick with it. In accordance with that, here are eleven more... honorable mention-ish songs. There might be one more (much smaller) set of these before I get to my actual list; I haven't decided if there are enough songs left to warrant that yet. Also, if you download something, maybe take a couple of seconds to leave a quick comment? Of course I'm not forcing you to but it does make me feel like I'm doing some good when I get one every so often.

( Music this way. )

A bunch of random songs I've uploaded recently for whatever reason. Might as well spread the wealth, right? Some of them are songs I've already posted but have likely fallen victim to the strange Box.net glitchy mp3 upload issue so if you're OCD about music like me hopefully these ones have no problems with skipping and strange noises.

( Click for links. )

Favorite Songs Currently:

• Lovedrug - American Swimming Lessons

I hated this the first time I listened to it, probably because the vocals really took awhile to grow on me, but I kind of love it now. It's very catchy but also very intense. This is from their last album, but they have a new one coming out that is apparently extremely polarizing but I kind of like it... a lot... though all the negativity makes me feel like I shouldn't. But it has some kickass songs. Now I'm going to go cry in a corner because they are touring with Lydia and I am probably not going.

• The Narrative - Castling

I have to thank msmoocow for introducing me to this band a few posts ago. They are extremely lovely. The male vocalist reminds me of Ben Gibbard the teensiest bit and overall, their songs are very reminiscent of Straylight Run, though maybe more on the mellow side. They have four songs on their myspace and I adore them all. And if you do, you should buy their EP which has two other songs, because I know I will be as soon as possible.

• Now It's Overhead - Reverse

Okay, okay, I posted this song already back when I was first getting into them, but I have a newfound obsession with it. It's so beautiful, especially on the chorus when the female voice kicks in ever so subtly. And the end synth-y instrumental break. And I just adore Andy LeMaster's voice no matter what he's singing, really. You should also go back a few posts and find "Night Vision" and "Dark Light Daybreak" because I'm still obsessed with those two as well.

• Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks

I posted about this band right as I was getting into them; flash forward a week or two and I'm in complete love. Love the vocals, love the strings, love everything. This song is gorgeous. The chorus is quite epic in a non-flashy way. It's just beautiful; that's all I can say.

Who Killed Amanda Palmer:

Guess what? This album finally comes out next Tuesday and you can pre-order it right now from the official website. The uber-special uber-expensive package is probably about sold out by now, I'd say (and I, of course, have already got mine safely ordered). I'm not sure if they'll still be offering them un-autographed, but you can at least get the CD by itself (with an instant download of it + two bonus tracks) or with a t-shirt and what looks to be an amazing upcoming digital EP with unincluded songs and different takes of some that did make it. If you haven't heard this, just trust me, it's worth it to purchase, okay? Amanda is an amazingly talented person who deserves your money and it's an added bonus that the album is truly fantastic - her best work to date, I'd venture.

Acid Tongue:

Well, this is a surprising development, but the whole album has been put up for streaming on Jenny's myspace. I'm not sure how long it'll actually be there for, so if you're adverse to illegally downloading it or anything, I'd listen to it on there as soon as possible. As for my opinion, I'm not quite sure yet, but it is growing on me the more I listen to it. It's just a lot more... sparse and slow, I guess, then I was expecting it to be. And Jenny's doing some different things with her voice that will take some getting used to. But my favorites as of this moment are: "Black Sand", "Bad Man's World", "See Fernando", and "Jack Killed Mom".