It's incredible how different my music tastes have changed (and remained somewhat the same) through high school and college. In high school I was really into pop punk bands (Sum 41, Blink 182, Green Day and slightly more grungy Treble Charger) and a lot of mainstream alternative (Third Eye Blind for example), whereas in college I got into more toned down and easy listening "indie" stuff (whatever that means) like Sufjan Stevens and Liz Phair (during her pre-pop indie days). I don't listen to those genres exclusively (I have Eminem, Porcupine Tree, and even a Backstreet Boys song or two in my playlist---LOL) but they were the ones I felt most predominated.
I guess it was because I shifted from the high energy feeling of high school (both angsty and happy) to one that more reflected a time in my life where I was gaining a lot more self control as well as getting closure with a lot of the things I dealt with in high school. Plus, all those retreats and Taize chanting across the river were bound to trip me out into spiritual hippitude sooner or later [plays Gregorian chants on music player but then secretly switches back to Beyonce].
My most embarrasing discovery this summer has been the Smashing Pumpkins, embarrasing in a how-could-I-not-notice-sooner kind of way. I was familiar with the band but have probably only listened to one or two songs in passing. Now I have songs like Rocket, Soma, Stumbleine, and Hummer (regular and acoustic) on repeat. After a somewhat long instrumental bridge, there's a line in Hummer where Billy says "do, you feel...love is real?" It sounds like a trite line, but they can pull it off enough to make me smile the first time I heard it.
Anyway, on to the title of this post. The summer after college graduation is officially over and I'm still discovering (or re-discovering) some great music. The particular artists and/or songs that got me through the summer (in no particular order):
Vainica Doble was probably my favorite (ok maybe there was a particular order) musical discovery this summer. Vainica Doble was a duo that hailed from Spain formed by Carmen Santoja (r.i.p. +) and Gloria Van Aerssen. I discovered them by accident when I was searching Youtube for a song called "Caramelo de Limón" by Argentinian pop punk band Dos Minutos. Instead, I came across a really trippy video of the same name and right away fell in love with these two ladies of lyrical wit and trancey melodies. Their songs can be hard to find since they have been active since the 1970s, but luckily I found a lot of their songs on imeem, more Youtube searches, and a recent album in the Amazon mp3 store.
Some of my other favorite songs by them are Mariluz, La Ballena Azul, Alas de Algodón, Yo le Imagino, and Habanera del Primer Amor. I've been looking for related artists to get into but think these ladies are pretty much unmatched in originality.
My movie watching this summer led me to some other Spanish language "discoveries" like Peruvian band los Zopilotes (see songs A Quien and Tu y Yo) and unfamiliar songs from familiar artists like Miguel Bose's El Amor Después del Amor and to segway onto the English language front, a soundtrack appearance of U2's Zoo Station on About a Boy with Hugh Grant.
Unfamiliar songs by familiar artists this summer came in its biggest form with Third Eye Blind's release of Ursa Major. As with many comeback albums I thought it was going to be lackluster, but I ended up racking up a lot of favorites such as high energy let's-enjoy-life kind of song Can You Take Me (crisp live version at Central Park concert I missed, this song makes me happy and reminds me of Blue's high energy 1000 Julys), Dao of St. Paul, One in Ten (a very Chasing Amy-esque song), and About to Break. I don't have links to all the songs so you may have to look them up or use the Amazon $3.99 special lol.
My most embarrasing discovery this summer has been the Smashing Pumpkins, embarrasing in a how-could-I-not-notice-sooner kind of way. I was familiar with the band but have probably only listened to one or two songs in passing. Now I have songs like Rocket, Soma, Stumbleine, and Hummer (regular and acoustic) on repeat. After a somewhat long instrumental bridge, there's a line in Hummer where Billy says "do, you feel...love is real?" It sounds like a trite line, but they can pull it off enough to make me smile the first time I heard it.
Finally, a special mention for 10,000 Maniacs and Natalie Merchant. 10,000 Maniacs was on a Halloween episode of Sabrina (don't judge) I watched a long time ago playing a song I really liked called Rainy Day. They have other good songs like These Are the Days and Among the Americans. I don't know how to describe their sound other than as feel good folky 90s alternative-ishness. Natalie Merchant, who I guess went solo after being in the band, has a good song called Frozen Charlotte.
Happy Labor Day!
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