Unknown artist - "unknown title". Lyra emailed this to us, asking "Do you know who this is?" I don't. But within days the song had hooked itself in my ear, become a part of my ear's topography, like a little crystal sheep on a mantelpiece. Do you know who or what this is? Leave a comment and let us know. It's a Magnetic Fields baritone and a Jarvis Cocker monologue, an arrangement of hung-over violin and dying neon feedback. When you get back from a party and just sit on the edge of your bed with your big headphones on, the dark somehow streaming, hunched with your back to the window, muttering to yourself. Saying the things you didn't say, asking the questions you didn't ask. Imagining your friends' faces in portraits of smeared charcoal.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Let's Start a Family (Blacks)". The pitter of rain against a window-screen, of eyelashes against cheek, of my kisses on your back. These sounds will help you to recover. Secrets go diffuse here. They fade. Doubts waver and are forgotten. Promises are made, easy as cups of tea, and sweet. In hushbreath morning voice we sing, just the easiest song: "do do-do do-do". We'll lay like flowers.
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As I've said before, May's issue of The Believer includes an interview I conducted with Okkervil River's Will Sheff last year. They've seen fit to publish the whole piece online here. I'm really delighted with how it turned out. And he talks about everything from the Sex Pistols to knife-fights to "literate" pop music.
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The Coudal Partners' Swap Meat is really cool.
Posted by Sean at May 1, 2007 7:32 AMI saw the first singer at the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec on April 12th, 2007, when he opened for Final Fantasy. But I can't for the life of me remember his name.
Posted by alix at May 1, 2007 10:06 PMI agree with Alix and think the band was called Hank with the lead singer of the same name. [we were at the same concert] They were missing a band member Tara who was out mountain climbing..
Posted by n at May 1, 2007 10:57 PMHank! Of course! Thank you!
Posted by alix at May 1, 2007 11:01 PMThank you for posting this song, and thank you alix and n for shedding some light. This has seriously been bothering (while simultaneously exhilarating) me for a year.
Posted by Lyra Hill at May 2, 2007 1:06 AMOn second thought, I'm not sure you've found the answer... a quick listen to the songs on Hank's Myspace find a similar voice but completely different style, attitude, and backup. It could be the same man but I doubt it. The song posted here did have three accompanying tracks and all of them sound less like Hank than this one.
Posted by lyra at May 2, 2007 1:18 AMI may be wrong, but this guys really really sounds like Jens Lekman
Posted by Chryde at May 2, 2007 9:08 AMhey, yeah it sounds like jens lekman with a british accent. hmm. he usually don't have this kind of arrangement, he uses more samplings and such.. but it could be him!
Posted by lovisa at May 2, 2007 10:19 AMNot sure about Hank... It's definitely not Jens Lekman though. Please keep the ideas coming!
Posted by Sean at May 2, 2007 11:00 AMway too melodic/not frenzied enough to be hank. (then again, hank is one band that you should never force any expectations on).
Posted by david b at May 2, 2007 11:53 AMSounds like King Creosote to me.
Posted by Danica at May 2, 2007 1:30 PMWell, the lyrics anyway. But an older, more British King Creosote.
Posted by Danica at May 2, 2007 1:32 PMIs it Benni Hemm Hemm?
Posted by Aaron at May 2, 2007 2:09 PMI turned this question over to the power of ILM
http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=57591#unread
I like the song quite a lot... nice and minimilist.
Here's a song a lot of people have been trying to identify for about 4+ years now. If anyone wants to give it a listen, we would love an answer to this mystery song we are calling "Stay (The Second Time Around)" -- the vocal sounds so familiar.
http://spiritofradio.ca/SongComments.asp?SongID=220 http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=324
Hey Sean, that Okkervil interview is outstanding. Congratulations.
Posted by frank at May 3, 2007 10:16 AMBenni Hemm Hemm's music usually has more orchestration. And that's not an icelandic accent.
For some reason I'm thinking Divine Comedy.
Posted by Sveinbjörn at May 3, 2007 11:26 AMIt 1st unknown track sounds a little like Suburban Kids With Biblical Names.
Posted by sonofajoiner at May 3, 2007 4:08 PMIt sounds like Ballboy to me.
Posted by Greg Wieting at May 4, 2007 12:15 PMI think it definitely sounds like Hank. But more along the line of the Hank some of us saw at the Blacksheep on the 12th. His recorded stuff, as I found out after picking up a an album, is completely different from what we heard. Which follows more along the lines of this recording, minus the violin though.
Posted by Anonymous at May 6, 2007 11:06 AMwhatever it is... so infectious. it cannot leave my head.
Posted by Tyler at May 7, 2007 10:19 AMI knew i shouldn't have listened to that first song.. cause now i want to know who that is as well...
Why don't mail Hank to ask whether this is his song?
Posted by tombleweed at May 10, 2007 5:50 AMI emailed Hank at myspace like 2 wks ago. Never heard from the band back.
Posted by Lizzie at May 20, 2007 6:59 AMGot Hank's reply just now. It wasn't them who sang the song unfortunately =(
Posted by Lizzie at May 20, 2007 6:53 PMIt definitely ALMOST sounds like Magnetic Fields to me.
Posted by Dar at May 30, 2007 10:17 AM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
