Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
19 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: grace griffith, my life
Grace Griffith: “My Life” (2006)
Grace Griffith appeared here once before, gracing (ahem) this song credited to Jennifer Cutting.
Her sublime singing finds a perfect complement here in a sentimental-but-not-quite-sappy song, all the more meaningful in light of her ongoing battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
19 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: i want you to know, satellite
Satellite: “I Want You to Know” (2009)
Polish neo-prog band Satellite make a tidy, polished-sounding (if you will) brand of reflective rock–contemplation being something a lot of the better prog can induce in its listener.
The band’s first three albums could be seen as a loose trilogy dealing with day, evening and night. They were a little more challenging musically than 2009’s Nostalgia, which seems to aim at a more mainstream, commercial sound. It’s a move in a good direction in my opinion; it doesn’t matter what you have to say or how great the musicianship you display in saying it unless you make your listener want to press the “repeat” button.
“I Want You to Know” touches on the album’s overall theme of nostalgia, the seductive yearnings of “empty rooms left too soon” and things “gone with a tide”, then gives you a few minutes’ instrumental passage to dwell on it before summing up with the sentiment “just have to stop believing in yesterday”. This isn’t life-altering, groundbreaking, mind-blowing prog. Just the competent and very appealing kind.
18 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: min mor sa till mig, trombo combo
Trombo Combo: “Min Mor Sa Till Mig” (2006)
Sweden’s Trombo Combo issued one album, Swedish Sound Deluxe, a breezy collection of covers with a 50’s-60’s lounge vibe and a smooth bossa nova/easy listening sound. Some of the songs (Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, Britney’s “…Baby One More Time”, Europe’s “The Final Countdown”) were hits in America. Others, like “Min Mor Sa Till Mig” were covers of Swedish hits.
So, while to a Swedish audience this probably sounds like a cool (or cheesy) re-working in the mode of Max Raabe, to American ears it’s just a cool (or cheesy) easy listening bossa nova.
18 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: grand archives, orange juice
Grand Archives: “Orange Juice” (2008)
Matt Brooke split from Band of Horses in 2006 and formed Seattle band Grand Archives. “Orange Juice” is a short, sweet postscript from their first album.
18 Nov 2012 2 Comments
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: jethro tull, moths
Jethro Tull: “Moths” (1978)
From one of the least talked-about Jethro Tull albums, 1978’s Heavy Horses, comes this little gem. Fresh off the masterpiece that was Songs From the Wood, Ian Anderson brought that album’s folk leanings to another pastoral set of songs with the English countryside as its focus.
“Moths” is both an ode to making love on a May evening and a reminder of the fleeting nature of life’s ecstatic moments.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-340/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/03/30/songs-you-may-have-missed-772/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/07/12/recommended-albums-100/
16 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: fleet foxes, mykonos
Fleet Foxes: “Mykonos” (2008)
Seattle’s Fleet Foxes love to dip their baroque pop into a vat of thick reverb to give it a portentous sound that imitates sacred music, then coat it with rich harmonies. The results can be gorgeous and otherworldly. Another hallmark of the band is songs that veer off in unexpected directions as this one does.
“Mykonos” is from their first release, the Sun Giant EP. Although it was seen as a mere run-up to their full-length debut, and their third release topped the album chart in 2011, this enchanting track is, to my ears, their high-water mark thus far.
This song, along with others I’ve posted about by Tyler Ramsey and My Morning Jacket (below) evoke Neil Young’s most mystical and beguiling work.
Tyler Ramsey: “Stay Gone”:
My Morning Jacket: “Golden”:
Every Moment Has A Song 