Weekly Song List: Friday, November 2nd

And so, here we have the first Weekly Song List of November! I love this time of year. I feel like the first day of November is a sort of clean slate. Halloween is done, you've got the "holidays" in the not so distant future. Starbucks breaks out their Christmas stuff. I'm a big fan of peppermint hot chocolate.

But I'm getting off topic. I give you 7 songs that I've been listening to non-stop, and the reasons that I love them.

1. Lilies. Bat For Lashes: From her new, gorgeous, brilliant album The Haunted Man. I love this album. It was really hard to choose just one song for this list, but "Lilies" it is. It's the first song on the album. Beautiful, haunting, hopeful song. Well done Natasha Khan.

2. Who. David Byrne & St. Vincent: Heard this song on WERS this week and immediately loved it. I bought the album later that same day. David Byrne sounds better than ever. And St. Vincent is someone who I'm really interested in and intrigued by. I've loved a lot of her solo work and was excited to learn of these two working together. Their styles and voices work really well together. Love this song! It's definitely one to listen to on repeat.

3. Danse Caribe. Andrew Bird: Oh my. Andrew Bird. My newest music crush. Again WERS introduces me to someone new and wonderful. "Danse Caribe" is one of my favorite songs of his (so far). I still have so much to hear of and learn about this fellow.

4. Skinny Love. Bon Iver: Love Bon Iver. Love this album. For Emma, Forever Ago. Love this song. Justin Vernon's voice is so beautiful and delicate. Heart melting for sure.

5. Shank Hill St. Shovels & Rope: I was lucky enough to see Shovels & Rope (Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent) open for Jack White earlier this Fall, and I just bought tickets for one of their Winter shows as well. I'm very excited. They're amazing live. This song is from their album O' Be Joyful which I bought this week. This song is a favorite. Rich, heavy drums. And the lyrics are nice and dark.

6. That Was My Veil. PJ Harvey & John Parish: My favorite PJ Harvey song ever. A real gem of song. Super atmospheric. Gritty. Gorgeous.

7. Here Sometimes. Blonde Redhead: Another new album for me. Penny Sparkle. Blonde Redhead had completely fallen off my radar, and then a couple of weekends ago I was hanging out with a friend and she was like "I love the most recent Blonde Redhead album" and I was like "what album are we talking about?" Oh my sweet goodness. Penny Sparkle is so good. The whole entire thing. Very atmospheric. Odd in all the best ways. I'm very excited about this album.

Photo: Shovels & Rope

Weekly Song List: For Friday, October 26th

As you likely know (from my pervious post), I am in the midst of craft fair craziness getting ready for the Salem Open Market this coming weekend. I've been sewing up a storm, making all sorts of Halloween themed pot holders, dish towels, aprons, and more.

And so, my weekly song list will be posted on Friday this week. Hmmm. Halloween theme, perhaps???

Also, stay tuned for my weekly American Horror Story post, also on Friday. Oh, how I love this show!

Photo: Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes

P.S. I just bought the new Bat For Lashes album The Haunted Man. Can't wait until it arrives!!! I'll most definitely be writing about it. And soon.

Weekly Song List: Wednesday, August 22nd

Since I'm clearly preoccupied with my childhood  experiences of the gothic and the romantic (see my posts for the past week or so), I thought I'd dedicate this week's song list to just that. Songs that are gothic and romantic, and filled with some sort of darkness or magic. Songs that would have fit perfectly with my somewhat macabre childhood sensibilities.

1. Glass. Bat For Lashes: My favorite favorite Bat For Lashes song. From her album Two Suns. This songs makes me think of The Neverending Story. Which reminds me, I should watch that too as part of my mini movie marathon. Totally exhilarating song. It has such momentum and atmosphere.

2. 1816, The Year Without a Summer. Rasputina: This song is about the "Little Ice Age" which is apparently when Mary Shelley wrote or started to write Frankenstein. This event is also documented in the movie Rowing With the Wind (which is part of my mini movie marathon). Great song. Rasputina are one of my all time favorites. Love them.

3. The Wolf. Fever Ray: From the soundtrack for the movie Red Riding Hood. Awesome song. There's something very tribal about it. In the movie, it plays during a sort of celebration that involves darkness, dancing, and lots of fire.

4. Heavy In Your Arms. Florence + The Machine: From the Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie soundtrack. When did these soundtracks get to be so awesome!?! This is actually my favorite Florence song. Gorgeous. Love the heavy sound, and the dramatic build.

5. Love Is Blindness. Jack White: Cover of the U2 song. Featured on the 20th anniversary full album cover of Achtung Baby. I've already written about song on this very blog. I love it in so many ways. I love the loudness of it at times and the space within it. I love Jack's voice. It's also one of my favorite U2 songs.

6. When Doves Cry. Prince & The Revolution: I thought I'd include a song that I was actually listening to in the 80s. I was really into Prince when I was 8 or 9. And this song held so much mystery for me. It seemed very intense and about things that I could not relate to, but were intrigued by. I remember being in my bedroom, dancing to this song in pink leather pumps that were two sizes too big for me.

7. Jackie. Sinéad O'Connor: From her album The Lion and The Cobra. Gorgeous song about a lady waiting (for eternity) for her Jackie to return from the sea. Haunting. Beautiful. Eerie. Perfectly ghostly. Perfectly romantic.

Photo: Rasputina

Weekly Song List: Wednesday, August 1st

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for the Fussy Gussy "Weekly Song List". And so, here you have it!

1. Silenced By the Night. Keane: I love this song because it sounds like it was recorded in the mid-to-late 1980s. And I love Tom Chaplin's voice.

2. Dark Side. Kelly Clarkson: Kelly Clarkson is one of those pop singers who (for me, at least) transcends pop because her voice is so, so strong. I watched (and voted for) her on the first season of American Idol and I LOVE this new song of hers. Perfect blend of pop and creepy music box.

3. Only If For a Night. Florence + The Machine: This song blows my mind. It's so powerful and beautiful. And there's mention of a ghost! Perfection. Absolute perfection.

4. Laura. Bat For Lashes: the new song from Natasha Khan AKA Bat For Lashes. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Simple. Haunting. I can't wait for her new album. Until October!

5. Ananaemonesia. Chairlift: I heard this song for the first time on WERS (one of my fave local radio stations). It reminds me of Berlin's "The Metro" a bit, which I love. Caroline Polachek has a very cool, unique voice. Great dance song!

6. Arcade Blues. Neon Indian: I love Neon Indian to pieces! This song is perfect for dance parties and driving. And dancing while driving.

7. Bavarian #1 (Say You Will). Miike Snow: What can I say about Miike Snow? They're kind of my favorite right now. I listen to their album Happy To You way too much. This song is one of my top three favorites from the album. Love the marching drums.

Photo: Neon Indian

I'm Excited To Introduce "The Weekly Song List"

I'm very excited to announce a new addition to the Fussy Gussy blog! As you may well know, I LOVE music. I've loved it my whole life. As legend goes I was phonetically singing Beatles' songs in my crib, well before I could talk. Pretty much all of my siblings agree on this (I'm the youngest of seven), so it must be true.

As I write I'm singing along to Bat For Lashes' "Siren Song".

Which brings me to song lists and mix tapes. I miss mix tapes! I still have most of mine, the ones that were made for me, that is. I have a cassette player, so I listen to them pretty often. I spent so many hours making mix tapes in the 90s and early 00s. I think the last mix tape I ever made was in 2005.

And so, I thought I'd create mini mixes here, to share with you. Song lists, if you will. My plan is to create one list every week, to be posted on Wednesday. Each list will contain seven songs, unless there's some special holiday or something, in which case I may add a song or two. Sometimes the list will even be on a theme.

The first list will be up following this post, so be on the lookout.

Enjoy!

P.S. I'm not sure why I needed Xena to help me with this post, but there she is! Gorgeous as ever.

Bat For Lashes + The Haunted Man

I just read that Bat For Lashes will be releasing a new album in October of this year. I'm so excited! I adore Natasha Khan. Two Suns is one of my favorite albums of all time. I love her style. Her lyrics. The narrative and story telling in her songs. I thank my local folk station WUMB for introducing me to the lady herself and to her music.

Bat For Lashes' new album is called The Haunted Man, and is due to be released on October 15th.

My fingers are crossed that this might mean a tour in the States?

Bat For Lashes On Etsy

I love this gorgeous drawing of Natasha Khan  (otherwise known as Bat For Lashes) handmade by Julie Massy on Etsy. First off, the drawing captures Natasha Khan perfectly. I love the variation in line from the face to the hair, and the inclusion of such wonderful colored details. I feel like these details add so much, and bring a fanciful sort of ornate yet whimsical sense of play to the whole thing. Absolutely gorgeous!

Not to mention the fact that Bat For Lashes is one of my favorites. I hope that she comes out with a new album soon!

Thank you Julie Massy for creating such a uniquely beautiful drawing!

♥Bat For Lashes♥

The other night while driving in my car I heard Natasha Khan (otherwise known as Bat For Lashes) speaking about her new album, Two Suns. She spoke about narratives, and the visual elements of her music. I was very intrigued, and then, when she played one of her new songs "Daniel" live in the studio I was convinced. I went home and bought both of her albums. They're just fantastic! Magical, and emotional. I love the storytelling and the atmosphere. Khan's voice is rich and beautiful. I highly recommend Two Suns, as well as her debut album, Fur and Gold. The wonderful thing about Two Suns is that it tells a story, but it's also shrouded in mystery and romance.