Listening Assignments 9.8.08

1. Annuals - Confessor - Consider me wowed. In 2006, Be He Me was a better-than-average example of the typical downtempo indie folk. Listening to the first track from Such Fun is turning my spirits around in a hurry. With an album cover made from a Bob Ross original, how could it not be fun? [from Such Fun (out 10.7)|info]

2. Jason Falkner - Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) - This is one of my favorite old-school songs, written by Joni Mitchell but actually first recorded by Judy Collins. Both versions are amazing. I wouldn't call this one amazing, per se, but it's certainly bright and stuffed so full of guitars, it might burst. Falkner knows his way around some power-pop. [from Follow Me single|buy]

3. B.B. King - Tomorrow Night - It's hard to beat the blues, even after 83 years. The love long gone usually stays gone and songs don't usually win them back. Tears and broken hearts will always be universal. I'll miss this man when he goes. The fabulous fingers of BB King are absent on this piano-driven classic, but at the 2:25 mark you're in for a saxophone treat. [from One Kind Favor|buy]

4. The House Floor - My Little Wooden Room (LOL) - I know there is a full-band version of this forthcoming and I can't wait, but for now I can't shake this lo-fi heart-rattler practically buried amidst furiously strummed guitars. Notsomuch a wall of sound as it is a room full of drapes, criss-crossing and bunching at the floor. A bright sun burning in the middle of a maze of softness you can almost see through. [demo for War Ship|info]