Listening Assignments 11.3.08

1. School of Seven Bells - Conjurr - At the special request of one Jacob Bock, I've pursued the noteworthy bounty of SoSB for your listening pleasure. It's no wonder that Jake likes this, as they are the reason Ben Curtis left Secret Machines and, it turns out, a completely valid one. It's dreamier. Less Pink Floyd, more Willy Wonka. [from Alpinisms|buy]

2. Kanye West - Heartless - After this post, Kanye will be taking a hiatus from linesthroughlines. I support his artistic muse, his need to do what he needs to do. But 808s and Heartbreak, after hearing numerous tracks Kanye has put out there himself, is destined for my trash bin. I'm told West has a hip-hop record due early next year, a return to the Kanye we all know and love, that 808s is just an itch he had to scratch. Commercially, however, it just seems a transparent attempt to squeeze the last drops of public interest out of the whole "voice mod/autotune" movement. To strike when the iron is hot. One can only hope that this is "the iron's" swan song. [from 808s and Heartbreak (out 11.25)|buy]

3. Vetiver - Miles Apart - Andy Cabic's outfit is fond of covering artists they revere, as evidenced by Thing of the Past and its EP followup More of the Past, but it works especially well when no one knows the songs your covering. They end up sounding like really good originals and, some would argue, a better album than you were probably capable of on your own. Not that it's a bad thing. When you've got in-the-pocket folk chops like this, you could make Sloop John B sound pretty. [from More of the Past EP (out 11.11)|buy]

4. Ingrid Michaelson - Oh What a Day - Silky ukulele, sweet songbird soul, simplicity. [from Be OK|buy]