Summer Music

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to burn a CD with some new music for this summer, most of it on recordings released this year. I am enjoying the music and wanted to share my summer CD with you.

Skyline, The Court Yard Hounds. The Court Yard Hounds are two-thirds of the Dixie Chicks – sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire. This is the first song on their CD and it is a song about finding peace and home. “I just look at the skyline/A million lights/are lookin’ back at me/And when they shine/I see a place I know I’ll find/some peace.”

Then Again, The Court Yard Hounds. Favorite line: “But then again, I never did understand me.” A song about the mysteries of the self and searching for deeper self-understanding.

Mass Romantic, The New Pornographers. The name of this group has disputed origins. One band member claims he named the group after watching a Japanese film. Some think the name comes from statements made by Jimmy Swaggart or John Ashcroft (or both) that rock and roll is “the new pornography.” In any event, this group makes good music and they released a new CD this summer. The song mentioned here is not from that CD, but from their first CD. “In the streetlight dawn, this beat turns on.” And it does.

Crash Years, The New Pornographers. This song and the next are from the group’s 2010 release, “Together.” “Light a candle’s end/You are a light turned low/And like the rest of us/You got those old eternity blues.”

Up in the Dark, The New Pornographers. “What’s love?/What turns up in the dark?” Good questions, catchy tune.

My favorite CD this summer thus far has been “Heaven is Whenever” by The Hold Steady. My summer CD finishes with six songs off this CD.

The Sweet Part of the City, The Hold Steady. “Back when we were living up on Hennepin…. We were living in. The sweet part of the city.” Turns out one of the band’s founders is from Minneapolis, where Hennepin Avenue is located.

Soft in the Center, The Hold Steady. “You can’t tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth…. You can’t get every girl. You’ll get the one’s you love the best. You won’t get every girl. You’ll love the ones you get the best.”

The Weekender, The Hold Steady. “But it’s not gonna be like in romantic comedies. In the end I bet no one learns a lesson.”

We Can Get Together, The Hold Steady. “They sang Love is the Answer. I think they’re probably right. Let it shine down on us all.” “Heaven is whenever we can get together. Sit down on your floor. And listen to your records.”

Hurricane J, The Hold Steady. Great song, catchy. “I don’t want this to stop. I want you to know. I don’t want you to settle. I want you to grow.”

Our Whole Lives, The Hold Steady. “We’re good guys but we can’t be good every night. We’re good guys, but we can’t be good our whole lives.” They may be wrong, but it still sounds great.

With Faith and With Feathers,

David