this waking american life

This American Life Completes Documentation Of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence

1. dick annegarn – coutances
2. bill callahan – sycamore
3. my latest novel – the hope edition
4. a small good thing – saloon dream
5. calexico – half a smidge
6. the national – fake empire
7. the cure – close to me
8. silversun pickups – lazy eye (curtis vodka edit)
9. peter, bjorn and john – young folks
10. kings of convenience – i’d rather dance with you
11. groove armada – a private interlude (kinobe remix)
12. immaculate machine – broken ship
13. the isles – eve of the battle
14. mark ronson – oh my god (feat. lily allen)
15. this american life – (excerpted from ep. 311) what would blank do

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/April '07.zip

maybe you liked the science of sleep, maybe you didn’t, but i fell in love with this song by dick annegarn. those french really know how to nail the string arrangements. i’m thinking that many of you were introduced to (smog) or bill callahan the same way i was, which is to say from high fidelity. this track is from his new album which is recorded under the moniker “bill callahan,” which is actually just his real name. i came across my latest novel through a pitchfork review of their new album, and i really dug the belle & sebastien+arcade fire vibe they have going. i don’t remember how i originally heard about a small good thing, but they fit nicely into my spaghetti western love for calexico, and well, these days i dream of owning a saloon so that worked out. i know, more calexico, but i have been discovering their extensive catalog of tour-only cds, which are generally pared down and a bit more experimental than their albums, again showing why they are my favorite band now. dave and i often trade recommendations and then put them on the backburner, but i was immediately hooked on the national’s fake empire off of their new album boxer. i have a weakness for brass fanfare, what can i say. yes, i heard this cure song for the first time on a diplo mix. yes, liking the cure is kind of cliche for indie fans. no, i don’t care. after jess introduced me to silversun pickups last summer, i picked up their lp and ep, and have been rocking out to them ever since. so this remix is a welcome rejiggering of an awesome song. thanks to sarah for finally getting me into peter, bjorn, john, the kings of convenience, and any other scandinavians that feel like picking up an instrument. soooo catchy (and so in a commercial, i found out this week). this groove armada track is an oldie but a goodie, which is always funny to think about when talking about sampled music. the immaculate machine played at sxsw last year, and thus i found out about them from the sxsw megamix i mentioned last month. what a goldmine for amazing new music... the isles also came from the same mix, and now i am hooked on their album from last year. mark ronson’s album is finally out, and it is coinciding nicely with my newfound lily allen appreciation. here is a girl who cancelled her tour because she didn’t think her shows would be up to snuff. and finally, my reborn obsession with this american life continues with this essay on creating your own religion, one focus group at a time.