stillonmystring: (zooey + jgl)
A couple nights ago, I dreamed that Lady Gaga died. Then, last night, I dreamed that it was all just a huge publicity stunt. The weirdest part isn't that I was dreaming about Gaga but that I could totally imagine her doing something like that in real life. Haha. Also weird is that I actually remembered because usually my dreams begin to fade shortly after I wake up until I can only remember the vaguest bits and pieces of them.

Anyway, I really wanted to talk about the new She & Him album here. I like to blabber on randomly about music I like here first because it makes it easier to write proper, better-articulated reviews for my music blog. So... I think the album is completely amazing. And I think I may have actually decided that it's better than Volume One which is something I didn't think I would be able to say. I adore that album so much that it's probably one of the few albums from a couple years ago that I still play regularly. Based on "In the Sun," which is cute and catchy but a little low on substance, I wasn't sure Volume Two would live up to that. But it totally does! I feel like Zooey's voice is much more confident and versatile on this record and her melodies are also more varied and less predictable - for example, I don't think she could have written a song like "Home" a few years ago because it's got so many interesting twists in melody. The only thing I feel is slightly downgraded here are the lyrics though they weren't exactly the strongest part of Volume One either so it's not really a problem for me. Overall, though, the album's got a much fuller and more self-assured sound to it. Volume One will always hold a special place in my heart but I can most definitely make room for Two as well.

As far as specific songs go... I love pretty much all of them. "Thieves" and "Lingering Still" I already knew were amazing from live performances and they transfer flawlessly to the studio, benefiting from an added layer of backing vocals from Zooey that aren't possible live. By the way, I think her real genius is in creating background vocal melodies and arrangements because typically I don't pay attention to them so much but hers are always so interesting and just as vital to the song as the main vocal line. "Don't Look Back" and "Over It Over Again" are two of my very favorites for this exact reason. Also, they're so much fun, like in "Don't Look Back" when her voice goes really low and then Matt kicks in with this surfer-esque guitar before the chorus and the adorable, shouted vocals in "Over It Over Again" which is just an adorable, terribly infectious song in general (just the opening piano melody and the way Zooey delivers the first line, "Why do I always wanna sock it to you hard?" already put a huge smile on my face). At this very moment, though, I'm all about "Ridin' in My Car". I'm generally kind of indifferent to covers, particularly when they're put on a proper full-length album, because I'd almost always rather hear another original song instead. That's how I felt about the covers on One; I do like them quite a bit but, if pressed, I would have to admit they're the weakest link for me. But both covers here are completely brilliant and perfectly Zooey-fied. I can't get over how fucking amazing she sounds on "Ridin' in My Car" - as much as I don't have a problem (as many people seem to) with Zooey's cutesy, more affected vocals, I love this song mostly because it's completely devoid of them; she just sounds so clear and effortless and flawless and perfect. Her backing vocals during Matt's verses make me melt they're so lovely. I enjoy the slower, more sparse songs - "Me and You," "Brand New Shoes" - for similar reasons. The instrumentation is pulled back and her vocals just shine and sound so natural and pure and full of emotion in a really subtle way. Also, the closer, "If You Can't Sleep," is just Zooey singing the lyrics over layers of her wordless harmonizing and is basically divine. I really love "Sing" too even though the line about watching Cribs is kind of cringe-worthy; it's just got a really gorgeous, understated yet memorable quality to it. Basically, yes, the whole thing is great. Even the bonus tracks are great! The iTunes bonus, "I Knew It Would Happen That Way," is a perfect two minutes of beautiful, melancholy vintage pop and the b-side to "In the Sun," a cover of "I Can Hear Music," is so sunny and joyous and lovely. Everything is lovely lovely lovely. I have such a girl crush on Zooey is basically what all of this rambling amounts to.

OMG OMG OMG

Dec. 8th, 2009 03:42 pm
stillonmystring: (Default)
I have been posting way too much lately about absolutely nothing but SERIOUSLY. I JUST HAPPENED UPON THIS NEWS AND I THINK I AM SERIOUSLY HYPERVENTILATING HERE!!!

She & Him Announce Volume Two
When you name your first album Volume One, coming up with a title for your second album is fairly easy. And Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are not about to ruin a good thing. She & Him's Volume Two is due March 23 on Merge.
The record contains 13 songs, including covers of NRBQ's peppy-but-sad "Ridin' in My Car" and 50s/60s country-pop starlet Skeeter Davis's "Gonna Get Along Without You". One of the new originals, "In the Sun", features guest vocals from indie-pop group Tilly and the Wall. In a recent interview, Zooey said a She & Him tour is also in the works for 2010.

Volume Two:

01 Thieves
02 In the Sun [ft. Tilly and the Wall]
03 Don't Look Back
04 Ridin' in My Car (NRBQ cover)
05 Lingering Still
06 Me and You
07 Gonna Get Along Without You (Skeeter Davis cover)
08 Home
09 I'm Gonna Make It Better
10 Sing
11 Over It Over Again
12 Brand New Shoes
13 If You Can't Sleep

EEEEEEEEE!!!! "LINGERING STILL"! I am most excited for that because I looooove it from live performances. And I'm guessing "Thieves" = "Thieves Among Us" which is another great new song they've already played several times. Also, TILLY AND THE WALL!!! THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC!!!! I want it to be March right now. I seriously cannot wait. I guess I will have to make do (or is it due? do makes more sense to me) with Zooey's guest appearance on Bones Thursday night. I am excited for that too!

One more thing...

RA RA AH AH AH RO MA RO MA MA GAGA OHH LA LA WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE

That is all. I just had to get that out of my system.
stillonmystring: (Default)
"And then I have a new [She & Him] record coming out in the spring. It's official. It's done and being released in the spring. And we're going to go on tour."

OMG OMG OMG HYPERVENTILATING OVER HERE! 2010 is going to be a kick ass year judging by the releases I already know are coming out. Of course, I don't really prescribe to the theory that a certain year is a "bad" year because it's always possible to find amazing music; you just have to be willing to search for it.

And this news seems to be a perfect opportunity to indulge in that Zooey picspam I promised awhile ago, yes?


Somehow, I managed to cull 500-some photos down into 24. I don't know how I managed that. It was very difficult.
stillonmystring: (Default)
I am so excited to see laugh at New Moon. "You're the only reason for me to stay... alive." What is with that delivery, Pattinson?!? It truly baffles me how he and Kristen are so terrible in these movies yet they seem to be at least decent in several others. I like to entertain the idea that it is because they both hate playing Bella and Edward so much that they fuck it up on purpose. Also, I don't think Rob's American accent does him any favors either. So lots of awkward pauses and stuttering and CGI-ed shirtless Jacob. Should be a barrel of laughs!

In other news, I was thinking the other day about my end-of-the-year albums list for 2008 (since it's getting so close to the end of 2009 already - eek!) and, apart from the fact that I actually am not into a handful of them at all anymore (which always seems to happen - I prematurely label something as awesome and then decide it's not quite so awesome), I realized that the album from last year that's probably held up the best so far is She & Him which is kind of a surprisinging development. I rolled my eyes a bit when they were #1 on Paste's year-end list because I thought the album was good but not that good but now I understand it a little better. I still listen to that album all the time, way more than some of the ones I placed before it, like Who Killed Amanda Palmer and the like. And I think it's because the songs are so simple. There aren't any crazy embellishments to distract you from the fact that they might not be such great songs at their cores because they are great songs at their cores. The whole album just has a really classic, clean, refreshing sound to it even if it's not actually anything particularly groundbreaking. That and I could honestly listen to Zooey sing anything. <3 Now when is Volume Two and/or a new musical project with her hubby, Ben Gibbard???

Speaking of Zooey, she is going to be on an episode of Bones, I think next month. So excited! That show is kind of ridiculous and unrealistic but I love it (Dr. Sweets! Hodgins! The awkward sexual tension between Booth and Bones! What's not to love? Come on!). Though it's going to be kind of strange because she and Emily have practically the exact same voice. And on that note, I shall leave you with these beauties:



They both have the same exact eyes and I never realized before how tiny their pupils are! It's kind of frightening. Maybe that's the reason why Zooey's eyes always look so creepy/awesome.



UNF. Hottest celebrity siblings ever, yes/yes? I have way too many Zooey pictures on my computer for it to be healthy. And the saddest part is I obtained the majority of them in one day because I went through a sudden "MUST HAVE EVERY PHOTO IMAGINABLE" stage awhile back. I will have to share my favorites sometime. She is so unbelievably lovely.

Also, when is (500) Days of Summer coming out on DVD?!? I NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN!



Bye now.
stillonmystring: (Default)
...only when I actually have some though. When I'm broke, I hate money. Yet at the same time still want it. Hmm...

Anyway, the point of this post is "omg look what I bought!!!!11!!!" so I'll get right to that:

EXCITING. )

Yay! And before you tell me how excessive and impulsive all of that No Doubt is, let me tell you that it was super super cheap, okay? I think the other three CDs combined cost more than five ND CDs, so it's not that crazy. I am slightly worried about the quality though because I like things to look nice and new always but that's always my biggest worry with buying things used and it usually turns out okay. Anyway, I got all eight CDs for under $35, awesome! I think my next CD-buying goal is to get all of the albums that will be on my best of '08 list that I don't yet own physical copies of because it makes sense to own things that I consider my favorites. (And P.S. that list will be coming soon-ish as in a month or two and I will probably post it here as well as to my music journal because I'm weird like that.)

And because I have a strange need to fully divulge every detail when it comes to money-spending, I also bought Paste and Venuszine with She & Him on the covers and Bust with Jenny Lewis on the cover - which cost like $15 all together (why do magazines cost so much??)... and two of those magazines I would have no interest in normally... the things I do to satisfy my obsessions.

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Shannon

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