Fionn the Four-Leaf Clover

The Emerald Isle has given us many modern day folk icons, like Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan. So in honor of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, which, despite my lack of Irish heritage, I will ironically celebrate tomorrow, I’d like to showcase one of my new favorite (and Irish) singer-songwriters, Fionn Regan. He has a few independently released EPs, but his 2007 debut album, The End of History, which I’ve just discovered, took me by surprise and became an instant staple in my musical library. This fighting Irishman says he channels the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, but if you’re a fan of Sufjan Stevens, Elliott Smith, Elvis Perkins or good folk music in general, stumbling upon Fionn is the luck of the Irish for you. In a sea of mediocre folk singers, musicians and lyricists, Fionn is the four-leaf clover you’ve been searching for.

Fionn‘s music is simple yet intricate, like all good folk music should be, in my unhumble opinion. He has it all: simple lyrics, simple melodies, simple arrangements. Yet his lyrics are rife with references and deeper meanings, his vocals strongly carry the melodies, and his musical arrangements may be sparse, but his guitar picking is brilliant.

Musical comparisons will do him no justice, so just go ahead and take a listen to my personal favorite, The Underwood Typewriter:

One of his most popular tracks, Put A Penny In the Slot, is a lyrical masterpiece reminiscent of Dylan:

For more on Fionn Regan, you can check out his official website and myspace page. If you feel so inclined, he also twitters, which means he personally bares his soul to you in 140 characters or less. For more on the Irish, wake up tomorrow, dress in green, get some nonalcoholic beer for irony and eat some corned beef and cabbage. On behalf of Bobcat, this is Paul A. Ab-Dul saying watch out for those  lecherous leprechauns and have a hip and happy St. Patty’s Day.

It was quite a Heartstopper when I saw Hipsters Don’t Lie was updated.

It had been a month since the blog was updated, and it was in need of updating.
“The blog needs updating,” said the Little Red Hipster. “Who will update the blog?”
“Not I,” said the Bob.
“Not I,” said the Cat.
“Not I,” said the Bobcat Cat.
“Then I will,” said the Little Red Hipster. And she did.

My apologies once again. I was expecting a post from Bobcat shortly following my own, but, alas, when a job needs to be done, do it yourself. (That is possibly the least hipster sentiment I’ve ever expressed in this blog, aside from my love of Barenaked Ladies. A real hipster would just glare at the job with apathetic rage until it did itself.) I really have no excuse for not updating, disregarding bouts of sickness and looming deadlines that lead to decisions that will affect the rest of my life. Bobcat, on the other hand, is playing with her new rabbit. Naturally, when I thought about what I should write about, flaming Conor Oberst sounded like an excellent idea–but then I thought, “Hey, I’ve been listening to a lot of Emilíana Torrini lately.”

Emilíana Torrini hails from Iceland, the land of swan dresses and Björk, and is best known for providing the vocals for “Gollum’s Song” for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. And apparently she put out a new album. Who knew? Me and Armini, which dropped on September 9th, is a mix of genres from folk to reggae and country to jazz with a common Emilíana-spin. Never over-orchestrated or over-produced, each song features simple guitar and drum arrangements backing Emilíana’s unique vocals; her raspy voice constantly straddles the line between juvenile, bubbly innocence and breathy, world-weary maturity. Her slower, softer, stripped-down numbers often sound like songs meant only for the singer’s own ears–something private and vulnerable you were lucky enough to happen to eavesdrop on. But I digress–I’ve read only good things about this follow-up of Fisherman’s Woman (the follow-up of the popular, but drastically different Love in the Time of Science).

My pick is Heartstopper, a favorite of mine from 2005′s Fisherman’s Woman. It’s a simple enough song about everything in life seeming to fall apart all at once. The contrast between the slow, vulnerable chorus and the comparatively chaotic arrangement and the strength of Emilíana’s voice in the verses has always gotten me and my cold, apathetic heart. I’m not a huge fan of music videos usually, but this one is worth a watch or two (or ten). Seriously.

Going from stopped hearts to hearts beating like jungle drums, my pick from the new album is the infectiously catchy Jungle Drum.

Other highlights for me from the new album were Fireheads, Big Jumps, Gun and Bleeder.
For more on Emilíana Torrini, check out her official site and myspace page.

Also, if you would be so kind as to look in the sidebar, you can find many ways to keep in touch with us. If you would be so kind as to select the way that best suits you, please feel free to leave Bobcat angry messages (or comments!) demanding updates. ‘Til next time (which hopefully won’t be another month away): stay hip, kids.

It’s In Our Nature to be Hipsters.

Well, kindred spirits in hipsterness, it has been a while, hasn’t it? Bobcat and I do apologize for our absence. The blog has been neglected whilst we have been off wasting our parents trust fund money at fine institutions of higher learning, or perhaps we’ve just been in a two month long apathy-induced coma. You’ll never know. Regardless, I do believe an update is long overdue.

For  those of you who enjoy a little folk in your indie diet from time to time, I present to you Jose Gonzalez. Jose, who hails from Göteborg, Sweden but is really Argentinian, is best known for his down-tempo, lo-fi covers of other people’s songs. For instance, Massive Attack’s “Tear Drop” or The Knife’s “Heartbeat.” But his newest album, In Our Nature, which dropped in September of last year, is full of his own material (okay, except for “Tear Drop”) that lyrically takes on such ambitious subjects as war and religion and the purpose of life and is chock full of brilliant guitar playing.

He often garners comparisons to Pink Moon-era Nick Drake. I find that this comparison is less apt in sound than in essence. They may both use stripped down, folksy acoustic guitar and have some soft, whispery quality to their vocals, but they really don’t sound too similar. I find the similarities in the way they write their lyrics, the way they structure their songs, and their mutual affinity for minimalistic guitar accompaniments. When I hear Jose Gonzalez, I prefer to liken his sound to a Nick Drake-James Taylor hybrid with a tropical twist–the Latin influence on his music is undeniable and often overlooked.

One constant criticism (as highlighted by a certain music site that we hipsters publicly shun but still read in the privacy of our homes with curtains drawn and lights off) is that Gonzalez’s original work doesn’t stand up to his cover tracks and that those often outshine any particular original song. That being said, I don’t believe any track on In Our Nature is really a standout from any other track, not even the cover. Certainly, I have my favorites, but I think this more “atmospheric” disc is best listened to as a whole. Regardless, try Fold out:

If you liked that, you will probably enjoy the rest of Jose’s work. LaBlogotheque has other beautiful live videos of Jose Gonzalez’s Abram and How Low. (Side note: In general, I find LaBlogotheque is a great source of excellent versions of excellent artists’ excellent songs.) You can find more of Jose Gonzalez at his official site and myspace.

Hopefully next time I will return to blog my superior wisdom to the wretched hipster masses sooner than January. I’ll try. Really.

Rage Against the Mainstream Part II: Paul Loves the Ladies.

Okay. I’ve been MIA for some time. I’d been entertaining the content of my returning blog entitled “Excuse my absence, I’ve been frolicking in the forest with some Feral Children,” but a very important event occurred while I was abroad, upsetting my plans. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies was caught snorting some cocaine in upstate New York. Now, as a hipster, I cannot rightly lecture Mr. Page on his alleged drug habit–cocaine habit, no less; but what hipster doesn’t love a little hypocritical irony? Thusly, I give Mr. Page a wag of my finger for being a bad role model to the children and a tip of my hat for bringing some rock star street cred to a band with a squeaky clean reputation tainted only by being barred from playing at Toronto City Hall; but, in all seriousness, as a fan of Steven, I hope that he finds the help he needs and gets himself back together for his kids, his bandmates and himself.

Now, cocaine is bad, folks, but my real outrage occurs over the content of a number of articles I’ve read about his arrest. It seems that it’s all some form of “Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies was arrested, blah blah blah, hit songs ‘One Week’ and ‘If I Had $1,000,000.’” This has prompted me to write my second installment in my infinity-part series: Rage Against the Mainstream Part II: Paul Loves the Ladies. Forgive the length; my haughty hipster rage has been incensed.

Barenaked Ladies have more than two songs. I know it’s hard to believe. The Chinese chicken guys. The lotto song guys. You don’t know how these names pain my heart to hear. Today, I will put all my hipster cred on the line and declare my love of the Ladies for all the blogosphere to see! The Ladies’ career has spanned 16 years, and although they are best known for their novelty pop songs *seethes with rage*, they deserve to be known for their dedication to musicianship and clever songwriting.

Back in the day, meaning 1992, they released their first real album, the pepsi-colored-album-covered Gordon. It contains some of the best songwriting of their career, including relatively unknown gems like “Wrap Your Arms Around Me,” “What A Good Boy,” “Blame It On Me,” and “The Flag.” In addition to excellent lyrics, these feature some classic Barenaked harmonies. One also has to mention the better-known, and rightly so, “Brian Wilson.” It’s a brilliant must-listen, as is Gordon in general.

The 1994 Maybe You Should Drive came during the beginning of a troubling time for the band, and thus yielded a slightly more disjointed effort. It’s not their best, but the songwriting still shines on the disc, providing classics like “Jane,” “A,” “Am I the Only One?,” and “The Great Provider.” One of the album’s more popular tracks, “Alternative Girlfriend,” should make its way into every hipster’s musical library. It’s a great song and the video’s a clever shot at the 90′s alternative scene that was sprawling further into the obscure and bizarre for the sake of the obscure and bizarre.

In 1996, Born on a Pirate Ship was released during a continuation of the tumult within the band, between personal struggles, creative disagreements and the departure of their original pianist and percussionist Andy Creegan. It’s harsher than you would expect from the poppy-ness of their later work, including the startling angst of “Just A Toy” and “I Live With It Every Day.” It also has two of the best Barenaked tracks you’ve probably never heard: “When I Fall,” Ed’s surprisingly evocative ballad to a high-rise window washer afraid of heights, and the brooding “Break Your Heart,” which in addition to breaking your heart as you listen, is hands down Steve’s most impressive and moving vocal performance.

Do we really need to go over what came next? Stunt. I would say that says it all, but buried within the hits is the lesser-known “Told You So.” Just listen to it and love it. That’s all I can say.

And after Stunt came the almost as popular Maroon which has an equal lack of need to be covered here– aside from my command that you listen to “Baby Seat.” If you hipsters are wary, it namedrops Kerouac. Go crazy, kids.

After three years of silence, Everything to Everyone, a title playing on the pressure on the band to please everyone again following the success of the last two albums. “If I check the irony/Would everybody cheer me?” Robertson asks in “Testing 1, 2, 3″ (hipsters certainly would not cheer, unless in irony). Some call it unbalanced. Okay, maybe. Others called it underwhelming, but I turn my haughty hipster rage upon them and proclaim this album simply more mature. At times. There is no lack of smart wordplay, but for the best I suggest the dramatic “Next Time,” the chilling “War On Drugs” and the wittily metaphorical ode to people who suck more than they appear to, “Aluminum.”

And so we come to the most recent effort aside from their children’s album, Snacktime! I am somewhat apathetic (surprise!) towards Barenaked Ladies Are Me(n). I pine for the days of Gordon, yet embrace the fact that the Ladies are getting old and changing their tune a bit–but are 29 tracks really necessary? I weed through and suggest: “One And Only,” “Half A Heart,” and the two politically driven tracks, “Maybe You’re Right” and “Take It Back.” Also, “The New Sad” is a fitting ending to an album dealing with the band’s more mature troubles. Barenaked Ladies are not 20 anymore. Sorry.

This is where it ends (SEE: TITLE REFERENCE). Finally. I can see you all breathing a collective sigh of relief. I hope I have single handedly opened up a whole new world of Barenaked Ladies to you that the rest of the world chooses to ignore. I wear my love for the Ladies with pride on my sleeve, and I hope your image of my elite hipster scorn has not been damaged by my ardor for their clean, genuine, smart-ass brand of rock/pop/folk. If it has, well, cling to the fact that they’re are an indie band now–and that one of them just got arrested. That has to count for something.