mp3: Murderer

Dear Low,

How are you doing? I am deciding to write you in letter form rather than in person. I saw you in person recently, last saturday night in Park City, and I would have asked you these questions, but you know, they are kind of difficult to ask directly to your face.

Mainly: how are you doing? No really, how are you? Because I have been a fan for a few years now, and I have delighted in your music. It was beautiful, and most importantly, cryptic. I could spend hours sifting through lyrics, looking for gospel messages — “Two-step” is about marriage, “The Plan” is about just that. But now the messages have become mixed, and interviews in the media point directly to your sickness, and that sickness is evident on songs from your new album, Drums and Guns. the songs are about mostly death, and not really death in that kind of Eric Clapton way, but rather death with your own hands. And when you recently sang songs from the aforementioned album I felt that intensity, that desire to kill in your eyes.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am all about you growing as an artist, and frankly I really like some of the things that you are doing with your music. But I still want to help in any way that I can. I think when we watched you on Saturday, we totally loved it, and yet we all wanted to help. I know happiness isn’t something that could be magically granted, but if I could I would. So good luck with this album — and lets just hope that the next one is a little more upbeat. Not for the sake of the music, but for your sake.

Love you guys, Rob

someone to do your dirty work

mp3: See In You

Dear The Album Leaf,

Just thought I would catch up with you before I see you in a few days. Lately, I have been in the thralls of studying for my comprehensive exams and let me just tell you — your music fits perfectly into a regimine of trying to figure out the uses and gratifications approach to media consumption. Aslo, on your latest album, Into the Blue Again, you have somewhat come up with the musical representation of all of my brain activity: the programmed beats of my synapses firing, the moogish swells of my unborn thoughts. This coinciding of music and physiology, however, ultimately has me a little confused. I kind of hate studying (but deep down I love it) and I listen to your music while studying — does that make me hate your music? Well, at least it’s good that I chose you above Handel’s Water Music or recorded whale calls

I also acknowledge you for having the guts to lay down your own vocals on a couple of these tracks. At first, when listening to “All for you” it wasn’t a pretty sight. But then I have flashbacks to the time that I tried to lay down my own recorded vocals for a song, and let me just tell you, keep on doing what you are doing — you are much better than I.

Ultimately, Into the Blue Again is filled with way too much bombast. It is self-indulgent — a soundtrack for the most ambitious movie ever made. And let me tell you, I can’t wait to see you play it live.

Peace,

Rob

the album leaf dot com

mp3: I Do (But I Don’t)

Dear The Handcart Company,

So I know this may seem a little self indulgent to write a letter to you considering that I am a member of your band, but you have been on my mind much lately (especially in light of the fact that the remaining members played a medley of love songs at a wedding tonight). This whole thing has shaped and morphed over the space of over two years, beginning with just me and James playing some tunes in his apartment at the Bavarian. We went through a ton of changes (members, names, instruments) and I know that many times the whole thing may have ended up as a joke (an instrumental band based on the life of Mormon Pioneers), but honestly I would never give back all the saturday mornings that I spent with you — telling ourselves that the music that we made was the sound of the trails.

As that anything I have said previously or hereafter could be considered a bit trite, I will simply bid you farewell. Lets do it again sometime.

Love, Rob

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mp3: The Birth and the Death of the Day (from the upcoming All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone LP)

Dear Explosions in the Sky,

Why do you hate me so much? If I go out and buy your records, you should at least do me the courtesy of coming to a city that is somewhat close to me. Come to LA come to San Francisco, surely I will make the pilgrimage. Your music completely shattered me in the back of a car driving with Michael Kelly and April Reynosa (what was I doing — was Charla there?) and I really haven’t been able to look back since. But you know what? Those memories are fading — “The Moon is Down” and “The Only Moment We Were Alone” are slowly sliding off of mix cds for friends. So quit teasing me with this new album (heaven sent) and instead forever sear the sound of your guitars into my mind by taking this Coolio (all the way live!). You could play in my bedroom if you want, I even have a drum set.

Let’s do this!

Rob

stalk them

mp3:O Come All ye Faithful

Dear Christopher-

congratulations! you are on the internet! oh, and remember all that stuff rob’s been saying about re-recording classic christmas songs? well, thanks for doing a good one, and not for totally blowing it like JEW did. if i had to put a crappy one up and make fun of it, maybe christmas would be awkward at home this year? I like how at the end of this you get all mannheim steamroller on it. it’s cool! really!

see you next week

nathaniel tyrant

mp3:Sans Revival

Dear Early Day Miners,

My house is so cold. My feet are literally freezing at this very moment. I think I have poor circulation, and rightfully so. I mean the fact remains that there is a good 5 feet between my heart and my feet. Can you really expect blood to travel that well all the way to the other end of my body? I feel like I have tried everything to try and stop this problem. I got some socks that were made out of fleece a couple winters ago and they hardly made a dent. What I really need is a pair of shoes made out of hot coals. Oh man, that would be the ticket. I mean I could use a thicker sole, or maybe an air sole. Like the really thick ones that were put on those Charles Barkley shoes back in the early 90’s. And then I could fill them with napalm. Yeah, that would really get my puppies all warmed up.

So as a result of this cold winter and the futility of the battle with my cold feet (metaphoric as well as literal), I have decided to embrace the season whole heartedly. I know it is going to be long, so I won’t kid myself by listening to all of that music that makes you happy and reminds you of the summer. See ya later Mates of State. I feel that embracing your music is truly the best way to have the coldest of winters. The music is so gloriously bleak. Your first album, the amazing Placer Found, feels as though it is about to halt from a lack of momentum, but then somehow it just keeps going on, leaving beautful tracks in the snow in its wake.

I have been a little weary of your newer music because I felt like it has been moving away from the winter paradigm. Its like all of the sudden you guys decided that you wanted to rock. (What is the deal with all of the slow bands wanting to do that?) However, the concept for your latest album Offshore is really great. You took an amazing song off of your second album and then somehow expanded it into a whole album. The results are beautiful despite the fact that you are moving away from your winter motif. Maybe you are just fed up with the winter and the poor circulation in your feet and you have decided that you aren’t going to take it anymore. Maybe you have found the shoes made of napalm, and you are using them now to totally kickstart your music. Well, if that is so, I suggest that you patent that idea, because I will steal it without even thinking twice. My feet are freezing.

You think I’m kidding,

Rob

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mp3: Nightly Cares

Dear Mum,

Oh man school is killing me!! I am about to throw my hands in the air and give into the world of corporate dronery. I mean I will probably have to abandon all morals that I think I have in this world of academics as I enter the working world anyway. Become a marketing executive? Sign me up!! Selling massive amounts of butt-potatoes? No problem.

In consequence of the sheer amount of things I have to do right now I have been spending a great deal of time at the library, and in conjunction with my studies, have been listening to the itunes mix entitled “study” (itunes really does define who I am). A majority of it is filled with your music, and I have grown so incredibly fond of everything off of Summer Make Good. It is so warm, despite the fact that it is creaky — like years of winter wear in the arctic tundra.

I saw you in 2003, with a group of friends who have all gone separate ways. It was wonderful. Ben G. was at the show, he told me later that he was kind of bored by the whole thing. But I don’t care, Death Cab is dead to me anyway.

Sorry, that was a little random. I guess I just want to say thanks for making music that is perfect to study to. Holding off my selling out for a little bit longer.

Rob

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mp3:When the Day Chokes the Night

Dear Do Make Say Think,

So recently in a post I talked about how I hated saxa-maphones. I was quickly rebutted by my sister Jen with one amazing song: “Who can it be now?” by Men at Work…Man, that song is great, because the guy is like “who can it be now?” and the saxophone is like “do-do-da-daa-da-da”. So, maybe my heart is softening to my reeded brass instrument just a little bit.

Additionally, your band is all I have been wanting to listen to lately. And there is this part on “When the Day Chokes the Night” when I can tell its going to get really big (and you know how I love big endings) and then when it does get big, there is this gutteral sound, like sonic waves out of a sewer pipe. And its no longer that Morphine-esque “make me a little queasy” sound, but rather it is powerful and just plain awesome.

Oh wait, someone is calling me.

Who can it be now?

Rob

ps – please come here with broken social scene on your upcoming tour.

buy the record

mp3:It’s All About Us

mp3:Desert Eagle [All I Want For Christmas Remix]

Dear The American Analog Set,

So as you might have heard, I recently broke up with Death Cab for Cutie. I mean, have you heard Plans? I think it might win “most likely for Rob to skip when a song from it plays on his ipod while on shuffle”. A while back I was so in love with Death Cab, they really could do no wrong in my eyes — during this love affair and a love affair of another sorts, I bought Andrew’s (Kinney, your lead singer) split with Ben Gibbard. I hadn’t heard much of his stuff and to be quite honest, I thought the whole cd tilted towards the Ben camp. Andrew seemed to be the younger brother, who was doing it just to be cool, but severely lacked the skills to make a noticeable effort. At the time Death Cab’s “Line of Best Fit” was one of the greatest songs ever — and as a result, Andrew’s attempt to cover it seemed a little too much like William Hung (and his Hung jury).

However, my eyes have been opened. I am by no means saying that your efforts are perfect. When I first heard The Golden Band, it seemed to be a little spotty. Some of the songs, are drowned out by your nearly inaudible whisper. Others get sucked away by the repetition of words and music. But then I heard “It’s All About Us”. And although this song starts out with the signature reverb drenched whisper, and repetitive verses, it somehow manages to build up energy into a locomotive. And once it attains its final speed, it just kind of hangs out there and enjoys the ride. Looking back, I think that is the thing that I love about the band — those killer jams. While death cab has moved away from the jangly jams of “No Joy in Mudville” (one of my favorite songs) and into the poppiest of choruses in “Crooked Teeth” (least favorite), you guys have remained constant in your jamming. And I salute you in your consistency.

Regards,

Rob

buy The Golden Band

buy Updates

mp3:Pelican – (Untitled)

Dear Pelican,

So once my friend told me that you guys were the next Explosions in the Sky. I heard one track, and I really liked it. And then I heard this track and it totally blew me away. Then in a related story, another friend of mine and I found out that we could get free gift certificates to the Gateway mall in Salt Lake if we test drove a Scion. (I have had a soft spot in my heart for those xB’s for a while, so I jumped at the chance.) The car was quite nice. It was pretty roomy in a really strange way, and the guy who drove us around kept playing an acoustic version of Better Than Ezra’s “Good” on the iPod in the car. I told him that the song was Nathaniel’s favorite, and he got really excited and kept playing it. Anyway, in the end I got to test drive a car, and also got a free t-shirt which is still sitting in my car, as well as the 15 dollar gift certificate. With the gift certificate, I bought your Australasia LP – expecting it to be very much like this song. However, to my surprise, the whole thing was metal. And it wasn’t that new hippy metal, which is just metal some of the time. I mean, it was straight up metal — it just wouldn’t let up. Now, while I can handle a little bit of metal — I would prefer the softer build up that you guys illustrate in this song…just in case you were wondering my preferences.
The end,

Rob

buy the record