Archive for category Wax Interlude
Wax Interlude: Beirut, “The Concubine”
Posted by Nav in Wax Interlude on January 8, 2011
A charming little song, discovered entirely at random while using Grooveshark.
I’m starting to think that ‘the next big thing’ in music will be recommendation. That’s not terribly revelatory – a need to filter the abundance of stuff out there is, after all, something people have been talking about for years.
But while I once hunted down new music with an unholy zeal, I’m finding it harder and harder to find stuff that’s… well, good at helping me find stuff. eMusic is pretty good, but it’s recommendation engine is often based on labels, which is a less helpful category than it once might have been. iTunes is useless, and streaming services are often simply too random.
If I had to guess at the problem, it’s that music recommendations work by genre. In 2011, that’s a pretty clunky way to predict whether or not someone will like something. How might one form an algorithm based on ‘vibe’ or ‘tone’ or, worse, ‘personality’, however, is anyone’s guess.
Wax Interlude: Warpaint
Posted by Nav in Music, Uncategorized, Wax Interlude on December 1, 2010
When I was younger, at least part of the thrill of new music was the way it seemed to open up aspects of the culture I lived in. There was something more to a great new track than just the song itself; it was the sense that, in some inexplicable way, the world was full of more possibility.
For some reason, I got an oddly similar feeling listening to Warpaint, a fourtet from LA. I don’t know why, really. But, as I mentioned on Twitter, this song “Elephants” manages to be somehow ethereal and gritty at once – and just so so great.
My other favourite track, “Undertow”, just seems to float along dreamily. It also explains why the end of my last post drifted off into the sappy. (Insider information for SiW superfans! Send $19.99 now for your behind the scenes DVD in Technicolor 3D!)
Wax Interlude: “Vinkonur”, Ólöf Arnalds
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on September 22, 2010
Ólöf Arnalds is an Icelandic singer, whose voice you may recognise from electronic outfit Múm. Her solo work, however, is far more eclectic, such as on her new album, Innidunr Skinni, which is all Icelandic folk music.
I’m not sure why, but this song – Vinkonur – utterly charmed me.
Wax Interlude: The Radio Dept. Will Make You Happy
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on April 30, 2010
It’s true that I already put this on Twitter. And it’s also true, as you point out, that “Nav this isn’t your fucking Tumblr”. But I couldn’t help but share a song that not only opens with an exhortation to KRUSH KAPITALISM, but is just so full of so much joy.
“Heaven’s on Fire” – The Radio Dept.
Wax Interlude: New Caribou Album
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on April 22, 2010
Swim by Caribou – the follow-up to Polaris-winning Andorra – is out now. Odessa is the first track. Pitchfork review here, and the video is below.
Wax Interlude: Work Music
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on February 1, 2010
So, it’s late at night. You’re working – I mean, it’s really going. You may have a cup of tea next to you, and you’re typing away like mad. And you need something relaxed – but not too relaxed – to listen to. So, maybe you wanna’ throw on this track, by Lucas Santtana, ’cause it helps you stay focused while still keeping your brain enlivened. That’d be good, right?
Swells of Happiness: Abida Parveen Sings the Poetry of Kabir
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on October 19, 2009
Abida Parveen has been a constant in my life, albeit in a strange way. My father is an enormous fan of hers, so the impossibly deep, resonant sound of her voice always hovered in my house as we grew up. Her music would be played late at night when friends came over, and when the basmati rice, black daal and chicken curry had been put away, my parents and their peers would sit lazy and full, sipping whisky and talking softly, bobbing their heads to a rhythm I could never quite latch on to.
Like so many aspects of my parents’ culture and tastes, it spoke to a past that they shared but which I had no access to. To this day, songs that can bring my mother to tears or a wistful look to my father’s face remain like doorways obscured by darkness. If I might peer through them – if I might somehow find the key that suddenly makes the language and references clear – I too might partake of the subdued ecstasy of the ghazal. Alas, for the time being, they are closed.
Still – this past weekend, we drove up north*. As we raced across Algonquin Park, an enormous, open area in central Ontario, we listened to Abida as the unending sea of green pine and sugar maple all aflame blurred past. It was a wonderfully incongruous moment, the hypnotic sound of Parveen’s voice inexplicably providing what, at the time, seemed the only suitable soundtrack for the landscape.
If I might be so bold, my suggestion for this song is that you put it on while you are doing something else that doesn’t require too much attention, so that, perhaps, you might lose yourself in it for a while. Sitting in a car on long open roads works. The train would too. Or maybe you might simply stare out of a window, watching nothing in particular – clouds, leaves, drops of rain. Of course, if you too can sit, lazy and full while sipping whisky, then all the better…
*“Driving up north” is a common refrain in Southern Ontario and generally means you are escaping the city to go a cottage.
NB: The singing doesn’t start until a minute in. Part 2 of the song is here. If you’d like the entire thing uncut, it’s available here on iTunes and eMusic. And, um, dbox too.
Bursts of Happiness: Bibio
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on October 6, 2009
Wax Interludes? Pfft. That’s so last week. And really, interludes? Those are just distractions. And that’s not what this is. This is a burst of irrepressible happiness. Bibio. Ambivalence Avenue. When, as you stare off at the horizon, sun glinting through the rapidly reddening leaves, you feel yourself suddenly overcome with joy, you can thank me then 
P.S. Lately, I’ve been adding to my cadre of friends with whom I share music using Dropbox. And Dropbox really is the greatest app ever. If you want in, let me know. Sharing is caring!
P.P.S. If you’re wondering what’s induced this effusiveness, your answer lies here.
Wax Interlude: J Tillman
Posted by Nav in Music, Wax Interlude on September 30, 2009
“There are roses in your hair
And a lily on your breast
And a longing in your heart
Will you be ashamed?”
I’m not really sure if I can get myself into trouble using the ole’ d’box to stream music; guess we’ll consider this a test case.
So. J Tillman. Part of Fleet Foxes. Two absolutely charming songs.
When I Light Your Darkened Door
For days you just want to stare out of the window and watch the wind pick newly dry leaves from their branches only to cast them against the grey sky.
Wax Interlude: Naya Zindagee, Naya Jeevan
Posted by Nav in Wax Interlude on September 11, 2009
“New Way, New Life” by Asian Dub Foundation
Why am I throwing this here? Because I watched this today for the first time in years and it got me all choked up. Who knows why?
Anyway, if you want to read about the awesomeness that is Asian Dub Foundation, check out their bio here.
