new tunes Tuesday. Round 25. welcome, winter

i discussed with two friends this week their thoughts on winter music. one from here in DC, reaching for the quiet, introspective, somber, snowy. the other soon heading home to Minnesota and longing for time away from the city for endless car rides on wintered prairies, and a simple singer-songwriter accompaniment.

i, too, have retired my summer beats for the similar. i've been leaning heavy on the simple, the chilly, and the pronounced male vocals set against (mostly) beautiful arrangements.

here you have, my winter playlist. (yahoo media player hopefully coming soon!)


1. funeral singers, califone

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-2. island IS, volcano choir

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-3. deep blue sea, grizzly bear


4. nantes, beirut
5. panthers, wilco
6. temazcal, monsters of folk
7. carolina, m. ward
8. honey and the moon, joseph arthur
9. blue ridge mountains, fleet foxes

new tunes Tuesday. Round 24. my boys

following my last post i've decided to give a little nod to (some of) my favorite boys of music.

-

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beck

{soldier jane, beck}

-

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dan boeckner, of wolf parade

{ghost pressure, wolf parade}
-

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jeff tweedy

{heavy metal drummer, jeff tweedy}

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and. AND i get to see tweedy live and solo

tonight at the lincoln theater

-

SO excited

simply lovely

{my boys, taken by trees}

covering the trippy animal collective tune

enjoy.

what a tease

{beautiful bianchi milano}

this hot ride has been locked up in front of my office all day

so pretty!! the leather seat, the celeste green mudguards, the arched top tube

if only it were mine....

sadly my little yellow bike was stolen from me several weeks ago,

but i think this beauty could help me recover from my loss

image via

shopping galore

i've been poking around eastern market in DC and little shops in virginia and west virginia along my travels and stumbled upon some super cute and unique finds.

{very beginnings of inspiration for my new room}

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new tunes Tuesday. Round 23. LCD Soundsystem... and another special treat

LCD soundsystem hit the music scene in 2002 with Losing My Edge, dabbled in other singles and minor releases the next several years, then came back in 2010 with This is Happening - potentially my favorite record of the year. so they are not so new but have been all over my playlists the past few weeks and kept me awake during some long car trips. new or old? i can't decide which i like better, but i know i love it all - the hooks, the drops, james murphy's affected vocals, even the cowbells. it comes together in totally addictive, beat heavy, dancey, epic songs. check it out:

{daft punk is playing at my house, lcd soundsystem}

{drunk girls, lcd soundsystem}

london dance-punkers also gaining spots on said playlist - New Young Pony Club. here's to colorful video tuesday!

{ice cream, new young pony club}

yippeeeee!

{swing ride, Howard County Agricultural Fair}

i am back!

after weeks and weeks of

traveling and traveling
-

pictures and music and lots of fun to come

♡sweet d

best saturday ever

i love these people

so much

live beats

blogging from the beautiful mountains of pennsylvania!

my west virginia project is on hold for a little while, so i'm out getting some more wilderness time in southern PA. i spent all day today driving around the rolling hills, hiking through farms and finally seeing some real fall foliage. lovely.

currently battling shoddy internet in my hotel room, but a quick taste of my saturday night: saw one of my favorite local acts at the black cat, touring for their sophomore release, Everything Under the Sun. one of my favorite songs of the night was this cover of The Cure's Close to Me. they invited both of the opening bands on the stage for tambourine and shaker support, and had the whole audience singing along.

{close to me, jukebox the ghost}

so. freaking. full

what Good Stuff will do to you:

{amanda, full}

{jamie, full}

{my belly, full}

ate SOOoooooo many french fries

with our burgers and sodas...

for BREAKFAST!

probably not a sustainable habit, but oh so yummy

the reeeeeeeeeemix

after last night's Classixx show at the U Street Music Hall (in search of perfect sound? GO HERE) - i was blown away by their simple vibe/super clean sound, the wednesday night dance party, and the remixes Classixx was spinning.

so this morning i started searching around for the just-out remixes i've been meaning to listen to. i found the Yeasayer mix on Florence's Dog Days are Over. love Florence, but Yeasayer? not so much. their first album, All Hour Cymbals, a solid beginner effort into weirdo, spacey psych-rock. but their second, electronic heavy release, Odd Blood, did not do it for me. AT ALL. it has a confused sound, unsteady beat and is plain unlistenable for me.

they MAY, though, have found their niche with remixes. released this tuesday, their beat is spot on here:

{the dog days are over (yeasayer remix), florence and the machine}

early mornings

{the falls, baltimore}

{lone gummy, metro station, dc}

on my wishlist: a new bike shelf

look look LOOK at the goody jamie has turned me onto today:

just LOOK at this

beyond perfect for my new yellow bicycle

for when we have a bigger house

with room to hang things on walls

...like bicycles

or maybe we can just hang it in krishnan's room for now?

he seems to have ample space and an affinity for shelves

our friday evening:

{fojol brothers food truck}

FIRST STOP:

cubside cookoff. potentially one of the coolest things DC has ever planned

indian food and french fries for dinner? i think so.

NEXT:

out with these sexy ladies for a continuation of summatime constafun

...

SOOOOooooo happy it's friday

time to leave work!

PEACE

yeehaw!

shipping out on 18th, baby!

appalachia - HERE I COME

it will be my goal for the 2-week trip to procure this here hat

i'll be taking orders for the rest of the week

let me know how many you want!

.-.-.-.

also, i got to see these guys last night

WHAT. A. SHOW

you'll get hooked

i have to share this recent release by exciting producer/artist Marc Ronson. Record Collection officially came out last week and this track is quite addicting:

{bang bang bang, marc ronson feat. MNDR and q-tip}

and i thought this killer song would be a good way to celebrate M Street Ballers

100th post!

new tunes Tuesday. Round 22. the many sounds of Justin Vernon

most who know Justin Vernon know him for his work with Bon Iver, and his 2008 gloomy/introspective release Emma, Forever Ago. the album took off and showcased his mellow, folk aesthetic with songs like Skinny Love.

but he's moving on, working with every artist under the sun, and taking on these great new sounds:

{come talk to me, bon iver}

{faded high, gayngs}

{lost in the world, kanye west featuring justin vernon}

baltimore

got to spend last weekend with my family in baltimore
strolling around the inner harbor, exploring some cute neighborhoods,
making new friends (way to go, mom), and watching the yankees crush the O's.

{aunt linda, uncle vinny, mom, dad, me}

FUN FAMILY FACT: uncle vinny was a pitcher for the Cubs in the '70s!

...and now has converted to a yankees fan :)

{my mom and her new friends}

{she may just be the most excited fan at the game}

{nothing better than a late afternoon ball game}

{beautiful stadium}

{hanging out at batting practice}

what i want right now

::to be wrapped up in the coziest sweater::

::cuddled in bed::

::with a huge mug of hot cocoa::

::engrossed in the city paper::

::with nina nastasia playing in the background::

crappiest weather ever today!

i wish i could extend my busy weekend

with an extra day just for lounging

images via

1. sweater, elan

2. bed, escapade

3. cocoa, dashing dish

4. paper, alt weeklies

5. album, spotinews

new tunes Tuesday. Round 21. life after The Polyphonic Spree

SO. after listening to former Polyphonic Spree member St. Vincent on my bus trip to new york, i started wondering if any of the other countless rotating members of the psychedelic symphony were up to anything notable. i stumbled upon Jesca Hoop's work and loved her sound immediately - passionate, sensual and oddly twangy. her work hasn't turned too video heavy, but give here a listen here:

Feast of the Heart

by jesca hoop 

and an interesting fact about jesca - she used to nanny for Tom Waits' kids! TOM WAITS!

the music to accompany a weekend of travels

how have i NOT listened to this 'til now....

{the strangers, st. vincent}

holy pasta

among other excitement during my weekend in new york, we grabbed dinner one night at a new handmade pasta place in the east village - Spina. it was AMAZING. if you find yourself in the neighborhood i recommend a trip there for cute outdoor seating, awesome wine, great service and one of the best pasta dishes i've ever had.

{cute tables}

{great art}

{parents}

{my brother chris and his girlfriend tori}

{tori, chris, aj, me}

new tunes Tuesday. Round 20. before and after: Metric

{raw sugar, metric}

{rock me now, metric}

before: charmingly sweet electro-pop featuring front woman Emily Haine's kid-like vocals

METRIC
i discovered these guys while living in austria and sharing musical gems with my canadian friends. kathy turned me onto metric. i was totally content listening to the songs above + the likes of their 2001 release, Grow Up and Blow Away for the rest of time. until i finally gave their new stuff a shot and HOT DAMN is it good.

after: edgy glam-rock featuring themes of sex and loads of adrenaline

{gold guns girls, metric}

{satellite mind, metric}

further scenes from west virginia

...

fingers crossed

for another few weeks out there

for day hiking,

leaf peeping,

and more pictures like these

...

to kick off this monday

{heroes, tv on the radio}

an attempt at vlogging

gah! i missed new tunes tuesday yesterday! i dont know where my mind was. i'll make up for it with an extra awesome NTT next week and this insight into the fun that is had on M street after dark. ENJOY:

around town in west virginia

sutton, west virginia

i've been back in DC for a solid month now and am kind of starting to miss exploring the sleepy little towns of west virginia. i miss getting paid to be in the sun and hike and play with dirt all day. i miss the jeep. i miss the old town gas stations and hanging out with truckers in the morning. i miss the worn down towns and the beautiful pictures they make. and i miss sweet tea and peach cobbler.

hopefully heading back out on the 27th for a week or two of pre-autumn fun in the mountains!

a thief is on the loose!

{my poor little tomatoes}

on m street!

stealing tomatoes and other lunchtime sandwich ingredients with no shame!

NO SHAME!

she was last spotted dressed questionably/running sleepily from our home at 6:30am 

{thief!}

guard your produce with your life ... put your lucky charms under lock and key

revenge shall be taken!

first image via mypapercrane

where in the world is krishnan?

we are one roommate down.

who would like to rent a closet?

chock full of muffins and toasted sesame oil?

and striped polo shirts?

{excited jamie, sleepy krishnan}