Treasures from the San Jose Public Library and No It's Not Opposite Day (Indie Edition)

Once I realized what I had gotten myself into (or, really, what I had kept myself out of), I fled San Jose as quickly as I could. To be fair, I didn't really give the town much of a chance before I wrote it off as a loss. To be unfair, that placed just kind of sucked. The cultural and musical environment of the Bay Area was one of the things that I looked forward to learning about when I moved here. And I certainly wasn't going to learn about it in San Jose.

Except I did.

The CD section of the San Jose Public Library offered a surprisingly large selection of used CDs. I would make regular trips there to check out any new additions when I was bored. I was bored a lot so my music collection grew pretty nicely. This kind of makes me feel bad for skipping out on a fine I incurred there. As a clearly insufficient attempt to make up for this, today's post is the first of three to feature music that I found at the SJ Library.

One of the things I enjoyed about what I was able to pick up was the broad range of genres available. As I put together a playlist, it became clear that there was simply too much music that had too little in common to present in any kind of coherent way. Hence, the three parts. This time it's the Indie Edition with artists who, in most cases, I knew very little about. (And in every case, I didn't actually own any of the artists' music.) Highlights include a track from Sun Kil Moon's hypnotic 2003 release Ghosts of the Great Highway, PJ Harvey with an assist from Thom Yorke, and an electro-pop gem from LA's The Ray Makers. Download the whole zipped file (39 minutes) or cherry-pick the individual tracks. Don't worry, no late fees will be incurred.

SJ Library Mix (Indie Edition).zip

South San Gabriel:: Saint Augustine

Sun Kil Moon:: Pancho Villa

Yeah Yeah Yeahs:: Warrior

The Ray Makers:: Contact High

PJ Harvery Feat. Thom Yorke:: The Mess We're In

Elliott Smith:: A Distorted Reality Is Now Necessary To Be Free

Kings of Convenience:: Toxic Girl

Meat Puppets:: Light

Mr. Airplane Man:: Lonesome Road

Badly Drawn Boy:: Summertime in Wintertown

Hip Hop/Reggae Edition and Kitchen Cink Edition will be up whenever I get around to them. Show some love to your local library: you never know what treasures you may find.

Whistle While You (Don't) Work

Anyone who has lived or worked with me for any extended period of time knows that I am an unrepentant and highly accomplished whistler. Morning, noon, and night are all filled with the gift of my melodic whistle. I couldn't turn it off if I wanted to--it's in my genes.

Luckily, just about everyone I know feels the same way about themselves so I don't have to waste too much time feeling guilty about it. Nothing is more natural or satisfying as whistling a great tune. And when has a whistle blower ever gotten in trouble? So in honor of the only instrument that everyone can (and inevitably does) play, I have posted a couple of tunes below that allow us common folk to join in on the jam with the rock stars:

DeVotchKa::The Enemy Guns (Cicero, 2004)

This band is probably best known for doing the music for Little Miss Sunshine, but they have put out some pretty good indie albums as well. This is the part of the review where I say that they sound like a cross between the Smiths and a Gypsy band. There, ok: I said it.

Menomena:: Boyscout'n (Barsuk, 2007)

This band out of Portland, OR created a small buzz with their most recent release, Friend and Foe (fans of Craig Thompson's Blankets will appreciate the cover art). Apparently they use some kind of crazy software program to loop much of the instrumental parts. Mostly, though, they just write catchy, layered pop songs--I have a hard time even recognizing any computer-y stuff, really. By the way, the top notch whistling in this track is what inspired this post in the first place.

Department of Eagles:: No One Does It Like You (Melodic, unreleased)

Comprised partly of members from the awe-inspiring Grizzly Bear, Dept. of Eagles craft tunes that are both comforting and haunting. Reverbed, Beach Boys-style harmonies with some lightly placed electronic beats underneath. No album since the fortunes of Grizzly Bear began to increase, but plans are in the works for an album sometime in 2007.

Meat Puppets:: The Whistling Song (SST, 1983)

So I've had this Meat Puppets album for a while and I am sort of ambivalent about it. Some songs make me believe that they deserve the icon status they have been granted by more modern rockers like Nirvana, Flaming Lips, and the Black Keys. Some songs are really, really terrible. Truly unlistenable. Fortunately, I think this song is in the first group. A large amount of whiskey is recommended to thoroughly enjoy it to the fullest.

Blitzen Trapper:: Summer Twin (Good Time Folk, 2006)

I am cheating a bit here, as this one doesn't technically have a traditional, lip-pursing whistle. It does, however, put the whistle that they stole from the crossing guard to good use in kicking off the chaotic chorus. More importantly, I am willing to create a loophole to get these guys on the post. There will definitely be a full post about these guys soon, but for now know that Blitzen Trapper is capable making some of the best, most unpredictable rock around.

A mere five songs, but a proper tribute to the whistle I hope. If anything, maybe one these songs will help you finally get "Young Folks" out of your head.

QUESTIONS-- So what did I miss? Any favorite songs that you like to whistle along with? And can anyone come up with a synonym for "whistle"?