Civil Twilight

Revelation- you can always find the good in the bad. I sometimes have bad taste in the television I watch, but it leads me sometimes to good music. And in return, good music can make bad television better.

Case in point, a Civil Twilight song on the show Harper's Island. To set it up, the show is a 13 episode horror series. A group convenes on an island for a wedding, and a serial killer that had lived there almost a decade ago appears to be alive again and picking off the wedding party. It's gory, it's cheesy, and sometimes, you even get emotionally attached. With the right music the viewer (aka me) gets choked up.

Civil Twilight, as I've read, is from Cape Town and moved to the US recently to embark on their music career. They're currently performing a couple shows on the East Coast, so check out here if you end up wanting to see them live. I find them to be reminiscent of a young U2, but they write that Radiohead is there influence. The song in question is that ballad that every group writes and becomes well known for.

Check it out for yourself. Here is the song:

And here is the scene from the last episode (be warned it is bloody):

It's all about the music, right? The perfect song. Ahh the power of sound.

"Indie Rockers, 90210"

Two posts in one day?! Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I've been debating whether I wanted to share this, um, enlightening article that the NYT did on up and coming teenage musicians from families of the LA elite. I decided that it should be read (thus the post). Very interesting.

Begin the discussion.

Photo courtesy of Amy Dickerson of the NYT

Regina Spektor

I don't think I've ever conveyed my absolute love for Regina Spektor. She, at least to me, is one of those artists that reminds you of a particular time of your life. Her 2006 album Begin to Hope encapsulates my graduate school studies. I am glad to have a new album from her to bring me into a new period of my life. Far, which was released today, appears to be a good collection of songs that I can't wait to drag with me and form new memories with. You'll probably be finding me belting the song "Human of the Year" in the car, just fyi.

For some light reading, check out a NYT article that travels with Regina around New York. The NPR article is also nice; the author appears to love the music as much as I. You'll also see a link there to listen to the entire album; I posted clips at the bottom of the post too just should you be so interested. She seems to have had a lot of fun writing the songs for Far, and it shows.

For a last tidbit of news, she is also beginning her tour this week around the world. There are just a few shows in the US, most notably her last stop on September 12 here in Chicago at the Chicago Theatre. Very nice. You can find the rest of the tour dates here.

Far

Kaki King

Genre: The most important music you'll ever hear in your life.

TED conferences are better known for innovative idea-sharing in the realms of economics, medicine, technology, and culture, but music plays an important role year after year. The clever and beautiful Nellie McKay has performed in the past, as well as the talented Natalie MacMaster. We've even featured Eric Lewis's TED performance on AGF before. So without further ado, the latest addition to the TED/music family, Kaki King:



And make sure to check out her interview here:
http://blog.ted.com/2009/05/qa_with_kaki_ki.php