Sooty's 2011 Year In Review Countdownmania

[Soot and Stars]

I'd do that but I may be stoned to death!

Naw, close minded people don't even show up in a Sooty thread! They know better! Seriously, I won't stone ya so feel free to indulge me when you have time!

 

[Soot and Stars]

#16
Fleet Foxes-Helplessness Blues



The Shrine/An Argument


I went down among the dust and pollen
to the old stone fountain in the morning after dawn
underneath were all these pennies
fallen from the hands of children
they were there and then were gone

and i wonder what became of them
what became of them

sunlight over me no matter what i do
apples in the Summer all cold and sweet
everyday a'passin complete

I'm not one to ever pray for mercy
or to wish on pennies in the fountain or the shrine
but that day you know i left my money
and i thought of you only
all that copper glowing fine

and i wonder what became of you
what became of you

Sunlight over me no matter what i do
apples in the summer all cold and sweet
everyday a passing complete
apples in the summer all cold and sweet
everyday a passing complete

-

In the morning waking up to terrible sunlight
All diffuse like skin abuse the sun is half its size
When you talk you hardly even look in my eyes
in the morning, in the morning

In the doorway holding every letter that I wrote
in the driveway pulling away putting on your coat
in the ocean washing off my name from your throat
in the morning, in the morning

in the ocean washing off my name from your throat
in the morning, in the morning

-

Green apples hang from my tree
they belong only to me
Green apples hang from my green apple tree
they belong only to, only to me

and if i just stay awhile here staring at the sea
and the waves break ever closer, ever near to me
i will lay down in the sand and let the ocean lead
carry me to Innisfree like pollen on the breeze



I don't tend to match critics list but I bought this album on a whim after reading about it and seeing it on every critics top ten list. Critics are usually dominated by annoying hipsters who like lo-fi shoegaze crap and indie retro wannabes. I don't know why I bought this but I did and right as I started making my list. I'm really glad I did as this was the Progressive folk I missed from The Decemberist this year and these guys deliver in spades. This track in general is awesome!!!!! I love the vocal here! There's a majestic storytelling to it with an urgency to it like he's a bard delivering words of wisdom and the others chiming their harmonies just adds to the majestic quality. When the music picks up the urgency increases and the emotion really comes through. This is a folk rock epic that matches what I loved about the "The Crane Wife" album from the Decemberists. Fleet definitely fits more harmonies into their album though and heavier guitar work There are just so many beautiful moments to capture here but the ballsiest part of the song is the messy Jazzy trumpet section at the end layered over the clean harmonious music and vocal. This song is an epic classic!


Helplessness Blues


I was raised up believing I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me

But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

What's my name, what's my station, oh, just tell me what I should do
I don't need to be kind to the armies of night that would do such injustice to you
Or bow down and be grateful and say "sure, take all that you see"
To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls and determine my future for me

And I don't, I don't know who to believe
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

If I know only one thing, it's that everything that I see
Of the world outside is so inconceivable often I barely can speak
Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself
What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf
I'll come back to you someday soon myself

If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm raw
If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore
And you would wait tables and soon run the store

Gold hair in the sunlight, my light in the dawn
If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore
If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore
Someday I'll be like the man on the screen



The title track and single for this album is a great uplifting campfire song. The vocals are layered and harmonized consistently throughout and is impossible not to be pulled in. It's has a big full sound that matches the message of embracing a huge world of wonder and unpredictability.


Montezuma


So now I am older than my mother and father
when they had their daughter
now what does that say about me

Oh how could I dream of such a selfless and true love
could I wash my hands of
just looking out for me?

Oh man what I used to be
Oh man oh my oh me
Oh man what I used to be
Oh man oh my oh me

In dearth or in excess
both the slave and the empress
will return to the dirt, I guess, naked as when they came

i wonder if I'll see any faces above me
or just cracks in the ceiling
nobody else to blame?

Oh man what I used to be
Oh man oh my oh me
Oh man that I used to be
Oh man oh my oh me

Gold teeth and gold jewelry
every piece of your dowry
throw them into the tomb with me
bury them with my name

Unless i have someday
Ran my wandering mind away

Oh man what i used to be
Montezuma to Tripoli
Oh man oh my oh me


Here's a simpler song but still with the heavier harmonies. Really like the delivery in the verses here for some reason. It reminds me of something but i can't put my finger on it. It's kind of like a folk rock version of a doo-wop song. I really like the song which says to me he's questioning being alone at that point in his life. As the songs mood shows it's not a depression but more of a reflection of living life for himself and whether it's time to settle in. It's a beautiful song about a moment of transitioning.
​

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Good news babe is it sounds like a Kanye album and Jay-Z just happens to be rapping on it! Hey babe, you should listen to the Childish Gambino rapper. He's very Kanye like but a better rhymer IMO and there's something very unique about him. You are like the only hip-hop fan here! I'd LOVE your opinion!

Hey, I love hip-hop too, Sooty. I'm just a tad picky about it but I think the Beastie Boys some it up for me with the line "there's too many rappers and still not enough MC's".



I agree with Tray too. You're doing a great job with your top 20 (totally makes my look shoddy in comparison ). There is just so much to read that I haven't gotten the chance to keep up with it but I'm off the next couple days so I'll be catching up.

 

[Soot and Stars]

Hey, I love hip-hop too, Sooty. I'm just a tad picky about it but I think the Beastie Boys some it up for me with the line "there's too many rappers and still not enough MC's".



I agree with Tray too. You're doing a great job with your top 20 (totally makes my look shoddy in comparison ). There is just so much to read that I haven't gotten the chance to keep up with it but I'm off the next couple days so I'll be catching up.

Well thank you for looking at it at all Cosmic. Believe it not my thread design has taken after yours in a lot of ways so I wouldn't be calling anything you post shabby at all.

Cosmic, by the MC definition:

MC

Short for master of ceremonies or mic controller. Essentially a word for a rapper but the term is not limited to hip hop. Drum and Bass, Garage, Happy Hardcore, Ragga and old school rave all feature MCs, however with these genres, the MC generally MCs live while a DJ mixes the tunes, whereas hip hop MCs mainly do so on record.

I think Childish Gambino on my list matches that. He's just as good live as he is in the studio and has a unique character and presence. His humor is of the I don't give a **** (not in a racy way though he is that too) variety and has a casual naturalness to it. One of the most genuine rappers out IMO. Really see his personality in his music.

 

[ILoveJimmyPage]

I find myself wondering how we're close Soots. I don't know very many of these songs. Awkward!

 

[Soot and Stars]

I find myself wondering how we're close Soots. I don't know very many of these songs. Awkward!

Thaaaaat's the point!

 

[Soot and Stars]

#15
O'Brother-Garden Window/The Death of Day



Ascension


We sat in silence.
I spoke of leaving.
And from the floor, I tried to crawl away
with my arms all but succeeding.
I'll water your grave and watch it grow
into a bed of lies you sewed in life
living long after you are gone.

All in all, we're dust and bone
so we'll dig our graves before we're old enough to
lie in them.
We'll spread our ash amongst the dirt
to soil the seed that breeds the earth
so we can live again.

So wait for me to bloom. x2

Stay.
We're a garden fed from the blood
left in your veins
So stay with me or I'll shrivel and dry out.

Wait for me to bloom.

Stay.
We're a garden fed from the blood
left in your veins
So stay with me or I'll shrivel and dry out.

Stay.Stay. Stay.



This is one of my favorite discoveries in 2011. To me they have a very unique blend of the early heavier Silverchair in a slow downed, progressive mold. This song is technically off of a 2010 EP but this live version is dated 2011. Besides I discovered the band in 2011 and both the EP and 2011 album are synonymous with me. This is definitely a 2011 band. Now even with the Silverchair comparison these guys are very unique. I'm glad you get to see the live vid because things like the bow on the guitar show, the emphasis on cymbals in the drumming as shows in a number of songs and the vocalists has a unique style. He has an emotion in his heavier range as he holds his notes and really adds a sort of groaning drawn out style that sets him apart. This song has all the Sooty elements. An ebb and flow of heavy and melodic elements, An epic feel and emotional on all levels. I like the slow drummed out ending.


Cleanse Me


This is a ploy of cold, crass, sheep.
To only milk the pieces of truth that suit their means
And I was just wandering what you thought it’d bring
So hey, there’s a poison in your skin, I see it quietly seeping out of it
Hey there’s a poison in your skin.
I see it coming, saw it coming out.
And I am the fortunate one
This, an attempt at feeding primal needs,
has woken all the demons that reside inside of me
And you still say that I am the fortunate one

Well I could wash my hands to pretend they’re clean,
or I could purge my lips of spineless speech,
but the consequence of knowledge is an eager tongue

Don’t you leave, I wasn’t finished. This isn’t over.
I will be heard
Every last word will have its turn

Mine may be the words unwisely sewn, to cultivate the path that I have chose
Mine may be the words you’ll never know but lay me in the dirt and I will grow

Are you listening? Cause my breath grows null
Tired quips begin to wither
Who can reason with time?

Lay me in the dirt and I will grow


This song is given a lot of time to grow and has a more grungy heavier feel overall. Very anthemic and all the instrumentals are more closely mixed with a grungy distortion. This element may either make you a fan or not as it's definitely uncompromised loudness. Even the vocals go to an almost screamo level at the 4:33 mark. Mostly the vocal is like one big drive chorus as every line is delivered as forceful as the last. This combined with the heavy almost marching like drums makes for a heavy driving rock track. I love the guitars and slowdown after the storm at 6:50. It's like after all that noise that part comes off as reflective. The whole last song is a meditation even when it picks up again and the drumming speeds up to the chants of "Lay me in the dirt I will grow". Another off the charts epic track.


Last Breath


Lingering in your garden here our tired hands are bound
To toiling without pleasure in this murky earth we found
Distance is at fault here and its slowly gaining ground
So stay here at my table till proximity is sound

Keep it in, keep your last breathe, make it worthwhile

I was looking for something, when I was pulling my skin off

So if god is an acronym, some giver of damnation
Then why even bother with the concept of man
Ideals have run wild, escaped from our heads
And with the chosen so few should it warrant attempt?
And what if my fear is all that I am?
A poison to ease what small conscience I have left
But soon we’ll find we lived and died with the world in our hands

You left all your children out
You left all your children fending for our precious lives

I am the fortunate one, left with the blood in my skin
You are the only thing I hope is real in a dark world
I am the fortunate one, left with the blood in my limbs
You are the only thing I hope is real in a dark world


Now after all that heaviness here is the enchanting lullabye. The vocalist has an almost Jeff Buckley quality. The drums are still prevalent and rhythmic and the guitar becomes more enchanting. The addition of the mourning vocals is a nice touch and the ghostly vocal at the end is as well. This song manages to make a lullaby that stills has a drive to it.
​

 

[Soot and Stars]

#14
The Head and the Heart-S/T

Lost In My Mind


Put your dreams away for now
I won’t see you for some time
I am lost in my mind
I get lost in my mind

Momma once told me
You’re already home where you feel love
I am lost in my mind
I get lost in my mind

Oh my brother
Your wisdom is all that I need
Oh my brother
Don’t you worry ‘bout me
Don’t you worry
Don’t you worry
Don’t worry about me

How’s that bricklayin’ coming
How’s your engine running
Is that bridge getting built
Are your hands getting filled

Won’t you tell me my brother
Cause there are stars up above
We can start moving forward

How’s that bricklayin’ coming
How’s your engine running
Is that bridge getting built
Are your hands getting filled

Won’t you tell me my brother
Cause there are stars up above
We can start moving forward

Lost in my mind
Lost in my mind
Oh I get Lost in my mind
Lost, I get lost, I get lost in my mind
Lost in my mind
Yes I get lost in my mind
Lost, I get lost, I get lost
Oh I get lost
Oh I get



I don't think there was a simpler song this year to be embedded in my head this year but believe when I say to this day I still have that song stuck in my head regularly. This is the most bohemian, carefree, harmonizing bunch of folkies you'll find. I love the guys tone and the simple strumming is enough to move me but the whoo hoo harmonies, rollicking piano, the heavy drum beat and Morracas really get the blood coursing through your veins. I don't think the movement from everyone from the guitarist to the drummer is contrived. I think they feel their music. I definitely find the vibe intensely contagious. It's one big celebration of life. The harmonies at the end really seal the deal. If you aren't moved and smiling by the end of this song then let me check your pulse!


Rivers and Roads


a year from now we'll all be gone
all our friends will move away
and they're going to better places
but our friends will be gone away

nothing is as it has been
and i miss your face like hell
and i guess it's just as well
but i miss your face like hell

been talking bout the way things change
and my family lives in a different state
and if you don't know what to make of this
then we will not relate
so if you don't know what to make of this
then we will not relate

rivers and roads
rivers and roads
rivers 'til i reach you



Winter Song



Tell me somethin', give me hope for the night
We don't know how we feel
We're just prayin' that we're doin' this right
Though that's not the way it seems

Summer gone, now winter's on its way
I will miss the days we had
The days we had
I will miss the days we had
The days we had
Oh, I'll miss the days we had

Loving, leaving, it's too late for this now
Such esteem for each has gone
Has time driven our season away?
Cause that's the way it seems
In the world of the speech that is new
I'll be back again to stay
Again to stay
I'll be back again to stay
Again to stay
I'll be back again to stay


The above songs have a great feel on the album but I have to post the live versions as the ambiance and aura is chilling. I love how each unique vocal gets the spotlight and echoes in it's own vibrant beauty. When they harmonize it's the best harmonies of the whole year. that's saying something for the guy who pretty much has a whole 2/3 of his list being made up of them. I love the female vocalist. She has an almost froggy quality which i know sounds off putting but it has a beauty to it and the modest reserved way in which she delivers makes it that much better. What can I say about the musicianship hear other than it complements the melody fair enough while keeping the intimacy needed for the vocal angels. Seriously, if anyone can find something as pure as this this year feel free to show me.
​

 

[Tray73]

O'Brother... O' my!! - I love the sound of these guys! And I certainly agree with the bloke at the end of the first song you posted, "f****** awesome"! What a fantastic track!! I'm not familar enough with Silverchair to hear that comparison but at certain points in these songs I was reminded strongly of both very early Muse and Radiohead, so they were bound to make an impression on me!

Just had a look for the album and EP on our UK CD sites and they all have diddly squat on this band The only thing on offer is at Amazon, a 'Garden Windows' download. I'll have to see if I can find a US site to ship a hard copy to me at a reasonable price.

 

[Riff Raff]

Plenty of thread to listen through for some tunes I might find myself liking. Gonna dare myself to step out of the comfort zone.