Janelle Monáe :: I Want You Back

Live @ the Nobel Peace Price Concert, 2011

How did the internet fail to alert me that this existed until the Dean mentioned it in passing?

Wild Flag :: Romance (Live on Letterman, 12.13.11)

I was somewhat disappointed with the Wild Flag record, but this performance makes me want to revisit it. This is just outstandingly sharp, exactly the way to nail a tv show performance in a no-frills way.

All that said, the things I disliked on the Wild Flag record were largely production choices, if I recall, so I’m not sure if a reappraisal will change how I feel about it. Regardless: great performance!

High Highs :: Flowers Bloom

Yet another song / EP I slept on until just recently, and therefore left off of year end lists.

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Check out High Highs playing at the Roland Sessions somewheres in the UK

Real Estate :: It’s Real

This is such a Saturday song and video. Amanda and I really wish we could have a dog; maybe someday soon.

My Brightest Diamond :: Be Brave

I don’t think I’ve mentioned how wonderful All Things Will Unwind is on Tumblr! It’s definitely a record Amanda and I can agree on enthusiastically, which is always a wonderful thing.

Shara was quite the spectacle in concert, and as sweet as could be after her show, too.

Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond) :: I Will Always Love You

This is incredible and adorable.

Feist :: I Feel It All

The new Feist record is fine, I suppose, but this is probably my favorite Feist song - it’s really my favorite Feist mood, too - confident, even optimistic in the face of relational adversity. No song on Metals approaches a tempo this fast, which is a shame: Leslie’s nimble voice really sounds excellent at a slightly faster pace.

Feist was in a difficult but enviable position post-The Reminder / “1 2 3 4” and the artistic reaction, it seems, was to recede from the poppier songs that populated that record into something that signified contemplation and struggle. But “I Feel It All” is no less contemplative or relatable for its speed and hook. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I really wish Feist had made a record that played to this side of her skill set more than the lonely, folky side.