Category Archives: Band of Horses

Hell May Not Dwell on the Dead

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J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr has released his first solo studio record. The record is almost entirely acoustic and is beautifully designed. To me, it’s the album that had been kept inside since 1994’s “Feel the Pain.” It’s more raw sharing, but this time, in a bit of peace and quiet. Or if you never realized how much pain and heartache was in all those Dino albums, this one can retrospectively shine a light for you.

Several Shades of Why is a collection of ten fragile, contemplative tracks that serve as reminders of the unknown we face on all fronts in life and love.

I know my soul is battered
I know my mind is gone
I been waiting for an answer
But the question takes too long
I need guidance on the river
I need everything I’ve done
So familiar’s coming at me
Don’t wanna blow it all at once

Track five cheats and sneaks in a bit of electric guitar.

Click to Enjoy J Mascis – Is It Done

The backup vocals on this track are supplied by Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses. Other contributers to the album include Kurt Vile, Paul Jenkins, Kevin Drew, Suzanne Thorpe, Sophie Trudeau, and two other guitarists.

As for his intuitive and self-aware lyrics, he says he sometimes writes from the other person’s point of view. “People’s frustrations with me. I know why they’re frustrated with me, but there’s not much I can do about it.” I like to think the title track is a distorted, disembodied mix between a two-way conversation, an inner monologue, and the perceived inner monologue of another.

Click to Enjoy J Mascis – Several Shades of Why

Smoke ’em if you got ’em…

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To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did.  I ought to know because I’ve done it a thousand times.  ~Mark Twain

I’ve been smoking since I was 16. I’ve been a pack-a-day smoker. I’ve been a smoker who never actually bought cigarettes. (The Moocher!) I’ve quit many times before. One of the times lasted a good year.  There were times when I rationed cigarettes, only having one or two a day. Cigarettes have been a part of my life for a long time.

Click to play Oasis – Cigarettes & Alcohol

My first cigarette was outside a pool hall. That head change was so fantastic…I was a fan ever since. That first cigarette was a Marlboro Red. I smoked those for some time, until I mooched a Camel Light from a buddy and really liked the taste of those better.

Click to play Less Than Jake – One Last Cigarette

I enjoy the timeout a smoke gives me at work. I enjoy the act of smoking…the inhaling and exhaling. Smoking would get me through the tough times. A cigarette would help me when I was…bored/stressed/tired/hungry. Nothing accompanies an alcoholic beverage better than a cigarette. Nothing accompanies coffee better than a cigarette. A smoke is great after sex and after a meal.

Click to play David Bazan – Cold Beer and Cigarettes

The thing is about quitting smoking is that you have to really want to quit. You have to hate it. I love smoking…but I think you figured that out from the love story above. I was planning on quitting on January 1, 2011. Less a resolution and more an easy quit date to remember. Didn’t happen because I had to go to California for a funeral…and I didn’t want to add to the stress of that trip by craving the whole time. On the 23rd of January I caught a horrible cold…might have even been the Flu. I had a fever and cough. Seemed like a good time to quit, since I could barely breathe anyways. I’m ready. I can do this. This is my final goodbye. It wasn’t you cigarettes…it was me.

CLick to play Band Of Horses – Cigarettes, Wedding Bands

   

the shiniest pretty penny

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Jessica rambles on her blog about being a mom and her views on life and popular culture. She will be writing for inALLcaps on a monthly basis and she loves to read comments, so make her feel at home!

The End’s Not Near, It’s Here.

That grabs your attention doesn’t it! The first time I heard this, I was watching an episode of The OC and I thought the song was so fitting for the episode. A year or so passed and I gave this song no more thought, until one day randomly, Pandora spouted it from my computer. I stopped in my tracks and turned up the speakers, then frantically checked out the artist and song title which propelled my search to get my hands on it and everything else this band put out.

I discovered it was “The End’s Not Near, It’s Here,” a song by The New Year which Band of Horses covered for The OC Mix 6. I found two other albums by Band of Horses, which I wasted no time in downloading and repeatedly playing. They have a somber sound to them, but in the dark time of my life when I discovered them, I was somehow comforted and soothed by their soft angsty sound. Some of the song titles are head-scratchers, but the lyrics and the music are so powerful to me.

[Download
Band of Horses – To The Barn Because I Like The]

“Go To The Barn Because I Like The” lyrics:

Well I’d like to think I’m the mess you’d wear with pride.
Like some empty dress on the bed you’ve laid out for tonight.
Outside by your doorstep
In a worn out suit and tie
I’ll wait
For you to come down
Where you’ll find me
Where we’ll shine


It’s like when you were a kid… You almost didn’t pick up that penny on the ground because it was old and dirty, but you did it anyway and found a treasure: it was the shiniest pretty penny, and you were so proud of this little fortune. That’s the picture that this song brings to mind to me, but throughout my life that penny, of course, is the metaphor for bigger things or people at one time or another.

“Monsters” lyrics:

A tree for all these problems
They can find you for the moment
Then for all past efforts
There buried deep beneath
Your heart and somewhere in your stomach

And hey, transform all others
When awful people they surround you
Well hey, they just like monsters
They come to feed on me
Giant little animals to feed

I get goose bumps when I hear this song. How long will you keep those people in your life who feed on you and drain you of all emotionality? One day will you wake up and realize that they ate everything you had to give?

The slow pace of their songs and the words that cut through me and bring such emotion to the surface also manage to comfort me like a soft warm blanket.

I think they are definitely worth a listen, so please, check it out for yourselves.