Although I wrote about Hafdis Huld back in June, I’m writing about her again because she has a new single out and it is impeccable. It’s actually a cover of Sam Brown’s song Stop, but having not heard the original, all I can say is that this version is amazing. Being Icelandic, she brings a certain sweetness to the song that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. I don’t have a free download of this one, so you should go to her last.fm page and listen there, or even give her Myspace a whirl. Just make sure to check out the damn song!

I’m going to break ranks here, fine ladies and gentlemen, and hi-jack either/or for my own personal means. I can hear the collective gasps already! Not to worry though, it is music related.

As you probably do not know, I’ve been engaged in a University course for the best part of 3 years now. I’ve just finished my major project, which is an animated music video for the Foo Fighters song, Come Alive. Anyhoo, I thought you guys might like to see it, so you can check it out here.

A warning though: this video contains ghosts, the devil and licensed music. :O

Oh, and Scrub Studios is just a little company name I made up to brand all my work in. Enjoy!

Since it’s Election Day here in America, make sure to vote; after all, a democracy’s pretty pointless if people don’t vote. Now that I’ve discussed all the politics I plan to discuss on here for the next four years, let me introduce you to some actual music. Christopher Denny is a folk singer with a sound (and especially a voice) that harkens back to the folk days of yore, and pays no heed to this modern anti-folk claptrap. Which isn’t to say that anti-folk is an inferior genre, but it’s nice to hear music that values where it came from. It is equally nice to hear folk music with powerful vocals. My main qualm with Gypsy Into A Carpenter is that while his vocals are undeniably strong, they’re also quite meandering. Time does not have any such issues, and as such is one of my favorite songs on his debut album, Age Old Hunger. Regardless, my criticisms may be soon forgotten, but this music will not.

Downloads

From Age Old Hunger
Time – (MP3, 4.6 MB)
Gypsy Into A Carpenter – (MP3, 3.6 MB)

If Hugh is the proverbial Master of laziness, then I would surely have to be the Apprentice. I do have an excuse though, so I guess that makes it ok. R-right? Furthermore, I don’t know if anyone actually listened to the music I posted, but hey, onwards we march.

Today I have for your delectable listening pleasure the dulcet tones of Ms. Zooey Deschanel, a.k.a. the She in She & Him. Having seen her in the totally awesome “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, the news that she also sang was enough to pluck away at my heartstrings! Or something like that. Zooey is joined by M. Ward (whom we haven’t written about for some reason!) to provide us all with some lovely folkey, country tunes. There’s even a Beatles cover in this album (I Should’ve Known Better), and it’s pretty darn good.

Oddly enough, I even have media for you all, and it’s not some dodgy Flash thing either. It’s an actual MP3! Along with this, I would go ahead and check out the aforementioned cover, as well as This is Not a Test, all of which can be found on their debut album, Volume One.

Downloads

From Volume One:
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – MP3, 5.7MB

I haven’t done a mix in a while, so here’s seven songs that you will hopefully enjoy. And if you don’t, just remember that the blog’s free, and that you can e-mail me suggestions at eitheror.hugh(at)gmail(dot)com. I sometimes take ages to get around to them, but sometimes… not ages, and you may just get lucky, at least if you define “lucky” as “Hugh read my e-mail.” I hope you do not use such a definition, but anyway, enjoy the songs.

And if you want to get right to listening and ignore my commentary, you can always snag the playlist by itself.

Aaron Beaumont – Julia – (MP3, 4.1 MB)

This arrived in my e-mail last night and I’m writing about it already – see, sometimes you can get lucky! It’s a very pleasant piano-pop song with male vocals that aren’t whiny in the least (which is a feat, these days). I could very easily see this song on any Ben Folds album, which is another feat.

Brett Dennen – Ain’t No Reason – (MP3, 3.5 MB)

I don’t even know how to classify Brett Dennen’s voice, unless “folky” is a proper classification. In which case, it’s a good thing that he plays folk-pop.

E.S.L. – Prove Me Wrong – (MP3, 3.8 MB)

If you like modern gypsy music and female vocals, then you’ll love this song. If not, then there wasn’t any hope for you to start with! Just kidding, but it does mean you probably won’t like this song.

The Ark – This Piece Of Poetry Is Meant To Do Harm – (MP3, 3.2 MB)

I’m not sure why the filename and tag identifies this one is One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young, but anyway, it’s actually This Piece Of Poetry Is Meant To Do Harm, and it’s a cynical pop masterpiece.

The Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You – (MP3, 4.9 MB)

If you haven’t heard any Dandy Warhols’ songs yet, this is as good a place to start as any. Then check out the rest of the album it’s from, for it is their best.

The Felice Brothers – Frankie’s Gun!! – (MP3, 4.7 MB)

If you like Bob Dylan, you’ll love how Ian Felice sounds a lot like him, and you’ll especially like this song.

Two Hours Traffic – Stuck For The Summer – (MP3, 2.9 MB)

This song is quite catchy, with a chorus that’s clearly very, very inspired by Everclear, which can only be a good thing, at least if you like Everclear.