Monday Music Roundup

A crystalline and lovely dream last night involving me slow-waltzing with Ryan Adams in a high school gym with paper streamers all about (yeah, have no idea where that one came from but I ain’t complainin’) reminded me of an interesting effort I read about called The Dream Project.

It involves people calling in and leaving scratchy, half-coherent messages on a dedicated voicemail line (often right after waking), and then a cadre of artists works to visually represent those dreams as part of a larger project. The only catch is that they ask for dreams with “a strong narrative flow and clear landmarks so that others may follow the trail.” So that summarily eliminates me, unfortunately. My midnight brain is too random to make most of my sojourns followable by anyone else except me.

And actually, this project also reminds me of one of my favorite Dilbert comic strips.

. . . Here are five songs on my playlists this week that you may enjoy.

Deep Water
Ryan Auffenberg
This new demo song from San Francisco’s Ryan Auffenberg (“One To Watch“) is first in the lineup this week because it reminds me of a soundtrack to a dream, from the opening lyrics about some moments staying with you, to the soporific feel of the chorus, “deep water grows cold the further down you swim.” Perfect. Ryan’s put this new song up on his MySpace page, he’s got a few tour dates this month on the West coast and was recently picked up for a little featurette on San Francisco’s KFOG. I still recommend checking out all of his work, and think we’ll be hearing good things from him in the future.

Is That The Thanks I Get
(live on Conan)
Wilco
Ahhh, Wilco. You Tweedy fans are a passionate bunch, and trying so hard to convert me. I am only not a hardcore fan yet because of benign neglect. Reader Chuck recently sent me a 10-song “Wilco Starter Kit” to try, once again, to transform me into a rabid fan, and so far he has been fairly successful. I recently came across this new song, a fantastic soulful Memphis piano romp performed several months ago on Conan. This (and other new songs) are potential inclusions on the upcoming Wilco album (May 2007, Nonesuch Records), and I like what I hear so far.

I Will Wander
The Features
Tennessee’s The Features are guys that I love to root for; you may recall a mention a few months back on this blog about how they were dropped from their label for refusing to cover a Beatles song for a credit card commercial? Well, the same sound that drew me to madly adore their 2004 track “Blow It Out” is still alive and kicking on their recent Contrast EP. I am digging the marching cadence of this song — the feel reminds me of a sort of Modest-Mouse-meets-Devo.

Children of December
The SLIP
Been listening to The SLIP‘s Eisenhower CD (on Bar/None Records) for a few months now and always meant to write something but somehow it kept getting passed over — but no longer. This is simply a fantastic song from the opening vibrating notes. I think the first thing I read about Boston’s The SLIP came from a quote I read from Jim James of My Morning Jacket who raved about them, saying, “‘Children of December’ is the song that hit me hardest – the way the guitar and the melody interlace, it’s incredible…It could even appeal to some kid who really likes punk rock. It’s really challenging.” Their Eisenhower album sounds fresh to these ears, and was co-produced by the band and Matthew Ellard (Elliott Smith, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Morphine).

After The War
Sleep Station
Here’s a random tune that popped into my inbox after my recent Cotton Mather post. Reader Barry from NYC writes, “I suspect you’re a big power pop fan who loves those pronounced Beatles influences with jangly guitars, close harmonies, all the good stuff. Seeing that’s the case, I thought I would attach a song by a band you may not know called Sleep Station. I love this song, and the album it comes from, After the War (their strongest record), generally sounds like a cross between the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Good stuff.” I agree and think I am going to get this CD for further listening (an $8 bargain!). I find this particular tune to be a pleasant modern-day update on “Golden Slumbers.” Thanks, Barry!

Oh, and if perchance you are looking for some good books for 2007, Scatter O’ Light is doing a great series on music-related reading, and yours truly just scribbled together a few suggestions off the top of my head for her part 3 (part 1 on U2-related tomes is here and part 2 on best rock bios is here). Happy reading!