(no subject)

[miko2]

Today's Song: Actor Out of Work by St. Vincent

I've been on a bit of a cd buying spree lately. Not, I must stress, my usual kind of cd buying spree, because I think I've only actually ordered 1 cd through the mail in the last 4 months (which must be a record for me).

No, what I mean is I've become addicted to downloading full MP3 cds for cheap.

This started when I downloaded the full new U2 cd No Line On The Horizon from Amazon for $3 a couple of months or so ago. That was a great deal, and I've really enjoyed listening to it. I rarely listen to actual cds anymore anyway, so MP3s that I can immediately put on my iPod makes sense and the price certainly was right.

After that I was hungry to find another such deal, and I soon had it: The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists. I had one cd of theirs already, which I liked, but the new cd is a full-length rock opera, 70's style. It's great. I downloaded it for $3 from Lala and haven't regretted it.

At first I was checking back every Tuesday to see what new release was on special. But then I realized Amazon and Lala had different specials each day, and so I began checking daily to see what was on sale. For a couple of bucks I downloaded the new Fleet Foxes ep, and that was very good. I downloaded a cd for $3 by a Canadian band known as The Great Lakes Swimmers. I didn't klnow them, but I was able to go to their web site and listen to many of the cuts over and over before deciding to purchase. They're very good, sort of country/folk rock, Neil Young style.

Then a day or two later I downloaded a new cd by Grouper, which is a kind of ambient/noise project of Liz Harris from Portland Oregon. This was another cheap cd from Amazon, and I guess I was influenced by the reviews and by her Northwest roots, but really even though I think it was only $2, I'm not sure why I got it. It's interesting, sorta... just not the kind of thing I listen to a lot.

So that was kind of the "low point" for me downloading full cds just because they were on sale. ^_^ But only a day or so later (last night in fact) I checked Lala and they had the new cd Actors by St. Vincent on sale.

Who is St. Vincent? Heck if I knew. Just like Bat For Lashes (Natasha Khan), this is a lady playing under an odd moniker; her actual name is Annie Clark. What I did know was I'd heard her featured on NPR a few days earlier and I really, really liked what I heard. It was $3, so I went for it. And this time it wasn't a mistake. It helped knowing she was a 4AD artist, and a former member of the Polyphonic Spree who had also toured with Sufjan Stevens. It also helped that right after hearing her on NPR two days earlier I had downloaded the song Now, Now from her previous cd off of eMusic, and liked it a lot.

Once again, I think I like the song NPR played for me better (Strangers, which you can hear on her myspace page linked above). But this song has a very interesting video and a Breeder-esque vibe:

St. Vincent -- Actor Out of Work
St. Vincent -- Now, Now
St. Vincent -- Now, Now (live)
St. Vincent -- Strangers
St. Vincent -- Actor Out of Work (live rehersal at SXSW)