Je suis une funky femme......

And I do like Marmaduke Duke, (see title.) But it isn't really what I'm addicted to atm. But its a fecking cool title. My blog, my rules.

Anywho. Le Musique. I'm not gonna do a huge random list and bombard you with tons of music. Uncool. And take fecking ages. I'm going to put up only a few of my fave and most listened to bands of the moment right now. This minute.

Riceboy Sleeps is a, well, side type project with non other than Sigur Rós front man Jónsi and his partner in life and crime Alex. They also work with the awesome string quartet Amiina.

The reason I love this album so much, is that they have managed to still make a sound unique and different to Sigur Rós' usual tones. More in depth and quiet I think. I can't tell if a song is "happy" or "sad", for want of a better explanation.. Whereas Sigur Rós, me and Ted say they have "happy" songs and "sleepy" songs.

Through random damn curiosity, and the aid of wikipedia. Me and Ted discovered that (track 4,) Stokkseyri is a town in the south of Iceland, (no shit Sherlock..) AND it was founded by Hásteinn Atlason (Track 2, Atlas Song?)

Also, wikipedia also says that track 5, Boy 1904 has the last castrati left.... Me and Ted think that might be pushing it somehow, and that they have used the same choir boys from Ara Batur, on the Sigur Rós album.

Tracks you must listen to: Boy 1904, Sleeping Giant.

u_mä are Pau Vallvé and Maria Coma. See what they did there? pa|u_mä|ria. Awwww thats cute! heh. They say on their website: http://www.umabcn.com/

"For us u_mä is a mixture of nostalgia, nature and "home made". It is also the result of what we are as a couple.Our music is small and cyclical with a very familiar sonority. We keep on recording the instruments in real time in some samplers creating like this the bases of the songs. On top of these bases we play and sing."

Let me tell you, the homemadeness really comes out in their music. They have recently re-released their first album, complete with bonus tracks.

Track 11 is so homemade, they have a damn cute kid singing with the piano.

The tracks lyrics, which have just been put up with English translations on the couples website, have a mixture of

themes but seem mostly to do with animals. And Cats :)

The music itself seems to swing between childish playfulness and complete melancholy, but hey, thats me to a T.

Tracks you must listen to: Track 2, Adeu, track 3, Blanc, track 6, Miau (oh yes it is what you think.)

Oh and track's 9, 12 and 13.

Just go listen kay?

So here are The Black Ghosts. How'd they get on this list?! They just did m'kay. Eclectic tastes a-go-go here.

Spotify say TBGs are: "A dance-pop duo." .... Well I s'pose I do dance to them. I calls 'em my photo editing music. :)

I found them, (where they ever lost?) When they appeared on the Twilight soundtrack with the song Full Moon. This song really sticks out in style to the other tracks on the album, and I am finding that I prefere their 'normal' sound. Still, it's a da-mn good song.

The rest of the album seems to be danceish music, heavily on the instruments, (and I DON'T mean a damn beatboxer guy..) I mean violins and pianos. Their lyrics are also fab, and a helluva lot better than say... Hot Chip......

TBGs are Simon Lord and Theo Keating.

Tracks you must listen to. Track 3, It's your touch, track 4, Repetition Kills You and of course, track 7, Full Moon.

P.S I also like how each track is completely different. Just the feeling it gives off. Rather than the whole album being too

....erm.. samey.

Alrighty. Here goes Iron and Wine. Two albums in fact.

Iron and Wine is the name of Samuel Beam. He is a bearded Floridian with a wife and two kids. He's a fecking genius and has given me an unhealthy obsession for folk, whiskey, American porches and bearded men.

'The Shepherds Dog' was released in 2007. Five years after the release of 'The Creek Cradel' in 2002. (Which, alas, is not on this list 'cos Spotify's a bitch and Amazon aint ordered yet. Guilty as charged people. Guilty as charged....)

Anywho. Compare this album to his much earlier recordings, which feature just his whispery sweet sweet voice and his slide guitar.... Oh sorry, got lost in a moment there... Where was I, yes, comparing this release to his earlier works and you can see just how much he has grown as a musician, but still managed to keep his own style. He uses percussion, though still quietly in subtle ways such as clapping, and you can see he has made full use of a 'real' recording studio as he has recorded his own backing vocals. (His earlier recordings are just him and damn dictation machine!)

This album features tracks that make you want to be sat at dusk, in some southern state in the U.S of A, drinking whiskey.... Having a smoke..... Oops, again with the moment.

Other tracks on this album are definitely danceable. Or at least jiggable. (See video for A Boy With A Coin.)

Tracks you must listen to. Track 1, (best album opener ever,) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, (listen to it twice and learn the lyrics.) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. (Yes its the Twilight love song. But its good.)

Around The Well is a release of new things and a lot of beautiful old things he just had lying around. He is made of music this fine fine man.

This album is a whopping 23 tracks long. And, dare I say it? All of them are GOOD! some are even great. And most are damn fecking fantastic. Mmm hmm..

The album opens with Dearest Forsaken. A track which keeps all that is good and holy about our man Sam Beam. He starts with simple melancholic strumming, then starts to sing in That Voice and then the guitar takes on an added riff. It sends the proverbial shivers this track does..... Ohhh yeahh.... Ahem, 'scuse.....

The rest of the album mixes the older and the newer sounds well, so that it doesn't feel like a 'best of' album, y'all know what I'm on about here. And FYI, this ain't no best of album. :)

I don't know what else to say, except, please, go listen to the blessed thing. You wont regret. You will be in love... And dream of guitars and beards.....

Tracks you must listen to. 1, 2, 6 (if only for the banjo.) 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.. Oh fuck it. Go listen.

Needless to say, I has a shit load of music on my poor Mac. This is a slither of a slice but it my faves of the moment. And what I just can't not listen to.

Well... Iron and Wine is still playing. So I think I'll go grab a whiskey.

Ha Det folks!

TM x