Waking At The Carnival

END - A Girl Called Trouble

2009-04-04T04:24:00.003-04:00

This is a very catchy tune and the video is pretty kick ass as well! The zooming in on the posters is a little dizzying but it's great with the fast pace of the music. When was the last time a song made you dizzy, huh?
Here's a little more info about END, if you're curious (and after seeing the video you might be).

[Video Credit: AeroCCCP]

Floyd Thursby And The Definite Article - The Thief

2009-04-03T03:55:00.004-04:00

I really like the video for this one and how the song and animation fit so well together. The animation is reminiscent of some of the opening and closing animations for mystery/detective tv shows and movies that I'd stay up watching with my mom when I was little.

[Video Credit: h0b0films]

Camille O'Sullivan - A Good Man is Hard to Find

2009-02-14T07:45:00.005-05:00

The original is (of course) my favourite but this performance is so over the top, I couldn't resist posting it! Her voice is incredible and she puts on a great show.
This is Camille O' Sullivan performing "A Good Man is Hard to Find".

[Video Credit:ScaryBiscuits1]

Shocking Blue - Never Marry A Railroad Man

2009-02-13T07:05:00.005-05:00

I wasn't sure whether to include Never Marry a Railroad Man in my lineup of romance-related songs this week but I've obviously decided to. It seems like most of my favourite love songs are more cautionary tales than sappy songs so I see no point in excluding it.

I really love this song and Mariska Veres has a great voice.

[Video Credit: SarAlexRipper506070]

Mario Paint What Is Love?

2009-02-13T06:55:00.003-05:00

Here's another Mario Paint song just for fun! I listened to this one several times this morning. It seems like this song (the original) has played at least once during every long roadtrip that I've taken.
This is a rendition of What is Love? by Haddaway covered by axelrod777. Great job!

Mario Paint Phantom Of The Opera

2009-02-13T06:36:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of fun playing with Mario Paint when I was a kid but I'm positive that I never put together anything quite as beautiful or amazing as this. My hat goes off to jepleure for this masterpiece.

I'm also having way too much fun listening to Mario Paint song covers this morning.

Magik Markers - Taste

2009-02-11T06:02:00.000-05:00

Am I in love with Magik Markers? Absolutely. Fierce and explosive female vocals with a strong noise rock spine.
What's even better than Magik Markers? Magik Markers combined with clips from Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Oh, yes.

[Video Credit: PBLongstocking]

Clare and the Reasons - Pluto

2009-02-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

This is a fun video by Clare and the Reasons that features a cute little puppet that probably would have scared the bejesus out of me when I was a little kid.
This video is light and fun though obviously Clare has some awful news for Pluto. Poor little guy.

The Stone Coyotes - Heart of a Champion

2009-02-10T06:46:00.001-05:00

I've been really enjoying The Stone Coyotes lately and Barbara Keith is certainly one of the coolest lead singers out there. There aren't many videos of their performances out there that I can find for viewing so I'm glad I found this one as it's quite good and the audio is clear.
"Heart of a Champion" is a great song to give you a kick in the ass when you need to get things done! You can check out their website here or take a look at their myspace.

Trivia: The Stone Coyotes were the inspiration for Elmore Leonard's book "Be Cool". You can read the story of how that came to be here.

[Video Credit: coolrockboy]

Real Life - Send Me An Angel

2009-02-10T06:42:00.001-05:00

My breakdown of the video: Chewbacca (on horseback) is stalking a woman who appears to have gotten lost in a heavily wooded area. Who knew that wookiees were equestrians?

Trivia: This song was featured in the movies The Wizard and Teen Wolf Too. This song was also covered by the German band Gregorian on their album Masters of Chant Chapter V.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights

2009-02-09T07:05:00.003-05:00

I really love this song...there's so much soul in Sharon Jones' voice. The style of the music video is a really great choice for the song and I feel like I've been transported back a few decades in time! Here is their site if you want to check them out or you can check them out on myspace!

[Video Credit: DaptoneRecords]

Abney Park - Sleep Isabella

2009-02-08T05:08:00.001-05:00

Abney Park is a great steampunk music group hailing from Seattle known for their fantastic costumes and creative instruments. Their site is a real treat and you can check out their myspace to hear more of their great sound.

Their bio:

Abney Park comes from an era that never was, but one that we wish had been. An era where airships waged war in the skies, and corsets and cummerbunds were proper adventuring attire. They’ve picked up their bad musical habits, scoundrelous musicians, and anachronistically hybridized instruments from dozens of locations and eras that they have visited in their travels and thrown them into one riotous dervish of a performance. Expect clockwork guitars, belly dancers, flintlock bassists, middleastern percussion, violent violin, and Tesla powered keyboards blazing in a post- apocalyptic, swashbuckling, Steampunk musical mayhem.

[Video Credit: Maxmin]

The Ryders - Journey To The Stars

2009-02-07T12:23:00.003-05:00

It must be surf rock saturday because here's another surf rock gem that I like a lot. Is surf rock saturday going to become a recurring thing here at Waking at the Carnival? Oh, probably not...I bet I'll forget by next saturday.
Anyway, here's "Journey to the Stars" performed live in Verden, Germany in Oct 2005 by the Swedish instrumental group The Ryders (not to be confused with the Japanese group of the same name). Beautiful stuff!

[Video Credit: leadryder]

Reverb Galaxy - Third Star From the Left

2009-02-07T04:53:00.000-05:00

This is Reverb Galaxy doing an excellent cover of Third Star From The Left by the surf rock band The Nocturnes. Who doesn't like great music and cute girls dancing around with rayguns?

[Video Credit: UnsteadyFreddie]

Beaker - Ode To Joy

2009-02-06T09:12:00.005-05:00

This is Beaker from The Muppets doing a cute and funny rendition of Ode To Joy.

Lyrics:

Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep-Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep-Meep.

[Video Credit: meepmeepmeepow]

Jill Tracy - Evil Night Together

2009-02-06T07:59:00.002-05:00

Here's something sexy and film noir-ish for your friday evening! Jill Tracy has a beautiful sultry voice and dark cabaret style that fits so well with this video.

The video itself stars Sarah Charlton & Gabe Wexler and won a Best of Myspace Film Festival Award for Best Narrative Short Film. They've also posted an alternate cut of the video and some outtakes if you're interested.

[Video Credit: BoyhoodBravery7]

Frank Black - Headache

2009-02-05T02:35:00.000-05:00

I've had this song stuck in my head off and on for years now but I can't really complain because it's great. It's also one of my favorite songs to do chores to (especially washing dishes)...it's so upbeat that it that makes time seem to pass quickly.
This is Headache by Frank Black from the Teenager of the Year album and the video is obviously not the official video but it does make me laugh (and I think it's very well made).

[Video Credit: kymmu]

Zoë Keating - Tetrishead

2009-02-04T00:44:00.000-05:00

Tetrishead is one of my favorite songs by Zoë Keating and I'm more than happy to be able to share it here. My personal favorite song is Exurgency and the full track is available as a free download on last.fm so check it out!

[Video Credit: zoekeating]

PJ Harvey - Desperate Kingdom of Love

2009-02-03T05:08:00.000-05:00

PJ Harvey has a voice that's a personal favorite of mine and there's something about her delivery in songs like this one that just seems so honest and true.

Below you'll find one of my favorite live performances of PJ Harvey's Desperate Kingdom of Love. This cover of the song by JennaFinland on youtube is also very pretty.

John Lee Hooker - Hobo Blues

2009-02-02T02:18:00.000-05:00

It's a good day for some blues and this song really hits the spot. This is a video of John Lee Hooker playing "Hobo Blues" at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1965.

[Video Credit: 000neutron000]

Alela Diane - The Rifle and Pirate's Gospel

2009-02-01T03:37:00.000-05:00

Alela Diane is a gifted songstress and I'm pretty lucky to have found her. I'm enjoying her music immensely and here are two of my favorite songs "The Rifle" (or Rifle) and Pirate's Gospel.

Vermillion Lies - Come Down

2009-01-31T06:04:00.000-05:00

There's a shortage of Vermillion Lies videos floating around on youtube with decent audio so this is one of the better sounding live performances I've discovered.
This is a pretty fun live performance of Come Down from the Separated By Birth album.

[Video Credit: beefheadproductions]

Cat Power - Good Woman

2008-12-18T07:48:00.000-05:00

This has been one of my favorite songs for quite some time now but I can't listen to it very often. It's one of those songs that reaches in and twists your guts around a bit or at least it does that to me.

[Video Credit: 050178]

My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

2008-12-09T06:19:00.000-05:00

Sometimes is one of my favorite shoegaze songs and I thought it would be a good time to share it since it's been stuck in my head for close to two days now (which certainly isn't a bad thing since it has a very calming and floaty effect on my brain).
This video was put together by therno with clips from the movie Lost in Translation.

Tin Hat Trio - The Longest Night

2008-11-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

This is a really beautiful instrumental song. The video is a little strange but not inappropriate. The large eyes on the people are a little unsettling at first but by the end of my first viewing of the video I had already grown to like them. If you want to find out more about Tin Hat Trio (who currently goes by just Tin Hat, I think) you can visit their site.
This song is also featured in a game called Triachnid that's pretty fun to play. It reminds me a tiny bit of World of Goo which is also very entertaining (in my opinion).

Natalie Merchant - Carnival

2008-11-30T02:39:00.001-05:00

This is one of three songs in my music library that include the word "Carnival" in the title and though I referenced one in my first (real) post in this blog, I must have neglected to mention this one as well. I've been recently rediscovering Natalie Merchant and this is surely one of my favorite songs. Her voice is magical.

Mad Marge and the Stonecutters - Shake

2008-11-28T01:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun song for a friday! I'm sure my brain is starting to melt or boil or something else unpleasant so I guess this song is a good song to do that to. If you want to find out a bit more about Mad Marge and the Stonecutters check out their myspace.
Have a good one, huh?

Ane Brun - My Lover Will Go

2008-11-26T12:55:00.000-05:00

It's a snowy day, cold day and this video makes me want to cuddle up with a hot cup of cocoa. I have to say though that I was surprised by this video. I heard the song long before I ever got the chance to see the video and the images the song conjured in my mind just don't match. It's still a pretty video.

Man Or Astroman - The Miracle Of Genuine Pyrex

2008-11-23T04:16:00.000-05:00

Some fun for a sleepy sunday. Man or Astro-man? That's not a question!
Or is it?

Florence And The Machine - Girl With One Eye

2008-11-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

Florence and the Machine is fronted by the lovely Florence Mary Leontine Welch who is a unique and artistic woman with a voice to match. Girl With One Eye is my favorite song but she has many others that are great as well. You can find out a bit more about Florence and the Machine on their Myspace.

Ether Aura - The Other End

2008-11-21T18:06:00.000-05:00

Ether Aura is a band from Detroit that I've been following through its various incarnations through the years starting with Caelum Bliss then Deathgirl.com and now Ether Aura. Each incarnation has brought something new and incredible to the table and I'm thrilled to present my favorite live video from Ether Aura, The Other End. I can't get enough of this video tonight.

(Video Credit:tonyhamera)

Devotchka - How It Ends

2008-11-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

This song by Devotchka is really beautiful and it's recently been featured in the Gears Of War 2 commercial and trailer that I've posted below. If you're interested in finding out more about Devotchka then check out their Official Site and their Myspace page because they have many, many wonderful songs.

Asobi Seksu - Thursday

2008-11-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

Guess what? It's thursday! I thought it would be appropriate to share this video today.

Archers Of Loaf - White Trash Heroes

2008-11-19T18:01:00.000-05:00

I really love the tone of this song. There are other Archers Of Loaf songs that I like just as much but this is the one I feel like today.

(Video Credit: Johnnysmooth)

Crooked Fingers - New Drink For The Old Drunk

2008-11-19T17:37:00.000-05:00

This song really has a hold of me today. I was going to save it for friday so that I could fit an Archers of Loaf song in before it but I think I'll do it in reverse.
For more information on Crooked Fingers click here to visit their official site.

Birdy Nam Nam - Abbesses

2008-11-19T12:05:00.000-05:00

This video always impresses me and this was actually my first exposure to Birdy Nam Nam a couple years ago.

Seasick Steve - Cut My Wings

2008-11-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

Captain, how long must I stand your evil ways? (A really great live version of Cut My Wings by Seasick Steve)

Vincent Vincent and the Villains - The End of the Night

2008-11-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

This is one of the songs that I like to listen to while I'm in the middle of a project and I can't quite drag myself to bed. There's something about it that gives me the energy to finish what I'm doing no matter how tired I am.

Hum - Stars

2008-11-17T16:25:00.000-05:00

She thinks she missed the train to Mars, she's out back counting stars...

Introduction

2008-11-17T15:44:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to start a blog to serve as a personal place to share and collect music that I enjoy but I've been putting it off for a long, long time. Why have I been putting it off? Well, I spend a lot of time on my other blog and my shop so I need another project like I need a hole in the head....but.....
sometimes you just can't deny those urges that pull at you for so, so long. I came to the conclusion that I've been spending so much time thinking about this project that if I had started it when I originally wanted to, I would probably have at least 40 posts by now.

The music collection you will find here will not be restricted to any particular genre or era and really will just be music that touches me in some way.

The name: Waking at the Carnival was inspired by the song The Carnival Is Over by the band The Seekers (which was then covered by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 1986).

So, with a song that's more appropriate for an ending than a beginning, We're Waking at the Carnival.

Waking At The Carnival

2008-11-17T14:00:00.000-05:00