Monthly Archives: July 2011

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

The middle of summer always carries a certain type of stress I like to call “the summer lazies.” It’s when my body starts slowing down for vacation while my “to-do list” is still incomplete.

By day’s end, a voice in my head is often calling me away from work and towards my backyard and a cold beer. All though my party days are long gone, that “little voice” still flashes “LGFW”!

This week’s playlist was also marked by the tragic passing of Amy Winehouse.

My wife and many of our friends went to the screening of Patty Schemel’s documentary Hit So Hard. There was a ton of Facebook chatter and comparisons to Amy’s death at 27 to that of Kurt, Jimi, and Janis. So, in my typical twisted Idelic fashion, I’d like to dedicate this Idelic Hour to Amy and all of us who may have gotten wasted just one too many fucking times.

It’s a fun set and I’m too lazy to write more—so have a beer!

The Idelic Hit of the Week: Neon Indian – Fallout

UPDATE 7/29: Due to what is literally an overwhelming response, we’ve found a 3rd copy of Rabbits… to add to the giveaway. We’ll now have 3 winners, not just 2…

As we mentioned this morning, Vanessa Carlton’s brand new LP Rabbits on the Run lands on store shelves TODAY, 7/26, and as always make good on our promises, Vanessa’s given us two copies of the LP to give away to two of you.

“Rabbits on the Run,” [Vanessa’s] fourth studio album, sweetly rescues her career and stands as validation of her singer / songwriter skills.” the New York Post wrote yesterday.

“The 10 songs on the album highlight her ability to make ethereal, Enya-like tracks that get close enough to pop for radio spins. With her lyrics, Carlton, 30, shows herself to be a thinking woman — influenced, she’s said, by the scientific writings of physicist Stephen Hawking and the pastoral children’s classic “Watership Down,” from which the CD borrows its bunny title.”

 
Album opener “Carousel,” a piano ballad layered with bright, jangly bell accents and hand-clapped beats, is the record’s top tune, with words that say life is cyclical. The album’s other standout is “Dear California,” in which Carlton really flexes her pop muscles with a hook-filled sayonara to the Left Coast that could have been borrowed from the Sheryl Crow songbook.

Enter to win by letting us know in the comments to this post why one of the two copies of “Rabbits on the Run” should be yours, and we’ll award the two most convincing responses the brand new record. We’ll choose our winners at noon on Monday, 8/1.

Vanessa Carlton’s brand new LP Rabbits on the Run hit store shelves on Tuesday, 7/26, but all this week we’re going through Vanessa’s personal record collection with her recs for the recs you should have in yours.

We’re closing the week with . . . Christmas in July?

Anne Murray – Christmas Album | This is an odd choice for a few reasons: one, I’m a Jew who is super into Christmas songs and two, Anne Murray is an austere and straightforward singer . . . a style that I’m not usually into.

I think I love how clean and melancholy she sounds. The snow and holiday didn’t make sense unless this record was on.

Vanessa Carlton’s brand new LP Rabbits on the Run hit store shelves on Tuesday, 7/26, but all this week we’re going through Vanessa’s personal record collection with her recs for the recs you should have in yours.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music | The melodies, the arrangements, the words, the bombastic nature of this music was my JAM.

It opened so much in me. Hearing other people’s imaginations opens your own. Huge impact.